Welcome to chapter 5 =P

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Reprise:

I stood up and went to join Cadvan. "I'm ready to go," I told him.

"Good," he replied, not unkindly, and continued walking without speaking further. I rolled my eyes and followed him. Did he never stop? I trudged after him gloomily, resigning myself to a very, very long walk.

I still dreaded the moment when he would ask to scry me.

--

That night, the two of us lay quietly under the stars. I felt so much like a Bard it was unbelievable. I gazed up at the twinkling sky, felt the wind on my face, and thought, This is real. I had known it was real before, of course, but had never quite believed it until now.

Presently, Cadvan sat up, and I felt his eyes on my face. I propped myself up on my elbows and looked at him questioningly.

"Kayla, I would like to ask you something. It pains me to do so, and if it were only myself at stake then I would not ask at all." He eyed me expressionlessly for a moment.

"Well, go on then!" I said impatiently.

He shot me a brief look of annoyance before staring into the glowing embers of the fire we (I should say Cadvan) had built earlier. "I would like to scry you."

The whole world screeched to a halt. I cursed myself for not realising what he was about to ask after I had been waiting for it almost since the moment I had arrived. I echoed Maerad's own words, wondering as I did so how she was doing in my own world. "What if I don't agree?"

"Then I won't do it. And we shall continue with our journey."

I felt caught between a rock and a hard place. If I refused, he would think I was of the Dark or at the very least he would never truly trust me again. If I let him, he would know I was lying about who I was. How could I ever explain? How could one explain to somebody that they were a character in a book, merely a figment of somebody else's imagination?

I glanced at Cadvan uncertainly. He eyes were fixed on my face unwaveringly. What the hell. "Okay."

"Alright, then stand up," he said. "Stand here, in front of me," he added as I stood up. I shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. "Don't be frightened," he murmured.

"I'm not bloody frightened," I snapped.

"Empty your mind," he said softly. I let out a breath slowly, trying not to be too worried. The worst that could happen was that he found out I wasn't from here.

I could feel him in my mind. It was so strange, I have no idea how I knew but I did. Then he started floating through my memories.

I saw my father drinking himself into oblivion. He was not a bad man, just weak. He never became vilent when he was drunk. All he wanted was an escape from his worries.

I saw him walking out of the front door, not bothering to close it behind him, and stuck in my brain was the image of the sunlight coming through the stained-glass door, shining serenely on the pale carpet. He never came back.

I saw the first moment I saw Nathan, the cheeky grin he shot me from the other side of the room.

I saw my mother's body lying on the table. My grandmother, who had promised to look after me, had been against it, but I had insisted. Her eyes were closed, as though she were asleep, and her face was pale.

The images stopped abruptly. My normal vision returned slowly, and Cadvan swam back into view in front of my eyes.

He looked for a moment as though he couldn't decide what to say first. Then he said quietly, "Did your father leave you?"

I wasn't sure if he knew or not. "Yes. When I was six. He just walked out one day and never came back."

Cadvan regarded me steadily for another moment, and I looked away into the fire awkwardly. "Well, it seems clear that you are who you say." I stared at him in astonishment. "I am sorry for having to ask, Kayla, but I had to be certain. I thought you might be something of the Dark, sent to trick me!"

I forced a smile, trying not to show my amazement. "Of course not."

"Well, I do believe it is time to rest. I will take the first watch."

"No, you go to sleep. You need it more than me."

And as I watched him settle down to sleep, I looked back up at the stars and wondered how on earth he had not realised.

--

The next day was another hard day of walking and walking and walking. I got so bored with it, though Cadvan and I spoke about Bardic culture and history. I was proud to find that I knew enough to keep up.

"It's very quiet," I said at one point. "There are no birds."

"Aye," Cadvan agreed. "It is likely that the Landrost has sent something unpleasant after us."

Wers, I thought darkly.

"I think the Landrost sends his wers," Cadvan continued. "I think I should have left you there, Kayla, rather than draw you into my own danger."

I shrugged. "It was my choice. And I chose to come. So it's not your fault."

Cadvan sighed unhappily and upped the pace, and I started gasping for breath. I found it very hard to keep up with him, and soon started to lag behind. After a while, Cadvan glanced behind him to see me practically horizontal as I staggered after him. He seemed to be surprised that I wasn't right behind him and waited impatiently for me to catch up. I stopped and leaned my hands on my knees. Cadvan eyed me as though he were appraising livestock.

"You must hurry," Cadvan said.

"I've got mild asthma," I hissed; literally hissed, for the asthma was beginning to clutch at my chest and I had left my inhaler in my own world.

"What is asthma?" Cadvan asked.

"It means I can't breathe properly sometimes," I explained.

Cadvan looked thoughtful for a moment, then laid a hand on my chest just below my neck. I was too busy breathing deeply to ask him what the hell he was doing, but after a moment the tightness lessened and I could straighten up.

"My apologies, Kayla," said Cadvan. "I did not realise. Would you like to rest?"

I rubbed my chest, amazed by what he had done, and shook my head. "I'm okay now," I told him. He watched me walking past him for a moment, then overtook me and led the way again.

It was not long before I was gasping desperately again.

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Review, s'il-vous plait =) And thanks for reading. The fight with the wers will be next chapter, so it will get more exciting =)