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It had been foolish, she admits, to not turn back at the first sign of snow.
She had been warned at the gates of the shift in the air, the telltale sign that the otherwise mild day would soon take a turn for the worse. She had offered a smile, one that spoke of well earned confidence, and a promise that she would be back before the lands turned too inhospitable. Without giving the knightsman room to protest further, she had set off towards the hills in search of her quarry.
She should have known the blasted drake would be difficult to track in light of the approaching storm.
Still, Leida had been determined from the first to see the hunt through. She had been tending the stables when the rider arrived, bearing his proclamation. A large drake had been reported terrorizing the highlands and an official hunt had been called. She had lept at the challenge without hesitation.
She hadn't been far from the fort, the towering walls of Camp Dragonhead still comfortably in sight when the first snow began to fall. Still she pressed on. It wasn’t until the wind grew sharp and bitter that she resolved to pick up the hunt another day.
The drake found her shortly after that.
In truth, she hadn’t been caught in the storm proper for much more than a half bell, having felled the beast just as the landscape began to blur into a disorienting phasmascape of white; but it was long enough, it seemed, to leave her sniffling and with a particular wheeze in her chest that signaled the next few days were going to be particularly miserable.
“Was your quest at least fortuitous?” Haurchefant asks as he leads her away from the infirmary, hand pressed against the small of her back as he guides them back to the barracks.
Leida pats the satchel slung over her shoulder, rattling the few teeth she managed to scavenge from the beast after it fell. “The fair folk of Coerthas may rest easy knowing that the terror is slain.”
“I’m certain they shall all sleep better knowing such a fair hero fights for them. I know I shall.” Haurchefant smiles, though it doesn’t quite meet his eyes. “Still, perhaps next time she can wait until after the blizzard passes, no? And for a fair knight to join her on her quest?”
His tone is light, but Leida can sense the edge there, having seen the panic upon his features when he first discovered her out in the cold.
“I didn’t want to pull you away from your duties any more than I have, and it was hardly that dire. I’ve survived much worse than a little wind,” Leida protests, doing her best to staunchly ignore the flat look Haurchefant gives her. She crumples under it soon enough, however, huffing a sigh. “Alright. Perhaps it was reckless. It’s just that I’ve hardly sat still this past year. To be stuck now with nothing to do but wait… ” She grimaces.
“You are allowed to take time for yourself,” Haurchefant says.
Leida purses her lips. She can’t count the number of times that she has been told the same by well meaning friends in the months since the Praetorium. She doubts that any of them, save perhaps Raubhan, knew what they were truly asking with their words.
Raubhan… She quickly shuts away that thought.
“Leida?”
Haurchefant slows them to a stop, gazing down at her with concern. Leida clears her throat, wincing when the action throws her into a coughing fit.
“I’m sorry, I’m afraid I let myself wander.” She looks away, casting her gaze down the hall. “You are right, of course. To tell the truth, I hardly think I know what to do with myself anymore if I am not needed. Tataru has thrown herself into a helping position easily. And Alphinaud…” She sighs heavily. “He still needs time. He has come far in overcoming his despondency, but there’s only so much I can do before my presence becomes an overbearing hindrance.”
“You sought a distraction,” Haurchefant says softly.
“Yes.” She smiles weakly, turning back to face him. “As I’ve said, I can hardly continue to pull you away from your duties as often as I already have.” She winces, realizing how her words might be misconstrued. “Not that I think of you as a distraction! Far from it! I am…quite fond of you,” she finished lamely. Heat rises in her cheeks as she curses her lack of eloquence. Of all the times for words to fail her, this couldn’t have been a worse moment.
In truth, she has been more than fond of him for some time.
Haurchefant chuckles, sparing her any further humiliation as he starts them down the hall once more. “Words cannot express how it gladdens my heart to hear you say so. If it is a task you seek, perhaps once you are feeling better you can join my men on patrol. They would be glad to have someone new to talk to, I should think, especially one so charming.” He grins down at her as he adds, “for what it’s worth, I am quite fond of you as well.”
Leida laughs, wincing as it turns to another cough. “Well, that’s certainly a relief, else I should feel rather foolish after the past few nights.” Leida raises a brow as they come to a split in the hall and Haurchefant turns, leading her down the opposite corridor from where her assigned room was and towards his private chambers instead. “Speaking of, the chirurgeons ordered rest, you know.” Haurchefant throws her a smirk at her implication.
“You wound me, my dear. Upon my honor, I mean nothing untoward—I have every intention of ensuring you rest and recover properly whilst you are ill. It’s a matter of practicality you see,” Haurchefant says with a wink. “My chambers have the better fireplace—and what better way to keep warm?”
Leida smiles, leaning into his side. “Well. I shall not argue with that.”
She wastes little time in shedding her clothes when they reach his chambers, quickly slipping into the sheets with a shiver as Haurchefant tends the fire. He returns to her side as she bundles herself into the covers, offering him a pitiful smile.
“Rest now, my dear,” Haurchefant says. His hands brush the hair from her forehead, as gentle in his touch as in his gaze. “I’ll return with your things and something warm soon.”
Leida sniffles, keenly feeling the consequences of her excursion as she finally comes to rest.
“You are far too good to me, you know.”
“Nonsense, darling.” Haurchefant presses his lips to her brow before swiftly stooping down to press a kiss to her lips.
Leida squeals, ducking her head away from his grin. “Don’t—the chirurgeons will have my head if you get sick as well!”
Haurchefant peppers her face with kisses, delighting in Leida’s bright laughter. “They’ll have to go through me first.”
Leida grins, warmth near full to bursting in her chest as she gazes up at the man she’s come to adore so completely.
“Thank you, Haurchefant.”
He smiles back at her, cupping her face softly as he gazes at her, his heart reflected plainly in his eyes. “You are always welcome, my dear.”