Eden

by Janelle Stalder

  “Try to keep up,” she huffed. He was, he thought defensively, but it wasn’t easy. She led the way in silence, until they finally broke out of the trees and into an open field. He could see the high walls of the city in the middle of the field. Elisa held up a hand for him to stop behind her. “We must stay low to the ground now,” she whispered.

  “Why?” he asked instinctively.

  “Do you see those men on the walls?” she asked, pointing toward the city. He could actually, which excited him, because normally he wouldn’t have been able to. He nodded his head. “Those men are guarding the city. Ever since Aziz began sending his monsters down our way, it has been forbidden for anyone to leave the city walls during the night. No one is to approach it, either, unless permission is given ahead of time from the King himself. If they happen to see us, it is quite possible that they will shoot without asking any questions first.” Aiden gulped down the saliva that had pooled in his mouth. She looked over at him and smiled. “Don’t worry. I could shoot them all, before they even had time to string their bows.” This kind of reassured him, and yet it also made him slightly afraid of the young girl who stood beside him.

  “How are you here, if no one is allowed out?” he asked, keeping his voice low.

  She smiled again, her teeth glowing in the darkness of her hood. “I’m not just anyone,” she replied. “Let’s go. Follow my lead, and stay low.”

  They crept through the field, stopping once in a while for her to listen. Before he knew it, they were up against the wall, their backs flat to the cold stone. Now what? he wondered. If no one was allowed in, and the front gates were closed, how were they supposed to enter? Looking up at the towering stone wall behind him, he prayed that she didn’t expect him to climb it.

  “This way,” she whispered, grabbing his hand to signal him to follow her. His face heated when she touched him, making him thankful it was dark where they were. They went around to the side of the city, where the wall continued down for what looked like forever. They hadn’t walked far when Elisa stopped suddenly, crouching down beside the wall. He could see her feeling around for something. Whatever she was looking for, she seemed to find it. Aiden heard a click, and then a small opening appeared in the wall where she disappeared into. “Come on!” she called out from the other side.

  Looking around, he dropped down onto his stomach, and slithered his way through the door. When he stood up, he was inside the city, and Elisa stood there smiling.

  “So you’re not special,” he said, brushing off his clothes. “You’re just sneaky.” She laughed, the first time he had heard her do so. His stomach tightened at the sound. It was nice to see she wasn’t as serious as she had appeared to be in the cabin.

  “Come on. I’ll take you to the dormitory. I believe the High Priest will want to see you in the morning, so for now I suggest you get as much sleep as possible. I don’t know what they have planned for you tomorrow, but if it is anything like what I can imagine, you’ll need some rest.”

  He followed her obediently through the twisting lanes of the city. All the streets confused him, some ending suddenly, others turning onto other streets sharply, or rounding back to the same street as before. Elisa explained that the city was built that way so intruders would get lost easily. It appeared to Aiden that they had successfully achieved that goal. If she hadn’t been leading the way, he probably would have become lost for days in there. It didn’t help that the streets were overflowing with people. It seemed odd to him that there would be so many people out so late at night.

  “What is going on?” Aiden asked, motioning to the crowds of obviously drunk people.

  “It is the spring festival tonight,” she stopped to explain in his ear. It was hard to hear anything in the crowd. “It is a night for everyone to party and relax, which as you can see, the people take full advantage of.” They both smiled as a group of two men and two women approached them.

  “Ah, young love!” one of the men cried out. He walked over to them, grabbing Elisa and kissing her on both cheeks, before turning to do the same to Aiden. He froze in the man’s grasp, completely embarrassed by both his outburst and his actions. Thankfully, Elisa was laughing, which made the situation seem less serious.

  “You should see your face,” she exclaimed, laughing. He couldn’t help but laugh back, wiping the spot on his cheek where the man had kissed him.

