Truly Me

|| Cassidy Miller ||

I wasn't fond of people. 

But at this very moment, someone was sitting behind me on my horse, breathing down my neck. 

I looked at Mateo. Collin sat right behind him as Sapphire trotted proudly. I clucked my tongue, getting my friend's attention. He raised his eyebrow, his mouth shaping the words 'What's up?'. But shortly after, he nodded knowingly. He felt my discomfort. 'We're almost there,' he mouthed again. I gave him a small nod, and we rode forward, straight into the unknown.

After a small while, I noticed it getting darker. "We're not even at Leith yet," Mateo murmured. "We won't make it before dark," Collin said from behind him. I cursed quietly under my breath, hearing Larissa chuckle as a reaction. We had wasted too much time with this whole gifted twins situation, that our entire schedule was now messed up. "There's a village nearby, we'll stay there," I said slowly. Mateo nodded and Collin shot me an apologetic smile. I inclined my head in response, watching his eyes narrow. He couldn't see my face from under my hood and he was desperately trying to figure me out. 

We steered our horses toward the buzzing trading village, Dallas. I dismounted Phoenix in front of a cosy-looking inn, reaching out my hand for Larissa. She took it, smiling gratefully as she jumped off. I noticed Collin and Mateo doing the same. I looked around, noticing a young boy walking towards us.

 "Can I take your horses?" He asked politely.  "Yes please, just for a night," I answered, changing my face from under my hood, lowering it the second I was done. I had gone with yet another blonde. Short hair, round eyes, round face. "Of course ma'am." The boy said happily. I reached for the small bag, hanging from my hip. I had taken all the spare money I had left with me. I flicked a few coins into his hand, totally overpaying. Mateo was rich anyway, he could provide the rest of the trip for us.

"Miss, this is way too much for just one night." The boy stuttered, looking at the money in his hand. "Give what is needed for one night to your boss, keep the rest for yourself," I told him with a small smile. "Thank you, Miss! I will take great care of your horses!" He said, taking Phoenix and Sapphire's reins and walking away to what seemed to be the stable. 

"You paid him quite a lot," Collin noticed, scanning my 'face'. I walked to Mateo, linking our arms. "Kid deserved it," I mumbled, pulling him with me as I walked to the inn, the twins following closely. We got ourselves a room for 4 and quickly moved upstairs. Both of the twins carried a satchel, just like mine's and Matteo's. When we opened the door to our room, I heard Mateo chuckle. He leaned closer to me, his breath tickling my ear and cheek. "It seems like we'll be sharing a bed again, Missy."

I sighed. "How wonderful Mateo, I never quite looked forward to something like I do now," I said sarcastically, throwing my bag on the bed. Another low chuckle escaped Mateo's lips and my chest fluttered at the sound of it. I really need to get myself under control. "You two are quite the couple, aren't you," Larissa said, as she shrugged her coat off. "We are not a couple," I replied fiercely. She just smiled at me and I flicked my eyes away, throwing my own coat on a chair. 

"Should we go check out the village after dinner while we're at it?" Collin questioned. He lay on the bed he shared with his sister, arms behind his head. "When we found you two, you gave me a whole lecture on how dangerous everything is, and now you want to go to explore the village?" I asked, raising my eyebrow. Mateo had settled on our bed, ankles crossing, his head against the headboard. He was watching our conversation, eyes flicking between us. 

"This is a small village, Cassidy. This is nothing compared to the capital." Collin paused, looking at my face again. "And I think you already figured that out since you decided to show your face to the stableboy, even though you couldn't bother to show us it first." He continued a hint of suspicion in his voice. I scoffed. "If you think that this is my true face, then you are utterly stupid."