Moving

Eliya was the first to awake. Dawn was coming, or rather, had already come. Faint, yellow sunlight filtered through the side of the forest that was east of her.

For a moment, she wondered where she was and what she was doing here. It didn’t take long for reality to come crashing in and remind her of the twists that it had brought to her life. The boy’s revelations, the quarreling that ensued once he left, the bonding that had occurred what seemed like a few hours ago…

…It could have been a few hours ago. They had stayed up rather late into the night, talking.

She rose soundlessly from beneath her blanket, wrapping her cloak around her more tightly. The fire had long since gone out, reduced to charred black sticks that were still smoldering slightly.

A soft sigh escaped her pale lips. She had dreamed about Jordan. Such dreams were bound to be unpleasant ones, considering her love’s recent fate.

The thought of weeping hysterically crossed her mind briefly, but she brushed it away disdainfully. Why should she cry? Death was an inevitable thing, and while she couldn’t yet repeat the old cliché that death is a natural part of life, she had to accept the fact that it came, hence being inevitable.

It comes, and takes what it wishes, and steals whom it wishes, and cares not who it leaves behind and how they feel about it.

She certainly hadn’t had a say in the matter when it came to whether or not Jordan was going to die. In spite of their recent history of fights, she could never say that she would have agreed to his untimely demise.

Of course not. Why would she, under any circumstances?

I loved him. Naturally, I didn’t want him to die.

That was a painful thought. Not the part of about not wanting him to die, but the part about loving him. Love seemed to get in the way at the most inopportune times.

The Queen’s most skilled spy had met Captain Jordan two years ago. The fact that he requested to court her only a few months after they met elicited mixed feelings from the young woman. On the one hand, it was a source of pride; he liked her enough to bypass those months, perhaps even years of deliberation. He was serious about her. On the other hand, the fact was that he didn’t know her as well as he would if he hadn’t bypassed those months or years.

Knowing all that, Eliya couldn’t say that she hadn’t expected their relationship to be a little rocky somewhere along the road. Plus, they were both independent people who had independent stations and independent occupations. She was a spy; he was a soldier. It was hard to concentrate on swooning in someone’s arms when you were too busy considering you next spying assignment.

Maybe it was after they both realized this that the fighting started. They hadn’t been fighting for that long when Jordan was killed, but it had seemed to last forever to Eliya.

Now, when she looked back…

Heaven help me, I don’t want to look back! I don’t want to see him walk away without saying goodbye! I just want to forget about the things we said to each other.

I don’t want to think about the fact that he’s buried somewhere on the Frontier.

Tears tracked their way down her cheeks. The sunlight reflected off them, turning them into glittering gems that fell from her eyes, sliding over her skin. Her shoulders trembled slightly, fighting against the urge to sob, even if they were silent sobs. She was not going to sob. She was a spy. She was too strong for this.

Eliya froze when she heard footsteps behind her. She bit down hard on her lip as she heard the thud of those boots; why did it have to be him, of all people? She wondered silently, hoping he would leave her alone.

No such luck.

“That was some night, huh?” Travis remarked rather awkwardly, moving past her with the intent of sitting down across from her, the cold fire pit between them. “I’m stiff as a board. Never did like sleeping on the ground.”

“Spoiled, are you?” she remarked thickly, hoping he would credit the oddness of her tone to the early hour of morning.

He was sitting down now, tucking one of his pant-legs into his boots, an insulted scowl beginning on his face. He looked up, a smart reply springing to his lips. “Not as spoiled as-”

He stopped.

Eliya froze, knowing that her face had already given her away. That cursed sunlight illuminated that which she wanted so desperately to keep hidden, but couldn’t. The tears were still there, and more threatened to overflow at this new disturbance.

“Hey, are you…?” His words faded away when he realized that she indeed was. “Ah, is something, I mean, what hap-” Travis scrubbed his fingers through his hair and muttered something under his breath, clearly befuddled when it came to dealing with girls who were-

“Crying? Yes, I’m crying,” Eliya snapped. “It happens sometimes.” He gaped at her, astonished at her outburst. “What? Don’t tell me you haven’t cried before!” she hissed, even more infuriated. Travis’s mouth opened and then closed.

“Not since I was a little kid,” he murmured, still shell-shocked.

“Great for you,” she muttered, rising to her feet in a fluid, graceful motion and walking away from the dead fire. She stared through the trees, peering gloomily and angrily at the snippets of sun that were peeking through.

There was a moment of silence before she heard him stand up; the trudging sound his boots made when he walked told her he was moving, but she surely didn’t expect him to come over to her.

