Descent

Allure

Piama 
I watch as Axl sets up our tent, on her hands and knees on the group, picks in her mouth.
"Aren't those....dirty?" I ask her. She looks up at me, and spits out the picks.
"Yeah. So?" 
"You shouldn't put them in your mouth then."
"Alright Princess, whatever you say..." she mutters.
The tent is finished, and soon everyone is in their respective tents. And I'm with Axl. She begins to take off her shirt, and I squeal. 
"Jesus, Princess, I have something underneath. Believe me, I wouldn't undress for you." 
I blush furiously at the thought, and decide to change the subject. 
"So...where are you from?" I ask her.
"Same as you. Just born different," She replies.
"You're.... you're from Kahla?" 
"Yeah. Left when I was fifteen though. God, that was, what, seven years ago?" 
"W-why did you leave?" 
She pauses. 
"I felt like it." Is her reply, but I know there's more.
"Oh. Ok." 
There's a pause, and then Axl speaks up.
"How long have you known the pothead swordswoman?"
"You mean Kalina? Since we were kids, I guess. She's nice when you get to know her." 
"She hates me, but I like a challenge. Is she... with anyone?"
I'm surprised by the question.
"N-no, not that I know of."
Axl grins. 
"Alright. What about you? Let me guess, you have a crush on tall dark and handsome."
I look at my feet, which are cross legged on the blanket Axl gave me. She doesn't have one, but she assured me she'll be fine.
"Actually... Elian and I are... betrothed. I don't think any of us want it, but our families need an alliance..."
Axl's face softens.
"That's pretty shitty, I'm not gonna lie. I'm sorry. Families are tough." 
Her light and playful eyes darken for a second, before she blows out the candle. In the dark I hear her voice. 
"Goodnight," she says, her voice slightly hushed.
"Goodnight," I whisper back, and I swear I can feel her smile in the dark.

Kalina 
Putting up the tent is easy enough, but falling asleep is hard. I can hear Piama and Axl talking in hushed voices in their tent, and I hear Elian's name come up once or twice. It's stupid, because although he promised me we'd be together, I know that it's a slim chance.
I take it my bag, and inside is my pipe, which I quickly fix, and in the bowl I roll the opium. I light the pipe, and inhale deeply, wanting to forget about life and what I'm supposed to be doing.
This goes on for a while, about an hour, until I hear the tent unzip. I would try to be on the ready, but I'm not exactly in the best state of mind. Then I see it's Elian. His long white hair looks like moonlight in the dark.
"Can I come in?" He whispers.
I motion him to come in, and he does. We lay there, together, as I smoke my pipe and he tells me ancient stories of his people. Like old times. 
Then I hear a - 
"So, TD and H is your man then?" 
I bolt up, and so does Elian. I open the tent to see Axl standing there in the pitch black woods. 
"What are you doing up? You should be sleeping!" I hiss.
"I needed to piss, kill me. Now, the better question is, what are you doing with the elf?" 
I trip over my words, trying to come up with a credible answer. The opium doesn't help.
"It's fine," she says. "I won't tell Princess that her best friend is sleeping with her fiancee."
"We're not sleeping together!" Says Elian.
"Fine. I won't tell her that her best friend is laying in the same tent at a close proximity to her fiancee. At night. When people sleep. Better?" 
I jab my finger at her.
"Not. A. Word." 
She raises her hands.
"If anyone asks, I was just talking to the woodland creatures who happen to sound like you two. Have fun not sleeping together" she grins, and heads back to her tent.
"Get back here you -" I whisper yell, andsigh when she disappears into her tent.
"She is insufferable, I'll give her that," says Elian.
"Yeah. You should, uh, you should go back."
"You're right." He stands up, and leaves.
I lay back in my tent, put out my pipe, and I finally fall asleep.

Axl
That morning, I wake up with Piama's arms around me. I gently peel her off, as not to wake her. Although, it would be nice to see her blush again. It's kind of cute.
I start to pull on my jacket, and think of what I witnessed last night. I'm going to make their lives hell. When Piama finally awakens, it's already dawn. 
"Princess, if you wanna be in our little party, then you gotta wake up earlier. This ain't a vacation." 
Piama nods, her face stoic.
I look at Elian and Kalina meaningfully, and ask - 
"Did you...sleep well?" 
Elian blushes, and Kalina makes a cutting motion across her throat when Piama's back is turned.
We begin our trek through the woods, and of course, Piama asks the same question I did when I was seven years old. 
"How much farther do we need to go?" 
Of course, I was seven, and she's 19. 
"Princess, this isn't gonna be easy." 
She nods, resolute.
"If the Princess needs a rest, we should rest." Kalina says. Elian nods.
"I think my fiancee should rest." He says.
I raise my eyebrow ar him. Kalina looks at the ground for a second, before looking up again. Then Piama speaks up.
"We can keep going. We have to stop the Sky Witch."
She's panting a bit, and her face is slightly pinker than usual.
"Don't do a lot of cardio at your castle, do you," I say.
Piama glares at me. 
"I'm...fine. Let's just keep going,"
And we do.