An Immortal's Favour

Jack- The Seaside Surprise, Part 2

*

Exposed in the howling wind were the ruins of Algar Castle, its grey, stone bricks darkened and stained through the years. From one end of the castle, a narrow dirt path stretched and connected to the main road not too far ahead.

"Algar Castle."

I held my camera out and clicked away before I went to join Gale, who'd placed herself on a low rock by what used to be the castle's entrance. Shrugging off my jacket, I folded it before laying it down next to her.

"The rock's dry, don't worry."

"What- how?" Tiny droplets of water floated around the immortal's fingers, and I watched them, eyebrows creased together. "Right. Thanks."

"You're welcome."

"It's nice out, don't you think?"

She smiled as I sat stiffly next to her.

"Have you been here before?" she asked.

I sighed. "When I was a child, my parents would bring me here during their free time. We'd just walk around, maybe have a picnic every once in a while. I stopped coming when Father left for Mernia, though."

Gale's fingers linked with mine, and she squeezed my hand before I pulled away. Her face fell.

"You must miss him."

I could only nod weakly.

"Why did you bring me here if it's such a sad place for you?"

"I had some happy memories here. And I think this is one of the most beautiful places in the country. There are some pretty cool stories about it, too. "

"Like?"

"A few years ago, I was reading this book. It was a collection of poems, stories- that kind of thing. It said something about parts of this castle being swallowed into the Afterworld? Something like that, anyway."

"If it has, I can't say I've seen it. I mean, the castle was thriving during my human lifetime; there were always people going in and out."

We lapsed into silence again, and I rubbed my arm, not sure of what to say next. After some time, Gale's head started to loll, and she drooped against my side.

"Tired?"

Her breathing shallowed, and she struggled to keep her eyes open. Eventually, the weight of fatigue took its toll, and the immortal fell asleep. I didn't have the heart to move her off of me, so I let her rest, undisturbed.

Through the gaps in the castle's ruins, glowflies bobbed lazily. Some gave off a bright red light, while others emitted a cool blue or calming green. Together, the different colours seeped into one another as they stained the ashy stone of the old castle.

For the first time in a while, I let myself relax, enjoying the silence for an hour or two. As I was about to drift off, a scream shattered the quietness and Gale's head shot away from my shoulder, laboured pants breaking through her lips.

"What's wrong?!"

"Nightmare...just a nightmare." She couldn't stop her body from shuddering, despite trying to collect herself. After some more feeble attempts to calm down, her eyes finally fluttered closed and she leaned forward.

"We should leave," I decided, standing up.

Gale simply followed, her lips glued shut as she kept her pace in time with mine. Her cotton dress whipped around her, like leaves in an autumn breeze. She kept close to me and might as well have; I had to steer her away from clusters of rocks and other debris on more than one occasion.