Break Free (The Restraints of Duty)

Everything changed when a violent storm struck the travel party with a vengeance.

Thunder roared overhead and lightning flashed against the murky backdrop as rain lashed and blinded them. The winds howled like a living creature, bending the tree branches and swallowing their shouts attempting to gain control of the spooked horses.

The river the caravan traveled along had risen in level and overflowed, and the muddy banks gave way beneath their feet with every move forward.

The heavens suddenly sent the loudest clap of thunder and the brightest flash of lightning and Morta became frightened. It began to wildly jump and buck, and in the confusion, the Harkness Heiress was thrown off the saddle.

Rio saw her fall too late.

The river seized her and tried dragging her under its churning surface. There was no graceful struggle — just a desperate flail of limbs and Agatha’s wide-eyed panic before the water swallowed her whole.

“Lady Agatha!” Rio’s yell was drowned out by the storm. Without hesitation, she dove in after her.

The current was merciless, tearing at her like claws as it carried her away from the caravan. Her armor weighed her down but she pushed through the icy grip of the water and reached for any sign of the young Lady.

She quickly scanned the waters until she saw a flash of royal purple. Agatha's cloak.

Rio surged forward, grasping Agatha’s arm that shot up just as another wave crashed over them. She pulled her close and secured a grip of her waist and began to fight her way back to the bank. Agatha clung to her, nails biting into her shoulders.

It felt like an eternity before Rio’s boots made contact with ground. It was muddy and slippery, but at least it was solid.

With one final pull, she hauled them both out of the river’s clutches and they both collapsed onto the soaked grass, gasping for air.

Agatha coughed violently, water streaming out from her lips. “I don… I do not…”

“Do not speak,” Rio ordered, voice rougher than intended. “Catch your breath, my lady.”

Agatha obeyed.

When the worst of her coughing fit subsided, she lay her back against the mud and stared up at the rain-filled sky.

“I do not know how to swim,” she muttered hoarsely.

Rio ran a hand through her dripping hair, her heart still pounding from the adrenaline. “Yes,” she said flatly. “I gathered that.”

Agatha let out a weak laugh that sounded more like a wheeze. “Was it obvious?”

“Painfully so, my lady.”

They sat there for a moment longer before Rio forced herself to her feet and began to survey the bank for any resources. She gathered what few pouches and supplies she could salvage from the mud and began to search through them for something useful.

Her jaw tightened at the pitiful haul of empty pouches and a flint stone.

“Is that all?” Agatha asked, teeth chattering.

“Unless you fancy digging through the river yourself, my lady.” Rio replied as she placed the flint stone in the largest pouch.

Agatha stayed lying in the mud. “No, thank you.”

Rio sighed as she fastened the pouch to her belt. Her hands went to her side and felt the familiar hilt and scabbard. At least her sword was still secured around her waist and wasn’t taken by the river.

She took one more look around the area for a possible route back to the caravan. There was no road in sight, only the river and a dense forest that surrounded the river bank.

Rio began to move toward the dense path of trees in front of her. “Arise, my lady. We need to move and connect back with the others.”

Agatha got up and staggered after her, shivering more noticeably now.

The pair traveled through the woods and Rio's eyes endlessly searched around for a place to take shelter from the storm that was still very much alive. She could tell the young Lady was growing weary and silently rejoiced when she caught sight of a small overhang of rocks. It was barely a shelter but it would be enough to block the worst of the wind and they would at least be covered from the rain.

Thankfully, there were a few dry leaves, twigs and bark on the ground. Rio set to work, gathering them into a small mound and began to work with the flint. She continued to strike it against stone until a small flame flickered to life. She carefully blew on it and fed it with some more twigs until it grew into a modest fire.

“Oh, thank goodness! I was on my way to becoming an icicle.” Agatha moved closer to the fire and huddled close to Rio.

“I apologize, my lady." Rio pointedly ignores her proximity. "This is all I am able to do at the moment.”

"Well," Agatha tilted her head, eyeing her. “There is one thing.”

“The answer is, ‘No.’”

“You do not even know what I was going to say.”

“You were about to suggest we share body heat.” Rio poked at the fire.

Agatha grinned. “You are freezing too.”

Rio’s jaw was a hard line. She was, but admitting that would only fuel Agatha’s relentless provocation. “I am fine.”

“You are shaking. Be sensible, Ser. This is purely for survival.” Agatha countered as she shifted closer and leaned against her, head resting against Rio’s shoulder.

