The Shadow is the Light

Chapter Fourteen; Teufelshöhle

   Yin, Cea, and Vedran had all just eaten breakfast, and now we're heading toward Teufelshöhle again.
   Vedran had noticed Yin had dark circles around her eyes again.
   She didn't sleep last night. He thought with a mix of worry and sadness.
   Yin caught Vedran looking at her.
   "What?" Yin asked the prince.
   "You d-didn't sleep last night. Did you?" Vedran asked.
   "No I didn't." Yin answered.
   "Why didn't you sleep last night?" Cea asked.
   "Because I don't flaring sleep, because of nightmares! If you don't like that burn me!" Yin snapped.
   Cea was obviously taken aback.
   She has a thing about nightmares and sleep apparently. Cea thought.
   Yin had crossed her arms, and did not look at either of the young men she was traveling with.
   They did not speak for quite a while after that.
   "Hey Yin. Uh, how far away from Teufelshöhle are we?" Vedran asked.
   "We should be there a little after sundown." Yin answered.
   Vedran nodded. "Thank you Yin.".
   "You're welcome Vad." Yin said, and smiled slightly.
   After that they did not talk till it got dark.
   Vedran was looking up at the stars not watching where he was going, he ended up tripping over a rock, and face planed into the dirt.
   Cea laughed.
   "For a Prince you're quite clumsy." Yin said with a slightly amused tone.
   Vedran sat up on the ground rubbing the back of his neck and laughed awkwardly.
   "Do you need help up?" Yin questioned.
   "N-no. I think I can get up on my own." Vedran said looking down, and he stood up. "But thank you Yin.".
   "You're welcome." Yin said with a smile.
   Vedran smiled back at her.
   Kiss him~
   No! Cea is right there! Yin exclaimed in her head, as they all went back to walking towards Teufelshöhle.
   Oh right. You probably shouldn't break poor Cea's heart like that~
   Yin rolled her eyes in her head.
   Next time you get the chance you should take it~
   Why?
   Because you never know when you'll get another one~
   Yin paused, that right there was actually really good advice.
   I know it's really good advice. Why else would I have said it~ an amused chuckle.
   Go away. Yin ordered.
   Fine I'll leave you be, but only because you're almost to Teufelshöhle~
   Thank goodness.
   See you in your nightmares dear Shadow~
   "There's Teufelshöhle." Cea said, pointing to the town in the distance.
   It wasn't a huge town, but it definitely wasn't small either.
   "What inn are we gonna stay in?" Vedran asked.
   "The only decent inn in Teufelshöhle." Yin stated.
Cea and Vedran both looked at Yin.
   "Blue Torpid." Yin said.
   "Torpid?" Vedran asked.
   "Torpid means little or no energy, sleepy, tired, or weak." Cea said.
   "Well now we know we have a living breathing dictionary and thesaurus." Yin said.
   Cea grinned.
   Vedran nodded, "that place sounds nice.".
   "Let's go." Yin said, and they walked into to town.
   Yin lead them straight to Blue Torpid, and they got one big room.
   "Only two beds." Yin stated. "I'll take the couch.".
   "No. You're a lady, one of us men will take the couch." Cea ordered.
   "I'll sleep on the couch!" Vedran shouted, and he jumped onto the couch.
   "Why are you so eager to sleep on the couch?" Cea asked.
   "I've never slept on a couch before, I was never allowed to, because apparently Princes shouldn't sleep on couches." Vedran answered.
   "Interesting." Cea said.
   Vedran sat on the couch grinning like a child.
   Yin shook her head smiling, she pulled the two blankets out of the bag that they used when "camping", and she threw them at Vedran.
   "Don't want you to freeze." Yin said.
   Vedran caught the blankets and looked questioningly at Yin.
   "But it's pretty warm right now." Vedran voiced his thoughts.
   "At midnight the warmth all goes away and it gets as cold as ice." Cea stated.
   "The warmth doesn't come back till the sun comes all the way over the horizon." Yin added.
   "That's freaky." Vedran said.
   "And that's only one reason people call this place The Place Closest to Hell's Gates." Cea said.
   "We just need to keep the door and window locked." Yin said. "And our weapons close.".
   "Well that's reassuring." Vedran said.
   "Don't you have a weapon Vad?" Cea asked.
   "I have a knife. I lost my sword when we lost our horses." Vedran answered.
   "I never got my flaring saddle sword back from Klame!" Yin exclaimed angrily with realization.
   "You gave the demon you're sword? I thought you were smarter than that." Cea said.
   "I didn't exactly know he was a demon at that point." Yin snapped.
   "Did you at least have suspicions?" Cea asked.
   "I did." Yin answered.
   "Well you shouldn't have trusted him." Cea said.
   "You trusted him." Yin glared at Cea.
   "I did not trust him. He hired me that's all." Cea snapped.
   "Stop fighting. We need to sleep!" Vedran ordered.
   Both Yin and Cea looked at Vedran in shock, Vedran never really seemed to be the "ordering" type.
   Vedran had his arms crossed, Yin and Cea still had the look of utter shock on their faces.
   "What?" Vedran finally asked.
   "You just……." Cea was speechless.
   "You just ordered us." Yin said, her voice a mix of shock, amusement, and pride.
   "Yeah so?" Vedran asked, he had obviously no idea why this was a big deal.
   "You don't usually command or order." Cea finally gained back the function of his voice.
   "I'm a prince. I have to know how to order people." Vedran stated. "But that doesn't mean I like ordering people around all the time." He added with a smile.
   "You are the oddest prince I've ever met." Cea said.
   Vedran just grinned.
   Yin sat on the bed closest to the couch, and  put her sword next to her bed, Vedran laid down and stared at the ceiling, and Cea laid in the bed closest to the door with his sword beside him. Cea faced the door, Yin faced the wall, and Vedran faced the bed Yin was laying in.
   Cea fell asleep almost immediately, Yin was wide awake, and Vedran was awake but his eyes were closed.