Between the Willow Trees [NaNoWriMo 2013] (Editing)

Chapter 7: The Plan to Take Back Elethoria

Chapter 7: The Plan to Take Back Elethoria

The next morning I am awoken by a knock on the bedroom door. I sleepily stumble out of bed and over to the door. I forget that I spent the majority of last night crying and so I must look a right state now. Levi doesn’t seem to notice or care about that when I open the door. He’s standing there with a smile on his face.

“It’s time for breakfast,” he says. He looks down at when I’m wearing and frowns, probably wondering why I’m still wearing the clothes I was wearing the day before when Erin has lent me some clothes. I could explain that I was too exhausted to bother to change, but it didn’t seem important.

“Alright,” I reply with a yawn that I tried to suppress and failed. “I’m just gonna get changed first.”

“Okay, see you downstairs then. The kitchen is right along the corridor on the bottom floor, by the way.” Then he leaves and I close the door and sigh. Even though I did manage to sleep last night, without being haunted by nightmares of the fire, I still feel so tired. It’s as if I’ve been drained of all energy. It’s difficult to move too, as though my brain is telling my body to act but it just can’t or perhaps I just don’t want to.

I take a deep breath and pull myself together. I can’t let myself get like that; I don’t have the time to be sad. We have a world to save. After this is all over then I can cry as much as I want but for now I need to put on a brave face. The people downstairs need my help and that’s what I’m going to do.

I force myself to move and search through the drawers. Most of the clothes are black and tight-fitting, which I don’t mind but it’s not something I would usually wear. Once I’m dressed I find my way downstairs and into the kitchen.

“So what am I thinking now?” Levi asks Erin. There’s a rectangular table in the middle with everyone seated around it and a few empty chairs. Levi has his feet up on the table and he’s stuffing his face with toast as he speaks. Erin looks the same as she did when I first met her; black hair, green eyes.

“I don’t think it’s appropriate to say,” Erin responds, nibbling carefully on her slice of toast. I enter the room and sit next to her. I notice this time that the room doesn’t go quiet as I enter the room. Perhaps they don’t hate me as much as I thought they would.

“Okay then, what’s Astrid thinking right now?” Levi asks.

Erin frowns at me before looking a little disappointed.

“She was wondering whether we hate her for breaking the last portal,” she says in a hushed voice. “Astrid, we know that Thorne tricked you and that you didn’t understand what you were doing. None of us blame you and we certainly don’t hate you,” she reassures me, though I’m not sure that’s how they all feel. Alexander certainly hasn’t made me feel welcome here yet and neither has Aranni.

I mumble thanks and grab a piece of toast from a plate in the middle of the table.

Ember is sitting at the head of the table drinking coffee. Luna isn’t in the room but I can see her through the kitchen window. She’s sitting in the garden with her back to us. Alexander is also at the table eating toast and Aranni is nowhere to be seen. I glance back at Luna again.

“Why is Luna so sad?” I ask. I hadn’t really intended on saying it aloud, but I had done so.

“She’s a nymph so it’s her job to protect nature,” Ember explains. “Luna’s job was very specific though. She was the guardian of the portals in this country. She’s just disappointed that she failed in protecting them but I’m sure she’ll feel much better once we get them fixed again.”