A Wolf on the Mountain (II)

A moon shyly hidden behind the clouds made the night dark and silent leaving those still awake to adjust their sight.

"Oh, I just remembered, Lady Cecily said she'd be waiting for us to return in victory," commented Altair with a smile as he chewed on a bit of grass.

They were part of the guard assigned to night watch duties.

"And this had what to do with me?"

"Boss is certainly taking his time. We need a young Madam Ulfric who'll take of him," insisted Lark with a mischievous smile.

"Maybe, he'll take it easy on us as well," he continued.

Altair smiled at the comment as well, trying to imagine the stoic young master being gentle with a delicate young noble lady. The image didn't seem quite right.

It wasn't even that he lacked the looks but the grim expression on his face and cold air seemed to scare potential candidates away before even talking to him.

"Twenty-one, a handsome well-travelled young master with a military title and a noble family, I say we find a matchmaker as soon as we get back," added Altair and Lark laughed as well while the other only shook his head.

"Why does it sound like I'm being sold at an auction?" asked the captain.

Now that they had to return home, he would have to deal with such comments more often seeing as his stepmother was trying to pull him in one direction while he was pulling in another.

His age was considered the peak age where most noblemen were married or had a prospect, but he preferred the strange peace that came with his work.

"Besides, what military title? Most nobles would only laugh behind my partner's back."

He knew well that even though he carried the Ulfric surname that wouldn't help his low-ranking military title. Not being the eldest son or highly favoured also meant he wouldn't inherit a higher noble title either. Him getting involved with another noble would only make his partner gossip fodder.

Maybe a gentry or commoner marriage would work better but that might make his partner a target for the craftier family members and the standoffish noble circle. There was too much politics even with getting married, so he preferred staying away from such troublesome things.

"Anyway, you two are also twenty-one in a year, I'll find you matches not to worry," he insisted without a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

Just as the other two were about to comment, they saw a shadow move through the trees.

The three of them were on high alert, each with a hand at the sword on their side until there came a lone wolf-like howl deep in the night.

An arrow suddenly hurtled past them, embedding itself in the nearest tree.

Lark jogged over to the tree to retrieve the dark arrow and the small piece of paper which he handed over to the captain.

It was read and then passed on to Altair who threw it into the hot coals that served as their heater and source of light.

"It was just General confirming he received our reports. We're still going to the capital as planned."

The other two nodded a bit more serious than before.

When one really thought about it, how was it that the imperial commander had personally summoned them to the capital not even a day after the battle ended?

They only heard from the king three days later even though Jaroya, the imperial capital was much further.

Military information was a valuable commodity, and it wouldn't be given to just anyone especially not with such speed.

Either they had people in their ranks who were reporting to the capital or there had been people watching them all along.

Either way, it just showed that the commander and the resources of the imperial capital were not something to be taken lightly.

Now they had been summoned and expected to walk into the mouth of the tiger.

Why them rather than the bigger royal army? There was enough tension between Duke Ulfric, the local nobles in Louvaros and then the royal officials in the king's court.

Casually bypassing the king and getting to the emperor would certainly give all of them something to talk about.

The young Ulfric was not looking forward to the political intrigue this would bring but it was interesting.

The captain smirked as he thought about it but the other two simply found it just a bit scary to see him suddenly changing his expression.

The sun was high in sky by the time they marched into Yuva; hundreds of soldiers exhausted after weeks of battle and travel.

They were welcomed with warm baths and the night held the promise of specially prepared food and drinks to celebrate the victory.

Before all the good stuff though, it was all about treating the injured, honouring those who had lost their lives and for those in higher positions, reporting to the appropriate parties.

Lark casually strode in from a bath, shirtless with a drying cloth on his shoulder when he noticed Captain Ulfric getting dressed in another set of dark clothing that was not uniform.

Every captain and their immediate subordinate shared a room close to the quarters of the company they commanded.

Just one of the small advantages of having a slightly higher rank although they had also started out sharing a room with multiple people.

"Don't tell me you're already leaving without celebrating," Lark commented as he lay on his bed after putting on an undershirt.

Altair readied the robe for the young Master as he already had a tunic on.

"The sooner I go home, the more I'll get a chance to have sorted a few things before we leave," he assured as he fastened up the robe himself.

Altair handed over the belts and straps that secured the sword scabbards.

