"It's a shame that you can't ride with us to Jerusalem." Eden said to Lawrence.
They strolled through the Templar Quarter of Acre, a quieter part of the city, passing St. Anne's Covenant on the way to the Templar Castle.
"Well, I don't know what your plans are, but I won't be long and perhaps we can meet in the Holy City again?" Lawrence suggested.
"Perhaps..."
Lawrence glanced at the warrior who was consumed in thought.
"Are you troubled by the same sense of foreboding as I am?" he finally asked.
"It's strange, but no... But I do feel a slow, yet great shift in things. I can't explain it... It's neither a good nor bad feeling... It's like something's slowly sliding into place or some kind of balance is being restored... Strange how different it is from your feeling."
"I don't know if it's all that different. I seem to have simply focused on one particular aspect." the Hospitaller concluded.
"Do you think the Templars will help?"
"I don't know. I wanted to speak to the guardians and knights here before I do the same in Jerusalem. I don't want to raise any premature alarms. I'll see what the seers have to say."
"What about Tyre or Jaffa?"
"From what I know there are no guardians in Jaffa right now. Tyre's simply too far... I need to be here just in case..."
"Maybe send a runner?" Eden suggested.
"Perhaps... I'll see what I unearth here." Lawrence said and then stopped in front of the Templar gate.
He smiled at her warmly and their gaze said the things that they would have had a hard time putting into words. Lawrence outstretched his arms and Eden smiled.
"Some things never change, do they?" she noted.
"Fortunately."
Eden gave him a playfully suspicious look and then took a step forward. They hugged, each worried about the other and neither saying a word about it, knowing that they would be there for each other if anything happened. Lawrence regretted that they didn't have more time together. Though Eden trusted the Hospitaller, he knew that she needed time to grow accustomed and comfortable to begin to reveal what lay deeper within her. But he contented himself with the fact that both she and the bard were alive and safe.
"Keep an eye on your saddlebags or else that hungry, young bard of yours will eat you out of horse and parcel." Lawrence quipped, releasing Eden as she chuckled.
"I will. You take care of yourself Lawrence and return safely to Jerusalem."
"Of course. I've taken up the flute, something I'm going to have to live to show you." he admitted cheerfully.
"Then it's something I'm going to have to live to hear." Eden replied.
They smiled at each other and Eden raised her right hand in a goodbye. She turned around and began to make her way away from the castle when she heard Lawrence call her name, making her turn back towards him.
"Be careful." he said simply, but in a tone that was heavy with things she probably didn't want to know and that weighed on his mind.
"As usual." she answered, smiled, and then turned back around and walked away.
"That's what I'm afraid of." Lawrence whispered to himself.
Right before they were going to head out of Acre, Arielle had adamantly insisted on running back to the market by herself to get something she needed for her writing. The warrior gave her a small scowl, but then shrugged her shoulders and told her to go on ahead and that she would wait for her with the horses. Arielle ran off before Eden had a chance to change her mind.
In truth, Arielle wanted to buy something else. She had never really thanked Eden for all the care and attention the warrior had given her when she was sick. And she found that words didn't suffice anymore. One day while walking through the city with Lawrence and Eden, a silver clasp caught her eye in one of the market stalls and she somehow instantly knew that it would be perfect. She was happy to return and find it still there almost as if it was waiting for her and she bought it immediately. She gazed at the hawk shaped clasp, lightly running her finger over the piercing eyes, outspread wings, and ready talons of the bird. That was how Arielle remembered the guardian from the days she was sick, hovering over her with attention, ready to swoop down on any danger and tear it limb from limb. The bard smiled to herself as she realized how lucky she was to have such a friend.
Arielle tucked the clasp safely away into her satchel and was about to return to Eden when she felt a strong hand grab her shoulder.
"I recommend parting with your little, silver trinket and not making a scene." she heard a man roughly hiss into her ear.
