Passenger

Chapter 23

It was nearly dark by the time we cleared the ravine, using another bridge a few miles away to cross the length of it. With little fuel for a fire in the surroundings, Sarah produced a tinderbox and a small campfire set, providing a small fire for the night.

Krys and Neb sat opposite the side of the fire from Sarah, who was turned partially away from them, whittling a branch with her knife. A glance at Neb told me he was still uncomfortable with Sarah being around, as his ears were full perked up, twitching at every sound she made.

Krys seemed fairly at ease, though a little more subdued than normal. He ate his food quietly, occasionally glancing at me, then at Sarah. Our short conversation from earlier was obviously still on his mind.

Watching him, I floated down in front of the fire, quietly wishing that I could feel its warmth. "you doing alright, bud?" I asked him. he blinked slowly at me in response. "uh, is that a yes or no? Blink once for yes, twice for no."

He blinked three times. I sighed and eyed him in resignation as he shrugged. Unsure was his answer, I guess. His eyes darted past me to Sarah, frowning, before looking back at me curiously. "why do you have a black streak in your hair?" he asked suddenly, looking over at Sarah.

That made the royal guard start in surprise, turning to glance over at him. "what's it to you?" she snapped immediately, pushing her hair behind her ears self-consciously.

"I was just...curious." Krys smiled awkwardly. "the rest of your hair is red, so I'm guessing it's dyed, right?"

"gee, how'd you figure that one out, genius?" Sarah retorted back sarcastically. "yeah, it's dyed. I did it on purpose."

Krys frowned. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry." He replied softly. "I was just...curious if there was a reason or not. I remember hearing that Rachel –"

"don't." Sarah's voice was harsh and cold as she cut him off. "don't say her name. she doesn't deserve to have her mouth in the name of someone like you."

Wow. Rude. "I don't think you're in any place to be telling people what to say, miss 'I don't have to take you alive'," I retorted, momentarily forgetting that she couldn't hear me.

Krys backed down, however. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend. I'm just trying to better understand everything that's happened. And you're really the only other person I've met that knows what happened with...you know."

For a long moment, Sarah was quiet. Neb nervously flexed his fingers, claws extending and retracting ever so slightly. I couldn't blame him. Sarah had always had a tendency to be a bit...you know, volatile. It was fully possible she might just snap again, or even attack.

But she didn't. instead, her shoulders slumped a little, and she looked away. "Rachel's hair was black." She said softly. "all her suitors always complemented her on it. She hated cutting it, too; even when it got in her eyes when she was fighting, she'd just braid it or tie it up in a ponytail and call it a day. We always joked that she just liked having a mane."

She stopped after that. Krys scooted over towards her to close the distance. "you keep it as a reminder, then." He said quietly; more of a statement than an actual question.

"yeah. Guess I could've worn a bracelet or something, but...this feels more personal to me." Sarah absently twirled the black streak between her fingers as she spoke. "it makes me feel like there's always a little piece of her with me. It's stupid and superficial, but...I can't let go of it. I just can't."

Normally, Sarah would never open up this much, not even to me. She liked playing the 'tough girl' role – then again, I guess I did, too. But just like he'd managed with me, Krys had a gentleness about him that just made people open up to him after a while.