Promise

Promise

Avalon Lee

Cressida fiddled with the end of her braid, bored out of her mind. Grandmother was telling another one of her “stories.”

The Ordeau family sat around the campfire, everyone paying rapt attention to Grandmother’s ancient face moving animatedly as she conjured the old legend to life. Well, everyone except one member.

Cressida noticed the absence of her brother Tobias. She scanned the area; the 18-year old seemed to have vanished. Careful not to draw attention to herself, she quietly vacated her folding chair and snuck into the shadows.

“Tobi?” she whispered. There was no reply. “Tobi?” she repeated, slightly louder. “Where are you?”

She crept through the campsite, the midnight moon casting an eerie glow on the trees surrounding the clearing. She thought she glimpsed eyes shining from the darkness of the forest, but it could well have been her imagination. She felt a chill run down her spine, and she shivered involuntarily.

Cressida turned toward the family’s tent. If you’re hiding in there . . . She extended a hand toward the tent’s edge, then drew it back sharply, suddenly fearful of what she might find within.

She rolled her eyes at her own paranoia. You’re being stupid, she told herself. It’s a tent!

Feeling more assured, she swiftly pulled back the tent door, and braced herself . . . for nothing. The fabric-walled room was empty, save for a few sleeping bags and cots. She smiled in relief and turned back around.

“Boo.”

Cressida shrieked at the sudden sound and jumped about a mile in the air. Her heart beat madly as it desperately pumped adrenaline through her veins. Once she was able to breathe again, she glared at the voice’s owner.

There stood Tobias, laughing hysterically, blue eyes glinting with mirth. His long black hair, that their mother wanted to cut so badly, shone in the moonlight.

Cressida’s green eyes widened in realization, then narrowed in anger.

“You jerk!” she growled, half laughing, herself. She punched him in the shoulder repeatedly, anger increasing when he appeared unaffected by the impacts.

He put on a mock sad face, still chuckling at his trick. “Aw, Cress, I was just kiddin’.”

Cress turned away, arms crossed, pretending to still be angry. She could never really be mad at him, not with those big blue eyes of his, and his genuine smile.

His earnest voice came from behind her again. “Honest, I was.”

She rolled her eyes. “If you’re honest,” she said with a slight smile, looking to face him again.

“You’ve gotta admit, though; it was pretty funny,” he said in defense, grinning.

“Not when you’re the one being pranked.”

He held his hands up in surrender. “Fine, fine. You win.”

Cress gave him smug look. “So, why’d you leave the fire, anyways?” she asked. “Aside from escaping Grandmother’s story?”

Tobias’s demeanor transformed instantly. The light in his eyes faded, and his smile disappeared as well. He turned away from her; head bowed, and shoved his hands into his pockets. His dark hair covered his face like a curtain, obscuring his features.

Cress was alarmed by this sudden change in her normally cheerful brother.

“I was just . . . thinkin’.” His voice was casual, but she was not deceived.