The night had fully settled over the southern provinces, turning the world into a landscape of deep blues and ink-black shadows. The carriage had finally come to a halt for the evening, the four horses huffing as Sir Vael led them toward a small, clear stream nearby. The air was crisp and carried the scent of pine and damp earth, a refreshing change from the enclosed space of the carriage. We had set up a small camp, the crackle of the fire providing the only consistent sound in the quiet wilderness. After the meal, the group had naturally dispersed. Some were resting near the fire, while others were busy checking the equipment. It was the kind of stillness that usually meant everyone was tired from the long hours of travel, but I felt a bit restless and decided to walk a short distance away from the light of the flames to clear my head.
I didn't get very far before I felt a familiar presence right behind me. I didn't even have to turn around to know who it was. The soft, rhythmic sound of footsteps on the dry grass and the faint, floral scent that always followed her gave it away immediately. Elphyete was there, and she wasn't just following me; she was closing the gap quickly. Before I could even find a spot to sit down near the edge of a small thicket, I felt her hand slide around my arm. She didn't just hold it; she gripped it tightly, pulling herself close to my side until there was no space left between us. Her silver hair brushed against my shoulder, shimmering faintly in the distant glow of the campfire.
"Where are you going?" Elphyete asked. Her voice was soft, barely a whisper, but it carried a strange, insistent weight. "You shouldn't wander off alone. It's dark out here."
I looked down at her, a bit surprised by how tightly she was holding on. "I was just going to sit by the trees for a minute, Elphyete. I'm not going far."
"Then I'm coming too," she said firmly. She didn't wait for an answer. She simply steered me toward a large, fallen log that sat in the shadow of a massive oak tree, well away from the direct line of sight of the camp. As soon as we sat down, she didn't let go. In fact, she moved even closer, wrapping both of her arms around my left arm and leaning her head heavily on my shoulder. It was a level of clinginess that I wasn't used to seeing from her in front of the others, but since we were "alone," she seemed to have abandoned all sense of personal space.
I tried to adjust my position so I could sit more comfortably, but every time I moved, she tightened her grip. It felt as though she were trying to merge into my side. Her hands were locked together around my elbow, and she stayed tucked right under my chin. I could feel her breathing, a steady and calm rhythm that contrasted with the slightly frantic way she was holding onto me.
"Are you okay?" I asked, looking down at the top of her head. "You're being a bit more... attached than usual."
Elphyete didn't look up. She just pressed her face closer into my cloak. "I just want to stay like this. Is that a problem? You're always moving around or talking to the others. Right now, it's just us. I don't want you to go anywhere else."
"I'm not going anywhere," I said, trying to sound reassuring. I reached over with my free hand to pat her shoulder, but as soon as my hand touched her, she grabbed that one too, pulling it down and holding it against her chest. Now, I was completely pinned. Both of my arms were occupied, and I was basically serving as a human pillow for her. She let out a small, satisfied sigh and closed her eyes, looking completely content to stay exactly like that for the rest of the night.
The silence of the woods wrapped around us. I looked back toward the camp, but the flickering light of the fire was mostly blocked by the dense brush and the trunk of the oak. I assumed everyone else was occupied with their own things. Eufrien was probably talking to Alea, and Ishighi was likely sitting in his usual stoic silence. I felt a strange sense of relief that we had this moment of privacy. Elphyete was usually so composed, but when she got like this, it was almost overwhelming. She started mumbling something under her breath, tiny words about how she liked the way I smelled and how she wished the carriage ride would never end if it meant we stayed close.
"You're being really clingy today," I noted, a bit of a laugh in my voice.
"I am not being clingy," she replied, though she immediately contradicted herself by shifting her weight so she was practically sitting in my lap. "I am simply making sure you don't get lost in the dark. A good teammate stays close to her leader. That is all this is."
"By holding both my arms so I can't even stand up?"
"Exactly," she said with a tiny, playful smirk that I could barely see in the shadows. "It's for your safety. If a monster jumped out right now, I would be right here to protect you. I wouldn't even have to move to find you."