Arielle was suddenly gripped with fear. Her first thought jumped to Eden, but she was too far to even hear her scream. Her next thought ran to her bow, which was hanging off her saddle and her sword also wasn't an option since the thief was holding her right arm. The bard began to panic, her heart racing, her breath quickening. Something in the thief sent a shiver down her spine and paralyzed her thoughts. She debated whether to start a ruckus and break away in the chaos.
"I wouldn't think of starting any commotion, little maiden," the bard heard in that low, cold hiss, "unless you'd like me to decorate the market with your insides. So how about the trinket, hm?"
Arielle gave a single, weak nod, strangely struck dumb with fear and reached for her satchel. She stopped when she suddenly saw Eden walking towards her quickly from the corner of her eye.
"I think it would be wise if you left the lady alone." Arielle and the thief heard from behind them.
They both turned around, shifting their gaze that fell upon a dark haired nobleman.
"It would be wiser if you left me to my business, Frank." the thief spat.
"It's 'my lord'." the nobleman snarled.
He grabbed the thief's arm and stared straight into his eyes. The thief suddenly turned very pale and began to tremble as if the life was being sucked right out of him. The bard looked on in a mix of horror and fear.
"Ye-e-e-e-e-s-s-s, m-y-y-y-y, l-o-o-o-or-d-d-d-d." the thief stammered out, unable to control his sudden shaking.
The nobleman smiled coldly and then roughly withdrew his hand from the thief's arm. The thief still stood there, trembling, his blank eyes locked onto the dark ones of the nobleman.
"Go. Now. Before I have to teach you a painful lesson." the nobleman growled straight into the face of the thief.
The thief's eyes grew wide and he lurched backwards and nearly fell over. He regained his balance and hysterically stumbled off as if he had just seen Satan himself. Arielle found the thief's behavior puzzling, but was torn from her musings when she felt Eden's hand on her shoulder.
"Are you alright?" she asked with knotted brows and one hand on the hilt of her sword.
Before the blond had a chance to answer, the nobleman gently took her arm and turned her around towards him.
"How are you, young maiden? Did the ruffian hurt you?" he asked, his voice quiet and calm.
"Oh, I'm fine. Thank you for your help." Arielle replied.
"Dorian Paymon at your service, fair maiden." he answered, bowing gallantly, taking Arielle's hand, and planting a gentle kiss on it.
"I am Arielle of Avignon and I thank you for your service, my lord." Arielle answered in turn and curtsied.
"No, to you, my dear maiden, I am simply Dorian." he said, a smile crossing his face as he looked into her eyes.
He was... mesmerizing. His long, dark, crimson red tunic stood out from his black leggings, shoes, and cloak. His clothes, cloak, and tunic belt all had a lavish, silver embroidered border finish. A long dagger in a sheath decorated with jewels hung on his left. His cloak was held by a peculiar, gold clasp depicting a young man in a crown riding a camel. His clothes alone asked for respect. Yet, his stance and air demanded it. His eyes were dark and his hair was even darker. He had it combed mostly to the back. His face was young and soft, but the nicely trimmed beard he wore gave it a touch of harshness and masculinity. He carried himself confidently and Arielle would have said he was arrogant if he hadn't been so nice. Arielle found herself to be taken with the man as she never before had been.
The warrior clearing her throat brought her out of her admiration.
"We should go if we want to leave today." Eden said.
"Oh, dear me, are you in a hurry? I'm ever so sorry, I didn't mean to keep you." Dorian said to Arielle.
"Oh, no, you're not keeping us." Arielle replied and then stretched out her hand and placed it on the warrior's wrist, "This is my friend and traveling companion, Eden."
"Charmed." Dorian shot, scanning the warrior quickly from head to foot with a grimace and obvious disapproval.
"Likewise." Eden muttered, already deciding that she didn't like him.
"My fair maiden, it was a dreadful thing that happened to you. I don't believe it to be the best idea to now travel outside the city walls where only Lord knows what kind of horrors lie in wait." Dorian said to Arielle, turning his soft glance back to her.
