“I can hear you,” Jonathan said.
“I can hear you too,” I replied.
He put down the basket and Alec helped him to clean the fish. I went outside with Midnight because if I stayed inside one more minute with him I would explode. How can someone be so infuriating and sweet at the same time? I was still confused about my feelings. Sometimes I liked him and other times I hated him and I wanted to kill him.
Afterward, I went inside and the table was set with the fish. There was even a plate for Midnight. We started eating.
“Why isn’t she eating?” Alec asked.
“Because she doesn’t trust you, and because she is a playful cat.” They raised their eyebrows so I took a piece of fish from Midnight’s plate. When she saw fish in my hands, she run away a short distance, and when I threw the fish at her, she jumped up and caught it in the air.
“Wow. That was a nice catch,” Jonathan said. “Can I try it?”
I stared at him thoughtfully. “I don’t think she trusts you enough.” I turned to Midnight who had finished eating the piece of fish she had caught.
“Midnight. Come here.” She obediently came to me, and I touched Jonathan’s arm. Why does he feel so warm? “This is Jonathan...” Midnight smelled his arm, and then I touched Alec’s arm. “This is Alec.” Midnight smelled him too. Midnight smelled them each a few more times. She would sit in front of Alec now, but she only stood in front of Jonathan. “I see...” I said.
“What does that mean?” asked Alec. “It means that she trusts you but doesn’t trust Jonathan enough.”
Jonathan looked at the cat. “Why?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. You should try letting her eat from your hand first, but I warn you if she doesn’t like you she might scratch you.”
“I will take my chances.” He cut a piece of fish and presented it to Midnight who smelled it a few times and then took it with her mouth. She walked over to the corner and then ate it.
“Doesn’t that mean that she trusts him?” Alec asked.
I shook my head. “If she does that, then she doesn’t. If she had eaten it directly from his hand, it would mean she trusts him, and if she lets him throw it, then she trusts him completely.”
Alec laughed. “Like master, like cat.” He took some fish and presented it to Midnight who didn’t hesitate. She ate it right from his hand.
“Don’t,” I said when Alec went to pet her. “She hates it. Even if I do it, she will scratch me. She wants to see who pets her so she can judge him.”
Jonathan knitted his eyebrows. “Judge him? How?”
“Animals are good judges of character.”
He scowled. “But I am a good person.”
I looked at him. Was that a question? “Yes,” I said cautiously.
“Then why doesn’t she trust me?” He seemed very bothered by that.
“Maybe she needs time. It’s not familiar territory, you know, we are away from home, and there aren’t any familiar faces except me.” And I have conflicted emotions about you so my smart cat senses it.
“But she has seen us before,” Jonathan protested.
“Yes, but I didn’t introduce you to her and you came and went, so it doesn’t mean anything to her.” I fed her the rest of the fish, and then she curled at my feet and closed her eyes. I put her in the bed and went to clean the plates.
At night we went to The Dragon’s Cave again, but this time, everyone was seated, so we went to the middle of the room.
“I like your hair better that way,” Jonathan said. He thought about my hair? I touched my hair; it was black like a raven’s wing again.
Stefen stopped when he saw us. “Ah, good, you are here. We can start. Everything’s set. Don’t worry.” He hurried to the front. “Gentlemen and ladies. Please. We can start.”
Everyone in the room went silent and the doors closed. There were more people than there were at the previous meeting. Stefen and another man started telling them about the threat.
“Tonight, we will divide everyone into groups, but first there is a matter that requires our immediate attention. Two spies were found last night, and one of them is one of our people. He was found conveying messages to the enemy. Now you have to decide their fates. These men care not for us but for themselves. They were promised money and power. What do you think they deserve for their actions?”
Someone yelled, “Death,” and someone else shouted “Gallows.” Everyone was yelling something, but nobody said anything about jail. Everyone wanted death one way or another. We were at war, yes, but they were still people. When they took the vote, the most votes were for gallows, but I didn’t understand why.
I started crying, and I felt fingers lacing with mine, so I looked down. Jonathan was holding my hand, and with his other hand, he wiped my tears. “I know it’s bad, but they did something bad too. They are not innocent.”
I nodded. “I know, but I could never end someone’s life just because I have the power to do it. I would have found a way to make them useful to me. I am a healer, not an assassin.” At least not an assassin of the humans.
“Maybe, but we have a war, people are afraid, and something must be done.”
“People. We must now unite for the upcoming battle. We have sent word to the other groups of hope, and we have good chances, but we need your help too. So now—” A bell ringing interrupted Stefen’s words.
I looked around the room. Where was the bell? What was the bell for?
“Positions,” Stefen called, and everyone turned their chairs to form little circles. Someone must be coming. Someone who was not supposed to know. Jonathan, Alec, and I turned our chairs to form a circle with some other people. Everyone had a beer in their hand, and I fished some glasses out of my bag.
“The bag of infinities,” said Alec, taking his glass.
“If you don’t stop, I will put you in the bag.”
The man across from us said, “My wife is expecting twins!”
