Edited
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The journey started off slow, the horses obedient and energetic as they trotted along. After the day was done, they made a temporary camp. Nothing too fancy, just a camp fire.
As people drifted into sleep, Ivy lay in the dark fully awake. She stared up at the stars, some ones big and others small. They stared back at her intently. She wondered why they only came out at night. Why the day was too bright for them. She heard a small shuffling sound that shook her from her reverie and made her glance sideways at the pale moonlight that cascaded around her.
The fires dwindled, holding onto their last embers and then died out; coating the camp in darkness. Sitting up, she lay her hand on the hilt of Valkyrie, dread filling up the pit of her stomach.
Something wasn't right.
She casted a few glances around her grimly. She couldn't see a thing as her eyes hadn't adjusted to the darkness yet.
"Ivy?" Alex's sleepy voice whispered into the night and a firm hand landed on her shoulder. "Ivy, what is it?" She turned her gaze down to him, only a darker shape in the darkness coming into view.
"I thought I heard something." She cast her worried eyes around the camp once more, it was peaceful and no sign of danger lurked in the shadows.
"It was probably just an animal. Go back to sleep." She stifled a snort. Back to sleep. She hadn't got a wink of sleep in two whole days. You've been through worse, She reminded herself.
With a small hmph she lay back down and after a moment, closed her eyes. Letting the breathing rhythm of the sleeping camp lull her into a dream like state. Still, even in sleep, she kept a firm grip on Valkyrie and ignored the eminent feeling of being watched from afar.
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Ivy awoke early, savouring the in-between state of being half in dream and half in reality. When she found herself wide awake, she sat up and removed her protective hold from her sword and stretched. She stood up and brushed away the dirt from her leggings. Her cloak lay on the ground, folded neatly into a square. With a stiff back, she picked it up and swung it over her shoulders and then clasped it together.
Noticing that most of the camp members were still sleeping, she slipped out of the camp and made the trek to the stream that she had spotted the previous day. When she found it she breathed a sigh of relief. It reminded her of something but she couldn't quite pin point what it was.
Instead of a small stream that she had presumed it to be, it was a large lake. Screwing up her face as she sniffed at herself, she decided that she needed a wash. Discarding her cloak and boots and the rest of her clothes, she wondered if Ronand was worrying about her. Most likely not. A voice scorned her, making her bow her head in disappointment. It wasn't that she felt a romantic connection towards him, oh no. He was like a father figure to her after what had happened to her family. Indeed, he was arrogant and narcissistic and a tad physchotic but he had taken her in when she had been in a bad place. Besides, he wasn't interested in females.
The first thing that her ten-year-old self had thought when she had seen Ronand was that he had come to kill her. She had wished that he would. She didn't believe that she was needed in the world, not without her beloved family.
With an angry shake of her head, she stripped out of her under garments - not before casting a wary glance around for any intruders - and waded into the water. It was freezing, icy water sloshing around her middle and rising higher as she swam out. When her feet could barely touch the ground, she took in a breath and dunked her head under the water. The world slowed down as Ivy relished the feel of weightlessness, throwing her head back and sighing. She spent about twenty minutes washing herself and then she waded out of the water and lay on the grass to dry, laying her cloak over her just in case someone saw her. After she was somewhat drier, she dressed and slipped on her boots.
Camp was busier now, people milling about sleepily. She walked over to Alex and raised her eyebrows when he noticed her and breathed a sigh of relief.
YOU ARE READING
When Embers Grow
Fantasy***READ THE FLOOD INSTEAD*** Ivy's never been normal. She always had something different about her, that's why she was hidden. Though she didn't know, there was a reason why her family was taken from her. It wasn't just assassin's working for the mo...
