Element Restraint

Chapter 17: Erik

Acantha has not said a word for a while. I have dumped so much on her in the past thirty minutes, I thought she would pass out.

As we walk through the forest, I can feel that it is not fear she is feeling. It is confusion, but also a sense of strength and joy. Joy, maybe, to finally be leaving.

Maybe she wanted the freedom to leave so she could be with this rebel. She obviously risked her life when she thought he died in the throne room. She cares for him.

When she found him lying next to the tree, tears came to her eyes. I could feel the relief in her. The air shifted from anger to calmness.

I envy that relief. Acantha gets to leave here with a person she loves, but I am leaving everything behind.

I did not want to leave my siblings behind, but I have no choice. I do not know where Casimir's head is right now, and it is far too dangerous for Aella.

My shoulders and back aches due to the weight of the two hundred pound man I am carrying. I look at Acantha who is several steps behind me.

She studies each step she takes. Careful to step over every root and rock. I look behind at my home in the distance.

I stop in my tracks for a moment.

" What is causing me to do this?" I wonder to myself in a panic.  I am losing my sister, my brother, my Realm, My throne, my everything, just for her. Why?

I turn my back on the palace. There is no going back now.

I will find Gale, and he will help me find a plan. Soon I will be reunited with him. After that, I do not know what I will do. First, we must get to Lazuli in the Ice Realm.

After we cross the forest, we get to a long road. I pause at the edge of the forest and drop the rebel on the ground. I stretch my back, relieved to have his heavy body off of me.

"Why are we stopping?" Acantha asks me. She does not look at me, but rather looks down at the man on the ground.

"I can not carry him the whole way," I tell her breathlessly. She kneels down and checks his pulse for a moment.

"I seriously doubt that you can carry him," I add. She removes her fingers from his neck and stands back up.
"We need a car." She tells me. "Do you know how to drive?"

"It has been some time since I have driven, but I can attempt," I explain trying to sound confident.

"If we go into the city, we can get a car." She points down the road towards a cluster of lights.

I just nod my head. She seems like she knows what she is doing more than I do.

I look down at the rebel and sigh. I pick him up and begin walking.

We stick to the trees for cover. As we follow the light, they begin to shine brighter and brighter as we get closer and closer.

I feel Acantha's nerves move through the air when we are at the border of the city.

I crouch behind a tree outlooking the city. I look around at the guards walking on the paved roads. There are more than usual around.

"They know we are here." Acantha mumbles beside me. I look at her. She bites her lip as she studies the guards walking around. She looks at me with disquietude.

I turn to where I left the rebel laying and cover him in leaves and sticks.

"What are you doing?" Acantha hisses at me.

"If I go into that city with this rebel swinging on my back, I am one hundred percent sure they will catch us immediately," I tell her.

I finish covering him until he is completely hidden.