We were supposed to be talking so if anyone saw us from a window he wouldn’t suspect anything. “How nice. I wish you all the best.” I smiled and raised my glass.
“Thank you.” He beamed.
“You have a nice city here. All those parks and woods... it’s all very nice,” Alec said.
“Oh, yes. You should see the lake too. It’s very peaceful.”
Jonathan asked, “Why are all the taverns called something cave? Are there many caves here?”
Is he in my head or something?
The man laughed. “You are not from here, I gather. Well, there is a cave up a little way outside the city—very pretty by the way—and the legend says that it has magic powers and that a dragon lived there and granted wishes, but one day it left us, but it made the city beautiful and thrive, so we thank it by naming buildings after the cave it was in. I don’t know if it’s true, but...” He shrugged.
Oh, no, please don’t tell me...
“What is that cave like?” Alec asked.
“Oh, it’s very pretty. You might not find it at first because it has plants in the entrance that serve as curtains.”
Oh, no. I wanted to bang my head on the table. Jonathan and Alec were paler than the walls.
“Plants like curtains, you say?” Alec asked.
“Yes, someone could practically live inside,” the man said. Yes, someone lives there.
“All clear,” the guard called, and I was glad there would be no more talk about the cave. We moved the chairs and waited for Stefen to continue.
“Well, people, enjoying your beer is nice, but now we must unite for a great purpose. Men, please come forth, we will put you into a group and give you instructions. Five people at a time and per row, please.” He talked quieter than before.
“We will come back soon,” Jonathan said when their turn came, and Alec squeezed my shoulder.
There were only two other women in the room, so since I couldn’t do anything else I waited. I hated waiting. After everyone was finished, Stefen
spoke again. “Now that the men have their orders, it’s time for the women to come forth.”
The women? Why? In the human world, women were forbidden to fight, unfortunately, but I got up from my seat. I shrugged at Jonathan’s and Alec’s looks and walked toward Stefen.
After we had gathered, a man spoke. “You were summoned here because you have healing skills.”
Skills? It’s an ability. And they can’t have much of an ability.
“We can’t take all of you, so we will choose. You will select a stone from this jar, and whoever selects the red stone will be the one who goes. The jar will be covered, so nobody can see what they are taking.”
I could use magic, of course, but I didn’t want to cheat, so I put my hand in the jar. The stone I touched was smooth but not very big. I pulled my hand out of the jar. I had a blue stone. I am the best and someone else will take my place?
“Miss, you will be our healer,” the man said to one of the other women, and he gave her instructions. I went back to my place next to Jonathan.
“What was that about?” he asked.
I gritted my teeth. “To select a healer.”
“They selected you, right?”
My expression told him everything.
“Why did they pick someone else?”
I took a deep breath. “I can do a lot of things, but I can’t intervene with luck, especially when I don’t see.” I explained what happened.
“We can talk to Stefen,” Alec said.
I shook my head. “Fair is fair. Now stop playing with my nerves.” They didn’t say anything else, but Jonathan held my hand tightly. Why did he do that? And why did I find it comforting?
We left shortly after that, but when we were close to the cave, Alec asked, “Should we move? Perhaps since it’s a famous place, people would visit it often.”
Jonathan responded, “Alec, it’s a war. There are no tourists now.”
I didn’t take part in the conversation. I wanted to go and lie down and not to think, I was so sad.
“I just think it’s better if we moved,” Alec continued. “Eva, what do you think? Eva?” I shrugged.
I hadn’t the energy to make decisions now, and they had to make their own. I was not their mother.
“I think we should stay here and take watches,” said Jonathan.
“All right.”
Jonathan took my arm and guided me inside. Once inside, I curled under the blankets, and my sweet Midnight came to lick my hands because she felt I was sad. I heard murmurs, but I didn’t pay attention. They would probably think I was awful, but I couldn’t do anything else tonight. I wanted to cry, but I couldn’t, so I closed my eyes and imagined the White Land. It was my peaceful place when I was not feeling well.
I woke up and saw Jonathan and Alec were awake too. “How are you feeling?” Jonathan asked me. I shrugged.
“I am sorry they didn’t choose you. It’s unfair, and we know you are the best. You have done so much for us, and we can’t even help you.” Alec said, and I put my back against the cave’s wall. It was refreshing to hear their support, but they couldn’t do anything.
“When we go back, I am making a room with your paintings only,” Jonathan said and stood on my left.
“Not if I get them first,” Alec said with a smile as he stood on my right. They were trying to make me feel better. “And don’t forget the room for the cat,” Alec added.
“Right. A big one with balls and fish and a swing.”
I wasn’t feeling as sad now. “Midnight loves swings.” I laughed and they laughed too. We were bound, we three. I don’t know how, but we were and we couldn’t stay separated. Jonathan and I might be in a weird situation, but Alec was in this circle too. He was, after all, the reason I stuck with them in the first place. My friends...
“We will come back,” Alec said.
“We will definitely come back or you will kill us,” Jonathan.
“No, I will revive you and I will kill you again.”
I stared at him without blinking. Jonathan looked at me with a terrified look.
