Chapter Thirteen

Aerilyn

Aerilyn had walked beside Everett the entire way back to the house the rest of their group resided in. The sun was at a full blaze overhead, leading her to believe it was about midday. She only hoped the others weren’t panicking at their absence as Everett had done when he noticed that she had been missing from her cot. His worry was confusing to her yet again. He gave her mixed signals about whether or not he even liked her. He still attached the nickname of a thief, making her question his opinion of her. As they rounded the corner, her eyes landed on Brinley and Blaise pacing before the front door of the home they’d stayed in. As soon as they noticed Everett and Aerilyn, Brinley cried out and began to run towards them.

“Aeri! We thought something happened to you two,” she threw her arms around Aerilyn’s waist and the girl returned the harsh hug. “We didn’t mean to worry any of you. I didn’t want to wake you up from your peaceful slumber, but we found something,” she smiled, motioning over her shoulder to the animal that Everett dragged behind him. Brinley gasped, placing a hand over her mouth. “Is that an actual deer?” She moved closer to examine the animal, just as amazed as she and Everett had been. It wasn’t long before Blaise and Bastian joined the circle around the dead deer. They all seemed stunned at the fact that there were still animals left beyond the walls. She could only assume that the people in Orissia didn’t realize that there was anything beyond the darkness. Maybe they believed the darkness stretched on forever and that animals no longer existed.

“Where the hell did you find this?” Blaise’s wide eyes moved between Aerilyn’s and the dead animal.

“I found a forest. An actual forest with more trees than you can count. This big guy was wandering in the field,” she tried to hold back her excitement as she explained the encounter to the group. They all were quiet for several moments, exchanging looks of surprise. This meant more than they realized. The animals were still around, what else could that mean?

“I need to see this forest,” Bastian’s voice broke the silence that had grown between them. The man’s lips curled into a small smile which was returned by the rest of the group.

The fire they had finally got going took less time than expected. They were able to gather wood from the forest, making the fire blaze bright as the sun began to set. The group sat on the ground around the fire as they watched the meal slowly cook. The rations they had snacked on for days weren’t enough to truly keep them going. Aerilyn had learned to thrive on little food, but the others had been lucky enough to have constant food in their stomachs and weren’t used to the lack of eating.

“So prince, how does it feel having to cook your food?” Blaise’s sarcasm cut through the peaceful silence. Brinley let out a snort at the comment. Everett parted his lips to speak, but Aerilyn saw the pause he had as if he were debating his response. “I think it was the clarity about life that I didn’t realize I needed,” he spoke softly, showing a more truthful side to him. Aerilyn had expected him to make his snarky comment, but his response seemed to surprise all of them.

“I feel like I was sheltered from so much. I didn’t get to feel or see the full experience of life. If I die tomorrow, I don’t think I could confidently say that I lived my life and I hate that,” he continued, running his hand over the stubble on his jaw. “I somewhat feel the same way. Not to the extent that you’ve experienced, but my entire life has been devoted to possibly being Chosen. I’m the first in my family to ever be Chosen, but my parents began training me for the possibility of my name being drawn from the moment I could hold a weapon,” Brinley openly admitted, folding her arms over her chest. For the first time since they had left the walls, everyone was truly talking. Not just small talk to make the journey go by faster. It was all genuine things that most of them had probably never said out loud.

“My parents have always believed that it is an honor to be Chosen. They think it’s some sort of gift from a higher power, a blessing of sorts. They wanted me to be prepared for this day and I truly never expected it to come,” she trailed off, biting her bottom lip as she tried to find the next words. “They congratulated me when I left. They celebrated me leaving for my death. How fucked up is that?” Brinley’s voice cracked on the words. Aerilyn felt pain for the girl. Even though she still had parents around, they had been too blind to see their true daughter. She pushed to her feet and moved across the fire to where Brinley was sitting. Aerilyn wrapped her arms around the girl, pulling her in for a hug.