  “Let’s go,” she said, continuing on. They finally approached a tall, square building. It was plain-looking, made of grey stone, with numerous windows around it. “This is the dormitory,” she said as they stopped in front of it. “Everyone who isn’t married, and who serves in the army, lives here. A room has been prepared for you.” She greeted the two men at the door, each of whom gave Aiden a very disconcerting look. He could feel the colour literally draining from his face. “Don’t let them bother you,” she said over her shoulder. “They probably just think I’m bringing you home from the festival, and they’re imagining what my father might think. Ignore it.” Her reassurance only made him feel worse. Clearly, a girl that looked like her would not come home with a guy like him. He could only but imagine how many guys she had after her with a face like that.

  After climbing four flights of stairs, they walked down a long hallway, stopping in front of a closed door.

  “This is your room,” she said, motioning to the door. “I’m right here,” she said, pointing to the door on the other side of the hall. “If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.” He was surprised at how friendly she had turned out to be. His initial impression of her had been completely off.

  “Thank you for all your help so far,” he said, smiling. Another door opened then, with three blonde girls who all looked the same, and a fourth one with flaming red hair, piling out into the hall. They were all laughing about something when they crashed into them.

  “Goodnight,” they were saying over their shoulder. Aiden watched them leave, and then turned to look back at the opened door to see two boys standing there. They weren’t much older than him, but they were much bigger and stronger-looking. Great, he thought sadly. This is who I have to train with. His depression began to sneak back in again.

  “Well, well, Elisa, who do we have here?” one was saying, walking closer to them. He wore only pants, his muscular chest bare for the world to see. He had shoulder-length hair, which was clearly messy from the company that had just left. The other boy was also naked from the waist up. He was much darker than the first boy, his skin tanned by the sun, and his hair a darker shade.

  “Go to bed,” Elisa replied, trying to ignore him. Aiden felt a pang of hope, when he noticed the clear distaste she had for the guy. He could guess that he was popular with the ladies, but obviously not with this one.

  “Aren’t you going to introduce us?” he continued, not taking the hint.

  “You can meet tomorrow, when you’re sober,” she spat back. “Just go to bed. I’ll see you tomorrow,” she continued, turning back to Aiden. He nodded his head and quickly walked into the room, locking the door behind him. What had he gotten himself into? His nerves began to increase as he realized how real, and how difficult this was going to be. It was just like high school, but quite possibly worse!

  The room they had given him was pretty small, with only a tiny bed in the middle of one wall, and a small night table beside it. A dresser sat on the other wall, and a tiny carpet covered the wooden floors at the foot of the bed. It was nothing special, but it would definitely do. He was exhausted, so any surface where he could rest was welcome.

  Walking over to the window on the far wall, he looked out at the city that didn’t seem to want to sleep. Everything was so different there. Looking up at the sky, he saw the two moons there, and was still amazed at how big they were here, and how odd it was that there were two. It truly was a different world. Climbing into bed, he closed his eyes and tried his best not to worry over what was to come the next day. It would all be okay, he reassured himself. All he had to do
was believe in himself. He had always wished for something more in his life when he was back at home, and now he had that—and more.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Someone shoved him, bringing his mind out of the deep sleep he had finally fallen into. The morning light filled his room, bringing with it all the insecurities he had felt the night before.

  “Hey, newbie,” he heard a male voice say. Blinking a few times to clear his vision, he sat up and saw the boy from the hallway standing beside his bed, smiling down at him mockingly. The other boy stood by the door, leaning up against the wall. “Morning, sunshine,” he said, smiling. Aiden ran his hand over his face, wondering what time it was. His mouth felt dry, and his stomach grumbled hungrily.

  “We don’t mean to wake you from your beauty sleep,” said the other boy, “but the High Priest has asked for you. You’d better start moving faster than that.”

  “Yeah, come on, newbie,” said the first boy, pulling off his covers in one fluid motion. “We were given the task of being your personal escorts.”