“Can you imagine? It’s not enough being killed one time; you have to be killed a second one.”
Alec laughed. “Yes, and then she would kill us in the most painful way.”
Jonathan looked at me. “I don’t think she has much in store.”
“Oh, I don’t know... I have much more imagination than you. I can be very creative.” We laughed and then we were lying on the floor and laughing just like that day.
“You know, this reminds me of that day...” Jonathan said. Of course, he would remember it.
“Yes, we were lying on the grass without shoes and gazing at the stars,” Alec added. “We returned home and it was way past our curfew, and mom was so angry...”
“But when she heard we were with you, she relaxed, but she didn’t allow us to come home after the sunset for three weeks,” Jonathan finished.
I didn’t know she had been angry. Wow. And I thought that only my mother was strict. But I didn’t understand. If they came back home all right, why would she punish them? And why had she relaxed when she heard they were with me? Was it because she knew I was a witch and I could protect them?
I was never punished for being out late. I was punished if I did something against my mother’s wishes, like that day Ritta and I had gone to the Dark Forest for Jonathan’s cure. Then again, I had no curfew.
“The best day,” said Jonathan.
“And the worst day,” Alec said.
I knew why it was the worst day. It was the day I left, but why was it the best day? For me, it was an amazing night because we did things that were peaceful and weren’t the typical activities of royalty. “Why the best?” I asked.
“Because we did things that made me feel free. That day I could think that I was just some random boy that was gazing at the stars,” Jonathan said, and I smiled.
“Lying in the grass without thinking about responsibilities for once?” Alec asked him. He knew Jonathan well.
“You could have stayed,” Jonathan looked at me, and I felt my cheeks warm up.
“You can pretend I went for a vacation.”
Alec laughed. “For four years?”
I shrugged. “Don’t royals do that? Or you could say that I wanted a change of scenery.”
Jonathan looked at me with that sarcastic smile that always upset me. “Yes, Eva. You went for four years of vacation. In my experience, only royals can pay for such a vacation.”
“I said you can pretend...”
“I can pretend, but that doesn’t make it true.”
I guess not. We stayed like this for a while, and then Alec said, “Table duties.”
I looked at him strangely. “It’s not duties. But if you don’t eat, you will stay hungry.” They laughed and we started preparing the food, but Midnight had other ideas: she sat on the blanket we used to set our food on.
“Now what?” Alec asked.
“Alec, it’s just a cat. It’s not a snake,” I chided.
“I know, but when she gives me that look, I want to run away.”
I looked at Midnight. That wasn’t a hateful look; it was a sad and maybe angry look. I knew her well, but to people who barely knew her—plus the thought she was a supernatural cat—I guess she could look terrifying.
“Why is she doing that?” Jonathan asked.
“Hmm... it can be two things: either she felt left out before when we were having fun or...”
“Or what?”
I smiled sadly. “She knows you are leaving. It’s her way of showing it. She thinks that if she sits there, then the day won’t go like it normally goes and you won’t have to go.”
They looked at me unconvinced. “She’s a cat. She can’t know we are leaving, and she barely knows us and doesn’t trust us.”
“Animals can sense things like leaving, sickness, death, and sadness. She doesn’t trust you, but that doesn’t mean she wants you to leave.” I stroked her. “I
know, but you have to let us eat. It will be all right.” She licked my hand and her look said it clearly: Make them stay. I wished I could, my lovely cat, I wished I could. “Lift her up,” I said.
“Are you joking? She will scratch me,” Jonathan said.
I scowled at him. “Yesterday you were brave enough to try, and now you back off? What is this?”
He did as I said and carefully placed his hands to lift her up. Midnight let him, but then she climbed behind his head and lay across his shoulders. That’s how I knew I was right.
“How do I get her down now?”
I smiled. “You don’t. She will get down when she wants to. She makes a good pillow at night,” I said while serving dinner. “Why you didn’t wake me up for watch?” I asked.
“Ahh... we thought it was better you rest,” Alec said.
“You will fight and I need rest?” Unbelievable.
During our dinner, Midnight decided to pay a visit to Alec, and she climbed over and lay across his shoulders.
“Now you are a man with a fur,” Jonathan said.
“At least I am warm,” Alec said.
After dinner, Midnight made a jump to Jonathan who caught her in his hands. “What was that?”
I smiled cunningly. “Midnight is not a fur. She is paying you back.”
He gave me an odd look. “She can’t understand human language, can she?”
I shook my head. “No, but she understood you were mean to Alec.”
Midnight bit his finger, and he yelled. “Ow.”
I shrugged. “Told you. And if you wake up at night, it certainly will not be me.”
He scowled. “What can I do?”
“Nothing, you just wait.”
After the boys lay down, I secured the curtains and addressed Midnight. “You take watch, and if anyone comes by, wake me, all right?” Meow. Then she ran straight to Jonathan and pounced on him. “What the... What’s going on?” I smiled. Midnight was licking him. “I don’t need a bath,” Jonathan yelled.
“You are not good with animals, are you? She is just saying goodbye.” He petted her. “Oh.” Midnight went to Alec and did the same.
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