Lover's Twilight round 3 part 3 Aqualegia.

Obediently, Alex smoothed the balm over the scratches before getting dressed. He took the last of their meagre rations out of the pannier, and made them a meal.

Having already eaten well during the night, Walter made sure that Alex ate his fill, before eating the remainder. We'll have to try to buy some supplies on the road. When we spot a likely place, we'll keep you, Goliath, and Fox, out of sight. I'll go on alone, hopefully that way anyone who comes along afterwards, looking for our party, won't get any clues to our whereabouts.

"My Lord, you-"

"Walter," he was gently corrected.

"Walter... you'd better change your appearance," Alex said with a slightly amused expression. "You are rather a distinguished looking man, and it would be easy to recognize you from a description."

Skinner nodded his acceptance of the warning. "I'll give that some thought on the way. I'll go saddle Goliath, while you pack up the camp."

Alex watched Skinner walk out of the cave, admiring the trim body until it was out of sight, then packed the saddlebags, and erased the traces of their fire, before joining him outside.

It was a chill morning, and Alex snuggled into Walter's warmth as they slowly rode on their way. As the sun rose higher, and they started to drop down into a fertile valley, they found an abandoned farmhouse.

They dismounted, and Walter poked around the crumbling buildings, not really expecting to find much, for it was obvious that others had been there before them. In the remainder of what was once a workshop, he found some short lengths or rope, and some shavings with which he replenished his tinder box.

Leaving Walter to search the buildings, Alex climbed the ridge behind the house, searching for anything that might be edible. As his head topped the rise, a movement to the south caught his eye. With a feeling of foreboding he immediately dropped to the ground, shading his eyes, squinting into the sun. Light flashed from a helmet, and he wriggled backwards, then took flight down the hillside.

Walter seeing him coming, went back to stand by his horse.

"Captain, there's a troop of about ten soldiers coming along the ridge way," Alex gasped, as soon as he was close enough to be heard. "They will be in sight of the valley in a few minutes... we have to hide."

Skinner nodded. He looked at the house and shook his head; not a good idea to hide there. He looked around, and smiled. Across what might once have been a road, was a large oak tree. Boosting the panting man into the saddle, he quickly led Goliath into the shade of the massive branches.

"Climb up, not too far, but keep to this side of the trunk," he instructed the younger man, as he stripped his saddle from the horse, and hid it amongst the roots. Next, he forced Goliath to lie down as he had trained him to do, then climbed up into the tree himself.

They were only just in time. Alex's breathing was still a bit laboured, when the troop halted at the top of the rise. Walter recognized the leader as Luis, a bastard Spaniard the bishop had placed in the guard, much to his Captain's disgust. Luis, sent some of this men to search the ruins, then stood up in his stirrups and scanned the horizon for any movement.

After a few minutes his men returned, reporting that they had found nothing. Luis, sad back in the saddle, then pointing off to his left, he led his men forward and out of sight.

"That was close," Walter muttered after a while, jumping down to the ground. "We'd better be on our way before they decide to come back this way."

Alex joined him on the ground, and helped Walter re-saddle his horse.

They they followed the road, and were soon passing between fields of growing vegetables. In some there were gatherers at work, digging legumes or cutting cabbages to take fresh to the market. Alex, wise to the ways of the road, asked Walter to let him down, then went into one of the fields and greeted the farmer. After a few words, he handed over a small coin, then went to the discard piles and helped himself to the best of the stunted or misshapen vegetables, that would otherwise either end up as animal feed, or be left to rot.

Walter sat patiently on his horse, not quite knowing what to do, but as Alex hadn't even looked his way, he guessed that he was supposed to do nothing. After a while he did start to wonder how Alex proposed to carry the growing pile, but that was answered when the younger man took off his tunic, knotted the end where the holes for neck and arms were, and used the remainder s a makeshift sack.

Calling a cheery goodbye to the farmer, Alex returned to Walter's side and then, with a quiet, "Follow me," he started walking down the road.

