Wood Witch and the Bounty Hunter
Seven
Ronan woke up early; sleeping in the open made him a little uneasy given that potentially dozens of people were looking for Flora and none of them would have any qualms about killing them both if Ronan was in their way. Flora was still asleep and he let her be as long as he felt comfortable with their camp spot. He unwound the bandage from his arm to find the cut had healed. He glanced at a faint scar a little higher up on his arm. Maybe bounty hunter training wouldn’t have been quite so bad if they could’ve had overnight healing from their frequent cuts, bruises and broken bones. There certainly hadn’t been any pretty girls carefully applying bandages to them.
Ronan startled when the thought entered his head, and then he made a face and silently scolded himself. He was just trying to keep her alive so he could send her back to her cottage and catch whoever was killing people. He wondered if someone had just taken the opportunity to frame her when the bizarre murders started, or if someone involved in the killing had framed her to keep people from suspecting them. It seemed like she made an easy and convenient scapegoat.
He finally woke her when the sun had risen all the way and they got back on the road. As they drew near the village, Ronan told Flora to pull her hood up.
“Don’t use any names and keep your face hidden when we go into the inn,” he instructed. “Eventually more bounty hunters will find your cottage and realize you recently left. So they’ll go looking in other places. We have to try and be discreet everywhere we go.”
There was a stable near the small inn and Ronan led Briar into one of the stalls, removing her saddle and bridle. He murmured softly to her as he cleaned her hooves and started brushing her. Flora leaned on the stall door and watched them. Ronan glanced over at her.
“Do you want to brush her?” he asked. “She likes it.”
Flora came in almost shyly and Ronan handed her the brush, showing her how to move it in circles first and then brush with the hair to remove any dust and dirt. Briar swung her head around and nosed at his pockets.
“Hey now, don’t get greedy,” he said. Flora smiled as Briar nudged him with her muzzle.
“She’s cute,” she said.
“Don’t go giving her a bigger head than she already has.” Ronan brushed some knots out of her mane. “She already thinks she’s the queen of the realm.”
Briar made a huffing sound and stamped her foot, as if to assert that she was in fact queen of the realm. Flora giggled slightly. Once Briar was fed and brushed to a glossy sheen, the two of them pulled up their hoods and headed into the inn. The innkeeper was a friendly older man who informed Ronan that he only had one room available at the moment.
Ronan sighed. “It’ll do,” he said, because what other choice did they really have. The room was modest but it was clean and had a window overlooking a field and there was lavender planted beneath it, so the air smelled nice when you opened the window.
“My mom loves lavender,” Ronan remarked, not even really realizing he’d spoken out loud until Flora looked at him. He cleared his throat.
“You can take the bed,” he said quickly. “I have camping things in my pack, so I can sleep on the floor. I probably won’t sleep all that much anyway, I need to be on the lookout in case anyone manages to find you here.”
“Won’t you be a less effective bodyguard if you’re tired?” Flora asked skeptically.
“They spent a whole year training us to fight while sleep deprived.”
“That seems pretty rough.”
“That was kind of the point,” he said dryly.
“Why did you do it? Become a bounty hunter, I mean. It seems like kind of an odd career choice.”
“It was more of an only choice career,” Ronan replied. “There’s a tavern attached to the inn, and you should eat something. Do you want to go down or should I bring something back for you?”
“I’ll go down with you.”
They sat down at a table in the tavern and even though it was fairly deserted at the moment, Ronan’s eyes kept sweeping the room to see if anything was amiss or if anyone was watching them too intently. The tavern waitress cheerfully brought their food, flashing a bright smile. Flora thanked her politely while Ronan was too busy keeping a wary eye on the door. Night had fallen when they finished eating and Ronan locked the window and shut the curtains. He was a little disappointed to block out the scent of the lavender bushes. Flora disappeared into the small washroom and Ronan felt a pang of sympathy for her situation, being terrified by him in the middle of the night and then having to run away from her home.
He remembered how, when she’d had time for gardening, Linnea would plant lavender and keep small bundles around the house because she found the smell calming. Ronan slipped down the stairs and outside, plucking a little bundle of the flowers. He was back to their room before Flora had even come out of the washroom. He twisted the stems together a bit since he didn’t have anything to tie them together with, then set it off to the side on the nightstand. He tossed his bedroll down in the far corner of the room and then triple checked the locks on the door and window.
