5 A First Night With Someone (1/2)

Hector was riding Selena's horse.

He was clinging to the dark elf's hips in the hope that he would not fall because of his lack of strength; the rider sitting just in front of him was holding the horse's reins firmly.

The dark elf was disturbed by the young man's hands. She was used to only minimal physical contact, such as handshakes and now someone was doing to her a kind of massage of her hips. From time to time she turned her face towards Hector, hoping that he would understand what she wanted, but it was a waste of time.

Hector was half out stunned since he was tackled on the ground. And the elf knew very well that it was her fault; moreover, she was in great danger. If the Weiler family ever learned that she had almost killed one of their sons who were already dying, she would certainly be dismissed from the army and most likely enslaved like the other members of her race.

She had to be as lenient and considerate as possible towards Hector, or rather from her point of view, towards Krein, who had the sad reputation of being a resentful and sharp boy.

\”Hum...\” Selena began by trying to find her words. \”Young master...? Do you feel a little better? I solemnly apologize for my actions.\”

\”Uuuh… Young what ?\” began Hector while his vocal cords were still having trouble functioning.

[You heard her right. Don't forget that you're supposed to be a nobleman.] Balam whispered.

\”Yes, I'm better, don't worry more.\” adds Hector, trying to be as natural as possible. \”I also thank you for sewing my throat and changing the bandages, I don't think anyone other than you have had the guts to do such a gross thing.\”

\”Y-you're welcome… If your pains ever come back, I can prepare a new mixture of plants to soothe them down.\” she said with a tense smile.

\”It's all right, I've already delayed you long enough…\” replied Hector, who seemed to have more and more ease to talk. \”Selena, right?\”

\”Yes, young master.\”

\”No.\”

\”What is it ?\”

\”Hum... please, don't call me like that… just call me Hect-\” he stopped immediately what he was going to say and changed his mind. \”I know that what I do with my hands makes you uncomfortable. I apologize, but if I don't do this, I think, weak as I am for the moment, I risk falling off the horse.\”

\”It doesn't matter.\” she concludes by lying to herself.

Selena tried to do her best to stop thinking and focused on the road to get to go to the military camp that was cutting the road to the capital in two pieces.

The evening before, when the first survivors from the village of Vaine arrived, the Lyre squadron was fortunately present in the same camp after a day of investigation into the actions of one of the 8 great families. They were the first to learn that an attack had taken place on the Weiler family's town. The squadron tried to extract information from the survivors, but none of them seemed to know whether it was an attack by Jericho or an attack by one of the great families.

For her first mission as an army soldier and part of the elite, Selena was very anxious, but when she arrived on the scene, she could only see the result left by the edge of the sword. She knew very well that it would now become part of her daily life, but as a dark elf, she had to prove that she was ready to sacrifice everything, even her feelings; and it was by wanting to do things right, hoping to give a good first impression that she rushed towards Hector.

Selena remembered her mistake again and hid her face with one of her hands, in shame.

\”I don't blame you. Wanted to do the right thing isn't a punishable act, even if you were wrong in your judgment. And then, for a new recruit, it's normal to make mistakes… but I have to admit, our first meeting hurt me enough.\” he tried to reassure her by using the information he had learned from Balam.

Selena simply nodded and made sure that no one saw her face. It is after several minutes that the elf finally calms down before giving a canteen filled with water to the young man. By swallowing a few sips of water, he could taste and smell the blood still present in his esophagus slowly disappears. He was finally able to breathe healthy air again and not pollute by the pungent smell of hemoglobin; he thanked the elf with a pat on the shoulder. She gave him a smile before drinking in turn.

It was after three hours of a long journey that the squadron arrived at the military camp, it was a larger complex than expected. It looked more like a hamlet than an army facility. There was no tent, but small straw houses were divided into blocks to differentiate groups if several squadrons were present on the scene.

After lighting a fire as dusk invaded the sky, allowing its wonderful stars to reappear, the squadron captain stood up and spoke to her thirty soldiers.

\”We are only staying here for a night, the village inspection took us too long for just a little few results. After what happened, continuing the night drive is too risky. In addition, we need to bring the wounded back to the capital, but preferably alive, I was told it was better. So we take a break here to treat and feed everyone… and we have this kid.\” she said, pointing to Hector, as everyone turned towards him. \”He's a priority wounded man. If he dies, I'm still the one who's going to get yelled at, so please avoid me this pain, I'm already having enough trouble getting sleep.\”

\”Captain, I know his father and mother, he may be more comfortable by my side, would you like me to take care of Krein?\” Gregory asked as he walked towards his superior.

\”Huh? Uh…\” she continued as she began to fall asleep standing up. \”N-no… no… Selena will take care of him, after all, she is the one who… believed that Krein was a piece of meat, so we can give her the privilege of looking after this rich kid just for tonight-\” she explained as her body crashed to the ground like a rag doll.

\”The captain collapsed!\” exclaimed one of the riders.

\”My god... this woman...\” Gregory whispered as he scratched his head. \”Carry her to one of the houses, she needs sleep, she probably hasn't slept for several days.\” he ordered; the man seemed to be the second-highest-ranking member of the group and after having opened his military clothes a little bit, he turned to Selena. \”Take him to one of the huts, I allow you to use your magic to heal him.\”