"Well, I can take quite adequate care of myself if you must know." Arielle replied, slightly annoyed.
"You misunderstand, fair dame!" Dorian reasoned in surprise, "I'm well aware that you are no feeble woman. I only scared the thief off quickly, but you were the one who would not faint nor succumb. I only mean that after such an incident, it would be good to take some food and rest. I'm sure you'll agree that the dangers of the road are easier to meet with a clear mind and full stomach, no?"
"Ah, yes, well it seems that you do have a valid point. I guess it wouldn't do any harm if we stayed a little longer. Eden?" Arielle said and then turned to the warrior.
Eden saw something new flicker in those forest green eyes, yet knew the glimmer itself all too well.
"No harm." Eden said simply.
"Splendid!" Dorian cried and offered his arm to Arielle which she accepted as they began walking, "My dear lady, I shall show a place you likely haven't visited, but that has the greatest cider in all of the Levant! Did you like cider?"
"Yes, very much."
"How wonderful, so do I. It may be slightly strange, I know, for a nobleman to not take great pleasure in fine wines. Yet, I'll tell you in secret that there is nothing that I cherish more than some warm cider and a good book."
"Preferably near the fireplace on a gray evening."
"My dear maiden, something tells me that we have quite a number of things in common. And to think that we had the pleasure to meet in the middle of this desert. What a pleasant surprise, is it not?"
"Yes," Arielle said with a growing smile, "it seems quite pleasant indeed."
The pair made their way through the narrow streets, chatting up a storm about books and such while the unamused warrior followed quietly behind, completely ignored.
The bard forgot to ask how the warrior knew she had been in trouble.
"You've been quiet. Is everything all right?" the bard asked Eden.
"I'm fine." Eden grumbled.
They finally had a moment to themselves when Dorian trotted off to 'see about his entourage as it was a taxing journey they were unaccustomed to'. The guardian didn't know exactly how it happened, but the noble had wormed his way into traveling with them to Jerusalem. Eden wanted to go plunge into a moat for the way those green eyes seemed to make her agree to anything. But she unfortunately saw her delight in Dorian's attentions and she didn't want to take that away from the bard. No matter how unhappy it made her.
And Dorian seemed to be a master at whatever it was he was doing. Since leaving Acre, he and the bard spent nearly every minute in pleasant conversation, chatting about nearly every possible subject. Eden was a victim of their discussions, their words often floating over to her no matter how much she really didn't want to hear them. She grit her teeth with every coincidental thing that they had in common, mentally knocking the noble's head against a tree and praying for Arielle to not believe in his stories. The warrior noticed the slithery grace with which he painted himself a man that Arielle had always been looking for. He enjoyed literature and dreamed of one day having the largest library in the Holy Roman Empire. He was well versed in poetry and philosophy, but also took an interest in the sciences. He was an avid Christian, claiming to spend nearly every free moment he might have in church or praying on his knees for the redemption of humanity. His local priest was a good friend of his and his confessor and was the one who Dorian would run to when he needed advice. That was the one time Eden had made the mistake of interrupting.
"For whose word can be closer to the truth and worth more than that of the ordained?" he asked theatrically.
"Perhaps your conscience?" Eden replied.
The pair looked at her in surprise as if they had long forgotten that she was even there.
"Excuse me?" Dorian asked in annoyance.
"Your conscience can be closer to the truth."
"How absurd! Man is a weak creature! We cannot trust ourselves."
"If we can't trust ourselves because man is weak then why would we trust the word of another man?"
"This borders on blasphemy." Dorian hissed, beginning to tremble in anger, "There is a difference between a priest and someone... like you."
"I should hope so." Eden retorted, deflecting the remark, "It is said that the spirit of God dwells within our conscience. So if we listen to it closely, we'll have the truest, worthiest word of all. And it would be from God and not passed through the additional interpretation of someone else."
"Heresy! Infidel!" Dorian yelled so loudly that his horse reared in fright.
