"Aelia."
I felt tough hands shake my shoulder. At first, I opened my eyes slowly, then gasped and sat upright as my dreams came flowing back to me. As I moved upwards, mine and Cedric's heads collided. He rubbed his and said, "next time you're going to do that, warn me, yeah?"
"Sorry," I stuttered. He mumbled something I didn't quite catch, but I didn't care. I stretched and got up, stroking the fire before sitting down to keep watch.
I couldn't keep from replaying my dreams over and over. I was sure they were memories, but if not for the dreams I would have never remembered them. I'm sure that the symbol I drew meant something at the time, but I can barely remember now. An eagle wing on fire. The Crown Prince's symbol is an eagle, could I have been drawing his symbol?
And who was that woman? A vague memory tells me she was a friend of mine, but more than that I can't remember. What did she mean when she said, "it's what you know?"
Cedric tossed over bringing me out of my reverie. I shook my head and focused on being alert. The forest had quieted down considerably from when I went to bed. I stared into the fire for some time then drew my eyes away after remembering what Cedric had told me: when you're keeping watch, don't look into the fire. It ruins your night vision and makes you miss movements. Movements that could be lethal for you.
Some hours later, Cedric got up to relieve himself. He told me he'd be going only a couple of yards away. I nodded, for some reason more nervous all the sudden.
I shifted and froze when a loud snap sounded from my left. Could it have been the fire popping? Maybe it was just an animal? Fear started building in my chest and I took a breath to calm it. It didn't help. I started to turn my head to look around when a sharp edge was placed on my shoulder.
A knife.
My breath caught and it took all of my willpower not to jump when a voice behind me whispered, "don't make a sound and don't turn around."
I whimpered quietly. The knife was pushed a little more.
"I said, not a sound.'' The voice was female, but that was all I knew. I heard footsteps crunch the leaves around me. There must have been at least five other people. What did they want? What should I do?
I heard our bag being rifled through. The people were almost as quiet as Cedric. Almost as quiet as a Ranger. I shivered.
Someone clicked their tongue and held up a gold coin.
"Well, looks like we picked the right person," the woman holding the knife drawled.
"That's what you wanted?" I whispered. "You could have it. Have it all." Cedric could always steal more if needed.
But she leaned next to my ear, her hair falling over my shoulder. "What if I just kill you now instead?"
I gulped.
"Drop the knife," Cedric called, flashing his dagger from a couple feet away. My heart swelled with relief.
The woman looked up, baring her teeth like a wolf. "Oh look. A boy has come to defeat us all."
"Drop. The. Knife." Cedric called again, his voice carrying.
"What do you say, boys? Should we 'drop the knife?'" the woman laughed. Men around us laughed loudly.
The woman swiveled her gaze back to Cedric. "How about this, boy? You drop the knife and I don't kill your friend here."
Cedric's eyes caught my gaze for a millisecond. It was a cold gaze, but not aimed at the woman. Aimed at me.
"Well?" the woman barked.
My chest heaved. I saw a muscle work in Cedric's jaw. His hold on the knife tightened. I wasn't worth it to him. I was going to die. I shut my eyes.
"Alright then," the woman's tone was sickly sweet.
I felt the knife move centimeters, then abruptly stop when something fell to the ground. I opened my eyes. Cedric's dagger.
"There! " he shouted, "now let her go!"
"Attaboy," the woman sneered. Several men closed in around Cedric grabbing his arms and pinning them behind his back.
The woman barked orders at a man to collect our bag of food and coins. When all was collected, the woman nodded her head at one of the men by Cedric. In a flash, the butt of a sword crashed into Cedric's temple. He dropped to the ground like a sack of flour.
"You try coming after us, you die. This time, without warning," the woman hissed in my ear.
I felt her blade go and stumbled away. Within seconds, they were gone, shadows in the dark.
My knees gave out, collapsing me down. As my palms hit the ground, I sobbed out of fear and relief. I remained there shaking and crying until dawn. I had been so close to death. Too close. One more inch of the knife's movement and...
