“Miss him?” the Duke prompted when she did not say more. Karissa turned her attention from the captain back to the Duke, tilting her head at the question.

“Yes, when he and the rest of the guards return to Kyleon,” she said simply. That had always been the plan, she thought. 

“Oh, I… I assumed they would stay, as your personal guard.”

“I did not know that was an option…” she said truthfully. Then she shook her head. “But even if it is, they can’t be spared for long. My mother needs all the loyal men we have at her disposal,” she explained. Karissa could not in good conscience keep the guards for herself… even if that meant she would be left in an unfamiliar land with no one she knew except her lady’s maid.

“Is there still trouble in Kyleon?” the Duke asked, a puzzled look on his face.

“Trouble?” Karissa had to mentally tell herself not to bite her lip, which she usually did when she was worried. It was an awful habit. “No, no trouble. At least nothing that my mother can’t handle.” 

It wasn’t a lie, not exactly. Her mother was the strongest person she knew. Of course she would be able to handle anything that came up. But sending the Kyleon guards back as soon as possible was one of Karissa’s top priorities. Although, with a lot of them being injured, it may take longer than she thought…

Don’t bite your lip, Karissa!

The Duke was still looking at her with a questioning eye, and Karissa quickly forced a small smile. “I’m sure your knights can provide all the protection I will need once the guards return home, Your Grace.”

The Duke nodded slowly, his hand resting lightly on the hilt of his sword. “Yes, indeed they will. I will need to assign a few men to be your personal guards, then, when we reach the keep.” 

“Oh, that’s not what I-” 

“My lady!” Lilian called, approaching the two of them from the direction the captain had gone. “Sorry to interrupt,” Lilian said, giving a deep curtsy to the Duke. 

“No need to apologize,” the Duke said, nodding to Lilian, and then to Karissa. “I ought to get something to eat as well.” With that he turned and walked after the captain quickly.

Karissa frowned after him, wishing he would stop cutting their conversations short. That wasn’t what I meant…

“Lady Karissa, here is some extra bread I thought you would like,” Lilian said, offering her a piece on a handkerchief. Karissa took the food, finally allowing herself to bite her lower lip. “What’s wrong?” Lilian asked, quickly noticing Karissa’s face. 

Karissa sighed. “Well, the Duke thought all of the guards would stay in Hallel, and then I told him they weren’t, so now he’s going to assign some of his knights to be my guards, but that’s not what I meant, I just wanted to assure him that I would feel safe in Hallel even without the guards, not that I wanted to burden him or anyone else with needing to watch over me…”

“So explain that to him,” Lilian suggested. 

“I tried, but then he walked away as soon as you got here,” Karissa explained, exasperated. She took a bite of the rough wheat bread and chewed it sullenly.

“You can talk to him about it later, when we reach the keep,” Lilian said, patting Karissa’s shoulder. The lady’s maid then looked behind her, and tugged on Karissa’s arm. “Come on, it looks like we’re ready to go.”

Karissa looked up and saw that Lilian was correct. The guards and knights took up positions similar to yesterday. The most critically injured were astride horses or carried in litters, with many of the armored knights walking alongside the guards. Just a handful of knights were still mounted, to give them a better advantage should there be another attack.

Karissa hoped that they would reach the keep without seeing any more wyvern.

“We’ll get there by the end of the day, and then you can talk to him all you like,” Lilan said encouragingly. 

“I hope you’re right…”

—

The bedraggled, bloodied group did indeed reach the keep before the end of that day. When the monument first came into view as they summited a large hill, Karissa almost cried with relief. Her throbbing feet and legs were begging to be allowed to rest.

The large fortress looked to be made of large blocks of worn granite. While it was not exactly crumbling, it did look old and as if it had seen its fair share of battles. Karissa thought that the battlements and squat, square towers were such a difference from the castle back home. 

The highest point of the keep was the west tower, which overlooked the valley behind it. It was nowhere near as tall as the highest spire of Kyleon Castle, but the castle had been built as a monument to greed and the desire to be seen as wealthy. This keep had been built for a much more practical purpose.

A wooden lookout tower stood next to the road they were traveling on, about a hundred yards away from the keep. When they were close enough to be seen Karissa heard the low rumbling tune of a horn being blown from the tower. No doubt to alert the keep that the band had been sighted. 

From Karissa’s spot in the middle of the party, she saw the Duke wave over one of his knights that was still atop a horse. The Duke gave some quick instructions, then the knight set his horse galloping ahead of them.

“Just a little further, men!” the Duke shouted, to which most of the men shouted back in acknowledgement or relief. 

“Just a little further, ladies” Karissa repeated quietly to herself and Lilian, looking over at her lady’s maid beside her. Lilian smiled back at her ruefully, sweat beading on her brow.

“Only one lady here, my lady,” Lilian huffed. Karissa had noticed her companion finding it harder and harder to keep up, and she was getting short of breath as well. “Though I wouldn’t mind a nice, hot bath when this is over.”

“You shall have it, Lilian, even if I have to heat the water myself,” Karissa said, putting an arm around her companions’s shoulders and squeezing briefly before letting go again.

“Now that would be a sight to see,” Lilian said, chuckling.

“I know how to heat water!” Karissa said indignantly. “You just put it in the kettle on the stove or over a fire, and wait for it to steam.”

“Yes, but do you know when to take it off so it’s not scalding hot?”

“Oh… no, I do not.”

Lilian chuckled again. “Then I think it best I do it, my lady.”

“Very well. But you will have a bath, I promise you.”

“Thank you, my lady.”