Day 7

The evening passed and morning dawned on the hill the castle was built on.

Fiona had hoped for most of the night that Ranger would come find her but he hadn’t. So, she tried to put on a brave face. Pretending she was great and happy. Things were wonderful, Ranger was reunited with his people and that’s what she wanted.

While in her heart it really wasn’t. Feeling foolish again she decided to leave the castle.

Dawn was bright enough for her to see her way. She took the royal seal Tẽra had given her before leaving. As she left, she expected the street to be empty but instead there was life. The busy buzzing of people starting a new day.

The town’s people had hope. A warrior woman had stood up to the queen’s men and lived. She also escaped the dungeon and set everyone else free during her escape. Now the queen was meeting with her generals and rumors of her being unwell really lifted their spirits.

Fiona watched the buzz of seemingly happy people.

Why was Ranger so hard to let go of? She had other boyfriends in the past. She even had a boyfriend back home. Well, they were talking about breaking up so maybe he shouldn’t count as a current boyfriend.

Sadly, she realized that she liked Ranger for what she believed he could be. Who he had been to her. She asked herself if she was reading into things. If she had gone crazy with being in a new world. He had saved her twice. Once with her sister and again from drowning. He tended to her wounds and let her see his soul. He healed all her injuries. Even her previous scares were gone.

Is he like that with everyone?

Maybe it was because he saved her from drowning. She almost died and he saved her. She bonded with him while he was just doing the right thing.

She reasoned he must have been watching over her before she fell into the water. So, at least he cared about her well-being.

But maybe he was just making sure a lost dog gets home safely. Not because you like the dog but rather because it’s neighborly.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

She picked a flower and started pulling its petals off

“He loves me” she dropped the first petal

“He loves me not” she dropped the second petal

“He loves me”

“He loves me not”

“He loves me”

“He loves me not” she dropped the last petal.

She walked sadly until she came to the river. She kept her distance and sat where she could see it but not close to it.

If this was my friend’s dilemma, what would I say about it? What advice would I give her

She lined up facts it her head and tried to remove her emotions.

I’m traumatized, she realized

I held on to Ranger so I wouldn’t have to face that I am alone in a new scary world where there is no one to guide me. No rules to follow and if there are, I don’t know them. Then he saved me. He heals so fast making him almost invincible. He could protect and guide me in this horrible place.

She began to cry. I almost died. No goodbyes to my parents or little sister. Gone forever in this horrible place. They would never have closure.

It went deeper than that. She would have died without fulfilling her dreams. She sat and cried.

Ranger decided to find Fiona he wanted to thank her for helping him request the freedom of his people. It turned out there was nothing to be afraid of. He didn’t need to hide away in the forest. He knew Tẽra was not the real queen but a royal decree of freedom would stand even if the real queen returned. Ranger did not tell his tribe about the queen not being the real queen. He kept that a secret.

He finally found Fiona sitting in the grass in view of the river. He sat down next to her. She didn’t seem happy to see him. He connected with her. She wasn’t happy to see him. Instead, she was sad and felt empty. He wanted to ease her pain but she wouldn’t let him. He thanked her for helping him free his people. But she didn’t reply.

Now Ranger had to step back and view her as just a stranger.

What would he do for a stranger whose heart was broken?

He hugged her. At first, she pushed him away. But he persisted, which resulted in her crying on his shoulder.

“I’m sorry I tried to use you as a plaster and had unrealistic expectations of you.” She sobbed.

“I wish your experiences here were better.” Ranger said.

“I am a mess” she moaned pulling away from him

“Go be with your people. I will be fine.”

Ranger knew she would be fine. But part of him didn’t want to go back to his people.

There were stories of Mystic Healers who had been sited all over, and his people wanted to search every lead. He had been separated from people for so long he felt out of place with them.

He knew it was a temporary feeling but emotions were powerful.

“I want to sit here for a while.” he answered.

“No. I’m a mess. I don’t want you looking at me like this.” She objected.

“I’ve seen you worse” he said.

She was speechless.

He meant it in a comforting way, ‘like its ok, it’s not that bad, I have seen worse’.

But she did see it as comforting but rather

‘You’re a disaster, I’m used to it’. Fiona stared at him.

Then in her sad state she thought about how they met. Then what she must have looked like when she ran after him. Then how awful she must have looked after almost drowning.

She figured she was a disaster. No wonder he didn’t like her. Why would he?

So, they sat next to each other. In Ranger’s mind everything was fine between them. In Fiona’s mind everything was over between them.