Rio tensed and went rigid as the rocks that sheltered them.

For a long while, they simply sat there: Agatha’s soft weight pressed into Rio’s side and the fire crackling in front of them.

Rio’s mind was a battlefield — half of her focused on the task at hand and continued to feed the fire, and the other half was painfully aware of Agatha’s closeness and the scent of rain and river and something floral clinging to her hair.

“You can cease sitting like you have been transformed into a statue,” Agatha whispered. “I am not going to bite.”

Rio exhaled softly. “From my observations, there is always that possibility, my lady.”

Agatha chuckled, her breath warming Rio’s neck. “I assure you, I will be on my best behavior.”

The fire had dwindled to embers, casting a faint glow against the rocky overhang. The rain outside was still present, but it was no longer a downpour.

Agatha woke up to the spot besides her being cold. Empty.

She scrambled to her feet, panic flared in her chest as her mind raced. Did Rio leave her behind to fend for herself? The thought was absurd and she knew it wasn’t true, but her worry began to grow and gnaw at her.

Just as Agatha opened her mouth to call out Rio’s name, a figure emerged from the trees.

Rio’s hair was damp and her armor still caked with mud. She was carrying the pouch she had taken earlier from the river bank in one hand and a large flat rock in the other.

“You left me.” Agatha accused when Rio stepped under the overhang. Her voice was more breathless than it was biting.

“I went to find food.” Rio replied evenly, shaking the pouch and the flap opened to reveal a bundle of dark purple berries and a few small eggs. “I am not in the habit of abandoning people in the wilderness.”

Agatha eyed the berries. “Are those… safe?”

Rio paused, a slight flicker of uncertainty crossing her face. “I believe so, yes.”

“‘Believe’ so?”

“They match the description of wild elderberries.”

Agatha arched a brow. “And if they are not?”

Rio gave a half-shrug. “Then I suppose we will know shortly as I have already eaten a few on my way here.”

Agatha stared at her for a long moment before she burst into a laugh. “Are you trying to poison me, dear Knight?”

Rio sighed and walked to the embers, placing the flat rock on top of them before she worked to bring the fire back to life. “Would you rather starve, my lady?”

Agatha joined her and popped a berry into her mouth dramatically. “If these berries lead to my death, Ser, I will haunt you forever.”

Rio merely rolled her eyes, but there was the faintest hint of a smile tugging on her lips.

The fire was brought to life. The flickering firelight cast sharp shadows across Rio's face and Agatha took note of Rio’s ever-furrowed brows, the set of her jaw, and the way she moved with practiced precision as she organized a pile of twigs

Agatha leaned back against the rock wall, twirling a stray strand of her hair between her fingers as she watched Rio begin to cook some eggs.

The berries, thankfully, did not kill them.

The morning had brought out a reluctant sun, its pale light barely broke through the thick canopy of trees. The storm had passed, but the woods were a tangle of dripping leaves and slick mud and moss making every step a test of balance and patience for the pair.

Agatha stumbled over a root for the fifth time in under ten minutes. She muttered a curse as she kicked it in frustration.

“Are you certain we are not finding ourselves walking in a circle, Ser Knight?”

Rio, who was several paces ahead, didn’t bother looking back. “Yes.”

“Because that yonder tree looks undoubtedly familiar,” Agatha said, pointing at a gnarled oak. “I am quite certain it had mocked me the last time we passed it through.”

“It is a tree, my lady. It lacks the capacity for mockery.”

Agatha huffed. “I am beginning to doubt your so-called knightly instincts.”

Rio let out a long-suffering sigh and shot her a look over her shoulder. “I am trained in combat, survival, tracking, and keeping reckless nobles alive. There is no need for concern, my lady.”

“Well,” Agatha mused, stepping gingerly over patch of mud and another root, “achieving three of those four is not too bad.”

Rio didn’t respond but the twitch in her jaw betrayed her mounting irritation.

They trudged on, the forest a persistent expanse of green and brown. Ever so often, Rio would pause to inspect a trail — broken branches, the faintest imprint of an animal's step in the mud — but each time, her frown deepened.

Agatha watched her, a smirk tugging at her lips. “Admit it, Ser.”

“Admit what?”

“We are lost.”

“We are not lost.” Rio said through gritted teeth.