"Dorian, calm down. She's no heretic." Arielle said, finally joining in the exchange.
"Only in respect for you will I not give this heathen a thrashing. Vagabonds do not inherit the Kingdom of Heaven."
Eden drew a breath to reply, but Arielle turned to her in a quiet plea.
"Eden, please..."
Eden glanced at the blond and shrugged her shoulders lightly, trotting off to the side, leaving the fuming noble with a distrustful glare.
Eden wanted to chuckle at the memory of the noble's red, furious face. But she only shook her head. His words to Arielle later gave way to gentle caresses, touches, and endearment that made Eden strangely uncomfortable. The warrior secretly longed to feel the same charge she felt when they were being followed by Karas. It would have been enough of a reason to boil and quarter the ridiculous noble regardless of what Arielle thought. But Eden felt no charge. Perhaps my role is done? Perhaps this road has come to an end? It's such a shame...
"Is it Dorian?" the bard asked her a while later, looking at her in interest, "I know I didn't really ask for your opinion before telling him that it would be fine for him to join us. If it makes you uncomfortable or-"
"It's fine. Don't worry about it." Eden cut off, not wanting to discuss it.
"He really is delightful, Eden, just give him a chance. He's very learned and eloquent. You might even learn something."
Eden shot the blond a glare of offended surprise.
"Oh, I... I don't think I meant that... It's just that he's so intelligent and pious; he's seen so much of the world. He wants to teach and show me so much..."
Arielle saw the growing hurt fill those blue eyes pinned on her.
"This is somehow not coming out the way I want it to." Arielle sighed in confused defeat.
"Maybe it's coming out exactly the way you want it to." Eden declared, her piercing glare making the bard begin to feel uncomfortable.
Arielle opened her mouth, but she wasn't sure what to say so decided to say nothing at all.
"Just give him a chance. Maybe it won't be so bad." Arielle said quietly after a few moments of tense silence.
"I don't like him."
"Oh, Eden, you've known him for five minutes. You don't even have a reason to not like him yet."
"Yes, well, something tells me he's going to supply me with a whole basketload of reasons soon."
"Why do you do that? Why must you constantly see only the bad side in everyone?" Arielle asked, slightly annoyed.
"I don't see the bad side in you."
"Yes, you do. You think I'm not capable of judging Dorian's character myself." Arielle accused, her private inhibitions coming to the surface.
"Why go through the trouble of painfully finding out something that I can tell you right now?"
"Because it's my life and my decision. And you can't tell me what to do."
"I'm not telling you what to do. I'm your friend... I'm advising you... There is something very wrong with that pretend noble."
"Well, I didn't ask for your advice." the bard snapped, herself unsure why.
"I know... I just thought... It was for you... Never mind." Eden said and spurred her horse, separating herself from the bard.
Arielle wanted to call after her, regretting what she had said, but she only sighed heavily and hung her head. It had been a reaction. Her entire life seemed to be a string of things she should and shouldn't do, lavishly ladled onto her soft shoulders by her parents and sometimes even by her sister. She couldn't remember ever making a decision herself and was chastised for every opinion she had ever dared to call her own. Deep down Arielle knew that Eden was only trying to protect her though the bard couldn't understand exactly what from. And that evoked a retaliating reaction from the blond on the slightest sound of negativity. To Arielle what was more important than the possible trouble Dorian might be was the fact that she wanted to decide for herself. No matter the price.
Eden wasn't sure what exactly woke her up. Her eyes flew open and scanned the campsite quickly, registering a slumbering bard and a missing nobleman. She sensed something wasn't right; the dark seemed too dark and the air seemed charged with evil. She grabbed her sword just as a band of dark bandits attacked the camp.
Eden jumped up and took the group of six head on. The fire was slight and Eden had to rely on all her senses to fight off the menacing shadows. She shouted to Arielle to get up, which the bard did in a frightened stupor, grabbing her sword and stumbling in the dark to the warrior. Eden grabbed her by the arm with one hand as she plunged her sword through the leg of one of the attackers with the other.
