Camping Out

Lysa and Aaron struggle with setting up camp.

19.

Camping Out

 

It took them nearly half of an hour, but finally they had an acceptable campfire going.    Aaron was very pleased that the smoke from the fire mostly flowed out of the cave.   He put several large pieces of wood on and then went to see how Lysa was coming along with making bedding for them.

The girl was not having as much success as he was, and she stood with her hands on her hips, still shivering from the cold,  frowning at a couple of piles of old leaves that she had placed on the stone floor of the cave.

“Hopeless,” She said to him, “There is absolutely nothing in this cave that is soft or warm.    No wonder there are no bears here; it is too sparse for them.   It’s going to be a miserable night, trying to sleep in itchy leaves while wearing wet clothes.”

“We’ll just have to make it work, I guess.”   

“Lord?   I just want to apologize for all of this.    We had this marvelous rescue plan all worked out.   It was being planned even before I awoke in my new skin.    I fear that I messed up the whole thing.   If Saret-Buyue-Serdi hadn’t thought that I was his daughter-in-law, the plan would have worked and we’d be back in Westmark with everyone else.”

Lysa’s shoulders slumped and though she tried not to, she began to softly cry, the weariness and frustration overwhelming her.

She jumped when she felt Aaron’s arms around her.

“You’re as cold as ice!”   The Half-Elf exclaimed, “You poor dear!   We need to dry off your clothes.”

He led her over to the fire and had her sit down.   

“Now you just keep staring at the fire for a moment, alright?”

“Stare at the fire?   Why?”

“No questions, just do as I ask.”

“Yes, sir.”

A few moments later, she felt the warmth of cloth wrapped around her body.

“What’s this?   Where did you-“   Then she realized that he had taken off his prisoner’s robe and wrapped her in it.

“My Lord, no!   That will leave you naked!”   She protested, and started to turn to speak to him, but Aaron shyly darted behind her.

“Yes, I’m naked; you don’t need to verify that.”

Lysa blushed and quickly turned back to the fire, “Sorry, Lord.  I’ve warmed up now, so-“

“I’m not buying that, Lysa.   Keep wearing it for a while, alright?   I’ve lived in Synomenia my whole life; I’m used to cold weather, so a few minutes in the buff doesn’t bother me.”

“Well it bothers me!    I’m supposed to be taking care of you, sir!  Yesh preserve me, I’m such a failure!”   She sank her head down into her hands.

For a second time she jumped as she felt Aaron’s touch.   He knelt directly behind her to conceal his nakedness, but his hands gently massaged her neck.

“Lord, don’t-“

“Shh!”  He replied, “I’m just paying you back for your kindness.”

“I don’t deserve such treatment, Lord.”

“You deserve much more than this.”

“But, look at all that has happened, sir!   I’ve failed you-“

“Failed me?!”   Aaron laughed incredulously, “Lysa, you have NEVER failed me!   I’ve never known a better servant than you.    You’ve been absolutely incredible.   To risk your life, days after recovering from your own infirmity, to rescue me, is unbelievably loyal.   I don’t deserve a squire like you, Lysa.”

She began to turn around to respond, but he warned her with a quick sound to keep her gaze straight-ahead.

“Sorry, Lord.”   She said with a blush, “But you are much too kind with what you said.    It is my responsibility as a squire to do these things, Lord.    That’s the reason; I’m just trying my best to be a good squire.”

“And there are no other reasons?”   He asked as he continued to massage her neck muscles.   His touch was sending excited chills down her body.

“Other reasons?”   She asked in alarm, her heart racing.

“Yes.   You know what I mean.”

“Lord, I-I don’t… I mean…” Lysa stammered, helpless in horror at being discovered.   

“It’s alright, Lysa, there is nothing wrong considering me a friend.”

“A friend?”   She breathed again, relief flooding over her.

“Well, I hope you think of me as that.    I certainly consider you my friend.    In fact, I’d say you were my best friend… I hope that doesn’t make you uncomfortable.    Gamel and Aedric are close and dear friends of mine, but I think you’d rank above them.   Don’t tell them though.”

