by Wylie, Jen
She nodded quickly, hopefully she wasn't about to get yelled at for leaving the camp on her own.
Prince looked over at Kei. "Are you safe now?"
Kei nodded stiffly and looked down at her. "Return with Prince. I'll go and get cleaned up."
Before she could answer he was gone.
Chapter 17
To Have a Purpose
She did not like watching him leave again, even though she knew he'd be back. Well, she was pretty sure he would be. If not, she'd hunt the Fey down and drag him back by his little pointed ears.
Nervously worrying her lower lip with her teeth, she walked toward Prince. How much he had seen? She stopped in front of him and winced. The moonlight reflected off his pale drawn face. He wasn't happy.
"Don't do that again," Prince said. Though he kept his voice down, his words came out slow and stiff.
She sucked in a sharp breath. Had he seen what she had done with Kei?
"When I woke up and found you gone again..." He looked away, his lips tightening into an angry line.
Gah! She hadn't even thought of that! Impulsively she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his waist, laying her cheek on his chest. "I'm sorry."
He stiffened in surprise at her action, but after a moment he relaxed and put his arms around her, too. He let out a heavy sigh. "You are such a troublesome child."
She smiled slightly against his chest. "I don't know why you put up with me."
He chuckled and reached a hand up to ruffle her hair. "Sometimes I wonder myself."
She looked up at him. "I still need you. If you...I mean...even with Kei back." Her cheeks flushed as she fumbled to say what she felt inside. Prince and Kei were completely different, however both of them had grown to mean so much to her. They truly had become the family she had lost.
"I told you before, I am here if you need me."
Looking down at her, a small smile formed on his lips. She hoped his smile meant he was glad she still needed him. Whatever the reason, it certainly looked better than his customary frown. She reluctantly pulled out of his arms. "We should get back."
They picked their way carefully through the trees and she found her mind wandering in circles. "Prince," she said as she followed him. "I won't be able to stay with you forever will I?" She winced at her choice of words and stopped as he turned to face her. "I mean, when you get home. We won't be able to stay together will we?"
He sighed and gave a slight nod. "I'm sorry."
She bit her lip. "Is that the reason why you haven't said anything? About us all taking you home?"
He raised his eyebrows slightly. "I didn't–"
"Because we should," she interrupted. "That's what we should do. We're lost here. Taking you home would be a good thing for us."
"It is very far away," he said evasively.
She shrugged. "It's not like we've any pressing business to attend to. How far is your city?"
"Very."
She frowned at his short response. "Good. I mean, that means at least you aren't from Franua."
His eyebrows went up again and he looked shocked. "I am not."
She started walking again. "Well, I'm glad that's settled."
He muttered something under his breath.
She managed not to smile, but was happy as she was pretty sure she could have if she wanted to.
When they reached the camp they quietly found their spots by the fire and waited up for Kei. He returned not too long after them, damp and shining in the moonlight. When he hesitated at the camp's edge she held her hand out to him. With a blush he hurried over and took her hand as he sat beside her. "Welcome back, Kei," she whispered.
A faint smile crossed her lips as she sat between them. Kei had returned, certainly she could get better now. The memories and nightmares wouldn't dare to haunt her with both a prince and a Fey watching over her.
Prince rested a hand on her shoulder. "Time for sleep."
She nodded and lied down, facing Kei. He still held her hand and didn't let go as he gracefully slipped next to her. She smiled at him a little. The smile grew when he grimaced over her shoulder as Prince settled in behind her. He was not quite touching but very close, his arm sliding over her waist. Kei clearly wasn't happy with the situation.
"Silly Fey," she murmured. She wondered if it was jealousy, or if it was just his dislike for Prince making him unhappy. She squeezed his hand. "I need you both," she whispered very quietly. "Keep the nightmares away?"
His grimace faded quickly and he glanced down shamefully as he nodded. He looked back up at her. "Am I part of those nightmares?"
She closed her eyes and squeezed his hand, faking a very faint smile. "No," she lied. The hand at her waist tightened slightly and she held in a sigh. Did Prince know she was lying? Probably. Sometimes she thought he knew more about her than she did. He thankfully didn't say anything and she quickly drifted off to sleep.
* * *
"Kei! You're back!"
Aro sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she yawned. She saw everyone, surprisingly Prince also, standing together by the fire. She guessed they talked about Kei coming back. Since she knew the story she stumbled a few steps into the trees to relieve herself.
She wasn't gone long, however by the time she returned the men had already begun arguing about something. She grimaced as she walked up to them. Starting the day off fighting wasn't her idea of fun.
"It's not appropriate," Bo said angrily.
Her brows drew together as she joined them. "What's not?"
They all looked at her as if surprised to find her standing there.
"Never mind," Bo snapped, pursing his lips together over further words.
"Our sleeping arrangements." Prince answered at the same time.
She blinked in confusion, trying to get her sleepy mind to understand what was going on. A flush crept over her cheeks as she suddenly understood. The others must have woken up before they all did. She bit her lip and looked at Prince. He didn't look angry, just annoyed. Her blush didn't go away, if anything it got worse as her mind put together the picture of what the others must have seen. A young girl curled up between two older men. Yes, such a thing would certainly not be considered appropriate. "I'm sorry," she murmured, looking at the ground as she clenched her fists.
