Chapter 51

The next morning, we prepared to leave, but Chaya struggled to get ready. Walking so far had really taken a toll on her.

“I can carry you”, Uruk offered, but she just shook her head.

I felt sorry for her. Even though she was a bit weird, I could see she was trying her best, and being thrown into a journey like this couldn’t be easy. I walked over and sat down beside her. She looked at me, surprised, before looking away.

“I am sorry…” she whispered.

“Don’t be.”

I put a hand on her shoulder, and she flinched.

“Relax, it is okay. You are just not used to walking this far.”

I was happy I had been fit enough to keep up with the others when I arrived. Feeling like a burden wasn’t a fun place to be.

“It is not that bad… I can walk.”

I shook my head and took hold of her ankle, starting to rub it gently. She sighed, smiling contently.

“Thank you…”

“You’re really tense”, I said as I kept rubbing her calves.

“You are like Her…”

She smiled.

“Don’t be weird, okay?”

She pouted.

“But you are, she always looked after those around Her”

I shrugged. I knew there were stories like that, but I didn’t need to be reminded about it first thing in the morning.

Selene came over to us.

“How do you feel?”, she asked.

Chaya smiled weakly.

“Better”

She hesitated for a moment before crouching down and putting her hands on Chaya’s back. She squirmed happily at Selene’s touch.

“Your magic is so warm”, she giggled.

“It will take away some tension”

She held her hands until Chaya wriggled out, got up and ran to Aki, completely forgetting how tired she was.

“Thank you”, Selene whispered and glanced at me.

I blinked.

“For what?”

I’d really had enough of weirdness for this morning. She sighed.

“I almost ignored her as I ignored you in the beginning”, she said.

I could hear the regret in her voice, and I winced. Why was she bringing this up now? What was I supposed to respond that wouldn’t mess things up?

“It’s okay”, I shrugged.

“No, it is not… I am just not good with this. I never know how far I can… So I do nothing.”

She sighed, staring at the ground.

“Yeah, I know… I am the same.” I whispered.

“You are not. You always care, you are like…”

“No, I am not”, I interrupted, glaring at her. “I am that Rina who beat you up in the desert…okay?”

She chuckled.

“So why do you care then…?”, she teased.

I shrugged.

“I just don’t want someone to feel as bad as I used to”

I pushed myself up before she had a chance to reply and offered her a hand.

“Let’s go. They are waiting.”

We set out, and only then did I realise what I had done. Why had I told her some strange stuff about my life? I glanced at her. And for some weird reason, she kept walking next to me… I forced myself to look ahead. Aki and Chaya were walking hand in hand at the front, chatting about something. They seemed happy at least.

Aki still sometimes cried at night, but despite that, she kept asking everyone about their time with her father, so I hoped she was slowly coming to peace with her loss. I tried to respect her choice of coming with me, even though part of me wished she had stayed at home instead of following us on our journey.

As the day passed, I could see we were coming closer to the border of Fa’a. The wild forest began to change and gave way to cultivated land. We passed through fruit gardens, with patches of vegetable garden spread underneath them.

Aki told us that we would soon arrive in the town of Shu, and not long after, we saw the first people. Two young men were picking fruit from the trees ahead of us, and Aki ran over to them. I saw how she gestured excitedly at me, and I sighed.

They walked over to us and bowed awkwardly as they halted before us. They were young, shorter than me and with light green skin, like Aki. I wondered if I should say something as they kept glancing at each other before one of them gathered the courage to speak.

“W-welcome to Shu, my lady”

“We… We will let the elders…”

He trailed off, and they glanced at each other before quickly bowing and running down the path. I sighed and picked up one of the baskets they had left by the tree. At least they shouldn’t lose their harvest because of me. Uruk reached for the other one, but Aki was faster and picked it up, awkwardly carrying it as we continued.

It didn’t take long before we saw the first people waiting for us at the outskirts of the village. They glanced at me curiously as they began to follow us, and I forced myself to smile at them. As we reached the town, a tattooed priest and a group of elders were waiting for us. They bowed, and I set down my basket, glancing awkwardly at Karim in the hope that he would speak, but he was busy helping Aki with her basket. Luckily, Uruk came to my rescue.

“Can you help us cross the river?”

The priest glanced at me, and I could see the disappointment in his eyes before he bowed.

“Of course”

He turned to talk with the elders. I sighed. I guess a few extra hours wouldn’t make any difference.

“We will stay for the night and cross the river tomorrow”, I said to the surprise of my companions and the cheers of the towns people.