The Flame of Catalina

Nightwatch

Finnr's POV

I stayed in the tent until I was sure Chay fell asleep. Last thing I needed was her scheming with her brother to escape while my back was turned. After I pulled my cloak back on, with one last glance her way, I stepped out of the tent to join the rest of my men around the fire. They were eating their rations of food, so I settled on a crate to speak with the group to coordinate the watch schedule. After we discussed our plan for the second day of travel, the two men who weren’t on duty went to their tent. The other two men went to circle the outer perimeter to check on and feed the horses. I took the opportunity to let my mind wander to Chay.

She was not what I expected when Guntherson raven'd of a small meek girl. While she was pale, slight and looked to be one meal away from falling over, she showed time and time again that she was resilient. I was grateful we had her brother to use against her. I had no doubt that if given the chance to run away alone, she could disappear, and I’d never find her again. I had been lucky to track her the first time, but she wouldn’t make the mistake again. And to confuse myself even more, I wasn’t just interested in her escape abilities.

She wasn’t nearly as filled as I liked my women but small part of me wanted to crush her to me and see if she could handle more than she looked like she could. Earlier In the tent, I could feel her nervous energy radiating off of her, but there was something more defiant under the surface. Something she wanted to hide because she didn’t want me knowing she was interested too. I knew I got to her though. She blushed too often around me for it to be a coincidence.

I pulled myself out of my thoughts when I heard the men coming back towards the fire. I said good night to them as they sat and walked into the tent. The siblings lay on the ground where I left them. I could see white hair sticking out from Chay’s blanket. I grabbed my own and laid down right at the entrance of the tent. I slept for a couple of hours before I stirred awake. I heard movement in the tent and rolled to look at Chay. She was thrashing her blanket off and panted as though she was fighting for her life. Before she hit Garin, I moved over and shook her shoulder. She began fighting against my grasp. She swung her arms out and I pinned them next to her head. I ended up kneeling over her and could see her closed eyes.

“Chay, wake up.” My voice quiet but commanding

Her eyes shot open, and she jolted upright, knocking me over from surprise. She stood up and tore out of the tent. I heard someone jump in armor as I ran out after her. She hadn’t made it far, leaning over to dry-heave by a tree. I nodded to Hendricks watch the tent in case this was a diversion to give her brother a chance to run and approached her slowly. Chay stood up when she finished and leaned against the tree. I picked up some snow and gave it to her to eat. She took it without looking up at me.

“What happened? Do you feel sick?” I asked. She shook her head and peaked up at me. “You seemed like you were having a nightmare before you woke up.” I said, stepping closer so I could take her chin between my fingers. I wanted to keep her eyes on mine and waited for her to talk to me. I watched the anguish spread across her face when she realized she couldn’t escape me.

“It was.” She spoke

“Did you dream of the attack?” I asked quietly. She physically flinched as shock registered on her features.

“How did you...”

I let her go. She ducked her head immediately and hugged herself.

 “I saw the state of your clothing when I came to retrieve you the first time. You’re a young attractive girl and he’s an old man stuck in the middle of nowhere. It wasn’t hard to put together.”

“Oh.” was all she could muster.

“Hey, I didn’t say it was ok, just that it was obvious. Did he uh do anything?”

Chay turned to me “no, but he may as well have by how my dreams have been.” she slapped a hand over her mouth, looking shocked that she revealed so much.

I smiled at the dramatic reaction but quickly recovered “You can’t be older than sixteen. There were no beds other than the two. Where are your parents?”

Cold blue eyes met mine again. “My mother died when I was young, and I haven’t seen my father in since Garin turned five. It’s just been us since. If I didn’t go out, we would starve. I take my chances.” she then squared her shoulders and added “and I’m seventeen”.

“How many times have you robbed the farm?”

“Why so you can implicate me even more? I think I am going to go to the tent.” She turned away from me and took a step out before slipping under a frozen patch of snow.

I reacted without thinking, grabbing her waist and pulling her against me. We were close and she looked up with shocked marred across her face. Her breathing changed slightly from the adrenaline of almost falling, and the shift pulled my attention to her lips. She licked them and I felt my c**k stir in my pants. I cleared my throat after a tense second and released her. She took the opportunity to carefully walk to the tent, keeping her eyes on the ground. Hendricks let her pass and stepped back in front of the tent.

I walked back to the fire and called to Hendricks “Hendricks come join me at the fire. It's cold as Hel tonight.” He grumbled some thanks and we sat quietly staring at the fire crackle.

The watch shift ended, and Hendrickss and I said good night to the men coming on. Entering my tent, I saw that Garin still lay unmoved against the back of the tent. Chay slept but she was restless. I leaned over her, moving her ear behind her ear and whispered “you are safe, be calm Chay. You are safe.” I sat up and brushed her hair gently until her face fell into a more placid expression. I grabbed my blanket and laid it down on my mat.

I woke up several hours later too warm. Light was just starting to filter through the tent, and I opened my eyes. Chay had moved in her sleep, snuggled against me under her own blanket. Her deep breaths and the added warmth made me almost not get up. I wrapped my arm around her middle and I shifted, placing her back onto her sleep mat in the tent before getting ready for the journey ahead.