Enslaved

Chapter 15: Meadow

After a few hours rest in a small clearing with no tribesmen - Thane made sure, the sun began to rise, painting the horizon with beautiful colors. Thane watched the sun go up as Nera slept beside him. His hands itched with the need to glide his fingertips on her soft cheek or wrap her in a tight embrace as she shivered in her bedroll. 

Minutes passed and Nera began to stir, twisting around until she was pressed up close to him. The warmth of her smooth skin brushed against his. Nera nestled on his chest, her lithe arms wrapping around his torso. 

Thane tried not to let his mind wonder. He reminded himself that Nera is engaged. Unhappily engaged. To the Royal family. No doubt she’ll get a better life out of that pathetic prince than she would get from him. He was a simple mercenary that made money from his skill with a blade. It’s a dangerous life, a life that wouldn’t be optimal for a woman like Nera. 

It didn’t matter what he felt for her. What matters is that she has the best, most comfortable life. Nera deserves as much. 

As if hearing his thoughts, which was impossible, Nera rolled away from him with a yawn, arms stretched wide. She blinked away the sleep from her eyes and looked around.

“I’m glad we weren’t eaten in our sleep.” She mused, standing up and arching her back. “I’d kill for a proper bed to sleep on soon.” 

“Michael said he would prepare something for us back in Tosa.” He assures her, standing up as well to roll his bed back. 

Nera looked around the clearing, noting the missing sounds of wildlife. “How far until that meadow? There’s nothing to eat here.” 

He tossed her a hard piece of bread, the last of their supplies from what they bought at Caelum. “We should be there soon. I’m hoping to hunt a wild boar or anything with meat really.” 

“Where there’s a meadow, there’s bound to be animals... edible ones.” She frowned down at the bread. It was as hard as a rock. 

They packed up their camp and began their journey for the herbs. Much longer than they had expected, beyond a thick patch of gnarly trees was their destination. It was like a paradise after dense dead woodlands. 

The two worked immediately. Thane pulled out his bow and arrows disappearing somewhere in the meadow while Nera started finding and gathering whatever healing herbs were on Michael’s list. 

Nera scratched her chin, eyeing a few flora that were a bit confusing. It could either be the herbs she needed or a poisonous one that would kill her in a second. “To pick or not to pick?”

A shout resonated from across the meadow as Thane ran from a large charging stag that was chasing him. It seems she wasn’t the only one having problems. 

“Need help?” She teasingly sang.

“No!” Thane shouted back grumpily. He was trying to get the doe but managed to anger the stag instead. He grasped the hilt of his sword, unsheathing it from his scabbard and sidestepping. Twisting around, he plunges his sword by the stag’s neck, killing it instantly. “Now to get that doe.” 

Usually, he’d only need one animal to feed both him and Nera for days but Thane needed to feed a whole town or what’s left of it at least.  

Nera let out a gleeful cheer. After an intense deliberation, she had picked at the plant she was confused about. Thankfully, it was the herb she needed and not the one that would kill her. She doubted Thane would appreciate taking home her dead body. 

Right as she was placing it on her satchel, Thane emerged from the woods, pulling two deers. Sitting himself under a tree, he began to skin and gut the animals. From time to time, he’d look up to check up on Nera. Her face was contorted seriously as she inspected plants, foliage and other flora. She poked, probed and sometimes smelled. 

Thane couldn’t help but smile at her. Truly, he admired how far they’ve come. From mere children who knew nothing of the world, they became somewhat capable and more experienced. They had scars of the past sure but being here; surviving, breathing and with each other... he couldn’t be happier. 

They busied themselves with their tasks until the sunset came. Thane had pulled out a tent from his satchel, having expected rain to come that night. He started hammering down stakes in the ground to set up a proper shelter for the night.

Nera approached him, hands full with herbs of various shapes and colors. “We’re not leaving?”

He pointed skyward. The clouds were thick, dark and heavy. “It’ll rain in an hour or so. Best we stay here and weather it out.” 

Nera nodded, picking at a piece of meat Thane was smoking. She groaned at the taste, eyes rolling back. “That’s so good.” 

Thane nodded in agreement, taking a bite from the piece she held by his mouth. “Beats that rock of bread.” 

Without meaning to, his lips lingered on her fingers, making her eyes widened. She cleared her throat, finishing the last of the meat and sucked her fingers for the juices... the same one he had licked accidentally. 

Thoroughly bothered, in a painfully good way, he turned back to continue hammering stakes down. Nera with her cheeks red, started to make a campfire to cook dinner before the rain poured. She had gathered a few herbs for seasoning and was excited for a good dinner. 

The dinner Nera was cooking wafted into Thane’s nose right as he finished making camp. She stirred it a few more times before offering him a bowl full of delicious meaty stew. “Ready!”

He takes it gladly, greedily eating a mouthful and lets out a long low sound from the back of his throat. “Nera, this is damn good.” 

Nera smiled, happy he was enjoying it so much. Truly, the way to a man’s heart is his stomach. She learned that from her father.

When Thane had finished the entirety of the dinner Nera cooked, the first drops of rain came. They rushed into the tent, shaking off the drops of rain from the hair before settling on their bedrolls. 

Thane and Nera watched the hard rain pour, feeling serene. The only sounds came from the raindrops on the ground, the leaves of the trees and the plants, on their tent. It was calming and lulling. 

With a fairly small tent that was only built for one man, they were pretty close. Shoulder to shoulder. The two didn’t seem to mind the space though. They would never admit it but Thane and Nera enjoyed the close proximity. Always have.

Eyes still watching the rain pour, Nera felt herself smile. “You know if I wasn’t the Chieftain’s only heir, I would have come with you.”

Thane snorted. He couldn’t imagine Nera with him after bringing her to Evordon. “And be a street rat?”

“And live.” She whispered, motioning to their surroundings. “I always imagined that this would have been our life together.” 

“What did you imagine?” He asked, gazing at Nera in their dimly lit tent. Even in the dark her hair seemed to shine. Nera really is beautiful and here she was telling him about what could have been. 

“Us. On the road. Traveling to everywhere and anywhere. Camping out and having peaceful nights like this. Maybe when we’re old and want to settle down, we could get ourselves a farm like the one Michael had with his wife.” Nera took Thane’s hand in hers, her thumb tracing his palm. “We could have had a life together. 

He interlaced their fingers. “We’re living it right now.”

She blew out a defeated breath. “For how long? Until we catch Brutus? If we ever do catch him.”

Thane went quiet as he absorbed her words. “A farm would be nice once we’re done seeing the world.” 

“A farm would be amazing.” She agreed, glacier blue eyes now on him. “We’d raise chickens.” 

“Plant a few crops.” He added with a grin.

She shared his grin. “You’d hunt and get chased by deers.” 

“Lots of angry deers.” Thane laughed, his chest warming. “We could have a dog or something.” 

Nera gasped, nodding excitedly. “Oh, I’d like a dog.”

“We’ll get a dog then.” He swore. If Nera wanted it, they would get it.

“I’ll cook for you every day.” She continued, falling on her back to her bedroll.

Thane followed suit, crashing on his own bed. “I’d be the happiest man alive.”

They fell asleep to the sound of the rain with their arms around each other. Thane held her close, his large arms protectively around her while she buried her head on the crook of his neck. 

He felt happy now, possibly the happiest he’s been in years and it’s all because of Nera. His light.