Breaking Lies: Stars and Fire

Chapter Three (Part Three)

I didn't know what to say. I felt bad, I truly did, but I also had a feeling that a simple "sorry" wouldn't help.

I tried to focus on other things. Like the rock I had just stumbled over. And the many scratches on my arms and legs. And my racing heart.

The walk turned more into a hike. The trees sloped upward and the rocks began to stick out of the earth, almost as if we were literally climbing a rock wall. I had to ue my fingers to pull myself up over rocks sometimes and within three minutes of doing it, i was out of breath. On the other hand, Cedric was barely sweaty. I gritted my teeth.

Every so often, I would try to talk to Cedric, but he ignored me. It really was maddening, so eventually, I stopped.

We were coming up to a large pond, maybe fifty feet in length. I thought of suggesting taking a break there and washing up a little, but I decided against it. Cedric would probably disagree and say that if we did that we would be wasting time.

"Let's wash up at the pond," Cedric announced.

I bit back a retort and nodded my head instead.

While he scrubbed the dirt off his face and arms, I washed my arms and legs, scraping off dirt. I splashed water on my face, reviving myself. The water refreshed me in more ways than I could describe. I looked over at Cedric, smiling to myself as his head was upside down, hair in the water, and him trying to scrub the leaves and dirt off. I couldn't suppress a small laugh.

He looked up, spraying water all over like a dog shaking its head. "What?" he asked somewhat aggressively.

"Nothing," I grinned, "you just looked stupid with your head like that."

"Like you look any better," he looked meaningfully at my half wet hair, all tangly and messy.

"Cedric, calm down," I said, rolling my eyes, "you look fine."

He looked at me with a fierce look in his eyes, then turned back to wash his hair, this time keeping his hair out of the water. My smile weakened.

While he was finishing up, I sat on a tree stump. We were now two days gone from the palace, being chased by the Crown Prince's knights, and still nowhere near the border. I sighed as I thought about it. Maybe it would've been better if I stayed in prison.

No! I told myself fiercely. I was free of that prison and I hoped I'd never see it again. My life wasn't better there. My family and I should never have been there in the first place.

My stomach twisted.

My family.

All of the sudden, I wanted to curl up on the stump and sit there until I sunk into the earth. I left them. I abandoned them. My own family, I left. Guilt washed over me like the water in the pond.

How could I continue this journey when my family was still imprisoned? How could I have just left them? I should've pleaded to the Prince to let them free with me! I should've done something!

And Lucas. Numear's heaven, I missed him. I missed his humor and playfulness. His ability to make anything better. If he were now, i'd be in a much better state.

I suddenly became aware of my head throbbing. I reached up and felt blood. Probably from when I banged my head on the rock. Dizziness and nausea plagued me for a moment, and desperately I held onto the bark beneath me to distract myself.

Feel the bark, it's hard, bumpy..., I continued to feel and identify the bark until my anxiety and nausea disappeared.

Behind my eyes, pressure built, adding on to my many pains. I couldn't do this alone. I needed Zelda to help me. She was always the one I could count on to talk to. Seh was the one who always helped me with my anxieties. What would I do without her?