The Fateful Heart

James felt his own cheeks start to burn as he saw Eve’s face go red, but he didn’t have a moment to process the sudden spike in his heartrate, or the funny feeling in his stomach. He turned to see Maisy approaching and assumed a casual posture, leaning back on the beam beside Evaline with his hands in his pockets.

Though he appeared relaxed, his stomach was swelling with a swarm of butterflies.

Maisy picked up the pace a little until she was a few feet from them. She looked a little wearied, but she smiled.

“I hope you two don’t mind, but while you’re here we would appreciate it if you could help out with some chores. It’s always nice when we have extra hands to help out.”

James nodded. “Of course. How can we help?”

Maisy smiled in relief, and bounced baby Leah in her arms. If James had to guess, the baby’s nap probably didn’t happen. He could empathize.

“Well, it’s wash day,” she said, “So if you could help the girls clean clothes that would be amazing. They just finished with the dishes and will need help refilling the water bucket, which can get rather heavy.”

James nodded, and his gaze traveled across the camp, where he could already see Odeta, Bethany, and Maisy bringing over a basket of clothes and rags towards the clothesline with a big, wooden bucket.

“And Evaline,” Maisy said, patting the baby’s back as Leah started to whine. “Can you go with Jared to the stream to fetch more water? We always have to get more than usual for wash day.”

Evaline was glad James took the lead to talk to Maisy. She just wanted to melt down into a puddle and disappear. Was this humiliation? Embarrassment? Guilt? Something?

But of all people that approached them, she was glad it was Maisy. She couldn't imagine how awkward things could have been if Raya or Nathan approached. Maisy had a calm and soothing demeanor, and watching her cradle baby Leah even seemed to calm Evaline's nerves a bit.

She found herself staring at Leah with furrowed brows and pursed lips, trying to soften her eyes to not make it look like she was glaring, but it was hard to do since her eyes tended to naturally gravitate towards that.

Evaline blinked when Maisy called her name, and right on cue, Leah started to whine, perhaps because of her soft glare, or perhaps because she looked away.

"Oh," she said softly, nodding. "I can do that."

Maisy flitted her eyes between her and James for a moment but then warmly smiled at the two of them. "Great. Jared can meet you over there to take you to the stream," she said, pointing over to the edge of the camp where Jared was gathering supplies. "Tiberius, I'll walk you over to the kids. I'm headed that way anyways." Maisy then turned and gestured for James to follow.

Evaline looked back at James, only glancing to make eye contact for a brief second. "I'll see you later, cowboy," she said rather stupidly, and she turned around and immediately made a sour face, cringing at her words.

Cowboy. He's not even a cowboy. Why did I...

She sighed and walked forward, grimly approaching Jared with rosy cheeks and a thumping heart. She had such a mixed bag of emotions, she hoped she didn't look like she was angrily pouting.

"You feelin' alright?" Jared asked when she approached, and she looked up to see concern in his eyes. She only hoped he asked that because she genuinely looked troubled.

Evaline nodded, taking a deep breath in and swallowing her thoughts, letting her mind finally have the space she needed. "Yes. I'm alright," she mumbled, then finally looked up to meet his eyes. She was so used to meeting James's eyes at her level, she almost forgot what it was like to crane her neck up to someone taller.

Jared hesitated, but then nodded at her response. "Well. Alright then. Maisy sent you here to help?"

Evaline nodded, and he shot her a soft smile.

"It's nice to have an extra pair of hands." He handed her an empty pail, and then lifted up a long stick with two even bigger pails attached to the end. "C'mon, I'll lead you to the stream. We'll fill up with water and walk back. It's not too far from here."

Evaline nodded, picking up the pail and following close behind. This was a nice distraction to her fading thoughts, but walking behind him reminded her of the countless hours she had done this with James. All they needed was a horse, and Jared just had to be shorter, and lighter skinned, and have straighter browner hair, and...

"So Evaline," Jared said, glancing behind her as they walked down the path. "Raya told me that you've only met one other mage outside of family."

