The Burned Rogue Book

Chapter Ten: Mysteries

Chapter Ten: Mysteries

When I woke up, there was a pounding on the door.

“Please, please get out!” someone pleaded. I panicked, leaped out of the tub, grabbed my sword, swung open the door and held out the blade in defense. “Whoa.” It was Gair. I lowered my weapon.

“No gouging anyone, please,” came Atlas’s voice. He was lying on the bed with his hands behind his head, and he was watching TV.

My heart dropped back to its normal pace. “What’s going on?” I asked.

Gair’s face. It was a pleading look. “What do you think? I’m begging entrance to the bathroom.”

“Oh,” I said. “Um, go ahead.” I stepped out of the bathroom and Gair rushed in, slamming the door.

“Good morning,” Atlas said, although he was looking at me warily. I re-sheathed my sword.

“You’re wondering what dream I had,” I stated.

He shook his head. “Nah.”

He was lying. That much I could tell. However, I didn’t call him out on it, and I sat next to him on the bed. “You didn’t have any…weird, out of body experiences, did you?” I asked.

He shook his head. “You were dreaming about me?”

I avoided eye contact and stared at the stitches on his side. “Um, it’s a little bit more complex,” I replied. “And I woke up before I could find out anything important.”

Atlas cursed and twisted his mouth. “That really sucks,” he said. “I’d love to know what Ancel is up to now.”

I shook my head. “The dream wouldn’t have been about Ancel anyways. At least, I don’t think so.” I thought. Cornelia and Ancel. Could that have been a thing? I don’t think so, considering Cornelia’s over-protectiveness of Atlas.

“Oh,” he muttered. “Go check if Cornelia will let you in now.”

I went over to the door and knocked. No answer, but I could hear she was awake. So I continued to knock furiously, not stopping the rapping.

“Yeah, be as annoying as possible,” Atlas said. “She’ll really like you.”

I gave him a look. “Definitely. And she’ll also be forced to open the door.”

He shook his head but smiled. “You evil genius.”

I kept knocking, and the door opened angrily.

“What?” barked Cornelia. I stepped through the door.

“Thank you,” I smiled. I grabbed my bag, went to the bathroom, and turned on the water to take a shower.

Fifteen minutes later, I was done and dressed, feeling nice and refreshed. I had brushed my teeth, and this was the cleanest I had felt in a while. When I got out of the bathroom, I came out and Cornelia was standing there with her arms crossed.

“You done?” she asked rudely.

“I am.” I walked closer to her and sighed. “I’m sorry,” I lamented. Her expression changed to one of bewilderment.

“What?” she asked.

“My dream was about you,” I said. That would quiet her for a while. I strapped my sword to my hip, walked away, and opened the door to the boys’ room. “Breakfast?” I asked. Gair and Atlas were showered and dressed.

“Let’s go,” Gair said.

*   *   *

We were on the road again to Salt Lake City, Atlas driving, Cornelia in the passenger seat, and Gair next to me. He wasn’t able to make eye contact with me. He was probably still embarrassed about the pink panther underwear.