Our second world- book one: Past beginnings

Chapter 27: Haren

He wasn't sure how long he'd slept, but it was definitely longer than five minutes. Grace had dozed off beside him. He sat up and winced as the motion sent a shock of pain through his ankle. Biting his lip to keep from yelping, he stood up. Grace stirred at his feet and sat up with a yawn.

"I thought you weren't tired," he teased as he helped her to her feet.

"I wasn't," she replied, her cheeks going red." I suppose you want to wake those three up now."

He looked up at the sun which had already passed its half-way point," Nah, there's no point in leaving now. We'd just have to stop again." he sighed.

"So...you don't want me to wake them up?" she asked.

"Can if ya want," he answered." There's something I want to look into. I should hopefully be back in about an hour, ok?"

Grace nodded and Haren climbed over the short stone wall surrounding the small spring. Once at the top, he followed his nose to the source of the smoke smell. He found it within about a half hour, proving his suspicion correct: the group was moving.

From what he could see, there were four small tents pitched around a large fire. Five people, soldiers judging by the armor they wore, were seated around the crackling flames, one of them significantly taller than the rest. They all wore gray cloaks with the same red insignia on the back. A golden snake coiled around a white sword set in a cracked rock. He recognized it as the same symbol on the flag of Croanade.

He was closer to the edge than he thought. When he stood, the snow below his feet gave out, sending him tumbling down behind one of the tents. Managing to land upright sent a spark of pain up his calf. He bit back a curse as the pain made his vision go black.

Haren woke up on the ground relatively ok, but a bit dizzy. One of the soldiers he'd seen before was sitting a few feet away from him. The others he couldn't see, but he could still smell them nearby. Trying to sit up, he was greeted with a sharp pain in both his ankle and his forehead. This time, he swore. His fangs drawing a bit of blood when he bit his lip.

The soldier glanced over at him," hey there, you awake now?" he asked.

He had shortly trimmed raven colored hair framing is face, and a faint scar cut across the right corner of his mouth which was cracked in a smile.

"Yeah. How long was I out?" Haren replied, massaging his forehead. All the pain from his leg was starting to give him a headache.

"Not sure. Why?"

"I have others I'm traveling with. I was supposed to be back after an hour," Haren said.

"So, you want to tell me where I can find those companions of yours?" The man asked.

"They should still be at the spring southeast of here. If it hasn't snowed yet you should still be able to follow my tracks back."

"Right. I'll be back then. Sit tight here, ok?"

Haren watched the man disappear behind one of the tents. With a small sigh, he leaned back on his hands.

"Markus leave?" He turned to see the tallest of the five soldiers emerge from a tent behind him.

"If you mean the guy with the scar, then yeah," Haren replied.

"Of course," he grumbled, sitting next to Haren." So, you got a name, kid?"

"It's Haren, and I'm not a kid. I'm almost 18," Haren retorted." What about you?"

"Call me Leo. I'm the commander of this little bunch." said the man.

"What are you doing in these mountains?" Haren asked.

"My squad and I are on a training mission. Well, we were. Now we're heading back," Leo said." Why are you in the mountains?"

"Crossing. My party member wants to visit the grave of an old teacher who was laid to rest in Croanade," he replied.

"Oh?" Leo raised a brow." What was the name of this 'former teacher'?"

"Herald. Herald Greenheart," Haren answered, looking up at the sky. The sun was already beginning to set.

Leo gasped," you mean the Herald Greenheart? General in the Croanade army during the Great War?"

"Yes. What's with you all of a sudden?"

"Tell me, what is the name of this party member?"

"August. Why?"

"Please forgive our rudeness!" Leo exclaimed, dropping to one knee.

"What's with you?"

"Sir August is the heir to Sir Greenhearts will. He's been missing for years, though."

"He never mentioned that."

"Ah, look. Seems Markus has returned."

Haren looked up to see the man he now knew to be Markus approaching them with others following behind.

"Hey, I'm back," Markus called with a wave.

"Haren Kotamine what have I told you about hurting yourself?" Grace demanded as she stomped over to him.

"Sorry!" He said quickly," It's not directly my fault this time!"

She sighed and dropped down next to him," What did you do this time?"

"I hurt my ankle when I slid down that slope the other day."

"What?!"

"I'm sorry!"

"Why didn't you say something about it before?" She huffed, rolling up his pant leg so she could look at the injury." Well... it's not broken, but it is sprained." She paused in thought," Unfortunately there's not much I can do for it right now."

"What if you use yellow root, miss Grace?" Mary suggested.

"Hrm... it would help with the swelling, but it doesn't grow in the cold and I don't have any." Grace replied," Stone moss is another option but what I have is too dried to use."

"Um... pardon my interruption, but we have a small supply of herbs that you could look through." Markus interjected.

"Really? That would be great!" Said Grace, jumping up to follow him.

Haren watched them disappear into one of the small tents. While he was waiting, August sat at his side and threw an arm over Harens shoulder before lacing their fingers together. When Grace returned with a small bundle in her arms, she didn't seem at all surprised to see them sitting so close. She merely smiled at him while helping Haren stand, much to the protest of his aching foot.