"How much longer do you think this will take?"
"Ten minutes, perhaps?"
"Damn it."
"Try to hold on for a little bit longer, we're almost there."
"I don't know if I can do that. It's not really up to me."
"Shh. They're close now."
Neera looked below towards the forest path that passed right underneath the branches they had climbed on to hide. There, she saw twelve neatly dressed knights making their rounds through the border.
Two months had passed since they left Vinoa behind. Traveling the same way they had done before, they managed to reach the last military outpost they would have to cross before arriving at the foot of the mountain range that separated the Ronna territory from the Cambria Kingdom.
As expected, the closer they got to the region of conflict, the more strict the security became, making their progress increasingly slower, given they had to wait out the teams making the rounds.
Surprisingly, they had managed to pass under the radar quite easily, even with Davina's outstanding skin tone, because of the syncretism produced by the frontier between the two warring sides. In Pallis, the last city before the border, many children with dark hair and olive skin could be seen running around. They were the offspring between the Ronna and the people of Cambria.
After decades of conflict, even with all he blood spilled among both cultures, a black market trading route had been established across the border, where the Ronna provided goods harvested from the beasts they shared their territory with, while the people of Cambria traded clothes, medicine and even weapons and tools.
Neera had been quite surprised when Davina told her that it was not uncommon to see mixed people on the other side of the mountains as well. They were often shunned by the rest of the community, but were still treated decently and provided for, albeit only in the most basic necessities. The same happened in Pallis, although the mistreatment seemed to be more severe.
It made sense when she thought about it. Both sides had taken many prisoners of war and had had a lot of contact along the years. The fact that she and Davina spoke the same language despite coming from different countries spoke volumes, even if their accents differed.
'I guess no one would record this in a history book.'
The fact that the Kingdom had not been able to subjugate the warring tribe was enough of a stain in their pride. What would the royals do if it became known that the border between both sides became blurry to this extent after such a long period of contact between them?
Still, the conflict didn't seem to be getting any better. The faces of the soldiers were grim as they walked, tensely shifting their eyes through the forest and reacting to the smallest sound.
Davina had explained that ambush attacks were quite regular on the frontier, only getting worse the higher one climbed on the mountain side. The Ronna knew their land well, and they used it to their advantage to fall many men, but the Cambria army was quite prepared as well.
The outpost was defended by the royal army, even if the land was technically under Duke Laurendt's jurisdiction, and the reason was simple: these were their training grounds.
The soldiers that braved the dangers of the northeastern frontier often left as battle-hardened warriors with quite a large amount of experience and nerves of steel. Well, if they managed to leave alive in the first place.
The crown would be insane if they let a Duke defend this territory because it would give one of their vassals a reason to manage a well developed military. If the Duke were the lord of these soldiers Neera didn't put it past him to use them to try and pressure the capital.
Neera watched the sentries leave in silence and finally nodded ad Davina who was barely managing to contain her groans.
"They are gone. We can get down now."
"Oh, thank the gods. My legs are killing me. Help me down."
They left their hiding spot amongst the leaves. The forest was dwindling the more they progressed. Soon their hiding spots would vanish entirely.
"Those damned bastards. We can't even get an hour of rest before we have to hide again."
Davina rubbed her calves with a weary expression. The journey had not been kind to her. With her now protruding belly, and more and more ailments appearing on her body every day, she looked on the verge of collapse. It didn't help that she could barely stomach half of what she ate either.
Her skin and hair had lost their luster, and her face looked taut over the bones, sunken in at the cheeks. Not being able to sleep properly for the couple of weeks since they had left Pallis had taken its toll on her, although that was not all.
Neera could see her becoming more anxious day by day, looking down at her stomach with an indescribable expression on her face. She could not even begin to fathom what she would be feeling. She was so close to her family, but this place had also been the origin of her trauma, and now she had to face it head on while also pondering what her future would be and how her community would react to her current state.
She hadn't missed how Davina seemed sickened by the sight of the mixed children at Pallis, sometimes cradling her belly with trembling hands. The Ronna tried to hide it from her, but no amount of fake smiles could hide the dwindling vitality of her body.
"Let's rest here for a while."
Neera laid a blanket for Davina to sit on, hidden from view between some bushes.
"I'll be right back."
Taking the bow, she quietly left Davina's conflicted gaze.
For some time now, Neera had taken over the task of procuring food for the both of them. She was not as successful as her teacher, but she still managed to get enough game for them to eat.
Half an hour later, she returned with a rabbit. It was small and it had been wounded before she caught it, but Neera could not be picky since she couldn't leave Davina alone for too long, lest another patrol squad passed before she came back.
The Ronna praised her with pride in her eyes. She already had a fire burning.
After their meal, they quickly threw dirt over the embers, making sure that they had been extinguished before continuing their march northeast.
The ground had slightly began to slope upwards, and they could see the looming mountain through the treetops.
"We should take no longer than a week."
"What path can we take?"
"It's gonna be difficult. Since the weather is warm the bastards are pretty much doing the rounds around the clock now. Once we loose the tree cover it will be a matter of time before we are spotted."
"We should leave at night then."
"Yes, we would be less noticeable, but these bastards don't stop walking along the paths at night. If anything, they become even more alert."
"What would you suggest?"
"Well, usually I would make a run for it, but given my condition... That might be difficult right now. I can't ride a horse either, so that's out of the question too. We need to find a way to get a head start, after that, even if they see us climbing we will be too far for them to reach. "
Davina pondered for some time.
"I can still run, though."
The woman looked down at the pair of sharp grey eyes.
"So?"
"I'll be a distraction while you go up. Then, I run after you."
"Neera, no."
"I don't see any other solution. I am a cambrian after all, they won't attack me, specially because I'm a child."
"Neera, these men... These men are monsters. You don't know what they're capable of. They don't care if you are a woman or a child. Believe me, I've seen what they can do."
Davina's eyes lost their luster.
"But none of those people they attacked were cambrian, were they?"
"That doesn't-"
"Were they?"
"... They were not."
"Then I stand a chance. Besides, you trained me yourself. Shouldn't you have some faith in your pupil? If things go south I should be able to escape."
"Even if you escape you won't be able to make your way through the mountain. The terrain is rough and many have lost their lives due to a false step. How do you pretend to run through it in the dark and make it out alive? And if you did, we would most likely be separated anyway. We should wait a bit more."
"But we can't wait anymore. The longer we take, the less you can move. Even if we can hide for a while in Pallis it is only a matter of time before Laurendt's forces find us. They have been stepping on our toes this whole time, we won't last a week."
The Ronna's face soured. She knew Neera was right, but she couldn't fathom the idea of this child jumping into the hands of those monsters just so she could make her way up the slope. The girl looked at her straight in the eyes, no trace of nervousness or fear in her gaze, only a cold, calm resolve.
"Don't worry, I'll make it through. Aren't you the one who's always saying that I'm a terrifying child?"
"Yes, you are a terrifying child. But you're still just that; a child."
"We don't have any more options. This is the only scenario where we both can survive. Just let me do it."
"What if I distract them?"
"And then what? Get killed?"
Neera sighed.
"I can't make it up the mountain without you, and the Ronna would most likely kill me on sight even if I made it all the way up."
The girl looked down at Davina's stomach.
"Besides... I want to give that baby a chance."
Davina's eyes widened. She barely whispered.
"...Why?"
The clarity in Neera's gaze struck her with full force once more.
"Someone gave me a chance too sometime, right?"