Lilia had no idea how long it was before she was discovered - mere minutes? Lengthy hours? All she knew was that suddenly, she could hear rapidly approaching footsteps. She clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle her sobs - the noise that had surely drawn the unknown figure to her - and reached out carefully with her free hand to grasp a large, nearby branch.
The person rounded the tree and Lilia scrambled to her feet, swinging the tree limb with all of her strength.
Connor barely managed to duck the wood, dropping down to his knees as it passed close enough over him to make his hair stir. When he stood, his expression was that of relief - whether for having found her or for avoiding a branch to the face, Lilia wasn't sure.
"Oh, wolf cub, thank the gods," he breathed, starting toward her with an outstretched hand.
Dropping the stick, Lilia staggered backwards, away from him, hugging herself tightly and refusing to meet his gaze.
"Lilia?" Connor asked, the confusion in his voice evident. She hated herself for doing this to him when he didn't even know what was going on, but right now, she didn't want anything to do with Dwirinel, not even Connor.
"Lilia, what happened?" he asked, a note of urgency entering his tone. Lilia knew his mind was jumping to all of the worst places, but when she opened her mouth even slightly to let the words spill out, they just clogged in her throat, choking her. She shook her head, struggling to hold back even more tears.
"You have to tell me what happened or I can't help you," Connor pointed out gently. Lilia knew he was right, so she summoned all of her strength and managed a few words.
"I'm fine. Nothing - I'm fine."
"Something obviously happened!" Connor exclaimed in exasperation. He lowered his voice as she took another step back. Holding out his hands like she was a skittish animal, he murmured, "Please, wolf cub. Work with me here."
"A - a man. A soldier. He - he picked me up off of the ground by my hair." Lilia touched her still tender scalp, wincing. "I - poked him in the eyes and he dropped me." Her fingers traveled to her bruised side. "I came out here. End of story." She cut off her words harshly, still not looking at him. Tears trickled down her face, following the paths the previous ones had traced. She hated herself for being so weak. Nothing even happened, you coward. You got away.
"Oh, Lilia," Connor murmured sorrowfully. "I'm so sorry. I should have gotten us out of there faster."
"Not your fault," she whispered.
Connor ran his hand through his hair. "What now?" he asked.
Lilia knew what he meant. Were they just going to stand here in the woods forever, her refusing to look at him and him desperately trying to make her talk?
Her fingers brushed against the handle of her dagger. She drew it, examining the blade. She had completely forgotten she had it with her.
This time, it was Connor who took a step back. "Lilia," he said, voice low and controlled. "Give me the knife."
"Why?" Lilia whispered, still staring at her reflection in the metal. She looked empty, unstable. Like a madwoman. Oh. Did Connor think she was truly capable of hurting him?
No. As Lilia continued to look at her reflection, she saw a terrified, spiraling girl who just wanted to go home and was harboring all of her hopes on one wizard that she had never even met.
She saw what he expected her to do.
"I'm not going to hurt myself!" Lilia snapped, whirling on him. Connor flinched.
"I never said that you were," he said, just as carefully as before.
Lilia struggled to control her odd, sudden anger. Finally, she threw her knife into the leaves at his feet, muscles tensing as she did so as if to keep her from doing it. "Here," she muttered.
Connor picked it up and thrust it into his duffel bag. It was only then that Lilia noticed that he was wearing two of them, and that hers was missing from her shoulder. Somehow, he had managed to save hers.
"How...?"
"I've been searching the city for you for over an hour. Everyone's either dead or vanished. Nobody thought to steal your duffel bag, apparently. There's nothing of monetary value in it, after all."
Lilia became slowly aware of a churning in her stomach. Whether it was from hunger or the aftereffects of shock, she wasn't sure. Either way, she fought her instincts, walked forward, and grabbed Connor's hand.
"Take me home," she begged.
Connor searched her face for a long moment before nodding. He didn't release her hand as they turned and left the woods.
*
The fresh air and bright sunlight could only go so far in improving Lilia's mood. After all, she was hungry, exhausted, and dealing with the aftermath of possibly her most severe breakdown.
