Chapter 2

We didn’t get into trouble, but instead our fate turned out to be even crueller. After Dad had healed our scratches, they brought us inside, where they began to discuss what our Dedication ceremony might look like and how cute we would be if we were wed. I was so mortified that I couldn’t even look at Aase sitting next to me, and if I’d had any choice, I would have preferred to die.

We didn’t speak for a day after that, pretending we’d never heard our parents discuss our potential wedding as we helped Uncle Bari with the harvest, and when we finally did speak again, none of us mentioned what had happened that night.

We spent those last weeks harvesting Nuru. We didn’t even run away to the stream again, even though the days were still hot. I didn’t want to be the one to show how much I wanted to spend time with Aase, only to be teased about the wedding, and she never mentioned going there either. I guess it was for the best. Who knew what would happen if we did…

Aase’s mum took pity on us, though, and decided that we would both go to Naria and my auntie Rikka. And so, everything we’d worried about disappeared with a word.

We worked hard after that, knowing that every basket put in the storage was a step closer to our journey. Auntie had neither Nuru trees nor a garden to weed, so staying with her sounded much more fun.

When the last basket was safely stored, all that remained was the yearly feast to celebrate the end of the harvest.

“Silje, are you coming?” Aase called from outside the garden.

My heart skipped a beat when I heard her. I glanced at my mum standing next to me in the living room, but she just smiled and put her arms around me.

“You’ll have fun.”

"B-but..."

I glanced down at my new blue skirt. It was Mum who had chosen it because she said it matched my light hair and the heavy bronze bracelets on my ankles. I pulled at it nervously as she gently pushed me to the door. What if Aase thought I looked silly and teased me for it for the rest of my life? What if…

“Come inside, Aase," Mum called, and I froze as the door creaked open and Aase stepped inside.

She wore a beautiful green skirt that matched her eyes, and her orange hair that always looked messy was combed and held together by a bronze pin in the shape of a flower. She looked…

“Now, you two have fun,” Mum told us.

I glanced at her, but something in the way she said it made me so embarrassed that I bolted out the door, pulling Aase with me.

We walked in silence to Uncle Bari’s farm, and I tried hard not to look at her in her beautiful dress.

“We’re going to Naria and Auntie soon…” I mumbled when the silence became too unbearable.

She nodded and glanced at me but looked away the moment our eyes met and I looked down, not knowing what else to say.

Music and chatter filled the air as we drew closer, and I instinctively took her hand, knowing she didn’t like big crowds. I realised too late what I had done, and I held my breath, waiting for the tease, but she just gently squeezed my hand.

"Do you want to dance?" she murmured, and, without giving me a chance to answer, pulled me over to the crowd.

The steady beat of the drums shook the ground under my feet, and the gentle melodies of the flutes called me to let go and become one with the Flow. Aase let go of my hand and swirled in front of me, and I took a deep breath before joining her, trying to match her Flow with mine…

We were supposed to leave the week after the feast, but all preparations suddenly came to a halt one afternoon when Dad returned from a meeting with our elders. He exchanged a few words with my mum, preventing me from hearing them with a spell, and then left once more to speak with my uncle.

“What was that about?” I asked Mum as soon as he’d left.

“Nothing to worry about," she said, putting her arms around me, but her voice sounded tense.

She turned me around to look at me.

“Now that you’re going to Naria, do you want me to show you how we always managed to catch you when you tried to sneak into the pantry?"

I didn’t think it was ‘nothing to worry about’, but the thought of finally knowing how they’d caught me overrode my worry. I could even brag about it to Aase next time we saw each other. I spent the rest of the afternoon trying to learn to cast a protection spell that would alert you when someone entered the area, and it was only as the door opened and I heard Dad return that I remembered something was wrong.

“What’s happened?” I asked as I ran over to him.

“It’s okay, Silje, it's..."

He hesitated, glancing at Mum.

“The hunters have seen footprints of Traxes around our village."

I glanced at them. Only that? Why had the elder called a meeting about that? We’d had footprints of Traxes in the past, and they’d never called a meeting. I glanced between them, but Dad just said,

“We should be safe, but don’t leave the village at night.”

He gave me a stern look, and I nodded, trying to understand what was happening. Trax footprints had never caused this much fuss. But before I could ask him, he said,

“I have a surprise for you.”

“Surprise? Tell me! Please, tell me. You know how much I hate secrets!"

He ruffled my hair.