“I’m sorry,” Travis said, his voice rather rough. “I didn’t mean to be, ah…”

“Insensitive?” she offered, keeping her face turned away from him.

“Yeah…I guess. Um, forgive me?”

Eliya couldn’t stop herself. She turned toward him incredulously. “You’re asking me to forgive you?” she said skeptically, keeping her voice low so as not to awaken Avar and Jevirae. “Why? You were just, just…” She huffed, unable to think of something creative to say. “You were just being yourself!” she finished finally, whirled away and crossing her arms over her chest.

Travis didn’t say anything, but even if he had, Eliya still would have virtually jumped out of her skin when she felt the touch of his hands on her arms. “Wha- What are you doing?” she demanded in a harsh whisper. Why was he…touching her?

“Am I invading your little bubble of privacy?” he inquired, his voice light. Eliya shivered.

“Yes,” she murmured, unnerved. His hands fell away after another moment of silence.

“I was making an attempt to comfort you, though I have no idea why you’re crying, or if it’s even any fault of mine,” the young man said in a rather peeved tone of voice. “However, you don’t seem to be too open to that option, so I’ll leave you alone to sulk.”

Eliya whirled around again just in time to see him turn to walk away. “Sulk!” she snarled. “I’m not sulking! I’m crying because the man I thought I was going to marry is dead, and last night I dreamed about him!”

The moment the words were out of her mouth, she wished she could call them back.

Don’t we always wish we could do the physically impossible?

Travis halted in his tracks, stiffening. He faced her, his visage turning a lovely shade of ashamed scarlet. He lowered his eyes to the ground, scuffing the toe of one of his boots in the dirt. Eliya bit her lip as more tears spilled forth, slipping down her cheeks with a will of their own.

“I’m sorry,” the young man whispered, painfully embarrassed to have intruded on her private, sorrowful moment. “I didn’t know.”

“Now you do,” Eliya whispered back, her voice shaking with emotion. She lost the battle against the sobs; they burst from her softly and she hid herself behind her hands. Barely a second later, she felt Travis’s touch again, and this time she threw caution to the wind.

So what if he was just a stuck-up city kid? Right now she needed the comfort, even if he was the only one could offer it at the moment.

She flung herself at him and buried her face in his shirt, weeping stormily into the rough fabric. She felt him stiffen in shock and then felt his arms encircle her hesitantly. Obviously he had not expected her to react like this…ever. To anything.

Well, neither had she.

---

It was maybe 15 minutes later when the storm passed, but it seemed like an eternity to the unlikely comforter and the equally unlikely weeper.

Eliya gave a sigh and dried her face, straightening. Travis took a step back, his face turning red again. His shirt was a damp mess. The sight of it made her sigh again. “Promise you won’t tell anybody about this?” she requested flatly.

“I promise,” he said, lifting his gaze to hers. Then he flashed her his trademark cocky grin. “Really, would I ever consider embarrassing you like that, my lady?”

“If you don’t cover up those stains on your shirt, I’ll be forced to assume that you would consider it,” Eliya replied dryly, returning his grin with a faint, reluctant smile of her own. He eyed her mouth for a moment and smirked.

“There. That wasn’t so hard, was it?” He dipped his head to her, turning away. “You should smile more often, my lady. It’s a compliment to your incredible beauty.” He swaggered back toward the campfire and their other two companions, who were showing signs of stirring from slumber.

Eliya gritted her teeth. Maybe he wouldn’t tell anyone, but he was certainly never going to let her forget about this. Not in a million years.

She had cried all the tears that she had at the moment. Who knew if there would be more? Perhaps she was on her way to letting go of Jordan, as painful as it sounded.

And yet, what cause did she have to think such a thing?

Why should I let go of him now? I’m not done. I’m not finished grieving for him. I’m not going to let go, not so easily.

Which probably meant there would be more tears in the future.

“I’m so sorry, Eliya,” said a soft, sad voice at her elbow. She started and turned, dark blue eyes slightly rimmed in red meeting large, round sky blue one. The boy touched her arm briefly and walked toward the camp, his step subdued until he caught sight of Travis and the others, at which point he skipped the rest of the way.

Eliya watched him go, most perturbed by his words, and rather uncomfortable with the uncanny amount of knowledge that he had.

The boy was here; the morning was already shaping up to be more interesting than regular mornings. She heaved a sigh and straightened her dress in a vain attempt to smooth the wrinkles. No doubt they would be hearing more shocking news today; she wanted to be ready for it.

