Chapter Five

Chapter Five

 

As the wilderness began to give hints of the nearby town, Micah grew cautious. We passed by three or four forest stragglers a day, each looking grimy and filthy. I was glad there were no mirrors to pass; my reflection could only be worse.

“Azalea?” Micah asked in panic when I’d strayed from his sight. I wasn’t sure what he was afraid would happen to me, but I knew better than to ask.

“Azalea?” Micah called out again, and I sighed.

“I’m right beside you,” I huffed. “You’re being ridiculous.”

He frowned. “I know where you are. I just want to discuss our arrangements.”

“I’m listening,” I said stiffly.

Without thinking about it, he reached out and took my hand in his. This was a common reaction, if there were strangers passing by, but now we were all alone with no reason for precautions. It made me uneasy.

“Lexington is only three miles away, and we need to get our story straight before we become…citizens.” The word made him wince.

“Story?” I repeated. “What story?”

His grip loosened, and he bent down to press his lips to my ear. “We can’t let them know where we’re from,” he whispered, and I shuddered at his grim tone.

“Oh.”

He was hesitant now; it was obvious that he‘d frightened me. “So I’ve been thinking...” he started again.

“Okay.”

He bit his lip. “It would make things easier if we were...related.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Micah, you can hardly pass as my brother.”

“I know,” he snapped. “And we can’t afford to have gossip spread.”

“So what’s our story?” I peered at him sideways.

“Well, if we can’t think of any relations, I don’t think…that we should be together.”

I gaped. “You want me to be all alone?”

“No! Stop, you’re getting it wrong,” he mumbled. “Of course we’ll be together. Always.” It sounded like a promise. “But we can’t be married. We look…wrong.”

“How can you say that?” Ridiculous as it was, I couldn’t help but feel slightly hurt.

He snatched my hand again. “I didn’t mean it that way. We look wrong…together. I mean, look at me. Then look at you.”

Deep down, I knew he was right. I was still wearing my embarrassingly disgusting half-gown, ripped to knee-length, and my skin looked so pale in comparison. His tone was much deeper, and he looked more like a logger man. Dark, tall, muscular, and woodsy.

I blushed. “Fine. We do look…odd, I’ll admit.”

“So you’ll need to be undercover for a while. I’ll be working, of course, but I need to make sure you’re safe.”

I shook my head. “No.”

“Yes, Azalea,” he said through clenched teeth. “It’s the only way.”

“You can’t make me hide in an alley all day while you do all the hard work. It’s not fair,” I protested.

“Tell me, then,” he demanded, an almost pleading look in his eyes. “What do you want me to do? You’re not going to roam the streets alone. Too dangerous.”

“But wait,” I prompted. “What if you were my…” I trailed off, wracking my brains.

“Your what?,” he hissed.

“Guard,” I said, a random thought weaving into place. “What if I said that my father paid you to protect me while he was…out of town?”

He was skeptical. “A guard?”

“I mean, think about it. I could go to work with you…or wait outside, whichever. It’s a good excuse. And you are pretty strong.” I blushed again.

To my surprise, he chuckled. “Your guard, huh?”

“Besides, there’s nowhere for me to hide undercover,” I insisted. “I’d be all alone, without protection.”

He scowled. “But we don’t know what happened to you before.” On the word “before,” his voice lowered to a husky whisper that I could barely understand. But I knew what he meant.

I snorted. “The chances of me being recognized in Lexington are one in a million.”

“I can’t risk it,” he said hoarsely. “There’s so much we don’t know.”

“Please, Micah?” I begged. “This could work.”

“Could,” he repeated, looking exasperated. “But I can’t think of anything else.” He hung his head, shame-faced.

“Good,” I said aloud, glad that the matter was settled.

“Azalea,” he growled. “This isn’t over.”

Even though I‘d been expecting this, I couldn‘t hold back the irritation. “Why won’t you trust me?”

“Because you’re being ridiculous!” Micah shouted, and his harsh tone rang in my ears. I felt my face burn, and my sight became blurred with tears. I blinked furiously, and after a moment they passed. He hadn’t noticed.

“Maybe Chief Anali was right.” My voice was off-key, but my words had the effect I’d hoped for. Micah paused. “Maybe you should have just let me die.”

His hands were shaking now, and the puny twigs of firewood snapped in half and fell to the ground. I couldn’t see his expression, but a twinge of regret held me back all the same. Maybe I’d gone too far.

“Micah?” I asked, reaching out to touch his shoulder. In less than a second he’d snapped my arms back and whirled around, his face unreadable.

