The Atheil Chronicles: A Call to Fire

Chapter 21

They had been walking for what seemed like forever when Ryonen finally stopped. Ahead of them, a cluster of hanging branches, not unlike the ones on willow trees back home, were creating a sort of curtain that blocked the path. Ryonen let go of her hand to stride forward, pulling aside the branches and gesturing for Ariana to walk through. When she stepped past him, she stopped and looked back in astonishment at his smiling face as he watched her.
"Wow." She said, at a loss of words.
All around them was something close to a mini paradise. A waterfall sat against a rock wall, its clear crystalline water cascading down the ledge gently into a pool. Rocks of all sizes bordered the water, the trees stopping abruptly in an almost perfect circle around the whole thing.  The effect was mesmerizing, the tree branches dancing lazily on the breeze above the pool and casting shadows on the water.
"Nice, right?" Ryonen said, a smile on his face.
Ariana could only nod. "This is gorgeous," She said finally. "How did you find this place?"
"Lamis showed me it this morning." He said. "He seemed to think you'd like it. He said his wife used to come here."
"He mentioned his wife?" Ariana asked.
"Yeah, but that's all he said." Ryonen shrugged. "I didn't ask him about it."
Ariana stepped forward, noticing that the ground was covered in beds of lush moss that crept up onto the outer sides of the rock border before receding. She slipped off her moccasins, letting her feet come down on the cool ground in relief. It almost felt like walking on a giant sponge.
Ryonen slipped off his moccasins too, taking a few steps forward. She was about to ask him what he was doing when he pulled off his tunic, leaving him bare chested except for his dark green leggings.  Ariana tried not to stare but, seriously, it wasn't easy. A small part of her brain was telling her to stop staring at him, but the other part was sneaking looks at his muscular chest.
Ryonen smirked at her. "Ariana?"
She shook her head, mildly embarrassed. "Huh?"
"You alright?" He asked, amused.
"Oh. Yeah." She said, trying to recover her senses, and her dignity. "I-" she looked down at her dress and then back at Ryonen. "I was just wondering what I was supposed to swim in. I don't want to ruin this dress."
Pink crept into Ryonens cheeks and she instantly wished that she hadn't brought it up. The only other option was not wearing the dress, which would mean no clothes...she hesitated, her face suddenly feeling hot. "Oh." She said quietly, turning away from him.
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. It's just like a swimsuit, she told herself, pulling at the hem of her dress and bringing it up over her head. She was acutely aware that her bra and underwear were probably looking worse for wear; she had only packed one other bra and a handful of underwear, none of which she ever thought she'd be showcasing like this. She dropped her dress carefully on top of her shoes, crossing her arms over her chest as she turned around. 
Ryonen was looking away pointedly, his face flaming. She was probably just as red, if not more, but she swallowed her embarrassment and stepped toward the water. Just as she did this, Ryonen turned around, slipping into the calm crystalline waters with barely a splash. Ariana watched as his black hair billowed around him under the water like ink before his head broke the surface.
Ryonen's smile was shy. "Coming in?" He asked her.
She smiled, her heart racing in her chest. Ryonen always looked good, and now was not an exception. With his long hair slicked back and his eyes twinkling just so, she was able to fully appreciate his beauty; His jade green eyes surveying her, his perfectly white teeth, and his pale skin shining with drops of water trailing its way down his face. It was enough to make her lose her speech.
Get a hold of yourself, she thought. For Pete's sake, it's not like you haven't seen him before; but it was moments like this where his beauty caught her off guard and reminded her that Ryonen wasn't really human, but a mythical creature that would practically live forever. The thought made her stomach churn and she tried to push the thought away. Ryonen wasn't going to just abandon her; they'd already been through so much in their short time together. Maybe they could find a way.
