Free The Lord Son's Travels by Emma Mickley Page A

spring, and she kept
Adrien’s cloak drawn closely around her shoulders.   Brendan ladled out a few pieces of meat from the steaming
cooking pot onto a plate and added to it some dry crusty bread from his
pack.   He offered it to the woman,
who accepted the plate gratefully with a quick smile.   Adrien still remained at the edge of their circle, gazing
out into the rapidly darkening distance.
    Brendan
noted the eagerness with which the stranger wolfed down her food.   "When was your last
meal?"   he asked.
    Elenna
pondered this a moment.   "Last
night, I guess.   Mom made spaghetti
for dinner.   I was late this
morning, so I didn’t stop for breakfast.”   She frowned at the thought.
    “What do
you last remember?” Brendan asked, and the frown deepened.
    “Walking
to school,” she answered absently, as she tried to find a coherent timeline for
several disjointed odd sensations that came to mind.   “It was morning there.   I assume that it was morning here, too, so I must have been unconscious
for a long time.”   Once she
explained the idea of unconsciousness to Brendan, he explained his relief on
her behalf.
    “Tis well
you found us.   This is good land,
but there are still bands of brigands about that would be rather unpleasant
company.”   She fell silent,
finishing her meal and allowing Brendan to start on his.  
    When
Brendan next looked up from his bowl, he followed Elenna’s gaze to their still
silent companion.   He still had not
come to the fire for his meal.
    "Please
excuse my friend," Brendan apologized with a friendly smile.   "He's a bit in his own world
sometimes.   He means you no
disrespect.   Adrien!" he
called.   "You'll end up with
cold meat and it won't be my fault."
    Adrien
shuddered as the voice pieced through the fog of his thoughts.   He was watching the stars as they
ignited one by one in the early night sky.   He turned around to the others.   Brendan regarded him with a patient smile of exasperation,
while the woman appeared mainly curious.   She still had his cloak wrapped around her, hiding her strange unseemly
outfit.   Her hair was thankfully
still tied behind her back.   Here
was a new problem to add on top of all of the old burdens he was already bearing.   Adrien was still trying to decide what
to do with her.   There was the farm
they had passed, but his imagination had created several possible occupants of
the farm that made that solution seem less like a good idea.   As much as he didn’t want nor need the
added problems this stranger could bring, he knew he wouldn’t have peace in his
own mind from guilt until he saw her safety passed into another’s responsible
care.   Damn, he thought grimly.   Women would always be trouble, wouldn't
they?
    He helped
himself silently to the meal and moved some distance away from the others,
dropping down gracefully to a seat next to the still unsheathed sword stuck in
the ground.   The woman stared at
him directly without any apparent embarrassment at her rudeness.   He chose to ignore her impropriety, but
allowed himself a few surreptitious glimpses in return at the stranger.   Her fear of them was gone now, replaced
by this impolitic curiosity.    He expected this to evolve into a barrage of questioning but she
remained mute, keeping whatever ideas she
gained from her observations to herself.   As he rose to his feet to rinse out his empty dish, she made an
involuntary gasp, and he turned to see what had happened.
    Elenna
had glanced around in the darkness, still seeking any sign of familiarity.   The stars were glowing brightly now,
with the moon beginning to peak over the tips of the trees.   She stared straight up and studied the
points of lights above her.   What
she saw there had made her gasp and draw the men’s attention.
    "The
stars are different," she announced in wonder.   She rose up in astonishment, dropping her empty plate to the
side.   Pulling the cloak tightly
around her, she