Evaline waited for him to elaborate, but he didn't, and she didn't really know what he was asking. "That's right," she decided to say after a long pause.

Jared seemed to hum this over. "And Odeta told me you didn't know there were other time mages out there." He paused, and as if detecting her reluctance last time over his not-question, decided to add, "Is that true?"

"Outside of my parents, yes," she said, the words coming out of her mouth like she had said it a thousand times before. "Aside from them, I thought I might've been the only one left."

"That must have been awful to feel," he said gently. "I know that's a rare bloodline, and your memory magic bloodline seems even rarer too. I hope you can meet others like you someday."

"Thanks," she said softly while staring at the steps in front of her, but it didn't sound sincere.

Jared hesitated. "But if you don't, just know that there will be other mages here who will be by your side. Like us. We all look out for each other here."

Evaline only nodded, and Jared glanced back at her again as if he wanted to make sure she was there and, well, reacting.

She suddenly very much appreciated the constant comfortable silences James had with her during their travels.

Jared seemed to detect that she wasn't really in a mood to chat, and he quickly changed the subject.

"Raya told me that she gave you a rundown of her story," he said. "We've traveled together for years before settling in the camp. We always look out for each other, you know. We're like brother and sister."

He paused, glancing back at her again, and she briefly looked up at him to see him gently smiling again before he hesitated and looked forward again.

And then he went into great detail of their story together: his life from the Isles, his home being destroyed by mage hunters, his survival keeping him going... all of that led to Raya, and then he went to great detail of their adventures together. He mentioned how they fought off monsters and barely scraped by to avoid other mage hunters, and that they taught each other everything they knew about water magic so they learned and improved together. They eventually made their way to the deserts in the Outlands where they struggled more than normal since water sources were thin. He told her this long story about how they managed to barely scrape by a bunch of thieves, and they were wounded on the side of the road, where Elrick found them and brought them in.

Evaline did admit that it was an interesting tale, maybe if it was from a book, and not a running mouth.

In the middle of his chatter, they reached the stream and filled their pails up with water. He was carrying the two big pails across his shoulder with ease, and the water seemed so still in the buckets despite every moving step he took. Meanwhile, Evaline felt strained enough to be holding her one measly pail with two hands, and she had to concentrate to make sure she didn't lose any more water sloshing out of the sides.

Jared let his story quietly die down as only footsteps were heard between the two of them, twigs snapping and sandy dirt scraping by their boots. Suddenly he decided to completely change the subject.

"I know Raya can be difficult to talk to sometimes, but she does have a soft side," he said, giving her a quick look over his shoulder while maintaining perfect balance. "One time, she was threatening a street vendor in a small town, thinking that he scammed her. It was rather worrying, especially since we were awfully low on money. But we couldn't bring extra attention to ourselves, you know, being mages and all. And we definitely couldn't have used our magic if something were to happen. Not in a public space like a town. But this vendor pissed off Raya so much, she opened her canteen to, probably, whip this man with water."

She could hear the beginnings of a grin in his voice. "Luckily, I predicted this could happen, so I had emptied her canteen up and filled it with sand instead. You should have seen her face. She was livid as the sand slowly dropped out of her canteen and the vendor shouted at her to leave." He laughed. "She was mad at first, but then ended up thanking me for that since I saved her from a world's lot of trouble. It was a win-win. We were safe, and I got the laughs."

Evaline managed to smile, imagining the scenario in her head. "That's a fun story," she commented.

There was another pause from Jared, but she could see his head nod up and down a little.

"You've met my friend Nathan, right?" he said. "I know he's a bit of a stickler to your friend, but he's also a big softie. He loves music, too. Very expressive. Don't tell him I told you this, but sometimes he hums and sings in his sleep, and I have to put up with it. He really isn't a good singer. He should stick to the flute."

Evaline ended up laughing at the sudden playful teasing. She admitted it was rather entertaining to listen to.

Jared ended up turning around, walking backwards while grinning, looking pleased.

"So she can laugh," he said through a laugh of his own.

