With the Sunrise (On Hold)

Chapter 13: What You Promised Me

Andre woke to the sound of people moving around. He opened his eyes and saw two shadows leave the cave; the rock that had been blocking it had been moved out of the way to reveal the snow-covered ground outside. Andre stretched, raising his arms above his head and stretching his back as far as it would go. The bed shifted and Andre looked up, startled. Karen smiled down at him from where she sat above him. Her dark hair was pulled back into a redone braid; her hair looking like it had just been brushed and cleaned after weeks of not doing so.

"You're awake," she said softly. "Caleb was beginning to think that you died."

Andre chuckled softly before sitting up, letting the covers fall off of him. "How long was I out?"

"About a day," Karen replied. "Caleb and I woke shortly after you had gone back to sleep. Tarquin was talking to us and keeping us busy."

The thought of Caleb being alone with Karen stirred an unknown feeling in his gut, but Andre forced it down and smiled at Karen. "I was talking to Tarquin while you two were sleeping. He gave me some things to think about."

"Like what?" she asked, her head tilted to the side in the cutest way. Wait, bad thought, Andre, he thought. She's your best friend. Emphasize best friend!

Andre shrugged. "Just things," he said, not really wanting to tell her all that Tarquin had told him.

"Oh," she replied, frowning in slight disappointment. "Okay."

"Where did Caleb and Tarquin go?" Andre asked, trying to change the topic. They were nowhere in sight in the cave, so they must have been the shadows that left when he was waking up.

"The snow stopped falling sometime during the night and they went out to see how far we could get today," Karen replied. "Tarquin's going to come with us until we reach the end of the mountains."

Andre nodded, deciding that it was a good thing that Tarquin was going with them. They might move faster seeing how he knew the landscape better than Andre, Karen, and Caleb.

"Hey," Andre said suddenly, a thought occurring to him. Karen turned to look at him expectantly. "You remember when we started walking through the Wasteland? You remember what you said to me?"

Karen tilted her head in thought, biting her bottom lip in the process. Andre could not help but think what it would be like to hold her close and maybe even – no! Bad thoughts, very bad thoughts, he thought to himself, interrupting his train of thought.

Karen shook her head. "No, what did I say?" she asked, curious to know.

Andre smiled softly. "You told me that by the time we got through the mountains, you want to be just as good at surviving as Caleb is."

"I did say that, didn't I?" she asked with a small laugh. She then bit her bottom lip. "Though I guess I broke my own promise, didn't I?"

Andre smiled and shook his head. "I can think of one incident where you beat Caleb at surviving."

"Really?" she asked with a smirk, "when?"

"That time we saw the Wisp," Andre replied. "He made to go after it and you held him back."

"Yeah, but there was just that one time," Karen replied with a roll of her eyes. "I haven't done anything else to prove that I'm just as good at surviving as he is."

"Maybe we'll find proof when we make our way through the desert," he suggested.

Her eyebrows shot up. "Wait," she cried, "Desert? You mean we're going to have to make our way through a desert?"

Andre could not help but laugh at her actions. "Yes," he replied. "On the other side of this mountain is a desert. Maybe it's best that I'm the crown prince and you're the kitchen servant."

Karen scoffed angrily. "Come on!" she cried. "I bet you don't know the first thing on how to cook a meal. That's why Caleb and I have been cooking the meat we catch and not you. Heck, you burn water for crying out loud!"

Andre grimaced at the mention of his first cooking attempt while they were on the road. Sure, he could heat meat up enough so that he was not eating it raw, but beyond that, his cooking was pathetic. The first night they were together, Karen had suggested he try to cook some stew to make the meal more filling. Somehow, he burnt water, which should not even be possible.

"Alright, fine," Andre relented. "But at least I know what's next down the road. You didn't even know there was a desert on the other side of the mountains."

Karen could not help but join into Andre's laughter. "While we're on the subject of promises," Karen said when their laughter died down. "Do you remember what you promised me that night on the roof of the stables?"

Andre remembered that night like it happened yesterday. It had been a long week at the castle for both of them and because they had nearly no time to hang out together, Andre decided he would take Karen out of the castle so they could look up at the stars and make up for lost time. That was the night that the unknown feelings started happening. Maybe it was because he finally realized how beautiful Karen was as she sat there on the roof, bathed in the moon's light with the wind making the stray strands of her hair blow all over the place. He had chosen to climb on top of the stables because it offered a better view of the stars. Though, as he looked back on that night, he could not remember making a promise to Karen.

"No," he said, shaking his head. "What promise did I make?"

"You promised," she started, but hesitated. Andre waited patiently, knowing that she would tell him eventually. "You promised that no matter what happened you would always stay by my side."

"I did?" he muttered to himself, not really remembering promising something like that. Then again, it did sound like something he would do. He smiled at her and she blushed and averted her gaze. "I guess I did, didn't I?"

She nodded, making a strand of her hair fall into her face from where it sat behind her ear. Andre hesitated before reaching forward and brushing it back out of her face. She blushed, looking anywhere but at him.

"Well," he said softly, almost whispering. "Let me renew my promise to you, then." She looked up at him expectantly. "I promise that I will always stay by your side no matter what happens to either of us."

"I promise the same thing," she whispered, her gaze drifting down from his eyes and to his lips. Andre noticed it, and made his move. He leaned forward, pressing his lips to hers. He could feel her stiffen at his sudden approach, but relax after a few seconds and kiss him back, moving her lips with his. His senses were tingling, almost overwhelming him with how many emotions he was feeling at once. The only thing that he could think was how good her lips tasted and how they seemed to meld perfectly with his own. His heart beat wildly in his chest. His hands shook as he reached for her face, brushing his thumb across her cheek. At this moment, he felt like he had died and was in heaven. He felt as if nothing could ruin this moment, his moment with her.