Chapter 174 - The One Who Escorted Abby (2/2)
He grinned mischievously, reading Blaise's desperation with ease. ”I take it you have something very particular you'd like to do that has you so anxious?”
He scowled in response. This man was far too comfortable teasing people for someone who was supposed to be in charge of a nation, even one as small at this. ”If you already know what I want to do there is no need to ask.”
Alamar shrugged. ”I suppose that's fair. Just so you know, a certain someone has been asking me the same question every other day since the restriction started. I'm wondering if I should send some of the women over with lunch instead of letting the men bring it themselves tomorrow.”
Blaise's heart skipped a beat. Had she really? Did Abby want to see him half as much as he wanted to see her?
”If you could,” he said, trying to keep his cool. ”I am sure the men here would appreciate the show of support.”
Alamar clapped a hand on his shoulder. ”I'm sure I can make it happen. A fair number of the village girls are curious about the newcomers after all and keep talking about wanting to meet them. The younger generation who was raised elsewhere isn't as cautious toward strangers. Go ahead and tell everyone as an incentive to train harder.”
He walked away to go find Carrick and get a progress report on how his men were doing leaving Blaise with far too much hope. Tomorrow. He would get to see her tomorrow. He would need to wash that ribbon.
Training for the rest of the day went by in a blur, even though some of the exercises were grueling. He had been through it all before but it had been a while so he was out of practice for some of the more difficult ones.
”What on earth are you so happy about?” a Warrior named Kel who shared his rank asked in confusion as they sat next to each other for dinner.
He was clearly exhausted and rolled his shoulder with a wince. He was out of practice for these sorts of training drills as well. The Warriors, as instructors, didn't have to do as many as the poor Kanta clansmen did but still had to demonstrate how they were done.
Blaise coughed to cover his embarrassment. ”The clan leader mentioned that women from the village will be bringing us lunch tomorrow.”
That perked Kel right up. ”Really? I wonder how they compare to the women back home. I have only seen some of the older ones when we were on our way through town. I would not mind finding a nice Kanta girl and staying here. Their village is far nicer than the one I left behind.”
He had expected there would be Warriors like Kel on this mission. The ones who had no real home to return to. It would be mutually beneficial for both parties if a handful of Warriors decided to stay. They could help hold the military together after the main forces left.