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“We don’t often see anyone out here at this hour. You in a hurry?” the guard repeated.

I was starting to sweat, and placed my hands into my pockets to keep them from trembling. I remained facing forward, my head down. I didn’t dare turn around. Only listened.

“We were supposed to leave yesterday, actually,” Elias answered with confidence, albeit impatient. “Our travels were delayed because we drank too much the night before. So we’re leaving as early as we can today.”

“Hm,” one guard hummed with amusement. “I get it. Rimorian ale is strong, isn’t it?”

Elias said nothing so I assume he nodded.

A long, tense pause followed and I wondered if the guards felt as uncomfortable as I did. I tried to relax my shoulders, but my body remained tense as I waited.

Finally, a guard spoke. “Well, I hope you enjoyed your stay in the Stone City. Safe travels to you, sir. And to you, miss.”

I let out a slow breath.Thank the gods.

“Thank you,” Elias and I said in unison, my voice barely a mumble.

Without another word, Elias urged me onward, and I didn’t look back. I waited no less than fifteen minutes until I felt we were far enough away that I could remove my hood. As I did so, I looked around, noting the trees that lined either side of the dirt road. Trees. Forests.Freedom. I was finally seeing what was beyond Rimor for the first time in ten years. Nothing felt physically different and yet life as I knew it seemed drastically new.

A breathy laugh escaped my lips without my control. It felt blissful to have this newfound freedom. I laughed again and peeked behind me to see that Elias had a look of curiosity on his face.

“I haven’t been outside of Rimor in nearly a decade,” I confessed, feeling a little embarrassed.

“How does it feel?” Elias asked. I kept walking, taking notice of how the earth felt under my boots, how the air smelled and tasted.

“Liberating,” I replied with a smile. Elias simply nodded and we kept walking.

We walked along the road for a short time before Elias agreed that we start off the path to avoid detection.

The road led us to a wooded area, and we left the beaten path to walk through the woods, Elias showing me the best ways to hide my tracks. I followed his steps exactly, avoiding loose dirt, stepping on large rocks whenever possible, and doing my best not to disrupt the foliage.

It was a very odd sensation, being in the woods again. The last memory I had of the woods was running through them with my mother, fleeing for our lives. I tried to put the thought in the back of my mind as best I could.

The day went by much quicker than I anticipated. Elias and I did not talk much, as I had this improbable fear that someone would hear us and run to tell my father.

When the sun started to set, Elias told me it was time to make camp. He explained that we should wait at least a few days to start a fire unless absolutely necessary, to further avoid detection. Luckily, the weather was warm and calm that night.

We both put down our packs and each pulled out a small blanket to set down on the forest floor. Elias pulled out a large piece of jerky and began chewing on it. I suddenly realized that I went the entire day without eating, and took out some dried meat from my own pack.

I sat down, my back against a tree, and devoured my small meal. “When we run out of the food we packed,” I started, mouth full of jerky, “what will we eat?”

“We will need to hunt,” he answered, taking a seat on his blanket a few feet away and resting his forearms on his knees, food in hand.

“I’ve never hunted before,” I said, mouth no longer full. “Will you show me how?”

He looked up at me with curiosity. I shrugged and took another bite. “Might as well teach me to be useful if you’re going to be stuck with me for a while.”

Elias smirked slightly. I had yet to see his full smile, but I imaginedits beauty. “Yes, I can teach you,” he answered before taking a bite of his own jerky.

I sat in thought for a moment, enjoying getting some food in my stomach after a long day of hiking. “Speaking of being stuck with me,” I began, “how long is this journey?”

“Seeing as we have to tread lightly and avoid most public paths, I’d say about a month. Maybe longer.”

I nearly spat out my jerky. I didn’t know what answer I was expecting, but an entire month definitely exceeded it. That is a lot of time to spend alone with someone. And that is a lot of time for my father to spend looking for me. The turmoil my father would go through had me suddenly feeling a heavy sense of guilt.

Reminding myself that this was the best decision, I changed to a new question. “What sort of dangers are we going to face on this journey?”

Elias met my eyes. “Bandits and raiders often follow the beaten path to find their victims, but it’s possible we could run across one of their camps,” he stated.