Apart from the swords, he looked like a nobleman maybe a bit rough around the edges but much proper than they had looked in the past few weeks.

That said, he was still imposing to anyone who did not know him and even for some who did.

"We'll see each other later then, Boss," said Lark while turning his back to sleep.

While others might have considered it disrespectful that Lark could never address him by his title, he just shook his head at the character and both and him Altair said their goodbyes before heading to the stables.

As they readied the horses, a few young wolfdogs came bounding towards them. The horses calmly stayed in place as they were used to the presence of such playful little creatures.

They were type of horses that could attack wild wolves if need be.

The puppies busily circled around them making Altair dizzy.

"Everyone, sit!"

The puppies came to an abrupt stop and cutely tilted their heads.

"Where did these one's escape from now? They probably chewed through something to run around outside."

Captain Ulfric promptly finished preparing his horse and took out an implement from one of the pouches. He put it to his lips, but no sound came from it.

It wasn't long before there came a warning-like howl that caused the puppies to scatter which almost made Altair laugh.

"Hymr, there's a good boy," said the captain as a black wolfdog walked towards him.

The giant beast playfully rubbed itself on him and expectantly stood to be petted on the head.

"Come, let's go home today. Any lady would be impressed at how you've grown."

Altair gave a side eye at the statement.

He was very sure that most ladies and men seeing this beast would promptly beg for their lives.

What was even more horrifying was that Hymr was less than a year old.

There were a few screams and some noisy chatter outside the shop and the manager wondered what was happening.

It didn't take long for him to almost fall on his behind when a wolf confidently strode into the shop.

The customers all sprinted to a corner since the creature stood blocking the entrance.

How could city guards let such a beast terrorize the citizens in broad daylight?

The amber eyed dog looked around before a short whistle made it lay down. This was followed the entrance of two imposing young men with an equally bloody aura.

These were not the type of people who looked as if they came for good business, especially not in a shop that sold candied fruits.

The manager was clearly getting his shop smashed today.

"Where are the attendants here?" asked Altair as he looked around.

The manager could only tremblingly step forward.

The clothing of the men seemed to be of the best quality so he could only hope that they would do business despite their appearances.

"May I help the sirs? I'm the manager of this here humble establishment."

"How do you sell your products here?" asked the young master looking at some of the fruits in the displays.

"S-sell? Oh, sell of course, let me explain," said the man with a hesitant smile while dabbing his face with a silk cloth.

By the time the two left, the manager's back was soaked.

He almost slid to the floor in defeat even though he had made good business.

The bill was paid in cash by the burlier young man so they had no idea which family's son would brazenly walk around the streets with such a creature as if it was a pet.

The duo picked out some desserts and an exotic assortment of dried fruit to go with it.

It was just unfortunate that they had not passed near any big towns on their way back.

That way they could have found a few more things that were not local, but the young master smiled a little as he looked at the parcels he had gathered. His favourite lady would be happy.

A young woman happened to catch the young lord's smile as she stepped out of the carriage, it was an extremely rare sight.

It wasn't even a big smile, but it changed the hard look he usually had.

She wondered what the smile was all about as she readied herself before walking over to him, her servant adjusting her dress and dusting off her cape.

"Lord Sorin," suddenly said a clear pleasant voice.

Altair nudged him and gestured in the direction of the approaching young woman.

As she stepped closer, she saw the animal next to him and hesitated. Sorin gestured with his foot and Hymr obediently lay down.

She curtseyed earnestly in front of him with a slight smile, sincerely glad to see that he was back.

"Miss Cecily, Giselle," answered Sorin with a slight bow and Altair following suit.

"You're already back, it's good news then."

"We just returned my Lady and yes our kingdom is still intact."

"So is Lord Sorin's life, I'm happy to see that," she said with a genuine bright smile.

Altair almost smiled at the comment but kept a straight face.

They were distracted by the thunderous sound of wheels and a galloping horse.

Hymr let out a guttural bark and before Cecily could react, Sorin had grabbed her wrist, pulling her out of the way of the driverless horse cart.

Unfortunately, she was not steady on her feet, but Altair averted part of the disaster by supporting her before she fell.

A few people surrounded the horse some metres away to get the stubborn creature to calm down.

The market was busy enough and incidents like these were not uncommon.

The two young women were still in shock when one of the men came to them to bow and apologise about the incident and Sorin sent him away with a slight warning, but it was all a bit of a blur to Cecily.