Agatha clutched her cloak dramatically. “Oh, dear Heavens. Is this how it begins? Firstly, we walk in endless circles, then we resort to eating the moss off of trees, and then we will be drawing lots to determine who will get eaten first!"

Rio finally halted and turned sharply to face her. "We are not going to eat each other."

"That sounds awfully like something someone lost would utter." Agatha grinned. "Face it, Ser Knight. We. Are. Lost."

"Would you like to find your own way, my lady?"

Rio's voice was dangerously calm.

Agatha raised a brow and tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Tempting... but no. I quite enjoy witnessing you wrestle with the fact you are not as all-knowing as you pretend to be."

Rio’s jaw worked for a moment before she turned back around and started walking again, this time her steps had more purpose... or just more frustration.

After a few minutes of silence, Agatha spoke again, softer this time, the teasing edge was gone from her voice. “You do not have to pretend, you know. It is impossible for someone to have all the answers.”

Rio stopped once more, her back remained toward Agatha. Her hand rested lightly on the hilt of her sword — not out of threat, but of habit.

“I am responsible for your safety, my lady. That means knowing.” Rio simply said before she resumed her march.

Agatha rolled her eyes and followed after her.

The sun was on the horizon and sky was a deep blue with streaks of orange and purple by the time Rio finally stopped. They had found a small clearing, bordered by thick trees that could serve as a windbreak. An area with a fallen log and some scattered rocks suggested this wasn’t the first time someone had camped at that spot, though it had most likely been long enough for nature to reclaim most of the site.

“We will camp here for the night,” Rio announced.

“At last!" Agatha's shoulders sagged with dramatic relief. The air had turned sharp and the sting of the evening coolness creeped into her bones. She wrapped her cloak tighter around herself but it was no good because it was still damp. "A knight who knows when to surrender!”

Rio ignored her and set to work gathering firewood with swift, practiced movements. Agatha watched for a moment, then clumsily started gathering a few sticks of her own.

Rio arched a brow at her pile of twigs but decided to keep her comment to herself when Agatha gave her a flat look.

Agatha kept collecting sticks halfheartedly as Rio began to set up a campfire.

The sudden warmth drew a soft sigh from Agatha's lips when Rio finally coaxed a fire into life.

Then her stomach growled. Loudly.

Rio paused, the flint still in her hand, and looked at her.

Agatha put a hand over her stomach as if it might muffle the sound. “Ignore that.”

Another growl.

Rio's mouth twitched — not quite a smile, but dangerously close. “Would you like me to find something to quiet the beast inside you, my lady?”

Agatha felt her face flush and shot back in embarrassment. "Only if you want me to survive the night. Otherwise I will be forced to eat you, Ser."

“Try it,” Rio said dryly, “and your teeth will break on my armor, my lady.”

“I am very resourceful.”

Rio shook her head and rose to her feet. “Stay here." She emphasized, pointing to the ground. "Do not wander.”

“Where would I even go?” Agatha gestured to the endless trees. “It all looks the same.”

Rio didn’t answer and disappeared into the woods with her hand at the ready on the grip of her sword.

For a while, Agatha simply sat by the fire, letting the heat chase away the chill and finally getting fully dried. The night was quiet — too quiet for her liking — and every occasional creak of a branch or distant rustle of leaves made her sit up a little straighter.

Rio returned with two rabbits hanging from her belt.

Agatha shot to her feet eyeing the rabbits like they were a royal feast. "A second longer and I would have thought you had abandoned me to the creatures of this forest."

“Believe me,” Rio replied, kneeling by the fire to begin skinning the rabbits, “the thought crossed my mind.”

Agatha faked a wounded gasp. “You would not dare.”

Rio gave her a sideways glance, a ghost of a smile on her lips. “There is still time."

For a moment, there was only the sound of Rio using her sword to cut through fur and flesh. Once the rabbit meat was prepared, Rio skewered them with sticks and placed them in the fire.

At the sight, Agatha's stomach let out another traitorous growl.

“Patience, my lady.”

“I am the embodiment of patient,” Agatha grumbled. “This is simply taking forever.”

Soon, the rabbits were roasting over the fire, their fat sizzling and popping in the flames.

The smell was enough to make Agatha sway slightly where she sat.

Rio looked up from cleaning her sword and watched her. “Are you alright?”

“Splendid,” she said, then added under her breath, “But I may be going mad from hunger and hallucinating a bit. Or it could be the fault of yesterday's berries.”

