Tower of Dove

Chapter 6: The Tower

Tower of Dove Chapter 6: The Tower

Hiero was already waiting in the meadow when Lilyana arrived. He was staring up at the sky as its dim light quickly began to turn from the soft pinks of early morning to the blue of day. His mouth formed a small, content smile as he watched the sunrise—it was as if he were soaking up its beauty.

Lilyana felt intrusive, walking in on this moment. It was too serene for her hateful thoughts, so she waited at the edge of the meadow, watching him as he watched the sky. There was something about the ease of his stare, the way the morning light hit him that made her feel calm. It almost made her want to—

“It’s pretty, isn’t it?”

Her thoughts snapped back at the sound of his voice and the feel of his eyes on her.

So he’d already noticed her arrival. Great. Her Sasquatch feet made every noise possible whenever she walked. He probably felt the vibrations of each step from a mile before she even arrived. Maybe if she only walked on the tips of her toes, she wouldn’t cause a 7.0 earthquake with every step. That’d also make her look kind of tall, so that would be a plus.

“You’re doing that staring thing again.”

She blinked. “Oh. Sorry.”

Hiero gave her that genuine smile. “Come watch with me.”

Hesitantly, she crossed the meadow until she stood next to him, a space wide enough for another person to stand separating them. They watched the remaining colors fade into the summer sky in silence. Strangely, it didn’t feel uncomfortable standing there with him. That, and she hadn’t watched a sunrise in years, not really. She’d seen them from her balcony sometimes, if she happened to look out that day, but she never watched to just appreciate the world’s natural beauty. Usually, she forgot that things such as this existed.

When only light blue was left, Hiero said, “We should leave. This is a really long walk, and we’ll have to take a carriage half way.”

“A carriage? You mean those rickety, horse drawn squares of wooden death?”

“Yeah. In the Bluejay Village, they have people who will take you to a destination that’s too far to walk. It’s a popular business in the area.”

“Oh.” Where the hell was he taking her that was so far away?

“Come on.” He took hold of her fingers and led her threw the forest. Her stomach did that unfamiliar pricking thing again, and she fought the urge to rip her hand away from his and smack him across the face for touching her. The only reason she didn’t was because his boldness was almost redeeming.

. . . Almost.

It took the entire morning to travel through the forest and finally reach the Bluejay. It was a small village, but the residents were much friendlier than and not as uptight as the gnats in the Quail. Even though Lilyana hadn’t been there since her father had taken her when she was ten, everything was just as she had remembered it.

She could smell the fresh breads cooking in the nearby bakery and hear the low rumble of arguing men as they played cards and gambled in the streets. Guards patrolled, though not on horseback as they did in the Quail, and each of them wore an indigo uniform and had a sword swinging at their sides, ready to be drawn at a moments notice. They looked kind of badass, but then Lilyana thought of them actually using their swords against someone. She cringed.

“Are you okay?” Hiero asked. He must have noticed her twitch. Maybe he was beginning to wonder if she had schizophrenia.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”