Sisters of change
By: Hibernia12 helped by moonling child
Disclaimer: the tars and the pok-a-dots tell me I don't own anything... stupid stars... *grumbles*
Key: "talk" *thought* "different language"
"Yes Gilan. Will will ride Blaze and Tug while Blaise will ride Spirit and Moonlight. The two of them are the lightest and so they will be able to make the best time." Halt explained. "You and Charlotte will follow on foot behind us."
"Um, I'm not leaving my sister." Blaise told them seriously.
"You have to. If you don't more people will die." Halt told her.
Blaise glared at him but gave in. "Fine. But if my sister gets hurt at all, I'll hurt you twice as bad." She warned Gilan, who nodded. After Will was told Blazes code, both Blaise and Will rode off.
Charlotte bit her lip nervously as she watched Blaise ride away with Will. As she had known, Blaise didn't look back. Though Charlotte knew that Blaise did it to protect herself from heartache, and that being separated was the only way that any of the plans would work, Charlotte was still scared to be separated from her sister. Halt rode off in a slightly different direction, following the path to the ruins. Gilan and Charlotte started following the same path, only slowly on foot.
"So..." Gilan said in an effort to start a conversation after several hours of walking through a rather plain landscape. All that could be seen were open plains and some trees.
"So what?" Asked Charlotte looking sidelong at him. Midnight was perched on her shoulders like a scarf. The black kitten was purring contently from her perch.
"Nothing." Gilan said unsure of himself. Charlotte chuckled.
"Well I'm going to say something. This is the longest I have been away from Blaise in a long time." Charlotte said glancing around nervously, the noises making her even more nervous.
"You girls spend a lot of time together huh?" Gilan asked.
"Yep. She feels duty bound to protect me from anything and everything that might be suspicious. And I am very thankful for her. Without her I would have died a long time ago." Charlotte said. Gilan just longed to pull her into his embrace and tell her that he was there for her. But that would have been awkward.
But apparently Charlotte didn't think so. She wrapped her arms around Gilan's neck and sobbed. Gilan returned the embrace.
"Shh. It's okay. What's wrong Charlotte?" Gilan asked, completely out of his depth.
"I'm just so scared. Something bad is going to happen. The people that I love will get hurt and... and... I'm just mad at myself for being so dependent." Charlotte said clenching her fists behind Gilan's neck. Midnight had jumped down from Charlotte's shoulders alarmed, though she stayed at her feet.
"Charlotte, don't apologize for being you. You are perfect." Gilan said.
"Thanks Gilan." Charlotte said wiping her eyes on the shirt that Blaise had stolen.
"It's getting dark. Let's stop for the night." Gilan suggested. They found a decent spot to camp under a large oak tree and Gilan lit a fire and got a meal going.
"Who wants first watch?" Gilan asked.
"What?" Charlotte asked, bewildered. Midnight was laying in her lap, with Charlotte absentmindedly petting her.
"Who wants to take the first watch?" Gilan repeated, kidding with her. Charlotte just stared at him. "You're looking at me like I have 5 heads." Gilan said.
"You must, if you expect me to take a watch." Charlotte replied.
Gilan laughed. "I'm kidding Carrots. I'll take the watches." Charlotte glared at him and stuck out her tongue.
After the meal, Charlotte curled up in a cloak next to Midnight, and fell asleep right away. Gilan took up position in the grass. To any passers by, he would look like a part of the tree.
Gilan scanned the area, not focusing in on one thing for a long time, and listening for any unusual noises. He was soon distracted, and gazed at the slumbering girl across the dying fire from him. In the glowing coals, she looked like her hair was on fire. The copper locks framed her delicate face.
'Wow. She's the most beautiful girl I have ever seen.' Gilan thought. He caught himself staring at her and quickly averted his gaze back to scanning the horizon.
'What is wrong with me? I've never felt this way before. There's something about her. Maybe it's her innocent nature. Or maybe her looks. Or her personality. Or all of the above!' Gilan contemplated to himself. He looked back at Charlotte admiring her.
Just then, her face contorted and she started to twist and turn in her sleep. Gilan got really worried when she started mumbling, then shot up screaming. Gilan ran to her and Charlotte threw her arms around him.
"It's okay. It's okay. You're safe here." Gilan comforted.
"This happens a lot. Blaise is there to comfort me. This is one of the first times that she hasn't been. But you're doing just fine." Charlotte said turning her tear-stained face to his and smiling. She still had her arms wrapped around Gilan.
Gilan smiled back and settled her back on the ground and she drifted off to sleep again. Everything was quiet until morning. The tree where they had been staying had an uninterrupted view of the sunrise.
Gilan woke Charlotte at sunrise, asking her to watch while he slept for a bit. She agreed hesitantly, and stoked the fire. Gilan was sleeping soundly and she caught herself staring. She quickly averted her gaze and started daydreaming while staring at the sunrise.
