veiled hearts

six

My hands held tight onto the tall seat of the horse that we rode. I sat between Eiran's legs, feeling his chest all over my back. He was tall enough to be able to hug my entire back with his chest, and I loved him being so close, but just not today.
My hair flew with the wind, the horse moved fast making my whole body bounce as we reached the tall mountains of The Maiden's Path, making our way to the top of the mountains through a surprisingly empty hill.
I'm now guessing that's why it was called The Maiden's Path. Empty.

Eiran's hands moved to my waist, grabbing it tight for absolutely no reason that I found outstanding.

Why were we going to the mountains? A simple trip was asked by my maiden to help me clear my mind. She didn't come though, I wanted to ignore her impossible existence. But I still enjoyed leaving the castle at least once, even if it wasn't too far away, I still cherished this.
The trip, not the moment.

The lack of care that covered the royals when it came to the attack was outstanding, the whole land acted as if nothing bad had ever happened in the masquerade, but to be honest, I contributed to this, I didn't speak a word about it as well, scared that it might upset any person.

The horse whined as Eiran brutally stopped it near the top of the hill, soon stepping down, grabbing a flask which was filled with water from the compartments that went down the seat. He chugged from the liquid for some seconds before putting it away and stretching his hand to help me get down from the horse. It felt as if no one had ever stepped foot on these mountains. The wind was incredibly heavy on my back, it weakened my legs. If it wasn't for the thick layers of clothing that I wore, I'd be freezing out here, but I barely felt any tough coldness.

I walked towards the end of the hill, watching the mountain end by my feet as I let the wind brush my hair. My fingers crawled up my cheek, then behind my ear to remove my veil before I began to overthink it. I left it in the pocket of my jacket before I threw my hands up in the air, allowing the wind to travel my body.
I needed this.

The wind caressed my face, making me feel undone. The heavy breath of Eiran was vividly heard, I noticed just how nervously he stood ever since... The appearance of such a body that was supposed to be dead.

My eyes shifted towards his stiff body. I had the feeling that something was missing, he was hiding something. Something that I didn't need to know, but it disturbed him. It hurt him.

It damaged his concentration.

"Not even a whole day." I spat out, my eyes now set on the end of the hill.

Eiran clicked his tongue, hands behind his back, but they soon moved to run his fingers through his hair out of stress.

No answer.

I hadn't slept well the last couple of days due to the endless thoughts that lingered in my head.

"It's beautiful out here, I hadn't been out of the castle since last year," He knew that already.
It had been some days since the masquerade.
Eiran hadn't even dared to speak of my maiden, of her supposed death and how he had seen her get killed to find her very much alive and fine the next day.

She was acting different, though. As if she had turned to the same old self she was when I met her. I liked this, I liked her believing once again, it made me feel at ease, but something felt completely odd. Forgetting about the part where she was supposedly dead, something didn't sit right. 

She seemed some type of scared all the time, but she was now calm towards me too. She wanted me to feel just right, but I saw it in her eyes; the pain and fear that settled over her body whenever I saw her was unbelievable, she could be seen now as the complete opposite compared to before the masquerade.