Connor kept shooting her worried looks until he finally stopped and said, "Okay, look. I have a new path in mind, but it's going to take us a while to get to the next village and we will have to veer into the woods at some point. We might need to walk through part of the night, and you're not going to make it like this. We need to stop and...I don't know, eat, freshen up, something."
Both of those things sounded wonderful to Lilia. She nodded in agreement. "Okay."
"Let's try to find a stream or something in the woods," Connor suggested, obviously struggling to recall the information of the area around them. "If my memory serves, a river runs near here, in the woods."
Lilia smiled at the idea of finally getting to clean herself. "Thank the gods," she sighed, copying Connor.
Connor returned the smile. He seemed relieved that she was getting more stable at the mere mention of food and cleaning.
They started into the woods. Occasionally, Connor paused to hold up a finger for silence and listen for running water. It was only after several minutes of walking, however, that they heard it.
Exchanging an excited look, they broke into a run despite their exhaustion. Sure enough, within seconds, they darted around a line of trees and almost stumbled down a rocky bank and into a moderately fast-running stream.
Connor whooped, immediately dropping the duffel bags and removing his shirt, startling Lilia. He took off his shoes and socks as well before wading into the water. He hissed as he touched the water - most likely from the chill, Lilia guessed. When he got to the middle of the lake, it was only to his waist. He also didn't seem to be fighting the current very much - a good sign. Bathing in this stream wouldn't be a challenge.
"It's cold, but it'll do," he called to Lilia. She grinned at him, slightly embarrassed and unsure of what to do. Surely she couldn't just strip down to her bra and underpants and wade in after him? That couldn't be at all socially acceptable...but then, if she went in with all of her clothes on, she knew from experience in her cousin's pool that they would merely paste to her skin and it would be nearly as bad as being naked.
Connor dove under the river's surface and came back up, shaking his head like a wet dog. "I'll just wash up quickly and then you can have a turn," he told her, solving her internal crisis. She nodded in agreement and began searching for the last clean clothes that were packed in her duffel bag.
Once she had them all together - a grey tunic and baggy black pants - she draped them over a tree branch that was hanging over the stream and grabbed the clothing she had already worn. "Can I wash these?" she asked, holding them up for Connor to see what she was referring to.
"Sure," he replied, shrugging to show that he didn't care as he worked his hands through his hair.
Lilia tried to ignore him as she began picking at the blood and dirt stains as she held her clothes under the water, but it was difficult. Her gaze kept lifting to trace his muscles, his arms as they rose to run his hands through his hair...
Blushing, Lilia worked even more furiously on her clothing.
Finally, Connor climbed out of the river. "Done," he called over to Lilia. She nodded and hung her wet clothing on a nearby tree branch. It wasn't ideal, but it was her only option.
"I'll go into the woods a ways," Connor offered, turning deliberately to show that he wouldn't be watching her.
"Thank you." Lilia waited until she couldn't see him through the tree line before quickly removing her shirt and pants and rushing into the water.
She gasped - sure enough, it was cold. She hurried to scrub at her skin with her bare hands, trying to clean off as much of the dirt and grime as she could without a washcloth bar of soap. Then, as she started to adjust to the river's temperature, she worked her hands more slowly through her hair. It was a rat's nest, not to mention that her scalp was still slightly aching to the touch. She worked her fingers through it as best she could, wincing all the while and finally giving up. At least most of the mud and dirt was out of her hair and it would dry in a somewhat acceptable hairstyle.
Lilia waded to the shallow edge of the lake, using her arms to cover her more private regions. Having an idea, she bent, grabbed the clothes she had been wearing that day, turned them inside out, and used them as towels. Once she was dry enough, she dressed in her new outfit, ran her towel-clothes through the water, and hung them up to dry.
"Okay, Connor!" she called into the woods in the general direction he had headed, digging in the pocket of her wet jeans that she had worn into Dwirinel. After a few seconds, he emerged, his face innocent enough to assure her that he had seen nothing.
"Ready for dinner?" he asked, smiling kindly at her as if it was commonplace for them to eat dinner in the woods after bathing in rivers. For him, she supposed, it was.