Evaline raised a brow at him. "You thought I was incapable of laughing?"

A flash of nervousness flashed across his face, like he was scared he had stepped on her toes. It was actually rather amusing to see someone be so visibly scared to offend her.

"Well, I heard that your emotions were the driving forces of your magic, so I figured it'd come out eventually," he said, and she could see in his eyes that he wanted to think of something lighthearted to say.

But Evaline didn't mind it. "Oh yeah?" she said, readjusting her hands under the bucket for increased comfort. "Well, I'm feeling plenty of emotions right now."

This time, Jared raised a brow at her. "Are you?"

Evaline nodded. "That's right. Confusion is the biggest one."

He tilted his head. "Why's that?"

She smirked. "Because despite being a water mage, you're holding pails of water over your shoulder."

Jared stared at her for a second before letting out a hearty laugh. "So she jokes, too," he teased. "I need to exercise somehow, you know."

Evaline half-rolled her eyes. "Seems like you're making things more difficult than it needs to be."

Jared narrowed his eyes at her before smirking himself. With a flick of his wrist, a small amount of water splashed from the bucket to her face.

"Hey!" Evaline protested as the water splashed her nose and cheeks. In an attempt to dodge it, water sloshed out of the bucket and landed on the dirt below.

Jared warmly laughed, and with another flick of his wrist, he lifted the water out of the dirt, shook off any particles, and returned it to her bucket.

"Just having fun," he said through a smile, meeting her eyes and lingering for a moment before turning around again.

Evaline smiled, letting the last bit of water drip down her face. Annoying, yes. But fun, sure. It was... actually refreshing to feel this lax around other people.

Jared decided to start up the chatter again. "Elrick and Maisy are like parents to the kids who've lost their homes," he said. "I have so much respect for them. They created a family of mages out here in the desert. He created our home." He paused. "A lot of mages don't have homes to fall back to, you know. A lot of us were or are out on the run, like you."

Evaline felt like she knew what he was asking without him outright saying it, but she braced for the question anyways.

"You can stay here with us, if you want. I know everyone would love to have you join our camp. You'd really fit in. And you don't have to run away anymore."

Evaline paused, once again for far too long than what was comfortable. She felt the tension between them rise just a little as they both continued walking. They couldn't be that far from the camp now.

"It's a good thought," she began slowly, pushing the anxiety away. "But it's not for me. I appreciate everyone's kindness and hospitality, though. Really."

She was glad they couldn't see each other's faces. Jared seemed to uncomfortably pause for longer than necessary as well.

"You would rather keep running than stay here?" he asked. He almost sounded hurt.

Evaline's heart twisted up. "I do," she said quietly, and then braced for the awkward silence.

Luckily at this point, they were only a few steps away from the clearing of the camp.

Jared kept walking ahead, stopping for her to catch up when they reached the end. He turned to her, giving her a wistful smile. "Okay," he said. "But you have all night to change your mind. Just let me know. Or Elrick. Anyone, really. I'm—we're—glad to have you while you're here, however long that is."

Evaline shot him a forced appreciative smile. "Thanks, Jared," she said, but it came out sounding dry and forced.

He gave her one last look before shrugging and nudging his head over to the other side of the camp.

"Well, come on, then. Let's give them the water they need."

Evaline started following behind him again, and in the distance, she could see Odeta, Masil, and Bethany giggling and surrounding James, who had a wet towel on his face.

"I'll see you later, cowboy," repeated in his head one too many times, and James had to stop himself before he spiralled into overthinking what that even meant. Evaline had joked about thinking he was a farmer, and obviously, he lived off the land, but cowboys had cattle, for one. And she had never called him that before.

Was it an earth thing?

He didn't get any answers. Instead, he got a bunch of questions all of a sudden.

"Are you helping us?" Bethany asked.

"What were you and Evaline talking about?" Odeta prodded.

"What's your horse's name?" asked Masil.

