Roan- The King with an ice cold heart (rough draft)

Chapter 5

( A slow chapter)

I grew weary, my mind fuzzy and exhausted. Roan, however, seemed to feed off of my misery. I narrowed my eyes at him frequently throughout the tiresome trek, almost to the excessive point that my face grew accustomed to holding a glare. Dawn was beginning to spring, the white early sunlight peaking out past the trees gingerly, casting light into the once dark and looming forest. The silence is probably what bothered me the most. It entertained my mind with the idea of insanity. I quickly learned that Roan wasn't much a talker, and somehow I discovered that his silence proved more vexing than his quick witty remarks. The rope cut into my wrists tightly, to the point that I'd ball up my fists to where my knuckles turned an angry white in an attempt to distract myself from the pain. Blood had dripped down from my wrists, staining my porcelain skin. Roan was stoic, and reserved for the most part, but he would often try to get on my nerves with quick jabs at me, treating me like a small child that was just an inconvenience to him. The rain had only grown heavier, restricting the pace at which we traveled. 

Roan didn't seem to care about my well-being, only giving me the smallest of attention whenever it was between him wasting his breath on me or my death. With every moment that passed, he seemed to only infuriate me more. After hours of restless progress, the scatter of trees became less clustered, melting into an open valley speckled with unruly patches of flowers and weeds. Spring had proved to be rather unsightly this year round, everything muddled and limp. The rain had slowly lifted, leaving it's memory with the humid air. I spoke as little as possible throughout this time, almost dumbfounded at just how vexing one man could be. When it benefitted me, of course I acted childishly, my pride and smugness rising for my own amusement- as well as for Roan's inconvenience.

Glazing over the valley, my indigo eyes rolled over the path ahead. I was able to make out  the blurry shape of a village. I didn't know whether to feel relieved or worried, a chill dauntingly scattering up my spine. Reluctantly and against my better judgement, I turned to view the man over my shoulder, my eyes however refusing to meet his face. "I feel I should warn you that I'm more trouble than I am worth." My words were vacant of my usual snarky tone, now dripping in iciness from the bitter truth. I caught his eyes flicker down to me for a moment from where he looked ahead, my words catching him off guard. Roan said nothing. 

The village was disturbingly quiet, people sparse although it was morning. Alarm bubbled in my throat, the chilling morbid aura hanging in the air almost challengingly. I had expected this village to be bursting with life so early in the day, as it was the prime time to be out. It was undoubtedly unsettling. A few faces which were seemingly blending in in hiding peered at us, observing quietly, impartial. It seemed as if even the children held the same intimidating gaze  when exchanging looks. 

It was more than a relief once we cleared that haunting village, the ominous feeling still sinking into my skin. Questions developed in my head all the while, my thoughts quickly becoming jumbled and incoherent. One thing was for certain though- they did not take kindly to outsiders. 

After having lost so much blood my head was light and my memories fuzzy. It only occurred to me that we had arrived to the heart of the kingdom once an impossibly large set of gates were being drawn back to welcome us. My heart seemed to still for a moment, almost as if then and there it would stop beating forever.