The soft tones of Justyn's voice lilted through the trees like the call of a songbird. Kiva forgot about Riyel and walked forward, letting herself be swallowed in the trees' shadows. When Kiva saw Wyn's rippling red hair, she was reminded of the two of them lying in this very field staring at the sky. In the broad daylight, her skin was as pale as unused parchment or the feathers of a dove. Justyn's hands were guiding hers as they held a bow, arrow pointing to an archery range at the end of the field.

Justyn stood behind her, holding her hands over the bow and whispering into her ear. Kiva felt the same pang of jealousy as the night before: Justyn was leaving her. An expanse as wide as the sea was growing between them.

"Who is that?" Riyel asked, standing behind Kiva and looking on.

Kiva startled, forgetting Riyel's presence. "Oh, that's Wyn. She's one of your refugees."

Wyn's bright red hair caught and snapped in the wind like fire, some of it billowing around Justyn's face so they almost appeared to be one as they drew the arrow back and released it into the air.

For one brief moment of utter clarity, one word replaced every other thought in her mind. Abandoned. The last person she really cared for in this world had found happiness in someone else. She knew she was being selfish, but she needed Justyn and he was deserting her. Kiva pivoted towards the center of Mevyl and walked as quickly as she could towards the city and away from Justyn and Wyn. Her mind was screaming; the panic had returned. She thought that when Justyn returned from Sari she would finally have someone to save her, someone to protect her from the darkness, but he was leaving her again; this time, he had a choice, and he was choosing Wyn.

"Kiva?" Riyel called from behind her.

She ignored him but he remained beside her, his gaze on her. She refused to look at him and kept her eyes fastened straight ahead. She needed to go home.

When they reached the village, Kiva said nothing to Riyel but walked back to her house. Part of her hoped that he would just leave her to her thoughts in peace. Do you really want to be alone right now? Kiva couldn't find the strength to turn him away. When she found her home, she quickly curled into a ball at the base of the tree, placing her head between her knees, squeezing the bird necklace between her fingers until her knuckles turned white. Part of her whispered go away and the other part screamed stay with me.

Riyel stayed.

The panic rose inside of her, fire tracing her ribs and searing into her mind until everything around her was white hot and the only thing harnessing her to the ground was the imprint of the bird in her palm. She could feel her body start to shake as the panic took over. Nothing existed outside of the screaming in her mind. Her frame shuddered violently. White hot searing pain. You're alone. You're alone.

"Kiva," Riyel's whisper broke through her panic like a knife. "Kiva, talk to me. Come back to me, please!"
She could hardly register his worried voice. He seemed distant and far away; everything seemed far away. She was being sucked into a tunnel and the light at the end of it was fading.

"Kiva," his voice was growing louder, "Kiva, come back to me. I'm here, you're okay, it's safe, it's safe, I promise. You're not alone."
His words seemed to rattle through her mind until finally she opened her eyes. You're not alone. His words sounded like a promise, and it was enough to silence the fear. Riyel. He was there, and he had managed to silence the fear.

She found him squatting in front of her, silent, immovable. He did not touch her, but he was there. He had stayed.

"Are you okay?" he murmured.

Kiva finally raised her eyes to him, and whispered back, "No."

Kiva combed through her long hair with her fingertips, taking deep breaths to calm herself. Riyel had left several hours ago after she had finally managed to subdue her panic. His words were reiterating through her mind, come back to me, come back to me, I'm here, it's safe, I'm here, you're not alone. Somehow he had managed to see her fears and renounce them, castigating them to the recesses of her mind. She flexed her hand, glancing down at where his callused thumb had traced her veins. No one had touched her so gently in years.

Her ration told her to put the afternoon behind her, to focus on the festival Trysti had planned for the evening. Kiva had a million other things to worry about: the budding relationship between Justyn and the refugee girl, Inver's advances, the state of the Lavri Resistance itself, her own inner chaos. There were too many other things on her mind to allow thoughts of the handsome general who silenced her fear.