"Back to me." Eden ordered.
Arielle nodded, the sleep now completely driven out of her and stood with her short sword ready, back to back with the warrior. Eden was calmer feeling the warmth and movement of the bard behind her and she focused her attentions on the black attackers, her moves a complete reaction to the things she sensed around her.
Yet the fight seemed to end as soon as it began and as the dust settled, Eden noticed that things were completely out of place. It kept her alert, her every fiber ready for another onslaught lurking in the night. She felt the light weight of Arielle's hand on her arm, the sound of her frightened breathing and found calm in her presence and the knowledge that she was fine. Her own breathing slowed along with her heart as she tried to understand what happened.
"Who were they?" Arielle asked quietly, looking at the black bodies littering the ground.
"I don't know..."
In truth Eden had a suspicion, but simply hoped it wasn't so. But nothing else explained the fact that bandits had attacked in the pitch black dark, that they made nearly no sound when they moved, and that Dorian was conveniently missing.
"Oh, you're safe! Thank the Lord Almighty in Heaven!" Dorian exclaimed, as he returned into the dying light of the fire.
"And where were you?" Eden spat, instinctively moving closer to the bard and shielding her from him.
"I heard a noise and went to investigate. Then I was attacked by one of those bandits. I had a hard time, but managed to send him to a well deserved grave." Dorian explained and then raised a cone shaped helmet to the light, "Those bastard Saracens..."
"Well, I guess that solves that mystery. But why would they attack us in the middle of the night?" Arielle wondered.
"What would it matter to the filthy infidels? A dead Christian is worth the same whether at night or during the day, is he not? There is a reason why chivalry was not invented here, you know." Dorian explained.
"Not even 'heathen Saracens' can see in the dark." Eden retorted, "And we only have that helmet of yours to identify them as Saracens. Something here doesn't make sense..."
Dorian let the helmet drop onto one of the bodies and grasped Arielle's hands in his own.
"What is most important is that you are safe and unharmed. There wasn't moment when I didn't fear for your safety."
Eden's first reaction was to stomp over to the flowery-worded noble and pound him into the ground. But she watched as the young bard was taken with him and his silky words, shying away with a girlish grin on her face as Dorian smiled at her. So instead Eden just shook her head and quietly returned to her bedroll, aware that she probably wouldn't get any more sleep that night. Dorian called over a few servants who pulled the bodies away.
"Come, go back to sleep, fair maiden while I praise God Almighty for His protection over you." Dorian encouraged, leading Arielle back to her bedroll and then walking back to his own, "Fear not for I shall keep vigil."
There was something in that statement that bothered Arielle, but it was soon forgotten under Dorian's steady, adoring gaze.
In the last hours of the night, Eden's ears picked up the sound of Dorian getting up from his bedroll and walking off. Her suspiciousness peaked, Eden rose and crossed to the other side of the camp silently, waiting at the edge of the shadows for the noble to return. She heard him far off, speaking in a strange tongue that she didn't understand nor had ever even heard.
"Out for a midnight stroll?" Eden drawled once his outline came back into view.
"Oh my, my, my, aren't you the suspicious one?" he chuckled.
"Look," Eden said sharply, "I don't know what game you're trying to play, but I suggest you move along and go play it somewhere else."
Dorian gave out a large yawn. Eden took a step closer to him, her hand automatically grabbing the hilt of her sword.
"Ah, ah, ah, there toy warrior. Swords usually lead to violence and when that happens, there's no telling who might get hurt." he warned tauntingly, his eyes shifting to the sleeping bard.
"I'll tell Arielle that you're not the person you pretend to be."
"I really don't think that you will say much at all." he chuckled quietly, "Actually, I don't think that you are in any position to threaten me, Eden de Sancti of Florentia."
Eden's eyes grew wider at the sound of her family name which she knew she had never told anyone other than Lawrence.