“Micah,” I gasped, wincing in pain. “Ow, you’re hurting me!”

Wordlessly, he let go and I stumbled to gain my balance. The skin on my arm now had his handprint grazed onto it. I didn’t meet his gaze.

“How can you say that?” he choked. “After everything I’ve done for you, you’re suicidal?”

“No!” I cried. “No, Micah, you don’t understand - ”

He reached out for me again, but this time there was hurt in his eyes, and his grip was much softer. He cradled my chin in his hands, trembling, and the tears came back.

“You don’t understand,” I repeated. “I would never do that to you.” A few days ago, this would have been a lie. I was relieved how easy it was to confess this to him; surely it must be the truth, then.

 

“It’s okay,” I whispered.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Slowly, his hands fell away. “We should get some rest,” he said hoarsely.

“It’s been a long day,” I agreed, and my voice was still not quite back to normal. “I’ll just…go get some firewood.”

“No, leave it. There isn’t any.” He spoke with his back facing me. Coward.

“Fine.” We both slumped onto the ground, even though our usual bedtime was a good four hours off. Then we both curled onto our sides, turning away from each other, but just in case I decided to sleep with my arm covering my eyes. I didn’t want to look at him anymore.

 

Despite our unusual coldness toward each other, Micah stayed close to my side as we wandered into town. All the new sights and smells and sounds were overwhelmingly familiar, but only in a distant déjà vu feeling. I was disappointed that nothing seemed to trigger my memory, but I was taken aback at how happy I felt here. Everything was so new, and yet I felt like I’d lived here my whole life. The sound of the horses’ hooves on the ground, the friendly chatter between passerby, the smell of fresh bread wafting from the bakery, the clink of metal from the blacksmith; every little detail made my heart lift in my chest.

Micah, on the other hand, was far from being comfortable in our new surroundings. His face was contorted with a fake smile, and he flinched at sudden noises. More than once I would unthinkingly reach out to comfort him, before remembering that we were mad at each other and quickly pulling my hand away.

“Hello there!” called out a nearby woman, bouncing a young child in her arms. I waved back, grinning, and Micah scowled and quickened his pace.

“I’m just being friendly,” I said innocently.

“Well, don’t,” he snapped. “We don’t want anybody asking questions. We still haven’t got our story straight, remember?”

I didn’t answer - the last thing we needed was another argument - so I changed the subject.

“Where are we going?” I asked casually, admiring a church down the lane.

“I’m going to find work,” he answered coldly. “You’re going to stay put.”

“No way!” I protested, but he cut me off.

“Hush! You’re going to work at a nursery, you can help look after the new mothers until I come back for you.”

I could do no more than glare angrily, since a group of young men were walking close by. But Micah could sense my anger, and he sighed.

“It’ll only be for a short while, I promise. Would you rather I hide you in an alley for a few hours?” he asked, smirking.

I scowled. “I doubt I’ll be of much use in a nursery if I pass out in hunger.”

His smile vanished. “We’ll eat soon.”

But we kept walking, and the topic of food didn’t crop up. I was just about to push my luck and ask again when Micah grabbed my arm and steered me to a nearby fruit vender. He bought us an apple each, and we struggled to make our rations last. We didn’t have much money left, and it was only a matter of time before he had to sell the beautiful necklace. I would be sad when that moment came - it was a beautiful piece of jewelry, and sometimes Micah even let me wear it for an hour or two. But I suppose I would rather have food and housing than a pretty necklace.

“Azalea,” Micah hissed, elbowing my side. “Over there.”

I looked up to see the nursery he was pointing me to, with flowers and colorful quilts decorating the outside. Micah paused, waiting for me to leave, but I suddenly felt very shy.

“Won’t you come with me?” I pleaded, but he shook his head.

“I can’t, Azalea. Go on, I’ll be back soon.”

I nodded, moving slowly forward. A group of women in front of the nursery eyed me with interest, and one whispered to the others. They giggled, and my face flushed - in my filthy, bedraggled state, I knew I would become a point of gossip. At least until I could find a wash tub, anyway.

“Hello,” I stuttered once I’d reached the open doorway. “Um, do you need any help around here?”

Their giggles hushed awkwardly, and a tall red-haired girl rose to her feet and beckoned me forward. “The babies are all sleeping, but you can tend to the mothers if you’d like.”

I tripped over my feet as I walked inside the nursery, and I felt a blush creep up my cheeks. The red-haired girl pretended not to notice.

