The Five [COMPLETED]

Part Fourteen

"What does it say?" Matthew asked, coming up behind me to look on the map with me. When he read the words, his face went white, and his hands began to tremble. "We're getting close now," he whispered to me. He leaned closer, close enough that his breath tickled my ear. "Sky . . . I need to tell you something. But not here. Not now." I looked at him, and felt a little daunted at how close his face was to mine. His brown eyes glowed, his hair shone in the sunlight. My heart started beating faster, and I felt my palms begin to sweat. He took my hand in his and held on, tight. "Tonight," he told me. "When the others are asleep." I nodded slowly, my breath shaky as I felt his mouth press against the skin just behind my earlobe; only for a moment before he pulled away from me. I tore my gaze away from him, looking at my other comrades who had taken the map from me and were looking at it with fear in their eyes. 

"It's only four miles away from here," Violet breathed. "The battle . . . it's finally happening. After all this time."

"Well, we can't waste any more time," I said, my voice shaky. "We need to move and figure out a battle plan."

And so we traveled, knowing that every step took us closer and closer to Osaka Castle. It was around four o'clock that Matthew announced, "I think we should stop." Everyone looked at him in surprise.

"Since when did you call the shots?" Lawrence asked.

"I just . . ." Matthew trailed off, running his tongue over his lips. "I just think that we might not have enough strength to fight if we keep going now. I mean, you can even see the Castle from here." I looked over to where his hand hovered, and there it was. Osaka Castle in all its' glory. It was a mighty fortress surrounded by stone walls that easily tower over the average person. The walls seemed to surround a tall keep with eight levels. I swallowed as I saw tiny figures patrolling the walls. 

"He's right," Violet said quietly. "We should leave a couple of days so we can try and get a good idea of what the Castle looks like, so we don't go in blind."

I nodded. "Good idea," I agreed. "How about we go and scout the outer walls from a distance?"

"That'd be good," Matthew commented. 

"Violet, you go look at the left side. Lawrence, you take the right. And Mark, you go with either one of them." My voice was crisp.

"What are you two going to do?" Lawrence demanded. Suddenly, a playful smirk crossed his face. I gave him a look and said, "We're going to guard our items so they don't get stolen."

Violet and Mark nodded, but Lawrence bit his lower lip. His eyes danced with glee, but they also held a sly appearance as his gaze shifted from Matthew and me. 

I glared at him and said, "Go. I expect you to be gone no longer than half an hour." They nodded and dashed off. Mark joined Violet in going left, while Lawrence went right. Matthew and I watched them go before turning to each other. He stood there awkwardly for a few moments before I broke the silence. 

"I guess we can have our talk now," I stammered. I could already feel my heart begin to pound; the pulse resonating through my entire body. My palms became clammy as Matthew let out a shaky breath and met my eyes. He stepped closer, his gaze never leaving mine. I stared at his mouth; studied the soft pink colour they held. It was only then that I realised just how handsome he had become. "Skylar." His voice was soft, gentle as his hands moved to cup my face. His fingertips felt like ice, though his palms radiated warmth that spread across my cheeks. I felt my breath hitch in my throat as our eyes met. I think, in that moment, we just knew. There was no need to say it, because we both knew that the other was feeling it. All this time, I knew deep inside that I loved him. I was just too afraid to admit it, even to myself. The thought of it had always terrified me, but now, it didn't seem as scary as before, knowing that he returned those feelings. I hesitantly placed my hands on his waist, silent.