At first they rode through burned suburbs of the city. It was a depressing sight. The marauding army had destroyed anything on their path; houses, churches, mills. They had even burnt the fields. Grain would have to be imported if the inhabitants of the region were to survive…

After a few hours of riding they reached a hilly, rocky region with small, bent trees and only a few small farms. It was good to be away from the smell of smoke and the sights of siege. It began to rain. It was a heavy, strong rain and quite soon they were both soaked to the bone. Water streamed down the horses’ gleaming coats and soaked into their manes.

Rain was unusual for this time of the year and Rhode was starting to feel chilly. She stretched and bent her fingers and rubbed her hands, trying to warm them. Noticing this, Chlodvig muttered: “Hold your thumbs. Like this.”

He held out his own ham-sized fist, with the thumb tucked under the rest of his fingers so that she could see what he meant. Rhode tried it. To her surprise, it actually helped a bit.

Despite the fact that no one seemed to be following, Chlodvig kept looking around and tilting his head to listen to the silence. When they reached a stream, he had the horses and dogs walk up it instead of on land, in order not to leave tracks. Rhode wondered about this cautiousness. Why would anyone make the effort to chase them? Of course, they had been a target while traveling through the city. In the city anyone was a target…But would anyone really follow them here? Surely neither she, nor the books, were important enough for someone to make chase outside the city. She puzzled about this for some time. Finally though, the exhaustion and strain of the last few days caught up with her. She closed her eyes and drifted off into a light sleep.

*

“Wake up. This is as far as we are going today.”

Chlodvig’s flat voice woke her up. Rhode opened her eyes slowly. She was still on horseback, her head resting against the mercenary’s back. Quickly, she straightened up. She was stiff, her back hurt, and her clothes were completely wet. It was still raining and the sky was so dark that it was hard to tell how late – or early – it was.

“Where are we?” Rhode asked, stifling a yawn and rubbing her bleary eyes. She was shivering because of the cold.

“Chalkidiki.”

The mercenary slid off the horse’s back. He helped Rhode down without a spare word. She looked around. They were in a low forest, at the foot of a rocky ridge. The sky was gray, the way it usually is just before sunrise. The air was so fresh it made her head spin. The smell of rain and wet earth mixed with the fragrance of trees and herbs, of mountain and stream. Rhode couldn’t even remember when she had last left the city. Her uncle sometimes took her cousins out riding. But Rhode never went along. For one thing, she couldn’t ride. For another, she didn’t like the outdoors much. Now, looking at all this greenery, breathing in the fresh air, and hearing the soft song of the little stream, she had to admit to herself that the outdoors did have some appeal. Though she would much prefer it if it wasn’t raining.

While Rhode was looking around, taking in the view and smell of the forest at night, Chlodvig unloaded the bag of books, as well as the saddle bags which the pack-horse had carried. He slung all of them over his shoulder. He then took off the horses’ bridles and saddles. With one hand he clapped the hindquarters of one of the horses and they all galloped off into the forest, accompanied by the white shepherd dog. Rhode stared, surprised.

“They will come back?”

“Yes. They can graze for now. Besides, we’re going up there,” he gestured up at the cliff, “the horses wouldn’t like that.”

“Why up there?” asked Rhode curiously, following him and trying not to slip on the wet earth. The hem of her dress was already completely muddy and her feet were soaked. She hated the feeling, but kept herself from complaining about it. She was good at keeping things to herself.

“We need somewhere to spend the day. I can’t be out in the daylight. There is a cave there. It will be safer and it’s protected from the rain,” said the mercenary calmly. Rhode looked at him thoughtfully. That offhand line about daylight caught her interest. As did the fact that the mercenary knew there was a cave up on the cliff.

“Have you been here before? How do you know about the cave?”

Chlodvig rubbed the back of his neck.

“I haven’t. But I can see it from here. See, it’s there…” he pointed at around halfway up the face of the cliff. Rhode looked in the direction where he was pointing, squinting. At first she didn’t see anything. Then slowly, she noticed a dark patch. Perhaps, with good will, this could be interpreted as the entrance to a cave. She shrugged and followed the mercenary.

*

They were walking along a narrow ledge which ran up the cliff. It was so narrow they had do go single file. The dogs went first, wagging their tails enthusiastically. First the wolf-dog, then the mastiff. Chlodvig attached the saddlebags to the mastiff’s broad back. The dog seemed not to notice the weight. Rhode followed them, walking slowly and carefully. While she was not afraid of heights, the narrowness of the ledge was certainly not pleasant. Chlodvig went last, carrying the bag of books and the horses’ saddles.

By the time they reached the top of the rock, Rhode felt it was a miracle she hadn’t slipped and plummeted down to her death. She wondered, in a detached way, what the mercenary would have done with the books, if she had. Yet another thing she would have liked to ask him, but decided not to.