"Ah yes, surprised, aren't we? Oh, yes, I know all about you, you daughter of sin and scandal. Did you really think that you could escape your past? Did you think that you can become someone else? You are nothing more than a filthy, pathetic bandit dressed in knight's clothing."
"Do I know you?"
"No, but you will. So if I were in your position, I would be more concerned with what I might say to Arielle and not the other way around."
"I swear by all the beings in Heaven that if you hurt Arielle-"
Eden suddenly found a dagger under her chin and two dark eyes glaring at her lethally.
"Do not threaten me again or I will carve your precious little bard into so many pieces that even the archangels won't be able to put her back together." he snarled viciously and then took a step back and changed to a calm, low tone, "Relax and enjoy the performance. Your role will come up soon enough... So, do we have an understanding?"
"You're vile and depraved. The very sight of you makes me sick." Eden hissed through her teeth.
"Oh, from threats to compliments. It seems that we shall get along after all." he replied cheerfully.
He sheathed his dagger with an evil grin on his face and casually returned to his bedroll, lying down, very satisfied with himself. He left Eden standing in the night with concern weighing on her mind and her heart sinking.
The bard awoke at dawn to the sight of the warrior sitting next to the fire in her shirt. Her red gambeson was on her knees as Eden sewed up a tear in one of the sleeves. Arielle noticed a bandage roughly wound around the guardian's upper arm. She got up and quietly ambled over to Eden.
"Why didn't you tell me you were wounded?" Arielle asked with some concern.
"I didn't notice, you didn't ask." the warrior replied, keeping her attention on her work.
Arielle knotted her brows slightly at the somewhat bristly warrior. She turned her gaze to the bandage, seeing a crimson spot standing out in the middle of the layers of white.
"Maybe I'll rewrap that for you... You've bled through." Arielle suggested.
"It's fine."
The bard was taken aback a little and frowned at the warrior.
"What is it, Eden? Why won't you let me take care of this?" she asked in genuine confusion.
Eden stopped sewing and looked at the bard. And there were those green eyes and that innocent gaze that seemed so deep that Eden was convinced she could get lost in it if she dove in. Those were the eyes that couldn't believe in any inherent evil in people. Those were the eyes that believed in more than Eden had ever seen. Those were the eyes that Eden had pledged to protect. Eden had promised.
"Arielle," she started, lowering her voice and leaning in, "something is wrong in all of this."
"I would agree," Dorian chimed in abruptly, appearing from behind Arielle and placing his hands on her shoulders, near her neck, "Sitting in only a mere shirt at dawn?... It's almost as if one wanted to catch their... death."
The emphasis on the last word and Dorian's cold stare told Eden that she was standing precariously close to a threat that Dorian was more than willing to act upon.
"Perhaps one of your servants would be able to mend Eden's gambeson. They are so skilled." Arielle suggested, turning and looking up at him.
"Ah, you know that your wish is my command, my fair one, yet I'm afraid my entourage is used to more... delicate things. I would worry that they might handle her garment incorrectly. I'm sure she has the best knowledge and experience in this matter and over the fine skills of my servants." Dorian explained.
Arielle turned back to Eden, who had already hung her head back over her gambeson, hiding the concerned defeat on her face.
"Speaking of which," Dorian added hurriedly, pulling the bard to her feet, "come, let me show you some of their incredible needlework."
Eden found herself almost grateful that Jerusalem was near. If she had thought the nobleman's arrogance was bad, his near drowning in self pity was almost too much for the warrior. He spent hours and leagues complimenting the bard on anything from her riding abilities to her worldly views to then turn and lament that he wasn't lucky enough to have the same. He was especially so when it came to faith. They spent the entire trip from Acre to Jerusalem speaking of faith in almost every possible way. Eden had silently observed a strange pattern in which Dorian would make a comment or observation and in the end Arielle would express her own views and understanding that he would automatically gladly accept. Eden nearly wanted to cut her own arm off to have something to fling at the noble when he finally declared that he believed Arielle to truly be a saint and that he was convinced that she had saved his soul 'from the morbid fate in the demonic fires of the abyss'. Eden would have gladly sent him there without even asking, but she kept her silence, almost crushing her teeth and jaw in doing so.
