Long Live

VII

Andrea

The journey was longer than I had expected, though it had turned out to be much safer. The armored guards had scared off the few bears and wolves that had attempted to approach, and none of the creatures of which my mother had warned my siblings and I seemed to dwell between my village and the Timeless lands. A part of me wondered whether they were scared of the guards, or if they had ever existed in the first place. My body was near to succumbing to the exhaustion the ride had caused at roughly the same time that our group neared a small shack on the other side of a forest.

"We will rest here," Rio announced as she dismounted her horse and tied it to a post. The guards followed suit, and so did I. Wilma hated being tied up, I had learned that throughout the years of being her sole caretaker. I tested her binding before following the guards into the building. Inside, there were a few cots and a couple more blankets sprawled out on the floor. Within seconds, the smell of sweat and musk hit the tiny hairs in my nostrils. Rio splayed out on one of the cots, Atilla took another. Jackyl and Jaymes took the blankets on the floor and put them together, sitting next to each other. That left the final cot, the one next to Rio's, for me.

I placed the satchel bag I had packed at the foot of the bed before lowering onto the mattress. Instantly, I felt the relief in my muscles. Despite it having the appearance of a cheaply made cot, this mattress was the softest thing I had ever felt. The fabric that covered it was cool to the touch, but not cold enough to be uncomfortable. A thick cotton blanket was pushed against the wall, and as I pulled it over my legs and hips, I sighed at the comfort it granted me. I heard a deep chuckle come from below me and looked down to see Jackyl peering up with a grin.

"First time in a real bed, huh?" he smirked, to which I nodded. "Just wait until we get you to the Timeless lands, you'll die of happiness."

"You mean this isn't the best that it gets?" I laid on my side, facing Jackyl. He had separated from his brother and pulled a blanket closer.

"Hardly. The pleasures are only beginning." He wiggled his eyebrows at me. "Here."

He reached into the pocket of his pants and pulled out a small round object covered in foil. He unwrapped it to reveal a piece of chocolate. My mother had once bought a large bar of chocolate, so I knew what it was. I was never allowed to eat it directly, only in the baking that she did ever so rarely. He held the chocolate between his thumb and forefinger. "You're giving me this?"

"Open up," he smiled, the same way Alex did when he was pleased with himself. I obliged and separated my lips. He gently placed the chocolate on my tongue, wiping the excess that had melted on his finger onto my bottom lip. I slowly chewed the chocolate, savoring the sweet yet salty flavor. The taste was gone too soon when I swallowed it.

"Thank you, sir,"

"Jackyl, please. I'm much too young to be called sir." He rolled his eyes playfully.

I nodded and laid down with my head on the pillow and the blanket pulled up to my chest. Soon after, I felt the weight of his head at the side of my bed. "How old are you anyway? I didn't think Timeless counted the years."

"Some don't, but my brother and I do. We like to give gifts relative to the year." He sighed. "Jaymes and I are one-hundred and sixty-three, as of three weeks ago."

"Oh, well then happy belated birthday." I heard him slide down on the ground and roll over, signaling the end of our conversation. It took only a few minutes before my eyes were struggling to open and I succumbed to the sweet bliss of sleep.

"Hush! Father might hear!" I whispered to the giggling girl next to me. With one hand, I struck the blanket she had pulled over her blonde curls. "Cestia!" The name came to me easily, though I did not recognize the laughter.