The Forsaken Call

by Jamie Murray

  "No, I don't think so."

  "But you act like one," came Louisa's voice as she poked her head in the room.

  At first, Johanna looked angry that Louisa would interrupt, but once she realized Louisa was there to offer a hug, she graciously stood and dove into to older woman's arms.

  "I know you're feeling a lot of everything right now," said Louisa. "But you have to work through them. This might be a good time to do that. Just stay here for a few days. We'll be back soon enough when we have to go to Cyanyanka. And, maybe by that time, Daigh will realize that he actually does want you by his side. At least, rest assured, there's no competition. I don't think Daigh's actually on the look out for any potential love interest right now."

  Johanna turned bright red and pushed Louisa away. "That's not it!" She looked at Jameson and her redness deepened.

  "It's all right, Jo, we all know," said Jameson with a casual shrug. His action made him wince a little bit as the pain in his chest flared up.

  Johanna was a little too eager to redirect the attention and immediately asked, "What's wrong, Jameson? Did you hurt yourself?"

  "Don't bother yourself worrying about him, he's a baby," Louisa advised Johanna before Jameson could respond and explain.

  "Hey," Jameson said with feigned offense.

  Louisa suppressed a smile and faced Johanna again. "Now put your boots back on and come outside to say goodbye to everyone."

  "Fine," Johanna said, rolling her eyes. "But I won't say goodbye to Baloric."

  "All right, you can kick him in the neck or something," Louisa suggested.

  "Surprisingly, that would be really satisfying," Johanna groaned.

  "Come on, Jameson, I have to talk to you really quickly," said Louisa, gesturing for Jameson to follow as Johanna sat down to put her boots on. Jameson felt awkward as Louisa tugged him along and into the hallway, walking quickly back towards the exit where the others were obviously waiting.

  "What's this about?" Jameson questioned finally.

  "I need you to kiss Princess Erestina goodbye," Louisa said, stopping him once they reached the pathways.

  "What?" Jameson practically demanded as he checked over his shoulder to make sure Johanna wasn't standing right there. "Why would you ask me to do that?"

  "I'm not asking you to do it, I'm telling you to do it," Louisa said. "I don't mean I want you to make-out with her or feel her up or anything, you just have to kiss her on the cheek all reassuring and manlike. It will put her at ease and she'll finally start talking about something else."

  "What do you mean?"

  "The whole time you were at the Shrine, she was constantly saying, I wonder if Jameson is all right, and all that. While we're on the topic, don't tell her you're injured either. She would probably drop dead from panic or something."

  Jameson groaned and shook his head. "I'm not going to lead her on just so she'll stop worrying about me. That's not fair to her, and it's really not fair to Cyrus."

  Johanna suddenly came out onto the landing and looked at them skeptically. Louisa gave her a stern glare, so Johanna hesitantly continued walking and, once she was out of earshot, Louisa continued.

  "Cyrus knows he's got no place courting the princess."

  "That aside," said Jameson with a frown. "I'm kind of thinking about this other girl I met. I don't know, we're not serious or anything, but I don't want—"

  Louisa loudly moaned and put both her hands on Jameson's shoulders, shaking him slightly as a way of saying, "Shut up, I don't care!" Instead, she said, "Jameson, don't be such a baby. Again, I'm not telling you to go and marry her. Just give her something. Just like this."

  She leaned over and kissed him lightly and briefly on the cheek, barely pausing a moment to let him process what she was doing. Then, she pulled away and let go of him.

  "Okay?" she confirmed, standing up straight and crossing her arms. "See? Was that so shocking?"

  "Fine," said Jameson, still reluctant. "But you have to make sure Cyrus doesn't see me kiss her."

  "I think I can do that," Louisa said unconvincingly.

  "Louisa, he'll cut my head off," Jameson warned her. "Then what?"

  "All right, fine, I'll actively attempt to do what you're asking me to do," Louisa sighed as if it were a major inconvenience.

  "You're not nearly as bothered by this as you should be," said Jameson.

  "Should I be bothered by it?" Louisa questioned.

  "No, I guess not," said Jameson.

  "Now stop being an infant and come on," said Louisa as she took Jameson by his arm and had to practically drag him back outside.

  Despite Johanna's earlier proclamation that she was not going to say goodbye to Baloric, apparently she had pulled him off to the side to apologize for attempting to hit him. William was sitting on top of the carriage wearing a pout of epic proportions while watching his brother interact civilly with Johanna.

  "I don't see why I have to stay behind," William grumbled.

  "We'll be back soon enough," Raven assured him.

  "Why does he get to suddenly walk into our lives and make all these new rules?" William demanded, gesturing his hand indignantly towards Baloric. "If I let all the slaves go like he says, then who will maintain all the land?"

  "William, you always said that you didn't like slaves anyway," Raven pointed out.

  "Cause they're dirty," William mumbled.