Had it really only been a day since they had left the town in the basin? Since Prince Luca's army had caught up with them and destroyed not only another village, but their travel plans? Things moved so quickly in this world, or at least, it seemed that way to her. Lilia almost wasn't sure how to deal with it all. She wasn't doing a wonderful job of coping as it was.
However, she simply nodded in response to Connor's question, using the hair tie she had found in her jeans to pull her wet hair off of her neck and into a ponytail. Connor broke off two large hunks of the loaf of bread and gave her a bit of cheese as well. She bit into the meal - if it even qualified as such - gratefully, moaning as the food hit her empty stomach and helped ease her hunger-induced nausea.
After she was finished, Lilia brushed off her hands and sighed contentedly. "It's amazing what a little food can do for you," she commented.
Connor, who was still eating, nodded in agreement. "Seriously. It's almost better than a potion," he reflected.
"I will never get used to that," Lilia replied ruefully.
"Used to what?"
"Those...casual references to magic," she explained, waving her hands in the air vaguely.
"So really," Connor said incredulously, "there's no magic in your world?"
"Nada." Lilia shook her head. "We kinda suck."
"It can't be that bad," Connor said without any real conviction behind his words.
"Oh, sure," Lilia retorted teasingly. "The boy surrounded by magic thinks a world without it would be good."
"Maybe it is," Connor retorted, growing serious. "Magic has started a lot of wars here. Many have died from its misuse. Those who are blessed with the powers are fought over by the kingdoms, regardless of their age. You are familiar with Azca's story, I am sure?"
Lilia thought back to Star of Winter for a moment. Then, she remembered. "Oh. His...his parents were slaughtered when he was a child because they refused to hand him over to the ruler of the Southern Realms. He barely escaped with his life."
Connor nodded sadly. "As you can see, magic comes with a heavy price."
Lilia nodded silently. Once more, her understanding of not only her own world but this strange one was thrown into question.
Connor sighed and stood, also brushing the crumbs from his hands. "Ready to go?" he asked.
Lilia gestured to her clothes, hanging on the branch. "They're still drying."
"Well, hey, I know I've just been talking on and on about the downsides to magic, but..." Connor dug in his pocket and winked, brandishing a small stone. "Ta-da!"
"What is it?" Lilia asked, amused at his cheesy theatrics.
"This, my dear, is a Heating Stone. You're supposed to wrap it in some fabric and hold onto it so it can warm your hands when it's cold out, but it functions well as a clothes drier as well." Connor sauntered over to the wet clothes, bundled one of the shirts up, and slipped the stone into its center. He bent low over the soaking fabric and whispered something.
Soon, the water began to drip faster and faster from the material. Lilia laughed in amazement. In mere minutes, her tunic was completely dry.
Grinning, Connor moved on to the rest of the clothing. Once he was done, he tossed it all to Lilia, who folded the articles neatly and replaced them in her duffel bag.
"Ready," she said, returning Connor's smile.
*
Supposedly, Connor knew of a shortcut through the woods to get to the village. Blindly, Lilia trusted him; after all what other option did she have? Connor was the fighter and tracker of the pair - she wouldn't make it a mile alone in these Dwirinelian woods.
Soon, however, she began to doubt him.
"How could you possibly know where we're going?" she asked disbelievingly as Connor veered slightly to the right. "All of these stupid trees look the same!" She struck the trunk of one with the palm of her hand and bit back a cry as the bark dug into her tender flesh, causing several beads of blood to rise to its surface.
Connor hid a chuckle with a cough and replied, "I happen to be an amazing tracker, wolf cub. Just trust me. I've been this way before."
"Right. With the rebellion?" Lila asked, curious. Aside from his journeys with Theresa - the thought of her still brought a pang to Lilia's heart - she didn't know much about his work with the rebellion.
"Yes. Speaking of which, the first thing we do when we get to this next town will be contacting them. I need to tell them what I've seen," Connor informed her.
"That's fine by me. I have my book now," Lilia pointed out cheerfully, feeling happier even simply thinking about the handwritten book awaiting her in the bag in Connor's supplies.
"True," Connor said, grinning at her enthusiasm. "Can I ask you a question?"
"Sure," Lilia replied.
Before Connor could ask his question, however, he was ripped upside down and yanked off of the ground in lightning speed.