Rehenna had recently discovered that she was more naive than she thought she was. Through this... unwanted adventure... she had experienced a lot of things. She had experienced the pain of losing her eyesight as well as her mobility, the feeling of a knife nearly going entirely through her throat, the feeling of the cold and bitter frost biting through her skin, the abuse that others inflicted.
To make things simpler, she had felt many different kinds of pain since her disappearance. Emotionally and physically.
Rehenna felt that this new knowledge changed her views on the world.
What once was a beautiful paradise of peace, people, and nature, suddenly become overridden with thieves, slave traders, violence, blood, and so much more.
Rehenna had also learned something. She learned not to fully accept the feeling of safety around a person. After all, it seemed that the times she sought for the safety of other people it ended up in pain.
However, Ekubar proved to be the only one who shared no resemblance to those situations.
Throughout this journey, he has been the only one that she could trust. However, she felt a sort of guilt... because her trust was wavering.
From on her place on the horse, Rehenna fumbled with the cloak that was wrapped around her. Gingerly, she tilted her head to a better position to hear Ekubar's movements.
Currently, he was making their lunch with an animal that he had caught earlier. Rehenna didn't really want to know what kind of animal it was.
Nearby the waterfall, she was so sure that she smelled the faint trace of something burning. It was coming from the path towards them. It was clear... she also smelled something rotten. It smelled haunting. She feared that if they continued upon that path they would come across something horrifying.
However, it never came.
She didn't know whether to be glad... or suspicious.
Had Ekubar known? Did he purposely take another route to avoid it? Shouldn't the scent at least had grown closer? Why did it feel as if they have strayed from the right path?
Rehenna frowned, letting her fingers slip away from the hem of her cloak. With one swift push, she allowed herself to fall off the horses. Albeit a little less... graceful than usual.
"Rhea!?" she heard Eku's voice yell out in panic. She heard the stomping of his quickened footsteps coming towards her. And, she felt his arms circle around her waist to hoist her up. "What did you do that for?" he muttered.
"I... wanted to get down." was her croaky answer. She gave him a sheepish smile and allowed him to settle her on a dry rock.
"You could've asked me to help you down." he adjusted her clothes to be more comfortable and dusted off any dirt. "I'm almost done with lunch."
Rehenna was accustomed to being treated like a princess. Ekubar seemed to be intent on reminding her that every time. However, she couldn't help but feel a bit ashamed... these were things that she should've been able to do had she not been turned into a cripple.
She felt a warm bowl of stew being placed in her hands. "We don't have any spoons. Sorry, but you're going to have to drink it from the bowl." she heard Eku softly sipping his own lunch.
With her lips pressed together, Rehenna held her breath. There's nothing to be suspicious about. Ekubar has done so much to gain her trust. He trusts her as well to believe in him. She shouldn't disappoint him.
Slowly, she took a gulp of the delicious stew.
Her legs. She couldn't feel them anymore. They were just... there. Useless limbs that seemed to get in the way. They did nothing for her. They were just decorations to make it seem as if she was still complete.
That's how she found herself helplessly sitting on a horse's back, gripping the saddle in fear. She heard voices up ahead. A lot of voices.
"Eku... I don't... I don't want to pass here." she whispered in one soft breath.
"Why is that?" was Ekubar's reply. Both the horse and the sound of Eku's footsteps halted.
From afar, she heard a muffled shout. "There are people up ahead."
A short silence, and then his voice, "Further into this road and we'll find ourselves meeting a small caravan. Maybe we would be able to join them for a while." Ekubar pulled on the reins, letting the horse trot forward once again. "
"Ekubar, I don't think that's such a wise decision," whispered Rehenna, her hands have become pale due to her grip tightening.
She heard Ekubar pause. "Well, we don't know until we give it a try... what is it?" he placed his hands upon her own and held them. "What is it that scares you?"
Rehenna breathed in. No. She can't force him to make another change just for her own sake. She has already been far too much of a burden. She forced herself to think that they were just people. Not all people wanted to hunt her down and kill her. Not all people wanted to hurt her. Ekubar was a prime example of that.
"Nothing..." she breathed out. With a smile, she shook her head.
Ekubar didn't reply. Rehenna didn't know if he returned her smile or not. Although, she did know that he pulled the horse into the direction of the noise.
Wielding knives and sneaking around aren't the only skills that Ekubar gained throughout the years. Reading face expressions was one of the basic skills that accidentally came into his arsenal.
