Only Chance

14.

Ozanne didn't wake up until a few hours later, the sun plowing streaks of red, purple, and blush across the sky.

"Finally. You fainted for a while," I said as I helped her sit up.

"Wha- what happened?" she muttered, getting up, wobbling. "Um, why- HEY! WHERE ARE THE DIAMONDS?! Adelphia! Someone stole the diamonds-"

"Chill, I gave it to the mer-"

"WAIT A MOMENT, ADELPHIA! How am I still alive and howareyoustillalivewhatishappening?" Ozanne sat up abruptly and then her eyes grew wide. "Wait a moment!" she declared. "Am I a ghost? Are you a ghost?" She reached out and brushed my shoulder. "Nope. Not a ghost. So how exactly are we still alive?" Her sudden outburst of energy took me back.

"The mermaid, Kisha, her name, saved us and I gave her the diamonds," I explained impatiently, grabbing Ozanne's hands with mine and lugging her to her feet.

"Really? Well... that's... lucky." Ozanne smiled, her eyes flashing much more than her words.

"Anyways. Are you okay?" I asked, taking her hand. She slapped it away.

"Yeah, besides the fact that you threw me off a cliff!" Ozanne said grouchily. "Anyways, we shouldn't be wasting any time. Do you know the way to the Thinia empire?"

"Yeah, the mermaid told me. Go through the Zupia empire, and once you're on the edge, you'll see the palace."

Ozanne sighed loudly. "So much for a break. Come on, let's go."

"Shhh, not so loudly," I admonished, clapping a hand over her mouth.

"Am why ish tat?" she mumbled from underneath my fingers, her eyebrows crossed, with a tint of anger in them.

"We're in the Zupia empire, so we need to stay down." My eyes shone with something that I hoped was meaningful, as the breeze picked up a few mottled flowers swaying in the wind and pricked against the soft, leathery grass grounds. "If you know what I mean." I made sure to leave a gestural mark in my eyes and whisper.

"Ooh," Ozanne murmured, gently taking my hand off her mouth. "Got it."

"Yeah," I said after a slight and awkward pause, because there was nothing else to say. "So... I guess... we should go. Kisha said the best time to go through the Zupia empire was at night."

Ozanne sighed. "You sure?"

"Yep. So what do we do now, while dusk is coming?" I asked as I glanced up at the pastel-coral skies plastered with rosy clouds, jade-green treetops, and the golden melodies of the last bird chirps. "It's almost-"

"It doesn't sound dangerous," Ozanne remarked dreamily. And although she interrupted, indeed, I had to agree, this was like a place plucked out of heaven.

"Don't let it fool you." Darkly, I brushed past her, shuffling forwards. "We have about ten minutes to build a den and hide in there and rest," I said brusquely. "At the waning moon's highest peak, we'll go. Come on, Ozanne."

Ozanne wrenched her gaze away from the gorgeous landscape, and followed me as we traced the outskirts of the forest, sticking to the shore of the river.

We collected plenty of twigs, mosses and branches, and put together a mini tavern that was about the size of a tent, densely tucked in the thick, dewy mosses and ferns, along with some other who-knows-what undergrowth.

As we huddled inside, I took out a handful of Dandeshrub shoots I had collected, and broke them into small pieces with my teeth. Then took out my water bottle from my pack and washed the tiny peels of the Dandeshrub shoots.