I remember the first time Dylan and I actually had a conversation. He was a scrawny kid, and I always thought of him as a privileged ass until that very day.
Flashback
My feet find balance on the hay roofing. At last, I can see them. I can see the hunters.
They stand straight, chin raised and both hands tucked behind. My eyes glisten at the silver badge on their chest; the Griffin suits them perfectly.
"We are the silver city," the loud gruff voice calls for my attention. I turn swiftly to the left, the right, but I still don't see anything. "We protect our own," he continues.
I lay down on the hay, arms spread out as I shuffle downwards. My foot slips off the roofing and I hold my breath as I dared to look down.
It's a few feet down, and it's gonna be quite a fall. But the hunters are having a parade today and I need to watch.
So, I close my eyes, inhale deeply and shuffle further down, letting my body side off the hay roofing completely.
My body hits the floor with a thud. I close my eyes briefly, soaking in the sting of pain. I make my move, feet shuffling forward through the crowd. I'm halfway through when I see a gold haired boy sitting in a corner.
It's him!
I squint my eyes, hoping I'm being deceived and that I probably hit my head when I fell off the roof, a little too hard.
But no, I shake it off. It is him.
Larva bubbles within me, soaring and coursing through my veins as I march towards him.
"I thought I told you not to stay here anymore!" I'm on my toes, glaring at the boy sitting below me.
He doesn't respond, doesn't even spare me a glance. But instead, buries his head into the crook of his elbow even more.
"Are you playing deaf with me, fancy boy?"
"Go away," he sniffles. His voice cracks as he continues. "Just go away."
"Give me my necklace back then!" My hands stay firm on my hips. "It belonged to my father."
He tears his head away from the crook of his elbow, nose red and glaring daggers at me. "I told you! It's with my mother!."
I pause, the air hangs in my throat. "You seem upset."
"I am upset!" His chest heaves heavily, like a starved animal, frustrated with the prey that refused to be caught.
"I don't care." I do. I mean, look at him. He needs help. "Just run to your mommy like the privileged son you are and ask her for it."
"You don't think I have?!"
My eyes widens. "Why are you yelling at me?!"
He stands up swiftly, intimidating me with his height as he looks down at me. "Because you yelled first!"
"I'm in no mood for your stupidity, boy," I glared at him, crossing my arms. "I thought boys don't cry."
"My father died today," my eyes soften, "and I can't even mourn him?! You're all the same! Everyone keeps telling me what to do! You're all the same!"
"Yeah?" I decided to be unfazed. "Well, my parents are dead," my words are sharp, aiming to slice through him. "I don't even know their faces. All I have left is some piece of jewelry that you took!"
"I didn't know it was yours," he argues firmly. "Saw it on the floor and showed it to my mother."
"Well it's mine, you dimwit," he scoffs. "And I want it back."
"I'll get it for you later," he says softly. "Just leave me alone first."
I did leave him alone, reluctantly, but I did. I missed most of the parade and since I couldn't watch them slice werewolves in bits and burn them, I played by the river.
It was then later that Dylan came to meet me by the river that evening.
"Here." He says shoving the necklace in front of me.
I grab it from him, trying to settle between glaring at him or softening my gaze. None seems to win.
"Thank you." I say quietly.
"Whatever." He shoves his hands into his pockets and begins walking away.
"Wait," he throws me an awful glance. His eyes are swollen, his nose is even more red than before. "Could you help me put this on?"
His awful glance becomes even more awful, disgusted really. "No." He doesn't let me respond but begins walking away from me like I'm a plague.
"Your father!" I wince, wondering why I said it out loud. But the guilt's been driving me insane. It worked though, because he stops in his tracks and looks at me.
The sunset glow brightens up his face. I could drink water from it.
"I'm sorry about your father. I didn't know him, but I'm sorry."
"At least you're not faking it."
"What?"
He walks closer, sitting down a few inches away from me. "My mom won't even speak to me."
I throw him a puzzled look. "Then, how did you get the necklace back?"
"I…" he rubs the back of his neck awkwardly. "...yelled at her. Demanded it, actually."
I smile, impressed. "Oh really?"
He nods slowly, sadly. "I've never done that before. She's always so distant. So into the future of Eldarda—"
I glance at the horizon. "Our silver city."
He scoffs and I glare at him.
"What? You have something against Eldarda that has protected us from the beasts for years?"
He tilts his head. "Whatever, Dina."
My lips part. "You know my name…." I scoff at myself for thinking otherwise. "Of course, you know my name."
"Do you know mine?"
"Dylan," I give him a tight smile. "Everyone knows the golden boy….." I glance at his hair. "Literally."
He groans. "I'm not perfect, you know."
"Whatever, golden boy."
He smiles warmly and as quickly as he does, it fades away. "I'm sorry about your parents too, didn't know them."
"Are you growing soft on me, Dylan?"
He chuckles, and for the first time, I see the spark in his green eyes. It makes me want to lie down and rest forever.
A flow of peace settles me right before the fuzzy feeling that follows. I snap my eyes from his face and swallow deeply, needing to learn how to breathe again.
End of Flashback
"I have a plan, it's going to work." Dylan clears my table with one sway of his arm. I hold my lantern up with one hand, the other softly rubs the pendant of my necklace. The ruby still shines after all these years.
Whenever I hold it, a certain peace floods my very being. Like my parents are here with me through it. But now? Now, it isn't working.
My heart pounds heavily against my chest. "You'd be defying your mother's orders, Dylan."
"She didn't listen to me. It's a win, win."
"Dylan," my hand flees the ruby pendant of my necklace and grazes his palm. My feet shuffled forward without my permission, drawing me closer to Dylan. "Your mother loves you dearly," I whisper. It's only then that I realise how close I am to him. "You know that."
His words are breathy, drained of anything sensible. "I can't let you die."
"I…" my gaze flickers to his lips. "It's not your decision to make."
"You're still so stubborn," his breath fans my face, his gaze fixed on my lips. "Why?"
"Why what?" My thoughts turn to mush when Dylan's hands find the small of my back, sending waves of pleasure up my spine.
"You, Dina." He says through rough breaths, his thumb grazes the corner of my lips, leaving a trace of heat. "Why did it have to be you?"
He means the death sentence, right? He's scared of losing a friend.
Losing a friend? A friend? Sure, Dina. Let's go with that. A friend would definitely want to kiss you.
"Dina," his voice tugs my consciousness. "There's something I need to tell you."
I nod slowly, gaze flickering to his eyes and lips. It's impossible to settle on one. They're both so beautiful.
"Dina, I—"
The ding of the bells echo in the silence of Eldarda. I pull away from Dylan and we share a knowing look.
My hand finds the pendant dangling from my necklace and Dylan throws me a pleading look. His eyes soften on me, making it harder to swallow the lump in my throat.
"The first bell," Dylan swallows, eyes never leaving me.
I clutch at the Ruby pendant. "Mmn," it's gotten a lot harder to breathe. "First light."
"I have a plan," Dylan's attempt to soothe is numb. "If we stick to it, you'll be fine."
"The guards are gonna be here any moment now. There's no time, it's not gonna —"
There's a knock at the door, sending both of us into a deafening silence. My heart threatens to leap out of my mouth. I can feel it.
"Miss Dina Caswell, under order of the Council, open the door. It's the first light and we both know what that means."
Yes. I die.