Chapter Thirty-One #2
“Don’t worry, Your Highness,” Myles whispers in my ear. “I won’t hold it against you. I will tell everyone we know, though.” Myles winces, gripping his chest. I reach for him, but he steps back towards the kitchen, pulling out a chair in front of Lura.
Chasing after him, I shout, “Don’t you dare.”
Lura watches us curiously before asking, “Come on, share the secret.”
All this lot are nothing but gossips, and I hate that I love them for it. Myles' eyes glisten looking at Lura, and then me with mischief. I glare at him.
“I don’t like these inside jokes,” Kali says, stomping her foot. “Tell me right now, or neither of you get anything to eat.” She crosses her arms, and her stern face wears me down.
“Fine. I did something stupid at the mirror, and Myles is mocking me about it.” Myles playfully grins, looking at his hands on the counter before him, both his dimples on show. I can’t stay mad at him.
Kali taps her foot impatiently, waiting for a better explanation.
I slump into a chair with a sigh. “Okay. I don’t really know how to explain it.
I was looking at the pictures on your mantel, the one with you two dancing as children, in a crowd of your family?
” Kali nods, and Lura looks at her feet.
“It reminded me of a dream, a memory I had while I was… unconscious. It started with a little girl staring into a mirror, skipping down the hall into the kitchen, stealing cookies. Next thing, she walks into a ballroom dancing with a king and a young man, that she loves very much. I see them again in the mirror at their wedding, and then again, the girl…woman had a huge pregnant belly. Each time she made a silly face in the mirror, and I dunno, when I looked in the mirror… I’m not sure what came over me. ”
They all stare at me, but no one is smiling now. I think they know as well as I do that the girl in my dream was my mother. Having that little vision of her makes my heart skip, but also a sinking feeling in my stomach, knowing it’s all I’ll have of her.
A slice of what her life was.
“Anyway,” I say, shuffling in my chair, changing the subject. “What’s for supper?” Myles reaches for my hand, pausing before gripping it tightly. I offer him a wistful smile.
I sit in silence with Myles at my side, while Lura and Kali finish cooking.
“The best food you have ever tasted, cooked by yours truly,” Kali says with a bow.
Lura rolls her eyes, pushing past me to set the table.
I follow, offering to help with the cutlery.
With a cautionary glance, she hands them over.
“Think we’re going to need some more wood for the fire.
” Kali rubs her chin and taps her lips with her finger, before slyly glancing at Myles. “Now, who’s going to get that?”
“I guess it’s my turn… again,” Myles grumbles to himself as he grabs a cloak and throws it over himself, the door slamming behind him. Lura softly mumbles ‘thank you,’ while the rest of us busy ourselves with plating up the delicious meal and pouring glasses of wine.
Myles sneaks back in the house, holding a finger over his lips. “There’s a group of guards camped by the river.”
Kali and I rush to the window to look, and Myles rolls his eyes at the noise we make. Lura said the wards would keep us from view and sound, but we haven’t been able to test how well that works. Lura paces, her breathing laboured, Myles grabs her arm and whispers something in her ear.
My stomach drops at the intimate moment between them, but I shake my head. I can trust them. Especially Myles.
Stop looking into things that aren’t there. He's trying to calm her, that’s all.
Myles lifts his head, catching my eye and immediately steps away from Lura, sensing my discomfort. Running his hands through his hair, he paces as he thinks of our next steps. “We need to go. Pack a bag and we’ll head out while it’s dark, we can cut round the back of the house and into the forest.”
Lura’s eyes widen. I tug Kali in for a hug. “Thank you both so much, for what you did for me. For us.”
Myles clears his throat. “I think it’s best if we all leave.
” He turns to Lura. “It’s not safe. The guards are too close, and they are brutal.
Aren’t they, Andi?” I nod. I guess he’s right.
They should come with us, until they are far enough away from any guards.
Kali looks to Lura, who reluctantly nods in agreement.
The sisters rush upstairs to pack a few things, while Myles and I do the same. I start throwing what I can into a bag, clothes, some bandages, and my coin purse. My breathing becomes shallow, and my head becomes dizzy. Myles grabs my shoulders. “Andi, breathe. We don’t have time.”
I take deep breaths while holding his gaze. He grounds me, but I can see the fear in his eyes and sense a hint of impatience in his voice.
For months, we have done nothing but run. When does it end?
Kali smothers the fire, leaving a few burning embers; while Lura stores away the food she and Kali cooked for us into her bag, and I fill some canteens.
Not the best of weather to be running in, but what choice do we have?
The guards have come too close for comfort, one stumble and they will find Lura’s house.
Neither of them can stay, Zury is too power hungry to let folk like them go.
Standing at the door, Lura steals one last look around. I know the feeling all too well, having left my home and family behind, too. She flinches at my touch as I give her hand a gentle squeeze, giving her an encouraging smile, then looking to Kali and Myles. “So, where to now?”
Everyone muses, but it’s Lura who breaks the silence, “We go into the mountains. I have a friend there.”