The Sprinter

Chapter 27

Arothena sighed, wiping the sweat from her forehead. It was sweltering here. They’d passed the border of Yuhnig three days ago. Three days, and they had only just reached the Market Place.

The Market Place occupied the surrounding area of Jotkur’s palace. It was a colourful place, filled with many people from all backgrounds, accompanied with spices and goods to trade away to merchants from faraway lands. It supported the entire city, and all its people. It’s vibrant aura and bustling atmosphere characterised the area - the heart of the country.

Ronan came to a stop ahead of her. When she caught up to him, he braced a hand on her shoulder, stopping her.

“Where is Salene?”

Arothena sighed, sweat running down her back.

“She ran off a few minutes ago. Something about a dye that can only be found in Inuerta - the deepest green of all the forest,” she said, mimicking Salene’s wondrous tone and eloquent language. Ronan laughed, and Arothena smiled. His laugh - it was a deep, powerful sound, as if the mountains roared within him. She loved it.

Ronan clapped her on the back, and started walking again. She followed him.

“I don’t suppose there‘s anything you’d like to get? After all, we are in the Trader’s Palace,”

The Trader’s Palace. She’d forgotten that was the name for this place. Possibly the reason Jotkur had it so close to his own palace. The King of the country, living inside the Palace of its people - the people who made it what it was. Yuhnig - the land of treasures and spices, of traders and merchants. Arothena frowned.

“I don’t think so. We’re likely to be on the move for a while, even after this. I don’t think we can afford to carry around unnecessary items,”
“You forget,” Ronan hummed, pulling her closer and nuzzling his head into the crook of her shoulder, “after this, we’re going to stay in a log cabin. In the forest. By the mountains. Alone. We won’t have to worry about baggage then.”

Arothena smiled, and pushed him away, wrinkling her nose.

“Your face is all sweaty,”
“So is your shoulder,”

Ronan replied, smiling softly to show her that he didn’t really mind. He slipped his muscular arm around her shoulder, and pulled her into him, resting his head on top of hers as they ambled along.  Arothena reached around to hug his back, disregarding the heat. His pointed ear tickled her scalp, stroking it while his arm gripped her waist. People parted for them, letting them through the dense crowd of people.

“What’s the real reason?”

Arothena frowned.

“What do you mean?”
“The real reason you don’t want to buy something. You don’t care about luggage - you just assume I’ll carry it for you,”

Arothena raised her eyebrow, and Ronan nodded, smiling.

“And yes, I will. So what’s stopping you?”

Arothena sighed, lifting her head from his shoulder.

“I don’t know. I think - I’m not good at making decisions. Not decisions about me - the simple things. Like what to eat, or say, or - buy,” she admitted. Ronan let go of her waist to turn and face her. He smiled.

“That’s alright. Unfortunately, it means you’ll have to suffer some - consequences,” he added, his eyes glinting. Arothena frowned.
“I couldn’t let my love walk out of the Traders Palace, the greatest display of culture and goods in all of the human lands, without a gift. And if you won’t choose one for yourself, I guess the responsibility falls to me."

Arothena raised her eyebrows.

"And what will you choose?"
"I guess you'll find out. But rest assured," he added, leaning in so that his breath tickled her ears, "it will be - perfect."

He took her hand, and kept walking. Arothena watched as his eyes darted across the Traders Palace, searching for a gift - and utterly failing at hiding it. Arothena frowned.

"What about you?"
"What about me?"
"Don't you get a gift?"

Ronan pulled her tight to his side.

"You are my gift."

Arothena blushed. From the heat. Definitely from the heat. She never could've imagined someone like him - never could have even dreamed that someone like him would walk into her life, and play such a big part in it. That she'd get to be with him, and to talk to him, and -

A whirl of black flashed behind a vendor's stand. Her head snapped to the side. It could be nothing, but -

Arothena stopped, digging her heels into the ground. She caught Ronan's arm, halting him at the same time. He whipped round, immediately crouched in a fighting stance. Then, swinging themselves over counters and slinking from in between merchants' stands, came the yenaki. Arothena took a step back - into Ronan. They were cornered.

One of the creatures stepped forward. He had dark skin, and short, tufty hair. His onyx eyes stared her down as her knees began to shake. Salene. They had Salene.

She hung half limp in his arms, her strength too spent to struggle. The yenaki holding her nodded to his companions, who'd now formed a circle around Arothena and Ronan. They surged forward.

Arothena ducked, moving under someone's grip and through a tangle of arms as she brought her elbow into one of their stomachs. She heard a faint thud as it went down, but she was already moving. Her foot connected with someone's knee, just as she grabbed and snapped someone's jaw. She moved without thinking, without needing to process, punching and kicking her way through the fray.

A skeletal hand latched onto her arm. Arothena kicked and pulled, but it stayed, its grip unrelenting. She looked around, frantic. Ronan was barely holding out. A kick to the jaw sent him reeling into the waiting arms of one of the creatures. She watched him as the yenaki bound her hands, and forced her to walk. They were doing the same to Ronan, and to Salene. A pair of hands landed on her back, shoving her forward. She stumbled, but kept walking.

Merchants continued to shout and sell, trying too hard to pretend nothing had happened. The yenaki marching beside her smiled at them. Arothena scoffed, even as they led her away. Pathetic - so utterly pathetic to yield to these creatures. She looked around at them. A variety of people, all horrid and cruel and -

Her eyes widened in shock. The Commander - he wasn't there. That wasn't possible. He was always there. Always. He led them. He was them. If he wasn't here…

Her head twisted around to face Ronan. By his horrified and similarly shocked expression, she knew he had reached the same conclusion as she had.

The Commander was hunting Eloise. And she wasn't there to protect her.

{~***~}