Breaking Lies: Stars and Fire

Chapter Five (Part One)

"I didn't do what everyone says I did," Cedric started.

"So you didn't kill the King," Rowan snapped.

Cedric swallowed and gave a half shrug. "I was serving the King food, and before I knew it I was being dragged out of the room by guards and being forced into a cell. No trial. No calling of witnesses. Nothing." He looked at the ground, a hard look in his eyes, "I promise, I didn't do it."

"So who did?"

"I... I don't know, Rowan! I just..." Cedric seemed at a loss for words.

Rowan studied him. I thought he was an intimidating figure. He was taller than I and older, not to mention he carried several knives. He had piercing green eyes, almost as if to blend in with the landscape. He stood straight and still, unlike Cedric and I who were fidgeting. My anxiety level had shot up from we're-alright-don't-worry to oh-Numaer-we're-going-to-die in the past couple of minutes. I've had too many close calls to death and my fears were almost too much for me. I felt like every few seconds I was taking deep breaths.

"So what are you doing now?" Rowan asked.

There was a pause before Cedric answered. "We're going to a safe house. East of here. Should only be a couple of days more."

He glanced at me as if to say don't mess this up. Annoyance built up in my chest. I understood why he was lying, I wasn't an idiot. Obviously, Cedric didn't fully trust Rowan. I didn't either.

"Safe house? What safe house?" Rowan asked.

"Somewhere east of here, as i said." he looked at Rowan hard. Rowan understood.

"Fine. I get it. You can't tell me. Does anyone else know?" Rowan asked.

"No," Cedric answered. "No one but you." A small smile touched his lips.

After a moment of silence, Rowan said, "I missed you, Ced. You know, I never really believed you did it. Everyone said you did it, but I knew you didn't. I knew you couldn't pull it off. Even if you tried. You're not smart enough." Rowan grinned.

Cedric laughed, a light chuckle "Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"You're welcome."

I shifted on my feet. As much as I loved to see this brotherly friendship, I was anxious to move, to continue to the border. I looked at Cedric, trying to communicate that through my expression. He nodded once and turned to Rowan.

"We have to go, the longer we stay here the more chance the Guard will catch us." he paused then said, "thank you, Rowan."

"Is there anything I can do?" Rowan sighed.

Cedric shook his head and picked at his nails. "No. Just keep quiet, I guess."

He nodded at him, sadness in his eyes. They shook hands once and then Rowan turned to me.

"I'll keep this meeting secret. And for all it's worth, I hope you guys get to the safehouse."

I smiled. I liked Rowan. He was formal, if not a bit pompous. But he seemed like a good friend to Cedric. I could tell they had lots of memories together.

My heart throbbed for my friends and Lucas.

With a final goodbye, we left, moving farther to the outskirts of the village. Past the buildings, past the roads, and into the farmland. The farms were large wheatfields, so Cedric told me. It was easier to walk by because we didn't need to worry about people seeing us, the stalks were about our height.

"This is Delmark," Cedric said, "the next city."

It wasn't much of a city, I thought. No major buildings or houses in sight. And certainly no people.

"Sure it's a city?" I asked.

He rolled his eyes. "Yes, it's a city. We're just not near the city part."

"Then we're not in the city," I countered.

"We're in the city!" he shouted.

My mouth twitched. "Alright, we're in the city. You didn't need to yell."

His glare swung to me. My smile faltered, but I managed to hold it. He sped up, walking ahead of me, his nose in the air. I rolled my eyes and cursed under my breath. Cedric was never fun. He was always mad, depressed, or quiet. Was it my fault? Was I doing something wrong? I shrugged off my concern. He was like this before I met him.

I looked at him again. His focus was on the dirt beneath us. I could tell that seeing Rowan made this effect. No doubt, Cedric was feeling extremely lost and confused. Welcome to my world, I thought.

Wind rustled the stalks making them flow like a wave. They made a small shhh sound as the wind pushed them. Above us, rain clouds were starting to form. I'd never seen rain clouds but when I did, it was somewhat of a thrill. The dark colors reflected small ponds and puddles we passed, giving the air a certain mood. And the wind only increased it. But it felt good. My hair whipped around me, though this time it felt better, more like a gentle breeze. Cedric's hair was flying around too, though he seemed more annoyed, angrily brushing it out of his face.

Birds flew to nearby trees trying to find cover from the oncoming rain. Squirrels and chipmunks scampered faster than usual, gathering as much food as they could. Excitement stirred in my chest. I could smell the rain up close. There was a fresh smell in the air that I'd never smelled before.

"Come on, we need to find some kind of shelter," Cedric told me. He pointed to a barn several miles away. I groaned inwardly. More walking. My feet were blistered and tired. If I stopped long enough, my whole body would start to ache up.

"Aren't you exhausted?" I asked, rolling my neck, "we've been walking for days with barely any food."

He glanced at me. "Sure, I'm hungry, but what'd you expect? A feast everytime we stopped to eat?"

"Well I was hoping for that, yes," I said, a smile creeping at the edge of my lips, "but I was realistic to know that wasn't, well, realistic."

"Good. then stop complaining."

I scoffed. "I wasn't complaining."

"Yes. you were."

"I was just mentioning that I was tired, you rat."

He looked at me, his eyebrows raised. "Did you just call me... a rat?"

"Yes, you unintelligent worm," I said, my tone challenging.

"I wasn't aware that worms were unintelligent . In fact," Cedric said, assuming a thoughtful look, " I wasn't even aware they could think."

I held back a laugh. "Well they can."

"How would you know?"

"Because I – argh!" this time I really did laugh. He smiled back and shoved his hands in his pocket. Remembering our past fight, I swung an arm up near his cheek, ready to hit him, but he ducked and elbowed me, then shoved me down. I landed on my face.

"What was that for?" he snarled.

I felt my face. Blood spouted from a scratch. Nothing too painful, but at the moment, it stung as if fatal. "I wanted to catch you off guard. From our other fight." I pushed myself up and glared at him.

He laughed and with an odd twinkle in his eye said, "oh, but you'll never catch me off guard. Not like that. It was my training not to get caught off guard. Especially in a fight."

I huffed and tried kicking him one last time, but he moved away easily.