In her daydream, she imagined herself at an altar in a beautiful wedding dress. All of her family and friends were there. Blaise was standing beside her in a dress with an honest smile and happy like what she had been before everything became messed up. But the most important person, the groom, was standing right in front of her. Gilan was holding her hands saying "I do". And Charlotte said it as well. Gilan and Charlotte leaned in for the marriage kiss.
"Carrots? Carrots? Charlotte!? Snap out of it!" Gilan shouted at Charlotte to get her out of the day dream. Charlotte started out of her dream with a small shriek and toppled over.
"What? What's wrong?" Charlotte asked getting nervous from where she was sprawled on the ground. Midnight was growling, alarmed from the suddenness of everything that had happened. Charlotte calmed her down by petting the kitten.
"Nothing. I woke up and found you kind of in a trance. I was worried." Gilan explained helping her to her feet.
"Oh. Sorry. I was daydreaming." Charlotte braced herself against the tree and placed Midnight on her shoulders. The kitten huffed while glaring at Gilan, clearly blaming him for being disturbed.
"It's fine. What were you daydreaming about?"
"Uh, nothing. Fantasizing." Charlotte said not wanting to reveal her feelings for him yet.
"Okay. Let's get moving." Gilan packed up the camp, Charlotte picked up her other outfit -the ones she had appeared in - and the two walked off.
Gilan was beginning to worry about Charlotte. She hadn't said much since her daydream. He decided to be bold, and subtly slipped his hand into hers. Not an attracted hold, but a comforting grasp. To his relief Charlotte returned the hold.
They walked in silence, passing more trees the further away from the Plains they got. A while later Charlotte looked over at Gilan and saw his brow furrowed in thought.
"What's wrong?" She inquired, looking around to see if something bad was going to happen.
"I was just thinking, how do you and Blaise know so many languages?" He replied.
"Oh, well, we taught ourselves some, and others we went to school and studied."
"Oh. Could you possibly teach me a different language?" Gilan asked hesitantly not knowing if she would agree.
"Of course! Which one?" Charlotte said smiling happily. Midnight was trotting along with them happily at their feet.
"Um, I don't know. You pick one."
"Okay..." Charlotte thought for a long moment. "How about elvish?" Gilan nodded his affirmative, "Okay, let's start simple." And Charlotte proceeded to teach Gilan how to speak elvish.
"And, mae govannen means 'well met'. Try it." Charlotte instructed Gilan.
"My govanen?" Gilan tried. Charlotte chuckled.
"Mae," Charlotte said again,
"Mae," Gilan repeated,
"Govannen."
"Govannen."
"That's right! Good job." Charlotte praised, giving his hand a happy squeeze.
They had been at it for an hour and Gilan was doing great. He had learned to say greetings, farewells, and common exclamations.
"When I get really good at this, we can speak together without anyone knowing what we are talking about." Gilan said beaming.
"Except Blaise." Charlotte corrected, almost falling face first onto the ground because Midnight jumped onto her shoulders. Gilan saved her from falling and then came to a decision.
"Right. It's just about time for lunch. Shall we break for a bit?" Gilan suggested.
"Alright. I am getting hungry." Charlotte said plopping down and setting Midnight on her lap. She started un braiding her hair and then let it hang loose.
Gilan couldn't help but stare at her as she shook out the ringlets. When she did that he noticed that she looked like she was on fire, what with the sun behind her and all.
Charlotte looked up and Gilan looked away and continued to get lunch out. She looked around and noticed a small movement in the grass a few yards away. She looked closer and saw a person there brandishing a knife. She couldn't just flat out tell Gilan that there's a person there. The guy might run, or attack them.
"Gilan," Charlotte said softly, when he looked in her direction she continued in elvish, "En (look)." She nodded her head subtly in the direction of the person.
Gilan shifted his eyes and nodded slightly indicating that he saw. He pulled his saxe knife out of its sheath and shouted to the person, "You might as well come on out."
The person stood up shakily. Gilan looked at Charlotte worried she might start freaking out. She simply looked scared and mouthed the word 'knife'. Gilan's face hardened and he saw the person move slightly. He ducked, pulling Charlotte down underneath him
A knife whirled over their heads. Gilan stood up as soon as it had passed, and whipped the saxe at the person. It struck home sending the person to the ground. Charlotte had started shaking and Gilan embraced her.
"It's okay, he's gone." Gilan soothed. Charlotte calmed and soon the two were eating lunch again. Gilan retrieved his knife and handed Midnight to Charlotte and they set off again.
Gilan again slipped his hand into Charlotte's and felt it trembling.
