Chevelle kept a quick pace and I found myself struggling to keep up. Although he didn’t have to dodge between rocks and trees, bent over while watching the ground to keep from breaking twigs and watching ahead to keep from being spotted. Ugh, when would it ever end? I cursed the formal dress I’d been dragging. I considered dumping it but didn’t think it was the best idea to be sneaking around the forest naked. I thought about ripping the excess material off but Chevelle’s movement wasn’t leaving me time for that.
Just before nightfall, he approached a small village. It didn’t look like more than half a dozen structures scattered against the base of a large hill. He dropped the simple pack he’d been carrying beside a tree and hunched down as he slowed his pace. I wasn’t sure what he was doing until I recognized the stance. It mirrored mine. He was sneaking.
I couldn’t figure why he would be stealing into the village as I watched him creep around the back of a small hut, but I knew if he was hiding, I definitely didn’t want to get caught. He leapt into a rear window and I followed as low and slow as I could. When I reached the last tree I could use for cover, I darted up against the hut and tried to peer through a gap in the twigs. I heard whispers…
“… you mustn’t let them find you… shouldn’t have come…” It was dim inside, but I caught a glimpse of a figure through the wall. Junnie.
Chevelle was whispering to her. I couldn’t quite hear him but he must have given her a short account of the morning’s events. I moved closer to the window and found a larger gap there.
“Were you able to track her?” Junnie asked in a low voice.
“Not exactly,” he replied smoothly. She looked at him questioningly as he glanced around the room. “She’s following me.”
Heat flooded my face. I couldn’t believe he’d fooled me again. I didn’t care what else they had to say, I stood and marched away. I didn’t make it far, I found an old oak tree and slid down its massive trunk. I was tired, my legs ached from the trek and my head throbbed from the gnarl of thoughts. But I didn’t rest. I sat, leaned against the tree, probably looking like a bored child. I held my hand up and flipped a flame, tossing it up and down, turning it above my palm. And I was hungry, but I didn’t eat. Too stubborn and angry to find food, too resentful I didn’t have the magic to bring it to me. Yes, like a child.
Bright sun and chirping birds tore into my finally still senses. I squinted my eyes open and resisted the urge to stop the birds. It was the first time I’d slept away from my bed; disoriented, I glanced around. It didn’t help. I’d never been far from home and the new landscape was unsettling. I looked away. Beside me lay a neatly stacked pile of fabric topped with a small loaf of bread. Grrr... stupid watchers.
A large part of me wanted to burn the pile right there but my stomach overruled that thought and I reached out and grabbed the bread. Then, since I had already eaten the bread, I figured I might as well accept the other gifts and get out of this ridiculous dress. I listened hard and located the trickling sound of water. I picked up the pile and followed the sound to a small creek just a short distance away. I walked down to a little area where the water had pooled and knelt, leaning over to splash my face.
Panic shot through me as I saw someone looking back at me. I started to bolt upright, planning to flee, but caught myself. The woman in the reflection was me, that was my dark hair and flushed skin. I cautiously leaned back over the pool. The water was dark and so I assumed it made the image more frightening than it was. My eyes couldn’t have been that dark, my hair almost black. I straightened and held a piece of my hair forward to examine. It shimmered in the bright sunlight, glossy black. I dropped my hand away from my hair in distress. Maybe it was wrong; maybe I could wash it out. I stepped into the pool and sank down under the water. Maybe I’d just stay under…