Chapter 11: A Moment in the Night

"You look a mess, Branko. How did you let them cause so much damage to you?"

"Don't worry sir, I let them. I wanted to see how strong they were"

"So you weren't trying your best?"

"Correct, sir. Next time, I'll be giving them more than they can chew, that's for sure"

"Hmm...I'll trust your story for now. You are dismissed. Delago!"

"Yes, my liege?"

"Have you ascertained that the rabble is headed for Laleh?"

"The only way to Laleh is through the Badon Sea, my lord. The only other way to Laleh is through crossing the mountains that surround the sea, which is very treacherous and a lot more time consuming. I can't see why they would want to travel the mountains when they can just go by sea"

"Indeed. We shall keep a close eye on them, just in case. Now tell me, how much time is remaining until the laser is ready to fire again?"

"The laser will be ready to fire in two days time. My guess is you will want me to confront them at sea?"

"Indeed. Branko was unarmed, so he must have gotten into hand-to-hand combat. It proves little. With your abilities, I'm sure you can put them to the test"

"I look forward to it, my lord"

"Good. And now...you..."

The night had arrived. The group decided to pitch up camp in a small indentation on a cliff side. It was deep in the night and the entire group were sleeping...except for Blaze.

She sat upright, her arms huddled around her legs, looking out past the opening to the tent she had to herself due to her gender. She watched the rolling green plains, illuminated by the full moon that sat in the partly cloudy night sky. Her head was full of thoughts, thoughts of Silver. It had been almost a week, but it already started to feel like so much longer. She rested her head on her knees, sighing.

"...Silver..." she kept whispering to herself. Just the sound of his name made her feel lonely. Not even the company that she was with now could ease her growing pain. What made things worse was the possibility that Silver was dead. There hadn't been any signs of him, and Branko didn't even give him a passing mention. Why did it have to be him, she thought? What did he do to deserve such suffering? She turned around, facing her back to the entrance of the tent, placing her head in her hands. She couldn't stop sighing; she hoped that exhaling would somehow lessen the pressure that was on her. But it didn't.

Suddenly, there was a rustle behind her. Her thoughts shattered as she turned around to see what was causing the noise. It was Milos, who had woken up, looking at Blaze through the entrance of her tent.

"...Why are you awake?" he asked suddenly. Blaze sighed and looked down, her initially surprised reaction slowly turning to one of sadness.

"It's nothing...I just have a lot on my mind" she said quietly.

"Like what?" Milos asked, sitting down at the entrance. Blaze was silent for a little before she looked up at the young boy. She felt angry that she was being disturbed, but Milos wasn't intending to do any wrong.

"...I...just things" she managed to say. She felt a little intruded by the question.

"...I should go back to bed. Sorry for disturbing you" he said. With that, Milos vanished from the entrance.

Blaze lay back down and dug here eyes into the pillow. She didn't cry, but sobbed quietly as her tears soaked up in the soft pillow. Boarding the floating castle and rescuing Silver seemed like such an impossible feat at that moment, and even considering the fact that Silver was alive was harder. It took her until the morning to finally fall asleep, where she would have to wake again to continue travelling in the vain hope of rescuing the man she loved.