Rachel answered first. “Oh, let’s see. We couldn’t find the arrow at Saarah’s, but we’ve decided to go look for it again when we can. The house was trashed pretty badly, so we’re not sure if a regular thief stole it, one of Rhydin’s people took it, or if we just didn’t look in the right place. Sam revealed himself to your father to save that little Rounan boy over there, which makes things a lot more complicated.”
“I saw Eli and Terran today on my rounds,” Luke added. “They walked into the forest a couple miles, but then they turned around and disappeared magically. I’m not sure what they were doing, but we’ll make sure to watch that area closer.”
Rachel grumbled, “Oooo, I hate them. I want to smash Eli’s glasses.”
“So, what are you doing here, Your Highness?” James piped up, always the curious one.
“Well, I won’t beat around the bush. We’re going to Mineraltir in a week,” Frederick said plainly.
“What? Why?” Rachel gasped, “We’re safer here in Lunaka. We have more reinforcements nearby if we need them! We’ve been in constant communication to get Evan here as quickly as possible if Rhydin really does plan on using Duunzer.”
“I agree with all of that.” Frederick conceded, remembering the lessons he’d had in etiquette. Always appease the angry person first, then continue. “But a rare opportunity has been presented to us.” He nodded to his sister.
Mira took a deep breath, her fingers fluttering awkwardly. “Officially, my father and I are traveling to Mineraltir to meet with…Prince Xavier. My father wants to create the marriage agreement and all the political liaisons that go along with it.”
“I believe that a few of us should tag along in order to meet with Xavier ourselves.” Frederick resumed since Mira still found it uncomfortable to talk about her engagement. “We’ve sent multiple letters to Xavier over the past several seasons, trying to figure out if he is on our side or not, and we’ve never received a response. It’s possible the courier is never getting through since his stepmother is rather torturous. This would be as good an opportunity as ever to speak with him in person. I already know that King Daniel of Auklia is on my side, but we need to know if Xavier is on board against Rhydin.”
“Well, it will be easy for me to sneak along, I’m Mira’s maid,” Rachel said. “You’re right. We’re running out of time, and the next three rulers of the kingdoms need to be on the same side in order to defeat Rhydin.”
“Here’s the real question. Do we take Lina?” Luke added, always knowing that he was the main caretaker of her since Rachel worked at the castle and James at the mines. If she was going, he would likely be the one assigned to her.
“I think she should for two reasons. One, she can meet Xavier properly, since we will need to be a team against Rhydin in the future. I doubt he will go down with Duunzer even if we can somehow defeat it. The second is that she and Sam need a break from each other.” Frederick’s voice grew quieter as he went on, eyeballing the diminutive woman by the campfire. He truly cared about Lina, and it made him sad that she was so upset. A break would do them good.
Rachel’s expression fell, worried for her friend.
“Then it’s decided.” James said, “Rachel will ride along with Princess Mira and King Adam. Luke will take Lina separately so nobody knows she’s there, and I will stay here with Sam and the Parker boy. I can help them figure out what to do with the boy while you’re gone and be here to wait for Evan.”
Frederick nodded. “Sounds logical to me. Rachel, Mira will be in touch on the departure time, and we can plan from there. I will remain at the castle to have more time to convince my mother and sister, Cornflower, that my father isn’t who he says he is.”
The five of them shared knowing glances. Things would get much more complicated as soon as they split apart, but it had to be done. James used his magic to transport Frederick and Mira back to the castle, but as they went their separate ways, they couldn’t help but worry. What would happen if they reached Mineraltir only to discover that Xavier was helping Rhydin? At this point, anything could go wrong.
When Rachel announced that most of us were going to Mineraltir in a week, I wasn’t sure what to think. Not only was I apprehensive, seeing as I’d never been outside of Lunaka before, but I felt uncomfortable to be leaving Sam back at the base. We weren’t speaking at the moment, but there was still that part of me deep inside that couldn’t help but feel strange about leaving my childhood friend alone with James. I hoped that Rhydin wouldn’t take advantage of this separation of our group. Surely, since most of us were wearing those crystallized feathers, he won’t be able to sense any difference.
