The next day the news was all over. Shawn had escaped. Tsylatac
wasn't quite sure what to feel. She felt exhausted with all the sleep she
had missed the last two nights. She wanted to feel glad that Shawn was out
and free. But she was miserable that he hadn't come to see her. He knew
where her room was. Not that he had ever been there, but he wasn't stupid.
If you knew where her window was, he could probably logically find her
room. Maybe.
Sam was still angry with her. That night she went to see him. Maybe he would be at the keyhole. Waiting.
But there she was instead, waiting. But no eye came into her sight. She sighed and leans against the door. "Okay," she begins slowly. "Sam, I know for a fact you are in there. But if you will not talk, I will talk for you.
"I'm not going to say I'm sorry. Because you weren't being nearly supportive enough. Okay, Shawn left yesterday. And I don't know what to do. I love him. I know you probably think I'm forward. I just met him a month ago after all, but still. I want to follow him, but at the same time I'm not sure if I should."
She sighed and leaned her head against the door. The cool door was a dark, dark brown, quite different from the doors of the rest of the house. She ran her hand over the smooth surface of the door. Sam's grandfather had built the door when he had helped build the whole palace. The old palace was quite broken down by now. Her mother had taken her there when she was smaller, telling her about how there were rumors of a secret passageway. She had spent many a day there, looking in every nook and cranny from a single sign of a passageway. She never found anything.
"Remember that time my mother took me to the library in Frell? And how I asked you for the book you reading, as if I owned the place. I was so surprised when you answered me no. I hadn't thought people COULD refuse me. Even though my parents were always telling me otherwise."
There was silence. Sam wasn't going to answer her any time soon. But she wanted to talk, as if he were listening. "And I thought maybe you had heard wrong," she continued, her voice getting stronger as she went along. "So I asked again. And you answered, plain and simple: 'No. I am reading this book and I intend to finish it.' Then I demanded to hand over the book immediately. Then you decked me one. My first hit, ever." She smiled slightly at the memory. Strangely, that punch had been the root of their friendship. Both Sam and her had one passion that they shared wholeheartedly, even if over the years their passions grew more and more different. One passion of theirs always said the same. Stories, books, anything that had words. They knew the library of Frell better than most. It had been their favorite place as children.
"And how about the time when we both had read a book and we refused to give it in again, we loved it so? It was about that maiden, who was a sorceress. And then her grandmother sends her to her relatives, who were royalty, yet had earth magic in them. She sends her on a mission, to kill the child of prophecy, the one who would win a war against these others. And her grandmother, a sorceress herself, was always watching. And if she made one false move, or became too close to one of her relatives, the grandmother would hurt one of her loved ones to get to her. And her true love refused to leave when she asked him to. And she had to make sure that she didn't seem at all to feel anything for him, in case her grandmother would hurt him. And then when the time came to kill the child of prophesy she knew how it would hurt the balance of everything to kill him. So then she refused to kill him, and her grandmother threw her love off a cliff with her magic. But the girl withstood everything her grandmother sent at her, her powers being strong than her grandmother's. And she hadn't even known. So she turned her grandmother into mouse and an owl came and gobbled her up. But in the end they ended up together forever. The true love and the girl, I mean, not the grandmother and the girl."
Still from inside the room there was complete silence. "I still love that book," she went on, as if she hadn't even stopped. Her mouth was still running but her brain had paused. Why should she feel sorry about what she had said to Sam? If he was going to be such a girl, well, that was his problem. If he would refuse to be her friend, it was HIS loss. Not her's certainly.
"You know what?" she cried, standing up and brushing the dust off her skirt. "I won't try anymore. You want to cry over every little word, so be it. I won't waste another second on you anymore!" Then she stormed off.
She went through the halls, not even caring about the sounds she was making. She was extremely lucky that she had not been caught. Stupid Sam, she repeated over and over in her brain. Stupid, stupid, stupid. She had no time for him. She needed to get to Shawn. He would help her. And then they would escape together, ending up happily ever after, like the girl in the story.
But when she reached her room, she threw herself into her bed. She could not contain her tears any longer. She cried, but silently. She missed Sam, no matter how many times she tried to curse his name. She tried to hate him, but she knew that all she uttered were lies. Sam had been her friend, even while everyone else thought she was stuck up. Which, Sam had told her more than once, she was. But he had stayed by her, no matter what.