When I felt a hand gently touch my shoulder, I jerked away, gasping and yelping. It was Cedric. I crawled away from him. I didn't want to look at him right then.
"Aelia," he started, but I turned away.
"Aelia, it's alright. We're fine now."
I cursed, loudly. "Yeah, no thanks to you!"
His eyes darkened with anger. "No thanks to me?" he shouted, "if it wasn't for me you wouldn't be talking right now!"
Tears blurred my vision, but I shouted, "you were going to let her! She was about to kill me! I..."
"I would never have let her kill you," Cedric said quietly.
I barely heard him. "And she stole all of our stuff! What are we going to do now! We have no food, no weapons, no..."
"Aelia, calm down," Cedric ordered, "we're fine. We'll get new ones at the town. We're fine."
I took deep shuddering breaths. I felt the knife on my skin again and gulped nervously, pushing the memory out of my mind. I looked towards Cedric, brushing my palm against my eyes. I felt embarrassed to be crying like this, but I forced the thought away. I was allowed to cry. He waved a hand in a circular motion. "Come on."
We kicked dirt into the last remaining coals of the fire and moved on. Every time the thought of the knife came to mind I wanted to fall down and cry, but I knew I couldn't'. I glanced at Cedric. Maybe I could talk to him... talking always helped me. Then, I shook my head angrily. I would not start relying for help on a boy who barely tolerated me.
We stood at the edge of the forest, both looking ahead for a moment. Then, "alright. When we go in, just act casual," Cedric told me, "I'm counting on a watch looking for us. After all, it is worth it to expect the worst." He took a breath and continued. "And assuming I'm right about a Watch, they're going to catch us pretty quickly. So here's what we'll do. Keep your head lowered, not too down, though because that can look suspicious. Just don't look at anyone and walk somewhat quickly. Be ready to answer someone but don't cause any suspicion. And don't-"
"Cedric, slow down!" I half whisper-half shouted, "we'll be fine. Just walk normally, yeah?"
He looked at me and nodded. I nodded to myself, in a self-assurance way. I ignored my fast paced heart and started walking.
Unlike the last town with market shops all over, this town was more quiet. I only saw one tavern and one stand setting up to sell fruit. There was a small blacksmith's shop, the smell of burning metal told me that. Small huts made out of stones and mud were lined up across front of the shops. It was a very neat village, though maybe that was because not many people were on the roads; it was still too early for people to start their day. But there were still a handful of people here and there.
"What is the name of this town?" i whispered to him, a little into the walk.
"Kelio," he said, in similar tone.
Suddenly, Cedric growled quietly. I looked at him, questions in my eyes, but he didn't respond. I followed his line of sight and gasped.
WANTED ALIVE
CEDRIC DURAL and AELIA KOCHOV
MURDERER OF THE KING AND HIS ACCOLMLISS
HIGHKY DANGEROUS, BE CAUTIOUS
800 GOLD PEICE REWARD
Cedric snatched the paper off the tree and crushed it in his fist. I startled at his sudden movement, but didn't say anything.
Anyone accompanying the King's Murderer will be considered enemy of the kingdom and be treated guilty of treason.
I stumbled back, suddenly dizzy. I would be considered an enemy of the kingdom if we were caught. This changed everything. Being accused of treason for anyone was bad. For someone with a record like mine, it was instant death. I glanced around nervously, wiping my palms on my pants. How many people have seen this poster? How many people would report us to the Watch if they saw us?
Will be considered enemy of the kingdom.
I was now an enemy.
Traveling with the King's Murderer.
Cedric was the King's murderer. Or at least accused of it.
I was traveling with the accused murderer of the king and now considered an enemy and would be killed instantly if caught.
I felt Cedric pull on my arm and distractedly followed. He led us to the back of an abandoned building, maybe an old stable.
"Aelia."
I didn't hear him. My heart was racing. Too fast for me to breathe. I was hyperventilating. I couldn't stop thinking about the word enemy. My mind was in a scared fog.
