Figment Awakening

Chapter 14 Pathway

We began the dinner conversation, " So, Adela!" her head perked up,

" Hi! And I just want to thank you for letting me join in on your festival. It is quite a celebration."

" Thank you, Adela. What are you going to do after this? You know, the war?" Zayn said.

" I plan to stay with you, if I would be able. Maybe I could talk to your leader?"

" Your lookin' at her," I said with a smile.

" Wow, you are so young for this position! I thought the Amplotudio was always much older."

" They usually are," I said, giving a quick glance at Zayn, then smiling.

We talked on and on about lie at the Villa and other related topics. Everything was easy going for the rest of the dinner.

Harry got up and started walking towards me, very quickly. He walked behind the chairs and when he got closer to me he spoke, " Come with me, now,"

He grabbed my arm and we went into the thicker trees.

"Are you aware of the dance after the dinner? Every year, the Amplotudio dances with his or her spouse. The problem is, you don't have one!"

"Why can't I just dance with someone else?"

"Because, it is anything but tradition, you being our leader need to start acting like an authority figure, Ethel!"

" I can't just get married instantaneously!"

" But if you don't, you won't dance tonight," Harry walked away with thunder in his feet.

As soon as Harry got back to the dinner table Zayn asked where I was.

"She is in the woods, sulking. " Harry replied, with a colossal amount of rye bread in his mouth.

Zayn walked out into the forest yelling for me. Eventually, he found me. I was playing with my hair, waiting for him to come.

" What are you doing here? You don't need to be here, you go have fun," I found a false smile to equip myself with and that held our conversation to a steady point.

" Ethel, I don't want to be with them, I want to be with you. Here in the woods, I mean."

"You are sweet, Zayn. But really, go have fun, enjoy yourself,"

"I won't without you,"

"Go, out there, where everybody hates me,"

"They don't hate you," Zayn walked closer to me, "Why would they hate you?"

"They think I am too young to be their leader, and sense I am not married, they can't have their 'traditional' celebration"

"Actually, Harry was the only one that doesn't like you. He's just jealous that you got the position instead of him. That's why Harry has held a grudge on you this whole time. I remember the day we found out you were supposed to be our leader. He drank two bottles that night. He was the first one of our generation to start getting involved with everything going on and all. He was training, as a child, at night he would wish, as hard as he could that he would become our leader. But he never showed the special 'potential' that The Amplotudio would acquire.

My mind was blown to chunks, Harry was training for years and I just show up and be everything that Harry ever wanted to be.

"Ethel," He took my hand, "I want to how you something," He pulled me by my hand and started leading us onto a narrow path. The underbrush was strong and thick, and only getting thicker along the path. As we got deeper into the forest the air became very muggy.

We went from a quick sprint to a distinct walk. Zayn still held onto my hand.

"So where are we going?"

"We are almost there," He kept a steady pace as we walked through those woods. After about a half hour hike we arrived at a bluff. The crumbly limestone was at my nose and it was cool as ice. 

 Zayn stood right in front of the wall of stone and said with a clear, strong voice, "Da Nobis Aquam Absconditas,"

The limestone started to fall out of place. But it wasn't breaking, it was shifting, Shifting to make a slim pathway just fit for us.