"Good girls are found in every corner of the Earth. Unfortunately, the Earth is round."
- Unknown.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The moonlight shining in through Kale's bedroom window in the early hours of the morning is the first thing I notice as my eyes slowly open. It casts a silvery glow across the room, creating enough light to see by.
The second thing I notice is Kale.
Or, more specifically, his chest.
My hands are loosely pressed against his chest, my face buried in his neck. Kale's left arm is draped lazily over my waist, his chin gently resting on the top of my head. Our legs are entangled, warmth radiating between our bodies, and the rise and fall of his chest proves a comforting, lulling rhythm.
I'd be lying if I said I wanted to move.
Although I'm surprised we ended up in such an... intimate position; the contentedness I'm feeling can only be put down to our attachment.
Wanting to avoid any awkwardness that Kale waking up and finding us like this could arise, I slowly slip out from under his arm and glide across the bed.
Shivering slightly as a chill comes over me, I peer out through his window, onto the Shadow village below.
No one is in sight, and no fires are lit.
The sight triggers the memory of the secret tunnel that I had seen from Blake's balcony.
It's time to check it out.
<><><>
The night air is cold as the guards allow me to pass through the castle's back door, making me glad I decided to put on a velvety black hoodie and a pair of black jeans with my black converses.
That's the thing about Ash. He's obsessed with the colour black.
He'd been considerate enough to supply me all of my clothes since I arrived at his castle, but every single item is black. I didn't understand it when someone said the colour black was depressing, until I opened my wardrobe each morning to find nothing but black.
I'm not sure if it's the fact that there is no colour or the fact that I have no choice that is the most depressing.
My shoes pad quietly against the cobblestone path, the light of the almost-full-moon shining down and generously providing me enough light to see by.
Walking past the first house, I note that it's occupants must still be sleeping. In fact, as I look up, I notice that every single house is dark.
Looks like there's no one to give me potential directions.
Picturing the town as I had seen it from Blake's balcony, I continue heading straight, down what I had noted was the main street. The alleyways between some of the houses are spooky, looking like they lead into nothing but blackness.
Shivering slightly with the air fresh against my face, I pull the hoodie up over my head and bury my hands in the pockets, allowing my brown hair to flow down the front of my shoulders.
After another few minutes, I arrive in an opened out area with the still-glowing remnants of a recently burned bonfire apparent.
This was where the bonfire had been. Where the dancing had happened. Where the one fire stick had left from and moved away, only to disappear into the ground.
Closing my eyes and once again picturing Blake's view, I concentrate on the path I had saw it take.
However seeing as I lack the ability of a photographic memory, everything is confused.
I go right. No left. No... wait...
I. Can't. Remember.
C'mon, Harper, think about this. The fire stick had moved away from the bonfire. It had moved... Right.
Opening my eyes, I hurriedly slip onto the street to my right, once again faced with small cobblestone and wood houses lining either side.
The houses soon disperse as I reach the outskirts of the small town, becoming less and less.
It's then that I have to stop and try to recall the way once more.
It had been near a bush, not that that helps any. It had been beside a tree. A tree that was about the size of one of the houses. No other lights or structures had been surrounding it.
Which means... what?
Keep walking until I see a tree?
I just make the best plans, don't I? Seriously.
But that's what I do. I continue on ahead, hoping that sometime soon I'll be fortunate enough to find a tree of about the same size, beside a bush.
I wonder what would happen if Ash knew I was out this late at night?
I wouldn't be surprised if he locked me in the dungeons as punishment.
"Aye, but my wife doesn't like me doing that sorta stuff, you know?" Comes a sudden voice as the door to a house up ahead opens. A man walks out to meet another man, and they begin walking towards me.
"What she doesn't know ain't gonna hurt her, Bob."
I backtrack a few metres, nervously slipping into an alley of pure blackness.
With my heart thumping determinedly in my chest, I ensure I don't go too far into the unknown dark.
"I don't like lying to her, though. She can always tell somethin's up and it makes me uneasy. Not like you, Steve. You're still single; you don't have to worry about these sorts of troubles."
Turning my attention away from the men for a few seconds, I glance back behind me, the hairs on the back of my neck standing up as an eerie feeling washes over me. I feel like I'm about to be attacked by someone or some thing at any moment.
I've watched way too many scary movies for my own good.
"I get where you're coming from, I really do," the Steve guy replies.
I swear something brushes my arm. Goosebumps trail over my skin.
Diverting my gaze, now staring into the blackness of the alleyway, my eyes slowly begin to adjust to the significantly darker area.
Just in time for me to spot a few shadows, or should I say figures, suddenly moving towards me.
I have no time to react before one of them grabs me, holding his hand over my mouth to muffle my screams and wrapping his other arm around my waist to prevent any escape or retaliation.
Through my muffled screams and flailing legs, the voice manages to whisper in my ear.
"Harper, it's me. Calm down. It's only us."
Panting rapidly, I continue to kick at the air as the guy holds me up off the ground.
Someone, a feminine figure, grabs my thrashing head, making me look at her.
"It's okay, Harper. You're okay. It's Kat and Brayden."
At the mention of their names I freeze, unwilling to let my guard down but knowing deep inside that these figures speak the truth.
The voices of the two men on the street reach our ears as they approach, heading in the direction I just came from.
With deep breaths, I watch as the two men pass by our hiding spot in the alleyway, unknowing that anyone was ever here.
