Elurra flopped down on Terrin's bed, glad dinner was over. Every day she stayed grew more taxing. Their evening meal was always plagued with long awkward silences and the occasional chatter from Ramer, who tried to disguise probing questions as innocent inquiries.
That evening, Ramer was done trying to beat around the bush.
“Snow, what’s your family like? Do you think they miss you right now?”
Elurra about choked on her soup.
“No, they aren’t missing me,” she said softly as she avoided eye contact.
Ramer twirled his spoon between his fingers.
“I heard a man asking around about a little girl like you recently. The butcher told me he hadn’t said anything because he had a foreign air about him. Maybe I should search this man out? He seems to be keen on finding you.”
Elurra felt like she was going to throw up.
“Please don’t. He’s a bad man.”
Ramer’s expression shifted as he realized he’d gone too far. The old man was easy to read, which made him easy to manipulate. She could see he’d faced many sorrows and seen too much death in his time. He’d become hard and stubborn, though he still tried his best to save lives. There was darkness within him, covering up scores of deep secrets Elurra could not reach. He liked to know exactly what was going on, and he didn't trust the unknown. He thought she could be dangerous, and he was right. But he was also a kind underneath it all. He wasn’t going to purposefully put her in harm’s way. Especially after the way he’d found her.
“Snow, I’m not going to give you back to whoever did that to you, but I need to know who you’re running from so we can take the proper precautions. Did you escape the slave trade? An abusive family or master? Who are you afraid of?”
Elurra looked down at the table in shame and wished she didn’t have to keep lying to them.
Ramer was already scared of something, though. Terrin had very strict rules for when he was and wasn’t allowed outside. Ramer was a man on the run even before Elurra arrived, and if he knew the ruler of the North was after her, she doubted he would take the risk.
It wasn’t hard to cry on command when she abruptly ran upstairs and shut the door behind her. She heard Ramer sigh deeply as she composed herself and flopped down on the bed. Elurra groaned and covered her eyes, trying to forget what she saw in Ramer. He worried her, and she knew her stay was becoming unwanted. She felt the weight of her position come crashing down her, suffocating her. She knew she couldn't hide from what happened forever, but she had nowhere to go. She had no allies, and Nitiri had everyone in Lur Alava under her spell. No one would believe her aunt was evil until it was too late. Elurra let out a small sob of frustration. She needed help, but she had no one to turn to.
“Snow? Are you alright?” Terrin asked, touching her shoulder tentatively.
She peered through her fingers at the dark-haired boy, a sudden spark igniting deep within her. Terrin was a lot like her. He lived on the outskirts of society, and his mind was much sharper than any of the boys she had met back in Lur Alava.
“Lights out! We are going to the market tomorrow, and I don't want you two whining and groaning because you didn't get enough sleep," Ramer called from downstairs.
Elurra’s stomach turned. She wasn’t going to risk going to town if Nitiri’s spies were lurking about. She would have to find a way to stay behind. Terrin obediently blew out the candle and crawled into bed beside her.
They only had two cots, so Ramer thought it would be fine if Elurra and Terrin shared, granted their heads were on opposite ends. He was taller than she was, so his feet were beside her head, although her feet only reached his chest. Elurra found the arrangement repulsive. Her first thought was it wasn’t suitable accommodations for a princess, but of course she was a nobody right now. She had no title.
Before she could think of a way to word what she needed to ask Terrin, he abruptly said, “You know, you are not going to be able to avoid the questions about your past for much longer.”
“I know. My time here is running short.”
He shifted in dismay.
“You're leaving? When? Where will you go?”
“I do not know. I have nowhere to go, but I cannot stay.”
She tried not to choke on the lump rising in her throat. Terrin was silent for a while.
“Who are you? What are you afraid of?” he asked softly. “And don't tell me you are a servant running away from her master or any other ridiculous lies. You’re a noble of some sort. It’s obvious from the way you speak and the things you don't know. You didn't even know how to cut vegetables or get water. Every servant’s child knows how to do simple tasks like that, even if they work for a noble family.”
He propped himself up on one elbow. The dim moonlight from the window bathed him in pale patches of light and dark splotches of shadow. His eyes gleamed with curiosity.
“I am dangerous. I know too much," she said, not answering any of his questions.
Her heart pounded inside her chest.
“Is that why you were trying to kill yourself?”
“I was not trying to kill myself.”
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“Then what were you doing with that knife? It looked an awful lot like you were about to stab yourself with it.”
“I was being forced to.”
“I didn't see anyone else there.”
“The spider was magical. It was controlling me.”
“Now we are getting somewhere. So, you walked into a web and got bitten by a homicidal spider?”
She was impressed with his word choice but agitated by his wild assumptions.
“Someone was trying to kill me, and now I have to make sure they do not get away with it.”
Terrin carefully thought over her words before asking, “Why would anyone try to kill you? Why are you telling me this now? You refused to before.”
She sighed. She knew she was running out of options. She needed help if she ever wanted to go home.
“Have you ever wanted to go on an adventure?” she asked.
His face clouded in confusion.
“What kind of adventure?”
“An adventure to save the world or destroy an evil witch or explore other realms. Have you ever dreamed of doing something like that?”
His eyes lit up.
“Everyone has. Who wouldn’t want to save the world?”
“What if I said I was asking you to go on an adventure with me? A quest of sorts, if you want to view it like that.”
“What would this quest entail?”
“It involves traveling a lot and stopping an evil dictator bent on my destruction," Elurra said casually.
Terrin laughed.
“I was being serious.”
“So am I.”