  Great, Aiden thought. “Let me just get washed up quickly,” he said, his voice sounding hoarse. Getting up from his bed, he headed over to the small bathroom that was off his room. He could hear the other boys talking while he splashed cold water on his face.

  “If it takes him this long to get going, he is going to have a hard time managing,” said the quieter boy.

  “Ah, it’s newbie’s first day. Give him a break,” the good-looking one replied. That surprised Aiden, who had figured he’d be ready to make fun of him at the first opportunity.

  “All right, I’m ready,” Aiden said as he came back into the room. “I’m Aiden, by the way,” he introduced himself.

  “Nice to meet you, Aiden. I’m Wolf, and this is Logan.” Aiden nodded his head in both their directions.

  “Great, now let’s go,” the one named Logan said, opening the door to the hall.

  Wolf snickered and threw his arm around Aiden’s shoulders. “Ignore him, newbie. He’s just in a foul mood today, because he had a little too much to drink last night.” Aiden smiled. “Didn’t you?” Wolf yelled at Logan.

  They watched as Logan’s shoulder’s cringed at the volume. “Shut up,” he said in a low voice, making Aiden and Wolf laugh in response.

  As they made their way through the streets, Wolf pointed out all the important buildings to him, including the taverns, which Aiden doubted he needed to know.

  “And that there is Lila’s place.” Wolf smiled, pointing at a low building with a perfume shop on the main floor. “She is always up for a good time, if you know what I mean.” He winked.

  “She also happens to be like forty,” Logan shot back over his shoulder. Aiden looked questioningly at Wolf.

  He shrugged his shoulders indifferently. “She looks good for her age.” They continued on, until they came out of a street and into a large open area, which seemed to be in the middle of the city. Aiden turned his head and saw the palace behind another large wall.

  “Wow,” he said, amazed at the sheer size of the place.

  “That is the King’s palace, if you hadn’t already figured that out. Nice, isn’t it?” Wolf asked, staring at the place alongside Aiden.

  “It’s huge,” he breathed. Wolf laughed beside him.

  “Aiden!” he heard a girl call out. Turning around, he saw Elisa running toward the three boys.

  “Hey!” he greeted her, happy to see someone he knew—not that the present company was unwelcoming.

  “I went to see you this morning, and you had already left,” she explained, breathing hard from running. “You’re going to the sanctuary?” Aiden looked at Wolf, not actually knowing where they were going.

  “Yes, we are taking him there,” he explained coldly to Elisa. His attitude had completely changed when she arrived, Aiden noticed. He was so relaxed before, and now he seemed irritated and stiff.

  Elisa’s posture immediately straightened too, her chin lifting slightly. “Well, I’m going there too, so I’ll take him from here. You guys can go back to your rooms and sleep off your hangovers.”

  “Oh, thank God,” they heard Logan say from behind them. He walked back the way they had come, disappearing into the side streets.

  “Better go with him.” She motioned in the direction Logan had just gone.

  Wolf’s eyes narrowed, and Aiden could see his cheeks slightly colour with either anger, or embarrassment, or maybe a little of both. “I’m not hung over,” he said in a defensive tone. “And I don’t need you to tell me what to do.” Turning toward Aiden, he didn’t wait for her response. “Good luck.” He smiled, rolling his eyes. “I’ll see you later.” Then he brushed past Elisa and disappeared around the same corner as Logan.

  Aiden stood there awkwardly, not quite understanding what had just happened.

  “It’s a long story,” Elisa said, looking where Wolf had disappeared, probably sensing Aiden’s confusion. “Not one worth telling, though, so are you ready to get going?” He nodded his head, and the two of them started across the square toward the side of the palace.

  In the morning light Elisa was even prettier than he had thought, Aiden observed. She was talking to him about something, but he was too busy looking at her to listen. The sun made her hair more golden, bouncing off each strand. He could see her eyes better too: they were a mix of different shades of green and brown. At one point she asked him something and waited for his response, and he just smiled and nodded, since he hadn’t actually heard the question. She accepted it and continued on with her narrative. He sighed inwardly and tried to focus on the words coming out of her mouth.

