Warrior Of Light [Complete/Editing]

Chapter Fourteen - Part Two

The following morning, they awoke to a dense fog. A layer of dew covered everything within the limited range of vision. Elf and beast alike looked miserable, hunched against the frigid breeze that had continued throughout the night. It was decided that – to prevent losing their way in the fog and further delaying their arrival at Filne-Semmit – they would risk travelling the main road.

Edileth and Sheem walked side-by-side in silence, each too focused on keeping warm to bother with chatter. Celik drew near after a time and greeted them. Edileth fought a burst of laughter that threatened to escape. The Kenim Naduhl, however, caught the smile she tried to hide behind a fist. He tilted his head and glanced to Sheem. The boy smiled with a shrug.

"She thinks you look odd, I guess."

Celik returned his gaze to Edileth, wiping a damp curl of hair out of his face. This only set Edileth into another coughing fit, as she struggled to restrain her laughter.

The rain had pummeled the lengths of hair atop Celik's head until it hung low over his face. It seemed he had struggled to set things aright on more than one occasion and had achieved a disorderly mess for his efforts. Now that the rain had ceased, and his hair was beginning to dry, sections stood up or curled out and away from the rest. He looked much like a child who had tossed and turned in his bed and had yet to tame his unruly locks.
"Oh, Feridh have mercy," Edileth gasped, at last. "Stop this instant; you're only making it worse."

"Making what worse?"

"Your...hair..." Edileth barely managed to get the words out. She batted Celik's hands away from the disarray and tried to flatten some of the disagreeable locks. Though she tousled and pressed and tugged, it made little difference.

'Edileth?' Sheem's voice held a note of surprise. She lowered her hands and turned to face the boy. 'Maybe you're takin' this betrothal too seriously?'

Warmth spread through Edileth and she glanced about. Hardly any of the elves paid them heed. However, she noted with great annoyance, that Yena and Joenek were studying her – Yena with a small smile and lifted brows, Joenek with a scowl. In haste, Edileth looked back to Celik. His face remained unaltered, showing no signs of irritation, nor even of the embarrassment she felt. Her níadh brushed against his before she could will it to retreat. There, tucked within and hidden from any force outside his mind, was the discomfort Edileth could not read in his features.

"I apologize. I fear some madness came upon me in my levity."

He nodded and resumed walking. A weighted silence fell over the three elves and Edileth admonished herself for her rash behaviour. Longing to alleviate the unpleasantness between them, she posed a question.

"Did your night watch go well?"

A faint sigh whistled through Celik's nostrils.

"It went well. No fondness for our families amongst Jich's elves, though. Distrust."

"I long to depart from their presence." Edileth reached for Sheem and Celik with her mind and finished her thoughts where passersby would not overhear. It is humiliating to play a simple-minded lovebird. You, no doubt, feel the same as a Kenim Naduhl.

'I don't have your level of pride.'

Edileth bit back a retort. Sheem's voice interrupted the heated quietude.

'When you leave...' He hesitated, hope and anxiety and disappointment emanating from him.

We shan't abandon you.

'Edileth, we've no room for a boy. Our enemies seek to destroy us.'

Her jaw went slack and then, fully comprehending Celik's words, she pinched her lips together. Danger or no, we cannot leave him in the company of Jich. That roth is cruel; I can sense it.