Emory ran from Lysander's house, her mind fighting through the fogginess to make sense of what she just saw. It felt like more than a nightmare. It felt real. She ran into the inn, knocking on the door of her room until Ingrid answered.
"Where have you-"
Emory pushed her aside and looked out the window of the room. They had drawn the curtains shut, and when Emory drew them back they revealed... nothing. "How... I don't..." Emory backed away from the window, and Ingrid grabbed her shoulders, spinning her around.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm... fine. I think I just had a few too many drinks. I'm ready for sleep." Emory pushed Ingrid's hands off of herself, and began moving towards the bed that Shay was sleeping in.
"You're not even going to explain where you've been all night? You've been gone for hours, Emory. I was beginning to worry. You could have at least come up and told us-"
"Just stop. I don't feel like this right now." Emory sighed and slid her head beneath the pillow. Block out the voices. Block out the light. But she couldn't, it was burnt into the back of her eyelids, and she couldn't get it to leave. It was a warning she didn't understand.
"Do you think she'll be alright?"
"I don't know. I didn't even hear you two when she came in last night. She really might have just drank too much, Ingrid."
"Fine. Are you going down for breakfast, or having it sent up?"
"I was hoping for it to be sent up. I'm not sure I'm ready to go back down there again. And I think someone should keep Emory company, just for a little bit."
"Alright. I'm going to go buy some supplies, since you two seemed to forget about them yesterday."
"Sorry. Could we maybe see about another horse? I don't think we'll make it through another day of walking, especially when we don't have a set destination like we did Waektown."
"I'll see what I can do."
Emory listened as the door to their room closed, and she felt Shay move around the room. Resting for a few beats, Emory worked up the courage for what she was about to ask of Shay. Then, she quickly rose up from the bed to find Shay looking out the window, as if trying to look for what Emory had been last night. Shay looked surprised, but shut the window curtains. "You're awake."
"Can you pray with me? I had a nightmare last night. I can't shake it off." Emory rubbed her arms and Shay laughed.
"So I heard. Come on, I set up a shrine over here yesterday." Shay crossed her arms, her almond eyes softening as they watched Emory. She looked miserable.
"Thank you."
The girls sat across from the shrine on the floor, their legs crossed and hands face up on their knees. Emory had her eyes closed tightly, the fires still burning there. Shay took in a deep breath, grabbing the carnations they had bought the day before and picking the heads of the flowers off. She sat a few flowers in the palms of Emory's hands before gripping onto the two she reserved for herself. Shay let her mind wander, allowing Rosalind's warmth to wash over her in comfort, but suddenly Emory shifted beside her.
"I think I'm too hungry to pray right now, actually. I'm going to go downstairs and grab some food for us. I'll be back soon." Emory dropped the carnations into Shay's hands and then hurried out of the room. She had really tried, but it didn't feel right. She felt as if the fires were only pressing her harder, making her sweat from the all too real heat. She made her way downstairs, and just as she was entering the tavern Lysander was coming in from the town square. They met eyes, and Emory thought about turning around. If she turned back around, though, she had a feeling Shay would press her to either tell her about last night with Lysander or tell her about last night and why she was so scared.
Stepping out into the tavern, she found herself accepting the eerie calm that was coming over her. Of all things going wrong, at least she had actually succeeded in making Lysander trust them. Or, at the very least, stop questioning them. Before she could approach the innkeeper, Lysander intervened and came to her side. "Whatever she wants, I can pay for. It's the least I could do after you helping me home last night." He smiled pleasantly, his blue eyes playful as he looked at her. "Though, maybe I shouldn't. You did run away from me."
"I can pay for the meal myself, but thank you for the offer. Can I have two plates of eggs be sent up to my room? Eggs, toast, whatever you have available would be appreciated." Emory pulled out her coin purse but Lysander stopped her before she could hand it over.
"Really, Will. I can cover the cost. It isn't a problem for me," he said with care. Emory didn't want to accept his help, but watched as he pulled out his own bag and paid for the meal. "Can we talk?"
"I... uh, thank you." Emory nodded my head to the innkeeper, who was turning his attention away from us and towards other customers. Pulling Lysander aside, she tried to think of what to say about last night. Lysander watched her articulating, her brows furrowed together, and the mouse brown curls of her crazy hair falling in her eyes. She was still in her clothes from last night, and looked just as beautiful. When she did finally look up to talk to him, her cheeks turned pink from him staring at her. "Mr. Crane, I apologize for just leaving last night but I didn't feel too good. I didn't want to risk getting sick in your bed, or in your house for that matter."
"I'm Mr. Crane again? That's unfortunate. Are you alright this morning? I didn't think you had drank that much." Lysander moved to cup her cheeks but she stepped back.
"I'm fine, really."