And they were all asked at the same time. James blinked as each question processed separately, and Maisy started explaining to them that yes, he was there to help with laundry and no, you weren't supposed to ask nosy questions like that, and that they should ask questions one at a time. He felt Maisy put a hand on his back as she cradled Leah in one arm.

"The girls should be able to show you where everything is," she said. "But it's pretty straightforward."

James nodded. It wasn't like this was his first time washing clothes.

"Alright girls," Maisy said as she pulled away. "Be nice."

She looked specifically at Odeta, who smiled innocently.

"Now I'm going to go take a nap," Maisy said, turning away and meeting up with Raya, who was standing a few feet back, watching them. Maisy handed the baby to Raya and Raya lifted little Leah up to her face with a smile before holding her to her chest. The two women parted ways into different tents, but Raya paused just before entering hers to meet James's eyes with a penetrating stare.

Bethany snapped James back to the moment.

"Can you help bring the water over?" she said, tugging on James's sleeve.

James looked to her and nodded. "Of course."

Bethany seemed to think his willingness to help meant she could drag him by the arm. Did no one tell these kids not to drag people around? As subtly as possible, he slipped his sleeve out of her grasp and followed her. She didn't seem fazed by it.

There were a few barrels and buckets of water by a tree, and it looked like they stored up water there for the day, probably refilling them periodically. A group their size probably went through gallons of water just to meet their basic needs, and on a "wash day" they likely used twice as much.

"Normally," Bethany started to explain. "We scoop out small bucketfuls over and over and over, running them back and forth until we fill up the big bucket we use for cleaning. But it takes forever. Sometimes Raya will help us with her magic but there's--" she paused, looking back over at Raya's tent, like she suspected Raya could overhear. Then Bethany leaned in to whisper.

"There's some moves she hasn't really mastered yet," Bethany said like it was a well-kept secret. He assumed it wasn't. They probably just never said it out loud to her face because they didn't want to get on Raya's nerves or make her feel embarassed.

Bethany pulled away with a little smile and acted like she hadn't said a thing. Then, she heaved up a large bucket (clearly distinguished from the small buckets, which were stacked nearby) and shoved it into his arms.

"Anyway," she said. "Fill this up and bring it over to us, please!"

Then she skipped back over to the clothesline and the trees.

At that moment, James wondered why they didn't just wash clothes by the barrels, but he was going to do as he was asked. With a sigh, he tucked the bucket under one of the barrels with a spout, and twisted it open. The water started gurgling out with a quick, steady pulse, and the bucket filled up in a minute's time.

He twisted the spout shut and braced himself for the hard part.

See, on a normal day, were he healthy, and not in constant pain, this wouldn't be so difficult. But the kids didn't know, and neither did Elrick, or Maisy. And he didn't want them to know. Jared might've had suspicions, but he didn't know for sure, and James was determined to keep it that way. No one seemed to like him or trust him already, and he didn't need people like Raya to know he was physically vulnerable.

He squatted by the wooden bucket and grabbed it from the bottom, lifting as much with his legs as possible.

But by the gods, it still hurt.

He carried it over, spotting the trough the girls were gathering around with their baskets full of clothing. It looked like they'd adjusted the clothesline so it was more taut between the two trees.

With a quick movement, he moved one hand to the side of the bucket to steady it as he tipped it over, and the water sloshed in. It looked like he'd have to do this one or two more times to fill it. He understood why it would take even longer with buckets a third of the size, but he wasn't looking forward to the repeated strain.

With a deep breath he turned to do it again. Fill the bucket, haul it over, empty into the trough. He did this twice before the waterline was almost flush with the top of the trough, and Bethany and Masil gave him a needless round of applause when he finished.

"Thank you!" Masil cheered.

"I'm so glad we didn't have to do all of that," Bethany said with relief.

Then James felt someone smack him on the back.

Up until that moment, he'd been relatively fine. The pain had been manageable, and he'd been more than successful at hiding it. Exhaustion had already started creeping in, but it was incomparably minor compared to the days when he had pushed himself as far as his body would let him, right after he'd escaped from Butch and Reed. This? This was nothing. He could haul buckets with a smile and pretend everything was fine. But Odeta had just smacked a little too low on his back, right where the brand had been placed, and it wasn't just pain that seemed to run up his spine.

