The Brightest Shadow

Chapter Seven: No Room For Failure

"Are you ready to leave?"
Jule turned to Carrillo, standing at the door to her room. His hair, still wet from the bath, fell down his shoulders, and he'd changed into a clean white shirt on.

She threw her own wet hair back over her shoulder and nodded, zipping her backpack.
"Yes, let's go."

They'd found an inn slightly up North, smaller and cozy, with the nicest keeper. Nadjya didn't waste time getting them rooms to sleep in and as soon as they woke up, she'd offered them a bath.

Jule could sleep again, after soaking in warm water, but the thoughts wouldn't stop. The three Caledo girls came to her mind every second.

The sooner she got back to the inn and helped them out of there, the better.

Carrillo lead the way downstairs, Nadjya's laugh traveling all the way from the kitchen to them. The middle aged woman lived at the inn by herself, no kids and no husband, by choice.

Her happiness wrapped around the guests as soon as they stepped through the door, so much that Fergus Carrillo had laughed. A full and honest laugh, head thrown back and all.
Jule had missed a step over it.

Different from the Caledo Inn, Nadjya's guest house didn't have a restaurant, she called people over to the kitchen to eat with her. If they didn't want, she'd take the food up to their room.
They'd accepted the invitation to eat with her.

Her simplicity and the fact the house was so normal and discreet revealed an intention to Nadjya's actions. Perhaps what she really got from having guests was company, not money.

"Jewel..." Carrillo stopped at the bottom of the stairs and turned, eyes glued to hers. "I need to ask something of you."

She sighed. The nod came from instinct, because he didn't need to say it. He'd ask her to behave, and understandibly so.

No matter how much it pained her to have to hear someone say it, her impulsiveness had gotten her stuck in a big mess. If she had controlled her anger earlier, perhaps it'd be easier to help the Caledo sisters escape.

And what if the guards had been alerted? She'd taken a huge risk.

"Promise me you'll stick to the plan. Get the girls out, go North. No fighting, no risking it all to beat up a guy."

"It's gonna be hard, but I promise." She didn't hesitate. Perhaps not enough of an apology for her actions, but change was a nice remedy.

He fixed the strap on her shoulder, causing her to slightly flinch.
"I get it. What you heard, it's... disgusting. He deserved what he got, any decent person would've reacted the way you did."

Not any person. Some people pretended to not know, others allowed fear to be louder than fairness.

But Carrillo said decent. He was talking about him. He validated her actions by telling her he would've done the same, most likely.

"We'll stick to the plan, and then we'll get to Luzinde."
He showed her a small smile and she reciprocated. For a split second, they didn't hate each other's guts.
"Good girl."

He led the way to the kitchen.
"Now let's grab Phin before he decides to stay and marry Nadjya."

She chuckled, appreciating the smell of freshly baked pastries. Nadjya's place craved itself in her memory as pleasant, homey and lovely.
She'd bring her sisters there, in the future. After Fergus, after Phin... After the book.

"Is this a general concern of Liberian women?"
"What is?" She frowned at him.

He sent her a glance.
"I've heard there's a group of women in Libera that fight for women's rights. They're not an official military force, are they? The Felinae."