Aurora woke up to Perdido sleeping beside her. They had decided that today would be the day that they would leave the Capital city of Zellarid to join her family, Xayah and Arlie in Mirierejar to handle the disputes. She didn't feel as though she was ready to leave the Capital city, for she never had before. Selene had been all over Miriejar, Tage had often joined their mother on visits with Scheven to discuss matters that concerned all of Iphica, but Aurora stayed put. She hoped that by having Perdido by her side she'd be able to make it there alright, but was still doubtful. They had made arrangements to leave Charlotte in charge, as she had been general during the Shiv War and was soon to be the mother of a King. Aurora slipped out of bed as quietly as she could, but still woke Perdido. "You don't have to be that careful, I wake up when you roll over so I'll wake up when you get out." he said as he rubbed his eyes. She still couldn't believe that he was back. "I know, I'm just not used to having you back here yet. I don't want to disturb you, especially since you're still adjusting back to life here." he nodded. "I sure came back at an exciting time, didn't I?" he bantered as he climbed out of the bed. "Certainly." Aurora said as she gazed out the window. She sighed, thinking of her mother. She would have been so happy to see Perdido again, to attend their wedding, but could not. She shook these thoughts. "Ready to go see your mother later?" she asked, turning around. "She's been a bit much, or at least a bit more than I remember." he said as he walked over to her. "Well you've been gone for ten years, I'm sure I'm a bit more than you remember too." she said she walked closer to him.
They got ready and left the home, making their way to Charlotte's. They knocked on the door and she came running. Her grayish reddish hair flowing behind her. "Welcome!" she exclaimed as she let them in. "Do you need anything for the trip?" she asked as she closed the door. "No, we need to talk to you about leaving you here." she sighed as her son spoke. "I am prepared, Perdido. I was a general in my prime. I may be an older woman now but I can handle myself. I've had to for a long time now and I know how to. But Perdido, listen to me. We've lost your father. We lost you. We almost lost your sister. Do not make me lose you again too. Do you hear me? You better come back and not in any condition that would cause me to see you at work. The same goes for you, Aurora. And when you come back, with Tage and Chloe and every other good person that's over there, we will have a beautiful wedding despite everything that both of our families have lost. I can handle myself here, make sure you can handle yourselves over there."
After their talk with Charlotte, both new power and new fear was instilled in the two. She had talked them up and given them strength, but also reminded them of dangers they didn't realize that they would face. Aurora needed to make sure Selene was alright, that her family that she had sent away was alright, that the elf woman and Arlie were alright, and that every Mirierejar citizen was alive and well despite being under the tyrants' reigns. Aurora thought of these things as they walked from Charlotte's to the bridge. Perdido was also silent, and Aurora could tell that he knew she needed to be left alone with her thoughts.
When they walked across the bridge they noticed that the cart was missing. They sighed as they realized what this meant. "We're going to have to walk, aren't we now." Perdido complained. "If Arlie, Soleil, my mother and an army can do it, we can do it." Aurora claimed with confidence that had suddenly slipped into her. They looked at each other, nodded, then set out on their journey.
They had walked for what felt like hours when the sun had only moved a bit. It was an odd sight to see. Nearly every spot of Zellaridian land was taken up by one thing or another, causing constant need of expansion. However, Miriejar was more spread out, having little clumps of towns here and there divided among the two sub kingdoms and the narrow, but long, Imperial City. They walked in silence, just enjoying the scenery with each other. It was painfully obvious how hard it was for Perdido to return into a forest, but he didn't say anything about it. At long, long last, the moon came up and they laid down. They looked at the stars together, and Perdido pointed out all the patterns he had noticed in his ten years of lying under them. They snuggled up to each other in their makeshift camp, and soon Perdido drifted off to sleep. Aurora couldn't for the life of her. Eventually, she quietly sang herself a lullaby her mother used to sing when she and her siblings couldn't sleep.
"Walls have ears
Doors have eyes
Trees have voices
And beasts tell lies
Beware the rain
Beware the snow
Beware the man
You think you know
Be like glass,
If he breaks you, cut him
'Cause a fish with it's mouth closed
Never gets caught"
She sang it under her breath so many times that it seemed the wind rustled the trees to its melody. Aurora told herself that her mother was singing her to sleep upon it, and that helped her to finally drift off.
YOU ARE READING
The Things We Do
Fantasy[COMPLETE] 2nd book in the "The Places We Go" series. Please read it before reading this book! #1 in war-torn #3 in approval #3 in Wattpad exclusive After the end of the Shiv War, the continent of Iphica has changed, a lot. With Zellarid and Mirirej...
