Chapter 47 Untitled Chapter

Chapter 47 Untitled Chapter


ATLAS' POV

The cabin was exactly what Raven had said it would be. Old and dusty but solid. One big room with a fireplace made of stacked stone and a few rough wooden bunks built into the walls. There was a table too, wobbly on three legs, and some empty shelves. Someone had left dry wood stacked up against the wall near the hearth, which was lucky because we were all too tired to go looking for more.

Boar got a fire going right away. Within minutes the flames were catching and the smoke was finding its way up the chimney, and the cabin started to feel less like a cold hole in the woods and more like somewhere we could actually survive the night.

Raven laid Anya down on one of the bunks. He arranged her so she was on her side in case she got sick, and he pulled an old blanket off another bunk and covered her with it. Lily sat down next to her right away and took her hand.

I stood by the door and watched.

Boar came up beside me after a while and kept his voice low. "She's gonna be okay, you know. The princess. She's tougher than she looks."

I didn't say anything.

"And the maid too." He glanced back at them. "They'll both be fine."

I raised my eyebrow at him. "Are you having feelings for a princess maid?"

He sputtered, words hard to understand. "What? No! Just saying... I saw." He cursed under his breath. "You and Raven are the worst. I miss Black already."

"That makes the both of us."

He placed his hand over his chest. "Ouch Prince Atlas. You wound a soldier's heart." Then he became serious. "I may not know if they are strong, but I know us. We got them out and we'll keep them safe." He clapped me on the shoulder. "Get some rest. I'll take my first watch."

He walked around me, heading out of the door

I stayed by the door for another minute, looking at Lily sitting there in the firelight with her head bowed over Anya's hand. The fire was making shadows dance on the walls. It was almost peaceful.

Then I sat down against the wall and closed my eyes.

For the first time in days, my mind was quiet.

I don't know how long I slept. Not long probably. When I opened my eyes the fire was still going strong and the light outside the window had changed to that golden color of late afternoon. Someone had added more wood while I was out.

Lily wasn't sitting by Anya anymore. She was standing by the window, looking out at the trees with her arms wrapped around herself. The cut on her forehead had been cleaned and there was a strip of cloth tied around it now, probably from Raven.

I made my way to her and she heard me coming and turned. Her face cleaner now. "Hey," she said.

"Hey." I crossed my hand over my chest.

We stood there for a minute, both looking out at the woods through that dirty window glass. The trees went on forever, all orange and brown in the fading light.

"I keep thinking about it," she said finally. "Being in that room. Not knowing if anyone was coming. Not knowing if anyone even knew I was gone."

Was she broken over this? Unless she was hiding something because I see no reason why she was still thinking of being held captive. It's not like she was manhandled or anything. Just locked up.

I tried offering a sympathetic word. "Someone knew."

She looked at me. "You knew."

"Raven knew. Boar knew. Black knew." I paused. "I knew."

She smiled sadly. "Who are those people?"

"Assholes?" I rolled my eyes at her questions.

"You're an idiot." She was quiet for a moment. Then she said, "Why? Why did you come for me?"

I thought about the question. I really thought about it. Because I didn't have a good answer. Not one that made sense in a way I could explain.

"I don't know," I said honestly.

She let out a breathless small laugh. "That's the most honest thing anyone's said to me in a while."

"Anya's still asleep," she said after a bit. "But her breathing is better. Stronger. I can hear it."

"That's good."

"Yeah." She wrapped her arms around herself again but it looked different now. Less like fear and more like she was just cold. "It's good."

I didn't know what to say so I didn't say anything. It was obvious she was trying to fill the silence with small talk. With her thoughts running about, she needed to focus on something.

So I gave her my presence. I stayed there next to her by the window, looking out at the trees, and that seemed to be enough.

The door opening drove us away from our unintentional mediation, and Boar came in, bringing a gust of cold air with him. He was holding something in his hands, something wrapped in leaves.

"Look what I found," he said, holding it up. "Rabbit. Caught in a snare not far from here. Someone's trap, but they're not using it right now."

"Did you reset the snare?" Raven asked from where he was sitting.

"Course I did. I'm not an animal." Boar grinned and held up the rabbit. "Dinner."

He set to work skinning and cleaning it by the fire. Lily watched him work. "You know how to do that?"

"Learned as a kid," Boar said without looking up. "Grew up in the woods. Well, not the woods exactly. Small village at the edge of the forest. If you wanted meat, you caught it yourself."

"My father never taught me anything like that," Lily said quietly.

"Different kinds of life." Boar shrugged. "Nothing wrong with that. And also you're a girl. You should not dirty your pretty fingers with the earth." Hé accompanied his words with a wink.

Her face flushed immediately, as she smiled shyly. And that was all. She watched him with wonders and some weird emotion as he was skinning the rabbit.

She looked around to see if anyone was staring back at her. I didn't hide my glare. The smile swept off her face and I felt greatly pleased with it.

She wasn't going to smile if I wasn't the reason behind it.

A weak moan resounded in the cabin and we turned to see Lily's maid turning slowly on the makeshift bed.

Then there was the small twitch of her finger and Lily saw it.

"Anya?" She leaned closer. "Anya, can you hear me?"

Anya's eyes fluttered. Opened. Closed. It opened again.

"She is awake.”