  "Hey, our older brother was a slave here too," Raven reminded him. "For an entire year."

  William's pout did not soften and he angrily looked away from her.

  "You're just mad because you have to stay behind," said Raven, shaking her head at him and watching as Louisa and Jameson came over.

  "Are we mostly all set to go?" Louisa inquired of Cyrus who was only standing idly by with Erestina standing next to him.

  "I suppose," Cyrus answered, perhaps a little confused as to why Louisa was asking him this.

  "How many horses are we bringing?" Louisa continued.

  "Two to pull the carriage, and then two others," Cyrus replied. "Luke's horse won't be able to carry many supplies, though."

  "Is there any room inside the carriage for something I want to bring?" Louisa pressed.

  "What do you want to bring?" Cyrus asked.

  "Come inside," Louisa instructed. "You can carry it for me."

  At first, Cyrus seemed a little disinclined to oblige, but he finally nodded. He briefly made eye contact with Erestina, as if to ask her if she wanted to come along, but of course the princess only leaned against the carriage and conveyed to him that she would wait for him where she was. Louisa winked discreetly at Jameson who hesitantly tried to avoid her gaze, then she and Cyrus headed back to the complex.

  A few uncomfortable moments passed as William and Raven continued to bicker amongst each other. When Jameson raised his eyes to look up from the ground, he found Princess Erestina was staring directly at him. She did not shyly look away when their finally met eyes. In fact, she stood up a little straighter and cleared her throat, apparently waiting for this moment for a considerably long time.

  "Jameson," she said, clearing her throat a second time as the single word distinctly softened her voice. "I'm regretful that I will have to stay here while you continue your journey. I wish I could offer more useful assistance to you."

  "We just want to do whatever we can to keep you safe," Jameson said, trying to wrap up the conversation as quickly as possible. "Once we defeat Devin, we'll need to get you back on the Ailyth throne. If you stay here, you'll be safe from the Forces, and that's something we need more than anything else. That's the way you can help us the most, by being…safe."

  He felt rather foolish for repeating the same word so many times, but Erestina seemed thoroughly satisfied with his apparent words of wisdom. She closed her eyes to take a deep breath, and Jameson saw that as his quick opportunity to kiss her very briefly on the cheek. As he leaned in, her eyes opened, but she did not seem startled by what he was attempting to do. In
fact, she deliberately turned her head to the side to intercept him with her lips. Jameson withdrew without touching her, and then tried to redirect his friendly gesture to her other cheek, but she again turned to the side to kiss him on the mouth.

  Awkwardly, he withdrew all together. She looked up at him with a hurt expression, unable to comprehend why she was being rejected. He hesitated a moment and put his hands on either side of her chin to hold her head in place, and then leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.

  When he lowered his hands, he initially thought if he didn't look at her, things wouldn't be embarrassing. But, as a result of her failed attempt to kiss him, the princess looked extremely ashamed. He was pretty sure that whatever ease he was supposed to be giving her while he was gone had been entirely unsuccessful. It was likely he had just done the exact opposite of what Louisa intended him to accomplish.

  "Erestina—Princess Erestina, please don't be embarrassed," Jameson said haltingly.

  "It's all right," she said quietly. William turned his head to glance back at the two and see what had just transpired over the past thirty seconds, but Raven snapped at him not to bother them, which of course only proved that she was eavesdropping.

  Thankfully, Jameson was interrupted from any further humiliation when Johanna suddenly made herself known in a less-than-graceful manner, nearly tripping over as she and Baloric walked back over from their conversation.

  "So it's going to be just the three of us," Johanna said, looking at William and eyeing Erestina as she came out from behind the carriage, perhaps solely to avoid being alone with Jameson for any longer. "It won't be bad. It'll actually be kind of interesting. I've never been to Gislan before."

  "You won't be going outside the barrier," said Baloric. "Any of you."

  "I've lived here all my life," said William. "I go outside the barrier all the time."

  "William, please," said Raven with an exasperated sigh.

  "No, he can't make another rule for me," said William, hopping off the cart. "Why should I listen to him?"

  "Because he's your older brother," said Raven.

  "I'm not making this rule as your older brother," said Baloric. "It's a rule I've made as a member of the Prophecy attempting to keep the princess of a fractured nation alive. Understand?"

  "And free the slaves. And don't draw energy from living things." William's tone was bitingly sarcastic. "Anything else?"

  "Yeah, if anything happens to either of them, I will kill you."

  Jameson was taken aback by the statement which seemed very serious. The others were equally startled at the casual presentation of a death threat, prompting Baloric to raise his eyebrows at them.

  "I'm kidding," he said as if it were supposed to be obvious.

  "I knew that," said William, though he obviously didn't.

  "Come here," Baloric ordered, opening his arms for William to hug him.

  His younger brother seemed more than apprehensive to engage in this action, but once Raven gave him a little shove forward, he was basically forced into it. Once he was in Baloric's arms, he returned the gesture and then cautiously let go of him.

