Allies of the Sun

Chapter 6 (Aspen and Gabe)

     Aspen could guess who Jay was talking about just by the fact that he had to work for Alina and they called him fat. What concerned her the most was the fact that he was Alina's personal servant. He did errands for her, mail, announcing important events, that kind of stuff. He was also the head servant, which meant he had the keys to every room in the castle.If this was who Jay was talking about, then she couldn't stay here, for real this time. She had to get out, and she needed to do it fast.
      Alina had changed a few weeks ago and Aspen didn't understand why but she knew her sister was dealing with something she didn't want to share with anyone. She tried to be supportive and forgiving when she made mistakes but sometimes she just went too far.
      Jay started to walk away. They weren't going to the exit though, they were walking towards a back hall that some guards had just gone through. "Why do they keep walking away!" Gabe asked, expecting Aspen to know the answer.
      Aspen, of course, did not know the answer. She herself had been wondering the same thing. Jay came back a few minutes later and Gabe asked, "Why do you keep walking away from us!?" He got no response. "You should probably go now," Jay told Aspen.
      "What do you mean? Go where?" she asked. Jay gave her a look but she couldn't figure out what it meant. They started walking away, and Gabe followed them. Neither of them came back. Aspen didn't know what to do after that so she spent the rest of the party in her room.

      Gabe followed Jay and they didn't seem to notice he was there, or they just didn't care. They had been walking for about an hour when they suddenly disappeared, and Gabe realized that he was in the middle of nowhere.
      "WAIT COME BACK! I DON'T KNOW WHERE I AM!" he wailed. To his surprise, Jay came back. "Can you at least tell me where the castle is!?" Gabe demanded. Jay pointed in the direction they came from and started walking again.
      "That doesn't help me at all," he muttered under his breath. With how many twists and turns they took it would be almost impossible to get back. Jay disappeared and that left Gabe to find his own way back.
      After about three hours, he finally arrived at the castle, however, everyone was gone. WHAT!? HOW IS THE PARTY OVER ALREADY!? I KNOW I DID NOT WALK FOR THREE HOURS JUST FOR THIS! He thought, crossing his arms.
      After wandering around for a few minutes, he heard a clock. It chimed once, dong, twice, dong, three times, dong. It was three A.M. Gabe never really paid attention to the time, but he thought Aspen would be asleep right now. Gabe never slept; he physically couldn't. He unfurled his wings and took to the sky so he could try and find Aspen.
      He flew over the wall and around the castle, he knew that if he found Aspen he would most likely find Jay too. When he finally found her room, he knocked on the window until she woke up.

      Aspen woke to the sound of something repeatedly banging against her window. Was it a bird? No one could possibly reach her window, unless... could it be a demon? No, the wall has protection spells against any ill will toward anyone inside the castle walls. So what could it be?
      Aspen's eyes finally adjusted to the dark and she saw Gabe flying outside her window. She opened up the window and let him in. "What are you doing here?" She asked tiredly. "I was following Jay, but that was a big waste of time," Gabe said. "And I got kicked out of my apartment a few days ago, so I was wondering if I could stay here?"
      "Sure, just go downstairs and ask a servant to give you a room. If-" Aspen said through a yawn. "If they tell you no then just say that I said you could." And with that, she was asleep again.

      Gabe went downstairs and ran into a beautiful girl, probably a year or two older than him. She had blue-gray hair and gorgeous brown eyes. She gave him a dirty look. "Uhm... do you have an extra room I can use?" He asked politely.
      She nodded and led him towards a small room. "Thank yo-" Gabe tried to say before she cut him off. "Don't bother me again, you got that, simp?" She seemed very annoyed with him. What? I didn't even do anything and that was pretty rude.
      She walked away and didn't look back. She was very pretty but he hoped he wouldn't have to talk to her again. He went inside the room and sat on the bed wondering what to do.
      He found a book in the drawer of the nightstand. It didn't look very interesting but it would have to do. He lie down on the bed and started reading. It had only been five minutes before he got bored again. He got up, put the book back in the drawer of the nightstand, and went to the mini-fridge to get a snack but it was empty. He went back to the bed and took out his phone.
      He saw a flash of movement from the corner of his eye. He turned his head and saw Jay. "Hey, what are you doing here?" Jay looked at him and sighed, "Wrong room." As if that explained anything, and then they walked out the door.
      Even though Jay turned left Gabe thought they were looking for Aspen, so he followed them. "Do you know where you're going?" he asked. Jay ignored him and started walking faster. "You're going the wrong way," Gabe called after them. Jay teleported away again and Gabe hurried back to the room.
      When he got there Jay was nowhere to be seen. He went in the opposite direction than the first time. He turned the corner, went up some stairs, walked down the hall, and came to a stop in front of Aspen's room. Jay was already there, they had figured out which room was Aspen's and was waiting in the shadows.
   "Hey kid, I need to take a break. Watch the princess' room for a minute," Gabe heard someone say.
   "Uh sure," said another voice, younger than the first.
   "Address me properly," said the first man.
   "Yes Sir!"
   "Quiet down or you'll wake her."
   "Yes sir."
      No more was said and there was the tap, tap of the man's shoes as he walked away. Jay walked out from their hiding spot when the man was gone. The boy, a little younger than Gabe, didn't move and asked, "What is your business here?" Gabe didn't know how to answer that. Even he didn't know what Jay was up to.
      "We're just saving the princess," Jay said like it was no big deal. The boy was obviously confused. "Saving her from w-" He couldn't finish his question because Jay hit the boy in the head, knocking him out then leaned him against the wall. Gabe was not expecting that at all. "You can't just knock someone out like that!" Gabe whisper-yelled, "Is he going to be okay!?"
      Jay nodded and opened the door, went straight to Aspen's bed, and woke her up. "Morning already?" Aspen said tiredly. "No," Jay said. "Let's go. We need to leave now."

Uploaded: August 19, 2021
Updated: October 17, 2022