  “The High Priest’s name is Alistair; I’m not sure if Diana already told you about him,” she was saying.

  “She did,” he replied.

  “Good. Well, he is like a second father to me, and very wise. You should listen to everything he tells you with good faith, and trust him. He has only your best interests at heart.”

  They came up to a beautiful building that sat behind the palace walls. As they walked toward the door, Elisa held out her hand in front of him, forcing him to come to an abrupt halt.

  “Before we go in,” she began, “there is something you should be aware of beforehand. You’ll be expected to make a small sacrifice before entering the sanctuary—it’s a requirement.”

  He looked at her, confused and slightly frightened. “Sacrifice? What kind of sacrifice?”

  She looked at him, noticing the colour fading from his cheeks. She hadn’t been able to see him properly in the dark the night before, but now that they stood in the daylight she could see all his features properly. He definitely wasn’t bad-looking, although he was a bit too skinny. His hair was a shade that wasn’t quite blonde, but not quite brown either—she couldn’t decide. His eyes were large and expressive. It was almost possible to read exactly what he was thinking through them. He looked positively scared at that moment, which made her want to laugh, but she didn’t want to hurt his feelings. “A blood sacrifice,” she replied, watching him take a step backward away from the sanctuary. She couldn’t help but laugh again. “Don’t worry, Aiden. It is only a small amount. They just cut your arm a little and take a drop. Honestly, it’s just a drop.”

  “I’m not good with blood,” he confessed. “I’m not good with people cutting me, either—not really my thing.”

  She laughed again. “Come on, you big baby.” Grabbing his hand, she pulled him toward the door and knocked softly three times. Aiden looked like he was going to faint. She almost felt sorry for the boy. The usual priest opened the door, looking them up and down.

  “The High Priest is expecting us,” she said in a loud, confident voice. The man nodded his head, and brought out a small dagger and a bowl made of stone.

  “Oh, God,” Aiden said under his breath, but she heard him. She held firmly onto him, making it impossible for him to turn and run. The man approached Aiden first, waiting for him to offer his arm. Slowly he did, and the man p
roceeded to cut a small line on his forearm, holding the bowl under it. A drop fell, and it was over. He handed Aiden a tiny handkerchief to stop the blood flow, and then he turned toward Elisa. She tried to keep her face calm, to show Aiden there was nothing to be afraid of. After she was finished, they continued inside, the priest leading them down a narrow hall with low ceilings, until they arrived at two wooden doors. He knocked quietly.

  While they waited, Elisa wondered what Aiden would think of Alistair and the King … or her father, for that matter. She thought the last with a shudder. Her father was sure to try to intimidate him right from the beginning. For the second time already that morning, she found herself feeling sorry for Aiden, especially when she saw how pale his face was.

  “Come in,” a voice came from inside. The priest opened it, stepping back to allow the two of them to enter.

  “Ah, and here they are!” the man said as they walked in. He was a very tall man, with white hair and deep blue robes. He reminded Aiden of Merlin from the stories he read when he was little. Alistair’s eyes were instantly on him, making Aiden feel slightly nervous.

  “Hello, Alistair,” Elisa said, bowing in front of him. Aiden didn’t know if he should follow suit. He was still embarrassed from how he had reacted in front of her about the blood. She had made it look so easy.

  “Why do you insist on greeting him so informally?” came a deep voice from one of the chairs that sat in the room. Aiden hadn’t realized there were two more people there. The one who spoke was even bigger than the priest. He was probably just as tall, but he was muscular, and his face looked hard. He had a huge scar above his left eye, and thick, dark eyebrows. His hair was short and black, and a huge beard covered the lower half of his face. Even his eyes looked black in the lighting.

  “Oh, come, Turk, she is like a daughter to me,” the High Priest brushed him off. “Will you not introduce us, Elisa?”