Under The Tent Top (COMPLETED)

Thirty-Nine

BY the time Poppy and I had reached the guarded doors to my accommodations. Two ladies had already surrounded the guards. Their dressed lifted past their mid thighs, their hands coated in mendecium, and their eyes gestured for us to hurry.

Poppy swiped the ring of keys, one lady had skillfully unhooked from the guard's belt. As she quickly unlatched the door I could hear pacing footsteps, from inside.

"Oh!" Rene cried as pulled open the door

Marius stopped in his mid pace, his eyes brightened and a soft smile curled around his lips.

"We should go." I whispered.

~*~

The journey towards the outside world felt longer than I had imagined. The halls of Odin's house seemed more narrow than usual. The eerie silence of the occupied guests and intoxicated guards consumed the air.

Marius grasped my hand in his. His fingers intertwining with mine. I glanced up at him as we crept past closed rooms. He gently smiled down at me and gave my hand a reassuring squeeze.

This was it. This was the final hurdle.

"The rest of the ladies are going to leave periodically through the night." Poppy mentioned as we approached the exit.

"Where are we going?" Manuel asked.

"There's a small abandoned space between the border of this community," Poppy explained.  "Or at least that's what we've been hearing most nights. Some of us think it would be a clever rendezvous spot should something -well something like this happen."

The lot of us glanced at the large room between us and the door towards the outside. The soft moonlight seeped in through the windows of the house, casting a path of shadows before us. A final road down towards a taste of a life I had never thought would exist for me.

A few guests seemed greatly occupied by the mendecium and their drink. Luckily, the room's lamps had been dimmed, and there was nothing left to do but quietly make our way out.

As soon as the cool air kissed my face, I finally released a breath I didn't realize I had been holding. Rene looped her arm around my waist and buried her face into my neck. A soft sigh of relief escaped her between the muffled laughs. I hugged my friend back.

"We need to keep moving." Manuel gestured towards the darkness.

So we did.

I glanced at the shrinking house behind us. The lights of the occupied rooms began to slowly disappear behind the shadows.

We took refuge behind a few square feet of foliage. Crouching to rest, and wait.

The air was silent.

The night was ours.

We were done.

"Poppy..." I whispered. "Where's the space you were speaking of?"

I soft sigh escaped her. "I'm not sure. This was as far as I ever day dreamed of going... I imagined someone else would be with me. Someone who would know where to hide."

Through the darkness I could see her face fall. "You did good. We wouldn't have been able to do anything like this without you. We just, now - we just have to wait."

~*~

Marius offered to keep watched while the rest of us rested. Poppy and Rene were able to find comfortable positions beside each other, and before long they had dosed off. Manuel sat close by as he drifted in and out of sleep.