Chapter 4:

Gillian was biting her nails to the nub.

It was a cowardly habit, she always said, made for the weak.

But right now, she felt very, very weak.

And scared.

Not that anyone would know just by looking at her. On the outside, she was grinning (best she could), and laughing, and cracking jokes—which, by the way, earned her many smacks over the head.

But she felt the stickiness between her thighs.

It would only be a matter of time before she could see it. And he would see it too. And the cramps—oh God the cramps

Gillian let out a grunt of pain, doubling over, as a wave of pain washed over her stomach area. Startled, Eli moved towards her, but she held up a restricting hand. "I'm fine, ja? Just a cramp, ja?" She bit her lip. Oh, geez. She only went into her native German when she was really nervous. Really nervous.

She wanted to cry.


Now, Eli was downright scared for his "comrade". It seemed the "cramps" ailing him were more serious than he was letting on. Inside he berated Gil for being so stupid and hiding something like this from him. Anyone with sense would worry!

He watched warily as Gil straightened up once more, plastering a fake smirk onto his face. "See?" he said. "I told her the awesome me would be fine!" Eli noticed how the other man's voice quivered more than a little as he spoke.

So Eli decided to take a different approach to the matter. "Do you want to take a break?"

Gil seemed to take on a resigned look, as if he'd given up on something. Then he half-shrugged—a sad lift of the shoulders, really, and answered in an incredibly small voice, "Yes. Please."


Gillian rested gingerly, leaning into a tree, dampened by constant rain and humidity. Why hadn't she noticed the humidity before? She was careful to keep her legs together, before Eli was sitting right across from her and would probably be able to see any stains on her paints.

…But I digress.

The cramps were still coming at full force, but sitting down did a little bit to relieve them. Oh, how she wished she could have a nice, soft bed—

No.

Wait a minute.

Was she becoming soft?

No! That was not awesome! Beer! Horses! Guns! Swords! Sweat!

That was better.

Speaking of sweat…she wiped a hand across her forehead for what seemed like the millionth time…the smell of the blood and the sweat was beginning to bother her, and she hoped, oh, she hoped Eli couldn't smell it.

She cursed her lack of foresight. Why hadn't she packed extra underwear or something? Then again, where would she pack it? It wasn't like this was a vacation or something. She winced as she caught a whiff of the blood again.

An idea struck her.

"I'll be right back," she said to Eli, who simply nodded.

She stood up, keeping her hand on the tree to support her; the other was wrapped around her stomach. She hitched one foot forward, and then the other, making slow progress as she moved across the damp, soft, marshy ground. For the first time the loud chirps of the birds and the calls of different animals bothered her, and she felt that if she was sad and gloomy, the rest of the world should be too.

She glanced around, in search of the scent or sight of the lemongrass tree. She remembered her father teaching her about the wonderful smell it could make—of oranges and citrus. He'd even taught her how to make tea with it.

For once, she was grateful she had listened.

She caught sight of the little white tree, with its small, pale green pines sticking out. With a giant sigh of relief, she took hold of the branches and tugged, using her other hand to catch the falling pines. For moment, she held them to her nose, taking in the forest-like, citrus scent.

Then, looking around to make sure there were to be no prying eyes, she stuffed them right into her pants.


Ludwig was worried.

No, scratch that, he was outraged.

His daughter had run away many times before, of course, but she had never been gone this long. Usually her bum-like instincts would kick in and she would be back around dinnertime, if only to laze around and do absolutely nothing for the rest of the night.

But this time it was serious.

He'd sent every guard in the city to search for her. Every home was turned upside down; every bakery was searched, every blacksmith was rummaged. It had sent the whole town into a frenzy. The prince—no, princess was missing! What were they to do?

Antonio Fernandez Carriedo knelt in front of the distraught king, feeling rather distressed himself. He was one of Gillian's closest friends, and news of her absence was rather frightening.

The bounty hunter raised his head a little, so that Ludwig could see his sharp green eyes through his tree bark-brown hair. "I will find the princess," Antonio said, quietly, but with force. "And she will be home safe. I swear it."

King Ludwig swallowed. Antonio was his best bounty hunter, but Gillian could be unpredictable. Shaking his head slowly and sighing, he said, "Please, find her soon, and safely. I wish you luck on your journey."

Antonio stood, nodded, and ran off, out of the palace. Once he was gone, Ludwig slumped into his seat, all alone.

Where had the old times gone?


When Gil came swaggering back, looking satisfied and smelling of citrus, Eli knew something was up. His usual grin was back on his face, and for that Eli was…not exactly pleased, but not exactly feeling empty anymore. In a way, he was rather relieved. He had been worried that his companion wasn't feeling well.

Of course, he was only worried about the hindrance it would cause to his journey.

Nothing else.

At all.

He looked up to the other man, who was looking at him expectantly. "Are you ready to go?" Gil asked. "Or does my Holy Awesomeness need to wait for you?"

Eli smirked. As if. "Keh. You wish." He rose quickly and stretched, feeling his tense muscles relax. It was mid-afternoon, and the little flecks of sun through the trees were showing no mercy, making the thick, swampy air even more unbearable.

He joined Gil, and the two began to walk in a quite amiable silence. Now, instead of worrying, Eli found the silence to be quite peaceful, as Gil's face was relaxed now, and his air of agitation was now gone. It seemed that whatever he did in the forest had been a great help to the mood.

"Hey…"

Eli looked up quickly. "Hm? What is it?"

"…Do you think this will last? You 'n me bein' together, I mean." Eli caught a glance of the other man looking away, as if deeply embarrassed.

Eli furrowed his brows in thought. "That's a funny question…" he muttered. "Why would you ask?"

"N-No reason! I-I'm just wondering how long it'll take before my awesomeness rubs off on you. That's all. ..Yeah. Just…just forget I said anything, alright?"

They walked for a little while longer, Eli still contemplating. Then he said, "Well, we sure won't be parting anytime soon, that's for sure."

He didn't catch the quiet, relieved sigh.


Woo. Yeah. Another chapter. (is super pooped from trick-or-treating) Anyway, the intensity is getting really…INTENSE.

Hurr.

Hurr.

See what I did thar?