“My name is Sarah, by the way,” she added shyly. “The mothers are staying in a room to the left, and to the right are the newborns. At the end of the hall is where the guests stay - it’s empty, right now. Please make yourself at home.”

“Thank you,” I mumbled. Sarah turned and walked back outside, leaving me alone. I felt very foolish, having no instructions left for me, but they must have presumed I’d know what I was doing.

I turned to the room on the right, where the mothers were staying, and I tried to force a smile on my face like Micah had done.

A wide circle of beds were spread out about the room, and most of the ladies were sweaty-faced and tired-looking. Many of them were fast asleep, but three women studied me skeptically as I entered the room.

“My name is Azalea,” I began, then hesitated. Was I supposed to use my real name? “Do you ladies need anything?” I asked quickly, hoping they didn’t notice my blunder.

“No, thank you,” they echoed in unison, so I settled into a nearby chair.

One, who had a noticeably round stomach peeping from underneath her bed sheets, continued to glare at me. “Why are you wearing that god-awful gown?” she demanded, and the others stared in surprise.

“Don’t mind her,” said an older occupant with damp, dark brown hair. “That’s my sister; she gets a little moody with the new helpers.”

The two sisters quarreled for a bit, and I tried to hush them without sounding bossy. Eventually the dark-haired woman drifted off, and the rest of us chatted uneasily to fill the dull silence. Sarah ducked inside every now and then, checking up on us, but I felt so out-of-place. The minutes dragged on, and they continued to stare at me from the corners of their eyes with bemused expressions on their faces. I cleared my throat often and tapped my foot on the ground, waiting.

“Um, excuse me?” Sarah asked finally, her red hair poking out from behind the door. “There’s a man outside, asking for Azalea?”

“That’s me,” I said quickly, rising to my feet. “Thank you for introducing me, Sarah. I hope we’ll see each other soon.”

“And I as well,” she responded, biting her lip. She probably thought I’d spread some kind of disease - not that I blamed her.

“Azalea,” Micah greeted me as I rushed from the nursery. He tried to act nonchalant, but I noticed the sign of relief on his face as I joined his side.

“Hi, Micah!” I chirped. “Did you find work?”

He nodded once. “I’m working at the stables for now. It doesn’t pay well, but I can learn.”

“Oh,” I gasped. “You’ll get to be with the horses?”

He nodded again, and I waited for him to say more on the topic, but he was silent. We started walking forward, and a sudden thought occurred to me.

“Micah, where are going?” I asked, peering around the streets. “We can’t afford to rent a house, can we?”

“No, Azalea,” he said softly. “We’ll stay in the woods for a few more nights.”

“Oh.” I shifted uneasily, trying to find the best way to approach my request. “Um, don’t you think we should…?” I trailed off, knowing he would understand.

Micah’s expression was grim. “We can’t buy new clothes yet. Mr. Lark offered me a good price on a wash bin, and I found a well nearby. All we need is soap.” He glanced at my timidly. “But not today.”

“Not today,” I echoed, sighing. I was beginning to wonder when the smell of dirt and pine leaves was finally going to wash off. Not that I wasn’t used to it by now, but a few changes from our current lifestyle couldn’t hurt.

 

 

 

 

 

Reviews

[Aspiring Angel]

It took me awhile to get back the second half of this chapter and I enjoyed every bit of what I read. In coming here I did not notice any other chapters listed but did see a notice. I will go to explore what you had to say when I leave here. I so hope you have not decided to leave this story for another day and time. It is very, very, good and it deserves and ending. Hope to see you soon again.

Hugs,
Lesa

[Dianne]

In chapter 2, Azalea was given a new dress by the villigers just before she was lead out to the feast and to be sacrificed. She shouldn't be running around in her old tattered dress, that had been taken.

[Aspiring Angel]

Hi sweetie, I am so sorry that I cannot stay to read the second half of this chapter right now. Crazy time of night for me around here, but you can be sure I will be back. You are very talented my young friend. Each time you come before your keys remember my words and all of those who are so enjoying your work here. Blessings, Lesa

[HPsGurl1]

MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Hahaha! Put up more ASAP! I LOVE this, you should think about getting it published!!!

[Kena Dawn Augustine]

I like how you wrote the struggle between micah and azalea and how he goes, "how can you be suicidal after all i've done for you?"

what's appealing to me, is how these 2 characters have a similar feel to my 2 characters I wrote in "detoxification of a jaded mind" which I will send to you via request. They are helping out each ohter, but he is the more strong of the two, and they are going through an adverse trial: your's; away from the chief who will kill them............and mine: getting back a car from a brutal ex. anywa, nice job.