42

I shook out my hair and massaged my scalp. It still felt like it was frizzing. Watching Raven throw the arrow around to get it out of the target made me nauseous. Henry squeezed my upper arm so hard his fingers left bruises. He'd gasped, moaned, and got teary-eyed. But he hadn't cried or whimpered.

Only when Raven poured him wine onto the open wound and pressed the red-hot dagger against his flesh did he roar suppressed and then narrow his eyes, panting. The smell and hiss had almost finished me. Since then my scalp has been tingling.

I was alone in our tent. I actually wanted to go into the forest so I wouldn't run the risk of being discovered. But because the enemies were there, Raven ordered me to wait here. And because the whole camp was in a good mood, they wouldn't pay any attention to me here anyway.

Now I sat cross-legged on Henry's bed and twisted the arrow in my fingers. It had several spikes at the top. That's why he had messed up Henry's flesh ugly. His blood was still on it. And yet I only thought of Theo.

What a strange man he was. He was tall and handsome. But an asshole. It became clear to me at the latest when he grabbed Henry's injured arm. This man, though loyal to the king, cared for his son no more than for a pebble. I couldn't understand that. My parents had loved me and my sisters.

And I also had to ponder what Henry had told me about his brothers. I was the second oldest and would never have thought of treating my little Cynthia badly. She was also the youngest and a typical little tick. Maybe a little spoiled, but good-hearted. All my little sisters were. Giasell, Irmingard, Cynthia... I had grieved and cried over my family for so long that I could now think of them without falling into deep despair. Although the abyss was still there...

After a while I became Nash again and gathered Henry's armor. I tried to familiarize myself with it a little, because if he came back we wouldn't have much time. Shortly thereafter, the three knights returned. Henry staggered slightly, but he tried hard not to let anyone see it. Behind them followed a fourth knight with steel blue eyes and beautiful blond hair. He was followed by a squire who immediately fell to his knees in front of the bed and fished out the armor.

"Take it easy, Max." The Blonde Knight warned. "So much time has to be."

Henry sat down awkwardly on his bed. "This is our tentmate Robert and his squire Max."

Robert smiled at me and nodded. "Call me Robin." I nodded in greeting but said nothing as engelbert grabbed my arm and pushed me towards the pile of armor I had built.

"Get to work! We don't have time!"

As I spun to shake off his arm, I saw Henry look up in warning. However, not to me, but to Engelbert. He quickly let go of me as if he had burned himself. "See you..." he growled and stomped off.

Robin shook his head disapprovingly and spread his arms out so Max could put the armor on him. He sighed grumpily. "I hate this guy."

"How so?" Laughed Robin, much friendlier to his squires than most.

"Now he goes and takes his frustration out on Jason his squire. He lives in constant fear."

I took the chain mail and went over to Henry and helped him put it on. Suddenly he grabbed my wrist. He looked me in the eyes seriously. "I know you want to join me on the adventure, but you have to stay here. You can't fight and probably not even ride a horse. I promise I'll teach you everything when I come back. But first you have to promise me that you'll wait here ."

I felt my cheeks get hot. He worried about me... To cover up my blushing I nodded defiantly and put the armor on him with his instructions.

When the men left, Max stayed behind in the tent with me. We sat and faced each other on our knight's beds and he stared at me. Long... Until I had enough. "Do you want something?"

"Something's wrong with you."

My heart skipped a moment, but I overcame it. "What are you talking about!?"

Max stared at me. "I come from a family of five big sisters."

Oh my God. "Good for you..."

He wanted to say something, but then he stroked his brown hair and looked at the floor. "How old are you?"

I got up and decided to end the topic. "It's none of your business. If I'm that weird, stay away from me!"

With that, I stamped out of the tent and wandered around the camp. If Max had a suspicion, I would have to prove him wrong. But how should I do that? Damn... If anyone found me out, they would kill me for treason. Or they would declare me a whore...

I only came back to our tent at night. Max sat on Robin's bed and sharpened a dagger. When he saw me, his expression brightened a little. "Damn, Nash. I thought the French had kidnapped you."

I shook my head and threw myself on Henry's bed. "The camp is deserted..."

"Indeed. Most of the squires are gone too. So there was no one to provide dinner. Only we and you whores are here."

"Great. Can't we just get some bread?"

Max grinned boorishly. "Try. But don't involve me if they publicly punish you for stealing."

"What's the matter with this camp that the penalties are awarded so quickly? One is constantly being beaten." And the miners especially.

Max looked at me as if I had asked him why the sky was blue. "Well, that's a soldiers' camp. That's how you get discipline. That's the king's team. It has to be more orderly there than anywhere else."

It was an objection, but I wouldn't be happy with it...

NOT AN EASY DAY

In the middle of the night, the tarpaulin flew open and Henry came into our tent with Robin. They had brought two candles which they put on the stools. Henry was pale, bloodied and his right arm, where he had the arrow wound, hung lifeless between his knees. "Are you awake, Nash?"

