Why the Change of Mind (More a Change of Heart)

Strangers Starting Out on a Journey

The journey starts with some...complications

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Clair was woken roughly by a large hand on her shoulder and an accompanying voice saying, "Rise and shine, Princess. We need to leave."

"Hey, leave her be, it's barely dawn," another voice – Lincoln's – protested.

"Yes, and that's the time we needed to be leaving. Any earlier and people will be out and about, which will make it much harder for a group of four people to get out of town without being seen. So come on, get up." He pushed at her shoulder one more time and she finally relented, opening her eyes blearily.

It took her a moment to reprocess where she was and what was going on, and when she did she was still not sure it had happened. Was she really doing this? Running away from her clan, tagging along with some strangers to find a long-lost parent that might not even be hers? She'd never been far from home before, and surely Anya would look for them eventually.

Then she thought of the forest, the images pressing in the back of her head without shape, and she got out of bed.

Bellamy smirked at her as she patted down her hair awkwardly, realizing it was going to be a tangled mess without a brush or way to pull it back. She gave him a quick glare, forcing her eyes not to linger on his uncomfortably good-looking bedhead – it couldn't be fair to be that attractive all the time and be a jerk – and made up the bed as best she could. If anyone came looking, the least they could do was make it look like no one had been there for a while.

Miller gave her a nod of approval as he finished his own bed and grabbed four large backpacks from the back corner, passing one to each traveler. "This should have enough food and supplies to last us for a while, and if that doesn't work I assume you can hunt?" He inclined his eyes to Lincoln.

He nodded. "Except I doubt I can bring my bow along for fear of being noticed, which would only leave me with my knives."

"Can you still do it, if needed?" Bellamy asked, seeming distracted by whatever he was checking in his own backpack.

"Yes, and Clair can too if you give her something. She's better than I am."

Clair couldn't help but lift a little at his remark, and Bellamy side-eyed her. "The Princess can hunt, huh? Then I guess you'll need one of these." He held out a large knife, hilt out, and she took it carefully.

There was nowhere good to put it on the clothes Bellamy had given her – they were simple and strategically useless – so she went to the pile of her old clothes, which they would dump once they were further from the town. She uncoiled the small weapons belt to retie it around her, tucking the knife into one of the sheaths.

She noticed Bellamy eyeing her. "What?"

He blinked, seeming almost embarrassed. "Sorry, I just noticed the gun holster. I forget your people use those now." He paused, then reached at his side and pulled out a pistol from his waistband. "Think you'll need one of these, too?"

Clair considered for a moment, but realized that appeared to be his only weapon and shook his head. "I'll only need the knife."

He raised an eyebrow. "Good to know the Princess has some confidence in her abilities."

"Oh, shut up," she said, piling the rest of the clothes into her arms. "You said we needed to hurry, right? So let's hurry."

There was a little light when they left, but not much—only enough for Bellamy and Miller, who seemed used to working under cover of darkness, to lead the way. She had a little more trouble adjusting and kept to the middle, Lincoln right on her back.