The physical closeness brought a comfort to Aerilyn that she missed so deeply. Everyone seemed to process what was happening with their open honesty. The odds of them ever returning to Orissia would be slim. They were all talking about the feelings they’d buried deep within their minds, the things they never expected to admit to anyone. They were getting those deep feelings out before they faced their end, whenever that may be. The reality of it seemed to rush over all of them.

“I come from a large family, seven siblings to be exact. We knew one of us would be Chosen one day. They’ll barely even notice that I’m gone,” Blaise pipped in, a sigh leaving him. The usually cocky man seemed completely different in Aerilyn’s eyes as he admitted that. It made sense that he ran his mouth the way he did. He had to somehow gain the attention of the people around him since he was usually background noise at home.

“My family has always been perfect in my eyes. My mother and father married young. They were both healers and so of course they had me. We’ve lived a peaceful life without violence. I’ve never once picked up a sword while living in Orissia. When my name was called, I thought I would definitely be the first to die. My parents said goodbye knowing they’d never see me again,” Bastian’s accent filled the air. Something about the way words rolled off of his tongue was enchanting. He held himself like nobody else. Aerilyn envied him for it.

“What about you, Aeri?” Brinley squeezed her hand, urging her to admit her truths.

“Both of my parents passed away. I had to learn how to fend for myself. I lived in the portion of town that had been burned down by the fires. I stole food from the palace and sometimes people in the town square. I lived off of nothing. Nobody will miss me when I’m gone. I have nothing left back in Orissia besides my parents' graves,” the last words hit her harder than she’d ever admit. She truly had nothing to go back to. “When we return, I’m sure my family wouldn’t mind you coming to live with us,” Brinley offered, pecking her cheek with a quick reassuring kiss. It was the sweetest thing anyone had said to Aerilyn for as long as she could remember.

“How did you become such a badass with the sword then?” Blaise questioned. “My father was a Forcer before he died. He taught me how to protect myself. I thought it was silly before, but now I’m forever grateful for his lessons,” she explained and understanding seemed to wash over the man’s features. “I’m sorry that you had to grow up like that,” Bastian reached out, placing a gentle touch on her arm. Aerilyn was overwhelmed by the comfort provided by those around her. From her first impression of the group, she hadn’t expected any warmth from them. Nor had she expected them to survive more than a day. She was surprised by the events that had unfolded.

“As much as I love this cute little moment, I’m hungry as fuck,” Everett chuckled as he began to pull pieces of the meat from the fire. He used his dagger to cut them up and began dividing pieces between each of them. The silence that consumed the group was full of peace. They all were lost in the much-needed meat, letting out groans of relief as their stomachs began to fill. That was how the rest of their night went. Peaceful. They’d formed a bond that night that they hadn’t expected. That was the night that they all truly became themselves.

Aerilyn had been the first to volunteer for watch that night. There was a lot on her mind and the idea of sleeping wasn't very practical. The boys had all gone into the home they'd been sleeping in, but Brinley lingered by the fire beside her. "What do you think this means? How much of what we've been told was lies?" Brinley whispered, moving closer to her side. "I'm not sure. I feel like there's so much we don't know," she replied, glancing down at her hands.

"Do you think the prince knew?"

Aerilyn shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not sure. He seemed as surprised as I was when we found the animal. I feel like he's as clueless as we are."

Brinley ran her hands over her face, letting out a soft sigh. "How the hell are we going to get out of this mess? I just want to go home," she mumbled, keeping her eyes on the ground. "We'll find a way. We're going to get that sword and go home. If not, I guess we'll die trying," Aerilyn tried to find the right words, but she wasn't able to sugar coat the truth.

"How reassuring," she snorted, a small laugh escaping her. The laughter was nervous, but it was such a beautiful sound. "I'm so glad I met you. Your positivity has kept me sane around all of these men," she admitted out loud, looking at the redhead. A smile formed on her lips and she didn't have any time to react when the girl hugged her.

"I'm so glad I met you, Aeri."

Brinley had hugged her before, but the tight grasp this time was different. She realized at that point in time, she finally had a true friend.