Lysa found her heart about to pound out of her chest and her face felt flush, “Lord, I am truly honored.    I’ve always thought of you as a friend too, but I didn’t know if that was allowed or was proper.”

“Lysa, Paladins can have friends, you know.”

“Yes sir, I know that of course, but I didn’t want to compromise our relationship as Lord and squire.”

Aaron laughed, “Well it already has been compromised, I’d say.    We’re sitting here in a cave, you are dressed in a very alluring and skimpy costume soaked with cold water and I’m standing here naked behind you.”

Lysa could not help but laugh and Aaron joined her.

“Lysa, you don’t know how wonderful it is to laugh and interact with a person.   Especially you.    When I left with the Hutcaiah, you were still unconscious.   I was quite worried.”

Lysa reached behind her and took his hand, “Lord, you were there most of the time that I was unconscious, weren’t you?”

“Well, yes, but so was Bruce and Zeatt when she could get away from her duties, not to mention Lady Deborah, when she arrived from Flux.”

“Yes, but you were there more, weren’t you?”    She squeezed his hand.

“Ah… well, I was concerned… that is what friends do, you know.  Besides, a squire as fine as you is quite hard to find, so obviously I didn’t want to lose you.”   Aaron shifted nervously.

“I…I knew you were there… somehow.    I know it sounds crazy, but I just knew you were there.”   

“You scared us, Lysa.    We weren’t sure what was happening to you.    We thought you might die.    I was a nervous wreck.  It was almost like a preview of what I was going to experience with the Hutcaiah.     I’m so thankful that you are whole again, but I must confess, it is really strange to see you in the skin of an Elf.”

“It feels strange to me too, Lord.   It is like a crazy Faerie tale that you’d tell to a child.   Or maybe like a caterpillar and a butterfly.”

“Well, I’d agree with the butterfly part, but you weren’t exactly a caterpillar before your change.”

“You are too kind, sir.  I felt like one, though.  But at least Bruce has accepted my metamorphosis.”

“Good, I worried about that too.    That was smart thinking, giving him the Autocaster.”

“I just hope it worked.”  

“Don’t worry, I’m sure that it did.”

“Lord, what are we going to do?    How will they ever find us in this forest?    It would take several days by the quickest airship to get here if they flew as fast as possible.”

“We’ll just do whatever we need to do to survive, Lysa.    That will probably mean finding food, clothing and weapons.     But not tonight.    I think I see lightning - the rain will begin soon.   Perhaps we should try to get some sleep.”

Lysa stood up and slipped out of his robe, careful not to glance behind her until Aaron had donned it.

“Thanks for warming me up and rubbing my neck and shoulders, Lord.   You give excellent massages.”    Again she blushed.

“Anytime.”  He responded, seeming to be as embarrassed as she was.

Aaron put another log onto their campfire and for a moment they peered out of the entrance of the cave.     With a loud crash of thunder, the heavens opened up and a furious rain began to fall.

“Thank Yesh we built the fire inside the cave.”  Lysa commented as they made their way back to the piles of leaves that would serve as their bedding.   She was still shivering from the cold, for her clothing had not dried out yet.

 

“I pray that the wind doesn’t pick up and blow it out.  You know, Lysa, I’ve been thinking about those leaves - I’ll bet they are full of fleas and chiggers.  We’ll be bitten over and over and itch and scratch for the rest of the night.”

“Yeah, I think you are right, but that was all I could come up with, Lord.”

“You did your best.  I’d suggest that we just try the floor.  There is a spot closer to the fire that is mostly silt from times when the stream flooded, so it should be fairly soft.”

“I hope the rain doesn’t cause a flood tonight.”

“Me too.”   Aaron led her over to the point where a soft layer of mud had settled over the rock floor.   They both just laid down on the soil, completely uncomfortable.  

For a while they tried their best to sleep.   But the soil was cold and damp and despite the fire, both were shivering from the rain-cooled air.

“What I’d give for a blanket and to get out of these wet clothes.”   Lysa finally mumbled.

“I have an idea, but I hesitate to share it.”   Aaron said, rolling over to glance at her.

“Right now, I’m open to anything.”   The girl replied.