One thing is for sure. Rehenna didn't like being around people. Her hesitant behavior to join the caravan was proof of that.
Well, Ekubar sighed to himself. He didn't need the military ability to read facial expressions to know that she didn't want to be around people.
However, this could work to his advantage.
Joining this caravan was a risk for him. It is obvious that this caravan is moving away from Phir, after all, that's where the war is forming. If Rehenna had any social interaction with the people, the chances of her finding out that he had betrayed her is high. If she avoided speaking to them at all... well, that would prove to be more convenient.
He would just have to follow the caravan at the very back.
Rehenna always imagined joining a crowd of people when she was still stuck in her room. She wondered what it would be like to talk and have fun. She already knew that with Jui, however, she wanted to try it with others.
Now, she wasn't really sure about it.
"Hello!" Ekubar greeted the people in the caravan with his cheery voice. "We're travelers. Is it alright if we join you on your journey?"
In Ekubar's eyes, you would see a peculiar group. A few of them catching his eyes. By few, he meant three. They stopped and turned around to face the source of the noise.
Among the group were the same woman and her two boys that he had seen when Rehenna had been attacked by some sort of spell by the witch. However, this time she was accompanied by seven children in total.
"You're..." it seemed that she recognized him too by her reaction. It was a mixture of fear and surprise.
"You're the guy who passed out!" yelled a loud child. He was the one who kept talking about the knives that he had already sold. He had curly light brown hair, and, strangely enough, had a small part of it tied into a small pigtail. He had sparkling black eyes that were scanning him up and down.
"The one that was also inside of the herbalist's mountain shed?" the older kid, one that Ekubar remembered to be the one that had been with the two, raised his eyebrow and looked at him. He had light, silky, blonde hair and chestnut eyes. Quite good looking.
Ekubar made his best smile and let out a lighthearted chuckle, "Yes, that's me." they all continued moving forward with the rest of the caravan.
So, he managed to follow a route that led to the evacuation movement that the village was headed to. How convenient. Just in case, he had Rehenna and himself wear their hoods to hide their black hair.
However, among the group of seven children, he saw a very peculiar one. A girl with black hair and purple eyes.
"Wow... you look so weird!" marveled a small child. His hair was platinum blond, and his eyes were the lightest shade of green she has ever seen. "Why are you just sitting there?"
Ekubar took that moment to scoop up the child, "A very stealthy little one, aren't you?"
"Hey! Put him down!" yelled a feminine voice. This time, it was a girl.
"Wow, he's so strong!" the green-eyed child's eyes sparkled, he was slung over Ekubar's shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "He could be stronger than even you, Eldest!"
"Stay quiet, youngest." this guy seemed to know the children, but she still wasn't so sure if they were to be trusted. Well, she had tried fighting bigger people before. A couple of dirty tricks and some biting and maybe she'd be able to get him to leave them alone. "I said put him down!"
"Alright, alright." with a short chuckle, Ekubar put down the little boy and gave him a pat on his head. "My companion isn't really comfortable having people hanging around her, so I'd appreciate it if you could respect her privacy."
"I apologize if we were disturbing you." the beautiful woman with brown, curly hair said politely. She went over to the little one and picked him up to have him rest on her hip.
"I also apologize for my big sister. She can be quite aggressive at times." the teenage boy added.
"Hey!"
"Well, I wouldn't want to keep you guys behind. I and my companion will just be moving on forward." he gave them a two-fingered salute and turned back to where Rehenna was sitting on the horse.
"Who were they?" Rehenna asked quietly, reaching out for Ekubar's hand.
"They were a couple of people who visited the healer at the same time we did. Nothing to worry about." he held her hand and smiled. "Come on." he pulled the horse away from the crowd and further back behind the caravan's rear.
During the night, Rehenna could not get an ounce of silence. The sun had already set a long time ago, however, she could still hear the chatter of the people accompanying the caravan. It felt as if she was back in her kingdom listening to the subjects of Phir bustling through the busy streets of the night.
She was sitting on a rock all by herself. She also suspected that she was right in front of a campfire that Ekubar had made for them, judging by the warmth and the cracking of the burning wood.
Ekubar had left to get them something to eat, maybe trade a little something for a piece of bread or two.