  "Be safe," Baloric said. "My rules are to help you stay that way. When all of this is all over, we're going to be a family, I promise. All right?"

  "All right," said William, still pouting, but sounding hopeful.

  Raven then began her goodbyes with William as Johanna leaned into the carriage to bid farewell to Luke as well. Jameson watched as Baloric wished the princess luck and told her to be careful above all other things and then, astonished, he watched as Baloric leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. He almost groaned after seeing the ease of it all, but withheld it at the last second.

  It was then that Louisa came out of the complex with Cyrus in tow; he was caring an extravagant length of cloth which Jameson immediately recognized as the same color of the curtains in the room they had stayed in. Of all the things for her to make an excuse about needing help to carry, she outrageously chose the curtains.

  "Curtains? Really?" Jameson questioned with a frown at Louisa.

  "I really like this cloth," said Louisa as Cyrus stood next to her, rolling his eyes slightly that he was basically forced to pillage.

  "You can't just take the curtains from the Angel!" said William, sounding beyond offended.

  "She's dead," said Louisa. "What is she going to do?"

  "Why do you even need that, Louisa?" said Baloric, putting his hand to his forehead, but looking somehow amused.

  "I could probably make something out of it," Louisa mused. "I could make us all matching clothes. We'd all look very cute walking around in matching clothes."

  "You don't sew," Baloric reminded her.

  "And do we even have room for all this?" Jameson said.

  "I could put it back," Cyrus suggested, probably just not wanting to wear matching clothes.

  "I think that would be best," Baloric said.

  "Fine, whatever," said Louisa since she really didn't want it in the first place anyway.

  "I'll come with you, Felix," said Erestina hesitantly without looking back.

  "All right," said Cyrus.

  He slung the curtains over his shoulder and headed back towards the complex as Louisa threw a piercing stare at Jameson, perhaps sensing the unnecessary tension Erestina had expressed.

  "As soon as Cyrus gets back, we're leaving," Baloric declared.

  "Maybe it would be best if you all stayed at least a night to rest up," Johanna suggested optimistically even though she knew it was useless to even bring up. It was pretty obvious that she knew the answer was negative before she even asked it, so no one else felt as though they needed to justify it with an actual response.

  So they stood in somewhat awkward silence until Cyrus came jogging out of the complex, but Erestina was not following him. He simply said that she didn't wish to say any further goodbyes because she thought it would upset her, and so therefore she decided to stay inside. Jameson felt a little guilty, especially when Louisa glared at him again.

  Johanna went around and hugged everyone once, trying to keep herself from crying and Baloric pulled the reins of the horse to turn the cart around. Raven and Louisa climbed inside the carriage where Luke was as Cyrus and Jameson each mounted a horse to trot alongside the cart.

  "Wait," Johanna requested as she ran to the front of the cart and put her hand on the seat next to Baloric.

  "We have to move quickly," Baloric said.

  "I know," Johanna said. She glanced at everyone for a few seconds, and then her eyes fell back to Baloric. She said something barely audible, so Baloric leaned over and asked her to repeat it. Jameson peered at her curiously and she nodded, then looked right at Baloric and said, "I love you."

  "I love you, too," Baloric said almost mechanically, an instantaneous response to Johanna's statement. "We all do."

  Louisa peeked out of the back of the carriage and frowned.

  Johanna vigorously shook her head. "No," she said. "Not like that. It's…I've never known how or when to say it so I'm just going to say it now. I love you. Like a woman loves a man. I love you."

  The others went silent, and Baloric went near rigid. Johanna withdrew her hand and crossed her arms awkwardly, biting her lip and stepping back from the carriage.

  "I just wanted you to know that before you left," she whispered. "I've wanted to say it all the times I've been left behind. I guess I just have the courage now."

  She smiled weakly at Jameson who couldn't help but feel proud of her, somehow.

  "Johanna," Baloric started, but was clearly unsure how to proceed from there because he did not continue speaking. He looked quickly to Louisa who was still quietly observing, and she just shrugged. After some moments passed, he uneasily placed the reins down and climbed down from the cart where Johanna was standing.

  She allowed him to approach her, keeping her eyes fixed on his. He was finally close enough to touch her and so he rested a hand on her shoulder. Gently, he i
ntertwined her long black hair around his fingers, and then let her go. The gesture was something he had done hundreds of times before.

  "Say something, or I'll just go on feeling embarrassed," she requested.

  Baloric actually looked utterly stumped. As Jameson watched, he felt as though he should say something, but he figured he'd remain quiet just to be safe. He looked at Louisa who was leaning over and observing intently, as if the scene unfolding before her was a dramatic production. Raven had a similar expression of amazement and, much to Jameson's surprise, Cyrus was similarly intrigued. Baloric seemed to be stalling, waiting for someone to offer him some advice on how to proceed.