The Runaway

Chapter 51

We found something cool- the hieroglyphs. The parts of the descriptions I can read are hilarious, and the only thing Sylvian is able to read. The humans thought it was by ancient Egyptians, silly them.

See, they do know our language, they just don't know how to read it. Everything was wrong. It was pictures of elves playing tag with elephants, not them hunting. We don't eat animals.

We have been looking at things in silence for a long time and many humans have left. There were a lot. Many objects had strange shapes and pieces. "Do you prefer writing or drawing your words? I like writing."

"Drawing."

I almost walk into the fabric rope that separates us from the wall. Oops. He pulls me along by holding my hand. 

"That takes much longer."

He nods. "It's better. Drawings are beautiful. Being able to draw is beautiful."

We continue to walk as humans come over, he loses focus on our superior conversation, worrying about them. "You should draw then."

"Too busy and I'm not good at it."

If I can draw flowers on his arm for a while, he can draw. "I can teach you."

He almost smiles. "Maybe one day."

I shall get him to smile one day. We keep walking around, the nightly tiredness settling in. Oh, to sleep. That would be nice. "We need to find a hotel."

"Why?"

"So, we can sleep."

"We don't need sleep."

"Well, I don't know about you-" I poke his arm "-but I need sleep. And aren't you tired? You have been carrying that heavy bag all day."

He doesn't respond, only observes passing objects. He is tired, tired as me. This is stupid, we need sleep, especially now.

My legs want to break, to shatter in a million pieces and lose themselves in the open lands we pass. All of me wants to. I'm in pain and exhaustion that I didn't know existed. Why must this have happened? When will there be a happy ending? When will I be home? When will he open up more?

This unfortunate event wants to last forever, take away my dreams. This is all so sad.

At the end of all these things, we leave. There are different humans by the doors this time. On the other side of the door are streetlights that hide the beauty of the night. "We have to get a hotel. We can eat honey and the other stuff and finally sit down."

Sure, I would sit here but the ground isn't soft... or pretty. It is also cold. The air will freeze me.

"I suppose."

"And we can cuddle." I lean on his arm, wondering how he would react.

He looks at me confused. "Cuddle?"

"Yes. You love it."

"No?"

"You always cuddle me."

"I don't?"

He is being very stubborn. There is nothing wrong with cuddling. "Yes, when I wake up and you are pressed against my side or when we're hip to hip or hugging- even us always holding hands. You are a cuddler."

He stares at the ground ahead of us. The stale air stores silence. "I don't try to- sorry."

"Don't be. I never said anything was wrong. Cuddling is fun."

"Oh."

"You're okay." I swing our hands back and forth to lighten the mood. This is all so confusing.

A few humans are outside, in the dark. They stay away from us. Are we scary looking? I know my hair is an absolute mess and this poor dress isn't perfect anymore, but it can't be that bad. Humans are so confusing.

I then remember the night when the water wouldn't go down the drain and all the sad thoughts I had. "How do you see your hands?"

He holds up our hugging hands, glancing at them before focusing back on the sidewalk. "What do you mean?"

I take my hand from his and hold it in front of us. "I see pale, rough skin. My veins have grayed. My nails are dark and long. My fingerprints are clear, I can see them. My hands hurt to close, and they won't stay open. Are your hands like that?"

He stops walking and sets the beg between his legs before looking at the front and backs of his hands. "They're a little rough, I suppose."

"Oh. I must be tired, I'm hallucinating."

"You must be." He picks the bag back up and we keep walking.

All this walking is redundant. "How did I get to your kingdom so fast? If only we could use the same thing to get back to mine."

"Probably teleportation. Or they used the Pegasus."

"Do you know who took me?"

"Probably the guards."

"That's not nice of them." We keep walking. Walking used to be fun, but it isn't anymore. I would go on walks all the time, but now every part of me hurts so bad that I want to never move. Even the beds from the hotels aren't nice anymore. Everything is sad. I'm sad, he's sad, the floor is sad, the humans are sad, and the buildings are sad. The animals are sad. We passed dogs throughout the cities, and they looked sad.

Why is mother earth sad now? Where did the sun go? The clouds? I miss my flowers, my bed, my pillows. I miss my dresses and shoes. I can't entertain the thought of everyone I miss, or my stitching will fall apart.

My desk with its mirror or my flower drawings. I miss the vines that climb themselves up the walls and to the balcony, trying to get into my room. I miss the view from my balcony- the back of the hill and the open land behind the kingdom, the paint speckled black canvas I would see. That would be nice right now.

But no, I'm in a dry, chilly city, in the dark. It has been at least two months since I've seen them- my family.

Didn't I want this? Didn't I want to learn human culture firsthand? It is my fault for this. My fault for stressing my parents, for being here, for taking Sylvian from his home. Sure, he says he doesn't want to be there, and it is sad, but what do I know? Nothing.

My voice is a mere whisper, clutching onto a dream, a fantasy that this isn't real. That I will wake up in my bed and see the sunshine through panes of colored crystal. "I'm sorry..."

"What are you sorry for?" His voice is soft, it makes me feel worse.

"I'm sorry for being the reason you're here right now. You probably have something better to do. I'm sorry for taking you away from everything you know."

"None of this is your fault-"

"It is-"

"No." He stops our walk and turns to me, his baby face in full effect. I love that- baby face. "You didn't ask for any of this, nor want it. And quite frankly, I would rather be on this shittily lit street with you, than in my bed right now by myself, again. If I didn't want to help you, I wouldn't have shown you the passageway or how to get through the trees. You are the happy one, stay the happy one. It is your job; we can't have two sad voyagers."

Those pretty eyes sparkle, his hair trying to hide them. "Really?"

"Yes. Now be your ecstatic, talkative self. I can't keep this up for much longer."

"Okay. Do you promise this doesn't bother you? I don't bother you?"

"I promise."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Really?"

He ruffles the hair around his ears, picks up the bag, grabs my hand and starts walking. "Yes."

"Really?"

He flicks my nose. "Yes."

A/N: I promise the next few chapters will make up for the lack of detail y'all. How are y'all doing?