When they were out of sight, Walter halted Goliath, and used some of the rope he had found to tie the improvised sack to the pommel. Alex again got up behind him, and almost as soon as they started off again, Fox joined them, and rode sedately on Walter's arm, not taking the slightest bit of notice of Alex sitting behind him.

Some time later, when they spotted a farmhouse in the distance, Walter led Goliath into the trees, and found a glade in which to tether the horse. Alex, his chest and arm both paining him a little, sat cross-legged on the ground leaning back against a tree, glad to get some rest, while the gyrfalcon, perched on the pommel of Goliath's saddle, stared unblinkingly at him.

Walter, using his cloak and some of the rope to disguise himself as a wandering cleric, walked up to the house, and spent some time haggling over the price of a loaf of bread and some roast meat.

Back at the clearing they made a small fire and roasted some of the vegetables by spearing them on sticks and holding them in the flames, while eating a few slices of bread and meat.

Seeing the falcon eyeing his meal, Alex tossed a sliver of meat towards him.

Fox strutted forward, cocked his head and eyed the morsel, then picked it up and swallowed it. Alex threw him another, and the falcon again swallowed the tidbit.

"What are you up to?" Walter questioned.

Alex shrugged. "He looks hungry, and I was trying to instill the concept of sharing...." He gave the bird another piece of meat. "Roast meat tastes nice, doesn't it? Please try to remember to bring us nice plump rabbit to cook next time you're hunting."

Walter laughed, startling Fox into ruffling his feathers. "Come on, we'd best be on our way."

Wearily Alex got to his feet, and packed their things away, then climbed up into his place behind Walter.

-oo0oo-

Just before evening, they made camp in a shallow cave, and made another meal from their supplies. As the sun started to set Prince Fox swooped down and Alex's heart wrenched as he watched the transformation, wishing there was something he could do to bring this nightmare existence to an end.

While Fox dressed and settled down to the waiting meal, Alex threw the almost bare bone to the wolf, who sank down and gnawed on it, watching until the two men snuggled down in each other's arms, then, with a whine, he got up and padded away.

-oo0oo-

Alex came sluggishly awake the next morning, and the eyes that he fixed on Skinner were fever bright.

Walter lifted Alex's head and gave him some water, then took a look at his injuries. Without comment, Skinner fetched the balm and smoothed some over the angry looking scratches on Alex's chest, and the deep cut on his left arm. While helping him to get dressed again, it soon became obvious that the young man really wasn't in any condition to move on... unless.... He smoothed back the dark, damp hair, and captured the wandering green eyes with his own.

"Alex," he said gently, "We need to keep moving. I can't carry you as you are, but I could do so easily if you were in your rat form."

The worried frown which had marred the handsome features, faded and a look of concentration took their place. Moments later, Walter was stroking the downy fur of a young rat. He picked the small animal up and placed it on his cloak while he finished packing up the camp, then tucked him inside his shirt, before climbing into the saddle.

They travelled thus for two days, by the end of which, Alex was well again. It seemed that the magic involved into turning into a rat sped the healing process along.

Walter rode hard and fast, guarding the little creature against the worst of the bumpy ride with his free hand. At the noon meal, Alex didn't change back, choosing to husband his strength and nibble on the pieces of raw vegetables that Skinner sliced off for him.

On the afternoon of the second day, when the falcon came gliding in, Alex scrambled back into the safe haven inside Walter's shirt, just in case the Prince should take a fancy to a eat a rat. Indeed the falcon waddled close to where Walter was sitting, and cast a beady eye at the small creature peeking out at him, but made no attempt to attack.

"Have you eaten well, my Prince?" Walter murmured, stroking the neck feathers of his changed love. The Hawk's head bobbed forward, as if to say 'yes'. Walter, sighed and went on quietly, "You know, Alex was right. It's a pity neither of us can remember to bring back some fresh meat... I am going to have to find some way to get some money to buy enough provisions to last us a while, we need a bow to bring down larger game, and a sword so that I can teach Alex how to use one. In another few days we shall be near my home, but I would be foolish to think that I could ride up to it in broad daylight and demand to be served, but how else can I claim my property...."

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