𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐀 𝐒𝐔𝐂𝐂𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘. 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐒 𝐀 𝐑𝐔𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍.
It's the beginning of a new age when Jaylah Imperatrix seemingly returns from the dead to reclaim her throne. And in perfect timing.
In her absence, evil has be...
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Act 2 Chapter 36 JAYLAH
We were on the move again. Though the end of Razorwood was nearer than ever, the trees pressed in closer. We had to walk in a tighter train, limited to about two or three people shoulder-to-shoulder.
With Alexander walking ahead with Adelié and Ghislaine, I expected it to be a dull time. But interestingly enough, Zensa slipped in step with me most mornings and kept pace with me every day until we stopped for the night. We did not always fill the air with talk, but the long silences between were more amicable than cold. Everything about this turn of events was surprising to me—the fact that she was no longer turning her nose up at the mention of me, and the way we had much more in common than I originally thought. Besides our shared interest in beautiful clothing, she had a dry sense of humor that I found myself smiling at once or twice.
Today, she wore a green Tilanic dress with short sleeves for the heat, making my dark, plain clothing look plainer in comparison. When she saw me admiring it earlier, she even broke her stony demeanor to offer to lend me pieces of her limited wardrobe, which I figured were unsaid reparations for calling me a terrible person two weeks ago. I declined; the thought was enough.
A glimmer of movement caught my eye, anchoring me fully to reality. Put instantly on edge, Zensa followed my line of sight. At first, I did not see it. Then, the illusion melted and I saw a deer camouflaged in the dark underbrush. A fawn walked on knobby legs at her side, its back peppered with spots. I knew Zensa spotted it too. I thought it might be too obvious a connection to her stillborn baby, but if she felt any sadness, she hid it perfectly.
We walked a bit further. The deer and her fawn were out of sight. Then, as if knowing what I was thinking, Zensa said, "Every time I see new life, it brings me back. But I refuse to let it break me."
Again, here was my lack of verbal compassion on full display. "In Oceana, there is a teaching that Kessanda loved Thanatos so greatly that She hands over every weary life to Him as a gift. That way, even Death may experience the beauty of Life."
Zensa let the words sink in. "That is a comforting manner to look at it."
Things were calm for a while. We stopped just long enough for the lunchtime sandwiches to be passed around. Beside us for a whole half hour there was a winding river that babbled as we walked. Some of the women refilled their water pouches and slid soaking fingers over their hot foreheads.
Everyone was content. I realized that within a day of staying with them. While they were not without hardships, this was a place of comfort and acceptance. All around us, women talked and laughed with each other. I heard Adelié's laugh among them, created from something ridiculous Alexander said.
"Do you think he likes her?" Zensa asked, and it took me a moment to realize she meant Alexander. While she was alright regarding me now, her surveying of Alexander for being so near her friends made me think she did not fully trust him around them.
