17 Fatigue (2)

Feather, as an employed guard, also had to ride a horse which Lance kindly provided her with. The bad part was, she had never learned to ride a horse. She may have ridden one once or twice with her cousin, but that was all.

She had never before noticed horses were so rocky. The horse was wobbling with every step. Feather was threatened to fall all the time if she didn't concentrate. Luckily, Feather was agile so she could deal with it.

She glanced enviously at Lance. The way Lance was riding his horse made it seem overly easy. He wasn't swaying even a bit, going from head to tail of the caravan and back, checking if anything was amiss before they got too far from the city.

When Lance saw the way Feather was riding the horse, he felt confused. He thought Bright was a member of an aristocratic family, how come he didn't know how to ride a horse? Was there any family that wouldn't teach its offsprings such a basic skill?

Lance directed his horse to Bright's side.

"Is it your first time riding a horse?" he asked. He didn't wait for an answer as it was pretty obviously the case. Thus, he continued: "Don't grab reins too tightly. I thought that you could ride, so the horse is not particularly meek. If you pull too hard, it's going to throw you."

Feather tried to relax and let the reins loose, the horse under her immediately felt it and cheerfully picked up the pace. Feather nearly fell down at the moment. Lance started thinking whether it was a good idea taking this boy with him. It wasn't too far from the town yet, maybe he should send him back while it wasn't too late. But the next moment Lance changed his mind, the boy before him was obviously a genius. Despite riding for the first time, Bright was adapting as he went and didn't sway as much in just several moments. Lance gave several more pointers to him, and in a blink Bright was going back and forth, his horse running full throttle.

By the time the caravan stopped for the night, Bright was able to ride so well that no one would suspect it was his first time.

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The caravan went for a day without suspense. Nothing happened, and in the evening everyone stopped for the night as planned.

The stop was made at the big flat boulder by the side of the road. Only places such as this could be considered relatively safe. There were no holes over the surface of solid rocks.

The caravaners swiftly set tents, so no one had to sleep under the sky. The days might have become warm already, but the nights were cold even in summer, especially, after the evening dew fell and the air became humid. Even the most stoic person would shiver at the time and try to move closer to the fire.

The fire was set in the middle of the camp shielded by the flanks of the draft horses. The horses were laying around the campsite forming a wall protecting everyone from wind and possible intruders. They also warded the camp from wild beasts, as draft horses were too big and no predators hunted them unless it was a famine year.

While the tents were being set, part of the people went to make a meal for everyone. By the time the tents were set the meal was almost ready. Everyone gathered by the fire and were happily chatting. The caravaners were telling stories of their past adventures. The atmosphere was tranquil.

While the camp was being set, Feather volunteered to help with tents. After that, she drifted away from everyone and sat by the side of her horse away from the fire. The day was long, and she didn't sleep much last night, so Feather slowly started drifting to sleep. That was when she was suddenly startled into wakefulness. A girl appeared by her side she didn't notice when. Feather was frightened at the thought that someone could walk up to her without her being aware. Just last night she nearly died. If she was so easy to close in, wasn't that dangerous?

"I'm sorry, did I wake you?" the girl blushed as she said. "I brought your portion of food." she gave Feather a chunk of meat and a bottle of water.

"I noticed you didn't come to the fire. My name's Aster." the girl sat down by Feather's side.

"I'm Bright."

"I know, uncle Lance told me."

The girl was around fifteen, so they were of the same age with Feather. Feather remembered that she saw Aster in the morning when everyone gathered together with a boy of around ten.

"That's Rock, my brother. Our village often needs all those things that are only available in towns, so someone has to go. Others can do more at home, so we go."

"Isn't that dangerous?" Feather wondered.

"We are traveling with caravans along the road. The caravans are well guarded, so it's easier for us. We just have to pay caravaners a bit for protection."

Aster was an avid speaker, so Feather who wasn't much of a talker herself didn't have troubles conversing.

Feather wasn't particularly hungry, but while listening to Aster talking, she ate the food anyway. It was good to have a warm piece of meat in the cold evening weather.

They chatted for a while about some nothings before it was time to go to sleep.

And yet, Feather couldn't fall asleep. She was jumping at every noise, be it someone snoring in his sleep, huffing of horses, or the guards walking around.

She was feeling shadows of assassins in every movement of light around her.

Despite her being tired, or maybe thanks to it, she was feeling extremely clearly every little sound, every tiny movement of air, every speck of light, every smell. Everything was so vivid and vibrant. She would've never thought that a silent night could produce such a cacophony of sensations.

She was so overwhelmed by the world around her, that she didn't notice how the morning came.

The last shift of guards was tasked with making breakfast, so by the time the caravan was to wake up the food was ready. The time spent on getting up and preparing to move on was minimized.

:::::

The movements of the horses were monotonous so, by the time it was noon, Feather started to nod off.

Lance, who noticed it, was slightly displeased. The boy he thought to be a hidden gem turned out a bit of a let down. Other than somewhat good strength and better than average fighting skill, the boy had neither skills necessary for survival, nor stamina.

It wasn't as if Lance was thoroughly disappointed by Bright. Just, Lance having great expectations and Bright not meeting them. Still, the boy was honest and hardworking even if a bit asocial so, perhaps, it could be fixed.

Being asocial was nothing new between mercenaries, so this wasn't even an issue. The lack of skills would improve with time. And the lack of stamina…

'That's where we can start,' thought Lance to himself.

He called Bright and made him dismount.

After Lance's explanation, Feather had to admit that she was indeed severely lacking in stamina, she just had never paid attention to it before.

That was true even if she wasn't sleepy right now. She had rarely gone outside her house and most of her time had been spent in a library.

The exercises she had done were enough to boost her overall fitness and strength but not stamina.

Feeling that it was a great opportunity to improve, Feather run along the caravan without a second thought.

Lance observed the boy and was pleased with his attitude. Being able to recognize one's shortcomings and willing to work hard to fix them was a good trait for a man.

The caravan was moving just fast enough for Feather to jog along.

No one noticed anything wrong until she fell.

Even she herself didn't notice. Her mind went blank long before her body registered it and finally collapsed.