This chapter is still part of the regular timeline, not a history lesson as I stated it would be. I jumped ahead of myself, so the history will be posted next week.

Song of the chapter - Obvious? by Hollyn

Days had passed since the large group left for the northern Ferlish town of Travor. The Fae guards and Watchers numbered close to a thousand, not nearly the amount needed, but the size of their party was large enough to slow travel to a crawl, as Zolen had warned. The captains and guards were on horseback, occasionally including Eliana as she rode amongst them to discuss strategy. They led the trek as warriors filled the path behind. Those in charge of supplies brought up the rear, along with guards to keep them safe pending any attempted attacks by dark forces. It was slow going, to say the least.

Factoring into their lack of forward movement was the chosen path: directly through the forest. Blaike had explained the morning they left that the forest was the most direct and protected route to Travor. It kept their movements hidden from most of the Ferland citizens and away from prying eyes, potentially spying on their numbers and taking the information back to Claec. The forest itself was buzzing with an energy that Eliana could sense, much as she had in the cave. It was the Starlight energy, but concentrated, magnified. It wasn't enough to hold or see, however Eliana drew strength from it as they journeyed.

That wasn't to say the travel was easy. Far from it. The previous journeys taken had been peaceful, for the most part. Eliana had spent much of it marveling at the beauty of the land, the starlight above. But during this trip, the trees had been too thick, too tall to see much else. Their height towered above, blocking Starlight from nightly view. Although the energy contained within was restorative, the monotony of the view was tiring. Day after day, trees greeted them at every turn. Eliana wondered how in the world they even knew which direction they traveled. It felt as if they were walking on a treadmill, not making any progress toward the desired location.

To top it off, Zed and Zorn had made it their mission to drive Eliana completely crazy with their competiveness.

"My horse has always been the faster one. She could best yours on her worst day." Zorn boasted.

Zed just scoffed, "My best boots if you beat Comet."

Comet? Eliana felt officially in fairyland with a horse named Comet. "Which horse is named Dasher?" she finally asked as the banter continued.

"Why, none are named Dasher." Zorn said, "Although it is a fine name. Perhaps my next steed shall be named thusly."

The urge to facepalm herself was almost too strong. Where was Harper when she needed her? The answer was that her bold friend was relegated to the back of the pack with the supplies, being the pantry chief. Strangely enough, Zolen had also taken to riding in the back, "to guard our supplies" as he put it. Eliana wasn't buying it. She knew whom he was guarding. And the blonde he had his eye on was in complete denial. The only good coming from the long ride to Travor was that perhaps Harper would be forced to face the attraction those two had going.

Somebody needed to.

Zed walked his horse while he spoke with Eliana, as she had not been granted a horse for that leg. It enabled him to stay closer to her during their conversation, almost too close for her liking. His dark blonde locks had been pulled back in a now familiar Fae style, causing his features to be more prominent. He was handsome, Eliana noticed, in a rugged outdoorsman way. The scruff of his beard covered a strong chin, and his green eyes held the sparkle of mischief. However, Eliana had had enough mischief to last a lifetime.

"How long have you been in our lands, now?" he asked with a side glance.

"Long enough." Truthfully, she wasn't sure. Time wasn't marked the same way as back home. If she had to guess, it felt like three months, maybe four. Certainly enough that she should have been back at school, trudging through another semester of studies.

"Long enough indeed, Otherworlder. I think it is time you got to know some of us a bit better. One of us in particular." Zed smirked. Eliana wasn't quite sure she knew whom he meant. Surely he wasn't suggesting himself? Was he? Suddenly she wanted to be anywhere but walking through the dense woods next to Zed.

"I find your curiosity quite appealing, " he added. "Perhaps there are other...questions for which I may provide answers." Zed had leaned closer to her, his arm touching hers, and his hand making its way toward her face, to do what she had no idea. But Eliana had no intention of allowing it to reach its destination.

As if he could read her mind, Blaike rode up alongside Zed, a scowl set firmly on his face. "Do you not have ranks to keep in line?" he shot down at the Fae guard. Eliana's heart beat stronger at the anger in Blaike's voice. He sounded protective, almost territorial, in his reprimand of Zed's behavior.

"Zorn is quite capable of watching over them. I'm enjoying my time here." Zed replied firmly. Eliana found that her blood pressure was rising at the tone in their voices, worried about how far Blaike would go to protect her. Why would he even bother?

Blaike threw one leg over the side of the horse, dismounting smoothly, then brought himself right into Zed's space. "This is not the time for pleasure. We have a task at hand more important than idle talk." Blaike said, authority in his words and tone. Once again, Eliana felt like shouting, Of course! His duty was the only thing on his mind. It had nothing to do with her, but only the quest to overtake the land that fueled his anger.

Zed just leveled a glare at him, not flinching at all. Without a word, however, he slowed his pace, turned and lifted his foot to the stirrup, finally pulling himself back onto his horse. He turned the horse off to the side of the row and returned to his division. Eliana breathed a sigh of relief, thankful for the end to her awkward banter with the shmuck. Zed was as bad as her exboyfriend, James; a one track mind with no concern about the damage being done. Eliana had dodged the James bullet because she saw right through him.

The Watcher on her left was a different story. She had so many confusing signals from Blaike, she wasn't sure exactly where she stood. Without realizing it, Eliana found that she had raised one eyebrow at Blaike's intervention. He, however, had not looked her in the eye once since riding up to them. More mystery, indeed.

