60: Do You Think I Need Help?

Do You Think I Need Help?

It was not as terrible as her sneaking secretly inside Smuggler Ron's wagon, but still, her legs had gone numb due to sitting for hours. Not to forget, the uneven roads the caravan took made her bones clank against each other.  2

'I need to pee first.'

She looked around, and fortunately, the caravan stopped in an area with dense woods. There was a group of women walking towards a remote part and so were the men planning to relieve their bladders. She could join neither group. With the number of people, she had to be careful not to expose that she's a female. 

"Luke, I will be back in a bit."

Luke nodded, and as she took her first step, he followed her. She stopped and looked over her shoulder with a raised brow. "Why are you following me?"

"I will keep guard."

"Huh? Why would you? I am just going to pee. I don't like to do it in front of others. I can't pee in front of you watching—"

Luke offered her an annoyed gaze, as if to say 'Who wants to watch?' 

"Just go ahead. I will stay at a distance."

She sighed inwardly. 'Even if stands away, what if he gets to see I am not standing and—ahh! What should I do?'

"Luke, don't tell me you are a pervert, and you enjoy listening to the sound—"

His dark brown eyes flashed before he turned around with gritted teeth. "Go and come back fast."

"Heh, of course. I will call you if there is anything!"

She ran towards the woods with stifled laughter. Sensing her surroundings, she could hear distant voices floating near to where she was.

'There are still people around. I should go farther.'

Meanwhile, Luke was waiting for her to return, standing with arms crossed in front of his chest, his muscles bulging underneath his shirt. GIven his intimidating figure, some ignorant people even thought he was one of the escort guards.

Time passed by and the cooked food was being distributed, but Oriana was yet to return. He began to worry. Not thinking much, he was about to walk towards the woods, but he saw her coming out and stopped in place. 

Luke felt relieved and caught himself feeling surprised by his reaction. Relieved? He could not understand why he worried so much for her. It was to the point that he would care little if Oriana was offended by him seeing her in a situation which she didn't want him to see. 

Oriana approached him with a satisfied smile on her lips, but noticed his grim expression. 

"Are you alright, Luke? Did something happen?"

It pulled him back to his senses and she heard him say, "Do not stay out of my sight for more than five minutes."

"Huh?" 

"Stay here and do not wander here and there alone," he said before walking away towards the servant in charge of food. 

"What happened to this guy?"

They had a warm, tasty meal and rested for half an hour before the mercenary leader announced for people to start packing. Everyone prepared to leave. 

After hours of travel, once again, the caravan stopped and decided to camp out by a river. The sun had set and as the next village was far, it was not safe to travel in the dark. The merchants decided to set up tents for themselves, informing the other travelers that they would be leaving first thing in the morning. 

After their evening meal, Oriana sat by the riverbank, watching the flowing water while idly humming some tune she heard from one of the porters. Meanwhile, Luke was helping a few servants to arrange a tent. He saw them struggling to stake the tent peg on the ground and offered to help. Though he was busy, his one eye was on her. 

"...Luke? Can you help me bring down these sacks? This cart has some issues with the front wheel."

He initially wanted to refuse, wanting to stay in the riverbank with Oriana, but In the end, Luke was pulled towards the cart after the merchant offered to let him borrow two warm blankets for the night. 

The caravan people loved Luke's existence. He was a strong young man who was good with his hands, and though he was a man of few words, he was a great help to everyone. Because of this, the servants would give him an extra portion of food or offer conveniences the merchants would not give the other travelers.

Oriana did not realize he left. She was in a daze, looking at the moon's reflection on the surface of the river. 

"Boy, why are you all alone?"

Someone came behind her. She turned to look at the man, and he was one of the two who were staring at her in the cart. It was the blacksmith's apprentice.

"Do you want me to keep you company? Your brother doesn't seem to be around."

Oriana looked where she had seen Luke before, but he was not there. In fact, most of the caravan people had long retired to their respective wagons and the tents to sleep, except for some porters at a distance as well as the escort guards in charge of the night watch. 

She looked at the blacksmith's apprentice. "I don't need company, mister. You can sit here if you want."

She stood up from the rock and was about to leave, but the man grabbed her wrist, pulling her to a stop. "In a hurry to leave? Why don't you sit with me?We can have some good time together."

The moment he touched her, Oriana was tempted to punch him. Still, this man was a fellow traveler. They would be sitting in the same wagon for four more days. She warned, "Let go."

The man gave her a wide grin. showing his unkempt teeth. "What if I don't? Will you call for help like a little girl? What will you tell others? I didn't do anything. I will just say I was worried that you were lonely here in the dark."

"Calling for help? Do you think I need help?" 

She chuckled, her beautiful hazel eyes making that man lose himself in them, not realizing the dangerous glint in them.

"Ahh!!!" 

Splash!

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