The Last Dance (22)

Wow, this is like a record fast update for me! But don't think they'll all be up this fast! I just had too much fun writing this chapter lol

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xo.

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Recap:

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He froze in his actions and returned his gaze to me, his hands dropping limply to his sides. His eyes swept slowly up and down my body in surprise. I expected him to stop, or start in on his sarcastic comments but he continued to stare. I felt myself turning a bright red under his meticulous gaze. It seemed I had lost the ability to speak since I couldn't find the voice to make a rude comment. I shifted nervously, which he seemed to notice because his lips tugged up into a smirk.

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Chapter 22 - Homeward Bound

He opened his mouth to say something and in a panic, I frantically jumped in before he could having finally found my voice.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you it's rude to stare?" I asked haughtily.

He wasn't at all fazed by my comment, nor did his eyes stop roaming my body.

"A skirt?" He asked teasingly.

"Don't even start with me" I snapped back annoyed.

He finally raised his eyes to mine and I could see them twinkling in amusement. I glared at him and turned away abruptly, flinching when the skirt whipped around me from the action. I could hear John's husky laugh behind me and stomped away to Coriolis being careful not to make any more sudden movements.

Lousy skirts.

I lifted my hand to rub Cori and murmured softly to him. This was why I stuck to practice clothes; you couldn't get into any trouble with them.

I heard John walking up behind me and stubbornly kept my focus on Cori. Suddenly I felt a pair of arms wrap loosely around my waist, freezing me in place. Heat rushed up to fill my cheeks as John leaned in dangerously close to me. Now I had another reason not to turn my head even slightly in his direction.

"I was only teasing Cece, you look really pretty."

I frowned in confusion and cocked an eyebrow in disbelief, even though he couldn't see. All the humour was gone from his voice and he actually sounded... sincere? I wiggled out of his grasp and murmured a quick 'thanks' feeling awkward.

Why did he keep doing this to me? It was always so unexpected; he could go straight from teasing to serious in the blink of an eye. I didn't know whether he meant anything by it or if it was just his usual personality.

I held back a sigh of frustration, I didn't even have anything to compare it to since he never talked much with the court ladies, or at least not that I had seen. I suppose I just never paid attention, thought I had a funny feeling I would notice from now on.

Even worse than all that though, was that I couldn't be sure how I wanted him to feel about me. It was all too complicated. And forget how I might fee--

No, I wasn't even going to think about that. Not now, in the glaring light of the day... maybe there was something about the night that let you get away with such thoughts.

"You should wear skirts more often, you actually don't look half bad dressed like a real lady" He said, pulling me from my musings.

The sarcasm was back and I couldn't help but smile, the tension from moments ago vanishing.

I turned to face him with a pout. "What, I go from pretty to not half bad just like that?"

He grinned at me and shrugged. "You've always been beautiful" He said casually, "A skirt doesn't change that" He added before turning and jumping up onto Shadow.

Not knowing how to respond to that I busied myself with putting the packs onto Cori.

He thought I was beautiful?

Since when?

He's always made fun of how I never dress like a girl. The most surprising part was how casually he'd said it. As if it was common knowledge.

Little did he know this was only the second time I'd heard those words spoken to me before. I felt oddly pleased; while I might not be fond of the clothes themselves, I wasn't immune to the compliment.

I shook my head and tugged on Cori's reins.

Oh.

This might be a problem.

How was I supposed to get up there?

I wonder how the court ladies always managed to do it; I would have to ask them. But in the mean time what could I do?

I tried lifting a leg up to the stirrup, but felt the skirt hitch up and tug uncomfortable and quickly put it back down.

Busy with my thoughts I hadn't heard John dismount and let out a gasp of surprise when I felt myself lifted off the ground. I heard John laughing as he placed me gently side saddle. I blinked in surprise as he mounted back up onto Shadow and shot me a wink.

"You're welcome, My Lady."

He gave me a bow from the saddle and grinned teasingly.

I rolled my eyes at him but felt somewhat grateful all the same. I took the reins in hand and looked down at them as if they were a foreign object.

I heard an exaggerated sigh close by. "What now?"

"I umm.. err.. that is... I don't know... how to ride side saddle" I finished quickly.

My cheeks turned red as John burst into another round of laughter. Well, at least someone was amused.

"My, that is a problem" He chuckled.

"As always, you're so very helpful" I grumbled.

He grinned apologetically. "Fine then, why don't you ride with me and we can put Coriolis on a lead?"

