His One and Only

Chapter 22

They spent the next two days cleaning up, searching for evidence, and trying to get answers out of the traitors.

The former Governor Bjorn was alive and being held in the prisons, however getting intel from him was like trying to produce water from a rock. Bjorn soon discovered this young Commander was ruthless and merciless when it came to 'extracting' information methods. That is not to say such methods didn't have an effect on him.

Mira figured some sort of torture must be going on and that he must be in charge of it because his mood completely changed. He seemed distant, annoyed, and was short tempered. Every time she looked at him it was as if she couldn't recognize him and she could only see Njal fronting always. She didn't really know how to help him handle it but just be a soft and stable presence around him. She did her best to comply with everything and not fight over things that annoyed her.

She couldn't hide her excitement though when he announced that they would leave tomorrow morning and to pack up. Even with the governor gone the people were still disgusted by her presence but didn't dare to voice it. Mira had never felt so excited to leave such a rotten place and move on. She packed her things as fast as she could.

"So where are we going next?!?" She hopped over to where Xander was sitting and looking at a map on a bench. She sat opposite of him so the map was upside down to her and in the middle of them.

"Inward."

"Inward?"

"We are here on the south-east side of the territory. The Royal's Village is on the other side in the north-west. According to what we have gathered it seems like the rebels may be hiding a bit north-west of our position now." He pointed to the areas in the map to show her as he spoke. "The only problem is this area is hundreds of square miles of thick forest."

"So in other words if I want to run I should do it now because it looks like we are pretty close to the border and the dense forest is a hopeless situation for me." Mira spoke in a matter of factly tone as she observed the map.

Xander's eyes went straight from the map to hers with his face remaining dead serious. It was a look that could send chills down your spine.

Mira put her hands up in defense. "It was just a joke-"

"Do you want to escape?" His question caught her off guard and she fumbled with her words to answer.

"I mean...I...uh...well to put it in another light do I want to be a slave forever in a society that hates me? No." She found herself unable to look into his eyes. A swirl of conflicted emotions entered her. She didn't want to leave him but she didn't want to be in this situation either. Mira was slightly insecure and embarrassed to confess her emotions to him because she had no idea how he would react. However she didn't want to make him feel like she hated being with him. "But I don't really-"

"Understood." He cut off her attempt to explain a hint of her emotions. He folded up the map and stood up. "I need to finalize some things before the investigation team gets here. See you tonight."

He promptly left, making Mira feel like she put a crack in their relationship. Feeling frustrated that he didn't let her finish, she huffed and left. Physically she was all healed and decided to release some steam by doing some running.

***

Early the next morning everyone loaded up and they left Creekside. Mira couldn't resist flipping the village off as they left and hoped they never had to go back.