Our second world- book one: Past beginnings

Chapter 24: Grace

I woke up early that morning to the soft breathing of a still sleeping Marylyn curled up next to me on the bed. Quietly and carefully so as not to wake her, I slid backwards from the bed and walked over to the small window. Pale grayish light pooled on the floor from the cool morning sun. A small shiver ran up my spine as I glimpsed a layer of frost outside.

Walking back over to the bed, I retrieved my bag from underneath it and rummaged for a brush. I found it buried at the bottom, and quickly ran it through my messy hair. While I was putting my coat on, I heard a loud thump from the room next door.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry," Came a muffled whisper.

"It's fine. I'm ok."

Slipping my shoes on, I quietly left my room and headed to Harens. I had a key, but I knocked anyway.

"You guys ok in there?" I asked through the door. There was a rustling of sheets," It's Grace."

"Oh, um... come in?"

Opening the door, I was met with Haren and August in a tangle of limbs on the floor. Surprisingly, Thomas was still asleep. The boys quickly untangled themselves and stood up. Haren ran a hand through his unruly bed head while August busied himself with fixing the bed sheets.

"So uh... what are you doing in here?" Haren asked, walking over to the desk," I thought you'd still be asleep."

"I could say the same to you," I replied, crossing my arms under my chest," Finish getting ready and meet me downstairs," I paused at the door," Oh and, try not to be too loud. The others are still sleeping."

"Will do."

I headed back through the hall to the stairs and down to the restaurant. The woman I saw running the bar last night was setting plates on a table. When she saw me, she smiled and waved me over.

"Hey there. Hungry for some breakfast?" She asked.

"The kitchen isn't open yet, is it?" I replied.

"I came in early today." She said thoughtfully," You don't have any preference for jelly flavor, do you?"

"Peach. Haren likes blueberry." I replied, setting my feet up on the chair next to me.

"Peach huh? Eh, personal taste," She shrugged, heading in the direction of what I assumed to be the kitchen.

Hearing a door close, I glanced up at the stairs to see Haren and August walking over. They sat in the chairs next to me. Both seemed to be blushing to some degree, likely from the embarrassment from earlier.

"Cute," I thought, looking back to the stairs.

Thomas and Marylyn had walked out of our rooms at the same time. Marylyn was a smiling ball of sunshine, while Thomas looked dead on his feet.

After we all finished eating, we bid Alena farewell, who wished us a safe trip, and headed through the town to the mountain road. Or so Thomas claimed it was.

"How much longer until we actually get to the mountains?" I asked after a few minutes.

"Soon," Thomas replied," I have to warn you though, I haven't been through in a while so I don't know what the situation is with the border. Don't be surprised if we see a few skirmishes between troops on our way."

"We can deal with that if it comes to it, but that doesn't mean we should go looking for trouble," Haren said," How long is the trip?"

"On a normal path it's almost a month, but we're taking the old tunnels so it cuts down to about a week." Thomas replied," I hope none of you are claustrophobic. They're kinda small."