He tensed, and it took all of his focus and energy to hold back whatever noise teased at the back of his throat and to keep back from almost hitting Odeta. He had to force his hands into his pockets.

They were just kids.

They didn't know.

It was going to be fine.

He was safe. He was fine.

He straightened up, realizing he'd missed a piece of conversation between the girls in the moment it took him to pull himself together. They didn't even look like they'd noticed. That was for the best. Their chatter was quick and hurried, like if they didn't say what was on their mind right when they thought it, it might be lost forever.

"Sit with us!" Masil said, yanking James's arm and pulling him to the ground to sit beside her at the trough.

She shoved a dirty shirt into his hands and handed him a metal washboard. Already, the water in the trough was bubbling with soap. The girls had wasted no time getting to work, so he eagerly accepted the distraction and started scrubbing the shirt in the water against the board.

Unfortunately, the moment he sat down around the trough and got to work, the conversation seemed to screech to a halt and come barrelling in his direction.

"Tiberius!" Masil said. "Odeta keeps saying to call you Tibby, but I like Tiberius. It sounds so regal."

Odeta scoffed. "Regal shmegal, Tibby is ten times better."

"Tibby kind of sounds like Libby," Bethany commented. "I knew a Libby once."

"You guys are not helping me at all," Odeta said in disappointment, scrubbing a pair of shorts a little too vigorously against her washboard.

"Tiberius just sounds so much more important," Masil said, as if the idea of his name was more enchanting than he was. "And technically, you are important. Since you're wanted like, everywhere. At least, that's what Odeta said. I wouldn't know because I haven't really been in a town since..."

"It's been a while," Bethany cut in. "We're cousins, by the way."

James only nodded.

"Oh, hey, Deta, can you start hanging things?" Bethany asked.

Odeta started taking clean clothes as she was handed them, hanging them up on the the clothesline.

"How long have you been on the run?" Masil asked.

James was so focused on washing he almost didn't realize he was being asked the question.

"Oh." He paused, glancing over at her. "About a year."

"A year," Masil repeated, like she was thinking it over. He had no idea what was going through her head.

"That's a long time to be travelling alone," Bethany said.

"Not alone!" Odeta corrected. "He has Evaline."

There was a sudden pause as the girls exchanged uncertain glances.

Evaline hadn't told them she wasn't staying. He wondered if they all thought she was. From the way they looked at him in the corner of their eyes it seemed like they almost felt bad for him. As if he wouldn't be able to stay, and they were stealing away his only companion.

Well, that would be how it was, if Evaline was actually staying. Then it would just be back to him and Elliot, just like it was before.

"Did you ever get lonely?" Masil asked.

James wished they would just let him wash clothes without asking personal questions. But that would be too much to ask for, wouldn't it? Maisy had already warned them at the start, but they hadn't listened. They probably didn't meet new people very often that weren't hostile. This was probably going to fuel their conversations for weeks.

Still, James couldn't help but sigh. Annoyed wasn't the right word for what he was feeling.

"Sometimes," James said.

"I think if I was alone for that long I'd go crazy," Masil said. "I'd start talking to the animals like they could talk back."

"Masil, you already do that now," Bethany teased.

Odeta laughed at that, but she seemed a bit more quiet. She was being handed clothes every few seconds, so she was kepy busy.

"Do you like having Evaline around?" Masil asked.

James glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes to try and get a read on her. He felt like he knew where this was heading, but he had no idea how to stop it. He was surrounded by teenaged girls. Why did he not see this coming earlier?

"Yes..." James answered.

"She does seem like good company," Bethany said with a small smile. "I like her."

"Do you like her?" Masil asked, prodding his side with her elbow.

James felt all of their eyes turn to him expectantly, and, like many times in his life, but especially now, he wished he could be invisible.

"That's none of your business," he said quickly, handing Odeta a clean rag.

