Revive

Trust and Shelter

Chapter II: Trust and Shelter

I opened my eyes, letting the sun creep in. I had moved from my original position against the tree, to curled up on the ground. I pulled out small fragments of leaves and twigs that had been my pillow throughout the night. I sat up, groaning from being uncomfortable and tired. I turned my head to see Louis still sleeping peacefully. I wasn't sure if I should wake him, and bit my lip in decision. I didn't comprehend how hard I was biting my lip, causing my canines to sink in. I grimaced at the slight sting I received when I made contact to the small wound, only tasting the metallic, silvery blood from the shallow cut. Finally making a decision, I pushed myself to my feet and took a few steps towards Louis, before lightly nudging his shoulder to wake him. Despite my gentle gesture, Louis jumped and let out a yelp.

"AIIEEHH!" Louis jumped a couple inches off the ground before falling down and hitting his tailbone.

"What was that for?" He asked, rubbing his tailbone, hoping the pain would disappear.

"Wake up we have to get moving," I ignored Louis' question standing up straight and throwing my pack over my shoulder. The sunlight crossed my face and heated my skin. I could tell by its place in the sky, it was about midday, which meant we had less time to travel; and as much as the sun warmed me, it didn't help the oncoming headache growing in my temples. Louis stood from his resting spot and brushed the dirt and leaves off his pants. His strawberry hair was messy and staticky from the hood of his cloak. A deep sigh escaped his mouth as he finger-combed through his ginger locks. His breath fogged the air fading away into an invisible fume. I made my way to the path and paused to tighten my shoes. Louis followed rather quickly to catch up but stayed silent to not disturb me. Then we walked in yet again more silence for what felt like hours but in reality it was only about twenty minutes.

"Where are we even going?" Louis broke the silence, his voice tense and tired.

"I don't know. Anywhere," My response was short before returning to silence. This time we did walk for hours, our shoes crunching leaves and sticks as we walked. The trees towered and created monster sized silhouettes over the forest.

"Kora stop," Louis commanded, stopping in his tracks. I turned around quickly, inertia whipping my hair behind me.

"What is it this time?" I was stern and my sharp grey eyes pierced through Louis' chestnut ones.

"Why did you want to leave your home?" I wasn't sure what was going through his mind, but from the darkening of his eyes, I could tell he wanted answers, and he wanted them bad. My own eyes darkened to the same level as his, almost silver at his words.

"I didn't want to leave. I was exiled." I gritted the last word through my teeth, muffling it so it was nearly incomprehensible. Louis nodded, pursing his lips staring into my once light eyes.

"Can we continue now?" I asked, tilting my head toward the path ahead of us. Louis nodded once more and we continued walking. I was sure he was pondering over what I meant by "exiled" as we walked.

"Wait, Stop." Louis once again came to a halt about ten feet from where we once were.

"When you say you were exiled, you don't mean like the crown princess of Aleama who was exiled last night, 'exiled', do you? It's quite suspicious how I met you last night in the forest outside of Aleama" I rolled my eyes at his question and thought about how to respond. I hadn't planned on telling anyone but it was inevitable at that point.

"I do mean that. I, Kora, the crown princess was exiled. You figured me out, hoorah." My tone was sarcastic and tired to the point where I didn't even notice that I added a small hand shake to jazz up the moment.