I put a hand over my stomach and shook my head. I didn't feel like eating. “Can I just sit down for a minute?”
“Ah . . . sure,” he said, before scratching the back of his head. “Only we don't have any chairs.”
I smiled. “That's fine, I'll just sit on the floor.” I went over by the fire and bent down into a sitting position.
The past few hours were quite unexpected and had me slightly shaken. The fire made me feel a lot better, though. I hugged my knees as I wondered absently if it was real or if Jaden had started it.
Ikovos was making room for a seat to my left, stacking weapons carefully against the wall.
I decided to risk a glance at Jaden, though I wondered if I would get evil eyes glaring back.
There weren't, he was busy getting food out of what must have been the pantry.
It was silly after all, I guess, to think that I could do much to affect him, bothering not excluded.
I lost track of time watching him work in front of the counter and he looked up at me through strands of hair. I quickly turned back around, attempting to act disinterested.
Ikovos was sitting down a few feet away now. He looked over at me, eyes looking strikingly blue against our warm surroundings.
“So seriously,” he commented. “Was the trip up here okay?” I could tell he was trying to control his amusement.
I smiled. “Yes, it was fine. It's hard to imagine this place is so close to where I've lived my whole life.”
He nodded then looked over at the fire. “Yeah . . . that would be strange.” After a slight pause he turned back to me. “You seemed very popular there, though.”
I couldn't help but laugh at this. “Not usually. I don't know what was up with them today.”
He resumed his stare into the fire. “So do you regret coming back then?”
I leaned my head on my knees, relaxed by the easy conversation.
“Not in the least.”
“That's good,” he said, smiling at me. “I thought maybe you were having second thoughts. . . . What was taking you so long anyways?”
I tried to think of a simple and un-embarrassing explanation. “Well, I had to climb up to my room and- “
Jaden interrupted, setting a plate of food in front of me. He had taken off his overcoat, now in a very comfy looking loose, sleeved, shirt.
I narrowed my eyes at him while his back was turned, then did the same to the platter of food. I seemed to remember saying I didn't want anything.
“You should have seen her,” said Jaden. “She's quite the expert climber.” He couldn't have sounded more sarcastic. I watched as he sat down across from me on the other side of the fire, a wicked grin was covering his face.
I refused to give him the satisfaction of letting him know that he was bugging me, and turned to Ikovos. “What about you?” I asked. “Where did you grow up?”
His eyes twinkled. “Eh, it's a long story . . . I'll tell you some other time.”
“Oh. Okay.” I didn't want to press him.
“Hey,” he noted, “speaking of that, what was it you wouldn't tell me earlier? Remember, when you got sick.”
Not a good time Ikovos.
Jaden was watching us absently as he ate. I tried to keep my face from going red, but it isn't really the type of thing you can control.
“I umm . . . I was just cold. It's a bit cold now actually. . . .” I pretended to rub my arms, wondering why I'd even said the last part.
I saw Jaden look distinctly at the fire then back at me quizzically. I tried to ignore it, opting to stare down at my plate and pop a grape into my mouth.
“Yeah right,” said Ikovos. “I think it was something I said.” He put a finger to his jaw and stared off. “What were we talking about?”
The question wasn't directed at me, but I was all too sure he was going to figure the answer out immediately so I tried to lead him astray. “Ah . . . we were talking about me being able to come back.”
“Oh, right, right. . . ."He considered it and I felt safe that I had gotten him off the trail. Jaden, at least, appeared once again uninterested.
I took a bite of food then looked at Ikovos with a thought. “How did you convince Thoran to let me back, anyways?”
I heard Jaden cough over some food. Ikovos replied distractedly. “Oh, ah . . . I didn't convince him.”
Jaden continued coughing. It sounded like he was choking.
“Are you alright?” I asked.
He cleared his throat once again. “Fine.”
I watched him skeptically for a moment, then turned back to Ikovos who was still trying to remember what he had said to bother me.
