Chapter 8: Sentries Ago

While the trio slept, Isolde and Elias had been talking for a few hours. What else was there to do? It was a long journey, after all, so it was a given that they'd eventually dive into some sort of conversation. The duo had been work partners for five years now, meaning they had taken on several cases, gone on many missions, and handled quite a few crimes together. During those years together, it was quite obvious that Elias found Isolde attractive, if his teasing and subtle suggestions were any indication. However, Isolde often became standoffish when even a hint of them being together arose.

"I won't be with someone I work with," she'd told Elias on a few separate occasions. "I must be able to separate work and pleasure, and don't think I don't know about your history."

That same conversation had arisen once again, and Elias looked wounded when she mentioned that last part. "My history?"

"Elias, you've had numerous relationships with women since I've known you. Lydia from Magical Marketing, Queenie from the labs, and don't think I didn't hear about Sandra."

Elias frowned. "What about Sandra?"

She folded her arms, crossing her left leg over her right. "I heard she was expecting a child… And the rumor is that you are the father."

He gasped, shaking his head. "No way. I would never… Not with Sandra. She's not even my type!"

"I thought 'woman' was your type…" She eyed him curiously. "Unless you have become more adventurous lately…"

"Heh, not that adventurous…" His chest puffed out proudly as he sat up straighter, holding firmly onto the horses' reins. "I'm not willing to settle for just any woman, Isolde. I have standards I won't compromise." He looked toward her, his smile becoming a bit more relaxed. "She should be both beautiful and intelligent, quick witted, adventurous, and hardworking…"

Isolde shifted a bit uncomfortably as she frowned lightly while listening to him.

"And when we get married, I'd want at least one child with her: preferably a boy."

The female sentry scoffed. "Boy, girl-I don't see what difference it makes."

He shrugged. "A boy could carry on my family name and legacy."

"A girl could do the same."

"Well, not legally, but…" He chuckled as she sighed.

Isolde rolled her eyes. "And what 'legacy' do you even have to carry on, Elias? Your childish humor? Your hat collection? Your stack of questionable reading materials I found in our office?"

He blushed a bit, nearly pulling too hard on the reins, but he kept himself steady. "I don't know what you're talking about, Isolde… I barely read as it is."

A rare smirk formed on her lips, especially since she knew she had the upper hand now. "Yes, well, given the nature of the content, I'm sure 'reading' was the last thing you were doing when flipping through those pages."

He managed to move past his embarrassment and instead turn it on her, poking her in the arm. "And why were you looking at that stuff anyway, Isolde? Curiosity got the better of you?"

"I was trying to find the files for the Escher's Case. I wasn't expecting that to be buried at the bottom of the box. Besides, the human body is not that interesting to me. I'm more attracted to the mind."

He quirked a brow at this admission. "So, you want to see a man's brain?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Elias… He'd have to have a brain first."

The banter continued between them before their conversation shifted into a discussion about previous cases. They both admitted that this particular case and mission felt far different from the others… In many ways.

"I don't trust Ember, Elias," Isolde confided, though she still sounded a bit guarded for some reason.

He shook his head, seeming a bit annoyed. "You don't trust anyone, Isolde. You never have." He ignored the conflicted expression on her face as he tapped the reins. "I need to stop for a personal break for a bit. After that, I'll let you take over. Whoa, boys."

The horses came to a stop, and so did the carriage, and Elias exited his seat to enter the thick woods to his right. Meanwhile, Isolde took the time to check the trio in the back through one of the windows.

Seeing Ember with her hands resting on her brother's head, Isolde frowned heavily. She didn't think it was right that these tyrannical twins were being given a second chance when their own victims hadn't been given the same. She knew Ember would try to use the Arbovito's wishes to revive her brother, but she instead wanted her to use them to undo all the damage she and her brother had caused: perhaps one wish to revive those they'd killed or hurt, one wish to undo the damage they'd caused to their kingdom and others surrounding it, and one wish to—well, maybe Ember could wish herself and Jaime into a state of bliss away from everyone or something. Unless the former queen actually put others before herself, nothing would truly change. "I just need to make sure that happens," she murmured to herself. "Ember must use those wishes for the right reasons. Jaime doesn't even deserve to be saved, but if that's one of her wishes, it should be the last one…" It would at least be the least selfish thing she could do, in Isolde's eyes.

"I'm back!" Elias announced as he stumbled out of the woods. "And some stupid squirrel threw an acorn at my head." He rubbed the side of his head and sighed. "But that's okay. I threw a pinecone at him, and he fell off the branch and landed in a bush." He grinned as his partner rolled her eyes.

"Tell me you at least washed your hands in a stream or something."

"Before or after the squirrel incident?"

Isolde frowned at him, pointing toward the carriage. "Get your butt up there already. We're losing daylight. We'll need to double our speed if we plan to get to our first stop before nightfall, and we're wasting time trudging along."

"Yes, ma'am." He scurried into his seat, passing the reins to Isolde as she sat next to him, snapping the leather straps to get the horses to trot along at a much faster pace. On the way, he noted the serious expression on her face, and he reached over, placing one hand on her knee. Feeling her flinch, he quickly removed it. "Uh, sorry."

She said nothing and instead kept her eyes trained on the trail ahead.

"Isolde?"

"Elias… Not now, all right?"

He nodded, folding his hands into his lap. "Yeah… Yeah, okay. Sorry."

"Hmm."

The silence between them would have been unbearable had the noise of the wheels and hoofbeats clattering against the ground not been so loud.

To be continued…

Next Chapter: Tension