Ascension (44 page)

“
Alright, fine. I
guess it isn
’
t
so bad,
”
she finally relented.
“
If the situation were any different, I would
keep you in bed for another day or two, but with things as they
are
…
hmphh. I still don
’
t like it. After all my
years
…”
she mumbled as she walked away
towards her supplies. Erik looked at me with a mock crazy
expression on his face, and I shushed him before Ma turned
around.

She returned and
handed me a small, scented satchel.
“
Put
this on your head if it starts acting up. You might get a few
headaches during your journey. If that happens, this should help
keep some of the pain away.
”
She turned
back around and rummaged through her supplies some more. I left
Erik
’
s side and
joined her.

“
You
aren
’
t coming
with us?
”
I asked, waiting for an answer
while she sorted through an assortment of intimidating instruments.
I tried not guess what they were used for.

“
No, child, they
need me here. I have to look after all the young
’
uns and the elders while
everyone else is gone. But don
’
t you worry. I
’
ll send some of my apprentices
with tools that should prove useful on the
battlefield.
”

“
Ma, we
aren
’
t going to
battle. We are going to negotiate with the King.
”

Ma stopped her
sorting and looked at me with sad eyes.
“
I hope that
’
s all, child. I truly hope so.
”

Ξ

“
No, we can
’
t bring that,
”
Yasmia was directing a younger boy around
Conor
’
s age,
who was trying to drag a goat along with him. I watched on the
sidelines as the adults gathered everything together, sensing the
rhythm that ebbed and flowed between them all without any spoken
command. It made me slightly homesick, the dynamic that held them
together. It represented a group of people in which each individual
had their own role, their own contribution to make, and together
the community thrived as a single unit. I could only hope that all
the way out here, so far from my family and my home, I was serving
my role and making my mark.

From across the room, Erik was
guiding a tall man my direction. Unlike my father, who was thick,
this man was spindly, his limbs appearing as though they would snap
at any moment. But his face, in contrast, was firm and set, his
eyes strong and bright. I watched as he and Erik navigated around
the business going on in the cavern and make their way towards
me.

“
Fara, this is
Alonso. He is the head of the council of
Grundale.
”

I folded into into a slight bow,
keeping my head low out of resect.

“
Fara, I am
pleased to meet you.
”
Any skepticism I
had about his ability to lead the council was shattered as soon as
I heard his voice. It was clear and strong, not too low and not too
high. It commanded your attention from the first syllable, and you
knew that whatever this voice had to say was
important.

“
This young
man,
”
he continued,
“
has told us an extensive amount about you and your plan,
and I must say your bravery and tenacity are inspiring. I hope that
we may prove worthy of this alliance in the grand scheme of things.
But for now, know that you have my support, which, I must admit, I
was reluctant to give it at first. It took a bit of, ah,
convincing.
”
he said with a glance in
Yasmia
’
s
direction. Yasmia returned it with a slit-eyed scowl.
“
Hmm, yes. Convincing, indeed. Regardless, we
will follow you to Cethin and hope to convene with the other
colonies before venturing towards the royal
city.
”

“
I
’
m honored to have your support,
sir,
”
I said, slightly dipping my head
again. He nodded in return and then left to help delegate the
preparations.

“
It
’
s really happening, Erik. I
can
’
t believe
it,
”
I told him as I watched my plan
unfold. Sudden pangs of anxiety gripped my stomach as I realized
that I was now responsible for these people, and my people, and all
the other colonies who choose to join us. If something goes wrong,
if something happens to any one of these people, it will be my
fault. If someone dies-I wouldn
’
t let my mind wander down that
road. I needed to remain strong and lead with assured steps. I
couldn
’
t do
that with my concentration wavering, second-guessing myself at
every fork in the road.

Erik must have
sensed my stress, because he laced his fingers through mine and
squeezed my hand.
“Don
’
t worry, Fara. We can do this. These people, your people,
are strong. Together, they are much stronger than any army my
father could assemble. We will change his mind.
You
’
ll
see.
”

I looked up and kissed him, finding
courage in his bright green eyes. He kissed me again, and I felt my
heart swell up with strength and a determination to make things
right.

Chapter
35

“
I have to thank
you again for keeping an eye out for Fara.
”
Croxley and Jean were walking through the forest with Sir
Thunder and Sam in tow.

“
I
didn
’
t have
much of a choice. That girl practically threw herself into harms
way, and I was the only person around at the time to keep her from
doing it again.
”

Croxley
chuckled,
“You don
’
t have to tell me twice. I felt like half the time I was
watching a child take their first steps right into a
lion
’
s den.”