But now, it seemed, enough was enough. He was sick of her. Probably sick of her selfishness, about how she was so mean to him. She sat up on her bed. She would go find Shawn. After they were together, she could ask him for help. Cheered by this thought alone, she got up and looked in the mirror. Her red eyes were painfully apparent. She wanted to leave that very night, but she knew that it would be hard. She had very little night left, after talking so much to a silent Sam. She knew it was reasonable to wait.
But she had never been reasonable OR patient. She began to pack a bag that very moment. She went to her chest and looked through it for things she needed. She ended up with enough things to pack three bags. Okay, maybe she didn't NEED everything she had taken out. She tried to think what she would absolutely NEED. Food, for one. Clean clothes. Soap. Half an hour later, she was ready.
She went down to the kitchen to fill up her bag. She saw a line of light coming up the horizon. There was little time left. The servants would arrive soon, moving through the castle silently. The alarm that she was gone would soon sound. She needed to be far off by then.
But how to get past the guards? That was the real dilemma. The guards were always attentive and ready. Especially with so many more ogres around. So many more ogres than there were in her mother's time. Her mother had once, with the help of some knights, stopped a whole group of ogres! Tsylatac couldn't even think of doing as had. She had little ability at other languages.
So she would have to work her other talents. And work them hard. On the ground right outside the gate there were plenty of rocks. She picked two of the bigger ones and set her plan in action.
She got a rock and threw it straight and true at the guard through the gate. The guard turned but she was hidden well. "Ow!"
"What is it, Hugh? Bug?" the man chuckled.
"Jorge," whispered the guard back in a husky voice. "I think there's someone back there. Probably just Greg, but just in case, you should check."
"If there's nothing there you own me lunch."
"Just get back there, Jorge!"
Footsteps could be heard coming closer. Tsylatac moved deeper in the darkness. As soon as the guard had walked past her, she sneaked through the open gate. Then she took her other rock and moved it to her other hand. She gripped it tightly for a moment, hoping that she would make it.
Then she threw the rock. It flew well, landing in the bushes. The one called Hugh looked over. "Stupid raccoons, making all kinds of noises. I'll get them this time!" With that he got up and waddled over to the bush. Tsylatac took her advantage and ran. She ran and ran until she was out of breath and there was little possibility anyone how had seen her was catching up.
Should keep I at it, or rest, she asked herself. After a brief rest. She looked for a couple of minutes for somewhere to rest. She ended up in the back of someone's home, where many trees were growing. Her ability to climb trees was finally going to help her.
Up in the tree, she tried to keep her eyes open. But after a while she gave up the fight and fell into a nest of sleep.
The first inn Shawn arrived at was called the Dancing Diamond. He was so tired from traveling all day and night that he got into bed and slept immediately. When he woke up he knew he had to leave as soon as possible. He had some breakfast, and then left the Dancing Diamond. Who knew how fast the news of his escape would travel.
The two days later he came to a sufficient inn. This one was the Raining Bucket. He was better rested than he had been when he had arrived at the last inn.
"Excuse me!" he called, thumping the table. A young lady, one that looked amazingly like Tsylatac came over.
"Yes?" she answered, purring. "What can I do for you?" To his great surprise she seated herself on his lap. "Or maybe the question is..what can you do for me?" she wrapped her arms around his neck and ran a hand threw his hair. Her movements reminded him of Tsylatac. So much that he thought that the girl was indeed Tsylatac. But she wasn't T. He pushed her off his lap.
"Want to know what I can do for you? I can tell you that you a whore. Go sell yourself to someone else," he spat out angrily and got up. He was ready to go up to his room and spend his remaining time in this inn there. But not before the girl grabbed his arm and pulled him back. She turned him around and pushed his face towards hers roughly. Their lips met and she kissed him in a harsh way. He pushed her off him and into a table.
The table collapsed under her and the drinks that had lain on the table spilled onto her. Before anyone could react he was running. He ran out of the inn, and continued running as fast as he could. He ran and ran and ran. He was trying to run from the thoughts that were pounding in his thoughts. He wanted to rip out everything had felt for Tsylatac.