“Kine will take you to Naria on his Griffi.”

I stared at him.

“What? Really?”

“Really. He arrived earlier today."

I threw my arms around him. Kine was Dad’s cousin, a courier. It had been my dream for as long as I could remember to fly on one of those majestic birds.

"When will we go?"

“Tomorrow."

“So soon!? We need to pack!”

Mum chuckled and shook her head.

“You cannot take much with you. Only pack what you really need."

“But what about the gifts for Auntie and everyone?”

“Another time, Silje. We will bring them when we come to visit before the Rains start."

I looked at her.

“You…you are not coming with us?”

“No, you and Aase are more than enough weight for the poor Griffi.”

Dad tried to smile, but he wouldn’t meet my eyes, and a pang of fear squeezed my heart once again. What was happening? We had planned to go there together…

“How about we go and visit Aase and decide what you should take with you?” Mum suggested, and Dad added, “You could stay with her tonight if you want.”

Mum agreed before I could say anything. Not that I minded staying with her, of course. We walked over to Aase’s home, which lay just opposite ours, on the other side of the small path that ran through the village. I shivered when her dad opened the door and let us in, suddenly remembering we had an overdue trick looming over our heads for the night when we fell from the roof, so I promised myself not to eat anything during this visit.

“Silje! We will fly a Griffi!”

Aase ran over to me.

“I know," I grinned.

“You do?”

She looked at me, disappointed as I followed her to her room.

“Yeah, and Mum showed me a new protection spell," I continued.

She turned to me, pretending not to be impressed with what I’d learnt and instead said,

"And Dad taught me how to fool someone with a mist."

I tried to pretend I didn’t care either, but when I saw her ears go flat, I regretted it. I sighed and gave in.

“You want to show me?”

"Sure..."

She gave me a shy smile, and we sat down on her floor. It didn't take long before I got it. She was quite good at explaining, but when it was my turn, we spent hours before she managed to make my spell work. I should have teased her about it before she could laugh at my poor explanation, but somehow I couldn't make myself do it. Not tonight. Not when the strange uneasiness slowly filled my chest. What had Dad really meant with the Traxes?

She moved closer, and I felt her tail caressing my back as she whispered,

"Did you hear…?”

"Trax?"

She nodded.

"Dad seemed worried," she whispered.

“Mine too… But I don’t understand why. We’ve had them around loads of times." I said and shuffled closer to her.

As the sun set, Aase got up and closed the window shutters even though it was still hot and then lit a small crystal lamp that filled the room with soft white light.

“Are you tired?” she asked as she sat down next to me again, pulling her knees under her chin.

“I guess so."

I shrugged and looked at the closed window, trying to listen to the sound of the nightlife outside. Suddenly, Flow filled the room, enveloping us in a protective cocoon that muted all outside sound, and Aase’s dad called through the door,

“Good night, sleep well. We need to get up early tomorrow."

“Good night," we called back.

Aase turned to me.

“Don’t worry, Silje. I will protect you, I promise."

She hugged me, and I instinctively wrapped my arms around her.

“It will be okay," I whispered, patting her back.

Aase’s mum woke us early the next morning. To my surprise, my bag was already waiting for me, neatly packed in the kitchen next to two strange, heavy-looking cloaks that Kine must have brought yesterday.

We’d just finished our breakfast when Mum and Dad came in. They looked tired, and I wondered what had kept them up so late, but before I could ask, Dad gave me a hug and lifted me in his arms.

“Today you will fly!”

“Are you ready?” Aase’s mum asked, and we nodded as Dad put me down again.

“We should be going. Kine is waiting,” Mum said.

We grabbed our bags and cloaks and followed them to the open ground at the centre of our village.

There it was, a huge Griffi moving restlessly as we arrived. I stared at him as the rays of the morning sun danced on his white feathers.

“He’s beautiful,” Aase gasped, staring at the bird. I wasn't any better.

“Are you ready?” Kine asked as he walked over to us.

We nodded, and I turned to Mum and Dad. They seemed…relieved, but I didn’t have time to dwell on it because Mum almost suffocated me with a hug, telling me all the things I should and shouldn't do when I was with Auntie.

Dad held me for a long time before he whispered,

“Take care, Silje."

“I love you. Come and visit us soon," I whispered with tears in my eyes.

I hugged them one last time and climbed into a basket on the back of the Griffi. They stood there, waving as we took off into the sky, and I didn’t know that it would be the last time I saw my parents alive.