Eterna

~Chapter 14~ Flames

I watched as Payne and Roxy emerged from the forest. Kalu had finally woken up and I decided to train her while we waited for nightfall.

"Keep your balance!" I said, as Kalu swung at me repeatedly. Sera sat on the sidelines with Isaiah. She studied from her Tome while he watched us train.

After I was satisfied with the amount of training Kalu received, I went to Devon to ask for advice. He could always calm me down.

"Hello, Lady Evelyn." He said in a light tone.

"Hello."

He looked up at me with a strange expression. "What's the matter?"

I explained how I was frustrated about what Roxy said, and how I had a bad feeling about the whole situation. He kept quiet the whole time, just listening to me vent. When I was finished, he finally spoke up.

"May I?"

I nodded.

"I've had an eerie feeling about this whole thing as well, Milady, but we're in this together, as one. I think everyone is on the same page about how suspicious this is. And about Roxy? She's a pirate. What more can I say?"

I smiled and let out a sigh. "Thank you once again, Devon. I couldn't ask for a better friend."

He chuckled. "Oh, you could ask. I'm just not sure you'd find one." He winked and walked away, folding his hands behind his head.

My little talk with Devon made me feel a bit better. After eating some food and talking to Sera and Isaiah, I decided a chat with Reuben was in order. I asked around and no one had seen him. This worried me. I walked back to Ahzra's home to see if he had gone there. I began to knock at her front door but stopped myself.

There were voices coming from the other side.

I went around the side of the house, pressing my head against the wall. The voices were muffled, but they were indefinitely female. One was Ahzra, and the other one was vaguely familiar. Definitely not Arneda. I began walking back to camp, to turn and see a flash of red, jolt through the sky.

My heart beat madly inside my chest. I had to get back to camp.

I jogged back to see everyone accounted for...except Kalu.

"Where's Kalu?" I asked Isaiah.

"I thought she went with you?" He replied, shaken.

I pushed passed him. "Kalu!" I started off into a jog toward the area where we had trained. There was Kalu's cloak and satchel, lying next to a large rock. I heard laughter in the distance after searching the area further. I sprinted toward the voices in a blind panic.

After cutting through the foliage like a madwoman, I came upon a spring. There was Kalu, splashing in the water with Arneda.

"Oh, Hi Lady Evelyn!" Kalu squealed.

"Come here!" I yelled.

Kalu and Arneda exchanged confused glances.

"Come here, now!" I stomped my foot when I said it and it clearly frightened both of the girls.

Kalu rushed out of the water in her undergarments and walked over to me.

"Dry off and come back to camp. Arneda, go home. Your mother is probably worried about you." My tone was stern and dry. She nodded and picked up her clothes before she scurried off toward her home. I looked down at Kalu.

"Don't ever dissapear like that! Always have someone with you! Do you understand me?"

"Yes Ma'am...is something wrong?" Kalu asked, shivering.