Rise

14

*Farrah's POV*

"We should stop for the night soon. You look exhausted." I said to Rosie, as the sun started to set beside us. She looked at me from her roan mare, with a grateful smile.

"I think I see a barn up ahead." She answered, turning away from me. I nodded, and we coaxed our mounts into a quick canter, and headed towards the barn-like structure in the distance.

We reached it, and it didn't look too worn-down. There were some boards missing form the walls and roof, but it wouldn't collapse on us right on the spot. There was a house next to it, or, at least, I think it was a house, it was just a burned-out shell.

"Let's just hope the gods have mercy on us and it doesn't rain tonight." I said as we tied up our mounts in the one still-functional stall.

"You know, I think Palaquin has the biggest horse-crush on Reina." Reina was the name of Rosie's mount, and Palaquin was currently trying to nuzzle up against her. Rosie laughed, and I find myself just gazing at her, smiling.

The light of the setting sun hit her perfectly, making her look like an angel sent by the gods. Her curly hair shone a dark mahogany, and her laugh sounded like the tinkling of golden bells.

"Come on, we should get some sleep." She suggested, and I'm snapped back into reality. I agreed, mutely and follow her to another stall. There was some old straw that I helped shape into something resembling a bed. I placed a blanket over the straw to make it more comfortable for Rosie.

Once I made sure she was comfortable, I made my way out of the stall, preparing myself to sleep on bare straw, when I felt Rosie grab my wrist. "Farrah, please don't leave me." I turned towards her.

"I'm just going to be right outside. I'm not going to leave, alright?" I smile, but her grip held firm.

"Stay."

I nodded, my face redder than my father's hair, and she lifted the blanket so I can crawl in. I do, but left as much space as possible between us.

Though, Rosie was having none of it, she moved closer until her head was resting on my shoulder. She wrapped her arms against my muscled stomach, and nuzzled closer to me. I froze, not moving a single muscle as her breathing slowed. It wasn't until she was soundly asleep that I allowed myself to relax and drift off myself.

Elora was kneeling amidst a sea of pots, pans, plates, and silverware, sobbing. Her shoulders were shaking and her strawberry-blonde hair was shorn to her ears, and her clothes were torn and ragged. I try to reach out to her, to comfort her but I couldn't. I watched as she wipes her tears away, squares her shoulders and begins to carefully pick up the fallen items.

I woke up, furious at whoever is holding Elora. The thing that dragged me out of my white-hot rage was Rosie's soft murmuring in my ear. In sleep, I had enveloped her petite body in mine, with her head resting against my chest and my arms were securely wrapped around her soft curves.

I allow myself to hold her tighter, and I bury my face in her soft hair and inhale her scent. Even though we had spent the night in a barn, and had ridden hard the day before, she still smelled like springtime, like the lilies, roses and wildflowers that grew outside of her cottage in Corason.

She let out a small snore and I smile, I brush a lock of hair from her face, and her eyes flutter open. "Good morning,"I say as she nuzzled in closer to me.
"Shhhhhhhh, maybe if we ignore it, it'll go away." She murmurs, still hiding her head in my shoulder. I chuckle and sit up, forcing her to sit up too. I run my fingers through my tangled auburn hair, and quickly rebraid it.

"You said there was a small town about a half day's ride eastward, right?" I say, as we prepared our mounts for another day's ride.

"Yeah, my brother-in-law and sister lives there, it's called Fillia."

"I want you to stay there with your sister and her husband, once I find Eli and get her out of that gods-damned hell-hole, I'll come back and we can go on adventures for the rest of our lives together, but I already have one woman I love trapped there, and I don't want there to be a second." It all came out of me in a rush, and I pulled my precious Rosie into a hug.

"Do you promise you'll come back for me? Do you swear it on Iara's name?" She said, looking up at me.

"I do, Rosie, I do." And with that vow, she pulled me in my the collar of my tunic, her nose resting against mine.

"I swear to the gods, Farrah Lee Moore if I never see you again, so help me Iara I will track you down." I plant a light kiss on her forehead.

"I would never inflict upon anyone the wraith of Rosalind Toso of Corason." I pulled back and smiled one last time at her before mounting Palaquin and riding North, leaving behind one love to rescue another.

**A/N Hey guys! I really hope you're enjoying the story so far~ (This was actually one of the hardest chapters for me to write, but I hope I got the adorable chemistry that these two have right!) Also so sorry about the tech errors- this is the REAL ch. 14. Long story short, there were some issues with the Google Doc and Merritt posted the wrong thing but whatever. On another note, I finally finished my theater internship (yay) all limbs intact so I will be busy working on my solo novel The Lilac Throne (You should go read it, the prologue and chapter 1 are both up (hint, hint))
Sorry for such a long note, but I hope you're enjoying this story and have a great rest of your summer! XOXO Nikki**