"It's not your fault." Cain said gently.
She nodded, somehow managing to keep tears of embarrassment away. Anger rose up within her, but she managed to squash it down and not yell at anyone.
"We should get moving," Bo said suddenly, changing the topic.
Relieved, she agreed with the others. As she helped to pack up their small camp she couldn't ignore the hollowness in the pit of her stomach. Yes, she was hungry, but certainly it was caused by the knowledge she wouldn't have her dreams protected by Kei and Prince again.
When they stopped to rest later that day she sat and watched all the men, trying to decide how to broach the subject of them all taking Prince home. She munched on mushrooms someone had found, watching the others share and slowly eat the little food they had been able to forage during their morning travels.
"I was thinking," she said suddenly, and forced herself to continue as everyone looked over at her. "If we didn't have anything else planned, we could take Prince home."
She looked down at her hands as silence answered her proposal. "Or not."
"No," Bo said. "It's a valid idea."
She looked up in relief. Kei and Prince were staring at each other. As usual the look wasn't a nice. She couldn't understand why the two didn't seem to be able to get along at all. At least the others were better with Prince now, which was why she'd been confident in broaching the subject.
"How far is your city?" Bo asked Prince.
Prince turned his attention to Bo and frowned. Aro was unsure if the frown came from the topic or the question. "Far."
Bo raised his eyebrows. "That's all the answer we're going to get? Are you going to continue keeping your secr
ets then, Prince?" He stressed the last word, effectively pointing out none of them actually knew Prince's real name.
"I think we've had enough secrets between us all," Cain added quietly.
Prince's jaw tightened as he regarded them. "I told you, the cities fight amongst themselves. Knowing who I am and where I am from would not be a good idea."
"You don't trust us." Cain commented.
Prince actually chuckled as he shook his head. "It is more that I don't trust one of my enemies not to try to torture the information out of you." He glanced over at her. "And accidents do happen. A slip of the tongue, or someone overhearing something they should not. I cannot risk it."
"It's not easy, being a prince," she said quietly.
"No," Prince agreed. "Not in these lands." He stared at her and she tried to force a smile. He sighed and looked back at the men. "Should you agree, you would of course be compensated. Rewarded. I would ensure you each received enough to be able to start a new life here, should you wish to."
She raised her eyebrows. She hadn't expected him to make such a generous offer. Or any offer at all actually. The men seemed surprised as well, and began exchanging looks that involved some shrugs and small smiles.
"Very well," Bo finally answered after the men all came to a silent agreement. "We'll get you home." He paused a moment. "On the condition you tell us as much as you can about these lands, the people, customs, laws, and dangers. Anything we might need to know."
Prince nodded. "That is acceptable." The men started talking to each other all at once. He looked over at her. "Happy?"
She smiled and nodded. Yes, she was, and relieved as well. She didn't even want to think of having to part ways with Prince. She wasn't an idiot, she knew they would eventually. However, he had become part of her family and she didn't want to think of losing him anytime soon. She rather liked the idea that he lived far away.
He smiled faintly. "I suggest you see to your Fey before he falls into a fury again."
She turned quickly to see Kei, white as a sheet and eyes faintly glowing. Not good. She scrambled to her feet.
He grabbed her arm and immediately started dragging her into the trees for some privacy. "We need to talk."
She bit her lip as he pulled her along. She hadn't considered how Kei would react to the idea of them helping Prince. She should have known he wouldn't be happy.
He turned on her when he finally stopped, "Are you insane?"
She scowled. "No."
"What were you thinking?" He shook his head in disbelief as she cringed. "You don't know who he is!"
"Kei..." she began, wanting to try to explain.
"No!" He growled and began to pace in front of her. He stopped suddenly and turned to her, his face pained. "Is this a test? Are you testing my loyalty?"
"Huh?" She had no idea what he was talking about.
He grimaced and closed his eyes tightly, running his fingers angrily through his spikey hair. A growl rumbled out of him.
"Kei?" She began to get worried over his obvious distress. She understood his anger, just not the degree of it.
He took a deep breath and lowered his hands, searching her face. She had no idea what he had been searching for but the anger seemed to suddenly fade away. The light in his eyes died.
His face broke into a sudden unexpected grin. "Never mind."
She gaped at him, totally confused. "I think you're the one who's insane," she muttered.
Kei laughed and wrapped his arms around her, lifting her up.
She gasped in pain as his arms tightened around her bruised ribs.
He set her down quickly. "What's wrong? Did I hurt you?"
She sucked in a deep breath and faked a smile. "I'm fine. I'm just still a little sore from..." her voice trailed off and she looked away.
"Show me," he demanded.
She grimaced and lifted her shirt a little, showing the lovely mass of yellow and green and purple.
"No," he whispered, his voice cracking in pain. His fingers reached out, gently brushing her skin and making her shiver. He drew them back quickly. "I'm sorry!"