Rio actually chuckled at that — a low, brief sound — but it was gone before Agatha could latch onto it.

Still, the sound warmed her almost as much as the fire.

When the meat was finally cooked, Rio handed her a portion, and Agatha tore into it with unladylike enthusiasm.

Rio raised a brow and Agatha spoke around a mouthful of rabbit. “Do not judge me, dear Ser. It is not in my constitution to go this long without a proper meal.”

Rio exhaled a laugh through her nose. “Nothing was said, my lady.”

They finished their meal in relative silence before settling in for the night and letting the exhaustion from the day wash over them.

Agatha lay curled underneath her cloak, shifting occasionally on the uncomfortable ground. Sleep had come slowly despite her tiredness, and when it finally did, it was the kind that was never quite deep enough to drown out the sound of the woods that surrounded them.

But what woke her up completely from the thin veil of sleep was not the wind or the forest.

It was Rio.

Rio muttered in her sleep, low and strained, words too slurred for Agatha to understand.

At first, Agatha thought Rio was speaking to her, but when she sat up and looked around, Rio's head was still bowed, hands twitching slightly over the hilt of her sword even in sleep.

"Ser Knight?" Agatha whispered, hesitant.

Rio gave a sharp, hoarse gasp. Her breathing was ragged now, teeth grinding and jaw clenching so tight it looked and sounded painful.

"Ser Knight." Agatha tried again, a little louder this time.

She reached out to place a gentle touch to Rio's arm, but the moment Agatha's fingers brushed the break of armor near her elbow, Rio's eyes snapped open.

In a blur of motion, Rio lunged forward and pinned Agatha on her back, one hand applying pressure around her neck and the other pulled at her sword.

"...Rio!" Agatha managed to choke out against the hand on her neck.

The sword was half-drawn when Rio's mind caught up with her body. Rio stopped before the blade fully cleared its sheath. Her eyes that were wild and unfocused just seconds ago were now wide and horrified as they locked with Agatha's.

For a breathless second, neither of them moved.

Then Rio's hand loosened, the sword slid back into place with a muted click, and Rio scrambled back, her heart lurching.

Agatha coughed and rolled to her side as soon as the pressure left her neck.

"Lady Agatha, I—!" Rio rasped, "Did I— are you—?" she swallowed hard, chest heaving. "I am so sorry."

"I am fine," Agatha said quickly. "You did not hur—."

"I did not know— it was not—," Rio shot to her feet and took a step back to create some distance between them, looking everywhere but at Agatha.

"I am fine." Agatha repeated, softly this time as she also stood, making a point to show her body devoid of blood. "See? I am not fatally wounded"

"I would never—!"

"I know. I know you would not." Agatha's voice was firm, as if she was trying to anchor Rio.

But all Rio could feel was the sick twist in her stomach. Rio stayed silent, as her hands hovered at her side, fingers curled into a trembling fist as she stared at the dying fire as her pulse drummed in her ears.

She could have hurt Agatha.

"Rio."

It was not Ser Knight, but just Rio. She flinched at the sound of her name.

"Was it a nightmare?" Agatha's voice was low, almost hesitant.

Rio didn't respond and simply chewed the insides of her cheeks.

"Does it come to you every night?"

Still, she said nothing.

For a moment, Agatha thought she wouldn't answer to her at all.

But then, Rio raked a hand through her hair and exhaled a shaky breath. “It will not happen again.” She turned and finally faced Agatha, standing stiffly like a soldier awaiting orders. "You should go back to sleep, my lady. I will keep watch."

Agatha frowned and studied her. Rio’s shoulders were tight and her hands refused to unclench fully. This was a different kind of rigidity than what Agatha had grown used to seeing from Rio. Agatha thought about pressing her, but she knew it would be a waste of her breath. So, she just sighed sat back down on the ground to lean on the fallen log.

“Fine. I am going to sleep.” Agatha pulled her cloak back over herself and turned her back to Rio. “And it is not because you told me so, but because I want to.”

“Understood,” was Rio’s infuriatingly neutral reply as she took a seat on the log a good distance from Agatha.

A silence fell between them.

After a while, Agatha's voice came again as a whisper in the night. "For what it is worth... I was not afraid of you."

The words were meant to be a comfort but the echo of the nightmare still clawed at the edges of Rio’s mind. 

Eventually, she heard the slow rhythm of Agatha's breathing as she drifted to sleep while Rio remained sitting in the dark, awake despite her fatigue.