On their way

He woke up in the Fade.

He wasn’t sure if it was a dream, or if he had actually travelled there. Or maybe both, since they say we all travel to the Fade when we dream.

But whatever the reason, he was there. And she was too. And she was the reason he knew he was dreaming.

Lindy.

He was so happy to see her again that somehow he forgot. He forgot she was dead, he forgot he was about to marry another girl in a few days.

She was there. And she was still wearing the flower he gave her.

He got up and smiled to her. “You’re still wearing it!”

Lindy seemed sad. “I will always wear it”

He continued smiling, trying to cheer her up. “But you’re still prettier than it”. He raised his hand to stroke her hair, but she stopped him, and kissed his fingers.

“Goodbye” she whispered, suddenly, and he woke up.

I see him awaken and I kiss his lips.

“Good morning, you lazy head!” I smile. “Did you have sweet dreams?”

It’s only one week to the wedding and I feel exultant. Today we’re leaving to Highever, where Ryan insisted to organize the ceremony, and I couldn’t sleep much so I got up early, packed everything and ordered a tray of breakfast I have brought up to the room to share with Kyle. My Kyle. The man I’m going to share my life with.

He looks at me with a guilty look in his eye and I think it is because he overslept. I can’t blame him… I don’t let him sleep a lot in the nights, do I?. That why I took such a big tray of breakfast for him. I grin and put it on the bed, over his knees.

“Breakfast in bed. A treat for rich, lazy men. Don’t get used to it”.

“Ahhh… good morning”, he mutters, scratching his nape, and he smiles a bit, shy. I guess he’s still half asleep, so I put a fork full of sausage and scrambled eggs in his mouth and kiss his forehead.

“Tsk, tsk. Get your strength back”, I see, feeding him like a bird. That makes him chuckle a bit and he takes the fork from my hand.

“Stop it, woman! I can do it myself”, he laughs, and I laugh too, taking my own fork and sharing the breakfast with him.

Less than an hour after that, we’re heading to the stables with our scarce luggage, and I can’t help but feeling nervous. He glances at me.

“What happens?”

I shake my head. “I don’t like horses. You already know that. I would have preferred to have rented a cart”.

He shrugs. “Ryan sent a horse. It’s a gelding, so he’s very calm. You shouldn’t have a problem riding it”. Then he turns to smile at me. “Besides, I’ll be riding behind you. You shouldn’t be concerned”.

I nod and swallow. The first time we went to Highever we did the same. And it wasn’t that bad, except for the pain in the ass. But even so…

I stop when I see the beast. Yeah, he does look peaceful… but hell… so TALL!!! I freeze.

“I… can’t”…

And as soon as I try to say those words, I feel his hands on my waist and suddenly he lifts me to put me astride the horse. The animal doesn’t even blink, and I stir, uncomfortable, while he ties our bags to the saddle and jumps behind me.

"Hold me tight, right?"

I can feel him smirk. "Yeah, very tight"

I nod and hold the reins hesitantly, while he leads me taking my hands from behind. The horse shakes his head suddenly, and that makes me startle. "Ah! He doesn't like the way I pull!"

He chuckles. "No, I don’t think so…. But if you do, then try another way", he whispers in her ear, sucking the tip a bit. I shake my ear and shiver.

"Okay...". I pull the reins a bit more gently, and the horse starts walking uninterested.

“I should slap his butt to make him gallop”, he says amused.

“You won’t dare!” I almost scream, still trying to get used to the pace

He hugs my stomach from behind and I can feel his tender smile. “Don’t worry, love. I won’t”

And suddenly the silly horse stops and starts eating some grass at the edge of the road. I look at it pissed off, and I kick his belly with my feet, as hard as I dare… which is not much, but the beast just snorts and continues eating. I groan. That thing knows when a noob is riding him, doesn’t him?

Indeed he does, because when Kyle behind him kicks him harder and yells at him, he suddenly neighs and starts to run so fast I think I would have fallen if I had not gripped his mane like a lifesaver, terrified.

Kyle pats the horse’s neck, leaning over me, and whispers “Good boy”, then he slaps my hand from the mane. “Hold the reins, not the mane”.

"How can you call it good? It scared me to death!", I protest, releasing the mane as he ordered, but I still feel unsteady so I grab the saddle instead. "If I don't grab anything I'm going to fall" I justify myself, scared.

