Rom fell silent, knowing well when they returned, he would have to deal with Haren as well, and if Dak punched him, Haren would most likely kill him.
Rom massaged his aching jaw and groaned while looking from the corner of his eye at Dak, who was very much angry with him; now, he could only hope that by the time they reached Fiahthyr forest, he would be in better sentiments.
Dahlia kept quiet, unable to find the words to ease the tension between them; she had promised Edýia to keep to herself, her confession and not utter a word about it to Rom or her brother.
If things continued to stay like this, she would have to say something and clear the air between them that now despite being a lovely sunny day, the gloom surrounding them would overshadow even the brightest sun.
Silence settled in as they travelled through the plains of Beledren village, and from a distance, another village could be seen with houses dotted on a small hill.
Rom puffed his cheeks and tried his best not to say anything but the quietness was starting to get even to him, and he liked it quiet.
" Finally, some fresh air!" Dahlia exclaimed, taking a deep breath.
Rom frowned and narrowed his eyes at her, wondering which one it was, the witch or her who spoke.
" Hmm! You're back!"Dak causally exclaimed while glaring at her.
Dahlia laughed " How did you know it was me?" the witch curiously asked." Here I was, thinking that I'm getting better at this!" the witch said while looking at Dak with a stiff smile.
" You're not; you're just as bad as before!" he deadpanned, looking ahead of him, trying to ignore the witch.
" I haven't done this for some time now; it will take a while to get it right!" she mumbled while looking at Dak with a puzzled expression.
" Don't you have better things to do? Sacrificing and killing people?" Dak sarcastically pointed out while still looking ahead, trying his best to avoid looking at her.
The witch laughed " I do, but I like spending time with you!" she tried to sound seductive, but it came out more like a complaint, lifting her tied hands and touching his sturdy chest.
Dak grimaced in disgust at her touch " Don't touch me with your filthy hands!" he raged, lowering his gaze to look at her.
Her lips pulled up in a wicked smile." You can touch me; I know you want to!" she replied with a sardonic laugh, pushing herself against him.
Dak's lips twitched, and he let out an exasperated sigh and held back from knocking her out again, afraid that if he did it again, she might not recover this time.
Rom frowned, wondering why the witch shifted her interests all of a sudden and felt that he was missing something important, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
" Leave, witch! You're wasting my time!" he hissed through gritted teeth glaring at Dahlia, who closed her eyes and slumped against Dak.
Dak released a shaky sigh, hoping the witch had gotten the message since she had been bargaining with him and Haren all night, trying to strike a deal with them in exchange for the Mytrhrian Queen.
Rom quietly observed the conversation between them and wanted to ask what he had missed, but since he wasn't on Dak's good side, he decided to wait for Dak to speak to him when he would be ready.
They travelled in numbing silence as they passed village after village, the day turned into night; the cycle repeated several days in a row; while Dak didn't utter a word to Rom, and was Rom started to feel a little exasperated at his dismissive behaviour.
He knew what he had done was wrong but, at the same, felt that Dak giving him the cold shoulder for this long was a bit childish on his part.
The witch didn't return, and Dahlia slowly but surely slowly recovered from her weakened state, and she was feeling better.
Since they last spoke, she hadn't heard Dak or Rom utter another word to each other and decided to break her promise to Edýia and try to set things straight.
Dahlia cleared her throat and looked at Dak " You know, I understand that you're angry, but you can't put all the blame on him!" she carefully said while looking at Rom's gloomy demeanour.
" So you're saying my sister is to blame for this!" he replied, a little taken aback that she was taking Rom's side.
Dahlia wryly chuckled, " No, not at all! She is taken by him, as well!" she softly added while looking at his surly expression.
" She doesn't know any better!" he curtly replied while looking at Rom from the corner of his eye.
" Maybe so, but it doesn't change things!" she reasoned, treading carefully, seeing that Dak held a grudge.
"He didn't even bother to ask her properly or our blessing! She is not just some girl that you pick up in an inn and have your way with her and send her off once you satisfied your desires!" he thundered, pulling the reigns on his horse, halting to look at Rom, who pulled the reigns on his horse, stopping as well
Rom heard the conversation between Dak and Dahlia but felt his thumb was under the hammer, and saying anything would make things worse.
Rom looked down, taking a deep breath." I told you that I have every intention of taking her as my wife, and no, she is not just a girl; she is the girl I have fallen in love with. I would have asked for your blessings, but it was in the dead of night, and I didn't think she would accept!" he reasoned while nudging his horse to move, feeling annoyed that he was still upset about it, and he understood, but it was her decision, not theirs.
Dak growled, and for some reason, since he had found out about him and his sister, he felt irked to no end by the matter.
" Around these parts, as long as we like each and intend to wed, there isn't that much of a problem with how things are done and when!" Dahlia explained, hoping he would understand that Rom had no malicious intentions.
" I think I've had enough of this land; I'm ready to return home now!" Dak grumbled while spurring his horse to move and follow Rom.
Rom cursed under his breath more times than he could count, but now he was getting fed up with it. He was aware that her brothers weren't the easiest to handle, but despite that, he wasn't ready to let her go; all he could think of was her genuine innocence and how refreshing she was.
The sound of trotting behind him broke Rom's thoughts, and he finally reached the end of his wits with Dak, and he wasn't willing to hear about it anymore.
Dahlia let out a silent sigh and let things go seeing the two were stubborn as mules and saw no point wasting any more time on the matter.
The sun dipped behind the hill, and when they finally reached the forest and night was starting to settle in.
Rom stopped at the edge of the forest and looked up, knowing that a veil protected the woods, but being night and the moon didn't seem to make her presence known; he couldn't see it.
He unmounted the horse and unstrapped his bag; placing it on the ground, he tied the horse to a tree and started to make camp.
Dak unmounted the horse with Dahlia in his arms, placing her on the ground and searching for firewood, leaving Rom and Dahlia alone.
Dahlia gave Rom a pitying look " I know she feels the same way about you!" she softly added, " She is also curious about what men and women do when they like each other. I tried to explain, but she didn't seem to understand how it all works!" Dahlia continued while keeping an eye on where Dak disappeared into the forest.
Rom lifted his head to look at Dahlia, surprised with new information, and he understood now that Edýia must've asked her about it.
" Hmm! I know! Her brothers have kept her away from everything, and she knows very little about this kind of things!" he commented while following Dahlia's line of sight and saw Dak return with the firewood.
Dahlia nodded, and " She will learn; we all have to start somewhere!" she hurriedly uttered her advice and clamped her mouth shut when Dak approached them and threw the word on the ground.
Rom fell silent and carried on setting the camp, making a fire and sitting down next to it. He looked around and saw that it was pitch black; he saw no point in wandering, looking for food.
Rom lay on the ground and covered himself with a blanket, leaving Dahlia and Dak alone.
He saw no point in staying awake since Dak only growled and raged at him for something that they had already discussed and for him was dead and buried