I tried to work up the courage to talk to Sam a couple times, but I wasn’t ready. He thought it was a mistake to be in love with me. He never gave me a chance to tell him my feelings that had been suppressed for so long. I couldn’t help but think that if I had held back my feelings all year, I could do it again. Therefore, I was determined to keep my space from him until I could say the same.
I threw myself into my new training with Luke. It focused on bow and arrow skills since if Duunzer really was coming, I needed to learn how to shoot. He started me off on a light bow with a target not too far away, which was smart since it took forever to figure out how to aim. It was a skill I’d never needed to know when I was an average farmer. Just like the sword.
As the days stretched on, it became easier and the bow became more familiar and comfortable in my grip just as the sword had become. I nearly had to start all over when they gave me a full-sized bow, the one I would actually need to shoot the special arrow. Luke even attempted to teach me a sort of magic that would help me aim, when usually that was Frederick’s job. Luke was actually a pretty understanding teacher during this time, which was a nice change from the pressure-filled lessons from before. Normally, he and his siblings were gung-ho hardcore, almost downright militaristic, but with this, he went slowly with me. Why, I had no clue, but I appreciated it.
In my spare moments, I would sometimes reach into my pocket and finger my grandmother’s journal that I had taken from her house while we looked for the arrow. I hadn’t worked up the courage to actually open it and read it yet, but it was still an item of comfort when I returned to our tent at the end of a long day of training. On this night in particular, two days before our journey would begin, I found the bravery to at least read the first page, snuggled up with my one moth-eaten blanket in the corner of our otherwise empty abode.
Apparently, Grandma inherited this journal from her father, Jordaan Rodgers. She wrote about how she was so excited to be trusted with the Allyen journal and the things he had written. This didn’t make much sense, as hers was the only writing inside. But, it was fun to read the first entry. After all, I definitely couldn’t imagine my wrinkled, wonderful grandmother as a spunky sixteen-year-old who loved life. She was also thrilled by discovering that she was an Allyen, and at that, I had to close the journal.
Previously, I had come to recognize that maybe being an Allyen could be really great. But, ever since the argument, I decided it was the most terrible job in the world. I wished with all of my being that I had asked her what she thought of being an Allyen once she actually got some practice. But now, I would never know.
At that moment, Rachel stooped into the tent, clad with a whole bunch of gear. It was getting dark outside, and since she began to unstrap her swords, I knew it was either Luke or James’ turn to watch the camp. I wondered if they ever grew tired of the night shifts, aside from James who only needed three hours of sleep. When Rachel noticed me stuffed into a corner, she smiled. “Well, hello there. What are you doing?”
“Nothing really.” I responded, taking a deep breath to forget my thoughts. “What did you do today?”
“Oh, y’know, the usual. Counting trees and specks of dirt.” The redhead chuckled, “Watch is boring, but it’s better than sitting around watching your lessons.”
“Hey! I’m actually getting quite a bit bet
ter if you could believe it! I’ve gotten used to holding the heavier bow. I’ve just got to work on my aim.” I defended myself, slyly putting Grandma’s journal into my pocket before Rachel could notice it. I was keeping it hidden because I didn’t want the others to think I was weak simply for being nostalgic.
“Good! I’m happy for you.” Rachel sighed as she finally collapsed onto her blanket next to me, the shadows under her eyes screaming for sleep.
“Hey, Rachel? Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Back when we saved Camerron from King Adam, something weird happened with you. When you transported us away from there, it almost looked like you had these things coming out of your back. Like big, colorful wings or something.” I said, finally asking the question that had been bugging me all week and trying to remember that hurried moment of action in vain. “What were they?”
“I’ll let Frederick explain that one.” Rachel winked at me. “All that matters is that we got away, and they can’t trace us to the forest.”
