A Forest of Secrets

Chapter 24

They got back to the pod at the break of dawn, making sure to remove their sandals to avoid waking Laurentius and Wyn up. Jo felt like giggling-- giggling. She couldn't believe herself. She kept playing the night before in her head, his warm body next to hers, the fire. It had been awkward, at first, but Alaric had proved to be a fast learner. They went at it one, two, three times; they fell asleep with the sound of the birds rising up before dawn, and woke up not much later to a sneaky squirrel that felt like stealing the remainders of their food. Jo had never felt so energized, so happy, after sleeping so little. They cuddled by the dying embers until they started to feel cold: their little bubble of happiness had to burst, one way or another. She wished they could've stayed hidden in that hollow tree forever, but alas, the ritual was programmed for the night. They needed to pick up their things, and go.

Jo nearly pissed herself when she opened the door and saw Laurentius sitting at the low table surrounded by penumbra, drinking from a glass teacup filled with what looked like a herbal tea. They wouldn't pass unnoticed now.

"Please don't tell me you waited up all night for us? How nice of you, mom," Alaric jested. The mage rubbed his temples, then downed the rest of his tea in one gulp.

"I assume you two had fun last night, wherever you were? Jo, did you make Alaric into a man? There's a glow about him-- oh, is he blushing now? How adorable," he looked up at them, smiling sardonically.

Jo noticed two prominent black circles under his bloodshot eyes. She could tell his hands were shaking, he sure looked like he had been up all night, but why? Not for them, of course, she thought she knew him too well to think that. "Was it everything you expected? Oh, don't tell me- I really don't have the stomach for it; this tea is making me nauseous and it's way too early," the mage said, wincing.

"Really? It's quite a tale, actually; if you don't want to hear it,  it's your loss," Jo directed a wicked smirk at the mage, squeezing Alaric's hand for a second; the young knight gave her an embarrassed smile. Adorable; Jo felt a tingling sensation in her stomach.

"That good, huh?" the mage poured more tea from a glass kettle into his cup. "Maybe I do want to hear about it, after all," the mage gave them an inquisitive look; Jo noticed Alaric's ears were  getting furiously red. "But there'll be time, after all this is over. It's not like we'll be able to go anywhere afterward."

"Hey, the only one being held hostage here is me, remember? you can leave whenever --" Jo started, but was interrupted by the mage.

"I didn't mean it like that," Laurentius took a sip of his tea, wincing. "At any rate, please, don't mind me-- go on about your day, I'm sure Jo needs to get ready for that ritual. I suggest you start with a bath, you two look... pitiful. I don't even want to know how you managed to get that much dirt on yourselves. Or maybe I do? Oh, never mind," he sighed irritably. "Off you go now, before you leave mud marks all over the pod."

"What's with Laurentius?" Alaric whispered to Jo when they were close to her door. "He's always snarky, but... he's acting weird, isn't he? Or am I imagining things? My brain does feel a little fuzzy..." he gave her a half smirk, narrowing his eyes a little.

"Mine too," she answered, licking her lips. "But I think he's definitely acting weird. It's not just our, ahem, fuzziness," Jo opened the door, willing the bathroom into existence. The bathtub had flower petals in it, and floating candles hanging from the ceiling: the room had read her mind. She wanted to share the -- Oh, but -- she didn't want to give Laurentius another chance to pick on them. "For now, I think we should go our separate ways," she cleared her throat, nervously. "To avoid more snarky comments," she added quickly; Alaric rubbed his neck, sniggering.