The girls started to laugh. Odeta took the rag and held it in front of her chin, like she was pretending it was a beard.

"That's none of your business," she said in as low of a voice as she could conjure. Clearly, mocking him.

That made the other two erupt into even louder laughter.

James felt his face starting to burn.

This was stupid. He didn't know why a bunch of silly teenagers were making him feel so flustered.

"It's obvious you like her," Bethany said through laughter.

"Of course you do!" Masil said, grabbing James's arm. "She's beautiful!"

James tried to pull away, but he paused when he saw Odeta lift the rag in the air.

"Stop, you're making him blush!" Odeta said before the wet rag smacked him in the face.

As humiliating as it was, James was almost glad for it. At least, now, they couldn't see his sour expression as his face went red.

But he was also wet.

Evaline and Jared approached James and the three teenage girls in silence, and Evaline only overheard the girls giggle, pointing at James. They were probably teasing him. She smirked at the thought of that. She certainly did not envy him.

"Evaline is here!" Masil chirped, and at this time, the both of them passed everyone so they could place the buckets of water on the ground.

"And Jared," Jared mumbled for himself.

Evaline glanced back at James and let out a laugh. "You look like a wet cat," she said to him with amusement, and then she turned to slowly put the bucket on the ground.

"Over here is fine?" she asked to Jared.

Jared nodded. "Yeah, over there is fine. I'll lift them into the barrel."

James felt his face burn even more (which apparently, was possible) when he heard Evaline's voice in passing. He ripped the rag off his face and sent Odeta a glare, but that only seemed to fuel her giggling.

James cast a glance in Evaline and Jared's direction, but he shoved the rag back into the water to re-wash it. He didn't have to, but he did it anyway.

"I can help," Evaline insisted, almost stubbornly, like she was trying to prove her worth.

"No, really, I got it," Jared said, lifting up her pail with one arm with ease, which prompted an unamused stare towards him.

"You can help us instead!" Odeta said, running towards her and grabbing her hand. "Please? Help us?"

Well, Evaline was glad she was at least asking her this time, instead of yanking her. She looked up and saw Bethany and Masil giggling, exchanging glances between James and herself. James was bent over the washboard, aggressively cleaning a rag.

"Sure," she said, smiling. "I can—"

"Let's go!" Odeta interrupted, running and leading her along.

So much for no longer yanking.

Odeta lead her to the trough that James was kneeling over, and then she let go, plopping down across from him while she motioned next to her for Evaline to sit too. "Sit!" she said.

Masil and Bethany were across from them, smiling and exchanging glances.

"Odeta, shouldn't you be hanging up clothes?" Jared said nearby, placing an empty bucket on the floor.

Odeta pouted. "Yeah, yeah, one second!" she said, motioning for Evaline to sit next to James again.

Evaline gave them all suspicious glances, and James didn't seem to be looking at her, looking embarrassed and still focused on whatever he was cleaning. It probably had a stubborn stain.

"Oookay," she said in a low voice, slowly kneeling down. She looked up at the girls' anticipating eyes. "What am I..." she started awkwardly, not sure what to do with her hands. "What am I cleaning, now..?"

James took in a deep breath and tried to ignore all of the thoughts swirling in his brain that didn't even feel fully formed yet.

"Oh!" Bethany handed Evaline a small blanket and pointed to one of the washboards sticking out of the water. "Just, clean! Like Tiberius is doing."

Bethany also grabbed a pair of socks to demonstrate for Evaline.

James finished cleaning the rag again and handed it to Odeta. He didn't meet Odeta's eyes. He could see the smug grin on her face. He pulled another shirt from the laundry basket - which was near-empty now - and started cleaning.

Evaline took the blanket and copied what everyone was doing, scrubbing the blanket in the sudsy water. Odeta had gotten up to hang clothes up again. Everyone was quiet.

This should have been okay. But somehow, the quiet felt tense. These were the chattiest—and nosiest—teenagers that Evaline had ever met. Why weren't they talking? This felt unnatural.

She decided to break the silence.

