"Here, put this on." Cason passed to me a large rectangle of fabric with finished edges that he pulled from a wooden box. The silky fabric was soft in my hands as I turned it over trying to figure out what it was for and how on Earth, or Eden, I would put it on. It was exquisite and shined with shifting colors like the surface of an opal that revealed changing patterns of forrested landscapes as I moved it in my hands. It was like magic.
Ariton took the fabric from me amidst my obvious confusion and draped it over my head crossing each end of the fabric under my chin then passing them over my shoulders and behind me.
"It's a head scarf, to cover your ears," said Ariton. "There," he said as he adjusted it for me and tucked in a few loose hairs before stepping back and smiling. It was the first time he touched me since last night. "It's perfect, you look... beautiful," he bit his lip, biting back the compliment, then looked away, before stuttering on... "The Opposition won't be able to identify you, I mean."
"Thanks, I think." Ariton had been distant this morning. He was up and ready to leave well before sunrise and acted as if nothing had happened between us last night. It stung, but perhaps it was for the best. It would be easier for both of us when I left if we cut the ties now. At least that's what I told myself.
"She looks like an old maid with that scarf, but it will serve its purpose," said Cason who continued to pillage through the wooden storage boxes in search of something he couldn't find.
"An old maid?" I said, sneering back.
"Maiden's don't usually wear such things," added Ariton delicately. "But that is a good thing because the Opposition will be on the lookout for a maiden. It hides you well."
"Great, just great, they will think I'm some kind of old hag with a hundred cats or something."
"I don't know how the cats fit in, but you could never be mistaken as an old hag," answered Ariton. It was a compliment yet he didn't look at me when he said it- still maintianing his distance. Keeping that invisble space between us through which words could cross but somehow sucked out the affection that had always been present in them.
I put my hurt aside for the time being because I was encouraged by how well Ariton semed to be doing this morning and for a moment the thought crossed my mind that the trip to the Moon's Well may not be necessary. It had taken us over an hour to get to Cason's supply stash and the path did not lack obstacles, yet Ariton tackled each one impressively. The last stretch included a climb up a very steep hillside and once at the summit, we had to shift a large boulder out of the way to expose the entrance to the supplies. But once we got there, it was evident weakness was setting in. I knew what that thin sheen of sweat across his forhead meant.
Once the boulder was moved out of the way, we stood in the mouth of a large bored out hole in the hillside. The interior was dirt, not stone like the cave we'd been staying in and the opening was large enough for us to walk upright into. Daylight shone in about fifteen feet before everything went black and a rush of musty cold air overtook my senses. I brushed little bits of soil from my hair that fell from the ceiling as we entered and hoped to myself the whole place would not collapse and bury us alive.
Cason reached up and lit an oil lamp that hung near the opening and moments later an entire string of them lining the wall about every ten feet came to life and illuminated an area that was larger than most homes I'd lived in. I was quite surprised at the size and extent of the place. The lights revealed a very well-constructed space filled with wooden boxes stuffed to the brim with supplies. It made me wonder how whoever built this place and stocked it was able to do so without the Opposition forces noticing, who according to Cason and Ariton, were all over this part of the woods. I was also pleased to see that the top and sides of the space were fortified with wooden support beams providing me relief we were safe from a cave in. This place was like a cross between a prepper's bug out location and one of those tunnels frequently found under the international border from San Diego to Mexico that was used for moving illicit goods.
YOU ARE READING
Changeling
Fantasy"What, Calliope? You thought you wouldn't feel my hand, did you?" A timid smile pulled at the corners of his lovely mouth. "I don't know what I thought." I stared down at our hands resting together on the bed. A long concelaled and tightly w...