Arielle found herself more and more taken with the noble and started to quickly see him as something more than a mere traveling companion. He seemed to be everything she had ever wanted, almost as if someone had pulled the ideal out of her mind and set it before her. It was almost too good to be true, but she was too happy and excited to notice. He seemed to adore her beauty, her youthfulness, and fell head over heels with her stories. Eden would sometimes enter her mind, but was always pushed back with heavy barrages of denial. I was only a traveling companion, she was my escort. I probably annoyed her more than anything... I was always causing trouble, making a mess of things... What would she want with a pathetic little creature like me? This might be my chance, a chance to be normal, to fit in... I can be like everyone else... and I won't be different any longer, I won't be shunned and pointed at... and everyone shall be pleased with me... and I'll be happy and accepted... Right? But one thing she couldn't fool herself into thinking was that Eden would be absolutely fine without her. Quite the opposite, she wondered what would happen if she left Eden behind.
Above all else, Arielle was proudest that she had such an impact on Dorian. He seemed to hang on her words, soaking up her ideas and thoughts, a situation she absolutely wasn't used to. He never criticized her and almost never even discussed anything with her; he was always convinced the minute she spoke her mind and adopted the ideas as his own. Especially when it came to God and the Holy Roman Church which were so close to the bard's heart. Eden always debated it with her, sometimes even coldly and it hurt the blond. Yet Dorian hungrily took in her views by the handful and then claimed that the light he was beginning to see shined from her. She didn't know what to say; she had never thought that she could make that much of an influence. And then he sadly spoke of his family, regrettably riddled with sins of all kinds and what a weight it was on his heart since it seemed to him that all was lost. The blond comforted him as much as she could and began to think of how she could now save more than just him. And she let herself drown, intoxicated in that feeling.
"Eden," Arielle said to Eden, moving beside her when Dorian had trotted to the back to give his servants instructions, "have you ever thought about what you're going to do after reaching Jerusalem?"
Eden had wished for any other subject but that one now. She heard the sadness in the bard's voice, she felt in sadness in her own heart.
"Well, I don't know... now..." she tried diplomatically, "What about you?"
"I don't know... I just don't know..." Arielle answered, her voice trailing off.
"I was... I was thinking of perhaps going to Kerak for a while. Perhaps see some old friends if they're still there..."
"Kerak? The fortifications?"
"Kerak is a mighty castle, the likes of which you have never seen. Rectangular towers, vaulted galleries, archer positions, a deep moat... It's as magnificent as it is unconquerable." Eden described, sweeping her hand across the land.
A smile crossed the bard's face as she imagined what it must look like and a great desire to see it suddenly began to take her.
"Come and see it with me." Eden said before she could stop the words.
She maintained a steady gaze on the bard and watched all the different emotions race across her face, imagining that they were probably quite similar to all the ones she was feeling at the moment. Eden was trying to stake her claim to the bard in one of the very few ways she could. If she tried, she knew she could probably scare or threaten Arielle into agreeing, but the guardian wanted it to be her decision. Finally, Arielle broke away from her gaze.
"I don't know, Eden... I just don't know..." she replied quietly.
"Arielle, please..." Eden said with strain, "something is wrong in all of this... Have you noticed how everything is so perfect? How he evades me?"
"Eden, please, not now."
Eden gave a faint nod and hung her head, turning away from Arielle. Dorian trotted up, taking his place beside the blond.
"Behold, my blossom," he declared as if he had just conquered Jerusalem, "the Holy City awaits us with open arms."
In the light of the rising sun, the Holy City stood proudly before them. They rode through the main gates, Dorian and Arielle beside each other and Eden a little ways behind. Once she passed under the grand arch of the main gate, Eden realized that of all the scenarios she had imagined, this one never entered her mind and it made her feel more alone than she would have thought possible.