Inkpoison
Just to clear things up – I don't exactly plan on bringing Meggie, Farid, etc. into this story anytime soon… But I have some ideas for a sequel ;) It will be a bit confusing, for you, the readers, as well as for me – but if I do plan on a sequel (depending on how much time I have to work on it, as well as the reviewers' opinions) I will have an Author's Note chapter at the end explaining my ideas and all -
Anywaiis, exams are approaching so this may not be the best chapter – I haven't had the time or the energy to write anything, so I really do hope this satisfies all my readers; btw, thank-you so much for the reviews.
Okaiis… so, it's been about a month or two since exams, and I still haven't gotten much done. But, seriously, I've had terrible writer's block. I know where I'm going with this story, many thanks to Ivy for helping me with that, but I just don't know how to get there. Again, I apologize and I do hope all my fans will come back to read this fanfiction up until the end (which is nearing, don't worry.) (=
Chapter Twenty-three
The shortcut Jake had found was very helpful.
It cut through the hills, and every time they topped the current knoll, Jade could see a thin border of dark green, the beginning of the forest; it was getting closer with every step. Farther to their left, to the south, Jade could see the ragged patch of hill and she thought was where they had first come out into the hilly land. But if she looked to her right, which was to the north, Jade caught a fleeting glimpse of hazy-looking towers far of in the distance.
She wondered if that was Ombra, and her heart jumped each time the thought crossed her mind; they'd be home soon.
A cool chill had settled over the land, and white-gray, wispy clouds hung over the northerly horizon. Jade glanced over to them, her brow furrowed in thought. "Those are storm clouds, right?" she asked, gesturing towards the clouds that stained the bright blue sky, smeared together like snowy-white water paints.
"Yes, definitely. A snowstorm's coming," Jake commented, glancing over towards the clouds with a glint in his dark eyes, before he turned back to the land before his, as if he had seen clouds like that a million times over.
He probably has, Jade thought mildly, remembering with a surge of energy that Jake was a tight-tope walker, and he practically lived up in the clouds. With a smile, Jade followed as the others set down the hill.
Her thoughts wandered ahead, to what would happen afterwards. She was only twelve; Brianna only seven. How could they live by themselves? Casting a glance over towards Letta, taking in her midnight-black dress, the brilliant scarlet feathers tied to the hems, Jade remembered she had joined the Motley Folk when her parents had died.
Maybe, just maybe, they could join the Motley Folk. I mean, I can dance – and, well . . . Brianna could . . . Jade let her thoughts trail off, spiraling down a winding road until it was hardly a speck in the distance. What could Brianna do? There wasn't much, but . . .
Jade suddenly remembered the first day she met Jake, memories flashing before her eyes – she smiled slightly as she remembered the scents of the street fair, the annual Autumn Harvest, almost exactly a year ago. How they had met, and he had glanced her over with much disdain – her lips twitched at the thought – as if he were so much better than her. She wondered if he still thought that.
But, that wasn't why she had remembered that special day. It was after she had introduced herself to Jake, after first setting eyes on the necklace she know wore around her neck, even.
This day sparked in her memory, seemed so important it was impossible to describe – she latched onto it for fear of forgetting. She couldn't believe she had forgotten this in the first place!
"What are you thinking about?" a voice broke through her thoughts, shattering the vision she had so carefully been creating.
Jade glanced up, her eyes livid, angry at being inturupted; but her gaze softened as they lit upon Jake. He was now walking alongside her, his arm almost brushing alongside hers, though he didn't seem to notice. He was staring ahead, his dark eyes flickering over the tree line slowly, thoughtfully.
She frowned for a moment, before replying, "Well, before you so rudely inturupted me, I was trying not to forget." She left it at that, with a vague smile that was border lining full-out taunting her friend.
Jake scoffed, shaking his head; he glanced at her, amusement draping over his handsome features. "Forget what?" he prodded lightly, curiousity clear as crystal - or as clear as his dark gaze could be – in his eyes.
"Oh . . . just forgetting in general," she said breezily, her grin growing larger. Only when Jake shoved her - lightly, of course, but surprising her so that she stumbled down the hill, just barely regaining her balance – did she burst into laughter and wave him off.
"Okay, okay!" she sputtered. "I'll tell you. Just, wait . . ."
She trailed off, giggles tearing from chest until it hurt to even think. Letta glanced over her shoulder at Jade from up ahead, before turning to Jake, her eyebrow raised almost suggestively, but her eyes were glittering as if she were in on a secret neither of them knew. Jade wondered briefly what Letta was getting at, before turning back to Jake, who was still waiting for her to explain; he stood there, hands on his hips, cocking his head as if to say, 'Will you get on with it already?'
Finally, she calmed down enough to apologize, grinning from ear to ear. "Sorry about that," she snickered, not even sure where all this laughter was coming from. She fell silent, falling back into step after Letta, Jake walking close behind her.
"So . . .?" he asked, gently reminding her of what he had been waiting for.
"Oh, yeah. Well, I was just remembering the day we first met," she explained, her face heating up as soon as the words had slipped from her mouth, and she realized what that could mean.
"I mean, it's just the same day that . . . well, Brianna met Violante. Her Highness, Violante, I mean. And, I didn't want to forget that. Because it could be the answer to my problem. I mean, the problem. The problem about what we're going to do. After Roxane is gone, we can't just stay there. Brianna's only seven.