“I don’t want you to get the wrong impression, Lysa, but a lot of animals curl up close together and let their shared body heat keep the other one warm.”

“I’ve heard of that.   I had an uncle who was captured in a battle with one of the Hobgoblin tribes.    Two other Orcs were captured with him and the three of them were stripped of their clothes and put into one of the Hobgoblin slave pits.    He told us that the three of them survived a winter by clinging onto each other at night.    It was embarrassing, because they were all naked, but he said that it was actually warmer close to each other that way.   All three of them survived.” 

“-And are still very close.”  Aaron kidded.  “Sorry, Lysa, I was only jesting.    We don’t have any blankets, and your skimpy outfit is soaking wet, so it’s not warming you up at all.    My robe could be used as a blanket for both of us, but we’ll have to be laying very close to each other for that to work and I’ll be naked.”

“Yesh preserve me.”   Lysa groaned, “Of all the awkward situations to get into.”

“Well, you are probably right.”   Aaron said, feeling suddenly really stupid for suggesting it and wishing he could jump backwards in time and never say it.   

But to his surprise, Lysa rolled close to him.

“Lord, I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to criticize your idea.   I trust you.    Let’s try it.”

“Are you sure?   I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.    I just don’t have any other ideas.     Maybe we could take turns sleeping - you could use the robe as a blanket, or roll it up as a pillow, and I could sit by the fire for a few hours, then-“

“Sir, it’s late and I’m freezing to death.    Just take your robe off and we’ll try your idea.”

“Well, okay…”   Aaron sat up and hesitantly removed the woolen prisoner’s robe.    Unbuttoned and spread out, it was as wide as a cloak.  

“You know, Lysa, maybe I’ll just let you use it and I’ll-“

“Aaron, for Heaven’s sake, will you just roll over here close to me and throw that robe over us!”

He was surprised to hear her not use a formal title with him, so he moved closer to her, feeling less thrilled about his idea by the moment.   

Lysa pulled him closer until they were touching and she wrapped her arms around him.   He positioned the blanket over them and she entwined her legs with his.    For his part, he slid his arm under her head and she understood his reason for this, and immediately rested her head on his arm.

“What about your head?   You need something to rest your head on.”

“I’m alright, let’s just go to sleep.”

But the girl went up on one elbow, reached under their robe blanket and spent a few moments doing something.   She pulled out a bundle of cloth, “Here; lay your head on this, okay?”

“What is that?”  He asked as she placed the bundle under his head.  It felt wet, but was soft.   

“Never mind that, just lay on it.”  She said somewhat crossly.

“But where did you get that?”

Lysa sighed in frustration, “It’s the top part of my stupid goddess outfit, alright?    I can’t let you sleep with your neck all stretched out.    Please don’t make a big deal out of it, okay?   I’m already about to die from embarrassment.”

“Okay… sorry… thanks.”  He replied and she just nodded, repositioning herself.  

There was a quiet tension for a few moments, until a loud boom of thunder made them both jump and she pulled him closer to her.

Aaron could feel the heat from her body warming him up and he desperately forced himself not to dwell on the feel of her skin or the proximity of her beautiful face to his.    But when he dared to open his eyes, he found her wonderful blue eyes, only a few inches away, staring at him.

“Lord?   I’m sorry I was cross at you.   This is rather embarrassing.”

“Yes it is, but there is no need to apologize, Lysa.    We have to do desperate things sometimes to survive.    Are you warming up?”

“Oh yes… how about you, sir?”

“It seems to be working quite well.”

“Sorry that your ‘pillow’ is still wet.   It didn’t dry long by the fire.”   She sighed, “Please don’t mention this to my brother, sir.    I don’t know if he’d understand.”

“Trust me; I won’t say a word to anyone.   I wouldn’t embarrass you.”

“Thank you, Lord.   Let me know if your arm gets tired and I’ll move my head.”

“Okay.    Goodnight, Lysa.”

“Goodnight, Lord.   Sleep well.”

But though they closed their eyes and were silent, it would be nearly dawn before either one fell asleep.

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[Elina]

"...that was all I could come with, Lord." I think you may want to change this to "...come up with..."