Anna and Kyren walked together to the middle of the camp, where a big bonfire was lit. A warm ambience prevailed as the golden flas burned blazingly, illuminating the surroundings with light.
As she unheedingly walked, the princess looked up at the fluttering blue flag hung high on the pole.
The flag’s coat of arms featured a Griffin as the main charge, denoting strength, courage, and leadership. It was the coat of arms of the Duchy of Gerhard.
It was Anna’s first official eting with Kyren’s subordinates, and the princess couldn’t help feeling nervous. She saw the n gathered at the open area of the central bonfire for dinner.
Mustering her courage, she smiled at them, so of whom were familiar faces she had t at the infirmary and during the infamous fight between Eric and Noah.
From their appearances, she could identify that so were knights and so were ordinary soldiers. The knights wore blue surcoats with insignia, while the soldiers wore simple tunics with a badge on their right chest. The number of soldiers was less than the knights since they were temporarily borrowed from the border patrol station to assist the group.
Being the only woman and civilian in the camp, Anna initially felt ostensibly anxious and awkward, like soone who didn’t belong there.
However, after spending a few days touring the camp with Noah and visiting the infirmary a few tis, she found the surroundings were pretty decent.
Though most were not friendly, the knights greeted and respected her kindly. Only a few were daring enough to talk to her, asking about her day and making small talk. Others would only stare from a distance.
A small wooden table was set near the bonfire, and various dishes and drinks were served. Several torches and lanterns were also lit to brighten the campsite.
As she arrived, the knights and soldiers sitting on the logs and the ground around the bonfire quickly stood up and greeted the couple with a bow.
"Sit here, Anna." Kyren gestured to his wife and invited her to sit on a chair at the table.
"n, let introduce you to my wife, Lady Anna Raychard," announced Kyren to his subordinates.
Anna glanced at them, covering the nervousness that started to creep up on her. They didn’t seem hostile. Instead, they seed unconcerned with her presence and more focused on the commander’s announcent.
"Treat her well with respect and honour," Kyren continued.
The commander was staring straight at his n as if he were giving a warning to them.
"Commander, let us have a toast as our congratulations on your marriage," Eric suddenly stood up and lifted his drink.
"Yeah!!" The other knights rose and cheered loudly. All of them raised their drinks high for the toast.
"Sure! I accept." Kyren got on his feet and lifted his glass. Anna followed and stood up as well.
"To the commander and his bride!" Eric exclaid.
The rest of the knights cheered the sa. They gulped down the drinks and clapped joyfully at the couple. With the cheers over, the knights quickly returned to their food and conversation.
The aftertaste of the drink lingered on Anna’s tongue. She was sure that it was not an alcoholic beverage. Instead, it tasted more like tea. The princess lifted her glass and looked inside.
"It’s tea," Kyren suddenly spoke up.
Anna turned to him and asked to reaffirm, "Tea?"
"You’re not allowed to drink alcohol due to your body condition. Rafe precisely told that. So, we’re having tea tonight," he said.
"You’re having tea too?" she asked in disbelief. He nodded.
"Why?" Her round eyes looked at him, seeking an answer.
"Because you’re my wife. It’s a way for to support you." He smiled.
Anna couldn’t be more grateful.
It had always been like that. When she was bedridden and had difficulty drinking the bitter dicine, Kyren always took a sip and pretended the taste was not bad to persuade her. She would fall for his tricks every ti as the commander’s face showed no reaction to drinking the dicine.
Today, the taste of the tea was not so bad, although it was still a dicinally brewed drink.
"Thank you," she said in gratitude.
Anna’s eyes then darted to the n having dinner and chatting around. Rafe and Ayden were also among them, enjoying the served food. However, soone was missing from the crowd.
"Kyren, where is Sir Brooks?" she asked as her head turned left and right, looking for her escort.
"I assigned him to a new task," the commander answered nonchalantly.
The princess gazed at him with a questioning look and asked, "Did you send him away because of the fight?"
Her face dyed with worry when she uttered the question, making Kyren chuckle at her query.
