Betrothed

|| C h a p t e r 5 ||

"You won't have much to say after I'm done with you!" Tess screamed, eyes falling upon us.

"What is that girl's problem?" Caspian said to no one in particular with shock in his voice.
"Tess," Kishan called out. "You're drunk! You're not thinking clearly!" His voice shook with worry.
"Think about the shame you'll receive for fighting an Acier woman who can barely defend herself!" Another chimed in.

"Punch!" Caspian, Kishan and Duana all punched whereas I tended to lag behind. "Punch!"

"What's wrong?" Kaden whispered into my ear, holding my close.
"I-" the words felt bitter in my mouth, the feeling almost too vile. "I'm engaged to be married." A tear slipped down my cheek. "Do you feel anything for me?" Kaden asked calmly. A tear dropped.
"I cannot answer you nor will I answer you." Kaden gently took my hand once more and I gazed at him with tear stained eyes.
"I know you feel the connection between us," he whispered. "You can't just pretend it doesn't exist!" His voice raised with distress and agony and I felt my heart tear down the middle. Letting go of my hand, Kaden walked out of the Healing hut, eyes colder than I had ever seen them.

"Dude, what's up with you?" Kishan mumbled through a mouthful of food. "Eat." Kaden shook his head, shrugging his broad shoulders. "I'm not hungry." Our eyes met briefly for a second before Kaden quickly reverted his stare towards his plate of food. Words cannot explain the emotions that I feel. How dreadful is it to know that I am the one who is responsible for his apparent despair. I am so confused. I admit I feel something for Kaden. But what is it exactly. I frowned and picked at the yellow circles called pancakes.
"This is so not like you," Duana agreed. "You eat like a pig!" Kaden rolled his eyes scathingly.
"I'm not hungry," he sighed. "Drop it." Kishan shrugged and continued to eat whilst Duana refused the offer to let it go.
"You can't go to the Acier Kingdom on an empty stomach," Duana said with a matter-of-fact tone. "You better eat." Kaden growled, rolling his eyes.
"Are you ok?" Caspian's voice shook me back to reality. I turned around hastily.

"Oh, yes, I'm okay, thank you for asking," I replied dully, eyes darting back to my plate of food in swift glances. Caspian gave me a dubious look, his left eyebrow raised in disbelief.

"You seem uneasy," he stated, turning to face me. He folded his arms over his toned chest, his red button up shirt pulling taut. "Are you nervous about the trip?" I didn't want to particularly discuss Kaden in the middle of the Resilient Capital where people were flooding inside to eat. I exhaled to try and calm my nerves. I looked at Caspian who was patiently waiting.
"Everyone is counting on me to deliver this message," I twisted one of my silvered curls, the rose golden tips being woven around my finger. "What if I fail? I'll disappoint everyone." I turned away from Caspian to face my meal, my food looking just as dejected as I did.

"Disappoint?" Caspian repeated as if the word was foreign to him. "You're the amazing Acier Woman who agreed to put herself at risk to save the world and to stop the War! Do you actually think people would be disappointed in you?" I rubbed my arm shyly, something that had started after my father had died. "Impossible," Caspian murmured, grinning charmingly at me, right hand on the nape of his neck, a slight pink falling on his cheekbones. I smiled before looking down. I heard a slight cough from further down the table and I saw Kaden, one eyebrow cocked up in cold disbelief. My smile fell away and I looked at my loosely intertwined hands in my lap. Now I'm back to feeling like 'the crap'.

And here we are at the cave. The cave leading out from Kaden's hometown and into the Resilient Forest of the unknown. Our Journey awaits.

"Kaden," The Resilient Leader behind me spoke to Kaden with an authoritative tone. "Are you sure that you're ready to complete the task at hand?" Kaden's voice was stiff to me although tranquility flowed from him.