"But, she's mad at me. So I don't know if she'll listen. Because we weren't exactly best friends when I left, she practically kicked me out of the house. 'Xcept, I left by myself, you know? It's just, I don't know, I feel responsible, somehow. As her older sibling, I need to take care of her - even if she hates me. But you know, we're not really related. But, do you think she'd still be mad at me? I mean . . ."
She quickly whisked by the awkward moment into another awkward moment, true, but at least this was less embarrassing. Wincing, she subconsciously realizing she was rambling. But she hoped her rambling would distract Jake for long enough to keep his thoughts from reaching the idea that she was obsessed with him; which she wasn't. And, even if it were true, she wouldn't want him knowing. But, since it wasn't true – at least, she didn't think it was true – she didn't need to worry about him thinking that, because she didn't care. Really.
But then that didn't help at all.
Because she found herself caring. Caring a lot; why did she care?
She glanced at him, his dark, Native American skin glistening in the sunlight, his blue-and-white clothes torn and dirty. Jake blinked his dark eyes as he met her gaze, his unusually long lashes brushing along his cheeks, and Jade glanced away, not so eager to see what his reaction to all this was.
"It'll be alright. The Black Prince, Cloud-Dancer, Letta and I . . . we'll take care of you," Jake murmured after a long moment, in which Jade worried that she had scared him off. Her heart fluttered, and she felt breathless, before the world came crashing down upon her.
"Really?" she asked, not sure where this sudden tenderness had come from. "I mean, if you wouldn't mind, I . . . it would be much appreciated." She bowed her head, slipping back into a more humbler-form of herself.
"Of course," Letta piped up from where she was ahead, obviously listening in. "You can rely on us; you're like family to us now." She shook her head after a moment - as if she could hear their accusations of eavesdropping - sending ripples down the silky waterfall of black hair, but didn't say anything else.
Jade sniffled, not realizing she had been on the verge of tears, though the smile that was tugging at her lips shone through the threat of tears. "Thanks, I mean . . . thank you, it's so . . . I hope Brianna's alright," she whispered, so quietly she doubted the others had heard.
Sheeba's agile figure twitched and Jade glanced up, realizing he had heard her. The wild cat turned to look at her over his shoulder, his wide, almond-shaped amber eyes glittering, and a rumbling purr rose from his throat. It was a reassuring sound, almost as if he were saying, Of course Brianna's alright. Knowing the black panther, though, it was probably accompanied by a chiding, 'you silly child', though of course Jade couldn't be sure.
Smiling, Jade followed after the others.
-x-
"Well," Letta turned to face Jade and Jake, Sheeba at her side.
It was several days later, and the trio of travelers had been hiking through the forested wilderness, heading in a general North-Western direction. The time seemed to have flown by, yet every footstep seemed to be dragged out, seeming painfully and unreasonably too long compared to what it should have been.
"We're . . . back. There's the road, and it leads up to Roxane's place, I'm guessing." She shrugged, stepping aside to allow Jade and Jake view of the road.
The road!
Jade's jaw dropped at the sight. It could hardly be considered a road – it was barely a pathway – but it was a sign of civilization. "I can't . . . are you sure? I mean . . . Will you guys be heading back to the Secret Camp?" she asked them, her green eyes flickering to the left, from the Southerly path the road took, to Jake and Letta, before glancing to her right.
"No, well – no," Letta replied firmly. "We want to come with you to Roxane's - we want to make sure you get home safely." Sheeba's tail swished in accord, while Jake jerked his chin, Jade taking that as agreement.
Jade nodded slowly, thoughtfully. She saw nothing wrong with this, and really, who was she to force the older teenagers what to do?
"Okay."
She smiled, green gaze glittering with something even she wasn't quite sure what, before taking a step forward. She began leading the others, turning right on the path and heading towards Roxane's house. Sheeba came forward, trotting confidently by her side; like so many times before, Jade rested her hand on the nape of his neck, brushing his short, bristly black fur lightly.
The others followed, Jake stepping forward to walk on the other side of Sheeba.
Jade's eyes flickered towards him, almost curiously, before snapping back to the path. If she had been standing still, she would have been shivering with fear of what was approaching – but, because they were walking, she could control her twitchiness a bit better. Nobody but herself seemed to notice how shifty she was behaving; she almost felt like she wanted to turn around and run back into the forest, to be swallowed by the green vegetation and forget about the rest of the world.
But she also knew she needed to do this. To stick through, to see Roxane before . . . before she died.
"How are you feeling?"
Jake's voice broke through her thoughts. Starting, Jade glanced up at him; she saw him look at her slyly, before turning back to stare at the road – she did as well. Flames licked her cheeks as she flushed, and she shrugged, allowing her hair to fall over her shoulders and cover her face.
"I'm alright . . . Better than before, anyways," she smiled softly, wondering if he could hear the smile in her voice. "How about you?"
By now, the path was taking a gentle left turn, the trees on their right falling away to show a hilltop house, surrounded by a low garden wall. Jade stopped walking, her heart picking up another frenzied chase as she gazed up at Roxane's place. It seemed quiet, well enough . . . But looks didn't always reflect the truth . . .
As this thought paced through her mind, a surprised scream rang out, breaking the peaceful afternoon silence.