"I'm going to let you go now," Brayden warns me, his grip loosening. "Stay quiet."
His hand drops from my mouth, and then leaves my waist.
I turn around and shove him, unsure what I am currently feeling.
"You idiot! You scared the shit out of me!" I yell in a whisper.
"Love ya too, Bryant," he smirks quietly.
Kat launches herself at me, wrapping me into a hug. "I'm so glad you're okay."
"What are you guys doing here?" I ask, looking between them both.
"We could ask you the same question," Brayden replies.
My eyes adjust to the lack of light, revealing the slight slivers of moonshine beaming down through the leaves in the trees overhead.
Kat pushes him to the side, directing her attention to me.
"We arrived earlier then we'd meant to, so we figured we'd get as close to the castle as we possibly could. Then we saw someone walking towards us who looked like you, but we weren't sure. Only when you turned to look behind you did we see your face."
"Are you guys crazy? Isn't this dangerous?"
"Isn't sneaking out of Ashleigh's castle considered dangerous as well?" Brayden retorts.
"That's different."
"Uh-huh. Why don't you enlighten us as to the reason you're sneaking around, Bryant? Did you sneak out? I hope you're not bailing on us. This was your plan, after all," Brayden teases quietly, his deep voice the only thing breaking the otherwise-eerie silence.
"No, as a matter of fact I wasn't bailing, Caulfield. I was... investigating."
"Investigating?"
"Follow me," I whisper.
"Ooh, mystery, I'm in," Kat remarks, moving up to stand next to me as I turn around in the entrance of the alleyway, checking to see if the coast is clear.
Kat, Brayden and I stick close to one side of the street, continuing in the direction I'd been travelling. With the houses few and far between, we eventually come to one that sits directly in the centre of the street.
The street that has just finished.
It's a dead end.
"Goddammit," I curse silently, closing my eyes as I rub my temples.
Think. Think.
I picture the view from Blake's balcony; the small town had been spread closely, becoming vaster at the outskirts. The bonfire had taken place in what I found to be the town square.
The person with the fire stick had left the town square. They'd gone right.
I'd gone right.
They'd kept going.
I'd kept going.
Where had they gone from there?
I stomp my foot quietly, trying to think.
"What on Earth are you doing?" Kat asks, making me wonder if we are technically even on Earth right now.
I don't respond, absorbing myself in the view from Blake's balcony, desperately trying to remember.
I knew this had been a sketchy way of finding the so-called secret tunnel. I knew it was a risk, and that there was a huge chance I'd get lost or be unable to find it.
What was I even thinking coming here? It's not like I'm going to be able to find this tree.
Opening my eyes, I notice Brayden looking at me intensely, his green eyes boring into my face. His sister, on the other hand, looks restless, surveying the area as she fidgets.
"What is it, Harper? Talk to us," Brayden urges quietly.
"I need to find a tree."
Kat turns around and raises her eyebrows at me.
"Not just any tree," I elaborate quickly. "It's a tree that stands alone, and there's a small bush beside it."
"Okay...? How can we help?" She questions.
"I... don't know. I thought I knew the way, but I've disoriented myself. I just think that maybe if we start walking back again, we'll see it. I know it wasn't any further then this dead-end."
"Okay, so we're searching for some random lonely tree; why?" Brayden asks as he falls into step beside me and we make our way back.
Eyes glued to my surroundings, I quietly answer, "I'm not sure yet, but I have a suspicion."
"I don't like your cryptic side. It's confusing. Just give it to us straight."
"You'll see, Caulfield," I grin. "And I suspect you're going to like it, too."
"Is that it?"
Kat's finger is aimed directly at a tree.
A tree that stands alone.
A tree that's beside a bush.
A tree that looks about the right size.
"Holy shit," I whisper. "It's a miracle. It's actually a miracle."
Suddenly a fire is lit inside of a nearby house, seeming bright against the dark veil of the moonlit night. The door to the house opens, spreading a triangular beam of light out across the ground, rapidly heading directly towards us.
"Who's there?"
A bulky-looking man steps out of the house, his pale skin white in the dim light.
It's too late for us.
"Hey! What're you kids doing here?" The man steps out of his house and starts walking towards us.
"Shit. Run. Run," Brayden orders Kat and I.
That has to be the first time I've ever heard him swear. The first time since Ash found me at my home and dragged me into this mess that I've heard somebody other than myself swear.
I was beginning to think having a foul mouth was a mortal thing.
Kat and I waste no time in bolting back down the path we've just been walking along, Brayden following closely behind.
"Oi! Come back here! I'll catch you!" The man yells.
"He's gaining on us," Brayden says, coming to run between Kat and I. "Into the alleyway. I'll handle this."
"Brayden-"
"Kat," he interrupts his sister in a voice coated in warning. "Just do it."
"Nike," I add in, at what must be the most inappropriate moment in history.
This time, the Caulfield siblings don't even question me.
Kat and I slip into the cover of darkness within the alleyway, concealed from sight. I can barely see, with my eyes needing time to adjust again.
Brayden follows us, standing against the wall. The man's loud thumping footsteps can be heard echoing down the street, ask he swings a right into our hiding spot. Brayden sticks his foot out to trip the man, punching him in the guts as he goes down.
The man hits his head on the pavement and doesn't move again.
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To be honest, I REALLY don't like this chapter, but hopefully you guys think otherwise. At least it's an update, right? Right :)
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- ConfusingIllusions