The Girl in the Red Cloak Ch. 01

"Why are you so far in Lotharis?" she asked. If she was going to be spared no matter what she might as well be impudent.

"Maharian business. Let's leave it at that." His strained voice told her his wound was paining him with every step.

Clara shrugged, it really didn't matter one way or another to her why he was here. If he'd been Lotharisian, she'd have been able to persuade him to sit still and let his wound heal, but a Maharian had every right not to trust her, and frankly she didn't blame him. She could have finished the healing job completely and sent him on his way – to Maharia, or further in the woods, whatever his plan was, but she needed to save her energy for the plague back in the village. She stole glance at him from the corner of her eye. He was certainly not bad to look at. Tall, with the darker coloring Maharians usually had, and bright blue eyes that seemed to sparkle against his swarthier skin. Lukas turned as if he could feel her gaze upon him and she quickly looked ahead and cleared her throat.

"We're nearly there. Since you've decided to tag along you may as well make yourself useful in harvesting herbs. I'll show you what to look for." He made one those half-bows again, and her annoyance returned. The man was really insufferable, was it any wonder a Lotharisian had stuck a knife in him?

* * *

Lukas turned out to quite adept at gathering the valdir, once Clara showed him how to identify it. She inspected his pile carefully for similar looking but ineffective or harmful plants before grudgingly nodding her approval at his work.

"Have you done much plant gathering in the past?" she asked.

"Not specifically, no, but as a soldier I did try to learn which plants could sustain me if I wound up stranded with no food, and which would kill me. Little things like leaf placement and shape can mean the difference between life and death, so I pay attention to the details." He shrugged as he plucked another leafy cluster from the ground. "It's come in handy more than once."

"How long have you been out on your own, foraging?" Clara's curiosity got the better of her.

Lukas eyed her askance for a moment before replying.

"This time? Three months. It hasn't all been foraging though. We do have allies, even here."

"In Lotharis?" Clara was surprised, although when she thought about it, it made sense. Why shouldn't there be a few sympathizers here? Probably those with Maharian ancestry who'd never entirely lost touch, or possibly those who stood to gain if Maharia ultimately won.

"Mmm hmm." He plucked listlessly at a few strands of grass and abruptly changed the subject. "What's a healer doing out alone in the middle of the forest anyway? Shouldn't you have some sort of escort to protect you from wild animals or dangerous men?" His smile glinted as he revealed entirely too many teeth for Clara's taste. Perfectly straight and white, his smile was broad and cheeky. Clara sensed he was poking fun at her again.

"I can take care of myself, thank you. Besides, the villagers think the woods are haunted. If you had a lick of common sense, you'd be more worried about protecting yourself than pretending to be a threat. If I hadn't happened along when I did, you'd be dead now. You're lucky as it is that there don't appear to me more Lotharisian soldiers about, for I can assure you they would be quite serious about protecting a healer from the grip of a Maharian." She turned her back on him in a huff and strode to the far side of the little clearing, as much to get away from him as to harvest the good crop of valdir she'd spotted.

"Don't be mad, Red," called Lukas. "I can't help myself, your beauty quite undoes me. No wait, maybe it was your undeniable humbleness and modesty over your healing power. Nothing excites a man quite like the implied 'you owe me', even when it is true."

Clara's spine stiffened and she looked over her shoulder.

"I can assure you, if the chance comes up again I'll leave you to die, and consider our debt settled."

Lukas laughed, but it turned into a cough and despite herself, Clara's healing instincts sent her rushing to his side.