She had promised her help to this ragtag group of her peers. She didn’t usually go back on her word.

---

Avar sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes wearily. Going to bed late last night, or rather, early this morning, was not the best idea in the world.

He took note of the fact that the boy was already there, having taken a seat around the fire pit, despite the early hour of morning. Jevirae rolled over in her blanket next to him, mumbling something under her breath as the last traces of sleep began to drift away. Travis was standing behind the boy, arms crossed over his chest. The young traveler was sneaking peaks at Eliya now and then, who was walking back toward the camp from a little ways away, drawing the hood of her cloak hastily over her head.

The apothecary peered at the spy discreetly as she came nearer. There was something strange about her face; it seemed blotchy, almost as if she’d been crying.

Avar had no idea why the aloof young woman would be crying, and it was obviously not a question he was going to pose to her, so he brushed the observation from his mind and climbed out of his blanket, joining the group around the pile of cold, black cinders. Jevirae stumbled over to them, the last one, shoving her long red mane out of her eyes.

The boy smiled at them. “Did you all sleep well?” he inquired.

Jevirae gave a groan. “Eh… Ye be jokin’, right?”

“I take it you didn’t go to sleep after I left,” the boy guessed.

Travis snorted in disgust. “Oh, we did, pretty much. It just so happens that everyone besides me decided to hold a midnight tryst, for some reason.”

“No one forced you to get up and join us,” Eliya pointed out coolly. Avar gave her another glance; her voice suggested previous emotion just as much as her face did, or had. The blotches were fading now.

“I heard you mention Carlos!” Travis protested in defense of his hypocrisy.

“We were discovering the coincidences within our separate journeys,” Avar explained. The boy gave a wise nod.

“Ah. Yes, they are quite interesting, aren’t they? It seems very providential that each of you had at least one person to somehow guide you on your way.”

All four of them thought about this for a moment and then eyed him suspiciously. “And I’m sure you didn’t have anything to do with that…” Travis said sarcastically. The boy smiled innocently.

“I don’t force people to do things. Sometimes I just give them a nudge in the right direction.” He motioned to all of them. “Hence your presence here.”

“It be more like a shove, not a nudge,” Jevirae muttered under her breath. Avar smiled faintly and the boy chuckled.

“Alright, so I suppose it depends on the person in question…” he admitted. At that moment, Travis’s stomach growled. Finding four pairs of eyes on him, the traveler flushed.

“It was a long night,” he offered.

The boy smiled and reached behind him, picking up the small bundle he’d brought with him. From it was produced breakfast, in the form of several loaves of bread and some berries. These provisions were greatly appreciated by all.

“You said last night that you were going to give us the rest of the details,” Travis mumbled around a mouthful of bread. The boy popped a berry into his mouth and nodded.

“Right. The important things.” Once they were all focused on him, attention fixed in spite of the food in their mouths, he continued. “We have a plan, we’re going to need some help in order to pull it off.”

“Wait- we have a plan already?” Travis exclaimed. “Who came up with this?” The boy gave him a “duh” look. “Oh. You.”

“Yes. Anyway, we’re going to need help. Most of you have acquired several acquaintances over the course of your journey here, and it is the aide of these acquaintances that we’re going to seek.” Receiving some blank looks, he turned toward Avar and Eliya. “Namely Patrick and Aterson, to begin with.”

The two started and glanced at each other. “But he’s a deserter!” they both said at the same time, speaking of their respective acquaintances. This coincidence evoked another couple glances.

“They deserted because they felt it was the right thing to do,” the boy said patiently. “That doesn’t make them lesser soldiers. They will be able to help us.”

“I suppose that means we’re taking a trip back to Morandian,” Eliya remarked dryly.

The boy smirked. “Not all of you.” He nodded to Avar. “Patrick is in a small village on the road to Vaenor, not in Morandian. However, there’s someone else that one of you have met that we might have need of.” His blue eyes turned to Travis.

The traveler’s mouth dropped open. “Tell me you’re not talking about Carlos.” Eliya rolled her eyes as the boy shook his head. “Well, then who-” The blonde paused in mid-sentence. “Oh. Oman.”

“Yes, Oman.”

“But, he’s not a soldier! He’s a bloody peddler, for Heaven’s sake!”

“He hasn’t always been a peddler,” the boy corrected. “Trust me; if you knew anything about his past, you’d be able to understand why we need him.” He looked at the four young people sitting before him, finally focusing on a certain redhead. She stared right back at him, a displeased look on her face. “What’s wrong, Jevirae?” he asked gently.

