Ever So Lightly- Book 1

27

Jasper followed his gaze, only to find Kade following behind, too close for comfort. The young man didn't appear to be listening, but Jasper still didn't trust him and was under the impression that Frederick felt the same. Where had he come from anyway? It was as though Kade had appeared out of thin air. Frederick turned back to Jasper and gave him a stern, knowing look, as if to say they would continue their conversation later, before riding up ahead to speak with another group of men. Jasper looked behind once again, but this time he didn't find Kade. His eyes flitted over the rest of the travellers before settling on Zephyr once again. She was talking with Kade now, her small smile barely visible. Stars, the man moved fast for someone with a leg wound. Jasper felt a pang of jealousy as Zephyr laughed down at the man walking beside her horse, Kade's face reflecting her cheer with his usual smirk.

A distraction was needed again. Jasper turned his thoughts back to the conversation he had just been having. The Skypeak Mountains. There were rebels hiding in the mountains. Jasper almost couldn't believe it. How long had they been there? How had they kept the queen from hearing of their location? He had never seen the famed mountains, but he'd heard descriptions of their breathtaking beauty. Reaching into the clouds, they were said to have veins of red rock that streaked from their base to the highest peaks. Jasper hadn't heard of this valley that Frederick had mentioned, but he was under the impression that the entrance to the rebel base must be hidden somewhere within.

Stars above, how had the queen not heard any of this yet?

~

Zephyr's laugh was half hearted as she rode alongside Kade. Saria had gone silent the moment the young man had approached, and had lasted mere seconds in his presence before dropping behind to speak with Bennet. Kade had begun telling a story about a blacksmith back in the capital, but Zephyr felt her focus wondering. A quick glance revealed that Jasper was once again riding alone. She felt a tightening in her stomach, a mixture of sympathy laced with leftover anger from the night before. The anger was fading much too quickly.

She just wanted to go back to how things were. That thought took the rest of her thoughts in a dangerous direction. Her conversation with Saria under the safety of darkness replayed in her mind. If things went back to how they really had been, before it all had started. Before the running, before the deaths and pain and endless tears. Back to a night in a bookshop, a handsome young man buying a book from a nervous young woman.

Zephyr wrenched her mind away from that picture. She found herself still looking in Jasper's direction. He suddenly turned her way, their eyes meeting for the first time since their last dreadful conversation. A lifetime passed in that moment, and Zephyr knew she could break him if she wanted. Staring into his night brown eyes, she decided to offer an olive branch instead. Her lips pulled into a smile, color warming her cheeks slightly. Jasper's eyes widened, and for a split second he seemed frozen in a look of astonishment that was almost comical. He finally offered a sincere, albeit tentative, smile in return. A truce. They could be friends. Zephyr kept telling herself that as she forced her eyes away. She could still feel color heating her face as she tuned back in to whatever it was Kade was saying. He seemed to be finishing up his earlier story.

She tried to focus more on the conversation so as not to be rude. It was difficult when her thoughts were being pulled to her right every few seconds, but she made a sincere effort. Their conversation died a bit after talking about some favorite books they had in common. Kade wasn't much of a reader, Zephyr came to realize, but what he had read were all fantastic choices in her opinion. He had grown silent for several long moments, and Zephyr was never one for sparking new conversations. Thankfully, the group ahead with Frederick seemed to be stopping to rest.

Zephyr pulled up Bells and dismounted after handing Tib down to Kade. The small boy took off toward where Jasper and Bennet were now standing the moment his feet his the ground. Turning to seek out Saria, Zephyr found her friend pulling bread and cheese from her pack close to where her father stood. She began to ask Kade if he'd like to join them for lunch, but he seemed to have wandered off. Zephyr made her way toward the cheese, taking note of the stormclouds drawing steadily closer over the treetops.

As she joined Saria, grabbing a slice of bread and a rather meager bit of cheese in her opinion, Zephyr took note of Frederick pointing off in the direction of a lake as he spoke quickly to a group of rebels. Just as she opened her mouth to take a bite, her stomach growling in anticipation, Saria grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the denser trees. Zephyr made a weak noise of protest but allowed herself to be led by her friend.

"What are you doing? I'm hungry." Saria just gave her a look of excitement, her blue-gray eyes glittering. Zephyr followed through the trees, shoving a bite of food in her mouth as she went. The ground still had a dusting of snow, but most had melted away since the last snowfall. If the sky were any indication, the ground would be covered in white once again, very soon.

Saria pulled Zephyr's arm once more through the last few trees and bit of underbrush. Zephyr felt the air leave her lungs as she beheld what her friend had been leading her toward. A glittering waterfall spilled down a small cliff. With the snow brushed trees surrounding it, a gray sky to match the gray rocks, and the brilliantly white foam that the rushing water kicked up, Zephyr's fear of heights was tampered down by the sheer beauty before her.

"Father said there was a waterfall around here somewhere," Saria beamed as she pulled Zephyr closer. They sat down close to the edge, but not too close, to finish eating their small lunch. Zephyr had taken to tying her retracted staff to her belt, and as she sat it clinked against the rocky surface. The crashing rapids made talking more difficult than usual, so they stayed mostly silent as they ate.

Licking her fingers of crumbs, Zephyr watched, mesmerized, as the shimmering water fell over the face of the cliff. Saria had finished eating as well, and stood hurriedly.

"I'm going to go find Bennet, he had to see this," Saria said matter-of-factly. Zephyr gave her a knowing look, and Saria responded by sticking her tongue out. She began to walk away, back towards the camp, but turned to Zephyr before entering the trees.

"Jasper might be with him, is that okay?"

Zephyr nodded casually, mumbling something about it not being a problem at all, thankful that Saria couldn't sense the tightness in her gut. Or maybe she could sense it after all, giving Zephyr a look and lifting her eyebrow knowingly before leaving through the trees.

Zephyr let out a small huff of a laugh before turning back toward the waterfall. It's beauty did a wonderful job of masking it's danger. Zephyr contemplated this, her mind fighting to draw some sort of connection to her own life, her own circumstances right now. She fought back against those thoughts, not ready to take that jump right then.