Lot hadn't thought himself the kind of man who would wait on anyone in this situation. Surely, they should have been back by now; what with the pursuit of that lady-knight's jailers being a sure thing. Yet, something else made him stay. I owe the princess that much, he thought. Just to give her a bit of a chance to escape after all of that?

He paced around the camp. There was a lot he managed to do in idle days waiting for them: he never thought, for one, that he could neatly organize three spaces for sleeping in a cave of all places. It had been a place he wondered would be the home of some kind of predatory animals. Bears, mainly, if the bones he had swept out with a kick of his feet on the second day were any indication. On the third day he did a little foraging...to mixed results; a few berries had him keeled over for hours, more filling than most meals despite their minuscule size. He had them in a basket in the rear of the cave, where his own bedroll was propped onto a conveniently lounge-shaped rock. On the forth day he managed to prop up a series of palisades out of bits of detritus—a palisade of cloth and twigs would have fit the bill, but it's green sheen was hard to see in the daylight, only until he lit a fire at night.

On the fifth day, he heard the sound of heavy hoof beats, drawing him to the flap of the canopy he propped over the cave entrance. He looked out into the landscape to wait further. Those damn devil dames... he thought. They actually made it...

They had been wandering almost aimlessly for days, it was pure luck and chance they had not met anyone else in this forest as they made their way to find Lot and his camp. The days and nights had all blurred together, the knight and the princess were frozen to the bone, the weather had not been kind to them, and a rain that never seemed to ease continued to fall. It trickled down their necks and backs and made both of them irritable, Luna was not used to such conditions, her hands were numb from cold and the cut on her arm throbbed with a hot intensity that was so at odds with their world of freezing misery. However she said nothing for there was nothing anyone could do, Illy was dealing with the same situation and the only remedy for them was to continue and hope there was a warm welcome awaiting them. If she thought rationally it was Goya she felt most sorry for, as strong as a carthorse her bore them both uncomplaining but his head drooping more each day, he was indeed a war horse of noble stock.

Finally there came a time when Luna stirred herself from the chilled stupor she had been living in for the last few days. They had come to a cave with the obvious touch of a human hand; the cave itself was draped in a ragged cloth which hid the interior and ringed around the outside the importune palisades which although hasty were a good defence. Luna sighed as from behind the cloth they could see Lot’s pale face; he looked haggard but relieved to see them. She hadn’t even noticed that the rain had stopped around half an hour ago but still what a pitiful sight they made, all of them soaked to the skin, spattered in mud and grim as a funeral. It was Lot who made the first move as Luna and Illyce were both too weary to do anything, running forward he grasped Goya’s reins and lead him through the defences and into the cave, with its fire lit against the back wall the small space was cosy and warm.

“You two look horrible.” Lot said with a laugh, then seeing that no one was joining in his joke he made his way over to the saddle. They continued to sit in the saddle as though bound together neither having the strength or the will to dismount. Lot tutted under his breath but knew that he would have to be in charge for a while, leaning forward he took Illyce’s hands and after breaking her grip from around Luna he swung her down and off Goya, setting her down beside the fire. At the breaking of the contact Luna looked around in dazed confusion, the small timid noise of panic escaping her throat and Illyce responded to that sound, trying in vain to get to her feet. Lot made impatient but not unkind hushing noises at both of them as he reached up and took hold of Luna’s arms but when he felt the raging heat from one and the hiss of pain she made at his touch he instead grasped her slender waist and hoisted her down, placing her gently upon the floor next to Illyce.

Both ladies sat beside the fire trying to bring some warmth into their numb fingers while Lot unsaddled Goya and rubbed him down as best he could with a scrap of cloth until his coat was mostly dry. Then he scattered some oats down for Goya to lip sleepily at, brushing the sweat from his brow Lot then turned back to his companions. They sat propped up against each other, Luna’s head dropping onto Illyce’s shoulder, Illyce head cushioned in Luna silvery hair. Lot couldn’t help the smile on his face, they seemed so peaceful together and he was very loathed to disturb them, so moving forward he grabbed a blanket and draped it around their shoulders. Throwing another blanket across Goya’s withers, Lot moved to the front of the cave and settled himself in to keep watch.

