Incendia

Chapter 15-Welcome to your temporary home

Incendia stifles a gasp as they step out from the trees and examine the town below them. Surrounded by rolling green fields, greener than anything Incendia has ever come across is the rebel hide out. The hide out seems so open with the stone buildings standing out, gray and dark in contrast to the deep emerald green fields sprinkled with the purple flowers. And yet, despite the seemingly open environment, above the rolling hills, surrounded on all ends are thick dense woods, identical to the ones Incendia and Teo had just emerged from; it was the ideal spot to have a hideaway.

Incendia and Teo begin their walk down the hill towards, the grand stone buildings which only seem to grow the closer they get to them. The closer they get to the hide out, the steeper the hill becomes, after catching herself a third time, Incendia can't help but glance at Teo with envy. He is maneurvering the steep hill which is slick with mud with no problem, Incendia however, is praying to the winter gods that she won't fall on her face. As if sensing her prayers, Teo turns to Incendia just in time to hold out a steadying arm as she trips over a rock.with a huff Incendia impatiently brushes back her flaming curls as the wind whips them across her pale face.

Once she is able to see she immediately straightens herself, causing Teo's strong arm to remove itself from her waist. She is not prepared for the rush of disappointment which fills her as soon as his arm is removes. However, what suprises her more than the disappointment is Teo's hand which moments ago had been wraped around her waist, securly fastens itsself around her arm.

Incendia stares at him with an open mouth unsure of how to respond, Teo lets out a light laugh in return but only replies with, "I can't win this war with you in broken bits scattered throughout these hills can I?"

Again disappointment fills her, why should she care if holding her wrist and waist is just a job to him. The way his touch is firm yet soft means nothing to her, nor the way it causes her body to burn in the areas he touches while her pulse races. Her face is flushed due to the winds causing her hair to whip her in the face, nothing to do with some prince with an easy smile.

She could care less how soflty or gently he touches her. Afterall this is a job to her.

As soon as they reach the bottom of the hill and Incendia can trust her footing, she wrenches her wrist from his warm grasp. She avoids looking at Teo, pretending to be interested in her surroundings. After a few moments of pretending she actually does become interested in her surroundings. This makeshift rebel "camp" is actually more like a town. Judging by the faces that are peaking in the windows surrounding her, she guesses a pretty populated town.

Incendia turns to Teo, grateful that her cheeks have cooled down, "How many people are in this town? I was under the impression that not many knew about it?" She poses her question as cooly and aloofly as possible. Teo opens his mouth to answer, but a high, clear voice answers instead.

"There are approximately 4000 of us in the town at the moment, but we expect another thousand more by the fortnight. And that is the plan, we gather forces but as quietly as possible, we have a few more towns like this one spread throughout the kingdom." Incendia turns towards the source of the voice and sees light colored hair similar to Teo's but more the color of the oats Incendia had for breakfast at the palace. Her large, clear blue eyes give her a youthful look but her voice rang with wisdom and authority.

"You shouldn't be out here right now! You  know the rules, when people are seen coming down the hills we wait till the bell is rung to announce it is safe!" Teo scolds the women with an annoyed expression.

Incendia looks at Teo in shock, either he knows this girl or he is just rude and has never been taught proper manners. The woman however doesn't pay any heed to Teo's scowl and instead offers Incendia a smile, "I see you've met my delightful brother already. My name is Saffron, and you must be Incendia."