Her hands were soft.
But of course they were. Iliana was no warrior.
In fact, she looked like she could hardly take care of herself. Rada stared at her from across the bonfire. The young woman was wrapped in Rada's cloak, hiding most of her face save for her eyes.
Rada smirked as she cleared her mind of her prior distraction. "Why do you cower like a small child? There is no more danger here."
Iliana jumped at her sudden address. Muffled, she spoke through the cloak. "I have little reason to believe you are any safer than the men you slew to take me."
Her voice was soft and steady, like that of a troubadour. She couldn't have been long into adulthood by now. Rada leaned to the side, holding herself up with a hand on the soil. "You saw the contract, and your father's signature, did you not? I am your rescuer."
Iliana scoffed behind the cloak and averted her eyes to gaze upon the fire. The reflection would have been mesmerizing had Rada stared too long. Instead, she stood, causing Iliana to start.
"Calm yourself. I am not your enemy." Rada ran her hands through her reddish locks. Her fingers picked up traces of dirt and something akin to blood. Iliana watched in disgust as she rinsed her hands from her water skin and poured it over her head.
"How uncouth."
Rada shook her hair dry and glared at the girl. "You'd best get used to living in the wilds. We're a long way from the comforts of home."
Iliana dropped her gaze to the dirt in front of the log on which she sat. Her pale blond hair fell across her face as she sighed. "I suppose I must. Where are you taking me?"
Rada began the process of untying her leather tunic as she replied. "Back along the road your kidnappers brought you, to Kalig."
"Ugh, why such a horrid place?" Iliana whined, like a child would, which grated on Rada's ears. Her tunic loosened, she pulled it up over her head, leaving her in just her camisole and undergarments. She laid the tunic where she had sat by the fire to dry.
"Your father requested I turn you over there. Likely to conduct business as well." Now properly unburdened, Rada began her nightly routine of stretches. Arms held straight up, her stomach bared itself and Iliana stared from behind the cloak.
"You have a well-defined body," Iliana stated bluntly.
At this, Rada nearly laughed out loud as she lowered her arms to reach for her toes. "If you meant that in a complimentary manner, I thank you. Good that you recognize such things."
"You must be quite strong, the way you lug that sword around," Iliana continued in her songbird voice.
Rada held both arms behind her back, stretching out her chest toward the woman. "Well, now it merely sounds like flattery. What are you getting after?"
Iliana lifted her gaze from Rada's chest to her face after a brief moment. "I am just trying to be civil. I haven't anyone else, you know." As she finished, she opened her mouth wide in a yawn.
Rada concluded her routine, letting her arms fall loosely to her sides. She caught the end of Iliana's yawn and fought to let it catch on. "Well then, let us retire for the night. It will be a long trek in the morning, and there are no pack animals to carry you this time."
Iliana stood, keeping the cloak wrapped around her thin frame. She lowered the cloak from her face and fixed her eyes on the deerskin tent. "That looks oh so very fun..."
Rada picked up the pair of bed rolls outside the tent and laid them within. "You'll prefer this to simply lying in the dirt, won't you?"
Iliana approached and stuck her head in. "Is there even room for both of us in here?"
"Certainly, as long as you don't try to stand." Rada crawled into the tent and laid on her back on one of the bed rolls. With a sigh, Iliana did the same, nearly tripping on the cloak she still wrapped herself in.
"Why do you cling to that cloak?" Rada asked once Iliana had stopped fidgeting.