"I told you you would aggravate your wounds, following me this far! You should have stayed when I told you to. Now you've extended your recovery time, and don't look to me to help you, for a man stubborn enough to not listen to his healer is a man stubborn enough to recover from a flesh wound on his own. Besides, I've wasted enough time, I must get back to the village." Lukas winced as she probed his wound lightly, feeling. If her fingers happened to jab him just a little harder than was strictly necessary, well, how would he know? "You'll be fine," she continued. "A few more days and you'll be good as new. Or bad as new, in your case." She glanced up at him while her fingers stayed on his flat, hard stomach. His eyes, blue as a crisp morning and large and expressive, seemed to dance with amusement even as he pulled a slight face at the feeling of her fingers on his tender flesh. His abdomen was warm beneath her hand, and for a moment Clara wanted to run her fingers higher, over the broad chest she'd glimpsed the night before. She wondered what it would feel like to twine her fingers together behind his neck and pull his mouth down to hers -

As if she'd been burned, Clara snapped back to reality and snatched her hand back. She was overworked, that was all, and the mind went funny places when the body was exhausted. As if she would ever want any sort of romantic entanglement with any Maharian, let alone this one in particular! He'd been a thorn in her side all morning, and really had detained her far longer than she should have taken in the woods. The children and elderly of the village needed her, not this obstinate oaf.

"I have to get back," she said simply, and gathered the valdir into her little satchel. Lukas added his own findings to her pile without another word. Once she'd safely packed it away, Lukas said he'd escort her to the edge of the woods and she could find no reasonable objection, at least none that would stop him. She set a moderate pace, in a hurry to be back and yet somehow reluctant to leave the woods, though she could not fathom why, unless it was just her overworked body had so appreciated the much needed reprieve. Lukas matched her pace, and to her surprise, offered her his arm. To her even greater surprise, she took it, her small white hand stark against the contrast of his black uniform. His body radiated warmth against her arm, and she found it not at all unpleasant in the slight dewy chill of the morning.

"I don't suppose I need to tell you that whatever you're for, whatever mission, it better not involve the village, not after I helped you. They have enough troubles now as it is." She said after they'd walked in silence a ways. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"I wouldn't dream of it, milady. Consider your village sacred and untouchable." His dry tone annoyed Clara, and she pursed her lips as they walked. This would be the last time she ever helped a Maharian, that was for certain. Were they all so insufferable, or had she just had the terrible luck to save the most insolent among them?

"You needn't use formal titles with a healer, you may call me Healer, or Clara, or Healer Clara if you wish, but your mockery through the use of seeming respect is not lost on me." She glared upward at him over her shoulder, and made to withdraw her hand from his arm, but he squeezed it tight to him, despite being on his injured side.

"Forgive me then, Clara, perhaps we Maharians weren't raised with the manners of you Lotharisians."

"Or perhaps you were, and your poor mother would box your ears if she knew how you flouted them now," Clara said snippily. Lukas laughed again, trying to suppress the cough at the end. She frowned at hearing the cough, and wished he'd listened to her. She was tempted to spur the healing process along for him further, but only because of her healer's instinct. They were nearing the edge of the woods now, and Lukas slowed his pace.

"I think here is where I leave you, milad – Clara. No sense in me getting too close to your precious village and angering some rogue farmer with my brutish Maharian manners. Not to mention the damage your reputation might face, emerging from the wood with a man on your arm after staying out all night?" His tone was mocking. "People will talk."

Clara rolled her eyes, but could not entirely suppress a smirk at the thought of the gossip that would fly. Not that anyone would dare say a word to her, they needed her skills and healers were not subject to any church teachings that would say it was wrong for a man and woman to lie together if that was what they both wanted. Still, there would be talk.

"Well, goodbye," she said. Lukas made a little bow over her hand, smiled at her, and turned and walked away. She watched him go for a minute before turning and beginning to make her own way out of the woods.

"Red," she heard his voice behind her and turned. "Thank you. I don't know if I said it. But thank you." His charming smile sent a flurry of butterflies through her stomach and before she could stop herself she called after him.

"I – I could come back and check on you! On your wound, I mean. To make sure it's healing properly. It's standard healing protocol." Why was she offering her services to this man again, why? "If you wanted to wait in the clearing, I could come tonight. If I have time. Of course I have other, more important priorities, but I could check up on you, if you wanted." She didn't know why, but it was suddenly very important to her that he say yes.

He studied her for a moment before making that half bow again.

"I would be flattered by more of your attention, Healer. I shall wait all night."

She turned to leave before she could say something else stupid, silently cursing herself as she made her way to the edge of the woods. What was wrong with her?

**