Flora came out of the washroom and hopped into the bed. Ronan extinguished the lights and went over to sit on his bedroll and lean his back against the wall. It would take a while for him to relax enough to sleep.
“Good night,” Flora said, startling him.
“Um. Yeah, you too.”
Ronan startled when the thought entered his head, and then he made a face and silently scolded himself. He was just trying to keep her alive so he could send her back to her cottage and catch whoever was killing people. He wondered if someone had just taken the opportunity to frame her when the bizarre murders started, or if someone involved in the killing had framed her to keep people from suspecting them. It seemed like she made an easy and convenient scapegoat.
He finally woke her when the sun had risen all the way and they got back on the road. As they drew near the village, Ronan told Flora to pull her hood up.
“Don’t use any names and keep your face hidden when we go into the inn,” he instructed. “Eventually more bounty hunters will find your cottage and realize you recently left. So they’ll go looking in other places. We have to try and be discreet everywhere we go.”
There was a stable near the small inn and Ronan led Briar into one of the stalls, removing her saddle and bridle. He murmured softly to her as he cleaned her hooves and started brushing her. Flora leaned on the stall door and watched them. Ronan glanced over at her.
“Do you want to brush her?” he asked. “She likes it.”
Flora came in almost shyly and Ronan handed her the brush, showing her how to move it in circles first and then brush with the hair to remove any dust and dirt. Briar swung her head around and nosed at his pockets.
“Hey now, don’t get greedy,” he said. Flora smiled as Briar nudged him with her muzzle.
“She’s cute,” she said.
“Don’t go giving her a bigger head than she already has.” Ronan brushed some knots out of her mane. “She already thinks she’s the queen of the realm.”
Briar made a huffing sound and stamped her foot, as if to assert that she was in fact queen of the realm. Flora giggled slightly. Once Briar was fed and brushed to a glossy sheen, the two of them pulled up their hoods and headed into the inn. The innkeeper was a friendly older man who informed Ronan that he only had one room available at the moment.
Ronan sighed. “It’ll do,” he said, because what other choice did they really have. The room was modest but it was clean and had a window overlooking a field and there was lavender planted beneath it, so the air smelled nice when you opened the window.
“My mom loves lavender,” Ronan remarked, not even really realizing he’d spoken out loud until Flora looked at him. He cleared his throat.
“You can take the bed,” he said quickly. “I have camping things in my pack, so I can sleep on the floor. I probably won’t sleep all that much anyway, I need to be on the lookout in case anyone manages to find you here.”
“Won’t you be a less effective bodyguard if you’re tired?” Flora asked skeptically.
“They spent a whole year training us to fight while sleep deprived.”
“That seems pretty rough.”
“That was kind of the point,” he said dryly.
“Why did you do it? Become a bounty hunter, I mean. It seems like kind of an odd career choice.”
“It was more of an only choice career,” Ronan replied. “There’s a tavern attached to the inn, and you should eat something. Do you want to go down or should I bring something back for you?”
“I’ll go down with you.”
They sat down at a table in the tavern and even though it was fairly deserted at the moment, Ronan’s eyes kept sweeping the room to see if anything was amiss or if anyone was watching them too intently. The tavern waitress cheerfully brought their food, flashing a bright smile. Flora thanked her politely while Ronan was too busy keeping a wary eye on the door. Night had fallen when they finished eating and Ronan locked the window and shut the curtains. He was a little disappointed to block out the scent of the lavender bushes. Flora disappeared into the small washroom and Ronan felt a pang of sympathy for her situation, being terrified by him in the middle of the night and then having to run away from her home.
He remembered how, when she’d had time for gardening, Linnea would plant lavender and keep small bundles around the house because she found the smell calming. Ronan slipped down the stairs and outside, plucking a little bundle of the flowers. He was back to their room before Flora had even come out of the washroom. He twisted the stems together a bit since he didn’t have anything to tie them together with, then set it off to the side on the nightstand. He tossed his bedroll down in the far corner of the room and then triple checked the locks on the door and window.
Flora came out of the washroom and hopped into the bed. Ronan extinguished the lights and went over to sit on his bedroll and lean his back against the wall. It would take a while for him to relax enough to sleep.
“Good night,” Flora said, startling him.
“Um. Yeah, you too.”