The two stood in silence until Lysander worked up his courage, lifting his eyes to meet hers even though he had a feeling she was about to tell him no. "I really enjoyed last night. Before and after you took me home. If you're staying in town longer I was hoping we could see more of each other." He spoke sincerely, as being with Emory, or Will in his eyes, last night made him feel happy in a way he couldn't discern. It felt amazing, yes, but it also felt like being with her made him feel better. Being with her make him want to be better. He didn't tell her all of that, though, because he felt that he was already scaring her away.
Emory's stomach dropped. Lysander was nice, and attractive, and good. She didn't think there would be many good people left at this point in the civil war. "I believe Marie wants to leave town sometime this afternoon. I wish we could stay, but this town is just a bit much for Rhys. She doesn't like the crowds."
"At least stay until sundown. We're hosting a festival tonight for the Day of the Prophet."
"The Day of the Prophet? Is that today?"
"Yes. Didn't you know?"
"No... I think with everything that was going on it just slipped my mind. I'll talk with the others about it, but please understand that I will be leaving, Mr. Crane. Any feelings we have towards each other should be ignored." Emory tried to move away without looking at him any longer but Lysander pulled her close.
"We? Does that mean you have feelings for me as well, Lady Mason?" Lysander rose an eyebrow, and Emory huffed before pulling away. She had plenty of feelings. For his eyes and long lashes, for the dimples in his cheeks and curls in his hair. For the tattoo of the seven creeds he had on his chest as a reminder of what Waektown was to always abide by. For the way he ran his fingers over her back.
Rushing up the stairs, she found Shay coming down the hallway. "What took you so long? I was beginning to worry," Shay said softly, her lithe arms crossed over her body.
"I'm sorry. Lysander Crane stopped to talk to me. Food is on its way up, but... Shay. Did you know today was the Day of the Prophet?" Emory led her back into their room and looked over her friend, who seemed just as surprised as she was.
"Not at all. What do we do?"
"There's a festival tonight. I wanted to leave soon but... it just feels wrong. I think if you have a chance to even be around these people today you should take it. You've been at the vineyard for so long, I'm curious to see how others celebrate it when they have no real idea of who or where their prophet is."
"I didn't think they still would celebrate it," Shay muttered to herself. "We should stay. You should talk to Ingrid, though. I have a feeling if I brought it up to her she wouldn't take as kindly to the idea."
"Perhaps. I'll do it after we eat, but hopefully she comes back before then." Emory moved to the mirror on the wall beside the window, and began adjusting her hair. After last night, it had somehow come undone in the back, and her curls fell down over her shoulders like uncombed wool. Emory could feel Shay watching her back, and tried to ignore her, twisting her curls once more and tucking them away under her pinned hair.
Shay spoke up. "Ingrid said you went out with Lysander last night." She moved over to the mirror, running her fingers through her own hair without reason, as her black hair fell down like a perfect curtain. "What prompted that?" She turned her almond eyes onto Emory, who was fixing the buttons on her leather vest.
"When I finished my bath I heard him talking about us, and he was questioning why we were here. When I came around the corner, he asked if I would join him for drinks so he could find out more about us, and I wasn't about to offer and make us look even more suspicious." Emory shrugged it off, and Shay watched as her façade cracked just enough. She was definitely hiding something from the night before, she just didn't know what.
"How did it go?"
"We drank, and he doesn't seem like he'll be questioning us any time soon. There's no need to worry about it."
"I'm not worried about it. Just curious. You came back pretty late."
"What can I say? He likes to drink."
Shay rolled her eyes, a knowing smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "Oh, come on, Emory. You slept with him."
Emory sighed. Her deducing skills were improving, but she was still missing what was really making her tick. Perhaps that wasn't a bad thing, though. "And?"
"You tell me. I've never had the pleasure." Shay laughed and sat down on the bed. "You always were allowed to have more fun." She leaned back, looking Emory over. She wasn't jealous of her friend, just concerned. She knew Emory had been with different men over the years, but she never hung around them for too long. Now, Emory was running her hands over her face. "How was it?"
"Shay, I don't want to talk about this with you."
"Do you want to leave because you might have feelings for him or--"
Emory's cheeks turned bright red. Of course she did.
Before Emory could say anything else, a knock came at the door. Emory sighed and opened it up slowly, only to reveal the innkeeper's daughter. She brandished a wooden tray with two plates of food that was worth far more than what Emory had paid for. As if she read her mind, the daughter smiled and said, "Mr. Crane insisted you two get a better meal. That neither of you were feeling too well."
Emory smiled and held the door open for her. "Thank you. Here, take a few of these for yourself," Emory offered as she grabbed two tokens from her bag.
"Oh, that's not..." The girl trailed off but bowed her head in thanks. "I appreciate it."
"What's your name?" Shay stood from the bed and stepped closer to the girl. She was a cute girl, with freckles across her nose and cheeks and her golden hair braided along her hairline.