Sucking in a breath, Ariana tried to find her courage. She stepped forward and stuck a toe into the water, testing its temperature. The water was tepid, perfect for swimming. She looked over at Ryonen, who had drifted back toward the waterfall and was watching her, waiting for her to come in. She leaned forward, diving into the clear waters.
She felt instant relief as the crystalline waters wrapped her in their warm embrace. She broke out of the dive, slowly pushing herself back up to the surface. She could see the sun poking through the canopy from above, seemingly guiding her back up. As her head broke the surface of the water, she took in a deep breath, her hands reaching up to slick her hair back from her face.
"My gosh," she said, her eyes finding Ryonen. She swam lazily over to him, watching as the water rippled in front of her with every movement. She stopped when she was a foot away from him, treading water there. "This place is amazing."
"It really is." Ryonen said, half smiling.
Ariana reached over and grabbed his hand, which was floating next to him, both of them watching as their fingers intertwined. Then she looked up at him, simply staring into his eyes as they both floated there.
"What?" Ryonen asked. He was still holding her hand and he tugged on her a bit, making her bob toward him.
She didn't say anything. Looking around her, she could understand why Lamis' wife would want to escape to this place. Not just the pond, but the hidden castle itself. It was peaceful, away from the war and all of the horrors that came along with it. Being here, Ariana could almost forget about goblins and evil Kings. Here, she could be with Ryonen and Lamis and feel as if she were truly safe.
Ryonen raised an eyebrow at her questioningly. She still hadn't answered him. She shook her head to acknowledge that she had heard his question but that she didn't know how to answer.
He touched her cheek gently with a dripping finger. "What is it?"
"I just-" she stopped, taking a breath and looking up toward the sky. The breeze was ruffling the leaves of the canopy in such a way that light was flickering through the gaps, making it dance on the water. "I wish we never had to leave this place." She said quietly.
"Ahhh." He said, the noise reverberating in his throat like a hum.
"You too?" She asked him, looking back at his face now.
"Yeah." He looked down and then met her eyes. "The thought has definitely crossed my mind before. I wish I could take you away from all of this, that I could shield you from the horrors of this world."
"It's not possible, though." She said, swallowing.
He looked thoughtful. "Well," he said, drawing the word out, "maybe it is..."
"What are you talking about?" She saw his body tense up slightly, almost like he was conflicted.
"You could stay here. With Lamis." He said it so quietly that at first Ariana thought she had misheard him. 
She took a breath, watching his face. He was serious. "Ryonen..."
"I'd understand if you said you wanted to." He said, speaking quickly. "It's going to be dangerous. I know that Lamis seems to think that it's our best shot, but Orlac is teeming with dark creatures...it's not something that people come back from once they venture in there." He paused and Ariana saw color rise in his cheeks. "And, well, I would want you to be safe. If anything happened to you..."
Ariana looked into his face and she felt her heart swell for him. "Ryonen." She said, reaching up and running her fingers across his cheek. "It's sweet of you to offer, but you know I can't."
He looked at her through his long eyelashes. "But you could, Ariana, that's the thing. You don't have to go any further than this place. I talked to Lamis...he said you could stay here with him if you wanted. I can go through Orlac on my own and make it to the Eastern Kingdom. I can parley with the King and Queen for some soldiers to help find your mom. If I have to, I'll find her myself, but Ariana, this isn't your world and you don't have to get involved with its affairs. I know she's your mom, but I can do this for you. I want to do this for you."
She waited for him to finish, letting his words wash over her in the silence that followed. She could stay here with Lamis and be safe. She wouldn't have to worry about looking over her shoulder all the time or trekking across the wilderness and sleeping on the cold ground every night. She could have hot meals every single day and somewhere warm to lay her head. She swallowed, letting out a deep sigh. She couldn't do it, though. She couldn't play it safe on the sidelines while Ryonen went out and did her dirty work. Her mom was counting on her to keep looking for her. It wouldn't be right to let someone else take over that task. They may do it as a favor, but no one loved her mom the way that Ariana did; nothing was going to stop her from finding her. She turned her attention back to Ryonen, seeing the concern etched in his sharp features. She tried to choose her words carefully. "I'm honored that you would go to such great lengths for me, Ryonen, but this fight became mine when Malor decided to kidnap my mom." She ran a hand over the serene water of the pond, letting it push the water around and make miniscule waves. "I may not have started off in this world, but I can see that it has beauty in it. Beauty that deserves to be fought for." She looked into his jade green eyes and tried to convey the words that she couldn't quite get out.