“What do you mean you didn't convince him?” I asked. “You told me he only said yes after some convincing.”
“Hey, Ikovos, did you make sure the chimney was clear?” asked Jaden.
Ikovos waved him off. “Of course I did. We'd all be burning otherwise.”
Jaden seemed un-consoled. I was about to remind Ikovos of my question when he interrupted again.
“What about the wood? Did you bring it inside?”
I looked at Ikovos, who turned around to Jaden. “Does it look like I did?”
Jaden responded. “We should probably go do that.”
Ikovos glanced out the window then back at Jaden. “Why? It’s not raining.”
I followed each as they spoke.
“What if it starts?” asked Jaden.
“There weren't any clouds earlier,” said Ikovos.
“I have a good sense for these things.”
“Since when?”
“Since I said so,” declared Jaden.
“Oh, great, here we go with this argument.”
“Guys.” This time it was me talking. They both looked over and, for once, I was glad for it, the back and forth thing was making me very dizzy. “I'll just go get the wood.”
Jaden looked appeased, but Ikovos argued. “No. We can do it. You should rest up.”
I shook my head. “No, it's okay. I wanted to get some fresh air, anyways. . . . Plus,” I added. “I need to get used to helping out.”
I ended with a wide smile that denied him a chance at arguing further. Jaden, on the other hand, looked like he was relieved that I was leaving.
Like five minutes without me around would make his night. . . . Jerk.
I got up, at this point only sorry to leave the fire -and headed over to the door.
As I turned the handle and started through the entryway, Ikovos called after me.
“Oh,” he said, “and it was Jaden that convinced Thoran to let you come back.”
Instantly I was uncomfortable and my ears felt hot. I guess it was good they couldn't see my awe-struck face, the half opened door was hiding it.
I tried quickly to think up a response that made sense, but instead I panicked and just closed the door behind me.
“I don't understand.” I whispered out loud.
Part of me wanted to sit down against the door to think, but a larger portion told me to start on the wood. It was cold out now. I could see my breath. It was dark also, but I found the wood easily enough. I decided to stack it under the slight out-cropping of the roof rather than inside.
I guess since they were boys they didn't know this, but you don't usually put piles of wood inside the cabin. I began picking up the pieces and arranging them against the wall so that they wouldn't tip.
Besides, I continued from my previous thought, I don't really want to be in there right now. No sooner had the thought come, when a welcome realization hit me.
It was a joke.
I slapped my head. I always missed jokes back home, in fact even when people told me plainly afterwards I usually didn't get them. This situation was obviously no exception.
I felt a little relieved at this and I spent the rest of my stacking time trying to figure out what was supposed to be funny about the statement. Maybe Ikovos was aware of Jaden's true feelings of dislike for me and was just being
ironic about it. It seemed unlike him to be so callous though.
When I was done I wiped my now, dirty, hands on my skirt. I wasn't really ready to go inside yet. I was, on the other hand, beginning to freeze. I let down my hair as a compromise. The one nice thing about the puffy mess was it could double as a hat, scarf, and earmuffs.
I walked around to the back of the cabin. Behind it was a steep hill of deep, green, grass. I climbed up a few dozen feet before, falling back into the velvet blades.
The first thing I noticed when I landed was the clear sky. I guess Jaden isn't so great at predicting the weather after all. I smirked at this then studied the stars intently.
I still couldn't believe I was finally free of my empty life. This time last night I thought I was never going to see Ikovos, Cornelius, or anyone from the lodge ever again.
The smoke rising from the chimney brought me out of my current thoughts into different ones. It made me think of fire, which made me think of magic, which made me think of what Jaden had said in Cornelius’s study.
For the first time I really let myself ponder it.
I couldn't quite put together why he would have told me that with the way he treated me. He acted so strange sometimes. Like just now, in the cabin, with the coughing and the wood thing, what was that? I considered my words while looking for shapes in the stars. Suddenly an unwelcome realization came to me.