“
Aren
’
t you the one that brought her
into the lion
’
s den?”
Croxley turned to look at Jean. She met his gaze and he
couldn
’
t tell
if he saw blame and anger in her eyes or grief and pain. Probably a
mixture of both, he thought to himself. He turned around and
replied into the foliage,
“
Yes, I guess
that
’
s right.
But she would
’
ve made her way up here one way or another. I guess that
fate smiled upon her and made sure she got stuck with a softy like
me to take her up here.
”

“
You care for her, don
’
t you?
”
Jean asked.

“
I did, yes. A
bit too much, if you ask me. But I couldn
’
t measure up to the Prince. I
mean, he
’
s the
Prince.That pretty much entitles him to any girl he wants. Any girl
in their right mind would chose him over me. Fara
did.
”

“
I
wouldn
’
t.”
Croxley stopped walking and turned around. Jean was
braiding Sam
’
s
mane, her face turned away from Croxley as she spoke.
“
Just because Fara chose the Prince
doesn
’
t mean
that she doesn
’
t care for you. If I know Fara, and trust me, I think I do,
she cherishes your friendship more than you could know, and the
moment she realized that she was hurting you probably put her
through a lot of grief. I know that Fara loves you, just not in the
way you want her to. But you can
’
t change the way someone loves
you, you just have to accept their love in whichever way it comes,
cherish it, and protect it.
”
Jean looked
up from her braid and met Croxley
’
s eyes. “So don
’
t give up on love,
okay?
”

Croxley gave a
weak shrug. He didn
’
t know how else to respond. After their kiss, they
hadn
’
t talked
about anything but the logistics of the plan and what was going on
in the castle. Every time Croxley tried to bring up whatever it was
that was happening between them, Jean would change the subject. It
has made for a very long trip thus far.

Before he could respond, he heard a
crashing through the forest. Both he and Jean crouched behind the
bushes and pulled the animals out of view.

“
Why
d
’
ya suppose
the King is sendin us out into the woods?
”
Just a few paces in front of the Croxley and
Jean
’
s hiding
spot emerged two castle guards clothed in war
gear.

“
You heard
‘
im. We are supposed to keep watch for the
Prince.
”

“
Ay, I know that.
But why would the Prince be coming out of the
forest?
”

“
You
didn
’
t hear it
from me, but some guards were talkin that the Prince up and gone
rogue.
”

“
What does that
mean?
”

“
Rogue? I think
it
’
s when a man
decides to fight against us instead of with us.
”

“
I know what it
means, you dimwit. But what about the Prince?
”

“
Oh,that. Well, I
heard he ran off with a slave girl and now he is gonna try to free
the Nethers.
” “
Now why would he wanna go
an
’
do
that?
”

“
Don
’
t ask me. I say good riddance to
the Nethers. If I were him, I would pretend to help
‘
em and then lead them straight to the guards
surrounding the castle. Then we can wipe
‘
em out for good this time.
”

“
That
’
s
a good plan.
”

“
It is,
ain
’
t it? I
should tell the general. Then maybe he
’
ll stop sending me out on border
control.
”

“
Not if I tell
him first!
”

“
Blast it! Hey,
get back here!
”
The sounds of crashing
steps reverberated through the forest until they faded into silence
and were overtaken by the resuming birdsong.

Croxley heard Jean suck in a breath
and realized that he was holding his own.

They looked at
each other, eyes wide. Jean was the first to break the
silence.
“
So the King
knows.
”

“
That
’
s
not much of a surprise. When I told Lena I knew it was only a
matter of time before he found out.
”

“
What do we do?
If the Prince and Fara lead everyone to Stonewall, they will be
ambushed. It
’
s
a sure death.
”

“
That just means
we have to get there first. Come on,
”
Croxley stood up dusted off his hands. Before he could help
Jean up, she was already standing. She looked at him and
shrugged.

“
What?
I
’
m used to
doing things myself. You can
’
t wait around for people to pick
you up. They just let you fall in the end.
”
She shouldered her pack and made her way back to Sam who
was still tied behind the tree cover.

“
I
’
m sorry for whatever it was you
had to go through that made you think that way,
”
Croxley said. She didn
’
t turn around, but instead
mounted Sam.

“
Don
’
t be. It isn
’
t your fault.
You
’
ve got your
issues and I have mine. That
’
s just the way it
is.
”

“
But no one
should have to suffer alone.
”
Croxley
stepped towards Sam but Jean kicked him into a
walk.
”

“
Come on, we have
to go,
”
she said behind her, leaving him
and Sir Thunder behind.

Women. Why do they have to be so
difficult, he thought to himself. He gave Sir Thunder a few pats,
mounted, and followed in her wake.