"Sooo," she started slowly, emphasizing the consonant to draw it out. She looked over at James. "Is this what you've been doing for the last, what, fifteen minutes?"

James took in a breath and nodded.

"Pretty much," he said, aware of all the expectant eyes watching them.

He wiped water out of his eyes with his sleeve. It was dripping down from his hair. He looked over to Evaline and smiled, just a little, pretending for a moment that there was no one there but him and her. Ignoring the teen girls watching made it easier to look less flustered.

"Fetching water went fine, I assume?"

"It did," Evaline said with a nod.

She paused to glance up at the girls still stealing smiley glances at them, then over to James who looked up at her with water dripping down his face. He truly looked like a wet cat. A friendly and adorable wet cat, but a wet cat nonetheless.

With her dry hand, she subconsciously tucked the same loose strand of hair behind her ear as she watched a small drop of water roll down his cheek. She wanted to playfully wipe it off him, but she was too afraid to reach out, and she certainly wasn't going to ask in front of the girls' prying eyes.

Maybe it was because she saw James like this too, but if not that, then for no reason, her cheeks flushed to a rosy color. She smiled and looked back down, scrubbing again.

"I hope they didn't make you cry," she said in an attempt to lighten the mood.

James laughed.

Cry? He wished they did. He would’ve preferred that to this embarassment. No, that wasn’t an honest statement, but he hadn’t been the subject of this type of teasing in a long time, and he did not miss it at all.

“No, no,” he said, still partially laughing. He could feel some of the tension in his body leaving as he laughed. “They’re not that cruel.”

He shot a glance at Odeta, who was watching with a pleased, smug smile.

He felt his own smile fade a little and he grabbed the next article of clothing to wash as he handed the now clean shirt to her.

Her smile widened hearing James laugh. It almost made Evaline forget that there were three teenage girls around them who were also trying to repress their own giggles.

"Let me guess," she said, scrubbing another side of the blanket. "You had to endure Tibby taunts the entire time."

James shook his head.

"They do seem to enjoy beating that dead horse of a joke," he muttered.

He handed another clean, wet shirt to Odeta, who took it again with a suppressed grin. Just as James was about to grab something else from the laundry basket, he heard Jared call his name.

"Tiberius!"

Well, not his real name.

"I need your help over here," Jared said, waving him over.

Either this was a rescue mission, a completely innocent desire for genuine assistance, or something else was up. He supposed he'd find out.

James looked to Evaline with a small shrug and got to his feet, wiping his soapy hands on his pants as he went to join Jared.

Evaline looked up and saw that Jared called James over, and she couldn't help but feel a bit offended that he had brushed off her offer to help and instead called James over. Well, it wasn't like he knew James was injured. She only hoped that Jared didn't ask him to do anything intensive.

James walked out of earshot, and she finished scrubbing the blanket and then turned to Odeta so she could hang it up, but she was no longer by the clothesline.

"So Evaline," she said behind her with a smug grin, and Evaline swiveled around and saw that she had sat down across the trough. "About Tiberius."

Evaline narrowed her eyes at her, standing up to hang the blanket on the clothesline herself. "Yes?" she said, back turned. She could hear the girls whispering with one another.

"He's funny, isn't he?" Masil said through a giggle.

"So sarcastic," Bethany added.

"At times," Evaline said, slightly smiling as she hung the blanket and started pinning it.

"Does it ever get annoying?" Odeta piped up. "You know, his sarcasm and teasing. Not letting us call him Tibby and all."

Evaline glanced back at her and wondered how she failed to see the irony of that question.

"Don't worry about me," she said, finishing up hanging the blanket and turned to sit back by the trough. "It's nothing I can't handle."

Evaline looked back behind her shoulder and noticed that James and Jared seemed to be lifting a barrel together. Now maybe that was something she—and maybe even James—couldn't handle.

She picked up a dress in the basket and started to scrub that as the girls continued to exchange glances and whispers to each other again. Evaline silently sighed. Was this what James had to put up with?

"But do you like it?" Masil asked.