Kiva laced her boots over her leggings and strapped her knife to her belt. The omnipresence of her knife reminded her that she was not as powerless as she sometimes felt. As she dressed, she could hear Justyn and Wyn whispering below her. There was something mysterious and disarming about the girl Justyn was locking fingers with. She seemed wild, ethereal. Kiva ran her fingers over the ridged bark of the massive oak, coveting its steadfast solidity. Unlike the tree, she fled every fear like the bird that hung around her neck. To face Inver, Justyn, Riyel, the council, and all of Lavri, however, she needed every ounce of courage she could find.

"Kiva! Kiva, are you up there?"

Kiva jumped to her feet, looking down to find Inver standing at the base of the tree. It took her a moment to realize that he was waiting for her. The man was handsome—she would have to be blind to not see it. He was tall and broad of shoulder and incredibly strong. His blonde hair framed a square, strong face with eyes full of oceans. And yet, even with one of the greatest in all of Zeina standing before her, she could not love him.

"Inver, what are you doing here? I'm sure Trysti is waiting for you," Kiva responded, trying to ignore the villagers watching the exchange between their leader and the girl he wanted.

"I was hoping I could escort you to the festival." He smiled at her, his eyes hopeful. "Are you coming?"
"I'm going to come over in a few moments with Justyn and Wyn."

"Oh, I sent them on ahead of us so I could walk over with you."

Kiva knew what this meant. If they came to the party together, then all of Mevyl would assume they were together. The gossip would spread like wildfire and Kiva would be as good as married to him.

Inver, just go away. You don't understand. I don't love you. Despite her reluctance to join him, Kiva could concoct no excuse to send hm away. Nothing except for the truth.

"Just give me a moment."

Kiva scrambled down the rope ladder to stand beside the leader of Lavri. As they walked through the village, Kiva could hear the gossip spread through the villagers who watched them. The Lavri Resistance was not large, and everyone looked to Inver as their leader and hero. Despite her best attempts, she knew she was the subject of their gossip. What does he see in her? She's not good enough for him. And she wasn't.

"So Trysti will introduce our new recruits?" Inver asked, glancing at her.

"I assume so. I'm glad, I haven't been able to meet many of them yet."

"You've met Riyel, I understand," Kiva heard the twinge of jealousy in his voice.

"Yes, of course."
"I'm sorry, Kiva. I can't stop thinking about the way the men have been treating you."
"Inver, honestly, it's fine."
"I'm trying to show them how much I trust you so they'll trust you too."
If only I trusted you like you trust me.

"You know you're only confirming the rumors, right?"

"Why do you always care about what others think?" Inver asked in exasperation. "Why can't you do anything for yourself?"

I am, Inver. I'm selfish. I don't want you around because you remind me of him.

"I don't...I don't care."

"But you do!" His voice grew louder. "Any time I'm around, you do whatever you can to get away, and you always say it's because of what everyone else will think. Have you ever done anything for yourself?"
"Inver, do you have any idea how selfish I really am?" Kiva murmured, her voice completely devoid of emotion.

He stopped walking and stared at her. "What are you talking about?"
"I'm selfish. I'm no saint, and I'm definitely not as good as you seem to think I am."
"Kiva," he moved a little closer to her, his eyes piercing to her soul. "You're the most selfless person I know. That's why I..."

Kiva turned her head and closed her eyes, dreading the words that she was sure were to come. When she heard nothing, she opened them again. Inver hesitated; he couldn't spit the words out. Please, don't. Don't make me break you.

"I wish I could live up to your idea of me," Kiva finally said. "Come on. We'll be late for your grand party."

By the time they arrived at the festival, joyous music filtered through the air. The Lavri Resistance that sat around a glowing bonfire was happy despite lying in Vinrys's shadow. This was what they fought for. The smile that played across her face evaporated as she and Inver joined the head table. Kiva moved away from him instantly, finding a seat next to Justyn who was engrossed in conversation with Wyn. She decided that being ignored by Justyn was better than having the full attention of Inver. Though Inver now sat at the head of the table, Kiva's face reddened; the entire resistance had seen them together as the couple Inver wished they were. There was no stopping the rumors; Kiva hated herself for not telling him outright that his feelings were not returned. He had nearly pledged love to her, yet she remained silent.