The morning brought the first sunshine any of them had seen in days. Luna opened her eyes to its alien glow and looked around her in slight confusion, then her mind catching up with her senses Luna quickly spotted Lot, asleep by the entrance and Illyce still sleeping beside her. Gently Luna extricated herself from Illyce’s hold and stood stretching. Her clothes were finally dry and her hair too, reaching up she attempted to comb it with her fingers, as she stretched her arm out she hissed quietly. Turning her back on her companions Luna unwound the rough bandage, to her dismay she found the skin red and hot, although the wound was closed it was taught and painful to touch. Biting her lip she thought quickly, it didn’t pose much danger to her at the moment and in any case there was very little any of them could do about it at the moment, until they came to the next village their options for healing were very limited. Tying the bandage back around the cut Luna set about trying to keep herself busy, doling out another helping of oats of Goya and restocking the dying fire. She was just setting out a hot breakfast with the supplies from Goya’s saddlebags when her companions began to show signs of waking.

“Good morning!” Luna said her cheerful cadence lighting up the cave as much as the newly built fire. It was Illyce’s bright eyes that she caught with her blue doe eyed gaze and she could not help the bright smile that spread across her lips. “Good morning Illyce, glad I am to see you properly. Sitting astride Goya doesn’t really present much of a chance to chat. Come I am making breakfast for you, I think we need it. You too sir Lot, you who aided us when we needed it most, to you I am heartily grateful. Come eat, then we can discuss our next steps.”

"Good morning!"

Luna's voice was music to Illyce's ears again. It yanked her from another nightmare; the same one as the other night, the same scenario, the same situation, the same pit of fear welling up in her until the moment she opened her eyes. She thought she was shaking. But surely, she thought. The princess would have noticed if I was nervous about anything. She barely heard that Luna was actually making breakfast. She gulped, trying to remember the last time that Luna cooked anything for her, let alone by her own hand. It must have been some kind of egg-based dish, or something breaded. She doubted that they had the supplies for anything fancy, unless Lot had been foraging at all in his stay. She noticed the bowl of those ... berries. They didn't look too appetizing at first glance, and part of her wondered how in the heavens Lot survived off of those. It didn't look like he had eaten a lot of them, especially since it looked like the slightest touch to the basket would send the whole thing tumbling over.

She set to a little stretching instead. Her imprisonment had left her with limbs aching with inactivity. She couldn't protect Luna in this shape, and she set to rectifying it. The moment she managed to rise on her own, she set to push ups -- she lost count of her reps early on, even as she counted at the pace of "one, two, one, one, two, two, one, two, three" under her breath. It was the only thing in the morning that could keep her mind off of that dream again. It was a focus, like its own mantra: My life is Luna's, she repeated to herself. Even if she insists otherwise... She hesitated, holding herself up a little longer on a rep; she lost count again. But don't throw it away. For her sake...

Lot twisted his lip when he heard her grunting. "Your knight doesn't rest a lick, it looks like," he mumbled. "What'd you have in mind exactly for breakfast?" He glanced back over at his berry basket. He prayed that Luna wouldn't use any of them in a dish, more for the sake of her stomach than his own; he had withstood the onslaught of the Berries of Bloating over the span of a few days, and it was an experience he hoped neither of them would risk repeating. "Think we got supplies for something we can eat in peace?" He poked his head out of the curtain again. "I'd cook it for you, Princess, but around here, foraging is kinda weird."

Luna raised a delicate eyebrow at both her travelling companions and smiled warmly, what a odd bunch they made, Illyce with her determined face doing her push ups with quick, rigid motions and Lot was watching her with incredulity written all over his face. Luna laughed lightly and went back to the pot of warm porridge which she was stirring, it was going to be mostly tasteless but it was warm and filling.

“I’m alright Lot, thank you. I’m not quite as helpless as people seem to think, plus this doesn’t require much skill, just keep stirring it. Thank you for the offer though.” Within a few minutes the meal was finished and Luna scooped out three bowls of steaming porridge and handed one to each of her companions, Illyce had finally stopped her press ups and was eyeing the dish warily but Luna pretended not to notice. Taking a spoonful of her own food Luna blanched slightly at the blandness but it was so nice to have food, after the last couple of days they had endured anything close to normal was heavenly.

For a while there was just the soft crackling of the fire and the sound of three people who were just content to eat and regain their strength. The cave was warm and after they were done even the long road ahead didn’t seem so insurmountable. Although she hated to disturb the sleepy contentment they had to discuss their next steps if they had any hope to reach the north which was her only chance of survival.

