A Savior's Worth (Book #3)

Chapter Thirteen

Elouise couldn't resist closing her eyes... to merely rest them a moment. Except more than a moment passed, and she decided to ignore her chagrin and rest her head against Eldon's back.

Then Henry's voice startled her, and she jolted upwards with a gasp.

"Sorry," Henry murmured, facing forward again. "I did not mean to scare you."

"No, it's alright, Henry," she assured him. "What did you say?"

"I was merely asking if we should stop here for a while. You seem exhausted."

Eldon peered at her over his shoulder. She wanted to shrink and disappear so he wouldn't have to witness her surely bloodshot eyes.

"Do you wanna stop?" Eldon asked her, softly.

Elouise shook her head. "N-No. Not unless the horses need the rest. I should be fine. I'd rather us be as far away from the northern region as possible before the sun rises." She felt her heart sink a little as she imagined Everild and Gidget coming to assist her as usual and becoming worried once they realized she wasn't there. She imagined them horrified to inform her father of this. Then her father would most likely go searching for Eldon first. Upon seeing Eldon was also gone, he would go to Henry next, then Fayre who would be as clueless as him.

The true panic would then commence.

Elouise braced herself even though she wouldn't be there to witness any of it. She was now a bit grateful that at least Ivy knew they were together. It wouldn't have been fair if Ivy also had to join in the commotion of worry.

At some point during the next hour, Elouise gave into temptation and dozed off. When she woke, the sun was peeking over the horizon, trees were beginning to envelop them, and the side of her head was still comfortably placed against Eldon's back. She abruptly sat upright, loosening her grip around his waist, and avoiding eye-contact with Henry who she knew was blatantly staring at her.

Unfortunately, she had to look at him when he started to wave something in the air. It was one of her maps.

"I hope you do not mind that I took this from your bag," he said. "We needed to make sure we were heading in the right direction." He unfolded it in front of him, loosely holding onto the reins with his left hand.

He tapped his finger on a particular spot. "We passed a sign that led to the pathway to the village of Criensia as marked here. It shouldn't be too long now that we find the trail that will begin leading us straight up the mountains."

"Yeah, but for now," Eldon started, bringing Snow to a halt. "The horses gotta rest."

Elouise released him completely and scooted back as he skillfully hopped off. He offered her his hand, and she smiled as she took it. Less gracefully, she managed to get her feet on the ground. Eldon had to hold her to keep her steady, though. She blinked hard numerous times and shook her head. And when she felt a bit more alert, she opened her mouth to thank him until she realized his hand hadn't left her waist. Her gaze darted to it, and he removed it as he turned away and cleared his throat.

Eldon retrieved his satchel and—with Henry's help—led the horses to the stream on their right. As the horses drank, Eldon handed a few carrots and apples to Henry.

Meanwhile, Elouise allowed herself to wander a bit. She stared up, admiring the tall thin trees that allowed her to see most of the blooming morning sky. She heard the birds begin their songs like a calming greeting, and she heard the shuffling of hares scurrying to hide from her.

She paused at a wooden bridge leading over the stream and deeper into the forest. The tree branches created a menacing archway leading into it. Elouise nearly laughed at her imagination. Then she gasped when she spotted the white-tailed jackrabbit poking out from behind a shrub. It met her gaze and froze in its tracks, straightening itself with its long, pointed-floppy ears facing her.

For what felt almost an eternity in a matter of seconds, they stared at each other, daring the other to make the first move. Elouise didn't want to frighten the poor animal, but she slightly lost her balance and stepped on a twig, snapping it in half and causing the hare to flee for its life. Elouise frowned and lifted her skirt. She began to carefully cross the sturdy bridge. Once on the other side, she turned around, remembering the dangerously wavering bridge from Udolf's home.

Goodness, that night felt like ages ago. How could she forget it, though? It was the same night she had encountered Luna with her friends. That had certainly been adventure—the very same she hoped to achieve with this journey.

A ruffled noise brought her attention back to the forest. She smiled as she ushered forward.

"I want to apologize," she called out, constantly whirling around, "for startling you. You needn't be frightened of me." Perhaps it was silly of her to be so intrigued by a rabbit. However, she hardly seized the opportunity to pause and admire the simplicities of life—such as innocent little animals in their natural habitat.

Ah, she found it quite humorous that she was searching for a rabbit after what she had just reminisced. Rabbits were what she had seen drawn in Udolf's tower. She idly started to wonder if Udolf still had a fascination for rabbits.

Her musings came to a halt as the rabbit had when she heard a chuckle behind her.

Elouise turned so fast and almost lost her footing again. She was met with nothing but rows of trees. Absolutely no one else was in sight. She forced herself to laugh... albeit nervously.

"Mere paranoia," she reasoned, waving her hand. Although, as she started to leave, she felt herself go cold when she walked past a tree with the symbol of her enemies carved into its trunk.

Then, undoubtedly, another chuckle—sinister and low—emitted from around her.

And Elouise took off, suddenly thankful she was wearing boots. She rushed over the bridge and back to where her friends were indulged in a casual conversation, blissfully unaware of her troubles until she stopped beside them to catch her breath.

"Ellie, what's wrong?" questioned Eldon, setting his bag on the ground and gently taking her hand.

Elouise looked at him. "Noth... nothing."

"If it were truly nothing, you wouldn't have been running," Henry mentioned, stepping closer to them. He was right; she couldn't lie herself out of this (or at all, for that matter).

She swallowed hard, steadying herself. "I, I thought I heard something—a laugh. And, and then I, I saw... I saw the symbol on a tree."

Eldon's expression softened. "Where?"

Elouise pointed in the direction she had come from. "Over the bridge."

Eldon and Henry exchanged glances. Elouise couldn't decipher what they were thinking, but Eldon elaborated as he picked up his bag off the ground and said, "A'right, from now on, none of us go anywhere by ourselves."

Elouise followed him to Snow's side. "If anything would've happened, I could have protected myself, Eldon."

"Would ya have?" he turned to her, the sternness on his face returning. "Do ya even know how to control yer magic in situations like that?" Panicked-induced ones? No, perhaps not. Still, she wouldn't have been utterly hopeless.

"I just don't want you hurtin' yerself or doin' something you didn't mean to," he added.

"I agree," Henry chimed in, moving around the mare. "We should stay together as much as we can, especially now that we know they're nearby. They could've been watching us this entire time."

"I wouldn't doubt it." Eldon hurried up onto Snow. Elouise gladly accepted his help onto Snow, uncertain she could find the strength to try herself.

Henry gathered his belongings and mounted Angus next. He glossed over the map and gave Eldon directions. Fortunately, they didn't need to go where Elouise had seen the symbol. Rather, they went a few miles in the opposite direction.

After going up a steep hill, they came across another bridge. It was built entirely in stone with tall moss-covered railings. The sun had risen high by then, and the sky was a bright shade of blue. This would've been a calming sight for Elouise, except her unsettled nerves from before were persistent.

She held tightly onto Eldon, hoping what she had heard and seen was not an omen for worse to come.