After the Empire (Complete)

11 - Aelin

I don't know how much longer I will be able to move. Already my back is screaming, my vision swimming. 

It's been just over a day since Fenrys left, a day of walking without food or water or rest. At my strongest I could have done it easily, but now, with my malnourished and mangled body, I think I will have to stop. 

I stop, and put up my hand to grab at a tree branch. I need rest. I need food. I need shelter. 

I need a town. 

I turn my nose up, scenting the air for any hint of human habitation. There, distant but undeniably there, is the scent of fire and bodies and meat. It hangs in the air, a tantalizing ghost. 

I breath in deeply, then begin to move again. As far as I can tell, the town is maybe another 4 hours walk at my current pace. I can manage that, I think.  

*        *         *

When I finally reach the town, I feel a weight of heavy disappointment settle into my stomach. I had hoped for a proper village, large enough that I could slip in, take what I needed, spend the night, and slip back out again, unnoticed. But this place is tiny. The kind of place where any stranger is notable, simply for being  a new face. And me, with my pointed ears and raw wounds, I will be even more visible..

I sigh. There's no use in worrying over it now. I don't have a choice. 

I pull the hood of the cloak Fenrys left me with over my head, and walk forward. 

The first thing I notice is the noise. There's nothing out of the ordinary about anything I hear, doors slamming, the clatter of pots and pans, the low hum of human voices, but after so long in the heavy silence of Maeve's prison, it's deafening.

I walk past a row of houses, and into what appears to be the main square of the town. There's few people still out, given the late hour, but there are some.  An old man, craddling what looks to be a bottle of wine, a woman hurrying home, a young man staring a the sky with his hands in his pockets. 

I look them all up and down, scanning for threats. The only one who stands out at all is the young man. There's something odd about the way he holds himself, the sort of calculated stance only ever taken by those trained hide how dangerous they are. 

The same kind of stance that had been drilled into me as a child. Balanced, but legs relaxed. Shoulders rounded, but back tense. Head angled down, but eyes scanning. Hands casually placed, angled towards a weapon. An assassin's stance. 

I look the man up and down, noting the slight shape of his blades beneath his clothes, then I move on. I'm in no shape to fight, and there's no reason he would bother with me. 

I don't know who his market or target might be in this sleepy place, but I don't want to get involved. It's none of my business. Not anymore. 

I wander forward, eyes scanning for an inn. I'm not sure how I'll pay for a night, but that's not my primary concern.

I take another step forward, and then suddenly I'm being dragged backwards. 

I try to tear away from my attacker, cursing myself and my exhausted body for not noticing the threat.

"Who are you, and what are you doing in my city girl?"

The voice is rough, male, and oddly familiar.

I bite back the sharp retort on my tongue. I'm unarmed, wounded, starving, and my magic is almost entirely drained. I'm not in any position to fight back right now. 

"I'm just looking for an inn. I'm ... travelling. I need somewhere to stay."

"Bull shit." the voice says "I saw you watching me. Three seconds, and you had pinpointed every blade on me. I watched you leave. You don't move like a peaceful visitor."

We're far away from the main street now, deep in an alley. I run the options in my head. I don't have many. Fighting will almost certainly not end in my favour, not in these circumstances. The truth is out of the question, not that he'd believe me anyways. 

Finally we stop moving, and the man holding me releases one of my arms to fiddle with something. After a moment of tense silence, the match in his hand catches, and light fills the darkness. Light that allows us to see each other's faces. 

The shock hits me like a wave, rolling over my head and reducing the rest of the world to a dull roar. I can see the same shock and recognition settling into his eyes. 

I can barely breath, and his name almost sticks in my throat.

"Nox"

Hey all, 

Sorry for the late update!!!!!!!!!! School's been a bit nuts lately, so I haven't really had time to update this.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, don't forget to vote and comment below!!!