With his silk wrapped around her eyes, she sighed, tired from the day's activities. However, she couldn't help but frown. Although this particular problem wasn't new, she once again felt frustrated about how she was nothing but a liability. It's amazing how Ekubar had been able to stay with her for this long.
She also felt selfish. It was as if she was taking advantage of Ekubar's kindness. Without her he would've been home already.
"Why, hello there."
Rehenna squeaked in fear at the sudden voice that came right next to her.
"Whoa, sorry about that. Didn't mean to scare you!" it was the sound of a young man's voice.
"W-who... who are you?" she pushed herself off of the rock, landing softly on the ground, trying to put some distance between the voice and her.
"I'm the guy that just stopped my sister from tackling your companion." she could hear soft steps, a sign that he was moving closer. "Wow... you really are blind, huh." 594Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDq92cND5N3
"Is that all you wanted to ask me?" it was rather rude to point out her disability like that. She curled around herself, looking away from where she thinks the boy was standing.
"No... no, no. I didn't mean to insult you in any way. Even without your sight, you are still quite a beauty!" he chuckled and sighed. "You seem to about the same age as my big sister."
Rehenna didn't say anything. She wasn't sure if she should continue talking to this boy or not. From the sound of it, he couldn't be more than fourteen years old.
"You must've been through a lot." he commented, his voice sympathetic.
"Why do you want to talk to me?" the princess asked blatantly. She was a little surprised that he hasn't commented on the fact that she sounded like a dying frog.
In a few seconds, the teen burst out laughing. "Can't a guy just talk to a pretty girl? Man, you are just the right amount of feisty... unlike my sister." 594Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFLh601pRsX
"You talk about your sister too much." Rehenna huffed and crossed her arms. This boy reminded her of Ekubar during the first time they met. A flirt. It didn't help that he was younger than her.594Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSWl9ckLHqF
"Well, she is always bossing me and my sibs around." the teen took a seat right next to her, not even considering the fact that her aggressiveness was due to the fact she didn't want any close contact with other people. "Ever since they announced that a war was about to start in Phir our entire village formed this caravan to get away from the danger." what was that?594Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWWOYwrJCeN
"What did you say?" asked Rehenna.
"Oh, well, our village is trying to get as far away from Phir as possible to keep us from getting involved in the war."
"W-what...?" her voice was starting to hurt from her using it too much. 594Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBU95msJcJv
"Hey, are you alright?" the boy leaned in closer, his hands touching her arms.
Harshly, she slapped his hands away. "P-please don't touch me..."
"O-okay?" she heard him scoot further away. "Well, um, I think it's time that I head back to my family. It was nice meeting you." she heard him stand up, perhaps he even gave a wave, and soon his footsteps disappeared into the caravan's noise.
The boy just said that the caravan was moving away from Phir, and not just that. He said that it was moving as far as possible. Why did Ekubar switch their travels to follow this caravan when he had promised that he would take her to Phir?
Was he... was he hiding something from her? But why?594Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa8XiulRQAx
"Hey, I got us some soup." Ekubar's voice drifted into her ears. "It's a little hot so you should be careful." he placed a bowl in her hands, putting a wooden spoon in her other.
Rehenna swallowed. What if the boy just made a mistake? What if he didn't know exactly where the caravan was headed? What if Ekubar didn't know that this was the wrong direction? She couldn't just accuse him out of nowhere.
"Rhea?" Ekubar kneeled in front of her, his voice taking in a tone of concern, "Is there something wrong?" he looked around and noticed that there were some things that were out of place.
For one, there were footsteps dusting on the ground coming from the caravan.
"Someone was here..." he frowned, "Did they do something to you?" he held her arm gently and inspected her for wounds. "You don't look like you were hurt..."
"I-I'm fine." she croaked, her fingers tightening around her spoon. "A b-boy just came here to talk..." she stuttered.
"You don't look so fine." Ekubar placed his bowl on the boulder with a clack, and stood up, "I'm going to find this 'boy'."
"No!" Rehenna shouted. This, of course, shocked Eku. She swallowed. "Please... don't leave me any longer than this..." she whispered. 594Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbRDcYxLQSG
Eku's eyes softened and he knelt in front of her once again. "Of course..."
Rehenna breathed in and out. There was no reason to be worried. Ekubar's feelings for her were genuine. She wasn't stupid enough to think that it was fake. If he was really taking her away from Phir she was sure that there was a good reason for it.
However, nothing would be able to stop her from going home. Not even Ekubar.
ns 15.158.61.20da2