"Of course not! I need his expertise for a new job. I told you already that he’s your temporary escort."
"Oh, all right." The reply sent relief to her heart, and she continued focusing on the dinner.
"There will be new escorts for you. They will co and greet you later," he inford her. She nodded to his remarks.
Looking at the food precariously piled up before her, Anna gulped down her saliva. The portion was too much, and she surmised she couldn’t finish even a quarter.
"Why are you not eating? Is the food not to your liking?" Kyren suddenly asked when he caught her staring at the served cuisine.
"No! The food is fine. It’s just that it’s too much. I won’t be able to finish it," she replied.
"You are thin. You need to eat more to gain weight. Here, have so of this," said the commander as he fed a piece of at into Anna’s mouth.
Unable to resist, she parted her lips, took it with her teeth, and began chewing. The steak was tender and buttery. Imdiately, her eyes widened.
"This is delicious!" Anna exclaid after having the at.
After recovering, her food at the camp was always flavourful and hearty. Most of the servings were made of cured at and potage. They were filling and suitable for the knights’ and soldiers’ diets.
"Eat so more," said Kyren, shoving the grilled potato and at into her mouth like a bird mother feeding her little one.
The princess’s eyes closed and reopened as she tasted the fine steak. A little moan escaped her lips.
"The food here is great. I’ve never eaten any al as tasty as the one served in the camp," said Anna.
She rembered when she was in Ardel’s castle. She was served with porridge, vegetable stew, plain bread, and hard at, which were mostly bland. Only after becoming the sole heir of the throne was she given a better al, but it was still not as good as this.
Since she rarely had the chance to eat good food, Anna often secretly read recipe books in the library. She had always wanted to cook delicious dishes based on her learned recipes she had learned.
"Initially, it wasn’t as tasty as this. However, since we are often dispatched for a long period, the knights begin to learn cooking. They efficiently use the available rations to produce savoury dishes," Kyren explained.
"Wow, interesting! I wish I could cook too," she said, hopefully.
"You don’t know how to cook?" asked her husband.
Anna shook her head.
"Oh, I never got a chance to cook before. But I read many cookbooks. So, I’m hoping I could try the recipes soday," she replied.
"I see. You said you’ve never eaten a delicious al like the one we have here. I guess you might have had a terrible cook," he teased her.
"Well... they said I shouldn’t eat much because I was always sick. They scared I might throw up."
"They? Your family?" Kyren paused eating and turned to look at his wife.
"Umm...."
Anna couldn’t ntion who ’they’ were. Her parents wouldn’t care whether she ate or not. ’They’ she was referring to were the healers and maids who attended to her.
Only Crown Prince Ryan would quietly sneak in tasty snacks for her until his mother, Queen Clarice, caught him. She severely scolded and punished the young prince for being unethical in the castle.
Nevertheless, Anna was aware that it was just an excuse made by her stepmother to strain their relationship.
"Still, this food is a lot. It will be a waste since I cannot finish it," she manoeuvred from the question.
"I’ll finish it up. Eat as much as you want," ordered Kyren.
Anna nodded and continued consuming her al.
Suddenly, while they were at dinner, the horn was blown three tis, indicating a call for an ergency. All the knights and soldiers hastily stood up upon hearing the sound.
Kyren imdiately stopped eating and ordered his n, "Everyone, get ready now!"
Abandoning their food, the knights began to rush to their tents to arm themselves with armour and weapons.
He then turned to Anna and said, "There’s an ergency. Return to the tent now."
"All right. Are you going to leave again? Will you be fine?" she asked anxiously.
Kyren replied, "Don’t think of anything. Just stay safe and wait for . Go."
He gave a short jerk of his head in his tent’s direction.
There was no ti to lose. Anna, who understood the situation, quickly retired.
As she looked back, an arriving ssenger ran to the commander, informing the ergency details. She couldn’t guess what it was, but from the look of her husband’s wrinkled forehead, she was sure it wasn’t a light case.
Anna could only pray that everything would resolve quickly, though she had a hunch that tonight would be lonely again for her.
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