I shook my head, smiling despite the awkwardness of the position. It was nice, in a way. The southern road was dangerous and full of uncertainties, but here, in the dark, things felt simple. Elphyete's grip was warm and solid, and her presence was a constant I had come to rely on. We sat there for what felt like a long time, listening to the wind rustle the leaves above us. I thought about the town of the culinary and the king, but those thoughts felt far away compared to the immediate reality of Elphyete refusing to let go of my sleeve. She began to hum a low, tuneless melody, her fingers tracing the fabric of my sleeve with a rhythmic motion.
"Do you think the others are sleeping yet?" she asked suddenly.
"Probably," I said. "It's been a long day. Euphyne was pretty tired after all that laughing and eating."
"Good," Elphyete whispered. She shifted again, nuzzling her face against my neck. "Then they won't bother us. I like it when it's quiet like this. It feels like the rest of the world doesn't exist. It's just you and me."
I felt a bit of heat creep into my face. Elphyete was never this direct when the group was around. She usually kept a bit of professional distance, but here, under the oak tree, she was being almost possessive. I wondered if I should tell her to give me a little space, but seeing how happy she looked, I didn't have the heart to ruin the moment. I just leaned my head back against the bark of the tree and let her stay. I thought we were being incredibly stealthy, having slipped away without anyone noticing. I took pride in the fact that we had found this little corner of the woods to ourselves.
However, as the minutes ticked by, I started to notice small things. A twig snapped somewhere to our right. I didn't think much of it, assuming it was just a small animal or the wind. Then, there was a faint rustle of leaves coming from the branches directly above us. I looked up, but the canopy was too thick to see anything clearly through the darkness. Elphyete didn't seem to notice at all; she was too busy holding onto my arm as if her life depended on it.
"Did you hear that?" I whispered.
"Hear what?" Elphyete asked, not even bothering to open her eyes. "It's just the forest. Don't worry about it. Just stay still."
I tried to relax, but the feeling of being watched started to itch at the back of my neck. I looked toward a nearby bush and thought I saw a glint of something—maybe the reflection of the moon on a piece of metal or an eye. I dismissed it as my imagination. There was no way the others would follow us out here just to watch us sit on a log. They were far too busy or too tired. Eufrien was far too dignified to spy, and Ishighi didn't seem like the type to care about our private conversations.
Elphyete suddenly squeezed my arm even tighter. "You're thinking too much," she complained. "Stop thinking and just stay here with me. I want you to promise that you won't leave my side once we get to that town. It's going to be crowded and full of rich people. You might get distracted."
"I promise, Elphyete. I'll stay close," I said, mostly just to keep her calm.
"Good. Because if you don't, I'll just have to hold onto you like this the whole time we're walking through the streets," she said. She seemed quite serious about the prospect of dragging me through a crowded city while clinging to my arm like a limpet. The image of us walking into a royal audience with her attached to me like this was almost enough to make me laugh out loud.
We sat in that state of "privacy" for another ten minutes. Elphyete had finally started to drift off into a light doze, her grip softening just a tiny bit, but still firm enough that I couldn't move without waking her. I was just starting to feel a bit sleepy myself when the silence was shattered by a sudden, violent crashing sound.
It didn't come from the bushes. It came from directly above our heads.
There was a loud *crack* of a branch breaking, followed by a frantic scrambling noise and a high-pitched yelp. A large, dark shape suddenly came hurtling down through the leaves and branches of the oak tree. It hit several smaller limbs on the way down, creating a chaotic symphony of snapping wood and rustling foliage. Elphyete bolted upright, her eyes wide with alarm, and I instinctively moved to shield her as the shape made its final descent.
With a heavy, dull *thud*, Euphyne slammed into the ground right in front of the log we were sitting on. He landed flat on his back, his arms and legs splayed out in the dirt, and a few stray leaves fluttered down to land on his chest. He groaned loudly, clutching his side.
"Ow... that really hurt," Euphyne muttered, his voice strained.
