Found:
My stuff!
I know what the healer said. I know what Sil' said. I can't say I cared. My bag was still where I left it, at my campsite, and I needed to get it back!
Certainly, most of what was in there could easily be replaced. My utensils and crockery are hardly unique. The coinpurses, whilst useful, are still easy enough to replace; I have several stashed away in various caches. Even the few unsold relics are not of great concern. No, my only real interest lay in that necklace, the one my mother had sent with me to Rohan. Even now, I marvel at its beauty and although I have never been particularly sentimental, still I would not leave this behind.
It is one of two such items both precious and irreplaceable to my mind. The other is Yarassi's ring. Even now I wear it upon my thumb.
So, determined not to lose my mother's necklace, I waited until Sil' had departed to get on with his own life before rolling myself off the bed. I could have asked him to fetch it for me I suppose, but I really didn't want to. He'd put himself out enough for my sake. I wasn't going to ask more of the man when he'd already done so much.
My plan was as simple as it was brilliant; get out, get there, get my stuff and get back before he ever noticed me missing!
It could have worked!
Under normal circumstances it would have worked.
However these are not normal circumstances, so my plan failed miserably.
Through a handy mixture of the healer's sturdy bindings and her wonderful painkiller, I managed to get myself out of the bed without too much difficulty. Using my arms to drag myself across the floor and out of the house would have been a lot more uncomfortable upon my ribs and bruises had I been able to feel much at all beyond a slightly warm fuzziness. To my delight, the horse he'd bought in Trestlebridge was still milling around outside and there was a rather handily placed trellis at the bottom of the short path. Never have I been so glad of my tightly toned musculature! It took a while and it was certainly not easy, but I managed to climb the trellis using naught but my arms and chin and shift myself over to hang from the top of it. When I called the horse over, it walked right beneath so that I could just drop down into the saddle. Damned thing was a skittish sort, though. It nearly bolted right out from beneath me and, if it had, I just know I would have ended up flat on the floor with further injury. Thank goodness that I managed to hold onto and calm the silly beast!
I managed to get to the campsite with relative ease. It's not ideal, or all that comfortable, to ride a horse without the ability to move ones legs but it is doable. Also annoyingly slow. I didn't dare go too fast lest I fall from the saddle. Subsequently, it took far longer to reach my destination than I would have liked, but I figured myself to still be within comfortable margins. After all, I expected him to be gone all day at the very least. Perhaps a few days or longer still. He had no need to rush, right? The healer was taking care of me and I couldn't go anywhere, plus he had his own things to be getting on with...
Wrong.
The smug bastard arrived shortly after I did! Well, he was more irritated than smug, I think. Mildly vexed? Slightly peeved? At least he wasn't outright angry. He did threaten to drag me right back if he had to, though. I'm not sure how I feel about that. On the one hand, it does give the illusion that he cares for my wellbeing and is only trying to ensure my safety. On the other hand, I don't believe he gives that much of a toss for me personally and is only invested in my recovery because he put so much effort into saving my sorry hide to begin with!
That being said, I can't deny how safe I feel when I'm in his arms, even if he is only carrying me because my stupid legs still won't obey me! I hate this. I really do! Not being able to come and go as I please is frustrating. Being dependent upon someone, anyone, after so long on my own is supremely annoying. I'm putting a brave face on it insofar as I can. Hopefully I've got him fooled enough.
We laughed, joked and flirted on the way back to Bree. Indeed, we laughed, joked and flirted once he'd installed me safely back in my tedious little prison. There was nothing to it, of course. It was just banter. That's all it could ever be, all it will ever be. Although I must admit to finding some amusement in his feigned jealousy when I pointed out that once I was healed, I'd be seeking a new bed warmer! He threatened to break this hypothetical future entertainment's jaw! Hah! I know it won't happen, but the thought of it tickles me somewhat.
I showed him the necklace, gave a brief explanation of its significance and, when the subject turned to it, a vague recount of some of what I'd faced in my youth. Even lacking any specifics, I still feel like I've told this man too much. I have to stop this. I have to stop confiding in him, trusting in him. I have to stop letting myself drift closer to him. It'll only end in tears. Notably my own.
He's gone now and I am left alone. I hate that I wish he was still here. To combat that, I am beginning to piece together a plan for my eventual escape. He can't be allowed to follow me to Rohan. He can't be allowed to track me down as he has before. My escapade today may make him slightly more watchful for a little while, we'll see, but whether or not that is the outcome, I need to convince him that all is well. I need him to believe that I am safe, I am recovering, I'm not going anywhere. It'll take time but it needs to be done.
I need to get away from him before I fall too far.
