I left the tent first and joined Liz, Serin and Beth siting around the campfire. Liz was just grinning at me, while Beth looked as she didn’t quite know where to look.

Serin got up and passed me the wine skin she had just been drinking from. “Would you like some?”

I leant forward and took the skin from her. “Thanks Serin.”

Liz let out a short giggle. “Well, that sounded like you put on quite the performance. I’m surprised that these two didn’t decide to join you. They both looked as if they were missing out on the fun. I was almost tempted to myself… But I suppose someone needs to watch over the camp.”

“Liz!” Beth said looking a little flustered but wagging her tail slightly.

Liz waved off her complaint. “You should just have been honest and joined them!”

I coughed awkwardly. “Um, thanks for holding things down out here then. I think Altria will be out in a moment and we can organise the watch.”

Just as I finished speaking Altria stepped out of the tent. She walked over to the fire, still straightening out her hair and sat down next to me. She leant her head on my shoulder and yawned.

She looked across to the flask in my hands. “Is that wine?”

I nodded. “It is. Want some?”

“Please.”

I passed her the flask, and she took a gulp.

“Were we going to organise the shifts?” She asked.

“Yes… I wonder if we should let you two sleep a bit first and take the later shifts.” Answered Serin.

“We’ll be fine, but you can do as you please.” Altria said before passing the wine on to Liz.

“Okay, then we’ll do the usual method.”

Serin prepared a handful of sticks and went about the group, letting us each pick a twig. As things turned out I got the first shift. I was feeling a little worn still, but I actually preferred taking the first watch. At least after it was done, I would hopefully be able to sleep through until the morning. There was something off-putting about waking in the night and then having to try and sleep once you were done. Altria was on the next shift, then it was Beth. She was followed by Liz and Serin was taking the last watch.

It had just about fallen dark by the time that we had finished. It was still a little too early for most people to turn in. Because it had been a fairly easy going first day and we were expecting tomorrow to be much the same, the other girls sat up for a while with me, as we shared out the last of the wine. After a short while, Altria decided to head to bed.

She stood up fighting a yawn. “I think I’ll go to sleep already. Seems I am pretty tired!”

“After all that noise you were making, I’m not surprised!” Replied Liz.

“Oh well, I couldn’t help it. You missed out on the fun.” She said with a wave as she made her way back to her own tent.

“What’s the plan for tomorrow?” I asked once Altria had left.

“We’ll want to walk as far as possible. I’d like to camp as close to the border as we can. It’ll be our last relatively safe night and our last day of being able to walk in the open. I’d like to make the most of it.” Answered Serin.

Beth had been looking over Liz’s map decided to speak up. “We should be able to do that. Looking at the map, it’s a straight shot across the plain and then over the line of hills at the far side. I expect we could find a good camp spot in the foothills before we make the final approach.”

“That was what I was hoping. As long as we don’t run into any trouble along the way, we shouldn’t have a problem.”

“I suppose we’ll want to set off early again tomorrow?” I asked.

“Yes, we’ll want to finish the walk and setup camp before it gets dark.” Answered Serin.

“How likely are we of running into any trouble tomorrow?”

“Not likely, but I didn’t expect to run into anything today, so who knows… At least we have Liz with us now.”

“Always happy to be useful.” Liz said from across the fire.

“And Beth, so I doubt we’ll have too many problems. It didn’t take long to take down that wildcat today.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Answered Serin.

The girls stayed up with me for about another half an hour, before heading to bed and leaving me to take the first watch. I fed the fire a little then settled down. It was a clear night, just the odd cloud crossing the moon here and there. Before I knew it, it was time to wake Altria for her turn. I poked my head inside the tent and quietly woke her.

She looked up sleepily. “Huh, Theo?”

“It’s your turn to take watch.”

“Okay, I’ll be out in a moment.”

I waited by the fire until Altria emerged from her tent. We spoke for a few minutes and then I climbed into my own tent. I had left Celine there sleeping in the evening, when Serin had called for us, but she was nowhere to be seen when I returned. I didn’t think much of it, she didn’t seem to stay and sleep the night with me normally anyway. I climbed into my bed and tired from the day was soon asleep.

The next day I woke early. No one had come to wake me yet, but it was light. I could just about make out Serin and Beth talking. I guessed I could probably sleep a little longer, but I decided to get up anyway. I quickly dressed and went outside to join them.

“Morning Theo.” Beth said as she saw me climb out of the tent.

“Morning.”

“You know, you could have slept in for longer. It’s still early.” Serin said as I sat down.

“I know. I couldn’t sleep anymore, and I was starting to get hungry.”

 “I suppose we could start cooking something now.”

Beth immediately reached for her cooking gear. “Oh good, I’m hungry too but I didn’t want to say anything. I know some people don’t like to start until everyone is up!”

“I doubt the other two will mind.”

With that we started to put on breakfast. As it was, the smell of food cooking soon enticed the others from their tents. We ended up finishing eating and had packed away the campsite ahead of schedule. We would have plenty of time to cross the hills and find a good camp for the night. I decided to check on Celine before we set off, having not seen her since the night before.

“Celine?” I called out.

“Yes Master?”

“Oh good, you are here.”

“Did you need something?”

“No, I just wanted to check you were okay.”

She smiled. “I’m fine.”

“Great. You’ll probably need to stay out of sight for most of the day. We’ll be out in the open again as soon as we leave the camp.”

“Right, I’ll stay hidden.”

“Thanks… I’ll call for you if I need anything.”

“Please do.” She said before vanishing into thin air once again.

“You all set?” Asked Serin.

“Yeah.”

“Then we’ll set out.”

We walked across the grassy plain for most of the morning and reached the foothills a little while before midday.

As we stopped for a breather before the climb Serin walked over. “I’d like to reach the other side of this before we stop for lunch. There should be a good spot on the far side. Is that okay with everyone?”

There weren’t any objections and after a quick water stop, we started moving again. It took about half an hour to reach the top. Once we were there, we had a clear view of the series of hills we would need to cross that day before we came close to the border.

I glanced down and noticed a large lake on a plateau someway down from where we were. Its waters looked blue from up here shimmering in the sun, there looked to be a section of beach on its edges.

“Is that where you wanted to stop for lunch Serin?” I asked.

“Yes, I saw it on the map and thought it would be a nice place to stop. From here it looks like I was right.”

“It does!”

“Come on, let’s make our way down.”

The party had stopped for a moment to take in the views, but after Serin’s suggestion we all started moving again. Everyone seemed keen to get there and stop for lunch. As we drew closer it seemed more and more like Serin was right. It was completely unspoilt and miles from anywhere. Being a hot day, I was keen to get there and dip my toes in the water.