"Naturally." I got to my feet and helped him off his mail. "What happened?"

"The French tried to grind us down for a while, then they fled. We pursued them, but we decided to come back and move up with the whole camp." Henry seemed tired, his voice was hoarse.

I handed him a wineskin, which he immediately emptied. "Can I see your shoulder?"

He shook his head and lay down panting. Robin put a heavy hand on my shoulder. "There were moments when his cousin was glued to his ass in a panic. You couldn't tell by looking at Henry, but I think those were the moments when he almost passed out."

Henry growled grumpily. "In the saddle all day, just chattering and he still doesn't stop..."

Robin grinned and threw himself onto his ear. I heard Henry didn't sleep all night. When the sun finally rose, he got to his feet, drank a full mug of wine and grabbed his daggers and swords to tend to them. When I offered to do it for him, he shooed me to get water.

While Nash was still going to fetch water, Robin woke up and stretched himself out. Henry liked the guy. He had to be his own age and always had something to babble about, but he was a tough fighter and didn't blame Henry for not having the sunniest disposition.

"Damn, Campbell. Do you feel as miserable as you look?"

Henry growled his agreement and ran his hands through his spiky black hair and stubbly chin without much panache. Well then, he might as well teach the kid how to shave, thought Henry. As young as he was, he certainly didn't know much about it.

As he stowed his sword again, his right shoulder protested. He'd been weak before the fight, but now he was exhausted and didn't want to think about what time in the saddle would be like. But because they left early in the morning so that the seriously wounded could be cared for today, Henry probably had a grace period...

Then Nash was there again. He put the bucket in the middle of the room. Henry didn't really want to, but he looked straight at his amazingly round buttocks. Damn nice ass...

Henry jumped up abruptly. Shocked at himself. He rubbed his face in embarrassment, wondering if it was the full cup of wine that was confusing him.

"Nash!" He growled harder than intended. "We train. You have to finally become more manly."

Nash nodded absently. "Can we have breakfast first?"

"Under no circumstance." The boy had to become a man immediately. Henry was dreading himself right now. He must have taken a good hit in the head yesterday.

Nash frowned indignantly. "But Henry, there was no dinner yesterday!"

Henry's skin crawled when the boy said his name. He grabbed Nash's arm and dragged him onto the training ground.

Cursing, I threw my boots against the tent wall. I was hungry, tired, worn out and had to take a lot of beatings. Henry had trained me with ash sticks instead of wooden swords. And whenever I neglected my cover, I had to pay dearly for it. At first he would torment me with exercises until I got fed up and impatient to get down to business. And now that's what I got...

"Do you actually dare to be angry now?" he laughed mockingly. He had taken insane pleasure in getting back at me for my impatience. Well, in my anger I had called him a bad name because I felt humiliated. I thought the exercises were pure phantoms, but I really needed them... Henry laughed again. "Have you learned your lesson?"

I decided to ignore him, wanted to sit down stubbornly and immediately jumped up again. Because even there he had met me with devotion. When he saw me jump up, he actually roared with laughter. I spun around to throw something at him, stunned by those happy and deep laughs. His teeth were straight, amazingly white, for soldiers did not believe in dental care. His brown eyes sparkled. A dimple that completely captivated me. Henry looked stunning...

He paused, giggling, and raised his ash cane with a mischievous grin. "One more round?"

I turned away. "I renounce..."

Then he suddenly stood next to me and put his arm on my shoulder. "You see how much humility you lack, brat. I told you, you have to start step by step."

Grumbling, I threw his arm away, knowing he was still chuckling. "Can I go? I can't say I like being around you right now."

Henry tapped my hip with his cane. "When did you last wash yourself?"

"I'm sorry, what?" Did he expect, after training under the summer sun, that I would smell like a rose bush!?

"I hate the men who stink ten miles upwind. Come over to the wash tent."

I widened my eyes. "Is there something like that here?"

"It sounds better than it is. It's a canvas spun around four trees where the men shower and wash their stuff."

"You washed here yesterday too..." It was still very clear to me.

"Just a cat wash. Come on, pack up."

Oh man, he wouldn't insist!? Any man would immediately notice that I was... definitely not a boy. They would ask what the bandage around my chest that I tied myself with meant. Not to mention my loins...

"Go ahead, I-"

Henry rolled his eyes and pushed me out of the tent. "Don't be so prudish, man. You learn more from them than they do from you."

I shook his hand off and started to run away when he grabbed my upper arm. "Damn, Nash!"

I firmly braced myself against him. "I don't want to, Henry! Everyone would see the cane on my body!"

He looked at me in disbelief and then just pulled me with him. "Don't act like that, nobody cares about your body."

If a naked maid showed up in a men's camp, it was definitely different...