Lies of the Line

Chapter 9

I was jostled awake as the carriage rolled over a large bump in the road. The sun had set and the only thing illuminating the road was the lanterns that swung in front of the carriages. Adira was reading a book and scribbling words on a sheet of paper, a small lantern was sitting on the floor, shining a little light to guide her work.

"These are not making sense. Lilac." She lifted her gaze to me. "Give it a read and tell me what you interpret them to say." She handed me the book.

I looked down at the words. They were written in Lilth. "Why do you like foreign languages so much?" I asked as I skimmed over the first few sentences.

"They sound so beautiful and mysterious. I'm greatly interested in culture as well. I feel those go hand in hand." She answered.

"I believe the author is trying to tell us that life is pointless and bleak." I started. Adira groaned in frustration. "That's what I read. An author like Mangrove wouldn't say that. It's not like him." She scratched something out on her sheet.

"But, he also says that is why we must make something of it and we should not let a minute go to waste. He says here, 'mung vïrtïz jayká' which translates to don't waste tomorrow. He's telling us life is inherently bland so we have to add something to it. He's not saying we should all give up but more that we should keep going and try to make each day better." I finished the page she was on.

"Well done Lilac. Spoken like a true lady." Adira scratched a few more words onto her paper before holding her hand out for the book. I closed it and set it to face up in her palm. "The kingdoms could use you as an asset. You care for your people, you are wise beyond your years, not to mention you were raised by the greatest ruler we have seen in at least a century." She rolled the paper and slid it into her bag along with the book. The carriage rolled to a stop in front of the inn. The guard stepped down and opened the door before helping me out.

"Thank you." He shut the door behind me before climbing back into his seat and sending the horses down the street to the castle. I watched them go, surrounded by the cool night air and darkness. I blended in with the shadows and for once it felt nice to not be seen. I slipped in through the front door and stepped out of my shoes to keep from making too much noise. I tiptoed down the hallway, carefully testing each step before fully putting my weight on it. I had grabbed my key before I left and slid it into the keyhole before turning it and opening the door. Adrienne was curled up on her side, asleep, when I walked in. I changed out of my dress, hanging it on the back of the chair in front of the vanity, and into my nightgown before crawling into bed. I fell asleep not long after.

I woke up the next morning to Adrienne tapping me on the shoulder. I rolled over and opened my eyes to look at her.

"We're leaving soon. I went through and grabbed your things and put them in your bag. Your riding clothes are on the end of the bed." She pointed to the neatly folded pile of clothing before straightening up and walking back to her bed to finish putting her things away. "It's a two-day trip if you don't remember but if we don't stop we can make it a day and a half." She grabbed her bags and walked to the door, stopping before she opened it. "I'll go get the horses you get dressed and turn in our keys. I paid when we checked in." She opened the door and left before I could respond.

I climbed out of bed before changing and gathering my things doing a sweep of the room to make sure nothing had been left behind. Once I was content with my search I followed her lead and left the room, locking the door behind me. I stopped in the common room and turned the keys in.

"I hope you enjoyed your stay, come again anytime." The man sitting behind the table pocketed the keys and waved me off. I collected my bags and met Adrienne out front. She had brought the horses to the street and had strapped her bags to Alabaster. I slung my things across Griff's back before securing them and climbing into the saddle.

The trip was long. The only time we rested was to grab something to eat from our bags before we continued. Adrienne seemed to be in a hurry to get back to Accomes. She took a shorter route than we did, which meant traveling back roads through the woods for the majority of the trip. We completely avoided the capital when we crossed into Lamorence and stuck mainly to the roads only the people living there would know. The weather changed drastically over time. It started sunny with a cool breeze before it slowly but surely slipped into a hot, arid temperature when the sun was above us and we were in Lamorence. By the time night fell we had crossed most of the kingdom and were steadily making our way back and would arrive at the inn by morning. The night air did little to cool down the heat of the day at the beginning of the sunset but once the moon had taken its place in the sky and all you could see were stars and trees the wind picked up and howled through the tunnel of trees cooling the air down.

We reached Accomes before the sun rose. The nostalgia from the first time we made this trip set a weird feeling in my chest. I couldn't describe the emotion but it was heavy. I was exhausted by the time we reached the inn and all I wanted to do was sleep. Adrienne and I put the horses in the stables and crept inside being sure to not wake anyone. We slowly walked up the three flights of stairs before walking down the hall to our room. No one said anything since we were both too tired to form a coherent thought. She slipped the key into the keyhole and twisted the knob, forgetting to unlock the door and repeating the process with the added step. The room felt homely as I walked in. I felt like I belonged here after having spent much time there and having been gone for several days it felt nice to be back. I was torn between being happy to be back here and longing to be home with my family. The one thing pulling me back to Accomes was the people they had become, and the one thing pulling me to Lamorence was the people they had been, the people I loved. They had changed so drastically on the inside in a matter of days that I had no idea who my mother or my brother was and I struggled to determine if I wanted to know. With the fleeting thoughts and the new rays of sun peeking over the balcony, I fell asleep.

When I woke up it was noon and I was starved. Adrienne woke up not long after I did in the same predicament. So we got dressed and went out for lunch. I hadn't apologized yet but it seemed like we had moved past it so I waited until we were inside and seated with our food before saying anything.