THE ASHES OF LIGHT ✔

Chapter Thirteen: Valencia

When Valencia said she thought she was going to die, that was not an exaggeration. While she wasn't sedentary back home, she had never gone backpacking before and wasn't used to carrying that much weight in a bag—let alone, after a week of intense training at the Academy.

When she was told that she was going to be a part of the expedition group, Valencia wasn't on top of the world like she thought she would be. She was scared. She was completely inexperienced and new to the whole idea of Light Manipulation, and even the smallest mistake could put Dad's life even more at stake.

Valencia decided to ignore her thoughts, concentrating instead on the aching feeling in her legs, wishing that they could stop for a break soon. They had been hiking for hours and had only gone a few miles. The sun was beginning to set over their heads, casting a brilliant red over the vast fields. In the distance, a forest was starting to come into view.

"How much longer are we going tonight?" Valencia panted, trying her best to catch up to the group. She was astounded that they didn't even look half as tired as her—she kept falling behind and they would have to pause to let her catch up.

"Hmm," Kane thought aloud, scratching at his beard, "we can stop in the forest ahead for tonight, but that'll mean we have a lot more to do tomorrow."

Valencia wanted to cry. She didn't want to leave more work for tomorrow, but right now, she was beyond the brink of exhaustion and wanted to stop.

Maythus looked over at her in concern before speaking up, "Let's do that, stop in the forest. We can have an early morning tomorrow to get caught up."

Maddi nodded, "Sounds good to me."

Valencia sighed in relief. With each step forward they took, the closer to resting they would come.

They finally reached the edge of the forest and decided to camp out there. As soon as they stopped, Valencia's legs immediately crumpled onto the soft forest floor, her legs giving out from fatigue.

"We're not quite done yet," Kane noted, placing his bag on the ground beside her. He outstretched his hand, helping Valencia get up with a groan.

"Maythus and Valencia, you two work on setting up the tarp for tonight. I'll help Maddi get dinner started," he commanded, pulling supplies out of their bags.

Valencia tiredly grabbed one of the tarps and followed Maythus, heading over to an area where the ground wasn't quite so rocky.

"You holding up okay?" Maythus asked, cracking a small smile.

Valencia groaned, "No one said it was going to be this physically demanding."

"That's what I was like when I first started at the Academy—it felt like my legs were constantly on the verge of giving out—but we do so much exercise each day that I'm somewhat surviving this okay," Maythus shrugged. He shook open the tarp and began tying it to a tree, creating a tent-like structure.

"You know, I've been waiting my whole life for this," he commented, testing the knot to make sure it was secure. "Going on my first expedition with Maddi has been something I've been looking forward to my entire life, but especially since I've started at the Academy."

Valencia nodded and picked up the other side of the tarp, attaching it to another tree by mimicking the knot Maythus had created, "That makes sense, I mean, I'd be excited too."

Valencia looked him up and down, noticing his muscles bulge as he lifted the plastic tarp. No wonder he wasn't as tired as she was—he was in incredible shape. Valencia couldn't help but feel jealous of all the children living in Gallomia. They got to perform Light Manipulation and go to a school with mostly-good teachers and interesting subjects—it made her wonder why her father didn't raise her here.