Before he had met her he hadn't felt guilty in giving girl looks. He had played around. He hadn't been tied down to anyone. But now, whenever he even thought about how it might feel to kiss any girl he felt himself blushing.
And he felt guilty. Because for a second he had been ready to push Tsylatac aside and go on kissing that girl. But Tsylatac had changed him, whether for best or worst. Or both, maybe. But now he ran, the thoughts still running threw his head.
And most of all, her face. Tsylatac's face. How it felt when she smiled at him. How it felt when she was mad at him. How it felt when she kissed him, held his hand. How her nose flared when she was mad. How her green eyes seemed to stare right into you, seeing everything you're embarrassed about.
".Rain clouds come to play again
Has no one told you she's not breathing?
Hello I am your mind
Giving you someone to talk to
Hello."
Shawn heard the voice and stopped. He spotted a young girl swinging her arms, a rag on her head. And singing. Her voice made him stop and stare. It was beautiful, touching.
".If I smile and don't believe
Soon I know I wake from this dream
Don't try to fix me I'm not broken
Hello? I am the lie living for you
So you can hide
Don't cry."
Shawn could not help but walk towards the girl. The girl herself would not have called any attention to herself. But when she sang. It was as if he had touched something inside him and it set him off.
"Hey! Girl!" he cried.
Surprised, the girl jumped. She stared at him for a moment. Then she ran. He long legs didn't help Shawn. Soon the girl was out of sight. But her haunting song was still playing over and over in his head.
"Don't try to fix me, I'm not broken.." He whispers to himself. Giving up on ever catching the girl, he turned and went back on his way. But the song would never leave him. When he lay there, dying and weak, he would remember the song.
~~~~~
Meanwhile Tsylatac was also traveling. She was nearing the inn of the Dancing Diamond. But she had long before decided that she would stay at no inns. There was too much risk involved. So she continued on her way as she had the last day or so.
When she had woken up from her 'brief rest' it was already almost noon. And he had almost fallen out of the tree, to her death. The thought of it was enough to scare her and send her off to shivering. She had come so close to death.
She was exhausted from all the traveling. But she knew a shortcut that might allow her catch up to Shawn. Maybe. If she tried hard enough she could reach him in two days time! She hurried up her pace.
Sam was still angry with her. That night she went to see him. Maybe he would be at the keyhole. Waiting.
But there she was instead, waiting. But no eye came into her sight. She sighed and leans against the door. "Okay," she begins slowly. "Sam, I know for a fact you are in there. But if you will not talk, I will talk for you.
"I'm not going to say I'm sorry. Because you weren't being nearly supportive enough. Okay, Shawn left yesterday. And I don't know what to do. I love him. I know you probably think I'm forward. I just met him a month ago after all, but still. I want to follow him, but at the same time I'm not sure if I should."
She sighed and leaned her head against the door. The cool door was a dark, dark brown, quite different from the doors of the rest of the house. She ran her hand over the smooth surface of the door. Sam's grandfather had built the door when he had helped build the whole palace. The old palace was quite broken down by now. Her mother had taken her there when she was smaller, telling her about how there were rumors of a secret passageway. She had spent many a day there, looking in every nook and cranny from a single sign of a passageway. She never found anything.
"Remember that time my mother took me to the library in Frell? And how I asked you for the book you reading, as if I owned the place. I was so surprised when you answered me no. I hadn't thought people COULD refuse me. Even though my parents were always telling me otherwise."
There was silence. Sam wasn't going to answer her any time soon. But she wanted to talk, as if he were listening. "And I thought maybe you had heard wrong," she continued, her voice getting stronger as she went along. "So I asked again. And you answered, plain and simple: 'No. I am reading this book and I intend to finish it.' Then I demanded to hand over the book immediately. Then you decked me one. My first hit, ever." She smiled slightly at the memory. Strangely, that punch had been the root of their friendship. Both Sam and her had one passion that they shared wholeheartedly, even if over the years their passions grew more and more different. One passion of theirs always said the same. Stories, books, anything that had words. They knew the library of Frell better than most. It had been their favorite place as children.
