From The Ashes

Part 4

In the next few days we planned our journey to the capitol. We gathered supplies and maps of the continent. I insisted on navigating because Cass was hopeless with a map. Abel agreed to keep an eye on the forge while Cass was with us and Rose was going to look in on our animals. Everything was taken care of but I couldn’t shake the sinking feeling in my stomach.
  We stood at the entrance of the town, double-checking we had everything for the trip. Eian took note of our rations and Cass checked our cart to make sure it was secured to Ebony’s saddle. Gwen sat, sharpening her ax and Mira sat next to her. She hadn’t used it in years and even though I had faith in her skills I hoped she wouldn’t need it at all.
  I laid out our map one last time to confirm our route. We’d be taking the most direct path, about a two week journey, but it was also the most risky. Bandits and thieves preferred it for its seclusion. Also, we’d only pass through one city about halfway to the capital so we would have to track our supply usage. If we went any other way it would add almost a week onto our trip. The weather was getting colder and snow would come soon so faster was smarter.
  “Alright, is everyone ready?” I asked. I was trying very hard to not show how anxious I was.
  “We’re good!” Mira said cheerily, taking Gwen’s hand.
  “Cart’s good.” Cass said, folding his arms. It was very early in the morning and if looks could kill, we’d all be dead.
  “I’m ready.” Eian said with a determined smile. I looked over to Oliver who had been hugging and kissing Lavender for a good twenty minutes. She was pretty, black hair and blue eyes. Much shorter than Oliver she had to get all the way on her tiptoes to kiss him. She was pretty much the opposite of me and I was a little jealous of her good looks.
  “Oliver, come on!” I called. “You’re going to the capital, not to the other side of the world!”
  “Okay!” He griped. He turned back to Lavender and gave her one last kiss. I rolled my eyes.
  “Today Oliver.” Gwen said sternly. Finally the couple broke aways from each other, Lavender looking like she’d just lost a piece of herself. Oliver joined and we started down the path but after a few moments he stopped and turned back.
  “Ugh, now what?” I groaned.
  “Hey, Lavender?!” He called.
  “Yes?!” She called back.
  “I love you!” He said with a huge smile. Her face lit up and she looked like she could cry.
  “Oh, Oliver! I love you too!” She responded. Oliver turned back and caught up with us.
  “Aw, isn’t that sweet.” I said being somewhat sarcastic but mostly serious.
  “Shut up, I do love her. She’s amazing.” He responded genuinely. It was actually really nice to see Oliver so happy, it was just too easy to tease him.
  “Moving on from Oliver’s romantic endeavors.” I said. “We need to go over the plan one more time.” The entire group groaned.
  “Rei, we’ve gone over it so many times we could recite it from memory.” Eian said.
  “Just one more time. We make camp every night an hour before sundown. Everyone brought warm clothes, right? We’ll have a fire but you’ll still want them, trust me” The group nodded with only a little attitude. “Overnight watch shifts will be two hours at a time, minus Eian who needs to sleep through the night.” Eian rolled his eyes. “We should hit Fallkirk in about eight days if we don’t have any delays. We’ll stay one night there to resupply and sleep in a real bed. After that it’ll be another seven days to the capitol. Everyone got it?” I asked
“We got it the first ten times.” Cass complained. I couldn’t help but be uptight, the pit in my stomach wouldn’t cease. I just had an eerie feeling about the whole thing, like something bigger than we ever thought was waiting for us.

  After shaking my initial anxiety I started to feel a little better. Cass finally perked up about two hours into the trip and we chatted about my last job as we walked alongside Ebony.  I told him about the bandits in the woods and he seemed impressed. Oliver walked behind us with Mira, talking her ear off about Lavender and she politely listened with a sweet smile. Eian and Gwen were in the rear, he was relentlessly begging her to hold her ax, which she calmly kept denying.  It was actually nice, us all being together. I felt myself starting to relax, thinking that maybe I had been overreacting earlier.
It was getting close to sundown so it was time to prepare for the night. Eian and Oliver gathered firewood. Mira prepared dinner while Gwen supplied the ale. Cass fed Ebony some carrots and petted her mane. I caught myself staring as I laid out everyone’s bed rolls. He was very handsome. The sun was setting behind him and the light caught his eyes, making them sparkle a beautiful and unique shade of light green. His tunic hugged his biceps and he left the first two buttons undone. It was like he was doing it on purpose, looking all casually attractive. It was almost annoying.
   I finally broke my gaze when Eian and Oliver returned from the forest. Just as Oliver was about to start the fire Eian stopped him and looked at me.
  “Can I do it?” He asked gingerly. I thought for a moment.
  “Okay but everyone should probably step back a little, he’s talented but his fire magic can be a little..unpredictable.” I said. The group did so and Eian knelt in front of the stack of wood and took a deep breath. He held his hand just above the pit and blast of flame shot from his palm and ignited the dry logs and twigs. He looked back to me and smiled.
  “Wow Eian! That was awesome!” Oliver said.
  “Alright little man, you’re on fire duty for the rest of the trip.” Cass said, taking a seat. I sat down beside him, giving Eian a proud smile. Cass leaned over to me. “He’s really special, isn’t he?” He whispered. I nodded, staring into the fire.
  Mira presented a tray of fruit, bread, and smoked meats. It looked delicious and I suddenly realized I was starving.
  “Who’s hungry?” She asked. Everyone dug in. We all drank our ale, besides Eian of course, and told stories well into the night. Laughing and joking, it felt like I was with family. Things felt good. After a few hours it was time to sleep.
  “I’ll take the first watch.” I said to the gang. “Everyone else, get some rest.”