Rise of Jannuari

Chapter 2

I lay on the ground, snowflakes fall I into my face. The coolness makes me feel wonderful. I stare up at the stars and then turn my head to watch Mareth.

He's watch in the sky. He's smiling, something I've only seen a couple of times. He's so relaxed now that our roles are changed. He turns his head over to me and he smiles even bigger. I smile back and look back at the sky.

We worked hard all day and soon, we will have shops full of food and things for travelers. Everyone from visiting kingdoms had left around mid-day so our work progress had slowed.

I sit up and look down at the lights flicker in Jannuari. Sir had made a enormous pile of useless wood scraps and started a bonfire. The smell of burning wood reminded everyone of the coal that used to be burned. It reminds everyone of their past. The good and the bad. It was a Winterian tradition.

I smile to myself and lay back down. The stars twinkle and the snowflakes dance through the sky, a sight that could calm anyone.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Mather asked quietly. Before I could answer he continued quickly, "Just like you."

I glance over at him and see his cheeks are tinted pink, show I show I that he is blushing. I smile to myself. Oh, how much Mather and Sir have changed since everything happened. They used to never show emotion. And now Sir is grinning through the day and Mather is blushing.

I laugh at him and answer,"Of course it's beautiful. It's snow. Everything about an is beautiful. Including the people."

When I don't say more he says,"Including you." Apparently, he won't let that go. I try complimenting him.

"And..." I can't think of anything. He stares into my eyes and looks away. "And, you're my best friend. You're beautiful too. Your personality, your smile and everything," I finally say. I blush. This is so unlike me. What happened to the orphan soldier girl? What happened to the real Meira.

Mather laughed. "What is happening to us?" He asks, like he read my mind.

"I have no idea," I reply, laughing with him. I start to get up. I reach a hand out to him, and he grabs it gladly, pulling himself up. We walk towards the bonfire, thinking about different things.

I'm thinking about how much our lives have changed since that one day and how unfair everything is for Mather. I wonder what he's talking about.

We keep walking, still far away from the bonfire when I hear something behind us. I freeze and Mather stops walking. I listen but don't hear anything. I shrug my shoulders and keep walking. Then I hear it again.

I turn around, pulling out the knife that's always in my sleeve, slowly. I see a shadowed figure and I'm about to attack when I hear a deep voice laughing.

I walk closer to the figure and it's Theron. I relax my shoulders and say,"What are you doing here? You scared me!"

He wouldn't stop laughing, do I punched him in the stomach. Not to hard but it made him stop laughing. What was that for?" He yells.

"That's for scaring me and not listening to me, Prince Theron," I reply, smirking at the title. He glares at me.

"I'm here to send a message from my father. I know we just left, but he wanted the message to be given to you right away."

A shiver went down my spine. "What is it?" I ask, quietly.

He takes a deep breath and says,"One of our soldiers got attacked. By Angra."