Rising Flames | Throne of Glass

14

The sounds of whips cracking and piercing screams filled the morning as Celaena rode out of Endovier. Her gut rolled as she knew that only she would be leaving Endovier alive - leaving all the other poor slaves behind. The guards didn't turn their heads as they trotted past on their stallions, but Celaena craned her neck, trying to catch a final glimpse of the mines before the iron gates slammed shut.

She remembered how close she'd been to the wall last time - till they'd caught her again. Till she'd let them catch her.

The scars on her back suddenly tingled, and Celaena felt extremely uncomfortable. Chains rattled as she shifted in her saddle, glancing to where Chaol rode, the leash to the shackles hidden beneath his own saddle. She had debated leaping from her horse to use the chain to hang him from a tree. If they slowed down enough, she could use one vicious tug to pull the saddle from the horse's back, and he would tumble from his seat, and then-

Celaena grinned and looked the other way as she found Chaol glaring at her.

After a morning of simply divine talk with the captain, Celaena found themselves some distance from Endovier, riding through the trees bordering Oakwald Forest when they stopped. Chaol looked faintly fed up from her prattling, and yanked hard on her chains for her to dismount.

Above them, the sky glowed bright and blue, drifting clouds visible through the thin canopy of the trees, closer than it had seemed in a long time, so close that she could almost reach up and touch them. Chaol tensed beside her as she lifted her hands. 'Goddamnit I wasn't going to do anything!' Celaena snapped. He looked slightly sheepish at that.

Irritation flashed through her as a plate of food was laid on her lap - and Chaol still hadn't unfastened the chains. Giving her a pointed look, he growled before removing them - only to clamp them round her ankles.

Celaena ate with small, dainty bites - last night hadn't been a pleasant dinner when she'd rushed to the toilet to deposit what she'd consumed straight after; the food was too rich, too much after a year of gruel and stale bread. And she didn't want to hurl in front of the soldiers and give them another reason to laugh at her.

There was a jingle, then light padding of paws. Three sleek, black pups had pattered to lay before her, gazing up with twinkling eyes. Celaena reached forwards, ignoring the bark of pain from her wounds as she moved, scratching one of the pups behind the ears. Their tails beat the ground eagerly.

A pair of black, polished boots stopped before her. 'Did you give them food?' Dorian Havilliard asked.

Celaena lifted her head to find him staring curiously down at her. She shook her head. 'Strange,' he smiled. 'You're fond of dogs?' he asked after a moment. She nodded, fighting the urge to let her cheeks heat. Everyone was watching their exchange. "Am I going to be blessed with the pleasure of hearing your voice, or have you resolved to be silent for the duration of our journey?"

'Your questions did not merit a verbal response.'

"Then I apologise, my lady! How terrible it must be to condescend to answer! Next time, I'll try to think of something more stimulating to say." Chaol and the soldiers were smirking at her as Dorian sauntered away.

Some of her pride was redeemed when the pups chose to stay beside her.

~

They stopped riding sometime during the evening to set up camp. By now, they were on the outskirts of Oakwald Forest, two weeks away from reaching Rifthold. After another thankfully uneventful dinner, Celaena went to her bedroll in hope for some decent sleep.

She awoke with a gasp, clutching her throat, breathing laboured, sweat coating her arms, legs, back, neck-

It was that same dream she'd had the past few nights - lying in one of those mass graves in Endovier. More and more bodies piling up around, over her. And no one heard her screams as she was buried alive beneath them all.

Heart still racing, she sat upright, hugging her bony knees to her chest, and gazed up. The weather was warm, so they had no use for the tents.

The stars glittered across the midnight-blue sky, bright and blazing but hidden by the trees and clouds.

Forget the other competitors. She would win. She would become the king's Champion, then be free. That word had once been a dream.

What if we left Rifthold? What's keeping us here? Sam had once asked.

'I miss you, Sam,' she whispered to the night. 'I miss-'

Her voice cracked.

She missed his warmth and comfort, his laugh, his gentle laugh, his beautiful face, his everything. But he wasn't here anymore.

'I miss you.' Celaena felt the tears slide down her cheeks and down her neck as she kept her chin tilted to the stars.

'I miss you.'

~

Dorian Havilliard watched the assassin from the other side of the of the sleeping company. There was none of her usual swagger as she sat, still and silent, eyes fixed on the stars above them. He thought she was beautiful, in a way. But now, there was only an aura of sadness around her.

She was an assassin, he reminded himself. Her job was to kill - and now to fight as his Champion for his freedom. Her hands were covered in blood. And yet, that was not enough to stop him from rising, a hand on the hilt of his sword.

Careful not to stir anyone else, he made his way across the clearing.

She turned her head slowly to face him as he stopped by her huddled figure. 'What do you want?' Her voice was croaky and rough, as if she'd just been crying. Despite himself, he felt a wave of pity roll through his as he saw the trails that ran silver in the moonlight down her face.

'Follow me,' he ordered. Chains clinked quietly as she stood, reminding of Dorian of why she had them in the first place.

He led her some distance from the sleeping soldiers. 'Look up,' he said softly. Celaena did.

Here, there was nothing that covered the sky. The stars shone, undimmed by foliage, speckles of light across the deep blue hues. She seemed like a young, innocent girl in this moment as Celaena gazed upwards, eyes flickering like blue and gold flames as the moonlight caught them.

He hadn't seen anyone appreciate nature or the sky like her before. He'd noticed during their riding that she would stare at the trees and the flowers and occasionally lift her face to gaze at the clouds drifting across the sky. Dorian supposed it was beautiful, really.

Footsteps crunched behind, making them whirl simultaneously. It was Chaol, eyes blazing with anger. But as he saw Celaena sat upon the ground, and the stars that lay before them, he seemed to understand. With a small nod, he stepped back, a hand on the pommel of his sword. Celaena resumed her silent watching.

A large, swift shadow - a bird - flew across the sky, and for a moment, it seemed to be watching them before it dipped right and flew away, white tail feathers catching in the moonlight.

'Come on,' Chaol finally said. 'It's time to go back.'

[200913]

hope you're enjoying so far !

you might be wondering why i use 'these' speech marks, and "these." i actually use 'these' ones most of the time, but i'm using "these" ones when i am quoting directly from the book :))