“And what if I believed you? If you haven’t noticed, we’re kids. What can we do to stop a hypothetical evil villain?”
That gave her pause. He was right. They couldn’t do anything at their age. Suddenly, her nightmare flashed through her mind, and a crazy plan started to form.
“That is why I need your help.”
“What do you need my help with?”
She hesitated as she momentarily considered how stupid her plan was. The terrifying nightmare wasn’t much to go on, but she didn’t know what other options she had, and if she had learned anything, her dreams meant something.
“How much do you know about the Great War?”
“As much as most people. Why?” he said skeptically.
“What about places and battles in the war? Do you know those? I know there were a lot of battles that took place here in Amora and in Lur Alava. Do you happen to know some of the landmarks for the war? Say, Garthu Vore?”
He recoiled and stared at her for a long moment. Elurra saw a flicker of doubt cloud his eyes.
“Garthu Vore is haunted. The fallen from battle suck out the life force of anyone who ventures there as a punishment for their betrayal. Why do you want to know where Garthu Vore is?”
Elurra sighed heavily.
“Listen, that’s not exactly the case. It… makes you older there. I think, if I am careful, I can use it to age a few years. You too, if you want to come with me. You are right. We are too young to make a difference, go on a journey, or take care of ourselves. But I can change that, and I think Garthu Vore is the key. You know the woods here better than anyone else. If anyone can help me, it’s you.”
“I only know the general direction I was told never to go in so I wouldn’t end up dead. Even supposing we somehow found it, what then? Where are you going? What are you running from?”
“I...” she trailed off, afraid to finally talk to someone about the trauma she had been through.
Terrin stared at her in silence for a few moments before sighing.
“Snow, if you can’t tell me where we are going or why, then I can’t help you. Garthu Vore is a dangerous place. Even if you’re right and it’s not haunted, it’s a place people avoid because bad things happen there. Unless you have a good reason for why you want to go, I’m not taking you.”
Elurra’s throat started to close as she imagined wandering around alone again, trying to find the cursed place herself. She needed him, as much as she hated to admit it. She swallowed the lump in her throat along with her pride.
“A few months ago, my parents were supposedly killed by bandits. My aunt, who was evicted from the family years ago, orchestrated their deaths in order to claim the…family inheritance. She assumed the duties of the head of the house. But the inheritance is my birthright, so she tried to murder me to reap the benefits of our family legacy. She sent me here to frame an Amorian because she wanted it to look like I had wandered off in my grief. I need to go back and expose her, before she hurts anyone else. But no one is going to believe me at this age. I need more credibility.”
She couldn’t bring herself to tell him the full truth, so her story would have to suffice. Terrin stared at her blankly. It was clear he didn’t know if he should believe her.
“You’re serious about this. Fine. Somehow you make yourself older. Then what? People would be more likely to believe you as an adult, but they won’t believe you are the same person. You can’t leave as an eleven-year-old and return as an adult a few months later without people questioning who you are.”
Elurra shrugged.
“Everyone knew my mother was from the Northern Islands, where weird magic is commonplace, and I have always been too mature for my age. It is about time my body caught up. Besides, look at me. It might be hard for them to accept, but I know too much, and I am distinctive. No one else has hair like I do. Besides, what choice do I have? Wait until my aunt finds me? And what will she do to you and Ramer? She has already demonstrated she has no qualms with murder. I cannot stay here, and I have nowhere else to go. If you help me, I can promise you an adventure and reward for your aid, as you have already realized my family inheritance is rather substantial.”
Terrin exhaled heavily.
“Fine, I promise to take you to Garthu Vore, but I can’t simply leave Ramer.”
“Come on, Terrin. You have no future here. Do you really want to be an herbalist for the rest of your life and squander your intelligence?"
She shifted to reach under the thin mattress. Terrin sputtered out a protest, but she was already holding the well-read Atlas of Kingdoms.
“This is clearly not a book you came across on the side of the road. You stole this because you want to be anywhere but here. Are you really going to tell me you want no part in my quest?”
“I want to get away from here more than anything,” he said through his teeth. He roughly grabbed the book and shoved it back in its hiding place. “But you’re crazy! You want me to leave my home when you have nothing to back up what you’re saying. You said your aunt killed your parents and bandits killed them. How do you know she was the one who arranged it? Where is your proof?”
“She was with the bandits! I saw her!”
“She killed them in front of you?”
“Not exactly, but I saw it happen.”
Terrin’s brow wrinkled in confusion.
“She spared you then but tried to kill you right after?”
“I was not physically there, but I saw what happened in a dream…” she trailed off and held her head in distress as she realized how insane she sounded.
“You dreamed your aunt killed your parents? Have you ever considered this is all in your head, and your aunt is looking for you because she is worried about you?”
It felt like he had ripped her heart in two.
“You think I was trying to kill myself? What about the spider? My aunt put that thing on me and told me to plunge that dagger into my own heart. Do you think I am making that up too? I have visions sometimes, Terrin. I dream about things happening, and they do, and I cannot do anything to stop them. I saw my parents’ deaths before they left. I tried to warn them, but they didn’t listen, and now they are dead. I knew she would try to hurt me next, and I told my governess, and she laughed at me. What else can I do? She is going to find me. If everyone keeps brushing me off because I am a child, then she will succeed on her next attempt.”
Terrin was silent for a long moment.
“I believe you.”
“You…you do? You will help me find Garthu Vore? I had a vision about that, too.”
“Yes, we will find it together,” he promised with a yawn.
Elurra had never felt so relieved. It was like an invisible weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Her small hand found Terrin’s, and she drifted off into the first peaceful sleep she’d experienced in months.