The Flame of Catalina

Camp

Chay's POV

The carriage traveled along the road forever. My stomach growled with a demand for food since I hadn’t eaten all day, and my head throbbed continuously. Garin slept, leaning against the carriage wall. When the rocking of the carriage lulled him to sleep, I was grateful. He panicked when we first left and asked me questions, I didn't have the answers. I didn’t know what we were supposed to do, or how to get out of this. Although my panic kept my heart pounding and my mind racing, I honed my facial expression to be completely neutral in case we were checked on. Father always told me that if people could read how I felt, they could control me. Finnr caught me off guard once, but I wouldn’t be again.

During the ride, when I tried to think of plans, my head just pounded more, and I'd have to close my eyes for a minute. Even though this wasn't my first time in this coach, I had the element of surprise on my side. With the door locked, I wouldn't be so lucky. On top of that, before, I had been alone. If I had failed, it was only on me. With Garin here, I couldn't risk anything so bold.

On top of planning an escape, I also just couldn’t wrap my head around needing to come before the royal family after stealing a bag of food. Surely, they had local leaders in place for such a small crime. I know we didn’t technically live in the town that boarded Raventhorpe, but to take us days away from home didn’t make sense. After several more minutes of reeling, I watched the darkening woods pass for what seemed like hours. But then carriage stopped. I woke Garin up with quiet urgency. I needed him to be alert in case something happened.

“Do not speak to anyone. Do not give them a reason to notice you. I am not strong enough to protect you against all of them so please. Just keep your head down.” I told him this and he nodded at me once. His features almost mirrored mine perfectly. The men hopped off the carriage from the way it shook. I watched the door handle, but the voices of the men moved passed the door

“Alright, unload and set up camp.” Again, it was Finnr’s voice commanding the other men.

We waited several more minutes before the door rattled. I shifted to be in front of Garin. Finnr unlocked the door of the carriage and swung it fully open. He popped his head in through the doorway and met my eyes.

“Let’s go” I was still shocked at how young he looked. He couldn’t be older than twenty and his voice held such authority that I couldn’t help but move out of the coach with Garin following close behind. I looked up at Finnr again to find him staring at me. It felt like he was trying to size me up. I didn’t blame him. I got away before and I didn’t look like I had many fights in me.

After another second, Finnr turned and walked us to the campsite. The site was just past the tree line off the road we traveled. There were two tents set up towards the back of the opening. The larger of the tents looked like it could fit eight people inside while the smaller looked like it could fit four. A soldier was working on setting up a fire in the middle, while another one opened up crates holding bread and cheese. He then emptied the food into cloth bags and placed the empty crates around the fire. Finnr pointed to the smaller tent and informed me that Garin and I would be sleeping there with him tonight. Watching the men go back and forth from the other tent told me it was where they were sleeping tonight.

He moved us in front of the fire and told us to sit on two of the crates. He grabbed one of the bags holding food and reached inside. My stomach growled at the sight of the food followed by a hunger pang. Finnr’s eyes snapped to mine but I could not keep eye contact. He ripped a piece of bread off the loaf in the bag and handed it to me. I quietly thanked him but kept my eyes down. I lifted the bread to my nose, took a sniff, and triggered another grumble when I smelled the yeasty goodness of well-baked bread.

 I started eating slowly, being careful not to overload my stomach after being empty for so long. Finnr handed piece to Garin who caught and devoured it. He grabbed another piece from Finnr before taking a sip of the bottle in the snow next to the crate I hadn’t noticed. Finnr moved around us to the crate to my right, placed the food bag next to him, and sat. He reached back into the bag and pulled out wheel of cheese. As Garin ate, he became livelier and bolder. 

“What do you want with my sister?”

Finnr signed and I nearly dropped my bread as I whipped my head towards Garin with a feeling of shock. Finnr turned to the bag of food and grabbed a small wheel of cheese. He pulled a knife from his hip and cut a generous chunk.

“What?” Garin asked, looking at me, “He’s feeding us, and we aren't chained. I don’t think we are prisoners.”

I turned to Finnr to find that he had a slight smile on his face. 

“You are quite observant, Garin. Your sister is someone I was told to find and bring to the capitol. She isn’t in trouble, but she has been summoned for an audience.”

“What is your job at the castle? Are you a soldier?” Garin asked.

“I am the personal knight to the prince, but I serve the royal family as a whole.”

I turned my head to Finnr for that. He handed me another piece of bread and I asked “how did you manage something like that so young? You can’t be much older than me.”

“I am nine-teen, and I was selected at a young age to go through a special training to earn the title I have.” Finnr said holding my gaze. Great, good-looking, and an overachiever. I turned my eyes back down to the food in my hand suddenly feeling warmth spread across my cheeks.

Garin grew more curious with the information though because he started asking about Finnr’s life story “When were you selected? Are you trained in every weapon, am I to...” Finnr waved his hand to stop him. 

“You ask too many questions for a full day of travel. Finish eating.” Garin’s demeanor deflated a little as dinner ended.

When Finnr saw we were done, he waved one of his men over to escort us to our tent even though it was steps away. Inside was filled with three sleeping mats and thick blankets. I at once rearranged the mats so me and Garin were sleeping against the back of the tent as far from Finnr as possible. Just because he confirmed we weren't prisoners didn't mean we were free to leave. I couldn't trust him. Garin and I laid down as Finnr spoke with the soldiers outside.

I watched him enter the tent from the light of the fire outside. Garin had taken the farther mat and was already snuggling into the warm-looking blankets. Leave it to a child to be at total peace in our situation after one meal. I, however, stayed standing, feeling almost like a caged animal. Finnr stood at the entrance taking me in. I felt his eyes take in the cloak I wore to my boots. I tried to stand still and be unaffected but when green eyes made their way back to mine, a knowing smirk formed on his face.

 That reaction was enough to snap me out of it. I rolled my eyes at him and removed my cloak. He did the same as I laid on the mat and pulled the blankets over me. I turned my back to Finnr and prayed for sleep. After several minutes of lying in the dark tent and listening to him prepare for bed, exhaustion finally caught up with me and pulled me under.