Quiet as the grave

Aella blinked. Did she hear it right?

"Why are you suddenly calling me that?" Ash's voice passed by her ears like a breeze. His tone had turned sharp.

That was all she heard before the surrounding sounds started covering their voices, as if her hearing had zoomed out.

Aella stood there, her brain desperately trying to make sense of it all. After a few seconds of pondering she decided to brush it off as her imagination. She couldn't use magic like Archer to listen in on conversations from so far away. It was probably the remnants of her dreams from last night or something, she supposed.

Still, the idea of Ash being a prince threw her off. If he really was one, why would he be here with them in the middle of nowhere? Didn't a prince have better things to do than bring home a few strangers?

"Hey," said someone from behind her.

She turned, surprised to see Vinson awake. "Why aren't you sleeping? You look like you're on five percent battery."

"I feel like I'm on two," he groaned.

A few seconds passed before Aella spoke. "Sorry."

Vinson looked at her, wide-eyed. "For what?"

"For all this. I know it's very sudden and-"

"Did you give birth to me?"

"Huh?"

"Did you give birth to me," he repeated.

"Of course not, what are you-"

"Did you try to kill my sister?"

She shook her head, taken aback by how directly he brought up the incident.

"Did you save us both from getting brutally murdered and tossed aside in the forest?"

To that, she didn't respond. If Archer hadn't sniped the chasers, they'd be long gone by now. It wasn't her who saved them.

Vinson gave her a warm smile as he always did when she looked dejected. "We should be thankful to you."

Aella could only reflect his smile. She believed he was being genuine, but his gratitude would only last a few days. Afterwards, she would leave them, finally going on her own path, and they would blame her for leaving them at such a time. What a bad friend she was. What a bad friend she would be.

Later in the evening, she left the cabin again for some cool night air, in a fresh set of clothes Rhyn had stored in the cabin. The others had hit the hay after a dinner of gathered fruits.

She readjusted herself on the wooden log Archer had dragged over from the forest at her request. It would have been stuffy if everyone stayed inside the whole time. She had had a real good sleep earlier, so she decided to keep watch for the group this time.

"Can't sleep?" a deep velvet voice broke through the silence of the night.

"I already did," she answered, inching away from Ash as he sat beside her. "I'm keeping watch."

"That's nice," was his reply.

The fire Archer had lit for her dimmed, then turned into a thin line of smoke rising to the moon. She turned to Ash, who returned her stare. It was too dark to see his expression clearly. She could only make out his face shape and the outline of his thick silver hair. She had never been able to see well in the dark.

There was the sound of crackling, then a small fire appeared where it disappeared, projecting long shadows on the surrounding area. Aella's head swung to observe the fire. The light cast by the flames danced across the dark blades of grass around them, twisting and curling in obscure shapes and providing a small radius of light.

Like the night before, she couldn't take her eyes away from the sight.

"So beautiful," she couldn't help but say.

"Hmm?"

She turned to him, whose eyes bored into her, waiting for her response.

Under the yellow light, she could barely make out his facial features. She observed Ash in the few seconds she dared to.

His golden eyes looked so familiar, yet so foreign. It seemed to flicker red under the light of the flames. She had seen those eyes before, but not from the New World. Alluring, sparkling eyes were one of the special characteristics of the people from the Old World. It reminded her of the years she had been raised here. But silver hair was a rarity. She hadn't seen it before. Was he really a prince?

Suddenly, Ash placed his hand on her head, startling her.

"Never seen someone as striking as myself?"

She would have scoffed at his abundance of confidence, but it would be rude to a stranger. Instead, she ducked away from his touch, shifting a hand further away from him on the log.

"Never seen a prince is what happened," she returned, seeing no other way than to be honest.

"So you know."

