Exile （Part 2）
"Rowena, do you think we'll see a bear?" the boy asked as they made their way along the path.
He marched ahead, oblivious to Galdir and Rowena's wary glances sweeping the forest for danger.
"I hope not," Rowena said, forcing a smile and hiding her unease.
"Fear not, Rowena," Galdir said with a sly grin, nodding at the boy. "We have The Dissolver. What's a bear to a hot splash of acid?"
Rowena's smile faded.
She shot Galdir a look-half warning, half plea. This was not the time for games.
"Yeah! And if that doesn't work-" The boy swung his crooked club. "I'll use this!"
"That's the spirit. But to catch a bear, you must be quiet-or you'll spook him," Galdir added, intentionally lowering his voice.
"Oh, right." The boy whispered with a crooked smile. He continued forward in silence, quietly swinging his club, swiping at the tall grass, king of his own tiny world.
Galdir and Rowena followed, close but out of earshot.
Rowena leaned in, voice hushed. "You shouldn't encourage him like that."
Galdir shrugged, feigning innocence. "Encourage him how?"
"Calling him The Dissolver? Telling him he can fight bears? He believes you. It's dangerous."
Galdir waved her off. "He's fine."
Rowena stopped, voice hardening. "He still won't tell us his real name, Galdir. Three years, and he clings to that title like he's a hero. Doesn't that worry you?"
Galdir's expression soured. "No."
Rowena stared at him, incredulous.
How could he be so careless?
"The elder forbade that name," Rowena said quietly. "If we keep encouraging him, we'll never learn who he really is."
Galdir snapped. "That's what the elder thinks. Doesn't mean I agree."
He wouldn't back down.
"How can you say that?" Rowena's voice shook. "He needs to face his past, not hide behind stories. The elder just wants what's best."
Galdir's patience broke. He couldn't keep the bite from his tone.
He rounded on her. "What do any of you know about facing the past? What horrors did you see, riding away in your carriages with soldiers at your side?"
Rowena's cheeks burned. She dropped her gaze.
He knew.
Someone must have told him about the evacuation.
Galdir pressed on. "Surprised I found out? Most of you fled before the attack began. Tell me-how long did you know? Days? Weeks?"
Rowena stammered. "N-no, that's not-"
He cut her off. "While the nobles ran, you left the rest behind-people like me, like him. You don't know what we faced while you traveled north in safety."
Galdir's words hung in the air. Rowena's stomach twisted, guilt clawing at her. Shame burned behind her eyes.
He nodded at the boy. "That child was born in war, lost everything, survived a year alone. If calling himself The Dissolver lets him forget, so be it. Whoever he was died with his family and the kingdom. It took him two years just to start speaking. Let him be who he wants."
A heavy silence lingered as Rowena wrestled with her guilt, unable to form an apology.
Finally, she whispered, "How long have you known?"
Galdir's voice was low. "I figured it out shortly after I arrived. So, almost... four years ago? Too many nobles escaped with their possessions and useless baubles. I did some digging. My suspicions were right."
Rowena stared. "All these years-and you never said anything?"
"What good would it do?" Galdir said. "We need each other to survive.
Stirring up old anger would doom us all.
Besides, I don't blame every noble. The real fault lies with the royal court-people like Elder Davenport, or Lord Davenport, as he was.
He hid his title and ran like the rest. Here, power is nothing. We're all fugitives now."
"How pragmatic," Rowena muttered, catching the bitterness in his tone.
Ready to be finished with the painful conversation, Galdir hurried forward, catching up with the boy on the trail ahead. Rowena followed along behind them the rest of the way in shameful silence.
By noon, they finally reached the river. The green fire thistle bushes were nestled along the river's edge.
Rowena immediately took watch, eyes scanning the dense trees for anything unusual.
She expected the unsettling feeling would go away as the sun's light warmed the forest.
To her surprise, it only made it worse.
Galdir, trying to stay focused on the task at hand, taught the boy the best way to collect the tubers from the roots, reminding him the oils inside were potent fire-used to ward off bears and wolves. One wrong move, and he'd regret it for days.
Nervous at first, the boy moved slow and careful, copying Galdir's method with surprising precision.
"Not bad for only four years old," Galdir praised. "You work like any grown man."
A couple hours later, Rowena was crouched down by a bush nearly finished gathering, when suddenly The Dissolver came bounding toward her from up the river.
