Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Tides of Wine ❯ Elliott ( Chapter 7 )

Lysanthy

~Elliott~

 

Well, that is a first. I could not believe what she had said. No one had ever told me that before. She wanted to know me. I turned to her, a question burning wildly in my eyes. "Why?"

She looked vaguely surprised herself. "I don't know. Because you're interesting?" She shook her head. "I just want to."

I suddenly found this annoying girl highly welcome in my little world. "Um, thank you."

"Why are saying that?" She looked at me in wonder. "I was just being honest."

"Well, your honesty is something that I think I am coming to enjoy."

"You weren't earlier." She pointed out.

I smiled at her. After that, she didn't look like she knew quite what to say. "You lost by the way." I said, remembering my game plan.

She grimaced, not liking the concept. "What did I lose?"

I gave her a knowing look and made her angry with me again. We bickered into the night. She never knew how much I liked our fighting, so I never felt the need to tell her. My game was this: how many times could a common girl beat me in a verbal battle. Honestly, I never won.

 

* * *

 

When I had fallen asleep, all was well. When I opened my eyes, I wanted to scream like a little girl. The night before, I had leaned against a lonely oak. Amelia did the same beside me. When morning came, my eyes snapped open. I never could sleep past dawn, but I never expected to wake with a human girl lying sprawled on top of me.

I bit my lip until it bled and tried to figure out what to do. Unless she just rolled off of me in her sleep, there was absolutely no way of getting out from beneath her without waking her up. Oh, she would not be happy.

It took me half an hour to decide that I hated the world. It took me another third of that same hour to come up with something to do. When Amelia stirred, I fell into a fake slumber and waited for her to realize what had happened. It didn't take her too long.

But she took the situation much better than I thought she would. She gently pulled herself off of me and sat back. I felt her eyes skimming over my body as she sat there. Suddenly I felt both proud and self-conscious.

"Sorry." She said. My eyes snapped open of their own accord. Dammit. "I should have warned you that I'm an active sleeper."

I looked away from her searching blue eyes. "Yeah. Well, next time I will know right?"

"Uh huh." I caught a bit of the unhappiness in her tone. "Also," she clarified my boundless thoughts, "I am most definitely not a morning person."

"Wonderful." I smirked. "Because I love teasing grouchy women first thing in the morning."

"I guess that means.."

"That I am a morning person? Yes." I nodded. "I love the start of a fresh day."

She sighed, stood, and stretched. "I hate traveling this way." She remarked. "It takes so long."

"Is there a faster way to travel?" I questioned.

She gave me a dumb look. "Of course there is another way. Mostly people go by horses, but sometimes you can hitch rides with the caravans or on wagons. They have trains in the far north I hear."

"No." I said without thinking. "At least I have never seen one. Maybe in the next country nort."

She frowned and asked, curiously. "You're from the north?"

I stumbled and nearly fell over my own feet. Scowling at my clumsiness-something I had never experienced before-and replied in a guarded tone. "Yes."

"Okay." She shrugged, not willing to continue prying further. It surprised me, but the morning really did affect her. Changing the subject, I asked, "What is past Farey? How will we get to the capital?"

"Past Farey there are three ways to go. I'll have to ask some friends which way is the fastest. Then, unless we can round up some horses somehow, we'll have to walk."

I grinned at her. "Well, you worry about which way that we will go, and I will get us horses."

She snorted. "Really? How?"

I gave her a secretive glance. "That is for me to know." I was always willing to mess around to get what I wanted. I could easily afford horses, but my way would be much more entertaining.