aesthyr.

chapter two

                                              CHAPTER TWO

Stellaluna and Rhiannon were sitting in the oak tree in the center of the small forest they hung out in almost every day. "Rhia, there's something I need to talk to you about." Stellaluna said quietly. "I've been thinking about leaving the village. I want to go explore Aesthyr, Rhia. I don't want to be stuck here anymore, we're seventeen years old, we can fend for ourselves. Will you come with me?" Rhia wasn't surprised Stella wanted to leave, she had been talking about it for months now, but she didn't think she would actually leave so soon. "I don't think I can, Stella. I have to help my mother with the house, and she has to take care of Iann. We still have lives here, we can't just leave all of a sudden." Rhiannon replied. "But that's why I want to leave, I don't like the lives we have here, I want to start a new one, I want to go explore the lands. We can go to Janak! That's where your great-grandmother lived with her wife, right?" Rhiannon sighed. She's so stubborn, there's no changing her mind. She thought, a small smile formed on her face from amusement. "C'mon, Stella, it's your mothers birthday today, we shouldn't be out here for long." She said as she climbed out of the Oaktree. Stella whined, "Well couldn't you at least consider leaving?" but Rhia was already running down the path to get back to the village.

August 2nd:

Rhiannon just finished tending to the goats when she saw Stella walking over to her from her house down the pathway. "I'm leaving today." she said. Rhiannon tried to read her face, but she didn't see any emotion on it. She studied her auburn wavy hair, her brown skin, and the way the sunlight hit her golden eyes. She was beautiful. Rhiannon wished she looked just a little bit like Stella, the only thing she was thankful for about herself was her green eyes. "Just like your father's grandmother, Janakalah'' Her mother told her. The memory was about six years old, but Rhiannon still remembered it clearly. She quickly snapped out of her own thoughts as she remembered what Stella just told her. "Today?" she asked, unclear of what else to say. "My mother was more than happy to let me go... I guess she has too many mouths to feed.." Stella said vaguely. That was true, Stella's mother had five other children to take care of at home, so Rhia supposed that was a weight being lifted off her shoulders; one less mouth to feed. "I guess I could go tell my mother the news of your departure." She said with a faint smile. The truth was, Rhia wasn't that happy for Stella, she knew it was selfish, but she honestly wanted to come along with Stella, but she knew she couldn't because of her life in Cedana. Just as they started walking towards Rhia's house, they spotted Stella's cousin Charlie running to them. "STELLA! I'M COMING WITH YOU" She started yelling, her blonde hair bouncing behind her. Charlie was about fourteen years old, so Rhiannon was surprised she was even allowed to leave Cedana. "Charlie! Did Auntie let you come along with me? She does know I'm leaving the Villages, right?" Stella said with a smirk. Charlie nodded and started running towards Stella's house. Maybe she's just fetching her bag. Rhia thought. As she walked through the doorway to her house, Rhiannon's mother pulled her aside into the small room in the corner of the house on the opposite side of the kitchen. She then took a brown satchel embroidered with small flowers from behind the shelf. "Here, Rhia. I packed this for you, I suppose you'll need it during your travels." She said as she handed it to Rhiannon. "But, mother, I'm staying here with you-" "I want you to go live your life, Iann is 11 years old already, quite old enough to help me around the house and with the goats. I already told Stella you're going with her, and I suspect Charlie is tagging along with both of you. I packed good traveling clothes; leather pants, travelers corset, a coat, and your green ribbon to keep your hair up." Her mother said, smiling. "Are you sure I can go, you don't need any help with anything anymore, or with Iann?" Rhia said, unsure of the thought of leaving her mother alone with her reckless little brother. Sure, he wouldn't mind helping with just feeding the goats every once and a while, but he was so used to Rhia and his mother doing most of the chores. "Iann has to do his share of work if he wants to live under my roof," Rhias mother said, half sarcastic. Rhiannon hugged her mother and thanked her for everything, and quickly walked over to Stella. Charlie was already standing there with her cream-colored satchel bag and Stella with her satchel that was identical to Rhias. They had both made them when they were about 10 years old, sitting in the old Oaktree. That was the first time they had made anything, so it was surprising that the satchel turned out so good, but the embroidery was a little bit sloppy. After saying her goodbyes to her mother and to Stella's mother, Rhia playfully punched Iann in the stomach and told him to keep out of trouble and to help their mother. He stuck his tongue out at her and made a rude remark about her and ran away. They started laughing and all said their last goodbyes.

As the three girls made their way down the cobblestone path leading south, which was out of the Boho Villages Region, they talked about what adventures they would have. "Well, I wanna meet a pirate," Charlie said, her hazel eyes gleaming with the excitement of just the thought, "And I wanna test them to see how stupid they are, I heard they would sell anything to you if you make them believe that a coin is a lot of money" she snorted. "Charlie, pirates aren't stupid, and they could really hurt you, if you do end up seeing one just stay close to us, ok?" Stella said, surprisingly serious. "Yeah. Ok" She replied and started skipping down the