Sen woke, most definitely not well rested. Aches and pains still coursed through her body, making it difficult to sleep even though she needed the rest. The girl had thought she wouldn’t notice that she was trying not to sleep, trying to stand guard. It almost impressed her. That thought was waylaid when she opened her eyes and saw Meri in a dead sleep.

So much for watching her. She was slightly surprised by the way the side of her mouth tipped up in almost a smile. Being fed, warm, and free of Melin, her handler, felt pretty good. If she could get this bracelet off, maybe she could find out what a good life felt like. Away from everything that had plagued her since the first time she’d worked magic. And no one was going to stop her from getting this stupid thing removed. No one.

Wiping every trace of the smile off her face to not give herself away, Sen stood and stretched before going over and kicking Meri lightly in the leg.

“What? Huh?” The girl didn’t wake easily, it seemed. Yesterday had been a long day, but nothing out of the ordinary for Sen. What was a normal day to this girl?

“Time to get up.” Sen bumped her harder this time. “We need to leave soon.”

Meri whined for a second, incoherently, then opened her eyes a crack and noticed where they were. She bolted up, nearly slamming her head into the wall. “I thought this was just a dream.”

Sen couldn’t stop the snort that escaped. “You mean nightmare? Nope, it’s all happening. Now get up and get that cloak situated, it’s time to go.”

Quite the frown covered Meri’s face. Oh well. It was kind of funny, actually.

Sen stamped out the remains of the fire, being careful to separate any embers. They really didn’t need the shack catching on fire and the smoke drawing attention. The smoke was invisible at night after dark, but now that the sun was on its way back up there was nothing to hide it.

Meri was horribly slow. If Sen had been that slow getting ready for a morning, she’d have gotten a kick in the face. While effective, she didn’t have the time to deal with the whining if she tried that.

“What are we doing about breakfast?” Meri asked blurrily.

Sen shrugged. “If you have something, eat it on the way. You finished the rabbits off last night.”

Meri grimaced, then dug around in her backpack. Out popped a couple granola bars. She opened one, then held another out for Sen.

What was this? People didn’t share food. You provided for yourself, or you died, simple. She’d shared her rabbit the night before because she’d had extra. But Meri had no way of getting more food after she ran out. Foolish girl.

“Keep it,” Sen said roughly, then flung the shack door open and stalked outside. What would it be like to be from a place where people were like that? Were all people there like Meri and Sandra, or were there others, like Titus? Their land didn’t seem to be as harsh. Maybe that was why they were able to be a different people. She couldn’t begin to imagine Wanha sharing food, or any of the other Orcus for that matter. They earned their rank and the privileges that went with it, such as having the best to eat.

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She had to wade through the snow the first few steps. Keeping tabs on Meri while pretending she didn’t know she existed was easy. Too easy. She didn’t even have to turn and look to know she followed her. So loud, even with the snow muffling everything.

Once they reached the trees, the snow wasn’t quite as deep, as she knew it would be. They traveled slowly, Sen forcing Meri to stop and wait while she scouted quite often.

“What’s this, Sen?” Meri asked, leaning over a farig plant. The berries were most abundant in winter, but very toxic, their brilliant purple enticing but deadly.

Sen didn’t answer, just kept walking, ignoring the girl who ripped a sprig of berries off and stuffed them in her bag.

They made it just a short distance before Meri saw something else that made her squeal and stop, popping out that thing she carried everywhere, then tearing off leaves and twigs to put beside the berries in her bag.

The journey took far too long with Meri stopping every time she saw something she thought was different, going into a tizzy, talking about it how she didn’t have anything like it in her homeworld and doing something she called taking pictures.

Sen was not amused.

It may have been almost funny in the morning, but now it just reminded her how the girl would be a liability, not an asset. How had Swarians become so useless? But, unless she truly got in the way, she would keep Meri with her. There was always the chance that she would need to go back to their homeland, and letting one of their people get slaughtered by hers or killed by nature didn’t seem like a good way to start. And if she did need to go back, it would be much easier to have an in.

Or so she told herself.

They marched most of the day, Sen occasionally letting Meri take breaks while she went back and covered up their trail. Eventually they hit a road, which made the whole making it hard to follow them thing easier, but it made it much more likely they’d be seen.

The cloak the girl wore was far too big for her, a good thing as it hid her strange clothes underneath. If travelers just passed them, they wouldn’t give them a second glance. If they tried to speak to them, however…

Sen paused at the roadway, looking in both directions. Without the feel of the earth to aid her, finding Arnath had gotten much more difficult. Again, the bracelet. She squinted at the sky for a second, the sun just peering out from behind bluish clouds that nearly screamed more snow to come. They would have to find somewhere warm again tonight.

Her stomach clenched. Somewhere warm meant people. Somewhere warm meant possibly Titus. Until the bracelet was off, she had to avoid him at all costs. After that, she’d have a decision to make.

Using the sun to best judge direction, Sen took to the road, going left. “A few things we need to speak about before meeting others,” Sen said. She waited to continue speaking until Meri sped up her shuffle enough to catch her. “Rule number one, no speaking when others are around.” That was going to be a tough one. She really wasn’t very good at being silent.

Meri tipped her head, covered in the cloak. “We’re going to meet other people?”

How did she sound so excited? Had she not listened to a word Sen had just said? “I’m sure we’ll run into other people along the road. Hopefully eventually we’ll reach a town where we can resupply.”

Meri nearly bounced in excitement, though it was much more subdued than usual. The poor girl was probably exhausted.

“What was rule number one?” Sen asked.

“No talking to other people,” Meri said.

Sen whirled back toward her, eyes going into slits. “No. The rule was no talking, at all, even to each other, when people are around. Is that clear?”

Meri shrugged, making her cloak flop off her shoulder. She shivered and pulled it back tight.

“This is important!” Sen glared at her, driving the point home. “Do you understand?”

The girl nodded, but didn’t seem too keen on the idea of being quiet. Oh well. It’d be nice for Sen, if it actually happened.

“Rule two, no looking anyone in the eyes. Don’t call undue attention to yourself.” Sen started walking again. Number two was pretty self-explanatory. The girl didn’t need her to spell that one out. “And number three, if a patrol comes down the road, we are in the trees instantly. Got it?” she looked over her shoulder.

Meri nodded.

Hopefully she actually did, or this was going to be a very short trip.