As They Fall [First Draft] ~ Currently Editing ~

Twelve

A/N: Chapter Twelve is here! Just so you know there is a few instances of coarse language in this chapter so read at your own discretion. I hope you all enjoy it and let me know what you think by voting and/or commenting below :) Thank you so much for reading As They Fall! <3 x

          After hastily eating a small breakfast of fruit and dried meat I was eager to be on the road once more. As we set off Merek began to play a familiar, cheery tune on his lute and I found myself quietly singing along.

"You have a nice voice," murmured Elizabeth, her head leaning against my back as she struggled to stay awake. She had not yet grown accustomed to waking up early, nor being in a saddle all day with very little rest. I stopped singing, but a small smile played upon my lips at her comment. After a few hours of travel, the road beneath us gave way from stone to packed dirt that crumbled beneath the horse's hooves. Orchid's gentle rocking motion became unsteady as she shifted from side to side in an attempt to keep her footing. I gripped the reigns tightly as I struggled to slowly guide her to safer ground. We travelled like this for the larger part of an hour and I was growing distressed at the amount of time we were losing.

Once the road had become stable again, I pushed Orchid into a gallop in an attempt to recover lost time. We thundered past Valiant, causing both Charlie and Merek to look up in surprise, before they too increased their pace. As we rode past our second village Charlie called out for us to stop.

          "The horses need rest Skylar," he cried, slowing Valiant to a halt. Part of me wanted to press on, but I knew that we would get nowhere with weary horses. I tugged on Orchid's reigns and directed her to where Charlie and Merek had already dismounted Valiant and tied him to a nearby tree. Our resting spot was nothing spectacular. The horses were tethered to a small beech tree with gnarled, stunted limbs. The tree had a sparse canopy of leaves that provided little to no shelter from the elements and there were large amounts of thistles covering the ground.

"What an excellent place to stop and rest," I muttered sarcastically, as I took in my surroundings. Charlie raised an eyebrow at my comment and I returned it with an apologetic glance, the day's events had left me rather agitated. Too anxious to eat anything large, I took a single pear and a hunk of bread from a saddlebag and stalked over to the base of the beech tree. The others appeared to be in good spirits, laughing and telling stories with one another as if they were old friends. I glowered at their happy interaction, one part jealous at their easy-going natures, the other part desperate to go home. Why had this happened to me? What would we do when we did have my uncle? Did he have the power to grant clemency to Charlie? Or would this journey be the last of my interactions with my oldest friend. Amidst my brooding thoughts, I had not noticed that it had begun to rain.

Initially it was only a light drizzle, barely enough to pierce the patchy canopy above me, but it soon became torrential. As the rain poured down upon us the horses whinnied with uncertainty, their nostrils flaring as they tossed their heads up and down. Elizabeth and Merek has dashed to my side the moment the rain started, hoping to seek shelter beneath the tree, but Charlie was nowhere to be seen.

"Where is Charlie?" I cried, over the sound of the heavy rainfall.

          "He's gone to find shelter," replied Merek, who looked rather odd with his lute stuffed beneath his tunic. It did not take long before our clothes were sodden and clinging lifelessly to our skin. Before long Charlie's figure appeared over a nearby hill and he ran toward us.