Finally, the ledge widened considerably. The mouth of the cave appeared before them. It wasn’t particularly large, but wide enough for them to enter easily. Chlodvig head to bend his shoulders though. He said something to the dogs and they trotted happily inside. As soon as they did, the sound of growling erupted from the cave, and two jackals emerged. They stood one look at the humans and ran off, down the ledge.

Rhode stifled a squeak when she saw the wild animals. She was scared of animals. Even regular dogs. Let alone wild ones. She turned to Chlodvig,

“Won’t they be back? When we’re asleep?”

“Nah. Not till we’re gone,” he replied casually, and entered the cave. Nervously, Rhode followed him, filled with uncertainty. She couldn’t imagine a place she’d like to sleep in less, than a humid cave which had been inhabited by wild animals just moments before. Still, she admitted, it had to be better than staying in the rain.

Inside, it was relatively dry and very, very dark. Rhode noticed that the eyes of the mercenary reflected the light from the outside just as the eyes of the dogs did. They flashed brightly from time to time, depending on how the light fell on them.

Chlodvig set down the saddle bags which the pack-horse had carried and began unpacking them. He pulled out some blankets, a stack of wood, a full wineskin and a package wrapped in canvas. He handed her all the blankets but one.

“You can sleep on that. And there should be food in this. ” He handed her the canvas package. Then he began making a fire. Rhode watched him for a while and then went to do what she had never done before in her life: make her own bed. If you could call putting some blankets on the ground, making the bed.

She picked a spot at the side of the cave, a bit further from the entrance but still relatively close to the fire and set her blankets there. They were dry, thanks to the waxed and oiled saddlebags they had been  carried in. Rhode, on the other hand, was completely soaked. She turned around to ask the mercenary if there were any spare clothes in the saddlebags. When she turned around, she gasped and stared dumbfounded. Chlodvig was in the process of taking off his clothes. His tunic was off and he was just pulling off his trousers, as casually as if here were all alone in the cave. Rhode turned completely red.

“What are you doing?!” she exclaimed, turning her back to him quickly and covering her eyes.

Chlodvig looked up at her, surprised.

“Uh…changing...?” he said, clearly confused by her outburst.

“Well don’t…don’t do it here!” she shouted. She sat down, closed her eyes and hid her face in her hands. 

“Go there!” she waved one panicky hand towards the furthest corner of the cave then quickly hid her face again.

“Oh. Alright.”

Soon Rhode heard him move deeper into the cave. After a few moments he called out to her.

“Don’t you want to change? Your clothes must be wet. There are spare clothes in the saddlebags.”

“Not when you’re here!” she called back. “Stay there! And face the wall! And close your eyes! Please.”

He did as she asked. Rhode got up and opened her eyes. She could see Chlodvig waiting patiently at the end of the cave. He was dressed now, and was standing with his back to her, facing the cave wall. Rhode quickly walked to the saddlebags. She fished out a tunic and trousers. Given their size, they had to be Chlodvig’s. She undressed and put on the tunic first. It reached her mid calves. Then she put on the trousers. They were much, much too large. To keep them from falling off her waist she tied them with a piece of string she found in the saddlebags. Then she pulled up the trouser legs so that finally her feet poked through. She sighed looking down at her outlandish apparel. At least it was dry...When she was done, she called out:

“Alright, you may come back now.”

He did. As he got closer he looked at her questioningly. He still seemed a bit confused. Rhode decided that she had no intention to discuss the issue further. Trying to change the subject, she said:

“I look ridiculous.”

He rubbed the back of his neck.

“Not really,” he said, his voice bland, “they’re just a bit big for you.”

“A bit?” Rhode asked, rising an eyebrow. The sleeves of the tunic, which were supposed to end at the elbow, reached almost to her wrist. Chlodvig shrugged.

“Better than if it would be me tryin’ to put on your clothes,” he answered with a slight smile.

The image of him thus dressed made her laugh. She snorted into her hand.

“True!” she admitted, amused.

Outside it was still raining. Because of the rain they didn’t really notice the coming of dawn. Slowly the sky turned more and more grey. But the light that filtered into the gave through the narrow entrance did not brighten the cave much. It was the crackling fire that was the source of most of the light and warmth. Rhode glanced at the mercenary. He had made his bed a bit deeper in the cave. Further away from her. And from the cave entrance. He was lying on the single blanket, with the two dogs pressed against him.

Chlodvig closed his eyes and muttered, “listen, I’m going to get some sleep now. Don’t go outside while I’m asleep, alright? Inside we’re quite safe. If you also want to sleep, you can. The dogs will wake me up if anyone comes near. And again. Don’t go outside until I’m awake.”

Rhode turned onto her side. She had stayed up almost all night. The last few days were nothing but stress, fear and discomfort. Day or no, she fell asleep and slept for many hours.  

________________

Places

Chalkidiki: A peninsula in what is now northern Greece. It was considered quite wild.