"Is there something you needed?" she finally asked after a few minutes of uncomfortable silence. Blaike seemed to be brooding, which wasn't like him. Other than the first evening at the Seer's refuge when Aine showed up and Eliana's sight was revealed, he had been anything but brooding. Irritatingly focused would be a better term.

"Not in the least. Yourself?" He snipped back. "Perhaps I can go retrieve your friend, he seemed quite interested in your interaction."

"Excuse me?" Eliana said between clenched teeth. "Are you freaking kidding me?"

Blaike's only reply was stone silence and a distant gaze. Quite obviously he was enraged by Zed's attention. Curses formed on her tongue as the irony of the situation made itself known.

"Why would Zed make you this mad? And at me of all people! You should be mad at yourself!"

"Myself?" he said with a forced calm that rattled her nerves and boiled her blood. Blaike's piercing stare forced both of them to stop their forward movement, his horse at a standstill in the vast forest. Or had they already been stopped and Eliana too furious to notice?

Blaike continued on, "Why should I be mad at myself, the one person who has the proper perspective? I have stayed steady, never wavering in my quest to free the land from her clutches. The sacrifices made have been..." his voice almost broke, fading away as he finally turned away from Eliana's face, looking past their position near the trees.

"Worth it?" Eliana whispered. "Is giving up the tiniest bit of happiness worth it?" She continued to watch Blaike as he struggled with something, the same something he had been struggling with. His struggle had become her struggle as well, especially with their close proximity in training. Both had avoided addressing the fact that their feelings had been clear in the beginning, then the truth of their situation shattered all of their pinning's and scattered them like dust.

She swallowed her fears and resolved to put words to her feelings, forcing Blaike to do the same.

"Your sense of duty is a strong quality, Blaike. But at what cost? Our feelings-" at the word, Blaike shot a glance at Eliana, "-couldn't be helped. I didn't expect it, and neither did you. I have had to accept my fate as being whatever it is you all have waited for. I still don't understand it, but I have to believe that you are a part of that. This is bigger than the two of us. Its strength is too powerful to dismiss so casually."

Both of them stood silently, the tension thick as night. It was Blaike who finally spoke, not only breaking the silence, but also crushing the hope that Eliana hadn't realized she still carried.

Blaike shook his head and looked away. "Feelings are fleeting. I have dismissed nothing causally, believe me. This," he gestured between the two of them, "is forbidden for a reason. You have been kept in the dark for far too long, with unnecessary consequences, I can see. So I will enlighten you, even now breaking a vow made to allow others to inform you when the time was right.

A heartbeat passed, both silently assessing each other. "Can we both agree too much time has passed for that?" he added with quiet resolve. Eliana neither nodded nor responded, allowing Blaike to say whatever it was he thought she needed to know.

"Claec was not always the dark leader. She was a Seer, one with strong power. The strongest, they say."

Eliana interrupted, "Aine has already told me this. I know her story."

"The story is part of it. Yes you know that she turned against the land, against the Starlight. She betrayed everything she had ever been told to protect." Blaike turned away from Eliana. "But so did he, the Watcher who had sworn an oath. He turned against everything we value, everything we believe, because of love. Love with the wrong person. His name is no longer spoken, he is the forgotten Watcher, the one who brought shame to our calling.

"My vow has been to protect Seers, and therefore the land.  Even in these dark times, I must work for the light.  I must continue to push forward, to fix that which was destroyed." He finally looked back at Eliana. "Keep focused on our path. There is too much at stake for these...distractions."

No other words were spoken as Blaike returned to his horse and rode forward, catching the rest of the guard as they passed. Eliana slowly rejoined formation, swallowing the lump in her throat and wishing that the battle would be over soon. She didn't know how much more disappointment she could take. She hadn't even realized that her heart had been so fragile still. The anger had carried her thus far, pushing her in training. But weeks of tension had taken their toll, and now she was exhausted.

As if on cue, Harper came up along side Eliana, riding on a small wagon of pantry supplies.

"Sucks to be you, huh?" She quipped. Eliana just took a deep breath and released it slowly, not having a response.

"But Blaikey is 'bout to find out what a mistake he's making," she added.

"In his mind, I am the mistake he can't afford to make. There is a quest, and I'm not it."

"Like hell you aren't!" Harper yelled. "Behind every good man is a good woman. That's how the saying goes, the one from those dark ages of the fifties or something, right?" She fake mock punched Eliana, not actually close enough to make contact. "Listen, I have a feeling he's gonna be the man behind the woman, if you know what I mean."

"No. I don't actually. He's not interested."

"Once again, like hell he isn't! That boy has lovesick written all over his face. And like I said, pretty soon it's gonna smack him in the face and this sh-"

"Harper!"

"-it is 'bout to get real." Harper huffed at the end and turned forward, not inviting a reply from Eliana. She had a feeling her friend was right. Eliana just hoped that an, 'I told you so,' wasn't involved when the time came.

〰🖤〰

Sorry for the mix up in chapters, but I bet you were fine with it. Am I right?! Blaike seems conflicted, although over what exactly is the question. Things will quickly come to a turning point in everyone's journey, so don't give up on them yet! Give it a few more chapters 😉

Isn't it obvious? And that's why this was the song for the chapter. The first line: I just want to talk to you, but I know you're in a, in a pretty rough place. Love it!

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]