Elphyete and I stared at him in absolute shock. Before we could even process why Euphyne had just fallen out of a tree right in front of us, more movement erupted from the surrounding shadows.
From the thicket to our left, Ishighi stepped out, looking completely unfazed as he brushed some dirt off his cloak. From behind the large oak tree itself, Eufrien emerged, his mismatched sapphire and emerald eyes reflecting the distant firelight with a look of mild embarrassment. From the bushes on the other side, Alea, Tokine, and even Sir Vael and Zhandra appeared, all of them looking at us with various expressions of amusement, guilt, or suppressed laughter.
"Euphyne, you idiot," Tokine whispered, though it was loud enough for everyone to hear. "I told you that branch wouldn't hold your weight if you leaned out that far."
"I just wanted a better angle!" Euphyne barked back, struggling to sit up while rubbing his lower back. "It's hard to see through all these leaves!"
I looked at the entire group, my mouth hanging open. "You... you were all here? The whole time?"
Elphyete's face turned a shade of red that I didn't even know was possible. She didn't let go of my arm, but her grip changed from "affectionate" to "trying to hide behind me." She buried her face in my shoulder, refusing to look at any of them.
"We were just making sure the perimeter was safe," Eufrien said, though his voice had a slight tremor of amusement. He wouldn't look me directly in the eye, instead choosing to focus on a particularly interesting patch of moss on the ground.
"Yeah," Sir Vael added, crossing his arms and grinning broadly. "Very safe. Very quiet. We've been making sure the perimeter was safe for about twenty minutes now. You two are very... thorough... with your safety checks."
"It was actually quite boring until Elphyete started talking about the 'safety checks' and the 'monsters jumping out,'" Ishighi noted calmly. He didn't look embarrassed at all; he just looked like he had been watching a particularly slow play.
"You guys are jerks!" I shouted, though I couldn't help but feel the absurdity of the situation. "We thought we were alone!"
"Nobody is ever alone in this group," Alea said with a small, mischievous smile. She walked over and helped Euphyne to his feet. "We all knew. We've known since the carriage ride started that Elphyete was getting clingy. You're not exactly subtle."
"I was subtle!" Elphyete muffled into my cloak, her voice sounding small and defensive.
"You were holding his hand while he was trying to eat soup earlier, Elphyete," Tokine pointed out. "And you literally growled at me when I tried to sit next to him during the break."
"I did not growl!" Elphyete protested, finally looking up, though her face was still burning.
"You definitely made a noise," Zhandra added, nodding solemnly. "It was very territorial."
Euphyne finally stood up, shaking the dirt off his clothes and looking a bit sheepish. "Well, the secret is out now. Since everyone knows, maybe we can go back to the fire? My back really hurts and I think there's a beetle in my shirt."
I looked at my companions, the group of nine that had become so intertwined over the last few weeks. The plot twist was that there was no secret at all; I was the only one who thought we were being private. Everyone else had been fully aware of Elphyete's behavior and had apparently reached a collective agreement to spy on us the moment we stepped away.
"Fine," I said, sighing as I stood up. Elphyete didn't let go; she just transitioned to holding my hand tightly as we began to walk back toward the light of the campfire. "But next time, if you're going to spy, at least pick someone who can stay in a tree, Euphyne."
"Hey, it's not my fault the wood was old!" he complained as we all made our way back.
The group walked together, the silence of the woods now replaced by the sound of lighthearted bickering and laughter. The awkwardness lingered for a moment, but it was quickly swallowed by the familiar camaraderie of the journey. Elphyete stayed close to my side, her head held high now despite her red cheeks, clearly deciding that if everyone knew, she didn't have to pretend anymore. As we reached the fire, she sat down right next to me, leaning her head on my shoulder in plain view of everyone.
"Since you all know," she said to the group, "I expect no more interruptions during my safety checks."
Euphyne just laughed and started digging through his bag for more food, while the rest of us settled in for the night. The road to the King was still ahead of us, and the Town of the Culinary was waiting, but for now, the camp was full of the warmth of the fire and the shared knowledge that in this group, there were no secrets left to keep.