“So does anyone know what direction we are now, are we further from our goal or closer to it?” Luna glanced at Lot who had a better knowledge of this area having spent the last few days in it she hoped they could find their bearings again. Lot seemed to blanch slightly at being asked such a direct question and he seemed to be trying to avoid her eye.

“Well Princess from what I can tell from looking around we seem to have been lucky for once. We have actually fled in the direction we were intending to go although on a parallel line from where we were before. Also we don’t seem to have lost more than a week, if we continue going north and push quite hard we should reach our destination before the worst of the storms hit,” Luna glanced outside as he spoke to where the sun was shining down upon the forest, the only hint of coming winter was felt in the night and before dawn. It was hard to believe that snow would soon lie upon the ground. “or at least it should be bearable to get through.”

Luna nodded with determination, her eyes finding Illyce’s within the shadows of the cave and they both shared a moment, only the length of a heartbeat, but with more feeling that could be said in an eternity. “Come on then, if we can push ahead today we can hopefully make up some lost ground. Let’s get going then.” Luna smiled with her blazing warmth that seemed to light up the cave more fully than the sunshine, her hair glittering as she stood, ready to face the day.

Illyce had greeted the prospect of further travel with her usual relief. The sooner the princess got out of one spot the better -- as much fun as it had been to remain in a sheltered place to rest and eat well, to entertain little pipe dreams of making a castle out of a cave and just residing there until everything smoothed over. That would have been paradise if it were possible, in its own way. But alas, Illyce found herself the dreamer more so than Luna for once. Their glance exchanged on the way out only told one to Illyce: that maybe Luna would have wanted such a peaceful life. For that moment, her determination re-emerged, her resolve shooting up with her sudden bounding for her steed.

She offered her hand to Luna. After getting her on horseback, riding front saddle, she very quickly realized that between the three of them, the saddle room was ... stringent. Illyce was sandwiched between Luna and Lot.

"One of the first things we'll have to do is acquire another horse," Illyce muttered.

"Or steal one," Lot said. "We're kind of penniless here."

"I wouldn't entertain the suggestion."

"It might be that y' don't have a choice, miss knight." Lot shrugged. Illyce cringed, and fell silent. She could feel the shifting of his shoulders; really, the shifting of his whole body, even if it was against her breastplate. Whether we steal that horse or not, I'm going to appreciate the personal space more than anything else. She didn't quite catch it herself until she leaned forward slightly and kicked Goya into a faster trot -- that just maybe she was being overprotective. Overcompensating for something? The doubt began to crawl across her back, to the chill running in her red hairs. That she had been captured still gnawed at her; and a part of her knew she was wearing that humiliation on her sleeve, even in as much as a tightened grasp on the reins.

The main road was coming into view. It was a straight shot here -- at least for this length. It was a good thing that the worst of the bounty hunters hadn't made their presence known just yet, if they were anywhere nearby. For all Illyce knew, they must have gone to some other town to resupply and regroup. No...that is assuming too much, she thought. Her expression hardened, her gaze turning sidelong on every point possible alongside the road and the underbrush. Either they made it up ahead...or they'll be waiting where we can't run. Oh, Luna, I hope you're prepared for such a horrid place as a port town. One look at Luna once again softened her vigilance. She thought about how she would in fact escort the princess to peasant towns against the wishes of her father; they had been both a little naive back then, enough that Illyce found herself hiding her share of bruises, taken in Luna's service.

Lot tensed in his own way. The saddle really was too small. He kept glancing back, afraid that he might accidentally fall. He pre-preemptively reached around Illyce's waist. It was lucky for him that she was still a bit lost in thought: that she was in the midst of contemplating brushing some knots out of Luna's hair -- distracting as such thoughts were, on horseback no less. He kept his teeth clenched, wondering if the slightest mishap would send him tumbling.

The days rolled by in a haze of travel and weariness for Luna and she knew her companions fared no better than she. Each of them were stained with mud and dust from the road and sleeping rough each night however after three days they had finally reached the port town. From overhead the gulls wailed and cawed at everything that moved and everything did indeed move, this town was a hive of constant action, it seemed to thrum with life, noise, motion and emotion spun around and around making the its inhabitants dance to its lively tune.

They needed more supplies desperately and more than that they needed to rest and reorganise themselves. Luna was desperate to stop for another reason, not only was she sore and tired but her arm which had been cut was getting more painful each day, it will still red, hot and the cut was getting angrier looking by the day. This coupled with the fact that it was getting harder to hide these facts from her companions, Luna just needed some time away from them to try and fix it, and try would be the word. They approached the town from the outskirts and to their immense luck they came by an abandoned warehouse or barn, Luna wasn’t quite sure what its function had been previously as only three walls remained standing and most of the roof was bowed with age. It did seem that if a single breath of wind had swept past it would have collapsed but it was weatherworn and showed scars in proof that it was hardier than it seemed.

