(Not) a clichéd fairy tale

Chapter 12

Liarya

Tirian didn't come back until late in the evening. I was almost asleep when he pushed the door open and slammed it behind him with a loud bang. I sat up, a little drowsy.

"Are you okay?" I mumbled, confused. He nodded briefly before getting into his bed, turning his back to me and not making another sound.

After a while, I must have fallen asleep, because when I opened my eyes again, bright rays of sunlight were already shining through the window.

In most stories, waking up to the sun's rays was usually portrayed as something soothing and beautiful, but in reality it was hell. When the sun's rays shone so brightly on your face, it just hurt your eyes, even when they were closed.

When I turned my gaze to the right, I found Tirian in the same position as yesterday, so either he hadn't slept or he simply hadn't moved.

"Good morning?" my quiet voice sounded more like a question than anything else and when the black-haired man slowly turned round and mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like a good morning, a smile crept onto my face.

"Breakfast?" I asked with a smile.

Tirian tilted his head a little and confusion came over his features. Together with his slightly tousled hair, this simple gesture looked incredibly sweet and I had to giggle slightly.

"Do you want to join me for breakfast? I'm starving," I explained and he nodded, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Something was different today. Tirian had never made me feel this... happy before. I got ready and as I combed my hair, I looked thoughtfully at the blue colour. I had gotten used to it by now, but I still liked my natural white hair much better.

As the hostel we were staying in seemed to serve only alcohol and horrible tasting soup (I spoke from experience), we left the simple building and made our way towards the market square.

Tirian had tried everything to talk me out of leaving the inn, but I had gone out despite his unfounded warnings and left him the choice of coming with me or not.

So I walked ahead while a somewhat grumpy Tirian followed me.

Today was a bit strange, though, because he seemed to be on guard for something the whole time, but wouldn't tell me what, or what he had done last night.

Nevertheless, I had the feeling that his angry return last night and his current behaviour were somehow connected.

"Do you want to go to a certain shop?" After a while, I broke the silence that had settled over us like a storm cloud.

"No."

We walked on.

"I want to go to a bakery," I tried again.

"Okay." The mood became heavier, more uncomfortable.

When we arrived at the bakery, I bought a simple flatbread, my travelling companion didn't want anything. The good mood from this morning, due to his mini-smile, had evaporated and the grumpy, silent Tirian was back.

"While we're here, we might as well see what else is on offer, right?" I asked and he just nodded.

So while I contentedly ate my flatbread, we continued walking through the streets and I loved this market more than anything else at the moment. There were merchants everywhere, some selling jewellery, others food or medicine, some selling sweets and there were even a few street artists.

My favourite was a man with deer antlers who was balancing some apples on them.

Once we'd also seen a shape-shifter performing a one-man play using his ability, there was nothing more impressive to see, so we made our way back. It was only lunchtime, so we had the whole afternoon to practise my wings.

The atmosphere between us was no longer quite so oppressive, but it could have been better.

Tirian was now walking beside me and every now and then he gave his opinion on a few things.

Suddenly he stopped abruptly, confused, I did the same and turned to him.

"Are you Okay?" I asked worriedly, he averted his eyes.

"Listen, there's something you should know. I-" a deep male voice interrupted him.

"Excuse me, have you seen this young woman? Her name is Liarya, she's wanted by the kingdom of Eldarmar."

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An icy shiver ran down my spine.

They couldn't have found out I was here that quickly, could they?

Tirian muttered a curse before grabbing my wrist and pulling me along with him. He stopped at the far end of a small, dark alley and glanced over his shoulder. Even I caught a glimpse of the two soldiers who were probably asking for me.

One of the two men turned in our direction.

In an instant, Tirian pushed me back against the cold wall behind me and stood in front of me so that the soldier probably couldn't see a thing. He muffled the startled gasp that escaped me with his hand, which he quickly placed over my mouth.

We stayed like that for a few minutes. My back to the wall, his warm hand on my mouth and not a single millimetre would have fitted between us. My heart hammered against my chest so loudly that I feared Tirian would be able to hear it beating. The blood rushed in my ears and my eyes widened in shock.

Every now and then, Tirian glanced over his shoulder but didn't move an inch.

Our breathing was heavy, louder than usual and I couldn't tell if it was the situation, the silence or the proximity, but I felt hot and feared my heart would jump out of my chest at any moment.

The soldiers' voices had long since faded, but neither of us dared to move.

Tirian also looked nervous. His breathing was at least as fast as mine and his pupils were dilated.

I was almost certain that if I put my hand on his chest now, I could feel his heart beating as fast as mine was.

After making sure the two men were gone, Tirian increased the distance between us again. I gasped for air and sank to the ground. My knees felt like jelly and the strange feeling in my stomachwas back.

"Are you okay?" he asked hesitantly, but I guess my silence was answer enough. He sighed in frustration before crouching down next to me and the next moment strong arms wrapped around me.

It was a strange feeling. Warmth, security, calm - everything I needed at that moment. I took a deep breath.

"H-how the hell did they find out I was here? No one should have realised that I left Nularis?" I asked, confused, and Tirian tensed for a moment.

"Who knows. As I said, the world is dangerous," he said calmly and stood up. I took the hand he held out to me and let him pull me to my feet.

"We should go training. Now that people know I'm here, I want to learn to defend myself even faster," I said firmly and this time Tirian agreed with me and we made our way to the small clearing in the forest, always careful not to be recognised by anyone.