Because I Love You✔️

Chapter 26: The Art of Meditation

Chapter Twenty-Six: The Art of Meditation

The rest of the day was fairly uneventful for Xaphile, aside from a few one-sided squabbles between him and Ella. 

Amelia was quiet even though she seemed relatively uncomfortable for whatever reason, and as they rode, she alternated between reading and keeping her eyes closed, seeming to be attempting to calm her frazzled nerves through deep breathing.

He didn't comment on her weird shift in behavior, but that was mostly due to his lack of desires for social interaction. There was no need to talk, anyway, because  the countryside was beautiful and looking at it calmed his heart more than he should have let it.

The plants were lush, and the woods were oddly clean; golden shafts of light filtered down through the leaves, giving the air a surreal feeling of calm and peace. It was like something right out of a movie, simple yet still somehow spectacular in its simpleness.

"Gus?" Amelia quietly inquired. "Why did you become a hunter?" 

"Hm?" he inquired. "Why do you ask?"

"Because," she chirped, "I think this is the first time I've ever seen you smile like that."

Xaphile blinked and turned in his saddle to see that Amelia had glanced up from her book and was now curiously staring at the man, but when he followed her gaze, he realized that the burly blonde was grinning from ear to bearded ear.

"I became a hunter because I think the forests are beautiful, all dangers set aside," he said softly, green eyes flashing with a very rare gleam. "Were it not for the demons roaming about, I would rather live in the woods than behind the walls of a settlement."

"Eh?" Ella asked, turning around as well. "Really?"

"Aye," he chuckled, then raised a finger and pointed. "Plus, from the looks of it, there's good fishing and hunting to be had around here. I also think this area is very pleasing to the eye."

"Well, you're right about that, at least since this area is rather pretty," Ella said, looking at the lush trees with their beautiful sun-illuminated leaves. "I'm not exactly used to the wilderness, though, so I doubt we'd have been able to make this trip without you."

"Oh, come now, you're a hardy little thing," Gus said, shaking his head. "You'd have managed traveling across Aerika even without my presence."

"No," she flatly retorted. "I'm quite serious. I'm a warrior, not a hunter... and if I must be honest, I'm barely even a traveler. I don't know the first thing about surviving out in the wilderness."

Gus gazed at her with raised eyebrows and a perplexed air when she withdrew into an uncomfortable silence, but she chose to stare ahead at nothing rather than talk. Xaphile's ear flicked involuntarily at the chirping of birds and the rushing of wind in the trees.

Around noon, they stopped at a nearby river to water and feed the horses, then they continued moving. They rode until the sun started going down, but just before it actually set, Ella finally reigned her steed in and dismounted.

"I think we've ridden far enough for today," she said. "Let's set up camp."

"Yes, Ma'am," Gus chuckled, sliding off his horse and stretching. "Divines, I'm tired."

Amelia and Xaphile were slower to dismount, but he assumed that it was simply because both of them were genuinely exhausted.

"I think it should be safe to light a fire tonight," Ella murmured, looking at the sky. "We've covered a good distance today, and since I doubt those barbaric slavers are stupid enough to attempt tracking us this far, I'm fairly certain we won't have to deal with them anymore."