Aylia Holmes

8. Strange Travel Companions

Between the two of them, Mr Tewksbury and Aylia made quick work of building a fire and even locating some edible roots and other plants so that soon they were sitting down by the fire, finally beginning to be warm and dry for the first time since their plunge. They had talked little, only really what was necessary as they built the fire, gathered, and cooked their supper, but now that they were just sitting by the fire, the silence was louder.

Breaking the silence, Mr Tewsbury said, "May I ask you something?"

"I don't see why not," Aylia replied. "After all, Mr Tewksbury-"

"Elwin," he interrupted, looking up at her. "It seems silly to keep up such formal rules of propriety out here."

Aylia smiled, withholding a small, good-natured laugh as she met his gaze and said, "Then you must call me by my Christian name, too."

"And how if my lips are not worthy to say your beautiful name?" Elwin asked, the corners of his lips quirking upwards in a teasing smile.

"Then you must pick a name from the name too beautiful to say," Aylia replied, blushing and attempting, with no success, to hide from him her flustered smile.

"Ayla," he said.

Aylia looked up at him, her breath caught in her throat. It was not the name itself that stopped her. His voice when he said it - quiet, soft, the barest hint of a rasp - had a peculiar effect on her.

"Ayla it is then," she said finally, shyly meeting his gaze.

"So then, Ayla," Elwin began again, returning to his question, "why did your sister run away?"

Aylia hesitated, considering a moment before she said, "My oldest brother, he...he has rather traditional, conservative ideas about the role of women. Enola never learned any of that. Now that-" She broke off, unsure what to and what to not say. "Now that my mother is gone, he's trying to force her into a finishing school. Enola went to go find our mother, but she knows nothing of the world. I have to find her before she gets hurt."

"Was she taken, your mother?" Elwin asked, his brows furrowed.

"No," Aylia said sadly. "Frankly, the fact that she wasn't and instead left on her own is more concerning. It means she doesn't intend to come back."

"I'm sorry," Elwin said softly.

Frowning, Aylia said, "I'm sorry about your cousin. I didn't mean to eavesdrop, I just couldn't help overhearing."

Elwin averted his gaze, pursing his lips.

"Louis is the closest thing I have to a brother," he admitted quietly. "And I don't even know why he left."

Frowning, Aylia said, "And you're sure he was on that train?"

"Yes," Elwin replied. "He was dropped off there this morning. Why?"

"There was a boy holding on to the front of the train near Enola," Aylia said softly, her grows furrowed. Looking up at Elwin, she asked, "Your cousin, does he have long brown hair, dark eyes, an angular face, and-"

"It was him," Elwin said, the blood draining from his face. "Oh, god, Louis jumped off a train!"

"Elwin," Aylia said softly, resting her hand over his. He looked up at her, his eyes shining. "We'll find them. If they jumped off the train together, they're likely still with one another. We'll find them." Softer, she added, "We'll find them."

Elwin was still a moment, staring at her unmoving before he turned his hand over, interlacing their fingers. Aylia drew in a long breath, looking down at their hands. Her mind felt slightly muddled. Her heart beat rhythmically, not fast but indeed rather slower than normal. A strange calm swept through her at his touch. Elwin was staring at their hands, his mind racing as he tried to properly understand what he was feeling, but over it all, he was aware of a thrum of surety, a certainty that this was somehow right.

Aylia looked up at him, clearing her throat and pulling her hand from his. Both felt the absence as strongly as if they had been plunged back into the water, and Aylia wished she had not pulled away.

Clearing her throat, she said, "We should sleep."

"Right," Elwin replied, glancing over at her briefly before building up the fire more and laying out beside it, his eyes trained on the flames.

Aylia also lay down, using her elbow as a pillow. Closing her eyes, she let out a long, content sigh, and instantly drifted off. In the light of the moon, her hair, which had fallen out of its bun, shone like a dark halo around her head.

Elwin watched her for a moment, studying her delicate features and taking in her peaceful expression, but soon, he too slept.