The tunnels beneath Safe Hold feel endless. Cool air and moisture seeps into their bones. No one complains or says a word. The walls are littered with ancient runes and drawings. The three of them slowly and carefully make their way through the tunnels until they meet a split in their monotonous environment. One path waits on their left, one on the right.
"Okay...what now?" Wil asks, looking down at Amberle. She looks back up at him and then shifts her gaze to Eretria. Eretria is carefully contemplating, the cogs of her mind turning.
"What do you think?" Amberle asks quietly.
"I don't know." Eretria responds. She shakes her head and finally meets Amberle's pale eyes. "Anything like this in your visions?" Amberle shakes her head. "We need to split up then."
"Split up?" Wil says incredulously. "No! We don't know what's down here. There could be trolls, rovers-"
Eretria rolls her eyes at this and speaks over him. "We don't have time to stand around, Wil. And we can't afford to go down each of these paths one at a time. If we split up and see something important, we double back and meet here."
"And if we don't see something important or helpful?" Amberle asks, her brows furrowed.
"We meet back here in an hour."
Amberle looks into Eretria's eyes searchingly. Time is running out, but something in her says Eretria can absolutely be trusted. They nod at one another and turn to Wil.
"Well, I guess it's been decided…" He grumbles. "There are 3 of us. Who's going with who?"
"I can go by myself." Eretria says, looking away from the two of them. It's clear that Wil is relieved at her words, but Amberle doesn't look pleased.
"You don't have to go by yourself." She says. She can feel Wil's hand weighing on her shoulder.
"I can protect myself. You go with Wil. I'll meet you back here." Eretria turns away and walks towards the left passageway, but Amberle reaches out and grabs her hand. Without thinking Eretria's fingers wind into hers. She looks up at Amberle and sees something in her eyes that's never been there before.
"I think I should go with Eretria." Amberle says, turning to look at Wil. "It makes the most sense. You have the stones to protect yourself, but Eretria and I don't have anything like that. You have the fighting power of 10 men with those. It'd be better if Eretria and I had each other for backup."
Wil doesn't seem angry or upset and for that, Amberle silently thanks him.
"Okay. It's settled then." Wil says with a nod. "Let's do this."
"An hour." Eretria reminds him. Amberle releases her hold on Eretria's hand and they begin their long trek into an impenetrable darkness.
"Who do you think left these drawings here?"
Amberle runs her fingers across the walls, leaving a trail that looks like claw marks in the dust.
"Does it matter?" Eretria says looking back at her. "They're probably long dead. They can't help us now."
"Don't you ever wonder though? About the Age of Man? Hundreds of years ago some family walked this same path. Some young girl or boy. They were here once." Amberle says quietly.
"They're not anymore." Eretria says, a lump in her throat. The torchlight danced across their faces. "Come on. We need to keep moving. We don't have much time."
"You don't have to pretend around me." Amberle says gently. Eretria turns to look at her, but doesn't answer for a few minutes as they continue walking.
"You don't know me, Amberle." She finally says, but her words have no bite to them.
"But, I want to."
They stop and Amberle moves closer to Eretria. She reaches out as though she's going to touch her again, but her hands fall back to her sides and she looks at the ground. Eretria's heart skips a beat then sinks, leaving her dizzy.
"Why'd you come back for me?" She asks. It's been weighing on her mind, since that night when she'd saved Wil and Amberle from the trolls.
Amberle shakes her head slowly. When she reaches out this time she makes contact, placing her delicate hand on Eretria's shoulder. "You're my friend. After hearing about what you had to go through...I couldn't leave you alone. You've been sold and abused and controlled your whole life. You've never had anyone to love you, no family...I couldn't let that be your life again."
"I don't want your pity if that's what this is. I don't want anyone's pity. I'm not the only one that's suffered. Not by a long shot. And I'm not the only orphan." Eretria can feel sadness creeping through her veins like an ugly disease.
