The Lady and the Knight (2)

The knight offered her a hand, but she was in a daze. Suin was lost in her thoughts, as she tried to find out if there was another way for them to travel comfortably. If she read more sci-fi in her past life, maybe she would be sitting in some hypersonic flyer right now, instead!

"You can be the one behind," Luan said after seeing her hesitation.

"Huh?" Suin's eyes twinkled. Why didn't she think of it? When she was a child and uncles in the countryside gave her a ride on their bicycles, she was always seated behind. This way, she only needs to touch a little and an awkward embrace would be gone!

"But if you fall asleep and swayed to the side, I won't be able to catch you," he warned her.

"That…! It was late yesterday! I won't be sleeping so easily during the day!"

But as soon as she was seated, she regretted her decision. The horseback wasn't as gentle as a bicycle ride, and when they started galloping, it was impossible for her to not grab him around the waist as she was afraid of falling down. The only good thing about that position was his inability to see her face, which was redder than paprika.

Luan stiffened his body, as he felt her attaching her limbs to him like an octopus. He chuckled to himself because he already warned her that the seat behind wasn't always the best option. Thinking if he should stop Ash from galloping and exchange the place her, he was surprised to actually hear her even breath, as if she was in slumber.

He turned around and confirmed, that she was indeed sleeping with slightly parted lips, drooling her saliva onto his black shirt.

"Hey… How can you fall asleep within 5 minutes?" Luan sighed inwardly and ordered Ash to slow down to stabilize their ride. If they keep this travelling speed, they might not arrive at the Deneb even in a month.

But unbeknown to him, it wasn't really her fault for being such a sleepyhead. Unless one transmigrated oneself, no one would believe how tired the mind and the soul were.

Suin didn't remember how she fell asleep. She only knows that she suddenly found herself in a dream.

Why is it so cold? It's dark and freezing… where is she?

Is this… water?

…

She can't breathe! She's drowning!

She waved her arms desperately trying to swim up, but as much as she tried, the massive amount of water and pressure kept dragging her down.

Help me! Please, help me!

"Someone…!" Suin suddenly screamed out, startling Ash who was feeding on the grass next to her. She lay on the small hill of hay, something she did a lot when she was smaller. The unmistakable smell of sweet, earthy, and grassy aroma mixed with tones of herbs always reminded her of the farm she grew up on.

Beside Ash, another horse was standing far from them, as it neighed in a slight annoyance for being disturbed during its meal. They were in an unknown barn and the knight was nowhere to be seen.

Luan was outside, speaking to the owner of the farm when a small silver head peeked out. He quickly gave the man some coins and received simple food, such as bread and cheese and some drinkable water.

"Did you sleep well?" He asked with concern after the farmer left. She wouldn't wake up even if he shook with her, her condition similar to fainting rather than sleeping.

"I'm sorry…" Suin bowed to him. Part of her worried that he would find her to be a bother. "What are we doing here?"

"This is a farm in the countryside… The owner will let us stay a night," he put down their simple dinner, indicating that she should eat something. "I know you won't be sleepy for now but try to rest as much as possible. We will move early in the morning…"

She nodded and bit into the slice of cheese. As expected, it was just horrible. It was just an ordinary product similar to cheddar, but the smell was too pungent, while the taste was too salty but bland.

He will probably be annoyed, if she starts complaining now, right? Suin silently suffered through the meal.

After their simple dinner, Luan leaned against the hay and closed his eyes. It wasn't even nighttime yet, but they had nothing better to do than refill their energy for more travelling tomorrow.

Suin chose a place next to him, but kept her proper distance, as she lay down with her eyes wide open. Since it wasn't completely dark, she turned to the side and watched him without any words.

His profile was a work of art. The high sculptured nose and chiselled jaw were close to perfection. He was an adult already, but the face still indicated, that he had some space to grow more mature. He was young and handsome now, but in a few years, he would probably be a complete heart-breaker as many women will tremble at a single sight.

"What's wrong?" He asked. Her gaze was so intense it was hard to ignore even if he closed his eyes.

"You are not sleeping?"

He would be a complete airhead if he could sleep in this situation. He knew that she was bored, but he self-acknowledged that he wasn't a great conversation partner. Even Ash would provide better entertainment than him.

"Mister, how old are you?"

"Twenty."

"So young!" Suin shouts out in surprise. Her mental age was close to 30, so a ten-year younger man felt like a baby to her.

Luan's eyebrow twitched, as he looked at her.

"Ah… I'm 16, I guess, hahaha…" That's right. Her body age was only 16, so it sounded wrong, when she told him, that he was too young. She just keeps forgetting the part, that she is an entirely different person now.

"Can you tell me about yourself?" Suin asked when the silence took a rule again. She lied to him about so many things already, so even if he was secretive about himself, she couldn't really blame him. Still, wasn't this a perfect opportunity to get on friendly terms, if they were to travel together for the next two weeks at least?

Still, Luan was taken aback by her simple request. He wasn't talkative, but at the same time, he didn't hide anything. It's just… There was nothing interesting in his life, as every day was covered in grey fog.