The four trudged up to it and in the appointed order of Lot, Illyce and Luna they dismounted a tired Goya who whinnied gratefully at the removal of his burdens. Illyce motioned for them to stay back while she investigated inside the structure, testing its walls and beams with a light hand and finding the ground covered with rubble but also dry and coated with layer of dust that was evidence of nothing moving within. She called back to her companions and with Luna leading Goya they made their way inside. With robotic actions they each set about the tasks they had been making each time they made camp. Lot set out to find some wood for a fire, Illyce began to unsaddle Goya and attend to his needs and Luna began setting out their bedrolls and the cooking implements.

It was about midmorning when they were each done and the camp was made and settled, they needed no fire yet as the day was still surprisingly warm, it was a day her father used to call a false summer which sometimes occurred in the autumn, fooling people into thinking winters cruel grasp was far afield rather than right around the corner. Luna sat on her bedroll trying desperately not to allow her face to show the discomfort she was in; her arm seemed to throb with every beat of her heart. However on the outside she looked just merely tired, with her knees up to her chin and her arms wrapped around them she watched Illyce and Lot talk in hushed voices. After a while Illyce walked over looking extremely worried but with determination.

“Luna, we have to go into the town to scout things out and see if we can trade some of what we have for what we need. I don’t want to but both I and Lot should go as we can get more done with two of us. Unless you are worried about being alone, I have scouted around and so has Lot and there are no other people for miles around, but I would stay if you needed me.” Luna smiled at Illyce as the woman before her fretted visibly. With her good arm, although she acted though it made no difference, Luna reached out and stroked a lock of flaming hair back from Illyce’s face.

“You needn’t worry Illy, I will be perfectly fine, and I have Goya to protect me.” Goya lifted his head at his name and nickered as if in agreement. Illyce smiled but it seemed for a moment that she would still insist on staying, then a hand appeared on her shoulder and they both looked up at Lot.

“You heard the princess. Come on while we still have light.” Lot stated and Illyce nodded in agreement, then together they both made their way towards the town on foot, Illyce glancing back at the last moment to look at Luna who again offered her the brightest of smiles. Once she was sure the two of them were well on their way Luna stopped her act and let out a faint groan. Raising her hand to her tunic Luna rolled back the fabric and undid the bandage that was still covering it. What she saw shocked her very core and she had to fight back the nauseous bile that rose in her throat. The skin was very tight and red still but now she noticed a faint smell of ... of rot she thought with abhorrence there was also two streaks of black beginning to run up her arm. It was worse than she though. Vaguely she wondered what had caused this, poison on the blade, dirt in the wound, she supposed at this stage it didn’t matter the cause only the cure was important.

Hoisting herself up from the ground was an effort and for a moment the world swam before her eyes. Biting her lip and gritting her resolve Luna made her way to the meadow in which their shelter stood. The meadow was starting to settle into its full autumn colours but with the heat a few noble flowers continued to bloom. It was amongst these that Luna spotted what she sought, she had some knowledge of herb law and in her studies she had learnt much of the flora and fauna. It was the medium bell shaped flowers in bright yellow that she plucked, cats claw, known for its ability to heal wounds gone bad. She was not sure if it could do much against her cut or if it was not poison in which case this would be of little help.

Shrugging to herself Luna went back to the shelter and began a fire intending to make a tea from the flowers. She would have to be quick to make the tea and then hide all evidence. The last thing she wanted was for either of her companions to start worrying unnecessarily.

"By the gods," Lot muttered. "Do you ever have anything else to talk about other than your service to Luna?" Being alongside Illyce had been grating on him for hours now. It wasn't her station that bothered him, not in the slightest. Knights came and went in his former line of work for years. Knights like her didn't often make a strong point of talking, not even for as long as Illyce did. Then again, his relationship with them usually ended when coin crossed his hands, and without their opinions chasing him.

If there was anything different about Illyce, it was entirely obvious: maybe one in ten knights were female, a statistic he hadn't put too much thought into on the road, and she definitely wasn't as pretty as the few others he met. It didn't help that Illyce had fresh scars, he admitted, but the pit in his gut welled every time he had to remind himself she wasn't just window dressing.

