Chapter 55 Eldham Border 1

Chapter 55 Eldham Border 1
They had been on the road for two days.
And for two days she had been riding with Ryder as per his order, and not that she did not find it quite comfortable because then her hands could rest from pulling on the horse’s reins, but being so close to him. Being that close to him. For the two days they had spent on the road, Ryder had been beside her at all times, changing and dressing her injured hands with a frown on his face always, and even the simple task of feeding which she could do herself without much needing to stress her hands, she was not allowed to. Ryder would not allow her to.
His behavior towards her confused her and for the first day she tried hard to adjust to his new attitude, but with the death stares Iris shot at her at every given opportunity, she knew better than to get too comfortable with Ryder’s behavior. Xanth on the other hand was indifferent and he didn’t see anything quite wrong with what Ryder was doing or how he was behaving. And sometimes Lyra would catch him smirking at her and then laugh out loud, especially when he would want to feed her himself.
She managed through the two days in between Ryder’s weird behavior and Iris’s death stares, and when Xanth announced that they were very close to their camp at the Eldham border, she was more than relieved, at least whatever needed to be done would be done by Ryder and this would give her the much-needed space from him.
It was late in the evening when they arrived at the camp, Xanth had already gone ahead of them into the camp to announce their arrival and then they were welcomed by the commander there who bowed to Ryder, one fisted hand on his chest and his gaze low.
Ryder grunted in response and jumped down from the horse behind Lyra, then he looked up to her and stretched his hand to hold her firmly by the waist, helping her dismount, but rather than let her be after she had her feet on the ground, he pulled her closer to himself making her gasp in surprise. She looked up at him in confusion.
“Ryder…?”
“Xanth will take you to the tent.” He said, looking her straight in the eye, she could tell his seriousness by the tone in his voice and his intense gaze. She looked away when she felt her heart begin to pound. “Stay in the tent and do not for any reason leave or step out.”
“But…” She looked up at him, his hands still on her waist and her palm pressed against the thick fur coat on his chest. “…why?”
“Just…” He took in a breath and let it out slowly. “…stay in. Okay?”
She nodded and looked away to Xanth who had his hands stretched towards her to take her away. Ryder let her go and then he walked away with the commander.
Lyra looked around for Iris and saw her entering a tent, it was obvious that this was not her first time in there. She walked beside Xanth who supported her with one hand having a tight grip on her elbow, but when she noticed that he was taking her towards the same tent that Iris had entered, she pulled her hand back, stopping him. He turned to look at her with a quizzical look.
“What is it?”
“Are we going into that tent to stay?” She nodded towards the tent and Xanth looked over his shoulder then back at her with a nod.
“Yes.”
She shook her head. “Any other tent but that, except if you will stay with me and not leave.”
One eyebrow came up. “Are you scared?”
She shook her head. Well, she was not exactly scared in the way that he must have meant but she was cautious of Iris and would rather want to be as far away from her as she possibly could. “Iris is in there too.” She admitted.
He chuckled. “And?”
She frowned at him and he laughed loudly now. “Okay fine, you can stay in my tent but you are not allowed to go anywhere else.”
She smiled and nodded, then followed Xanth as he led her past that tent and into the next one. When he was satisfied that she was comfortable, he left to find the commander and Ryder.
“Withdraw the soldiers from the front line,” Ryder said to the commander who looked at him fearfully, withdrawing the soldiers from the front line would give the Rocheveron army the opportunity to break through.
“But my Lord, the Rocheveron army will break through.” He said, expressing his fears.