"Aelia," Cedric's voice cut through the fog. I looked at him, desperate for some sort of comfort. Any.
"We have to get out of here now. I saw someone I know. We have to go now. Walk fast."
Someone saw us? Someone Cedric knew? Would they report us? I couldn't help peeking over my shoulder every couple of seconds. Cedric was doing the same thing. That didn't help my anxiety.
We were passing by the outskirts of the village. The huts were spread out more, and most looked uncared for. Wind blew my cloak around, making it slightly difficult for me to walk. My hair whipped around me.
Cedric gasped suddenly, pulling on arms that linked around his neck. With a shove, he yanked the man who grabbed him forward, bringing him forward.
The man was dressed in a Ranger's uniform.
The man growled and threw a punch at Cedric. Cedric ducked and swept his leg out, hitting the man directly behind the knees. The man fell, but recovered quickly, grabbing Cedric's legs and shoving them to the side. Cedric fell, landing on his side, and coughed. In that second Cedric wasn't paying attention, the man jumped on him, pinning Cedric's arms under his knees and sitting on his back. Without missing a beat, Cedric grunted and rolled sideways, reversing their positions. Now, Cedric was sitting on the man.
I thought I should do something, be of assistance in some way, but I didn't know what to do. I'd seen prison fights, even been in some, but I was frozen in shock. Then I regathered myself. I knelt down at Cedric's side, giving the man a threatening look. I grabbed Cedric's knife and pushed it against the man's throat.
"Who are you and what do you want with us?," I growled.
"Aelia, put the knife away," Cedric said, staring at the man. I looked disbelievingly at him.
"Yes, Aelia, put the knife away," the man snarled. I switched my look to him, glaring before I removed the knife. I didn't know why, but I knew I had to trust Cedric on this. Maybe because he had been right about mostly everything so far.
"You traitor," the man spit at Cedric. The spit caught on Cedric's face, but he did nothing to remove it. He seemed to be in shock. I didn't understand, but I had enough with not understanding.
"Cedric, who is this?" I growled.
He didn't respond. The man under him hardened his eyes and said, "yes, Cedric, tell her who I am. Tell her how we know each other."
The more he talked, the less I liked him.
"I – he – his name is Rowan."
"Rowan. As in..."
"As in his friend," Rowan said, "or someone who used to be his friend, at least."
They both looked hurt. Cedric's face showed it more, but even through Rowan's hard mask, hurt showed. I tightened my grip on the knife. There was something I didn't understand, and I didn't like the feeling.
"How do you know each other?" I asked.
Then it hit me. Rowan's outfit. The Ranger's outfit. Obviously they trained together, or at least knew each other while training. They both looked the same age, so I ruled out Rowan as Cedric's trainer or something like that.
"Rowan... I didn't... I..."
"Save it, Cedric. Tell it to the Crown Prince," Rowan snarled.
Cedric continued to stare down at him. His face showed a mix of shock and fear. I looked back and forth between them, unsure what to do.
In a flash, Rowan shoved his elbow into Cedric's cheek, brushing Cedric off him instantly. Before Cedric could fight back, Rowan pushed his elbow against Cedric's throat, Cedric gasping. With his other hand, Rowan slid a small dagger hidden in his sleeve and laid it on Cedrics shoulder.
"Tell me one good reason not to drag you to the palace right now," Rowan growled.
Cedric swallowed, hard. He choked out something indistinguishable, and Rowan loosened his grip. Slightly.
"I... didn't kill..."
A lifetime seemed to pass as we waited to see what Rowan would do. Finally, he closed his eyes and removed his dagger and arm from Cedric's neck. I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding.
Cedric spluttered and coughed when his neck was free. Leaning on one elbow, he sucked in air desperately. Rowan stood up, now looking at Cedric as if he just realized he was there. When Cedric was finally able to stand up, Rowan said, "Now tell me what in God's heaven you did."