Call of Ring(Compleled)

22 The Next Day

         There must have been a good amount of Singani consumed the night before, because Blake awoke with only a foggy memory of what had happened the night before. He didn’t remember negotiating the twists and turns in the rock opening to gain access to the interior of the cave. He had only a slight memory of laying down, and the princess laying her head on his chest. That was it!

         As he sat up slowly, blood rushed to his head confirming the presence of a powerful headache. He was thankful that only bits of light was seeping in through the openings in the cave. He looked beside him and all around the cave wondering where Princess Sophie was. In days past, he would have grabbed his brown gown and dressed before leaving his place of rest, but it was different this time. He was still fully clothed in his gown. He wondered if this was indicative of the fact that nothing nefarious had happened between him and the princess the night before. He was both relieved and yet also slightly disappointed. Nonetheless, he exited the cave.

         Looking around, he saw only the remnants of last night’s fire, with some leftover snake parts by it. He didn’t see the princess or her servants and began to panic. The anxiety was short-lived, however, as he spotted the four horses. They were tied up to the trees, grazing peacefully on whatever grass they could find. Beyond the view of the horses was the gently flowing stream. And then she came into view. Blake didn’t trust his eyes to see see what he thought he saw. So he closed them, rubbed them, and then opened them again quickly.

         Her eyes met his, and she smiled.

         She was clothed in her white gown, but her hair was wet, and she was holding a belt in her right hand. She was still ankle-deep in the stream, but she stepped out as she saw Blake. She then bent over slightly ringing her hair of excess water.

         Blake thought he had seen her naked body for a split second, as she pulled her gown over herself, presumably just finishing some sort of bathing routine. But that is when he closed his eyes briefly, and by the time he opened them again, she was in her gown, staring and smiling at him. Blake wondered if his desire had overtaken his thoughts and pondered whether it was all some sort of hallucination induced fantasy. But as he came closer to her, her gown revealed spotted wet marks where her body had obviously been wet all over. He smiled back at her trying not to stare as she tied the belt to her waist, pulling the gown snug against her body.

         All this consuming desire was interrupted quickly when she spoke, snapping him out of his trance.

         “Good morning Blake. How is your headache?”

         Trying not to act surprised by her intuition, he replied, “I’m in a bit of pain.”

         “Nothing like coca leaf tea to help cure that,” she replied with a knowing smile.

         Blake had a flashback to the morning he had woken up in the castle after drinking with King Adelai. It was servant Sadie at the time who visited him alone in his room as he awoke. She had served him his first cup of coca leaf tea. It miraculously cured his headache then, and he knew it would have the same effect now.

         Out of nowhere, the two servants appeared, one carrying a large spear, and the other a bundle of leaves he had collected from somewhere. As they converged on the fire pit area together, Blake watched as the servants poked at the coals and ignited a small fire. A large pot was placed near the flames with water that had been presumably fetched earlier from the stream. The leaves were then dumped into the water, and the group waited for it to boil. Blake wondered where the servants had been during the princess’ bath at the river. He felt protective and even jealous of what they might have seen, but he tried to dismiss his thoughts quickly, convincing himself they were a distraction.

         Blake closed his eyes and tried to delete the image of Princess Sophie’s naked body from his mind.

         “What do you hear? What do you feel? What do you sense?” The words of Apollos came back to him, echoing gently in his subconscious. He was thankful for his drunk mentor. He would try to honor his memory by staying focused.  

         The servants poured four cups of tea, and together they sat silently sipping their individual cups of tea. Although the sun was bright already, Blake guessed it was still early in the day. The morning air was not yet hot, and a steady breeze brought some refreshing coolness.

         Princess Sophie spoke up as if commanding an army into battle.

         “We must load up the horses with extra water. There will be no Singani until tonight. We have to cross the Desert of Blanche today. If we leave soon, and with some luck, we will cross the desert without incident today, and reach the tip of the Plain of Aeryn. It is there that we will find shelter for the night. We must be on guard, because enemies abound in the desert beyond the threat of its natural heat.”

         The three men nodded in silence, heeding the words of Princess Sophie. Finishing their first cup of tea, the servants got up and headed to the stream. Blake tried to get up and join them, but the princess put her hand on his lap firmly and said, “Stay seated. You and I will enjoy one more cup of tea together while the men do their work.”

         Blake knew that any protesting would prove to be futile, so he obliged her request. She got to her feet and bent over the fire in front of him to pour two more cups of tea. With all the self-control he could muster, Blake closed his eyes so as not to stare at the view in front of him.

         “Blake? Here is your tea. Why are your eyes closed?” asked the princess.

         Startled by her abrupt questioning, Blake tried to respond with composure.

         “Forgive me your highness, I am trying to remain focused.”

         “Blake, when we’re alone and out of earshot, please drop the formalities. Just call me Sophie.”

         Blake was too stunned to immediately comply with her request, so he simply nodded in compliance.

         “Also, a question for you,” Sophie continued. “Am I that much of a distraction to you?”

         Blake fumbled for a response, but as he looked up at her face, he noticed a flirtatious smile followed by a somewhat less than innocent wink. Blake took a deep breath, and stated his confession:

         “I think you uh, you, know very well how much uh, how much your beauty distracts me, princess.” Blake responded, tripping over his words.

         He was sure that in the daylight she was now witnessing his incredible propensity to display his embarrassment through a red face fully blushed.

         Princess Sophie extended her left hand to his face in a gentle caress.

         “One day you won’t be so embarrassed, and one day soon you’ll call me Sophie.”

         Blake smiled awkwardly and got up.

         “Should we be on our way now?” he asked.

         “Yes, let’s get on with it,” she replied deeply sighing as if a moment had passed.

         The servants had finished filling the jugs with water and were now readying the horses. Within a few moments, the group was on their way. As they crested one last hill, the scene in front of them revealed the valley which contained the sprawling Desert of Blanche. They could see its beginning but could not see where it ended. Without knowing that they were all wondering the same thing, they silently contemplated what potential threats awaited them on this one day journey. At least they hoped, it would only last a day.