Ariana thought he understood because he smiled ever so slightly and reached his other hand to pull her closer to him, his hands now resting on her waist. They were so close now, only a few inches between their faces, their bodies very nearly pressed together under the water. He was looking at her in a way no one had ever looked at her, with something like immense respect mixed with affection. "Have I ever told you how incredibly brave you are?"
"Maybe once or twice." She said breathily.
He was looking at her with such an intensity that she felt her heart start to thud in her chest. His green eyes were locked onto her hazel ones, a deep sense of longing rising up in them as he gazed at her in silence. She took in a hitched breath as his gaze moved over her face hungrily before finally coming back up to meet her eyes. Then he was moving closer to her, his wet hand coming up out of the water to cup her neck, moving into her hair. His lips found hers and he was kissing her softly, his lips hesitant at first as he assessed whether she would pull away. When she didn't, he deepened the kiss, his fingers weaving into her hair as his other hand pressed on the small of her back, pulling her closer so that she could wrap her legs around his waist. Her arms came up to lay on his shoulders, her hands finding a place on his bare back. As quickly as the kiss had started, though, it was over.
When Ryonen finally pulled back, he ran a finger across her lips almost thoughtfully. "I don't know if I can ever make you truly understand how much it means to me to have you here. I've always wandered on my own, I never realized how lonely that could be until I met you. "
Ariana leaned into his touch. "I'm glad you're here with me, too."
Ryonen flashed her a dazzling smile before burying his face into her neck. She could feel him still smiling into her skin, the act seeming to spread a spark of warmth through her body that cut right to her core.
* * * * *
It was an hour and a half later that they finally made their way back onto land, finding a patch of sunlight on one of the boulders next to the pond and laying in it side by side. Ariana turned her head toward him, seeing the way his eyes seemed to glow in the light of the sun.
"So," she said, "tell me, what exactly do you do when you're not trafficking humans illegally through portals?"
Ryonen threw her a smirk and rolled his eyes. "Honestly, nothing. I wander, mostly. I have so many places I want to go to but..."
She looked at him. "But-?" She prompted.
Ryonen lay with his hands behind his head, a contemplative look on his face. He didn't answer, just stared up at the sky.
Ariana spoke again. "Ryonen?" She asked, trying to catch his attention.
Ryonen looked at her and, for a split second, she thought she saw something like uncertainty cross his features, but just as quickly as it had appeared, it was gone. He gave her a lazy smile. "I was just trying to think of how to phrase what I wanted to say." He said, leaning his head back to look up at the trees again. "I don't know, you've seen how it is here. It's hard to travel safely around Atheil nowadays. Things are getting even more dangerous as Malor gathers strength. It isn't as practical to wander without reason."
"It didn't seem to stop you before."
He smiled. "To my people, wanderlust isn't uncommon, so my parents allowed it. However, I have certain responsibilities that I can't escape indefinitely."
Ariana waited for him to elaborate. When he didn't, she felt herself getting frustrated. One second he was opening up to her and being vulnerable, the next it was like talking to a brick wall.
Ryonen glanced at her, almost as if he had read her thoughts. She searched his face for that uncertainty from earlier, wondering if she'd see it again. "I can't because my parents expect me to follow in their footsteps and work at the castle."
Relieved that he had finally spoken, Ariana said, "Is that a bad thing?"