The boy's chest heaved as he ran, fear gripping him tightly. He glanced back over his shoulder, wide-eyed, as if expecting something terrible to burst from the shadows.
Galdir appeared close behind, calling out as he approached,
"Down, now!"
Rowena's heart skipped. She ducked behind a bush, nearly dropping her pouch of tubers.
"What is it?" she whispered when they joined her.
"We heard horses and men-a lot! They're coming!" The Dissolver's voice trembled with fear.
Rowena's heart hammered with sudden hope.
Could it be her father?
She started toward the noise, but Galdir grabbed her arm, stopping her.
"Wait," Galdir warned, reading her panic. "It might not be what you think."
He slipped his bow from his back and nocked an arrow, his grip tight around the bow.
"Hide, and stay down," Galdir ordered. "I'll scout ahead."
Without a word, he vanished into the trees, silent as shadow.
Rowena and the boy waited, straining to hear above the thundering of their own hearts.
She scanned the tree line, hope and fear warring inside her.
Would her father appear at last-or something much worse?
At last, Galdir appeared, alone, urgency carved into his face.
He drew close and called, "Get up! We have to go-now!"
Rowena and the boy sprang up, alarm jolting them into motion.
Rowena's chest tightened. "What is it? What did you see?" her voice shook.
Galdir grabbed them both, pulling them behind him. "I didn't see them-just tracks and noise. An army. They're moving fast for the village."
"The king's army?" Rowena asked, hope swelling.
Galdir hesitated, jaw clenched, eyes shadowed. He looked torn between crushing Rowena's hope and calming the boy.
Rowena pressed him, "Is this it? Could the war be over?"
He shook his head. "I don't know, Rowena. But whoever they are-they'll reach the village before we do."
Wasting no more time, they ran as far and as fast as they could manage.
They ran until Rowena's legs burned and the boy could barely keep up, having to stop many times to rest.
Galdir, who was far fitter, grew more impatient and anxious with every stop.
The tracks might have belonged to the Etherian army-but his gut said otherwise.
At the halfway point, they stopped to rest again, and Galdir reluctantly made a decision.
Turning to Rowena, who was gasping for air on the ground beside him, he ordered,
"I'm going ahead. Get there as fast as you can. Stay sharp."
Then he sprinted ahead alone.
The boy watched Galdir disappear down the overgrown trail. "He's leaving us?" he panted.
Rowena steadied her breath. "We'll meet him at the village."
The boy shivered, his body weak from exhaustion and fear. Closing his eyes, horrible memories flashed-
soldiers and bloodshed.
Etheria in ruins.
His family--
Hearing the sound of the army so nearby sent his mind into a hurricane of overwhelming emotion and turmoil. He felt suddenly small and helpless, as if enemies were closing in on all sides.
Rowena was oblivious to the boy's internal struggle. She was only eager to return to the village, wondering if her father was already there waiting.
She stood and nudged the boy impatiently. "We have to go."
The boy obeyed, rising quietly, his movements heavy with silent pain.
As they drew nearer to the village, the boy suddenly stopped and sniffed the air.
"Do you smell that?" he whispered, eyes wide.
Rowena caught it too-a faint hint of smoke.
"Smoke?" she asked, uncertain.
The boy nodded, fear in his eyes.
Rowena shook her head. "Just supper fires," she said.
He gulped, his voice barely above a whisper. "It smells different."
She hesitated, but only briefly, before pressing forward, pushing all doubt to the back of her mind.
No. She told herself.
The war is over.
This will all be over soon.
But as they drew nearer, thick plumes of dark smoke wafted around the tree trunks and seeped through the leaves, growing denser with every step.
Rowena could see nothing unless it was directly in front of her.
Her hands trembled.
Her heart pounded.
Adrenaline surged.
She stopped short, her hopes crushed in an instant.
"What is it?" the boy asked, voice trembling.
"You were right," Rowena said, her voice shaking. "It's coming from the village."
She gripped a branch for support, fear rising as distant shouts echoed through the smoke.
Abruptly, she turned to the boy and ordered. "Stay here!"
Then she sprinted off toward the noise, drawing her sword as she ran.
"Wait! Don't leave me alone!" the boy cried desperately, but she was already gone.
Rowena didn't hear him. All she could see was what everyone feared most-
the enemy had found them,
and they meant to
annihilate
every
remaining
loyalist.