~.✧ Austora ✧.~ [COMPLETE]

~.✧ nine ✧.~

A/N Heyyyy! So just a fair warning, this chapter is extra long so prepare yourself XD It technically was a chapter and a half but I combined them so that the story would flow a little better. ✨Enjoy!✨

I woke up to a soft rustling, like footsteps, as my eyes slowly peeled open to early morning sun barely fluttering through the canopy above. I sat still for a moment, barely able to keep my eyes slitted open as the perfectly cool breeze drifted around me and the smell of earth and nature pervaded my nostrils and made me want to stay in this simple moment forever.

But then a figure caught in the corner of my eye and a spark of terror zapped up my spine, making me sit up straight and snap my head over.

"Easy," Larklind said, holding up his hands in a placating gesture, his eyes wide. "It's just me."

I deflated with a relieved breath, rubbing a hand across my slightly frizzy hair. "Sorry. I guess my nerves are just..." I didn't finish that sentence as I realized I'd fallen asleep when I was supposed to be keeping watch. "Sorry," I repeated again with a grimace.

He shook his head, a smile pulling at his lips. "It's okay. Nothing happened." He furrowed his brows, feigning seriousness. "But I expect it not to happen again."

I let out a sleepy laugh, forcing myself to stand. My back cried out in pain from sleeping up against the tree trunk for so long, and I worked to get the knot out by stretching.

Larklind stepped closer, holding out his half-empty flask for me.

"Oh, no. I don't want to take it from you."
"Drink, Princess," he told me softly.

I was unable to disobey him when he used that voice, so I grabbed the flask and lifted it to my lips. But just before I drank, I said, "Saidy."

He chuckled and I smiled as I poured a drink—much bigger than I meant since I hadn't realized the extent of my thirst—into my mouth. "What if I prefer calling you princess just because I know you don't like it?"

I scrunched my nose which sent him laughing again.

After returning the bottle to him, I worked on getting a tangle out of the back of my hair. I'd never slept in the woods before and it was much less glorious than Braz made it sound when we would pretend to camp as kids.

"So how long to the safe house?" I asked, unable to sound chipper.

"I'm not completely sure. The Commander said that it was approximately three hours away from the inn and we've hiked for a while already. So it shouldn't be too long."

This was good so I nodded. Yet dread still pooled at the bottom of my stomach, making it hard to think about much else.

"Still," Larklind added after a moment, "I think we should get on the road soon. I bet everyone else didn't stop for the rest of the night and is worried about you."