The WindFlyer

Chapter 19

Draen's PoV

You could stay here, with us.

You could stay here, with us.

Two weeks have gone by since Festival and since the pirate offered me... that. What would I even call that? A life? My freedom? The words occupy my waking thoughts, echoing in my skull. I see them in every action the pirate makes, I see them in every action I am making. I roll the around in my hands like clay, trying to mold them into an answer but I am always left right where I started. My home and kingdom press on my back, the chains of ruling weighing me down, then there is this home and joy like a key to unlock my hands. Just out of reach. Always out of reach.

I stare into the depths of my coffee like it will hold the answer to my question when I hear Amma and Astoria out back. They come into the kitchen from the back door arguing about something I don't quite catch, but I can tell it is a playful argument when Amma starts howling with laughter at whatever the pirate just said. Astoria smirks in victory as Amma gives her a vulgar gesture over her shoulder, muttering about needing to take a bath. I cut a glance to the pirate, who is still smirking with her hands on her hips, and nearly blush with what I see. She stands there in only a band of cloth covering her breasts and a pair of shorts on. I avert my eyes for modesties sake and cough slightly.

"So, where were you two?" I attempt at polite conversation.

"We went for a run this morning. Well, I ran and Amma complained," she says in a light tone. I nod, still not really looking at her. She sighs with contentment before speaking again. "Get ready. We are going on an adventure today."

"Where?" I ask, peering at her slightly now. She hums to herself and taps her chin a few times.

"It's a surprise," she says with a devilish grin on her face. I shake my head.

"I would rather stay here, I think," I say softly, looking back into my coffee. I hear the pirate snort at that.

"Oh no, all you do is stay in this house all day long looking miserable. You are coming on an adventure whether you like it or not," she says as she struts past me. I gape at her as she walks by. "If you are not down here and ready to go in ten minutes I am going to drag you down by the scruff of your neck," she playfully calls over her shoulder. For some reason, I don't doubt she means every word. I sigh and place my mug down before heading to the stairs. I enter my room and quickly throw on a loose tunic and a pair of clean breeches before stuffing my feet into the black boots I wear. Just as I lace them up, I hear a knock on my door. I open it to see Astoria already ready. She examines what I wear and a funny expression crosses her features.

"Well this is terribly awkward. One of us is going to have to change," she chides me. I look down at what I'm wearing and then at what she is and nearly laugh. Both of us are in a white tunic and black pants and boots.

"Well I'm not changing. I was dressed first," I smirk at her. She places her hands on her hips and glares at me.

"You most certainly were not!" she says before spinning on her heel and strutting away. I chuckle at that and follow her down the stairs. She tosses me a bottle of water as I enter the kitchen and stuffs some food in a pack before slinging it over her shoulders. With one last look around the room, she nods to herself as if she is going over some mental checklist. And then she exits the house as I trail after her.

Instead of heading toward the city, Astoria turns us in the opposite direction, one which leads into a lush -- albeit small -- forest. There is a little path worn down from feet rather than paved which the pirate navigates with a casual confidence. The morning sunlight strikes the leaves of the trees and paints them in an emerald glow. This is a whole different type of beauty than the city. The walk through the forest is very short, I am lost in my thoughts when I bump into the pirate, who has planted herself at the end of the path and looks upward. I follow her gaze to see a great mountain before us.

"We are going up," she says before beginning to walk again. I scramble after her in disbelief.

"Up? Up there? To the top?" I ask. Astoria nods with a little 'mhmm' before beginning to hike.

The ascent starts pretty moderately. Not too challenging, but I am still in shock. We are climbing a mountain. Alture is flat. Very flat. So flat that it is said you can see from coast to coast on a clear day. I've never seen a mountain before, let alone climbed one. The path begins to steepen as we continue up and I feel a light sweat starting on my brow. My lungs start to burn slightly with exertion, Astoria does not seem to be having the same trouble I am, her breathing is easy and relaxed. After some time of merely walking we come to a stop where the path has disappeared. Astoria is facing the rough hewn face of the mountain, her eyes scanning as if she is looking for something. Her face seems to light up when she finds it and then she grabs hold of an outcropping I did not even notice and begins scaling the wall. My eyes widen as I watch her literally climbing a flat surface. She makes quick time and is soon on a flat portion of rock again. I see her disappear over the ledge, does she mean I leave me behind? Just then her face pops back over, a challenge in her eyes. I smirk up at her with a shake of my head before grabbing the foot holes just as she did. This is not so different from her ladder to the roof at the house.

I see a wicked sort of delighted surprise play over her features when I reach the top. She is dangling her feet over the face and cracks open her water. I pant slightly a mimic the action. I guzzle down mouthfuls of the clean and cold water when she speaks.

"I like to come up here when I need to think. The clean mountain air always seems to clear the mind," she muses, watching me. Once she has noticed I've caught my breath, she rises again. The pirate helps me to my feet and we begin walking again. I feel like we are making relatively good time on the mountain. The path zigzags at places and there are several more spots where we have to scale a flat wall. We rest briefly at the top of those points, drinking water and catching our breath before continuing the journey. At some point Astoria complains about being hot and removes her shirt, leaving her in the cloth band only, I feel my face flush but chalk it up to exertion.

Astoria is right, the mountain air does seem to clear my mind and I find all the thoughts that had been bouncing around for weeks sorting themselves out. It nears midday when we stop again to face a flat wall.

"This is it," Astoria says panting a little. I look up, past the wall, and notice that there is nothing above it. No more mountain.

I gesture to the rock face and bow slightly. "Ladies first." Astoria huffs a laugh and shakes her head at me in a bemused way. She then begins pulling herself up the rock. I watch the path she takes and only start once she has made it all the way to the top. I begin pulling myself up, feeling my arms protest slightly at the action but I ignore them. I dig my toe into the same holes she did and grip the same little outcroppings. I place my hand into the last one before the top when I feel it crumble beneath my fingers. The shock causes my foot to flail and I slip. I nearly fall backwards when Astoria's strong and calloused hands grip my own as she hoists me to the top. We both lay back on the flat stone and stare at the sky. My heart beats wildly in my chest from fear before I start laughing. It is a crazed sort of sound. I run my shaky hands through my hair before sitting up.

Astoria eyes me with slight worry as I look around. There is a small stone cottage across the way with a little chimney rising from its roof. There is also a large hole where the top of the mountain should be. I draw my eyes together before it dawns on me. "This is a volcano!" I exclaim, to my own ears I think I sound like a child. Astoria chuckles at me and removes her boots and socks, curling her toes in the sun and sighing with relief. I turn away and look out over the edge and marvel at the view. I can see all the way to the sea and beyond from up here. When I look back to the pirate, I nearly choke. She has wandered over to the edge of the volcano and removed her pants, leaving her in some shorts that reach mid thigh. But that isn't why I choke, no I choke because of what she does next.

Astoria glances over her shoulder, winks at me, and then jumps.