"And how about the time when we both had read a book and we refused to give it in again, we loved it so? It was about that maiden, who was a sorceress. And then her grandmother sends her to her relatives, who were royalty, yet had earth magic in them. She sends her on a mission, to kill the child of prophecy, the one who would win a war against these others. And her grandmother, a sorceress herself, was always watching. And if she made one false move, or became too close to one of her relatives, the grandmother would hurt one of her loved ones to get to her. And her true love refused to leave when she asked him to. And she had to make sure that she didn't seem at all to feel anything for him, in case her grandmother would hurt him. And then when the time came to kill the child of prophesy she knew how it would hurt the balance of everything to kill him. So then she refused to kill him, and her grandmother threw her love off a cliff with her magic. But the girl withstood everything her grandmother sent at her, her powers being strong than her grandmother's. And she hadn't even known. So she turned her grandmother into mouse and an owl came and gobbled her up. But in the end they ended up together forever. The true love and the girl, I mean, not the grandmother and the girl."
Still from inside the room there was complete silence. "I still love that book," she went on, as if she hadn't even stopped. Her mouth was still running but her brain had paused. Why should she feel sorry about what she had said to Sam? If he was going to be such a girl, well, that was his problem. If he would refuse to be her friend, it was HIS loss. Not her's certainly.
"You know what?" she cried, standing up and brushing the dust off her skirt. "I won't try anymore. You want to cry over every little word, so be it. I won't waste another second on you anymore!" Then she stormed off.
She went through the halls, not even caring about the sounds she was making. She was extremely lucky that she had not been caught. Stupid Sam, she repeated over and over in her brain. Stupid, stupid, stupid. She had no time for him. She needed to get to Shawn. He would help her. And then they would escape together, ending up happily ever after, like the girl in the story.
But when she reached her room, she threw herself into her bed. She could not contain her tears any longer. She cried, but silently. She missed Sam, no matter how many times she tried to curse his name. She tried to hate him, but she knew that all she uttered were lies. Sam had been her friend, even while everyone else thought she was stuck up. Which, Sam had told her more than once, she was. But he had stayed by her, no matter what.
But now, it seemed, enough was enough. He was sick of her. Probably sick of her selfishness, about how she was so mean to him. She sat up on her bed. She would go find Shawn. After they were together, she could ask him for help. Cheered by this thought alone, she got up and looked in the mirror. Her red eyes were painfully apparent. She wanted to leave that very night, but she knew that it would be hard. She had very little night left, after talking so much to a silent Sam. She knew it was reasonable to wait.
But she had never been reasonable OR patient. She began to pack a bag that very moment. She went to her chest and looked through it for things she needed. She ended up with enough things to pack three bags. Okay, maybe she didn't NEED everything she had taken out. She tried to think what she would absolutely NEED. Food, for one. Clean clothes. Soap. Half an hour later, she was ready.
She went down to the kitchen to fill up her bag. She saw a line of light coming up the horizon. There was little time left. The servants would arrive soon, moving through the castle silently. The alarm that she was gone would soon sound. She needed to be far off by then.
But how to get past the guards? That was the real dilemma. The guards were always attentive and ready. Especially with so many more ogres around. So many more ogres than there were in her mother's time. Her mother had once, with the help of some knights, stopped a whole group of ogres! Tsylatac couldn't even think of doing as had. She had little ability at other languages.
So she would have to work her other talents. And work them hard. On the ground right outside the gate there were plenty of rocks. She picked two of the bigger ones and set her plan in action.
She got a rock and threw it straight and true at the guard through the gate. The guard turned but she was hidden well. "Ow!"
"What is it, Hugh? Bug?" the man chuckled.
"Jorge," whispered the guard back in a husky voice. "I think there's someone back there. Probably just Greg, but just in case, you should check."
"If there's nothing there you own me lunch."
"Just get back there, Jorge!"
Footsteps could be heard coming closer. Tsylatac moved deeper in the darkness. As soon as the guard had walked past her, she sneaked through the open gate. Then she took her other rock and moved it to her other hand. She gripped it tightly for a moment, hoping that she would make it.
