{-Kalleira-}

She remembered something while they were heading back to the inn—and a very unpleasant thing at that. It wasn’t just mysterious like that dream of the Strings; this was downright unsettling, made even more so by the fact that she didn’t completely understand it.

She didn’t know what led up to that moment. All she knew was that she was running from something or someone.

And there was nothing in the world that was going to bring her back there.

They shouted things at her. She understood some of their words, though there were others she was glad she didn’t. Either way, she’d long decided she wasn’t going to let them stop her. But why? Why did she feel like that and when had she made that decision?

She’d had a headstart but, being as tiny as she was, it didn’t mean much after they realized she was gone. She didn’t have anywhere to hide and, when she finally let full panic take over, she got lost in an area of plains that only made her stand out more.

She regretted turning around. They were right there behind her—she tried running faster but they caught up and grabbed her arm. She tried to alert someone else, but no one came.

No one would listen to someone like her.

Then she was back with Rhenei and Farrar, continuing to dwell on the memory while giving nervous looks to their surroundings. Kalleira could tell her uneasiness was rubbing off on Rhenei, yet… she couldn’t quite bring herself to mention the memory. Not yet.

“You haven’t been this quiet since we started,” Farrar pointed out with a sigh. “Please don’t tell me you’re still caught up on the letters.”

“You still haven’t told me what they were about,” Rhenei remarked. “It doesn’t seem like it’s as unimportant as you keep saying it is.”

“I swear it’s nothing you have to worry about. It’s just something I need to deal with.”

He purposely started to walk faster in order to avoid any more questions.

Unable to shake it any longer, Kalleira said, “There’s something I want to tell you.”

Then she told it to Rhenei; the memory she had and the feeling it gave her. It didn’t make any of their moods better, and perhaps it wasn’t the best of things to dwell on while they were walking… but it wasn’t completely useless.

Kalleira realized something as she watched Farrar. She somehow knew that he wasn’t going to be their friend for much longer; she thought of him as being one of those people who chased her in that memory. They wouldn’t get anything done by staying with him. The hard part would be convincing Rhenei to think the same.

She decided to bring it up once they’d made camp for the night. It was another one of those traveling merchant spots, but no one else seemed to be here. Farrar left to get wood and, while he was still in sight, she had a feeling he wouldn’t be paying attention to their conversation.

“We need to talk about those memories,” Kalleira said. “I still don’t know what happened after them, but… I’m sure I remembered it for a reason.”

Rhenei was still watching him, frowning at what her life-long companion was suggesting. “It’s probably just because of the other people. That has nothing to do with him.”

“But he’s keeping things from us. Who’s to say those letters aren’t him talking with the men’s employer?”

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“He’s been nice to us. He gave me this coat so I wouldn’t be cold, he let us stay in nice inns with good food…”

“Mom and Dad could be nice, too, when they wanted something from us.”

“I don’t want to believe it.”

“Well, you don’t have to, but then we’re going to have a whole different problem. We need to get away from him. Nothing good is going to come from staying around.”

“Do you have any proof?”

“Those letters are definitely something worth questioning, aren’t they?”

Rhenei sighed. She knew there wasn’t much point in continuing to try to argue. “What do you think we should do?”

“We should get as far away from him as possible. If he can’t find us, then maybe no one else can either. We’ll figure out where that field is on our own.” Kalleira made sure she didn’t appear even the vaguest bit uncertain. She knew exactly what they needed to do, and she was sure that it was the only way. “It’ll be too obvious if we do anything now. I’ll tell you what we’ll do next after he falls asleep.”

Rhenei slowly nodded. Farrar came back soon after, though none of them said anything. In the few times she must’ve had second thoughts and tried to tell him what they were talking about, it only took Kalleira’s mindful glare. They shouldn’t focus on who they thought he was. It was only going to make things worse.

Kalliera, initially, let Rhenei sleep for a little while; she’d need all the energy she could get, plus it gave them time to be sure Farrar wouldn’t wake up.

Finally, when the moon seemed just about ready to reach its peak, Kalleira mumbled, “Rhenei, I think it’s time we start going.”

She stirred a moment later, slowly sitting up and giving a sleepy nod. “What should we do first..?”

“Check his map,” Kalleira instructed. She was quiet, too, as if everyone could hear her. Maybe it would be a good reminder for Rhenei.

“Do you remember which pocket he put it in?”

“The one on the side, opposite of the food he brought. Make sure to take some of that, too—we won’t last very long without it.”

Rhenei carefully pulled the bag closer to her, then rummaged through it. She found the pocket with the food first, so she took a few pieces out and sat them beside her. When she found the map, she showed it to Kalleira. “It’s too dark, I can’t figure out what it says…”

Kalleira was only slightly more capable of making it out. She pointed towards several points. “I think this is the city, and this is probably around where we are now. That spot is where we’re going. So if we keep following the path along here, then we should be able to reach that field…”

“Is someone going to notice us if we keep following the path?”

“It looks pretty obvious. That’s probably why we’re still following it, even with people looking for us—Farrar just wants to make it easier for them.”

Of course, neither of them truly understood how it worked. Kalleira just barely understood what he’d told them about the shadows, and how these campsites kept them safe. She’d never seen such a thing. It wasn’t even present in what little stories she’d been told, or the fragments of memories she possessed. For all she knew—and what, in her fear of that memory, made herself believe—most if not all of it was a lie to keep them from running away.

Rhenei glanced back to Farrar, who was still asleep; he was none the wiser to what they were planning. “Then what are we going to do?”

Kalleira pointed to a few more spots. “We’ll go up here to this town, then head this way. They’ll think we’d either follow the original path or the one next to the village.”

“How do we know where we’re going if we don’t have a path to follow?”

Really, she didn’t have any better of an answer. “We’ll figure something out,” Kalleira mumbled with a near desperate edge to it. “Anything’s better than staying here.”

Rhenei didn’t say anything for a moment. “Is that everything you think we’ll need?”

“Did you see where he put those coins?”

“We’re going to take that, too?”

“Only a little bit. I don’t want to risk the chance that this food isn’t enough for you. When we reach the town, we’ll quickly buy some things and be back on our way. No one’s going to know that we were even there.”

“Alright…” Rhenei dug through the bag before pulling out a few coins. “Do you think this would be enough?”

“It should, after everything else he was able to buy with it,” Kalleira decided with a nod. She stepped back and gestured for Rhenei to follow. “Now come on, we need to get going before he wakes up. If we’re not far enough by the time he comes looking, he’s going to find us.”

“So, which direction should I go..?”

“This way. And be quick, please! We don’t know when he’s going to wake up.”

Rhenei gathered up everything she needed and, after one last moment of hesitation, followed Kalleira far from the camp.