Jaden started acting weird when Ikovos said he wasn't the one that convinced Thoran to let me come back. Which means that what Ikovos had said to me wasn't a joke and . . . Jaden wanted me to stay?
“Evelyn,” called a voice below. “Evelyn, where are you?” It was Ikovos.
I stood up quickly and started running down the hill. “I'm here, I'm coming.”
I turned the corner to see him standing in the doorway. He had changed while I was outside, the same leather pants, but a looser white shirt. Like Jaden's.
“You scared me for a minute there,” he said. “It's not really safe around here.”
I followed past him inside, feeling a little self conscious of my hair. “Oh, yeah, right . . . sorry.”
He closed the door and waved it off.
“What's so unsafe about this place anyways?” I was only subconsciously aware of Jaden sitting by the fire.
“We've had trouble here before, with some of the Meoden,” said Ikovos. “Sylvanus' doing mostly.”
I backed against the counter as Ikovos continued.
“He's got a nasty habit of getting much too close to the cities. It's gotten him in trouble with the council on more than one occasion.”
“What's his deal anyways?” I asked. “Could you tell me more about him?”
Ikovos grinned, but it was different than usual. Courser . . . like his laugh. “Yeah,” he said. “But why don't I get the beds laid out first. Then we'll be more comfortable.”
I nodded a slight acknowledgment and felt my curls bobbing with my head. I twisted it around a bit. “Umm . . . is there a shower here?”
He nodded and started towards the open door. “It's in here. Just let me get the blankets out real quick.”
I picked up my knapsack, which still sitting by the door, and followed him in. examining the bathroom as he went for the shelved closet.
It was a simple bathroom . . . like the rest of the cabin. Though, the fixtures looked nicer than I would have expected, and everything was very clean.
Ikovos passed me a towel before picking up the pile of blankets. “Make sure to give it time to get hot.”
“Alright,” I responded and he walked into the main room.
I closed the door behind him, then turned to look in the mirror. I grumbled at the sight, my hair was frizzing out everywhere. God, and I looked so pale. I sighed as I reached over to turn the shower on.
*
Twenty minutes later I was out and dressed. I looked once at my reflection, but decided it was too much work to fix my hair. Besides that, I was looking forward to hearing about Sylvanus. With that in mind I exited the bathroom.
When I was out I saw that Ikovos had set out the blankets. To the right of the fireplace a comfy looking pile of blankets were laid out mattress style. I assumed this was mine because there was a ridiculously large space between it and the other two beds. I felt a little guilty when I saw that they each only had one blanket and not nearly as much room as me. Ikovos was lying on his stomach in the spot closest to mine. I couldn't see Jaden anywhere.
I moved over to my pile of blankets near the fire and sat down carefully. As soon as Ikovos saw me he sat up.
“How was your shower?” he asked.
“Good. Great, actually.”
“You didn't take very long,” he said.
“No, I'm not a big shower person.”
He nodded slowly. Silence followed.
“So . . .” I started. “Can you tell me about Sylvanus now?”
“Oh yeah,” said Ikovos. Somehow his hair was even more tousled then before. “What do you want to know about him?”
I scrunched my nose as I considered the question. “Well, how old is he?”
Ikovos jumped in, strange when he had been so secretive on the subject before. “First off, you have to know that the Meoden age quite different than us. They live a lot longer and mature slower. Thoran told me once that he was born around the same time as him, but Sylvanus is rather young among the Meoden, especially for his rank.”
“And that's why he gets away with so much?” I followed.
Ikovos rocked his head back and forth. “That's part of it, but with what he's done he still should have been exiled years ago.”
I sunk down a bit more, turning onto my side and leaning against my elbow. “What kind of stuff?”
He looked troubled by my question, like he was hesitant to answer. “Umm . . .” another pause “. . . bad stuff.”