I nodded, not totally satisfied with that answer, but it’d have to do for now. I expected her to go right to sleep, but she didn’t. Rachel lay there with her eyes open, staring at the ceiling of the tent with an arm casually behind her head. When it seemed that she was sleeping with her eyes open, I nearly pulled the journal back out read more, but she suddenly spoke.
“Lina, can I ask you something now?”
“Of course. What about?” I hid the journal again.
“Sam?”
I screwed up my face and then puffed my cheeks out. “Do we have to?”
“I’d like to.” Rachel’s eyes met mine. “Do you still love him?”
“Rachel…”
“I know I’ve given you plenty of jokes about it over the years, but seriously. Do you love him?”
I threw my hands up in the air as I fell backwards onto my blanket, preferring not to look at her as I thought. As soon as my thoughts started making no sense, I began to think out loud. “Honestly, it’s really confusing… All this time he has been such a big part of my life, and I never even allowed myself to hope that he had feelings for me because his friendship was so important to me. Now, suddenly he tells me he’s in love with me, and it woke me up to what had been really going on between us. But he also said it must have been a mistake and never gave me a chance to answer.”
“Yes or no question, Lina.” Rachel rolled over and propped her head up on her fist to look at me. It was hard to read her face. I could barely see it in the dim firelight that fell through the open flap to our tent. It seemed somewhere between impatient and the desire to know the true answer.
I breathed in. I breathed out. “…Yes.”
“I knew it.” Rachel cracked a grin.
I rolled over to fix her with one of my looks. “Rachel, you haven’t given me any time to get over him. That argument happened like five days ago! Give me some more time. Give me the trip to Mineraltir to forget my feelings and just go back to being friends.”
“Honey, I don’t want you to ‘get over him’, as you say.” The smile worked its way into Rachel’s eyes. “Sam was angry five days ago. He may have said some things he didn’t mean, but he was upset. He’s only human, Lina, even you know that. He isn’t Mr. Perfect. I highly doubt he actually meant that he thought he’d made a mistake in loving you. Love is complicated. Trust me, I get it.”
“You’ve got a guy?” A grin crept onto my face without my even knowing it as I scooted closer to her.
Rachel laughed and gave me one of her serious blue eyeballs. “Don’t change the subject. All I’m saying, is that you should at least give yourselves a chance to talk about it. You’ve been avoiding him all week. I can’t guarantee what he’ll say to you, but you need to at least give him a chance.”
My smile died, and I lay back down on my blanket, drawing it around me. I curled into a tight little ball, raising my elbow to use it as a pillow. My body was weary after the long day, and I could feel myself slipping off to sleep easily as Rachel blew out the lantern.
“You’ve got until we leave for Mineraltir. Don’t leave anything unsaid. You could regret it later. Don’t forget, Rhydin is still out there waiting for us.”
“Good night, Rachel.”
“Good night” was a joke. I lay awake all night considering what Rachel had said. Sure, I had two days till we left for Mineraltir. However, that window was slowly decreasing as the night stretched on, and my brain could not stop whirring at top speed.
Really, I needed to talk to Sam tomorrow. Would he even talk to me after how long I’d avoided him? I hoped with my entire being that we could come to some sort of conclusion and that we could just go back to being friends. After all, both of our old lives were completely destroyed, and we would make great partners in crime against Rhydin when he came with Duunzer. What were the odds of that? I mean, he walked away after he said it was a mistake. Did he hate me?
And yet, I was still in love with him. How could I not be? I’d known him since he was a little boy. He was always looking out for me, and he was so kind. I couldn’t lie. He was pretty attractive, too…
Oh, Lina, you’re just digging yourself deeper.
I sighed rather loudly but then caught myself, realizing that it had to be around three in the morning and most sane people were asleep. Rachel’s snoring remained constant, so I knew I was in the clear. As I rolled over to find a new comfortable position on the rocky ground underneath our tent, I continued to think, trying to come up with some sort of speech.
Would I tell him I was still in love with him? No, maybe not… If he’d changed his mind, then we could simply be friends. What would I say then? Should I apologize for anything? I kind of already did… This was ridiculous, why was I even doing this?
