The Blue Desert

Chapter Ten

Anan wasn't sure how many days had passed since their flight from Jrell. She only knew that she hated the desert, and she hated that horse. She was seated on her cloak, her scarf tied around her head shading her eyes and protecting her shoulders from the rays of the sun.

Kevresh was bent over examining the hooves of his horse. They had stopped because his horse had been running irregularly. Anan didn't pretend to understand or care; she was simply glad to stop.

"How much farther is it to Tria?" she questioned, idly picking at a loose thread in her cloak.

Her brother snorted. "Don't even start asking that question."

Anan frowned at his back. The heat was getting to him, too; they were both irritable and grumpy. "I'm almost out of water," she informed him as she shook her flask.

"Then drink it sparingly."

She stuffed it back into her bag and glared at him, muttering to herself. Laying back, she pulled the scarf over her eyes and shifted to get comfortable.

"What are you doing?" she heard a voice demand.

"Resting. You were the one who insisted we stop."

"Well, we're moving again," Kevresh said, digging his toes into her side.

Anan pushed herself up again with a groan. "Don't touch me; you're dirty." Before he could do anything else to her, she jumped to her feet and picked up the cloak. "I don't want to get back on. My whole body hurts from riding; I can barely walk."

Kevresh didn't look impressed. "Anan, we have to keep moving. You don't need to walk, and you are capable of riding. When we reach Tara you can rest as much as you want."

Anan made a face at him but hobbled over to her horse anyway, letting out a little whimper in an attempt to convince him that she needed rest. Her act didn't work on her brother, though.

"Up you go," he said, helping to lift her into the saddle. He paused at her side and stared up at her for a moment. "It shouldn't be very long now. We should reach the lake soon, and then things will start to change."

Anan saw the worry creasing his face and nodded. She had never seen him this way before, and she knew that she had to be serious. "It's okay. I know that we have to reach Tria before we can rest. I can ride as long as you need me to." She smiled.

Kevresh patted her leg. "If your weak legs don't give out on you."

"I don't have weak legs!"

Her brother laughed, swinging onto his horse. "Really? So you were acting when you walked to Bayen?"

Anan huffed, and Kevresh chuckled again, urging their horses forward. They rode in silence. Every so often Anan would glance at the sky, but she knew it was just past midday, and the sun would still be in the sky for a long time.

"Kevresh?" she said at last.

"Yes?"

"Why did you want to come with me?" she asked. She guessed that she knew the answer, but since their departure from Jrell she had realized there were so many things she didn't know about him.

Kevresh was silent for another long moment. "I didn't like the idea of you travelling alone," he began carefully. "But I wouldn't have done it except that the palace was becoming stifling. There was nothing left for me to do there. With our mother being Trian, no one ever saw us as Vasdan; they would never accept us. Therefore there's nothing I can do here. Leaving is the only option. Someday I can come back, after I've learned about Trian ways and compared them to our own. Maybe when I come back I can try to change things."