My eyes widened in shock. Oh, there was no way that was going to happen. Wasn't it bad enough I kept embarrassing myself and was stuck wearing this ridiculously impractical skirt?

"It's fine, I can make this work, wearing a skirt doesn't mean I can't ride normally."

His eyes scrunched up in confusion and he opened him mouth to ask but I wasn't paying attention. I made a quick decision, and before I could chicken out, hiked the skirt up to my thighs so I could swing a leg over to the other side.

I tugged the edges down but it only reached to just below my knees. Still at least I would be able to ride this way. I turned to give a triumphant look to John only to find his eyes lingering on the newly exposed skin.

"Eyes forward John" I said embarrassed.

He looked up guiltily and cleared his throat before turning Shadow and riding forward. I kept close behind, noting with satisfaction that a blush was rising up his neck. Good, at least I wasn't the only one being embarrassed.

***

We rode in a comfortable silence focusing on keeping up a steady pace. The silence was necessary so that we could listen for any sounds on the road. After coming so far it wouldn't do to be caught now.

There were a few instances when we had to leave the path, keeping to the shadows of the forest that ran parallel to the road. I was all too aware of the fact that soon enough we'd lose the protection from the trees.

When the sun was high in the sky we'd left many miles behind us and stopped to rest the horses.

"How far are we going today?"

His voice startled me after so many hours of silence. Since morning our only communication had been through hand signals for when we had to duck into the trees.

"I think we should go up until the edge of the forest and spend the night there under the cover of the trees. Then we'll have all of tomorrow to reach the castle."

He nodded gravely but didn't say anything more. Truth be told, I was surprised by how quiet he'd been the whole day.

I'd thought he was just tired, but now I wasn't so sure. Now that we'd stopped and I had a chance to look at him I noticed the tight set of his jaw and the faraway look in his eyes.

Clearly his thoughts were elsewhere.

I wondered if I should ask him, but I hesitated, fearing it would be something personal. In all the times we'd talked together it had never really been about anything personal. We'd both avoided talking about anything to do with the castle, as if it was a world of its own, separate from the time we'd been away. Our conversations had all been frivolous and casual, only encompassing the present circumstances.

Still, I felt like I should say something. Just as I was about to John stood up from where he'd been sitting and untied the horses. I guess it was time to move again.

With a sigh I walked over to Cori, slightly relieved I didn't have to talk to him. It's not that I didn't want to deal with his personal problems, I just feared, with our history it could spark up some of the old animosity.

I'd shed some of my self-consciousness during the day, and also adapted somewhat to wearing a skirt, so I didn't need John's help to mount up again. It annoyed me that my movements had to be made with so much more care, but I suppose it would only be for a little while longer.

We headed out again, falling into the same rhythm as before, with only the gentle footfalls of the horses to break the silence.

The hours slipped away and the sun began sinking quickly into the horizon. I could just make out the edge of the forest ahead of us and we rode on quickly in the scant light.

When we found a good place to stop it was fully dark out, with only the moon providing any light. I knew even that comfort would be sparse once we entered the trees.

John dismounted and wordlessly offered me a hand down from Cori. I had to admit to being a little surprised at his behaviour. It still amazed me that he could be the perfect gentlemen when he chose to be.

I disliked having to accept the help, but no one had ever offered it before, and it was sweet of him to do so. I took his hand and he placed the other on my waist to lift me down, again as if I weighed nothing at all. He then grabbed Cori's reins with his own and led us into the trees.

We didn't go very far in, just enough so as not to be visible from the road. I felt the weariness from the day catch up with me and blinked sleepily. Although I'd slept well last night the stress from the day had worn me out. Since our stop in the afternoon, I'd kept a tense eye on John, worrying over him incessantly. Silly really, since it was probably nothing anyway.

We tied up the horses and didn't bother with a fire since the weather was unusually warm tonight.

I spread a blanket on the ground and wrapped another one around me before settling down. John lay down on his stomach and propped himself up with his elbows staring off into the dark. It bugged me how quiet he'd been all day, save for the few words he'd said earlier.

Only this morning we'd had a friendly banter going, but from then on, near silence.

"Why so quiet?" I ventured to ask. I was going crazy with curiosity, and despite how tired I felt, I knew I couldn't sleep without knowing.

"Hmmm... oh just... thinking..." He said distractedly.

I debated whether or not to prod further when he turned to me, suddenly focused.