“What do you mean by that?” I asked, a shocked expression on my face.
“Exactly what you’d think. The walls are thin, and my room is right next to yours,” he replied tersely.
“Well why didn’t you do anything? I probably could’ve used some help,” I responded harshly.
“Sorry,” He said, hanging his head with remorse. I instantly felt bad for lashing out at him.
“How come you didn’t help?” I asked again. Aspen looked up at me.
“I didn’t know what was going on until after it happened,” he replied nervously. His eyes darted around the room looking at anything that wasn’t me. Was he telling the truth?
“I guess that makes sense,” I fibbed. If he was lying to me, then I could lie to him.
“So, what happened anyway?” he asked. He probably wanted to get information out of me. I wouldn’t give him what he wanted.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” I retorted coldly.
“Oh, well, we don’t have to.”
“I’m going to the library,” I snapped. “Thanks for the sword practice.” I stood up and put the rapier back onto the rack. Aspen opened his mouth like he was about to say something, but I left before I could hear what he had to say. It must not have been too important because he didn’t come after me.
Strangely enough, when I got back my room after the library, the smoky residue from the blue ball had disappeared. Things were placed back onto my shelves neatly. It was as if nothing had ever happened.
Aspen apologized to me later that day, right before he left for Ayrith, but I was still skeptical. The way that he blatantly lied to me made me uncomfortable. He always seemed so nice and trustworthy, but now I wasn’t so sure. Could I trust him anymore? Did I even trust him in the first place?
~~~
Slowly, I opened my eyes to the messy desk-top in my room. Judging by the burnt-out candle and the stiffness of my limbs, I had been asleep for quite a while. I hadn’t even changed into a nightgown. Sitting up, I stretched out my arms and legs. What time is it?
I stood up, holding onto the back of my desk chair so I wouldn’t lose balance. Yawning, I walked over to the window and opened the curtains.
“Damn,” I whispered to myself. The sun was in the middle of the sky, shining brightly, which meant that it was around noon. Turning away from the window, I started gathering my supplies. I took my cloak and sword out of my wardrobe and attached the scabbard to my belt. The satin-lined cloak made me feel luxurious as I slid it over my shoulders.
Swiftly, I grabbed a bedroll, extra clothes, some matches, and a coin pouch from my room and made my way to the kitchen to get food. I had to get at least of weeks’ worth of supplies. After I got enough food, I headed down to the stables to get Asgard ready.
Noctis was sitting on a bale of hay in the corner of the barn, as usual. He looked up at me as I strolled through the door.
“Where are you going this time?”
“I’m going to Waekbourne for a contract,” I replied.
“Wow, that’s pretty far, how long will that take?” Noctis questioned.
“It takes about a week to get there, but I’ll be gone for a month, give or take a week.” I shrugged.
“That’s a long time. I’ll miss you.”
“I’ll miss you too, but don’t worry; I’ll be back soon enough.”
“Need any help?” he asked, closing his book.
“No thank you, I’ve got it,” I answered, piling my things neatly in front of Asgard’s stall. I looked at all my things and reconsidered. “Actually, can you fill his saddle bag for me please?” Noctis nodded and hopped off the hay bale. While Noctis filled Asgard’s saddle bag, I went into the tack room to get his saddle and reins.
When I emerged from the tack room, there was a strange figure in a hooded cloak, standing by Asgard’s stall. Before the figure could react, I had my sword pointed at their neck. My horse’s saddle and reins left on the ground where I’d been standing.
“Brynn, calm down, it’s just me.” the figure pulled the hood off of his head to reveal familiar, messy black hair, and ice-blue eyes.
“Aspen, you scared me. You should be more cautious,” I scolded, feeling my cheeks heat up.
“Sorry, Brynn, I couldn’t help it.” He smiled.
Noctis’ small chuckle came from the corner of the barn as he walked toward us. “I finished packing up the saddle bag.”
“Thank you Noctis,” I said, taking the saddle bag from his hands. I turned back to Aspen. “So why are you here?”
“Well, I was wondering if the offer to join you still stood?”
“I suppose, if you still want to come, you may,” I mused.
“Good, I didn’t want to pack for nothing,” he replied.
“Get your horse ready.” I rolled my eyes jokingly before going to pick up Asgard’s tack from the floor.
In no time at all, we had gotten our horses ready and saddled up. I threw the hood of my cloak over my head. Exchanging a look with Aspen, we both sped off towards Waekbourne.
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