Kiva watched the festival unfold as a spectator; Justyn and Wyn engrossed in each other beside her, Trysti rushing around making last minute adjustments, Inver greeting his people. Inver sat at the head of the table surrounded by his generals while the rest of the village sat around the bonfire facing him.

A drum pounded a quick beat, the people quieted, and Inver rose from his chair. Trysti stood in the shadows behind him, her face glowing beneath black waves. She caught Kiva's glance and smiled.

Inver squared his shoulders and began in a thundering voice, "Welcome. To the recruits, refugees, and my faithful Lavri Resistance, I give you welcome. We are here to celebrate, to remember, and to look forward."

Inver sat down again, and before anyone could wonder about the meaning of his words, the drumbeat grew faster and stronger. Several young women, dressed in long, multicolored dresses joined hands and began to dance around the fire.

The voice of an elderly member of the Resistance rose clearly in song. Kiva recognized the historysing the moment it began. The historysing was a Lavrian tradition; in an effort to remember their past, Lavri's history had been turned into song and dance praising Eliborn, the founder and first of Lavri's great leaders.

Years, years, years ago
under trees swaying in winds strong
we were born
the hull of a canoe carried him
through flood and wave and storm
carried to the land we know as Lavri
He traveled forth alone alone
his shoulder broad and strength unmatched
he grew from a sapling to a tree
found he was by a tyrannical king

forced to fight and be fought
to kill and be killed
until a legend he became

but he chose freedom
and he chose life
and away he ran into the light
with companions few
but a dream even stronger
than his sword
a dream that birthed
our scared Lavri

An eerie silence fell over the crowd until a young girl wailed, "Hail, Eliborn, hero! Hail, Eliborn, hero!"

And the Lavri Resistance echoed in a voice of thunder, "Hail, Eliborn, hero!"

From another part of the circle, another man started to sing, and young boys stepped into the circle to join the dance around the fire.

Eliborn was his name
and long did he battle
across Sari his beloved home
every tree and every river
bore the blood of Eliborn's sword
Eliborn and his men

they fought to be free
until finally they were their own
vict'ry, they cried, and freedom forever more
in Eliborn's home on the far, fair banks of Sari
the Lavri Resistance was born.

This time, Justyn was quick to pick up the cry, "Hail, Eliborn, hero! Hail freedom forever!"
The cheer was carried across Mevyl until Kiva thought the stars could hear the echo. And to Kiva's surprise, it was the general Raul who started to sing next. His voice, low and gravelly, had a strange melody that shook her to the core.

But afore you rejoice
and afore you grow gay
remember poor Eliborn's fate
for while he brought freedom and found victory
death was surely his end
for long had he battled
and long had he fought
but before the victory was won
was the end of Eliborn
he fell dead amidst victory cries
and while he carried freedom in his soul

and gave freedom to all who craved
it was at the price of our dear Eliborn's blood

"Hail, Eliborn, hero!" Inver cried, standing to his feet and brandishing his sword. "May we forever avenge you!"

The entire Lavri Resistance rose with him, wailing the words with gusto until not a voice was silent. Swords and fists were raised together in unity, and when the words died away, a mournful, reverent silence fell over the city.

"Eliborn. Eliborn. Our love, our life, our savior. Lived in war, died in peace. Eliborn," a small child sang, her sweet voice wavering in the silence.

And with that, Mevyl fell silent. The historysing had achieved its purpose; the resistance remembered its past. As the dancers took their seats and silence reigned eerie, Trysti entered the now empty circle, timidly brushing her hair behind her ears. Her sweet voice broke through the silence, gaining strength as she yelled, "We give honor to Eliborn, and we give allegiance to Inver. Hail, grandson of Eliborn and our own savior. Hail, Inver, hero!"  

~~~~~

I loved giving a little of the Lavri Resistance's history! What do you think of the growing relationship between Kiva and Riyel? What about her and Inver? I'd tell you what I think, but I don't want to give anything away!

As always, thanks for reading. Please vote and comment and stay tuned for the next chapter on Thursday.

~ Hannah