“So, where do you want me to put this?” I pointed at the plate as Aria looked around.
“Bed’s good!” Her chipper tone brought a smile to my cheeks. “Don’t worry, I won’t be making a mess if that’s what you’re worried about.”
I wasn’t, but there wasn’t a huge number of places to put it on.
“So, are you guys plotting your way to the capital?” I asked, taking a look at the charts after I’d placed the dishes by Aria’s side. Caen nodded as Aria snatched one of my mom’s baked potatoes, and began chewing through it like a chipmunk.
“We’re from the Southwest, so the approaching winter makes it risky. But time is of the essence,” Caen laid it out as my gaze ran across his charts.
I frowned. They were out of date by several years and I wasn’t sure one of these trails ever existed.
In their defence, there was no good time to travel through the Central Tangle. It was a confusing place during the summer and a dangerous place during the winter. If they missed one or two key towns, they’d have to face a blizzard. Or worse.
“Mmm! This is good! Did you make this?” Aria asked as I turned to face her, only to see that she’d devoured all the appetizers. That was supposed to feed an entire family, not a single person.
“No, that’s my mom’s.” I paused, dumbstruck. “How do you eat so fast?”
“I have no idea? I just eat when I’m hungry.” She chucked a slab of meat into her gullet, bones and all, then continued eating as if nothing had happened.
“How are you still so skinny? And tiny! You eat more than my dad.” Despite my protests, she didn’t show any signs of slowing down. After devouring the steak, she ate the bones whole, the loud crunches audible across the room. Caen looked like he had seen this a million times before.
Aria gave another clueless shrug. “Maybe I’m just naturally cute. In all fairness, I would prefer to put on a bit of weight, or height, but it never seems to work.” She seemed a little disappointed with her lack of growth, but resumed the food slaughter. I wasn’t sure whether I should be envious or whether I should tease her, but Caen’s words returned me to reality.
“It would help a lot if you could point out a good route.”
I walked over to the map, glancing at what they had laid out so far. While it was simple, doing nothing but following the main trails would get them into trouble.
The wilds were a fickle place that required you to change your path on the fly as the weather changed. The best plan would be to hire a local guide, someone that took yearly trips to Mithil. I stroked my chin. An idea was emerging. A brilliant idea.
“I can do you one better. Why don’t I just guide you two? For a fee of course.” I grinned at my ingenious suggestion, but I was met with disapproving glares instead.
“I appreciate the offer, but this is a journey we must undertake by ourselves.” Caen’s voice was a deep warning as Aria nodded in agreement. “If you go with us, you could put yourself in a lot of danger.”
I couldn’t understand his warning. “What? Why?” I looked over at the two of them. “You two seem to be the most prepared pair I’ve seen in a long time. I’m pretty sure you can deal with the random stray bandit.” I was being serious: a mage and a well-traveled veteran in the Central Tangle? No bandit was ever going to attack them.
Caen eyed me, his eyes cautious as Aria wrapped her hands around her legs. She was done eating. Her silver eyes stared up at me, little skitters of light darting around the room.
“I like her, Caen.” Aria’s face swiveled to me. I felt my stomach drop. Those eyes, they were empty. Calculating. The voice that came out wasn’t chirpy, nor gleeful, but instead sent a shudder through my spine.
“Charlotte, I like you. You can come. A warning though: I can’t guarantee your safety.” As she spoke, her hard expression melted away to one of somber acknowledgement as emotion returned to her voice. I was still suffering from whiplash. Was this the same girl?
“But you still want me to come along?” I blurted out and Aria nodded, still curled up and looking like she wanted to disappear into the wall.
“O-Okay. Mind telling me why it’s so dangerous?” I began as she looked up at the ceiling, hand over her chin. After way too long, she finally let out a nervous chuckle.
“Eeh…let’s say I got into a scuffle with some church people? I’m heading over to the grand church to patch things up.” Aria was an awful liar. Caen let a groan as the heavy sound of his slap meeting up with his temples rang across the room.
“You…” I turned to Caen. “She is not a great liar, is she?”
“She fibs about as well as a mouse escaping from a trap.”
Aria let out another nervous laugh. “Well, when you put it that way…”
“Look, Caen. Can you just tell me what’s going on?” I was getting annoyed with the two of them dancing around the question. At this rate, I wasn’t going to bother.
“Some members of the church don’t like her, so we’re heading off to the Alabaster Church to get an appeal. The southern church aristocracy is pretty bloodthirsty if you tick off the wrong person.” Caen gave me this look of ‘don’t ask why.’ Which I didn’t because getting shot wasn’t super high on my list of things to do today.
“All right. So let’s watch out for better funded bandits. Nothing I can’t handle.” I crossed my arms with confidence as Aria uncurled herself.
“What about your parents? Won’t they try and stop you?” she pointed out as I shrugged.
“As long as you pay me well, then I don’t think they’ll try and stop me or anything like that. They might worry, yes, but they’ll worry regardless.” I thought it was pretty universal, but Aria returned an empty stare.
“Parents…are worried about you?” She scratched her head as she thought for a moment. “That’s fascinating! Caen, is that normal?”
Her poor traveling guardian had two hands in his face now. Frankly I was very tempted to join him, but I decided not to say anything and instead suppressed a snicker.
“Yes, it’s normal.” He mumbled as that giggle I was suppressing turned into a burst of laughter. Aria’s face a slight shade of pink as her eyes frantically darted around in embarrassment. She looked so adorable.
“L-Look! Maybe go talk with your parents or something. I don’t know,” she blurted out, still flustered as even Caen let out a chuckle, leaning back onto his chair in amusement.
“And I’ll pretend like I had regular parents or something…” She slammed a pillow in her face to hide from my prying eyes as I waved a parting goodbye.
“Well, I’ll see you later, Aria. Or tomorrow. Depends on how much room service you need.”
* * * *
I let out another light laugh as I bounced down the stairs. I couldn’t wait. Yes, there was that part about the church, and Aria being a mysterious weirdo, but I didn’t think any of that mattered. Aria was cute, and whoever the church hired wouldn’t be able to follow the trails well. Central Valley folk don’t go out of their way for the church, because they don’t go out of their way for us.
