"Please be careful Wura, the small pebbles here are very slippery." said Mero as Wura turned back to look at him and she smiled.
"Thank you for reminding me Mero, I will be careful." she replied as she turned back to make sure she didn't fall down.
Mero on the other hand felt smitten. The way she smiled at him kept on flashing in his mind.
Mero narrowed his eyes and a frown was plastered on his face. He felt as if he was getting out of control. He quickly masked his feelings as he made sure to follow Wura at a distance, but not too far from her.
"Where are we going Mero?" asked Wura as she turned to the side to look at Mero.
"Follow me." he replied as he walked ahead of her and she followed after him.
Wura did not know why, but she felt as if Mero was behaving strangely. It was not that obvious but he was keeping his distance.
Wura would not have been able to notice this if she had not took note of the way he stayed close to her whenever she was following him, but right now, he was walking at such a distance that he felt far even though he was near.
Wura shrugged off her thoughts, she must just be overthinking. Why would Mero be distancing himself from her in the first place? It wasn't important.
"We are here Wura." said Mero as he stopped in front of a large tent that was some distance away from the tents in the camp in order to give those injured and sick some privacy and comfort.
"Would you like me to go in with you or would you prefer that I stay here?" asked Mero as Wura looked as if she was contemplating.
"I will go alone Mero, thank you." said Wura as she smiled and Mero found it difficult to not show that he was happy with her decision to go alone.
"Alright, I will wait out here for you, take as long as you need and do not hesitate to call me if you need any help." he said as Wura nodded, she noticed how relieved his eyes looked when she said that she preferred to go alone.
She felt suspicious some how. Mero was definitely trying to distance himself from her. It made her start to think. Was it her fault? Was it something she said knowingly or unknowingly?
Wura decided not to dwell on this too much, she had something more important to settle first, she would probably ask him about it later.
"Alright Mero, thank you." she replied and she was about to turn and leave when she heard Mero say something else.
"And please be careful Wura." said Mero softly as Wura could not help but smile at him.
"I will be careful, besides, you are right outside, I will be fine." she replied before entering the tent and Mero took a deep breath.
There was something very serious he needed to deal with in his mind. Just what was going on with him? This was unacceptable to say the least. He needed to be serious and calm, he needed to do away with whatever it was he was starting to feel.
...
Wura had stayed close to an hour with the people who were currently recovering. Mero did not seem to mind that she had taken so long.
He could see that she had enjoyed talking to them and being present.
Currently they were on their way back to her tent as Wura decided that now was the best time to discuss with Mero what she wanted to discuss with him, before he would have to leave and take care of some matters.
"So Mero, I was thinking, maybe we should try to start rebuilding Windharm." said Wura as Mero looked at her.
"I know that it is not really the best thing to do at this time, but whenever I think of the possibility that the rainy season will start soon, I just feel like these tents will not be strong enough to withstand the rain." said Wura.
"I feel that the people will be more comfortable in their homes." said Wura.
"I know what you are saying is right and true Wura, but think of the possibilities." said Mero.
"What possibilities?" asked Wura.
"What if we do manage to rebuild and the East strikes again?" asked Mero as Wura had thought about that, but she was trying to be positive, after all why would they strike the same place twice?
"That would only cause more calamity and loss than before." said Mero.
"If you ask me, I suggest that we hold on before trying to carry out any plans of rebuilding, until we defeat the threat." said Mero as Wura knew that he was right.
"You are right Mero, I was just thinking." said Wura.
"And you were not wrong to think like that, I know that what you wish most is for everyone to be happy, but we cannot do that until the East is defeated." said Mero as Wura nodded.
"Yes." she replied as they had already arrived at her tent.
"I need to go and check on some things now Wura, I will see you later." said Mero as he stopped and smiled.
"Thank you Mero, see you later." she replied as she smiled and entered her tent as Mero left.
She felt sad and tired, they would be leaving tomorrow, and she honestly did not want to leave, but she had to, they had to solve this prolonged problem of war.
...
The next morning.
Wura had tried her best to get enough sleep last night, she did not want a repeat of how exhausted she felt the last time they were journeying here.
Wura got herself ready, she packed all her things and her belongings were kept in the carriage that would be following after them.
Wura was smiling and feeding Nolan as she was waiting for Mero to arrive. He was a little late, but she was sure that he had some last minute orders to give to the guards before they left so she was patient.
Wura smiled as she watched Nolan eat, she found him very cute.
Wura did not know why but she could feel some uneasiness in the air. There was something in the way the guards around her were looking at each other.
It was clear that they were not telling her something. They were clearly hiding something and they all looked as if they were on edge. As if any single movement would cause them to raise an alarm.
Wura decided not to focus too much on what she felt they were hiding from her. After all they would be leaving soon. To be honest she could not wait to get back to the camp and see Nora and work on the next possible course of action to try to defeat the East.
Wura was suddenly startled as she heard the faint sound of galloping coming from the distance. The horse sounded as if it was coming straight for them.
Wura turned around to look ahead, trying to see if she would be able to spot the horse, but she was unable to, then all of a sudden the sound of the horse galloping stopped, not to be heard again.
Wura was confused, she turned to look at the guards and she could see the extremely serious, cautious and on guard looks on their faces.
"Good morning Wura." said Mero as it was as if he appeared out of nowhere and Wura quickly turned around to look at him.
"Mero, I am so glad that you are here, I heard the sounds of horses but I could not see any horses." said Wura.
"Do you think it is safe for us to continue on?" asked Wura as one look at Mero's face and she could see that he had something to tell her.
"About that Wura... we are going to have to stay here a little longer." said Mero.
"Stay a little longer?" asked Wura in confusion as Mero nodded.
The lack of an explanation made Wura confused, she had many questions on her mind, the most important one being why?
Why all of a sudden did they have to stay longer? Did something happen? What was she even saying? Of course something happened, why else would Mero change their agreed upon plan?
"Why?" asked Wura as she felt for some reason that Mero would not tell her the reason right now.
"I will explain later." replied Mero very plainly as Wura scoffed, not from anger but from the feeling that she was right. She was starting to know Mero better, predict what he could and would not do. It made her feel happy that she was right.
"Alright." she said as she did not start an argument, she could see that Mero was surprised that she did not ask for a further explanation.
"I am going back to my tent, when you are ready to talk to me, meet me there." said Wura as she handed Nolan's lead over to one of the guards standing by and she walked away.