Chapter 25
YUKI flopped back on her bed to calm her swirling thoughts from mulling too much over the meaning behind Pasch’s kiss and eventually fell asleep exhausted from the day’s activities. Selena woke her in the late hours of the night and gathered her things as she drowsily dressed herself. By the time her mind snapped awake, she was standing in the orphanage foyer.
“Thank you very much for everything you have done,” headmaster said, deeply bowing to them. Chiruka bowed at his side.
“Stop it. I merely did my job. If you really want to thank someone, thank this young lady right here,” Vigo insisted, gesturing to Yuki.
“Me? Why?” Yuki asked, thinking her sleepiness was making her hear things.
Chiruka straightened and beamed at her. No trace remained of the pustules or pockmarks. “Thank you so much for tending to the kids for me. I hope you will honor us with your presence anytime you are in the area. You are always welcome here,” she said a little awkwardly, unused to speaking and smiling formally.
“You also helped me to learn a lot of new things during my time here, so I would say we’re even.” Yuki and Chiruka shared a smile.
“All right, shall we get a move on? Thanks for letting us stay,” Vigo said and walked out the door to his horse. Selena lifted Yuki’s bags and her own and followed after him. Yuki bowed once more to the headmaster and Chiruka, and sprinted to catch up to them.
Things feel like they’re suddenly getting busy again. Maybe it’s because I’ve been relaxing these past few days, but I’m worried about what awaits us in the places to come.
Yuki stroked her right middle finger. A long time had passed since a ring last glimmered there—and only for a short while.
“…Wait for me.” She clenched her hand.
✦ ✦ ✦
THE days following their departure from the orphanage were hectic. Unlike when they visited and stayed a week at the orphanage, they now visited several settlements and villages in one day. They would stay in whatever town or village they happened to be in when night fell and left in the early morning.
Wherever they went, people cordially welcomed them. Sometimes they would be immersed in lighthearted conversation until the morning and have to travel to their next destination with heavy eyelids. Such busy days continued until the season changed to the relentless heights of summer.
“We’ll have made rounds to the majority of Rvydom’s settlements by our next destination. Our destination stands on the other side of the border with Adolunde, but word has it mostly citizens of Rvydom reside there. Once we distribute medicine in the outlying area we’ll make our way to Adolunde,” Vigo said from his horse, fatigue showing on his face. Sunburns from long days traveling by horseback had darkened his skin, and his stubble had grown into a full beard.
“There were surprisingly few people infected,” Selena remarked from her horse.
“I agree.”
Those numbers counted as surprisingly few? Yuki couldn’t believe they could summarize their weeks of distributing medicine with such a remark. At every settlement they visited, more than twenty percent of the residents had already died and another fifty percent were infected. More than seventy percent of an average settlement’s population had contracted the Ten Day Fever.
Seventy percent counts as a few people?
“It’s probably due to the decreased amount of travel between settlements. Maruk has forbidden any domestic and local trade, forcing self-sufficiency on the residents of Rvydom. There are no such restrictions on Adolunde. Things won’t go the same way they have been…. Yuki.”
“Hm? What’s wrong?”
Vigo and Selena looked at Yuki riding alongside them.
“Do your very best to avoid exposure and infection.”
“I-I will.”
Vigo slowly guided his horse by the reins. Yuki quickly readjusted her grip on the reins to follow his lead. They had been traveling for weeks since leaving the orphanage. Carrying two humans and their luggage was too much of a burden on a single horse, especially with needing to travel long distances at a steady pace.
Yuki took every free moment she had to practice how to ride a horse to become less of a burden. She overcame Selena who constantly shook her head saying it was going to be too much for her and learned how to control the horse at a passable level. She could ride well-behaved horses alone now.
“Yuki, there are a lot of slopes and inclines here. Are you managing all right?” Selena asked from behind. Once Yuki learned how to ride, it became the established position for her to take the center with Vigo riding in front and Selena behind her.
She strained her voice to be loud enough for Selena to hear without needing to turn around. “Yeah, I’m fine. Vigo is having his horse go at a slow trot I can handle.”
“Is he? Once we get out of here, we’re going to have to up our pace.”
“Okay.”
“Also…” Selena hesitated. Yuki strained her ears thinking it must be something difficult to say when she heard her tense voice, “Once we get out of this mountain pass, we’ll be at the border between Rvydom and Adolunde. People who have fled Adolunde to escape the center of the pandemic and the bandits and rogue soldiers who have come after them all congregate in that area. Listen to me very closely. If we tell you to—no, even if we don’t tell you to—if you think you are in danger, run away immediately. Think only of yourself.”
Despite knowing better, Yuki turned and looked back at Selena. A troubled smile greeted her. “Hey now, no turning around. It’s dangerous if you don’t keep your eyes forward.”
“Ah, right. Sorry.” Yuki faced forward. A stench from Vigo’s white cloak wafted back to her. The lingering smells of sweat and blood wouldn’t come out despite frequent washing. With few changes of clothes and little time to stop and bathe, none of them smelled great.
“Don’t get me wrong. I don’t doubt your skill with the bow. You are an incredibly skilled archer. You are better than any of us,” Selena said in a kind tone. “But we want to keep you out of danger to our utmost limit… Although that may sound hollow considering we’ve dragged you around the most infected regions of Rvydom.”
Yuki smiled sardonically at the inconsistency there.
“But you are a precious child Rifaenotis entrusted us with.”
“I’m not all that special—” Yuki protested.
“Rifaenotis said you are. As such, we are responsible for—and obliged to—protect you. Do you understand?”
“But…should we come across danger…I can’t leave you guys behind…”
“Save the heroics for when you can actually protect yourself first. You can’t protect other people when you can’t even save your own behind.”
Selena was beyond correct. Yuki had nothing left to counter her with. If she didn’t keep a tight grip on her tongue, she would have spewed all sorts of ifs and buts as an excuse. Irritation at wanting to defend her point and being unable to find a reasonable counter caused her to wriggle in her saddle.
I’m not stupid. I know running away is the safest option for me. I’m fully aware of it. I am, but it still mortifies me.
Her fingers tightened around the leather reins. Being with two people close in age to her parents tripled her awareness of how much of a child she really was and how dependent she was on them.
I realize I have no choice but to rely on others in my current position. She was completely reliant on them from a financial standpoint to her transportation, accommodations, and directions. Why are they so nice to me though?
The entire time they had put Yuki’s safety first. A sense of happiness and guilt came with the knowledge.
But what else can I do but rely on them? I need to at least keep from causing them any trouble.
With her mind set, she bit the inside of her cheek and flattened her lips in a tight line.