The Marble Tower

-35-

"So, Aalyiah."

It took a while for her to realize that Raquel was talking to her, and that she would actually have to listen. Anybody that really knew her called her Aaly, it was strange being addressed by her full name.

"Yes?"

They where riding through the forest now. They had managed to spread out the supplies on one of the pack mules so she could ride along with them. Aalyiah didn't like riding, it was uncomfortable, even with the new clothes that she had received from various members of heir party, underwear and a shirt from Iris, some pants from Mira, and a very Large pair of boots from A man by the name of Xavier. Nothing really fit her, but they where gifts to her that inconvenienced the rest of the group so she didn't complain. Besides the clothes, the saddle that she was ridding on was hard and hurt, she couldn't get her feet into the little wooden foot holder things that she could only assume was what Iris meant by the "stirrups". And she was a lot higher off of the ground than she preferred. Though she knew that it was sort of ironic for her to dislike something like that when she had spent the majority of her life gazing out of a window that was much higher off of the ground than this creature ever would be. But they where riding, and she didn't have to walk, so she counted her blessings and kept her mouth shut. That was until Raquel had addressed her.

"I've been wondering something." Raquel answered.

Aaly didn't like were this was headed, "Yeah?..."

"Why exactly did you follow us?"

Aaliyah froze for a minute, how exactly was she going to answer that. Should she lie? Should she tell the truth? She had read a lot of stories growing up and the characters almost always get found out in the end. But the truth might force her to tell more than she was comfortable to say, it might force her to tell them more than she knew. About the dream, about her mom, her disease, everything.

She glanced back at Raquel who was patiently waiting for her answer. Though a bit suspicious, genuinely curious too. And she didn't feel like a threat. She didn't make her sweat in absolute dread like Draco and Charles did whenever she was around. It was this comfort that eventually lead Aaly to say simpley, "You where the only ones I could find that where leaving."

She looked at the woman sitting next to her. Her face contorted into confusion for a bit before she asked, "What do you mean?"

Aaly sighed, "I could have run off on my own, but I don't know the first thing about this place. Your foreigners and you knew morea bout my own country than I did, I thought that... I thought that maybe you might lead me to somewhere for me to go."

"Oh." was all she replied, it was obvious that she wanted to know more, why she was so desperate to leave the palace, but she didn't ask. And Aaly appreciated that. All she had to do was ask and she'd be sent straight back to were she started. Well, after everything changed that is.