"Quinn." She smiled at the two. "Are you two planning on coming to our Day of the Prophet festival? I've heard from other travelers that we throw a great one." Her eyes lit up, but she saw the hesitance on the guests' faces.
"We were planning on--"
Shay interrupted Emory, wanting to find out more. "What goes on? Our old village wasn't capable of doing much."
"Oh, well my father helps to supply a lot of the wine, and we do a great deal of dancing. We don't have the shrine of the Daughter as we have with past Prophets, my father says, though I wasn't alive long enough to remember. We still sing all of the songs, though, and it's a great time. You should really think about attending. We have hundreds of carnations packed away for this festival." Quinn glanced over her shoulder. "I should be going, but I hope to see you both there tonight. Mr. Crane will be leading a few of the prayers."
"What does he do around here, exactly?"
"His father used to be the Teller of Waektown, but passed away a few years ago. Mr. Crane tries his best to assure everyone that even though we don't know what the Prophet truly wants us to do, we have the Rosalind's Creeds to guide us. Enjoy your meal." Quinn gave a short nod and turned back down the hallway. Emory turned to Shay, who looked all too excited for the festival.
"Are you sure this is a good idea, Emory? She couldn't even handle the market yesterday." Ingrid spoke in Emory's ear as they stood outside the tavern and watched the festival take place. Shay was looking off at everyone, running her hands over one another to try and calm herself.
"I think she needs this. Besides, it will give her something good to think about on our way out." Emory sighed, not even believing her own words. The truth was, the fires were back in her mind, and the intensity was increasing. "I have everything packed and ready to go. Just a few hours, and we'll be on our way."
Ingrid crossed her arms, fighting the urge to just grab Emory and get her out of here. The festival was much larger than she had thought it would have been, and she could see Lysander Crane talking his way over towards Emory. She wasn't scared of him, just scared of Emory's growing attachment to him.
Before Lysander could get any closer than a few yards away from them, Emory grabbed onto Shay and led her out into the town square where everyone was dancing with one another. The dances were like second nature, and they fell into rhythm in no time, their arms twisted around one another and the strangers next to them, their legs kicking out and tapping to the beat of the song. Emory looked up at one point and saw Shay smiling, and she couldn't help but smile too. At least for a little bit, they we can forget, she thought. Carnations were tossed into the air, the petals falling in the girls' hair as they danced with one another.
Someone grabbed Emory's waist, spinning her around so she was facing them. It was Lysander, and Emory felt her heart skip a beat as he slipped a stemmed carnation behind her ear.
A large horn sounded, and everyone stopped in their tracks. The music came to a halt, and for a minute everyone stood as the warning sounded. "What was that?"
"That was the vineyard you passed through. They're calling for help..." Lysander took off, dashing to the wall around Waektown. As he was running up the stairs, a Waektown guard tried to signal everybody.
"It's a fire! The village is on fire!"
Emory's heart dropped in her chest. "No."
Ingrid ran up to Emory, who Shay was already hurrying towards. "We have to leave."
The girls followed without hesitation, and made their way to the back of the stables. Ingrid not only unlocked Barley's stall, but broke the lock on another horse's stall and threw a saddle on him. Emory and Shay scrambled to help pack the horses up with the supplies Ingrid already had waiting, and just before they could get on, Shay realized they didn't have a way out. "The gate is closed. They'll never let us out with a stolen horse."
"That wasn't the plan. Follow me." Ingrid led them around the buildings, hiding away from the people as they all scrambled back into their homes and prepared for whatever was coming next. When the town square was clear enough, Ingrid rode out to where Lysander argued with a few other guards. With a wave of her hand, the machines that would open the gates began turning.
The girls rode out, the others shouting after them. As soon as Barley's tail passed through, the gate fell shut once more with a heavy bang. Although it was dark, the path was still illuminated enough by the light of the moon for them to continue. Shay rode on Emory's horse at the front, and reached forward, pulling the reins towards the direction of the vineyard.
"What are you doing?" Emory screamed, trying to fight her. The horse came to a stop, and when they looked forward, they froze.
Just beyond the tree line, they could see a fire on the horizon. A deep red lit the bottom of the sky, concentrated on where she knew her home was. She heard Ingrid come up behind her. "We don't have time for this!"
Emory sat, paralyzed with fear. How had she known?
Shay's eyes fell on the sight, and her heart tore in two. She tried to grab the reins from Emory's hands, but Emory gripped her wrists and held them close to her chest. She held Shay back as she screamed in horror. In the distance, fire colored the twilight sky. It raged on, its flames consuming everything around it. Tears streamed down her face as she held her, restraining her grief with her arms.
It was gone.
"This is all my fault."
AND ON THAT NOTE. Hopefully you enjoyed the chapter :) I would just like to give a shout-out to lunaishi for the BEAUTIFUL COVER. My new Twitter friends are already raving.