You know why you’re doing this, Lina. Love or not, you want your friend back. You need to at least apologize for avoiding him for the last several days. Start there. See where it goes. Good plan.
Regardless of getting around three hours of sleep, I ended up wide awake at first light. Rachel was already up and gone with her gear, a staunch believer in making sure she relieved the watch on time. How that woman and her brothers didn’t fall over out of sheer exhaustion was beyond me, but I knew what I needed to do this morning before anything else. I needed to cleanse myself of this anxiety. Technically, I had all day to talk to him, but I couldn’t bear it any longer. I needed to get this off my shoulders. I dressed quickly, pulling on my tunic, my trousers, and then my dress. I hadn’t been wearing my dress the last few days due to all the training, but it was chilly this morning.
Middle Autumn was in full swing now. I could see my breath coming out in little wisps as I pushed the flap open and entered the land of dew and white sky. Most of the leaves had fallen from the trees, turning the ground from green to reds and yellows and browns. It scared me because it made it seem like we were more out in the open without all the lush foliage we had started with back at the end of Late Summer.
I saw at least three squirrels as I crossed the small clearing to Sam’s tent. They were rapidly rushing around to find nuts and stuffing them in their cheeks until they were bulging like the bread that used to rise in our wood stove at home. This was the season when Papa became extremely busy with the farm, but he could always find time for Rosetta and I. Sam and I would have been running around like chickens with our heads cut off if this was a normal year. It made me sad to think that last year had been our last harvest.
I ducked down as I opened the flap to his tent, but a quick glance around the piles of blankets and writing paper told me he wasn’t there. Rubbing my arms to keep warm, I began to walk away from camp when I saw that he wasn’t anywhere in the clearing either. He couldn’t have gone too far. The Owens siblings would never have allowed it. After they sighted Eli and Terran, they made stricter rules on how far out we could venture.
I began to focus on the region in my chest where I knew my magic resided, trying to send out
feelers to sense his presence. It didn’t take long to find it, as it was a presence that I knew very well. It was the same presence, too. It hadn’t changed for me after our argument. It still felt warm, kind, and smelled of freshly tilled Lunakan soil. He wasn’t very far away from camp, just out of sight to the north, so I started walking.
Sure enough, it didn’t take long to find him. He was looking away from me out into the distance, sitting next to a rather large rock. As I came closer, my ears began to pick out bubbling sounds, and soon a little creek came into view. I wondered how long he’d known about it, how many times he had come to sit here all by himself. The creek was decorated with small stones along either side, each of them perfectly smooth and rounded after centuries of being washed over. Leaves, also, were trailing down the center of the creek, spinning slowly as they were carried along in a current they could not control. I could smell the water, slightly mossy, but it smelled clean, clearing my head.
“I can feel you sensing me.” Sam said just loud enough for me to hear although his eyes remained trained on the creek.
I looked down, surprised. Frederick hadn’t mentioned if people could tell if you were sensing them. Maybe it was a Rounan thing. As I came up closer, he still didn’t look at me, so I sat down on a rock a few feet away from him. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to sneak up on you. Um, I wanted to talk to you.”
He turned to face me. I took in the brown pools of his eyes and the shadows underneath them. He looked as if he hadn’t slept at all last night either, and his face was becoming increasingly unshaven, something he normally never allowed to happen. I felt a blush creeping to my face at the eye contact, and so glanced away to stop it.
His voice was gravelly. “What do you want to talk about?”
I took a deep breath. “I just wanted to apologize. For avoiding you, I mean.”
“It’s okay.” Sam said as he looked back to the creek. “Things got complicated the last time we talked.”
For a few minutes, the two of us were silent. We watched the creek as it bubbled eternally, carrying little twigs and leaves downstream like tiny boats for ants. We watched as the eastern sky turned pink and the sun peeked over the horizon, making every blade of grass shine as the dew began to evaporate.
The Allyen (The Story of the First Archimage Book 1) Page 18