"We're going to be okay." He said. Charlotte just nodded. "How about some more language lessons?" Gilan suggested trying to comfort her.
"Okay," Charlotte said smiling and continued to teach him elvish. They stopped at sundown and set up camp again, and had dinner under another tree, Maple this time.
"How much farther Gilan?" Charlotte asked, feeding Midnight some of her meat. Charlotte didn't mind, she wasn't overly fond of meat anyways.
"Not too far. One more day, maybe more." Gilan elaborated. Charlotte nodded and stoked the fire. Gilan sat next to her and stared into the fire.
Charlotte leaned her head against Gilan's shoulder and sighed. Gilan looked down at her and smiled softly. Charlotte looked up and smiled back at him. Gilan leaned in closer and kissed her. Charlotte seemed to melt in Gilan's embrace.
Gilan suddenly pulled away. "I'm sorry. That was inappropriate." He said starting to get up.
"No. It was fine." Charlotte said grasping his arm and pulling him back down. Gilan sat down again and wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close.
Charlotte swung her arms behind his neck and the two put their foreheads together.
"Don't tell Blaise." Charlotte begged.
"Why?"
"Because she'll tear you to pieces. Literally." Charlotte said worriedly.
"You're probably right. We will have to keep mum about this." Gilan said smiling. Charlotte smiled back and slipped her hand into his.
"What about Jenny?" Charlotte asked realizing that she could have just changed the love life of the two.
"Who?" Gilan asked puzzled. Charlotte then realized her slip.
"Uh, never mind. Just thinking about something else." Charlotte countered. Gilan gave her a funny look then shrugged.
"We should get some sleep. I'll keep first watch." Gilan said. Charlotte nodded again and rolled up in her cloak clutching midnight to her making the cat purr. Charlotte couldn't sleep. An adrenaline rush was going through her and all she wanted to do was run.
She tossed and turned until Gilan came to her for her short watch. She sat where Gilan had sat before and watched the night for an hour until Gilan woke up for his longer shift. Charlotte still couldn't sleep. She lay awake until about 4 hours before dawn when she finally nodded off.
Gilan woke her up for the final morning watch. Charlotte made breakfast while on her watch and Gilan woke to the smell of coffee.
"Mmm, I thought you didn't know how to cook?" He asked getting up. He shook out his mussed hair making Charlotte smile as he looked so handsome.
"I learned by watching you guys." Charlotte said simply. They ate breakfast in companionable silence until they packed up camp. Gilan held Charlotte's hand as they started walking. Midnight purred on Charlotte's shoulder.
They walked and walked and walked. Charlotte was getting blisters and when Gilan saw her wince as she walked, he swung her up in a piggy back carry. She objected but lost the argument as her feet throbbed. Midnight moved to a different position on Gilan's shoulders, then decided she didn't like it and sat on his head instead.
About halfway through the morning Charlotte yawned hugely. Gilan shifted her up then noticed how tired she looked.
"How much sleep did you get last night?" He asked.
"I don't know. Four hours maybe?" Charlotte said sheepishly. Gilan sighed and shook his head.
"That's why you're so tired." He said, "well, go to sleep if you want." Charlotte wasn't that heavy and soon she was napping on Gilan's back.
Gilan carried her until it was time for lunch. Charlotte slipped off his back and kissed his cheek.
"What did I ever do to deserve that?" Gilan asked blushing.
"Thank you," Charlotte said "for carrying me." She smiled softly.
TIME SKIP
"Gilan, how much further. I don't think I can travel anymore." Charlotte said sitting down on a random rock. It was midday on the fourth day of their journey and they had walked without a break. Gilan had a bad feeling about what was going to happen. Also, Charlotte hadn't caught up on lost sleep and was still sluggish.
"Not much further. You can see the ruins from here." Gilan said pointing. Charlotte could see clearly the ruins. They had come into sight earlier that day.
"I see. It's maybe a league away." Charlotte said. Gilan nodded and Charlotte continued walking, only to fall over with a yell of pain. Gilan was at her side in a second and helped her sit down properly on a rock. Charlotte looked over her ankle, which was swelling.
"Well, I sprained my ankle. So, Blaise is going to sprain your ankle." Charlotte told Gilan.
"It was an accident though." Gilan said confused.
"Won't matter to Blaise, she'll sprain your ankle because I got hurt." Charlotte sighed. Gilan scooped Charlotte up and carried her. Charlotte pouted but didn't complain. When they got to the ruins, Charlotte spotted a group sitting along the tree line and Gilan started walking over to the group, knowing that they were the rest of their group.
A/N: What do you all think? this chapter was written by Hibernia12, and did added a few details. Hibernia12 knows how I feel about this chapter, so if you all reading have a problem with it, go yell at her.
ANSWERS:
Blodrose: I'm glad you like it. keep commenting! :)