'Well, now I know.'

~~~

"Alright, time to move out!" Vinson waved her over to the four-wheeled carriage.

He was already sitting on the nut-brown horse attached to the carriage. 'Chocolate', Archer had named it, how direct. Aella walked over to pet Chocolate. The horse was nervous. He was trembling and let out a few snorts from time to time. Either he was restless from a night of no travel, or he wasn't feeling comfortable with Vinson.

"Are you sure you can handle him?" she joked, half-serious. "I could take over if you want."

"Nah, I called shotgun." The guy was grinning from ear to ear.

She let him be and continued brushing Chocolate's silky mane. It was to calm him down, but she felt like she was the one turning calm as she did it. Chocolate had stopped snorting and shifting around, but he was still trembling. When Aella was sure he felt better, she put her foot on a footplate to get into the carriage, but her leg was still too heavy and numb to carry.

"Ooh!" Aella felt lighter as someone lifted her onto the carriage. "Thanks."

A second later Ash brushed past her and took his seat on the right end of the seat. She paused upon seeing him and Maya, who was sitting in the left corner, her shoulder touching the wall of the carriage.

"Uhh..." Aella trailed off, having second thoughts about the trip.

She didn't mind riding with Vinson or Archer. Actually, she could even walk. Yeah, walking sounded a much better option than sitting in the middle of them. The two had weird vibes going on right now.

"You okay there?" Archer asked.

His voice gave her a shock, and she accidentally hit her head on the roof of the carriage.

She rubbed her head, feeling the stinging pain come and go. "Yeah."

She considered asking him to switch places or if she could sit with him, but she didn't want to waste any time. He seemed like he would ask a million questions before relenting to her request. The sun would set by then, and then they'd have to stay another night.

Aella pursed her lips and mumbled an "excuse me" as she sat in the vacant spot in the middle. The air in the carriage hung dry and silent. She glanced at Ash only to quickly turn away when they made eye contact. Inner her was slapping the heck out of another inner her. 'Way to go, Aella.'

"Did you sleep well?" she asked Maya.

Her friend nodded, staring out the other window. Unfazed by her morning mood swings, she turned to Ash.

"What about you-" she cut herself off when he pointedly closed his eyes.

'Okay, understandable.'

Maybe now that he knew that she knew of his status he didn't want to pretend and get all active. Though she refused to doubt his kindness.

The carriage shuddered a bit before moving forward, beginning their journey back home, the capital city of the kingdom she wondered about for the many years she hadn't been there.

Aella had dozed off when a knock sounded on the wooden front of the carriage.

"We're taking five!" Vinson shouted from outside the carriage, his voice stirring her from her nap.

She rubbed the remainders of sleep from her eyes and gazed out at the horizon through Maya's window; its vivid light extended across a rosy sky. Fatigue had completely taken over her as she grew used to the rhythm of the carriage's movements. She blinked once slowly, letting her head rest lazily before gathering the energy to sit up straight.

She blinked again. Rest against what? She was sitting in the middle! She turned to look up at the prince, who turned to face her when she let out a small gasp.

"Oh, sorry!" she apologized immediately, bowing her head too many times. "I didn't really have much sleep last night. It won't happen again!"

'Oh my god, if only I sat closer to the wall. At least then I could bang my head against it to get my shit together! I thoughtlessly fell asleep on his shoulder!'

"Huh?" A groggy Maya rubbed her eyes as the carriage pulled to a stop.

"We're taking a break!" Aella informed her hurriedly and hopped out.

As soon as she exited the carriage, she took in a breath of fresh air, viewing the inspiriting landscape in front of her.

The countryside stretched before them like a great quilt of golden, brown and green squares held together by the thick green stitching of the hedgerows. It rose and fell like giant waves on a gentle ocean and was dotted with animals. Occasionally there was a fence that separated the fields, or a farmhouse or barn.

They had taken a pause at the top of a hill, above the vast land of fields and farms in the countryside. She had never learnt what this world called it, given her early transfer out of here. Their worlds were similar in many ways anyway, she didn't see a need to learn two words that meant the same thing.

"The countryside," Archer said without prompt as he pulled out a carrot from a leather bag hanging off the side of his horse. "The Edgefields, more specifically for this patch of land. We're near the borders of the capital."

She raised an eyebrow at him. Did he happen to have mind-reading abilities too?

Archer's lips turned up slightly as he fed the horse a carrot.

"You're very easy to read, Aella," he replied.

Aella looked up at a snickering Vinson. "I'm surprised you survived. I thought the horse would have enough of you after thirty steps."

Vinson just hummed and beamed proudly, arms crossed.

"Alright, break's over," Archer announced. "We've got to go if we want to reach before darkness plagues the skies."

Aella almost rolled her eyes at his choice of words. 'How dramatic.'

The carriage swayed to one side and the curtains parted, revealing a very disappointed prince. "What? I was just about to step out!"

Aella's expression fell when she saw him. She had totally forgotten about her situation back there.

Archer climbed onto his horse. "Sorry, you've got a little more to go. Unless you want to camp another night."

"I don't mind," she heard Ash mutter before he disappeared back into the carriage.

Aella sighed and followed after him. This was going to be a long ride.