“They be ‘avin’ places to go, and people to fetch for ye, but I dinna meet anybody who kin help us in battle!” she pointed out, frowning. The boy smiled.

“Actually, there is someone you met that we need with us.”

She raised a brow, confused. “Who be it?”

“Xerxa.”

“Xerxa?!” both Jevirae and Avar exclaimed at the same time. “But she be jist a’ inn-worker!” Jevirae protested.

“What does Xerxa know of war?” Avar added, his voice worried. Jevirae glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes; it was obvious he was concerned for his friend’s safety. After all, if this really turned out to be as serious as it sounded, things definitely wouldn’t be safe, for anybody.

“Trust me,” the boy said quietly. “I know what I’m doing. I know your friends as well as you do.” He smiled faintly. “Perhaps even better, in some cases. The people I’ve selected may strike you as odd choices at the moment, but later you will understand why we need them.”

“A’right,” Jevirae said. “I trust ye.” She glanced around at the others.

“Haven’t we already gone over this?” Eliya pointed out. “Obviously, we all trust you,” she added to the boy. “We wouldn’t be here if we didn’t, at least a little.”

“Thank you,” he said, grinning like a child. …Which he was… “So it’s settled then? Travis and Eliya will go to Morandian to enlist the aide of Aterson and Oman, and Jevirae will go with Avar to Vaenor and the surrounding area to find Patrick and Xerxa.”

Travis and Eliya eyed each other distrustfully, in spite of this morning’s earlier occurrence. It was rather an unspoken agreement that they would just never mention that. “Is there somewhere we’re going to meet after we’re through with these little missions, assuming that we can convince these people to join us?” Eliya inquired of the boy, tearing her gaze from Travis.

“Yeah, that’s something I’m having an issue with,” Travis broke in. “How are we going to convince our little friends that they should help us? Are we supposed to tell them about you? ‘Yeah, so I met this kid, and he asked me to run, so can you come and help us single-handedly snuff out the rebellion on the Quen Frontier?’” He shook his head. “If that’s the plan, I don’t think it’s going to work.”

Instead of being anywhere near offended, the boy burst out laughing. “You know just how to make it sound like the most ludicrous thing ever, Travis,” he giggled. “But don’t worry. Just tell the truth.”

Travis ground his teeth in frustration. “But that’s what I’m saying! No one is going to come with us just because we tell them that, that…that we want them to run for you!”

The boy cocked his head to one side. “Why not? It worked for all of you, didn’t it?”

This was met with silence, during which Travis turned red and Jevirae smirked at him in satisfaction.

Their diminutive leader rose from his seat on a large rock and favored them all with a bright smile. “Well, we’d better get started, hadn’t we?”

“Wait!” Jevirae said, standing up swiftly. “Ain’t ye gonna help us a’tall?”

“Of course I will,” he reassured her. “I’ll check in with you from time to time, if you really need it.” His large blue eyes became very serious, matching the sudden change in his tone. “You’re never alone, Jevirae. None of you are, not really.”

None of them really knew how to respond to this. It was awkward, and yet it felt comforting at the same time.

“Thank you,” Avar murmured finally. The boy nodded to him.

“You’re welcome.”

Travis cleared his throat, apparently having recovered from his previous embarrassment enough to speak. The other four turned and looked at him. “You know, we can’t really just keep calling you ‘the boy,’” he pointed out randomly. “I don’t suppose you have a real name…?”

There was a pause, and the boy almost seemed to be thinking about it. Finally he looked up. “You can call me Samuel.”

---

(A/N- So I've finally updated this. Yay. Um, it's been a while since I've written in this fic, obviously, so I apologize if it seems I've forgotten how to write some of the characters properly. If inspiration persists, I'm sure I'll get the hang of it again really quick.

So, I offered you some more insight into Eliya's life and her relationship with the late Captain Jordan. Sadness, I know... There was some TravisEliya moments in there for you, but take heed: I'm not completely sure what the pairing status is going to be for this story, so everything is up in the air at the moment.

And for those of you who were tired of hearing the boy referred to as simply 'the boy,' he now has a name! Whoo hoo!

I apologize also for those who might feel that my chapters move very slowly. Sometimes I feel that way myself, but there's just so much stuff to get through... Hopefully future chapters will be able to spice it up a little with these little sidequests I've sent everyone on. The different dynamic could be amusing, especially with Travis and Eliya.

Anyway, sorry for the really long note and thanks for reading! Please review! -I.I.)