9 Bound to you

Eris wasn't sure where she was heading and where she would end up. She walked, took rides without the other passengers knowing and jumped off before they arrived at the destination.

She had to survive without water and food for a few days, her body feeling weaker each day and her skin felt incredibly dry.

She would walk until her feet couldn't take it. Her knees weakened and she slowly fell down, scraping her palms.

She groaned, trying to get back up but wasn't able to, her body still on the ground. Her eyes got more and more heavy but as soon as they closed, she only saw the villagers.

The reality that she is all alone jerked her awake, her heart pumping fast but when she opened her eyes she saw Evodine in front of her.

"Eris…"

"I'm fine" Eris sighed heavily and tried getting up again, about to fall down again but Evodine caught her arm and kneeled down.

"You know you have water left don't you?" Eris bit her lip and looked away from her, guilt growing. Evodine gave a small sigh, moved her hand over Eris' palms, healing them.

She helped her up and they walked to a safer place and Evodine prepared a small campfire, with magic of course.

Eris just watched her while being curled up like a little ball, touching her legs and sighed over how numb they have gotten. Evodine sat down beside her with the water poach they have gotten from the woman.

"Drink, you need it" Eris looked at the pouch, noticing how dry her throat was. She looked away, refusing it and Evodine just sighed.

"It's time to stop torturing yourself darling, I'd hate to see you die when you could have prevented it." Her tone was light, not really showing any bitterness. Eris kept holding herself and sighed.

"I don't even know where we are or where we are headed. We have nothing. No money, barely anything to eat left. I was doomed from the start"

"Sweetheart… You have me and with me you have magic." Evodine moved her hand on top of Eris' head, caressing her before beginning to play with her hair.

Eris' heartbeat slowly calmed down, the touch reminding her of her Granny and the comforting moments with Cashimir.

"But what can magic do… It's not like I can create money or food with it."

"Sometimes… You have to bend the rules. It's time to have it fair don't you think? You had it the worst, now it's time to get the best" The words made sense. Anger bubbled in her as she thought about the villagers, how they took everything away from her. Now she has the freedom to take whatever she wants.

"Let's start with something simple. Like drinking the last drop" Evodine handed the pouch over to Eris who accepted it and with each sip, it felt like a weight lifted off her chest. Soon there was nothing left and Evodine embraced Eris, stroking her hair.

"Tomorrow this tiresome journey will be over alright? I will make sure of that" Evodine poked Eris' nose and her eyes just widened before slowly and carefully snuggling into her embrace. Evodine moved her hands slowly, the trees and bushes bending over them to cover them. The wind was light, the leaves moving in a harmonic way.

"It's too dark…" Evodine looked at Eris, seeing how she was curled up by her side, feeling bad for her. Her antennas began to move and one by one, fireflies appeared. Eris' eyes lit up as she watched them and she kept relaxing into the embrace. Evodine couldn't help but smile.

"It's beautiful…" Eris moved her hand out and a firefly slowly flew closer and rested on top of her hand.

"Yes… Yes it is" A gem, a flower or an adorable animal, Evodine couldn't decide how she would describe Eris. There was something captivating about her. Despite her looks with blue and greens, there was so much anger deep inside her.

Aggressive red, aggressive hatred. But like this, right now. Evodine saw why Cashimir holds her so dear, why he loves her so much. She felt determined to make Eris see this as well, how Cashimir and Evodine sees her.

"Evodine… Can you sing to me again?" The request caught Evodine bit by surprise but a warm smile spread across and nodded, pulling her closer.

"Of course, I am bound to you after all" Evodine soon began to sing, something she was taught a long time ago. But what mattered was that Eris finally managed to fall asleep. She wrapped themselves with her wings.

The singing from the birds was what woke Eris up, she felt how she was snuggling into something soft. She opened her eyes and noticed that it was Evodine she was sleeping on and how her wings were wrapped around them. Eris let her hand carefully touch her wings. They were so large and beautiful.

"Is something the matter sweetheart?" Eris turned to look at Evodine who was rubbing her eyes then yawned. She felt how the blood rushed to her face.

"I-I just think your wings look amazing…"

"Thank you Eris. I know you won't believe me but I hated them once." Evodine sat up, folding her wings behind her back. The trees were still covering them and sunlight escaped through the leaves.

"Why?"

"Hmm… Same reason as you I think. They were too big. Fairies usually have smaller wings. Oh, not to mention my legs and feet. I tried to cover them up constantly" Evodine let out a small laugh before looking at them and let her hand move across them. Eris gave a slight nod, carefully touching her ears.

A question rose in her which she didn't dare to ask. Not yet. Evodine stood up and stretched, the sun reflecting the golden details on her perfectly. Her wings weren't completely black either, they had tones of purple, blue and gold.

"Should we get going then darling?" Eris soon got up as well, the trees moving away from them. Evodine looked around and sighed.

"I don't see anything from here. Why don't we fly?" Eris frowned and crossed her arms.

"I didn't know that was an option… Have I-"

"The mark on your hand is more like a portal than an empty space. I had other… Things to take care of" Evodine smiled, not showing any signs of regret or nervousness. Eris just sighed and rolled her eyes before hopping on her back and then they flew up in the sky.

In the distance they saw some sort of tavern. There wasn't much surrounding it but there were roads leading from it. Smoke was coming out from it, showing that it was open and there were horses outside as well.

Eris' grip around Evodine tightened and buried her face into her as they flew closer. Being in the sky like this felt extremely unpleasant. When they landed, fear struck her. People… Who knows what they are capable of…