The Bright, the Burning, and the Wicked

Three

Baze Elden

"Juniper is going to be on the east prison transfer. It'll pass through the valley tonight, a blind point from the watchtowers. That's our opening." Casimir told him for the millionth time that evening. They had been traveling for two days straight and Baze's legs were sore from constantly having to dig his thighs into his horse's sides to keep from getting thrown off in the rocky terrain. It was better than walking, he supposed, though every mile farther north made it more and more difficult to climb. The eternal darkness that seemed to follow them didn't exactly help him to keep his spirits up, either. 

Baze welcomed the cold, funny enough. To anyone else it would've seemed sharp and unbearable but to Baze it was nothing more than a cool, refreshing breeze. It brushed against his heated skin which burned constantly, as though his entire body were on fire. He should've been used to it by now, after all these years. 

His skin crawled, this time from the irritation of riding next to Casimir. He held his head high, shoulders relaxed, voice smooth, hardly ever fazed. He was exactly the same as when they were kids. 

Baze hated it. 

He wondered if he should just throw Casimir off his horse, take his coin and leave him for dead. He was bigger than Casimir, thanks to his mother's strong Fennis genes, unusually tall and quite broad, he could overtake Casimir easily enough. Unfortunately, his rational mind won out and he was left to sulk with his fantasies.

"How?" Baze murmured suddenly, glancing over his shoulder ever now and again to make sure they wouldn't be eaten by wolves.  

"East train prison transfer-" Casimir repeated.

Baze huffed in frustration. "I mean, how do you have that information? Have you been spying on her as well?"

"It's as I said. I've always known where you've been. Same goes for Juniper." Of course, Baze shouldn't have been surprised that Casimir had been tailing him all these years, but the thought of it still made his skin prickle. "I also have the report." Casimir reminded him and Baze grunted in response. He had already seen it, mapped out with Juniper's whereabouts and the train's path to the Reform camp. It was amusing to see just how many times Juniper had been sent back. Baze was surprised they hadn't opted to kill her yet. She was often considered to be more trouble than she was worth.

The Reserve was a work camp where Losvek were forced to create powerful and magical objects for the ongoing war against the country of Os Fen. Across the mountain was the Reform, a sort of obedience camp for the misbehaving Losvek. If a Losvek disobeyed one too many times, they were sent back to the Reform camp for 'training'. Baze didn't want to know what that entailed, but he supposed Juniper was quite used to it by now. According to her file, she had been sent back quite a few times now.

"She's been quite busy, hasn't she?" Casimir asked, referring to Juniper's disobedience record.  The file was littered with the Reform mark.

"Did you expect anything less?"

"Can't say that I did."

Baze brushed off a sudden wave of guilt, quickly followed by irritation at himself for entertaining such emotions. Juniper deserved what she got. He told himself, but the words felt stale and lifeless in his head. 

Traitor.  Another whisper.

Baze gripped his reins tighter. Yes. He would be a fool to forget that.  

The forest began to thin as they trekked up the northern mountains and a distant clearing came into view. Baze's horse nickered, as though predicting oncoming trouble. Baze pulled on the reins and his horse and came to a prompt stop. Dismounting the animal, he tied the reins to a tree. Casimir followed his lead.