Chapter 2

The sun's brilliant rays struck Samona's eyes with a fiery fury, stinging them as her eyelids struggled to open. She felt well rested, and yet wanted nothing more than to drift back off to sleep. She squinted at the sun, as if telling it off for waking her up.

"Good morning," Charles said as he walked up beside her, tossing a few pieces of timber on the nearby fire. "We should probably keep this going for a couple more hours. In these parts, it tends not to get warm until the afternoon."

"Thank you," Samona half-whispered. "You did not have to take care of me like this."

Charles smiled. "Only too happy to. I rarely get a chance to have company anyway, so this is not precisely an unwelcome opportunity for me."

Samona smiled, but it did not quite manage to reach her eyes. Charles sat down beside her, his face very serious.

"I can tell that whatever drove you to do what you did is still affecting you in some way," Charles said as he leaned against a rock, "and if you would like to talk about it, then I would be glad to listen."

Her smile disappeared, and she drew up tighter against herself.

"My troubles are not your troubles," she said, "and I have already burdened you enough as it is. I really should be leaving..."

She suddenly stood up, looking around for her equipment, becoming slightly frantic in her rush to leave.

Charles very quickly turned beet red and averted his eyes, just barely managing to contain the laughter that so desperately wanted to burst out of him.

"Uh... um... erm... ," he stammered, "maybe you should, erm, put on some... you know... before you..."

Samona looked puzzled for a few moments, then noticed that she felt a little more exposed to the air than she should. She looked down at herself to find that she was completely without any form of clothing, somehow having missed this useful information in her slumber.

She swiftly grabbed the cloths from the ground, wrapping herself in them.

"So, you undressed me, did you?" Her tone was harsh, yet she looked as if she was about ready to begin crying.

"Relax," Charles said in what he hoped was a soothing voice, "I just wanted to check your body for injuries, and your armor was not precisely the best sleepwear anyhow. I did not look at you while I did it, I swear."

She spotted her equipment several feet back in the cave, retrieving her weapons, bag, and armor. She was fully dressed and armed within a few minutes, walking to the edge of the small camp.

"Which way is it to Vatalis from here?" she asked. "I really do appreciate everything you have done for me, but I must be leaving. I have urgent business to attend to with one of the smaller elfin councils."

Charles strolled over to her, a sad look on his face. He pointed beyond a nearby forest. "Vatalis is about twenty leagues in that direction- northeast, if you have a compass on you. I recommend a slow pace, since you are most likely still weak. You can probably still be there in four of five days though."

Samona immediately began walking off in the direction Charles had indicated. His hand flashed out, grabbing her by her upper arm.

"Hey, hold on for a second..."

Fury flashed in her eyes, and before he could prepare himself, Charles found blows raining down on his face and chest. Samona was manically attacking him, finally shoving him away and taking off running.

Charles fell on to the ground, posterior first, staring off towards her in shock.