“Oh. . . .” It hung in the air for a moment. I couldn't help but think about my own experience with Sylvanus, and where it might have led if not for Thoran and Cornelius. A shiver ran up my spine and in the same moment door to the cabin swung open.
I jumped.
It was just Jaden of course.
“You okay there?” he toyed. Not waiting for an answer, he looked over at Ikovos. “Well, you two look like a jolly bunch. . . . What were you talking about?”
He was holding a large sword at his side. I noticed that it was dimly glowing. It reminded me of Thoran's flaming sword, only this one was a deep red rather than green.
“Sylvanus.” said Ikovos.
Jaden tossed the sword into the corner. As soon as he released it all color disappeared. “Nice topic.” He walked a little closer and gave his cramped spot a dissatisfied look.
I sat up a bit, still shaken, as he dropped down into his small space and leaned back against the wall, hands lacing behind his head. “I bet you're wishing you had stayed home, now.”
Ikovos gave him a look, but it didn't make me feel much better. I had done my fair share of arguing for the day though, so I thought I would try the super sweet route.
“Of course not. Then I wouldn't have you guys to protect me.”
Ikovos grinned, though I was sure he could tell what I was doing. Jaden, on the other hand, looked rather surprised.
He hid it quickly, but I felt contented enough to resumed talking with Ikovos. My thoughts were still on Sylvanus.
“I have a hard time understanding how the whole council thing works. I mean, I saw Thoran kill two Meoden . . . then he just goes there to have these civilized chats with them?”
Ikovos yawned and leaned into the uncomfortable, looking floor. I noticed Jaden had closed his eyes.
“The meetings aren't really in the place you were, they're in a neutral-zone. No fighting allowed.”
I considered this, but still didn't feel like I was grasping the concept. Ikovos must have noticed this.
“It's not really something you can explain. You’d have to see it for yourself.” I watched him lie on
his back and look up at the ceiling. “Jaden will take you the next time he goes,” he stated matter-of-factly.
Jaden opened one eye and looked at him skeptically.
I didn't want to get him any more irritated with me then he already was, so I backtracked. “No, no, that's okay. I'm just being nosy. I probably wouldn't understand if I went anyways.” I added a sweet closed-mouth grin to try and make it convincing.
Jaden, who had closed his eyes again after starting down Ikovos, looked up at this. God, why did it always feel like he could see right through me?
“I'll take you,” he said. “Now go to sleep.”
Before I could respond he had returned to his leaned-back, closed-eye, trance.
I scrunched my nose and looked at Ikovos who appeared asleep apart from the grin on his face. He was never much help to me when it came to Jaden.
Feeling free that I wasn't being watched I let my tongue stick out at Jaden for a split second, before turning on my stomach and pulling over my covers.
As soon as I laid my head on the pillow the room became darker. Surprised, I looked at the fire and saw that is was now a deep maroon. My eyes peered over to Jaden, but he hadn't moved.
I sighed and rested my head in my hand.
The fire reminded me of my first night in the study . . . and I couldn't help but feel comforted. It was strange, though, to watch such foreign-colored flames wisping up the all-to-normal wood.
After a few minutes I laid my head back on the pillow.
I'm never going to be able to get to sleep. There's too many thoughts running through my head.
I must have been wrong about this. Within minutes I was out.
~ ~ ~
Chapter 6
Rain
WHEN I woke up the first thing I heard was the soft tapping of rain, falling on the roof. I opened my eyes and saw that out the window the sky was a very dim, silvery-blue.
I lifted my head off the pillow a couple inches and looked over at Ikovos and Jaden. I almost expected to see the latter still sitting against the wall with his arms behind his head, but it appeared he was now sleeping peacefully in his small cot.
I dropped my head back down and told myself I should try to go back to sleep . . . but then the rain got louder and I couldn't help myself. With another glance towards the boys, I carefully crept out from under the covers and reached for my coat from the knapsack. My shoes were still by the door so with jacket in hand, I tip-toed over, picked them up, and gently twisted the knob.
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