"It's fine." She glanced up and saw his stricken face, his eyes lightly glowing again. "Really. It's much better now."
His hand moved toward her again and stopped. "You need to eat more. I can see your ribs."
She jerked her shirt back down, suddenly both angry and embarrassed. She took a deep breath, trying to calm down. She wouldn't let the anger take over again, not with Kei. "We're all hungry," she said, managing to keep her voice level.
"Aro! Kei!"
She turned her head toward where they had left the others. "Time to head out again."
Kei nodded and followed her back in brooding silence.
Chapter 18
Could You Repeat That
Before the sun set, they came across a freshwater spring and decided to camp by its side for the night. After the gathering of wood and eating the little food they'd found, she moved off to the side, alone. She practiced with her knives, throwing them over and over again into a nearby tree.
Kei had climbed an old giant tree earlier in the afternoon and reported he could see the end of the forest. They would leave its shelter within a day or two at the most.
The others had mostly settled down around the fire for the night, but she kept throwing. The fear of sleep made her restless and angry. It wasn't a question on whether or not she would have nightmares, she did every night. What worried her was tonight there would be no Kei or Prince next to her to keep them from overwhelming her. The fear wouldn't go away.
She walked to the tree and jerked a blade from it.
"Aro, time to get to some sleep."
She jumped and turned, startled to see Bo so close to her. She looked down and then turned and pulled her other knife free. "Sure," she said quietly, tucking the knives into the crude makeshift sheaths she'd made for them.
She followed him reluctantly back to the fire, sitting down when he stopped and turned to look at her. "Good night," he said.
"Night," she replied, forcing herself to lie down. She closed her eyes over the others quiet comments as well.
* * *
She woke kicking and screaming, pushing at the hands that held her down. Terror held her trapped in its grasp so tightly it took her a while to realize she was awake, that she had just been dreaming. Angrily she slapped away the hands trying to calm her, or perhaps they had been trying to wake her up. She sat up, putting her face in her hands as she gasped for breath. She didn't even bother trying to control the shaking when it started.
Bo leaned forward. "What's wrong?"
Avery spoke at the same time, "Did you have a nightmare?"
She lowered her hands and glared up at them. It surprised her to see everyone kneeling around her, worried looks on their faces. It brought forth her anger again. She scrambled to her feet and stumbled to the pool, ignoring their further questions. They didn't understand at all. Of course something was wrong. Of course it had been a nightmare.
Dropping to her knees, she quickly splashed freezing cold water on her face. She ran wet fingers back through her tangled hair. She continued to shake as she wrapped her arms tightly around herself and stared at the reflection of the moon on the water. Memories of pain stung her. "It wasn't real," she whispered to herself.
She heard someone walk up behind her and when they rested a hand on her shoulder she shuddered at their touch. "Don't touch me."
Avery removed his hand. "Are you going to be able to sleep now?"
She bowed her head and cursed the tears that threatened to fall. She didn't want them to start. They had a tendency to never want to stop. "Leave me alone," she snapped.
Someone said something far behind her. Avery answered, "I don't know."
She turned and glared up at him. "Just go away!"
He sat down beside her instead. She tensed as he put an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close to him. Clenching her teeth, she fought the fear that t
ried to wrap itself around her. Avery wouldn't hurt her, not ever. He was her friend, her brother. She struggled to push the fear away, to hold in the simmering anger that didn't make any sense.
He started gently stroking her hair. "There," he said. "It's not so hard." He looked down at her. "You don't have to push me, I mean us, away you know."
He was right. She knew it, but the knowledge didn't make it any easier to do. She sighed and forced herself to relax. "Gah! I hate this!"
"It'll get better," he said gently.
She hoped so.
* * *
She fell asleep with his arm around her. She awoke alone, hoping it had all been a strange dream, but it hadn't. She sat up, shaking her head.
"Aro, come here," Avery called to her.
She drank quickly from the pool and washed her face before going to him. She bit her lip as she approached. Would he say something strange about the night before?
He didn't waste any time getting to the point. "We've all been talking and decided you need to work off some of that anger. We're going to give you further lessons in fighting."
She raised her eyebrows. "Um..."
Avery flashed his charming grin. "You'll be practicing your knives with me. Bo will help you with hand-to-hand. Cain and Prince will teach you sword-work, and Kei, scouting."
A grin spread across her face at his words. They were going to teach her to fight? She could certainly deal with that. She nodded quickly. "Yes!"
He drew one of his knives. "Ready?"
"Right now?"
He nodded and she grinned again.
They fought until the others called to them it was time to head out. She drank from the pool until she sloshed and then moved out to scout with Kei. The others would continue their slow travel near the road as they foraged for food. She and Kei would roam further, keeping an eye out for humans on the road, and Were and Fey within the forest.
She enjoyed traveling with Kei. He made her feel safe, and even loved. He acted like one of her brothers, grinning and teasing her as they ran through the trees. He began teaching her how to move quietly, how to climb trees, and how to hide. He pointed out animal tracks and spore and taught her how to identify not only what animal had made it, but how long ago as well.