"I’m your pillow, remember?", he says, pulling the reins a bit so the horse stops galloping, and returns to a quieter trot. I try to relax against Kyle’s body, but now the way the horse runs makes me jump on the saddle in an uncomfortable way, and Kyle laughs. “Make your body follow his movements, or your butt will become butter at the end of the ride”, he says. I can feel him behind me, moving up and down at the pace of the horse, and I try to imitate his movement, without much fortune. He makes me sit on his thighs, and I finally understand. The key are the knees. I accommodate myself at the pace of the animal, but it still takes me a while to get used, and heck! This is almost as tiring as walking. Why do people really like to travel this way?

I feel his breath in my ear when he moves forward to kiss my cheek, and I smile, leaning my head on his shoulder. "Ok. I don't mind to ride if you shield me like this"

He pokes my hips. "Now gallop time?"

I nod, gripping the reins. "All right", I say, looking ahead determined. Let’s be honest. I will never enjoy this… but I can learn to do it as long as he is with me. I swallow and press the knees on the saddle, holding over the horse as best I can do, while he makes the beast gallop around the forest, until we reach a river. The horse stops a bit when he hears the water, and I think the poor animal is tired of carrying two adults over him, as well as our luggage. Kyle pats his neck and gets down.

“Good work, old boy” he mutters, helping me to get down before leading him to the water so the horse can eat and drink there. Then he takes one of the bags and smiles.

“We can have a break too. I brought apples. And apple pie”, he smiles.

Suddenly the scent of the pie reaches me, making me grin. “You know what I like!”

“There’s orange juice, too”. He starts unfolding the apple pie and I can feel my mouth watering… Between the apple pieces I can see glimpses of strawberry too. “But first this”, he says, taking a roasted chicken out of another bag, and smirks at me. "Or you like better the pie?"

"Mmh. The pie too. I bet it tastes better here", I nod. Suddenly my stomach growls and we both laugh. “But let’s start with the chicken”.

“Riding makes you hungry”, Kyle smiles, choosing a place to prepare the picnic and serving me a generous half of the chicken. I attack it, while he eats the other half, and eat the leg and the wing, offering him the breast of my half. He shakes his head, more focused on the pie now, while he licks his fingers.

I smirk at him "I thought you were more into breasts".

“Only if they’re yours” he strikes back. He examines the pie, pondering how to split it between both of us.

I sigh, looking at the poor chicken’s leftovers a bit uninterested. "Mmh. Even that bird had bigger breasts than me". I poke the chicken a bit before taking the slice of pie Kyle is offering to me. He sucks his part, delighted.

“So should I replace you by a chicken at the wedding?” he laughs, and I toss a chicken bone at him.

After the improvised lunch, Kyle starts gathering everything back into the bags, including the leftovers. Chicken for dinner again, I sigh. But at least there’s pie left. The horse is chewing some grass nearby, so uninterested on us as if we were dead, and I realize I don’t want to ride again so soon, so when I get up I look around while I stretch my body, and I make puppy eyes at him.

“Can we have a stroll before we start riding again? I need to wake up my legs… Still feel them dumb”.
I grab his arm almost before he can reply, and we start walking around.

"I like this place", I say, though I think it is the company what makes it feel so special. He says nothing, lost in his thoughts. I elbow him. “No wonder you always get lost” I tease him. “You’re lucky I will be here to guide you from now on!”

He smiles a bit, coming back to reality. “Oh yeah? And what else will you do to support me, my future wife?”

I pretend to ponder, putting a finger on my chin. “Mmmh… Well, to start with, I will watch your back”, I say, amused. “Because I will fight by your side, okay?”. He nods interested. “And look for traps!” I add. “I’m good at spotting them! I have elven eyes after all!”

He stops and smiles. “That’s good. What else?”

I stop too, look up at him. “Having second thoughts, are you?”. I put my hands on my hips.

He shakes his head, amused. “No. But what if I still step on a trap?”

“What?” I frown a bit. “Well I will think you’re such an idiot not to listen to me and…”

“… But you will need to care for me and heal my poor leg… I’ll be your baby”, he pouts, and looks down to his own feet. I blink and look down, and I see the iron gripping firmly his ankle. I gasp and kneel in front of him.