Not that their escapes in the past hadn't proved that. Yet, the constant reminder of an actual, functional sword in a scabbard on her belt never helped him.

But the real, substantive difference had to be the way she had talked of her former liege. The very reason Lot had asked her to talk about something else was because of the contempt dripping from her words like overflowing, burnt soup:

”He’s a frugal man. I used to have respect for him, as one who looked out for Luna. He decided that clinging to his power was far more important than honor, let alone Luna. I wouldn't see his dishonor lead to her harm.”

Illyce, to her credit, held her head high, taking his question in.

“Did she seem okay, to you, Lot?”

Avoid my question, why don't you? Lot thought. But she did have a point. They hadn't much in the way of medicine for their wounds. Lot hadn't been wounded, and Illyce was hardy enough to walk a great number of things off. The princess on the other hand?

“Well, you've been on that bandaging like a hawk, so she'll be fine, I'd think.”

“Still. The maladies that could turn even a scratch deadly are many. We’d do to get medicine first.”

“Well, miss knight, you put a whole lot of trust in me to know medicine people in towns we know nothing about.”

“I never said I would leave you to your own devices.”

“So much for trust.”

“Luna trusts you, but have I made it clear how little I trust you?”

“Plenty. You'd think after rescuing you, and turning on my employers on so many occasions that I've surely got a price higher dead than alive.”

“I'm pretty sure your employers only want a few people alive. And I'm very sure that Luna planned the entirety of that rescue.”

Lot folded his arms. There was just no pleasing this woman, was there? Especially not with her next question:

“I don't think you've ever told myself or the princess who exactly your former employers are.”

“Well...where do I begin? Those guys who had you captured before? Definitely not them.”

Illyce looked back to him with a raised eyebrow. Lot shrugged.

“Those guys were definitely mercenaries hired by them though. The kind of delegating they do is so layered that even I had to be hired by a messenger.”

It wasn't an experience that would ever leave him. He remembered three bodyguards, each hardly human, with one dressed in inky garments, with beady white eyes, and buttons just as ivory and glossy. He was pretty sure he was just talking to people in masks, though they did make a show of talking as if they had much more sinister things to say, each in ringing, melodic sequence:

“The girl, white of hair.”
“Bring her to us.”
“The Court will claim her.”
“And you will claim the gold.”
“Gold you're sure to love.”
“A reward will let you ascend above.”
“While your ilk will fall below.”

Thinking back on it, the amount of sense it made dropped with every insinuation that it was enough money to tank entire economies. In retrospect, this little bizarre journey wouldn't have happened had he just moved to a different contract. The closer they drew to the town, the more he wondered just whose toes he stepped on.

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The sign swinging on the edge of a crooked, warping stick read “Agdenville.” Illyce had heard the name, if only in passing, that it wasn't the sort of place one would want to stay for more than a night. Not the sort of place to welcome strangers for long, and the kind of place to take a lot longer to trust anyone not in the immediate area. Still, she trudged further in.

It was a sadder hamlet than it had seemed. Already less than a day’s ride from their hideout, and a fog had began squirming its way through the wood and straw houses and palisade that dominated the next mile or two. The wood of these houses had lost its color, it's straw greying like ash, but somehow not caving in.

A chill ran through Illyce. Lot clearly felt it too, as he clung his coat closer. Illyce tossed him her shoulder cloak. He eagerly wrapped it around his shoulders, and then his own head, more as a scarf than a proper baldrick. She made her way closer.

“What are you doing?” Lot said. “It looks like no one’s here.”

“We need to make sure.”

“Of what? A cow attacking us with a deadly udder?”

Illyce turned back to Lot, and shot him a disgusted look. That was the least likely thing to happen.

“This town is unfriendly to outsiders, Lot. That's why we haven't just marched in.” She kept her voice low. Lot’s face remained just as skeptical.

She waved him over. They advanced further, footfalls meeting taller and taller grass. Only the sound of a crow greeted them. Something had to meet them here, one way or another. The grain silo nearby seemed as suspect an area as any. Illyce thrust her finger in its direction.

“Barring any actual resistance, we’ll grab what we need, leave an IOU, and leave.”

“For a knight, you sure don’t seem to look upon stealing very gravely.”

“What choice do we have right now, Lot? Leave the princess abandoned for any longer?”

The silence hung in the air, until another pair of footfalls echoed in the distance.