Then she threw the rock. It flew well, landing in the bushes. The one called Hugh looked over. "Stupid raccoons, making all kinds of noises. I'll get them this time!" With that he got up and waddled over to the bush. Tsylatac took her advantage and ran. She ran and ran until she was out of breath and there was little possibility anyone how had seen her was catching up.
Should keep I at it, or rest, she asked herself. After a brief rest. She looked for a couple of minutes for somewhere to rest. She ended up in the back of someone's home, where many trees were growing. Her ability to climb trees was finally going to help her.
Up in the tree, she tried to keep her eyes open. But after a while she gave up the fight and fell into a nest of sleep.
The first inn Shawn arrived at was called the Dancing Diamond. He was so tired from traveling all day and night that he got into bed and slept immediately. When he woke up he knew he had to leave as soon as possible. He had some breakfast, and then left the Dancing Diamond. Who knew how fast the news of his escape would travel.
The two days later he came to a sufficient inn. This one was the Raining Bucket. He was better rested than he had been when he had arrived at the last inn.
"Excuse me!" he called, thumping the table. A young lady, one that looked amazingly like Tsylatac came over.
"Yes?" she answered, purring. "What can I do for you?" To his great surprise she seated herself on his lap. "Or maybe the question is..what can you do for me?" she wrapped her arms around his neck and ran a hand threw his hair. Her movements reminded him of Tsylatac. So much that he thought that the girl was indeed Tsylatac. But she wasn't T. He pushed her off his lap.
"Want to know what I can do for you? I can tell you that you a whore. Go sell yourself to someone else," he spat out angrily and got up. He was ready to go up to his room and spend his remaining time in this inn there. But not before the girl grabbed his arm and pulled him back. She turned him around and pushed his face towards hers roughly. Their lips met and she kissed him in a harsh way. He pushed her off him and into a table.
The table collapsed under her and the drinks that had lain on the table spilled onto her. Before anyone could react he was running. He ran out of the inn, and continued running as fast as he could. He ran and ran and ran. He was trying to run from the thoughts that were pounding in his thoughts. He wanted to rip out everything had felt for Tsylatac.
Before he had met her he hadn't felt guilty in giving girl looks. He had played around. He hadn't been tied down to anyone. But now, whenever he even thought about how it might feel to kiss any girl he felt himself blushing.
And he felt guilty. Because for a second he had been ready to push Tsylatac aside and go on kissing that girl. But Tsylatac had changed him, whether for best or worst. Or both, maybe. But now he ran, the thoughts still running threw his head.
And most of all, her face. Tsylatac's face. How it felt when she smiled at him. How it felt when she was mad at him. How it felt when she kissed him, held his hand. How her nose flared when she was mad. How her green eyes seemed to stare right into you, seeing everything you're embarrassed about.
".Rain clouds come to play again
Has no one told you she's not breathing?
Hello I am your mind
Giving you someone to talk to
Hello."
Shawn heard the voice and stopped. He spotted a young girl swinging her arms, a rag on her head. And singing. Her voice made him stop and stare. It was beautiful, touching.
".If I smile and don't believe
Soon I know I wake from this dream
Don't try to fix me I'm not broken
Hello? I am the lie living for you
So you can hide
Don't cry."
Shawn could not help but walk towards the girl. The girl herself would not have called any attention to herself. But when she sang. It was as if he had touched something inside him and it set him off.
"Hey! Girl!" he cried.
Surprised, the girl jumped. She stared at him for a moment. Then she ran. He long legs didn't help Shawn. Soon the girl was out of sight. But her haunting song was still playing over and over in his head.
"Don't try to fix me, I'm not broken.." He whispers to himself. Giving up on ever catching the girl, he turned and went back on his way. But the song would never leave him. When he lay there, dying and weak, he would remember the song.
~~~~~
Meanwhile Tsylatac was also traveling. She was nearing the inn of the Dancing Diamond. But she had long before decided that she would stay at no inns. There was too much risk involved. So she continued on her way as she had the last day or so.
When she had woken up from her 'brief rest' it was already almost noon. And he had almost fallen out of the tree, to her death. The thought of it was enough to scare her and send her off to shivering. She had come so close to death.
She was exhausted from all the traveling. But she knew a shortcut that might allow her catch up to Shawn. Maybe. If she tried hard enough she could reach him in two days time! She hurried up her pace.