“How… can it be I didn't see this one?”. I check it concerned. How could I be so idiot? He strokes my hair and crouches too reach my level. I sigh of relief. "We're lucky the bone didn't break. But I need to heal the wound"

He bites my ear while I check him and nibbles it, ignoring my concern.

"My bone is stronger than the trap", he says confident, while I shake my ear and release him from the trap. His bone is strong, yeah, but the trap wasn’t designed to break it either. It was more intended to immobilize than to hurt. Whoever settled it, and whatever it was meant to catch, they wanted it alive. Luckily for us.

"Sure it is. Specially in your head", I reply to him, headbutting him. I start washing his wound and putting and ointment, then bandage it. “It’s not bad, but we need to find a healer in the next village, just in case”, I say when I finish, and then he moves up and kisses my lips. I close my eyes and purr a bit, enjoying the reward.

"I wonder, does unicorn taste good?", he says suddenly, looking behind me.

I blink, surprised. "Are there unicorns here?". Then I look over my shoulder and see it, standing behind us, between the trees.

I blink again.

But it still stands there. White. Majestic.

Kyle makes a chirp chirp sound, and I realize I was frozen, half in awe, half terrified. Because, you know. A horse. With a horn, to make things worse.

Kyle looks at me, then the unicorn. They stare at each other for a moment, and then he turns to me. "You better", he just says, licking my cheek.

"Me better what?”, I stammer, looking back at him. “I... I don't want to get close of that horn... And I don't think we should kill it!"

"Nah, I just was kidding about eating it", he says perking a brow at me. But I’m still staring at the beast. "You still scared of horses?", he adds.

I nod. "It's more... respect than fear". Then I chuckle. "I… I just hope it isn't disappointed it didn't find a virgin lady".

He snorts loud. "You have a dirty mind"

"No, seriously. I just hope it doesn't get angry. That horn is something I don't want to face". But the unicorn is just staring, and I’m gathering courage to get up and get closer to it when Kyle narrows his eyes, grabs me and starts tickling me, making me laugh. The unicorn startles and jumps away, breaking the magic spell, and I find myself looking at the empty space where it was, and then to Kyle. My future husband grins, and taps my butt.

“It didn’t approve your laugh", he says

I move to harass him. "You're the one who made me laugh!", I protest. I stop a bit, and look into his eyes. "But I think we were lucky to see him". Then I suddenly realize something. "Do you think the trap was set to catch him?"

He nods. "A pity I ruined it, ehh?"

I shake my head. "Sure. A pity for the hunter, but I'm glad you did". And then I smile to him, and I realize he did spot it, and stepped on it on purpose. He’s a box of surprises, my beloved… and suddenly I feel so proud of him!

“Do you need me to help you back to the horse?” I say, trying to help him up.

“I’ll have to lean on you” he says, pinching my hips, and I’m not sure if he really needs it or it is an excuse to touch me… but I don’t mind either. We both want to get out of that place, no matter how magical it is, and go back to the campsite.

Then when we reach the place where the unicorn stood, I see them.

White flowers. Beautiful, simple, fragrant. I lean down and take one of them, and following a sudden impulse, I put it on my hair, then I turn to Kyle and look at him.

“Look! The unicorn left a gift! Do I look pretty?”

His face suddenly changes. He grabs me rudely, as if he were going to hit me, and then he starts kissing my face as if he were scared to lose me, while crying. I startle, confused.

“Why… why do you cry? Did I do anything wrong?"

"No, nothing", he says rubbing his eye. “You… just… reminded me…"

"Remind you? What?", I ask, stroking his cheek, while looking into his eye.

"Lindy", he sighs

I blink, moving a hand to my hair when I realize it. "What? Why? The… the flower?". I take it away and toss it to the ground, then hug him. "Oh Maker I'm so sorry…I didn't know..."

He shakes his head. "No need to be sorry"

I rub my nose against his. "Everything that makes you sad makes me feel sorry”

He sniffs and headbutts me, strokes my hair and plays with my braid. "Thank you for staying by my side”, he mumbles.

"I will never leave you, unless you ask me so" I say tenderly, while filling his face with small kisses. “Never. Never”.

Though I have the feeling Lindy is doing the same…