I close my eyes, allowing myself to relax when I hear a brittle rustling. My eyes snap open instantly and I look around. I come here alone, I always do so it nearly impossible for someone to discover here. Looking around one last time, I tell myself it's probably the wind and lay back down. This time around, there's another rustling, followed by a faint, muffled scream.
I sit up, gripping my sketchbook harder. I do not move initially. I think about the possibility of it being an animal or something worse. I look around, I have no weapon, just a broke branch. I pick it up and stand to my feet when I hear it again, a terrified scream.
Wasting no time, I descend the slope carefully, my boots planting deep in the moist earth. Branches at the bottom quiver, and I crouch next to them, pushing branches aside. Getting closer to the source of the sound, I see a girl, wrapped in the thorns, her dress torn on the pointed ends. It's a pale blue linen of good quality, not as coarse as village children's clothing. She has her hands pressed to her face, but when she sees me, her head jerks up sharply. Her cheeks run with tears, and her hair's a wild mess of blonde curls. She's got a cut on her forehead and she looks frightened, the type that makes one angry.
"You!" she screams, her voice shaking. "Are you just going to stand there?"
I blink. "Who are you even?"
She snorts and gazes at me with tear-blinked eyes. "Alara." She glances around, caught by the brambles, then at me. "Help me out, please."
I'm stuck still, narrowing my eyes at her. "How'd you even end up in there?"
"None of your business."
I eye her warily. "Might be a trap."
She rolls her eyes so hard that I can almost hear a crack forming in there. "Yes, I invited you here so I could die of humiliation in front of someone I don't even know. Now are you going to help or not?"
I eye her for another second. She is tiny in there, almost breakable. But with an attitude. If I wasn't nice enough. I would have ignored her. "Alright," I say, pushing deeper in. "Hold still."
It's only a couple of minutes. I rip branches off while she struggles her legs loose. The thorns snag on her sleeves, but I throw my jacket over her to shield them. She shakes and keeps pretending to be hard. I admire that, kind of.
After she finally gets out, she shudders herself off like she just had the worst day ever in the dirt. "Thanks," she mumbles without glancing up at me.
"You're welcome," I say, slapping my palms together. "So, what were you doing running around in royal clothes?"
Her body becomes tense. "How did you-"
I look at her from head to toe, my hands moving with my eyes. "Royal clothes."
"Ahh… well I.. wanted to see the forest," she says, rubbing the back of her neck and looking down.
"By flinging yourself into it?"
Her eyes snap towards me. "I thought I could sneak out and find the hill. I've heard of it."
"Watcher's Rise?" I sneer. "Yeah, well, not a lot of people come here."
"Obviously." She frowns. "Except nosy boys who ask too many questions."
I raise my hands. "Hey, just making sure you weren't some forest demon spirit."
"Forest spirits don't wear boots," she snaps, nostril flaring.
"Okay," I grin. "Come on," I say, proceeding down the path. "You'll get us both in trouble if we get caught here."
She folds her arms, watching me. "Hey, listen. I'm not going force you to come along. But if the Overseer sees you here. You never met me."
She raises a brow, eyes on me. "Fine. Suit yourself," I say and walk away. I haven't gone far when I hear the sound of her boots behind me. A small smile tugs at the corners of my lips as she catches up with me and we walk together.
"So," she says after a while, "what were you doing out here alone?"
I shrug. "Same as you. Attempting to breathe without the Overseer's hand on my throat." She breathes in softly, and I grin. "Relax. Nobody heard."
"You don't like him?" she asks and I burst into a deep unguarded laugher. "Like him? I believe he's a coward behind walls and terror."
She pauses in her stride, eyes on me. Really on me. I turn and see her regarding me with big, faceless eyes. "What?" I insist.
She slowly inclines her head. "You actually believe that?"
"Of course. He…he keeps us all intimidated, like in jail. Pretending it's for our safety. He doesn't want us to learn anything. I'd bet that if I sneezed at the gate, he'd imprison me."
She gazes at me another moment, then bursts out laughing. And this is not the contained, polite laughter children of the noble's are thought, but a great, raw laughter that resounds out into the trees.
I blink in shock. "What's so funny?" She continues to giggle as we walk along the lower path into the village proper. Smoke rises from the rooftops as humans go about their business, oblivious to the world outside them. I slow down as we approach the edge of the square. "Well, this is where we say goodbye," I remark, scratching the back of my neck. "Try not to get snagged in any more bushes."
She laughs once more, her eyes sparkling now. "You're amusing."
"Not what people tend to say."
She steps back, still grinning. "Thanks again. Oh, and…"
"Ashen." I say
"Ah, Ashen. Sounds familiar."
"How?"
She laughs softly. "People talk," she shrugs. Then grins even more widely. "Also, the 'weakling' you just insulted." My heart stutters in my chest as she takes a step forward, talking softly but with humor. "He's my father."
I nearly gag. "Wait. What?" I say. She just nods, turning on her heel. "Alara, wait! Don't mention I said that. Please."
She looks back over her shoulder, a wicked little smile on her face. "Hmm… I might."
I gulp hard. "I'm serious. He'll kill me."
"Then you owe me for the silence." I shoot her a glowering look. "What do you want?" She walks away now, arms crossed behind her as if the whole thing were a joke. "Help me slip out again. Show me Watcher's Rise. Teach me how to climb the fence. Then maybe I'll forget what I've heard." And with that, she turns and disappears down the village street, laughing over her shoulder like she found something amusing.