Guian (A High Fantasy)

The Plan

Gwen woke feeling sluggish and drunk. The previous night flooded back, and she cringed before hurrying out of bed, remembering something she'd forgotten the night before. Usually, she didn't like wasting magic, but today she lit a candle with a few focused words before fumbling around the room. Hanging from the ceiling were many of her dried herbs--she squinted in the low light for the ones she was looking for. Finally, when she'd begun to panic, she found them hanging together--wild carrot and blue cohosh. She ripped several leaves from each stem and stuffed them into a pouch before making her way to her mortar and pestle. she dumped the leaves into the mortar and put some water on for tea. Within ten minutes, she had her tea, and felt much calmer. Gwen wouldn't have been able to forgive herself for a night in River's arms if he had left her with a child like Marie. It would have been a cruel reminder of her brother's heartbreak. She already felt as if she'd betrayed him.

The sun was just beginning to rise when she left her quarters. About halfway to the dining pavilion, she had a thought that Frost might be up and eating already, and changed course. She could wait; she wasn't too hungry. At least, not hungry enough to risk facing him. She made her way towards the infirmary instead.

Without Xavier and Frost to look forward to, her days in the infirmary had lost their meaning to her. Once, the infirmary had made her feel accomplished, and reminded her of the good she could do for others. Now, they only reminded her of the corruption of a movement that was meant to destroy corruption. A hypocritical shell of a revolution.

Gwen spent her day in a monotonous rhythm of charms and bandages and blood. Soldiers poured in from battlefields far away--the base had, thankfully, not been attacked since that dawn that seemed so long ago. At dusk, it occurred to her that she should probably eat, but she wasn't really hungry. After stalling as long as she felt comfortable among the night shift healers, the healer in herself reminded her of the importance of food to general health, and she reluctantly left the infirmary for the dining pavilion. The sun had just dipped past the line of the horizon, and the sky was gray. Torch lanterns lit the camp. Gwen took a deep breath, listening to the laughter and shouts of the soldiers as they ate. They acted as if they would never die--but maybe, she mused, the joy of life is most important in one's last days.

She found a spot to eat alone, but she wasn't alone for long. For once, Xavier was quiet as he took a seat next to her.

"You okay?" He asked quietly. She looked at him. The lines of his face were concerned, and she marveled at the way it made her feel. It was so different from her encounter with Frost.

Gwen was very confused.

"I'm okay," she lied, downing a large spoon of stew to prove it. "I'm just a little tired."

"Me too," Xavier started, slowly. He still looked concerned, which meant he didn't believe her. "Do you want to tell me what happened with Frost last night?"

"Not really."

"Okay. Do you want to talk about the plan?"

"What plan?" Gwen paused. "OH. Oh. Yes. I do want to talk about that."

Xavier opened his mouth to speak.

"Wait, shouldn't we talk about this, like, not here? Come to my room tonight."

Xavier shook his head in disbelief, laughing at himself. "I can't believe I almost opened said something here. I'm really not myself today. Do you want to just walk there after we're done eating? We can pick up Frost on the way."

Though Gwen was perfectly aware that the meeting was already suspicious, and adding another person to the mix was more so, Gwen nodded. River had been absent all day--shirking his duties out of embarrassment?--and he had no reason to start following her around now when he hadn't been all day. She didn't see him in the dining pavilion.

"Let's do it."

***

The problem with only having two friends is that, when sitting in a circle, you will always be sitting next to one of them. Gwen was trying and failing to make extra space between herself and Frost. She tried especially hard not to catch his eye--to no avail, as he was trying doubly hard to catch hers. His eyes favored blue since the attack, though green, brown, and yellow were still present in the right light. What magic, Gwen thought, to make eyes so beautiful.

"So here's what I'm thinking," came Xavier's voice, snapping her back to reality. "We leave at night--tomorrow night--and make our way north" Xavier drew a rough diagram in the dust. The camp lay just outside the borders of Samara, and Tierst was several days' ride to the north.

Gwen felt like she'd been pushed into cold water without expecting it. She hadn't prepared herself to leave so soon.

"How do we get out of camp?" she asked shakily. Both Frost and Xavier picked up on her tone, but only their faces showed it. "I'm friends with the night shift guards at the West Gate. They'll get us through quietly, and we shouldn't have any problems along the way related to the General. We can mail a letter to my sister from Pacifica. Oh, and your brother was good friends with the stable boy, right? If you can let him know what we're doing tonight or tomorrow morning, do that. I'd rather not have to knock him out, and I also don't really want to buy horses. We don't have that much money to spare."

Gwen felt decidedly uneasy, but pushed her queasiness down.

"I'm ready."