"You're not an orphan anymore. Neither of us are." Amberle says. Her hand slides down to grip Eretria's again. Amberle's heart skips and her stomach drops. She is afraid of the rapid beating of her heart, of the way her fingers tingle when they brush Eretria's calloused palm. She's never felt this way towards another girl, towards anyone really. Eretria nods at her and gives her fingers a gentle squeeze. When they move forward, they walk side by side, their hands occasionally brushing, shoulders bumping every few minutes.
"Did you mean what you said?" Amberle finally asks, looking at her feet with a small smile. "In the mountain pass? When we were..uh-"
"What? Naked in the bath together?" Eretria says with a short laugh, her cheeks dimpling with amusement.
"Yeah..." Amberle says, her cheeks reddening.
"About liking both guys and girls?" Eretria stops suddenly. "You met one of my ex girlfriends, Amberle. Actually my only real ex. She kidnapped me remember? You almost got eaten by trolls as a result. And you know about Wil, of course." She laughs at that, but she doesn't feel happy.
"I know, I know. I just...I just wanted to ask about it."
"You don't have to be embarrassed. Don't worry, Princess, I won't come on to you if that's what you're worried about." Eretria smirks and keeps walking, but her heart feels heavy and odd. All this time she'd thought she was in this for Wil's attention, but now she knows that hasn't been the reason for awhile now.
"I'm not." Amberle says, catching up with her.
"Not what?" Eretria asks, looking ahead.
"Worried." Amberle says. She steps in front of Eretria, bringing them to a halt, facing one another. Amberle look into Eretria's dark eyes and her chest begins to rise and fall rapidly. Eretria feels a tense longing in her gut. She closes her eyes for the smallest of moments, but when she opens them, Amberle is looking at her lips and the air leaves her lungs in a whoosh, stirring the tendrils of hair that fall around her Amberle's face.
Without thought or reason, Eretria steps closer. Amberle doesn't move away, but her eyes flick upwards again, as if in question. It's Eretria's turn to look down at Amberle's lips as they part. The torch falls to the ground and rolls away, lighting them from beneath. Everything feels muted and slow, but when Eretria and Amberle's lips finally touch everything seems to come alive inside her. Her lips are on fire, her skin is warm. Eretria feels more present than ever before, chest searing, her mind devoid of anything except the feel of Amberle's soft skin beneath her palms.
She gently pulls away, taking a breath, waiting for Amberle to move away, but instead she leans forward and catches Eretria's lips again, sliding her tongue across her upper lip. Eretria sucks Amberle's bottom lip into her mouth and gives it a light nip, tugging gently. Amberle's hands glide over Eretria's arms and into her dark hair, just as Eretria's hands snake around her waist, pulling her closer.
The kiss continues to deepen, leaving them both breathless. Eretria gently cups Amberle's face in her hands and Amberle holds her wrists as they touch foreheads. When they look at each other, it's with new eyes. Tears sting Eretria's eyes, but she blinks them away, trying to gain her composure. Amberle can't look away from the girl in front of her, so lonely and kind and beautiful.
"You were right." She says breathlessly.
"About what?" Eretria asks, her voice cracking with emotion.
"I liked it. I liked it a lot." Amberle answers.
"Amberle…" She breathes. Too close, Eretria thinks, Too much. Everything I've ever loved has left me. Everyone I've ever known has used me. She turns away from Amberle and wipes the tears from her eyes, breathing deeply before turning back. "It's been nearly an hour. We should get back to Wil." She walks away, trying desperately not to start crying again. She ignores the lingering heat on her lips and the empty feeling in her gut.
Tears blur Amberle's vision. She glimpsed something beautiful and warm in Eretria, but now it's gone, growing colder by the second and she doesn't know how to bring it back, how to show Eretria that she truly cares. That she would never leave her.
But, for now, all she can do is follow her rover into the darkness.