"Sometimes I don't think so, and other times I think that maybe it is." He sat up, propping himself up with one arm and turning to face her. "Ariana, I know that you aren't from here, but even you can see how bad things are. My dad told me that before the fall of Atheil, Goblins didn't dare come anywhere near civilization, let alone come out in the daylight and kidnap someone. Trolls never would have strayed from their mountain caves to take up residence in a town. People weren't scared to come out after dark or speak their minds. All I want to do is help my people. I want freedom for them. I want peace."
Not knowing much about how Elven politics worked, Ariana was hesitant to actually answer him. She still tried to convey her thoughts on the matter in whatever way she could. "Ryonen," she said gently, "I think that that's a great thing to wish for, but how do you hope to accomplish that without getting involved?"
He smiled slightly. "You're right, of course, but there's one problem: the King and Queen are too set in their ways. No matter how hard or long or passionately I explain to them my opinions on the matter, they won't budge...I've tried."
Ariana sat up now, too, and her damp hair fell gently over her shoulder. "You can't think like that, Ryonen."
He laughed, but it was a cynical one. "I've been thinking this way for my whole life. In this world, we're taught that there's no other way but the one that's already mapped out for us."
"Life never works out like that, though." She said it offhandedly, the response coming to her almost without even thinking.
Ryonen looked her in the eyes, his expression completely serious. "I know." He said, his voice soft.
Ariana bit her lip, unsure of how to phrase what she wanted to say. Finally, she said, "You can't give up on what's right because it's the easiest option. Anything in life that is truly good is worth fighting for, all it takes is someone who's brave enough to stand up and fight for it."
Ariana saw Ryonen mulling over her words and she had just begun to think that she had gone too far when he pursed his lips and let out a short laugh. She raised her eyebrows at him.
"I'm not laughing at you." Ryonen said quickly, seeing her expression. "You just amaze me sometimes. It's like nothing fazes you. It's not hard for you to say, 'This is what's right and I'm going to do whatever I need to to make it happen'. I just envy that kind of strength."
Ariana felt herself blushing deeply. She opened her mouth to say something back, anything, but his answer had thrown her off. She wasn't sure how to respond; she felt deeply touched by this take on her. No one had ever seen her in this way before; it was like he saw her for who she was without the bias of being required to like her, like with her mom.
Ryonen quickly filled the silence. "What about you?" He asked. "What do you dream about?"
She shrugged, his question taking her out of her thoughts. "I don't know, honestly. I've never really thought about it."
"Why not? You have to know what you want in life and take it. By force, if you must."
"I guess I was always just waiting for something to happen to make me realize it." She paused. When Ryonen didn't say anything, she turned to look at him. He was watching her with a look that she had never seen him give before. His brows were furrowed and the dimple near his bottom lip told her that he must be biting his cheek. "What?" She asked him, feeling self-conscious.
He shook his head. "I just never got that impression from you. You always seem so sure of yourself; it seems crazy to me that you'd be unsure of that."
Ariana pursed her lips. "I'm not always sure of myself." She said, then elaborated. "I think I put out this facade that I'm so confident and sure of things, but the truth is that I'm just as scared and uncertain as anyone. I just try to do what's right; nothing more, nothing less."
He reached over and cupped her cheek in his hand. The warmth of his skin seemed to pierce right through her skin. "That's more than most." He said quietly, his bare chest rising and falling with his breath. She watched it, his pale chest seeming to glisten as the rays reflected off his skin there. "You don't have to be perfect, Ariana, you just have to be you."
She felt butterflies flutter inside her stomach at his words. He was so good, so kind. She wondered what she had done to deserve him. She let her hand come to rest over his on her cheek. "Thank you." She said, trying to let him know what it meant to her for him to be there. "For everything."
Ryonen's eyes crinkled with a smile. "Don't mention it." He said, and he leaned forward and brushed her lips with his. It was a different kind of kiss this time, soft and brief, but somehow it meant more than any words ever could.