"These elements could be so much more," he hissed. I watched the scene through slivers of the cracked door.
"Lord Dunstan, I use mine to protect my people, that will not change," Agatha challenged.
"I am trying to give you a chance," he said taking a step towards her.
"You are trying to take others elementals, to kill them! I will condone no such thing," she sneered.
"I see," he replied in a low monotone, stopping were he stood.
My stomach dropped as I watched him unsheathe the knife under his cloak. I slammed the door open, barging into the room.
Agatha yelped in surprise turning her attention to me.
"Rose?"
"Rose!"
My eyes fluttered open. The nausea flooded back and I had to blink several times to stop the world from spinning.
"Rose, come on, you need to get up,"
I focused my eyes on Will above me. He moved back with wide eyes looking startled before taking my hand to haul me up.
"I might puke," I admitted as I wavered on my feet.
Will put a hand on my shoulder, keeping me stable, "just don't puke on me,"
I looked around and saw the guards all moaning on the floor. I spun back and saw Lord Dunstan in the same state. He was getting on his hands and knees already.
Will started leading me down the halls, distancing ourselves from the scene.
"What happened?"
"I'm guessing you used the elemental," he said.
"Wait, but that would mean-" my stomach flipped.
I stopped in the spot and turned away before emptying my dinner onto the floor. I felt one hand on my back, the other holding my hair back. I stayed leaned over, hands on my knees.
"Feel any better?"
"No," I said bluntly.
"We still need to get going," he said gently.
"I know," I replied wiping my mouth on my tunic before standing up straight.
A commotion of armor and yelling began to surface from around the corner.
I didn't take the time to even look down the walkway as this time I pushed Will forward as we started to run through the castle.
I plopped down on the boulder. Will stood in front of me, hands on his head, catching his breath. We were on the outskirts of the capital, having seemingly lost the guards.
"How are you feeling?" He asked.
"Out of breath, but I have my balance and stomach back," I told him, "but still kind of 'eh',"
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know, just--" I let out a huff of frustration, "something's off?"
He nodded slowly and we fell into silence.
I caught Will glancing at me. When I looked him in the eyes he quickly adverted his.
"What?" I asked defensively.
"It's-," he looked back, "it's just... your eyes,"
I was at a complete lost, "what about them?"
He sighed and ran a hand down his face, "They're kind of like this bright grey right now,"
"Umm, what?"
"They weren't always that color, right?" He asked his voice going higher.
"No, no they're usually brown,"
"Oh, okay, just making sure,"
We stayed there in silence. He was making an effort not to look at my eyes, glancing away anytime we would make eye contact.
"Why the hell are my eyes grey?!" I burst out.
"I don't know?! Agatha was your sister! Shouldn't you know this elemental stuff?" Will responded in the same panicked voice as me.
"Her eyes stayed brown!" I hugged my knees to my chest. I looked back at where we came. The night was silent and dark, a flicker of flames here and there, but all was still. It was too quiet for such a chaotic night.
"Rose," Will started, "what happened back there.
"I don't know," I responded meekly.
"I meant with Agatha,"
I shrugged looking at the castle, "I showed up right as things were going down. I was able to grasp that Dunstan wanted elementals, not just Agatha's. And then well," I took a deep breath, "I managed to grab the elemental before he did and I hauled ass,"
I closed my eyes and put my forehead on my knees, "I have no idea what I'm doing," I mumbled.
"We'll find a way to get through this," Will said.
I let out a huff and stood up from my rocky seat, "Any ideas on how?"
He was in deep thought for a few seconds before turning to me, "We can go to the next town over, the city isn't safe for us right now. We find someone there or an inn and we can figure out the rest in the morning,"
I nodded and took in a deep breath, "We could go to Padstow, it's about a thirty minute walk from here, small town, not many citizens here in Empedocles know about it," I supplied.
"Can you get us there?"
I nodded and looked east in its direction, "yeah, should we go by road or forest paths?"
"Road," Will said without hesitation, "we don't want to go through those woods unless we have to,"
We were about to move when I heard a clacking in the distance. Will and I exchanged looks before looking back down the road together. We couldn't see it, but the sound of hooves on stone was getting louder.
We scrambled behind the boulder I had it's been sitting on. We held our breath as the sound dulled as the rider reached the dirt road.
The horse slowed and came to a stop in front of the rock and we didn't dare move, much less look at them.
"Do you really think you could hide behind that rock?" the voice called and my heart stopped.
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