The War Must Go On ~ Book 1: Gemaris Island

Chapter 3: Town Square

Book 1: Gemaris Island

Chapter 3: Town Square

Amien finished packing and then locked up his Divination House. He left a sign on the door, stating that classes and appointments were all cancelled and Professor Amien would not be available for quite some time.

Ora waited patiently in front of the house, resting her hands on her upright suitcase. Her umbrella hung onto the case by the handle. The girl began fiddling with her, fixing her bun and smoothing her curls when she suddenly touched the rose in her hair. She had forgotten about it.

"Alright, I'm ready," Amien said, but he was only holding a small bag. "I say we head to the Mirror Gate that leads to the second island and on the way, we keep an eye out for the Willow Wanderer."

"Is that all you're bringing?" Ora asked, pointing.

"I fit all my belongings in here," Amien quickly said.

"How?" Ora asked in disbelief.

"Magic," Amien shrugged. "It's very convenient."

"I bet it is," Ora mumbled, eyeing his bag. "I have this giant thing to haul around, but it is pretty."

"And inconvenient," Amien added.

"It's fine," Ora said firmly.

"Why do you have an umbrella?" Amien asked, snickering.

"In case it rains!" Ora blushed.

"It hardly ever rains on this island," the pirate laughed.

"Then how do all these flowers and trees grow?" Ora asked, throwing her arm out as they made their way down the stone path into town.

Amien squinted at her. "You're obviously not from this island."

"How do you know?" the girl asked pompously.

"Because you would know that the purple trees, and most of the other plants on this island don't need rain to grow, otherwise they would be dead by now," Amien replied, waiting eagerly to see the clueless reaction on her face.

Ora sighed and glanced around at her surroundings as they strolled onward. The round pink and lavender trees were scattered among the grasslands, each giving each other space but also staying cordially close to one another. The sun was directly above the island, but its soft glow reflected gently against the gold-tinted grass and most of the blossom trees shades the two travelers from the heat and the blinding brightness.

As they walked further from the edge of the island and closer to the center, to the Town Square, the trees gradually became pinker. Soon, they all resembled heavenly clouds floating above the stone paths. Ora noticed that instead of houses, there were small large buildings surrounding the road: apartments, shops, even a church. In the center of the square was a humble fountain circled by a ring of tiny flower bushes of white and violet buds.

The road had become a clearing and everywhere she turned, Ora saw another large building with people strolling in and out of it. Although this was the busy city now, everything retained the same serenity that the rest of the island possessed.

Ora glanced up at Amien whose fast stride kept him always slightly ahead of her. A bold look of determination rested on his face as he continuously stared straight ahead of him.

"Why did you say roses have thorns earlier?" Ora asked suddenly.

Amien ceased his staring and blinked at the girl who struggled to keep up with him.

"What?" he asked.

"In our first encounter, you closed the door on me after you said roses have thorns. Why did you say that?" Ora asked, curiously