My head is aching as I wake up the next morning. The children are already preparing for the morning prayers and I do the same. My eyes glancing over to Lyara's bed but it's empty. Had she left earlier? I proceed to the morning prayer which goes on but my attention isn't on it. I'm staring at Lyara but she's looking at anyway but me. We head to the dinning and I see her seated far away, eyes fixed on her food. Forcing down the content like it'd easy the anger in her. I needed to speak to her. Needed to clear this misunderstanding.
I stand to my feet and make my way towards her. She looks up from her food, her eyes landing on me for the first time since morning. I see the raw expecting eyes, one I didn't know she held. I'm halfway from her table when I hear my name.
"You have a visitor, Ashen."
I look at Matron Hilda for a while before turning to Lyara who looks away, focusing back on her food.
"Ashen Drelhart. You heard me."
I exhale, dropping my food on the nearest table and leaving with matron Hilda.
*************
Alara walks beside me, practically bouncing with energy. She looks different, her gown isn't as radiant as I've always noticed and she has a silk hood pulled over her head to shield her from the attention she naturally draws. Behind us, two guards trail like shadows, their eyes never leaving Alara and I wonder if the Overseer threatened to kill them if they ever left her side.
"So," I start, in a small hushed tone. "What's the occasion?"
She chuckles softly, twirling her hair in her hand. "You're taking me to Watcher's Rise," she says, a smile brightening up her features.
"Watcher's Rise?" I glance at the guards behind me and their eyes snap to me. I turn back to Alara. "With them? Are you really going to get me into trouble?"
"Relax, Ashen," she says, placing a hand on my shoulder like we're pals. "Listen. All they need is a little distraction. Something to throw them off balance."
I raise a brow. Staring at her like she's grown two heads. "Outrun palace guards? You're crazier than I thought."
She laughs again, the sound reverberating through the market. "Your call, Ashen. Your call," she taps my shoulder and walks ahead.
I don't go after her. I stand rooted at the spot, wondering what kind of trouble was waiting for me if this goes wrong. I take a deep breath, running a hand through my hair. Fine. She wanted this. I'd give it to her.
I meet up with her and whisper. "If we're going to Watcher's Rise, we need to get rid of them."
She nods in agreement. "Then let's do it," she says.
We arrive at a narrow bend, one of my escape routes when things don't go my way. "On the count of three, you create chaos and we run."
She grins. "Sounds like something I can do."
"One," I whisper, our footsteps coming to a gradual stop. "Two….three. Now."
Alara tosses a small pouch behind her, and coins scatter across the dirt with a jingle. The nearby villagers gather around, hurriedly fighting to pick up the coins while guards scramble to gather them.
We break into a run as that gives us the chance to escape. I yank her toward the mossy wall and slip through a gap between the rocks. It's overgrown and hidden from plain sight, and she gasps softly as I lead her down the path only I know. It twists through the underbrush, dips into shadowed hollows, and finally opens up to a wide cliffside trail that overlooks the valley below. Watcher's Rise.
The wind greets us first. Then the sight rolls in, the endless trees painted in a thousand shades of gold and green, and just beyond them is the glowing edge of the Duskwilds, shimmering with an ethereal glow.
Alara stops in her tracks, her jaw dropping. "Ashen… it's beautiful." Her eyes are wide with wonder, and before I can say anything, she bolts forward, laughing as she twirls through the tall grass and wildflowers, her cloak fluttering behind her like wings. I watch her, stunned. She doesn't belong here, and yet… she does.
"Come on!" she calls, waving me over. "Stop brooding and play with me!"
"I'm not particularly in the mood," I say, but she's already tugging my sleeve.
Minutes pass or maybe hours and time bends in this place as I chase her once, just to humor her, but then I'm laughing too. We fall onto the grass, breathless and staring up at the clouds when she rolls onto her side and pokes my ribs.
"What's that?" she asks, pointing to the leather-bound book in my satchel. I hesitate, then hand it to her.
She flips it open and gasps. "You drew all of this?"
"Yeah."
"This is incredible, Ashen! These are places I've never seen before." She pauses, then tilts her head. "Draw me."
I blink. "What?"
"Draw me, right now. I want to be part of your world." I roll my eyes, but she's already sitting up, smoothing her hair and striking a dramatic pose. I chuckle despite myself and pull out my charcoal. She doesn't stay still. She keeps laughing, adjusting her hair, making silly faces until I toss a blade of grass at her. But I draw her anyway and for the first time in a long while, I feel… light.
By the time the sky darkens, we're walking back hand-in-hand. Just the both of us as the guards never caught up.
At the edge of the village where the orphanage gates are just ahead, she stop and looks at me, her expression serious now. "Ashen… I really like you." I stiffen and next, her fingers tighten around mine.
"I'm going to tell my father about you."
"No, Alara, you don't need to…"
"I want to," she says firmly. "You're different and I feel happy when I'm with you."
I don't know what to say. My chest is tight, and my head screaming that things are going fast, too fast for me to catch on. She steps closer, her arms looping around me as she pulls me into a hug. Her perfume Is fain lavender and something softer.
"Goodnight," she whispers.
Then she's gone, the guards appearing from the shadows to follow her back up the hill. I stand there alone, holding my sketchbook close to my chest, knowing things are changing faster than I can stop them.