"Or do you prefer a big strong man who can actually make you laugh?" Odeta said fiercely.

Evaline paused to stare at her. "Tiberius makes me laugh," she said defensively. "Why did you think he doesn't?"

"Oh, I don't know," Masil said innocently, shifting her eyes.

"We haven't heard you laugh, that's all," Bethany said gently. She could tell she wanted to say more but held back in fear of offending her.

Evaline furrowed her brows. "Why does everyone think that," she mumbled quietly to herself as she continued to scrub, remembering Jared said the same thing. Maybe they all were trying to get her to open up at lightning speed and thought laughing was the easiest way to do that?

"Someday I'll meet a man who sweeps me off my feet and makes me laugh," Masil said with a longing sigh. "Maybe he'll be a healing mage, like me."

Bethany gave her a poke. "You read too many romance books," she teased.

"What? I'm just saying," she grumbled back.

"That's right," Odeta said with a cheeky smile. "Evaline deserves that too. Right?" She looked up at her expectedly.

Evaline was glad she never read any romance books when she was young. She always found it too sappy and eyerolling to read.

"I... guess so?" she said, brows still furrowed. "Doesn't everyone want that?"

"Do you want that though?" Odeta prodded.

Evaline handed her the dress she finished cleaning, and Odeta looked up at her, the dress, then back at her before stubbornly taking it and running to hang it up.

"Sure," she said with a smirk, watching her rush to finish so she could probably continue to ask her these totally normal teenage girl questions. She grabbed the last thing in the basket, a towel.

"Do you think you'll find that from Tiberius?" Masil asked, leaning in with gleaming eyes.

Evaline suddenly stopped scrubbing, staring up at her. Was this what they were leading up to the whole time?

"Well... that's..."

"Okay, I'm back," Odeta said, sliding back in her spot. "Did you ask her yet?"

Masil poked and shushed her, and Bethany giggled.

Evaline started taking out her embarrassment by aggressively cleaning the towel, and she was glad that the girls didn't seem to notice that she didn't quite answer their question.

And right on cue, from the corner of her eyes, she could see James walking back up to them.

Evaline cleared her throat, trying to put on a blank face. "Odeta," she called, handing her the towel. "Looks like we're done."

She stood up and dried off her wet hands, glancing at James and giving him a, 'Please, save me,' look.

Jared was standing with one hand resting atop a stack of two barrels, watching as James walked over. James couldn't help but feel that he was being assessed again as he noticed Jared's critical gaze scanning him. If James hadn't been looking for it, it would've been subtle. He stopped short a few feet from him, waiting for Jared to explain why he was needed.

"They weren't bothering you too much, were they?" Jared said, keeping his voice low.

James spared a brief glance behind him and shrugged.

"I can handle it," he said.

Jared smirked. "I can tell."

James met Jared's eyes with a dead-eyed stare, and he sighed.

"What was it you needed me for, again?"

"Oh, yeah," Jared said with a nod, patting the barrel next to him. "Maisy's gonna need one of these nearby for cooking dinner later, so we're going to need to bring this over to the fire. Normally I'll have Elrick help me out, but him and Nathan are out sweeping the area. I just need help carrying it."

More heavy lifting. Great.

"Alright," James said with a nod.

"Let's tilt it on its side," Jared said, grabbing the top of the barrel. It was stacked atop another, so James didn't have to squat as much to get a grip around the bottom. Why was he taking the bottom, again? Jared was clearly more able-bodied. But James didn't want to admit he couldn't take it, at the risk of getting more questions, or embarassing himself again. He'd had enough embarassment for one day.

James took in a deep breath and lifted it up, off of the other barrel. He let the weight naturally lean into his chest, as the barrel was tilted down more in his direction anyways, since Jared was taller, and held it a little higher. James found himself bearing more of the weight.

He blocked out everything else in that moment so he could focus on three things: holding his grip, keeping the barrel aloft, and keeping his sanity. Jared, thankfully, was quiet as they walked it over by the fire pit.

"Okay, let's ease it down," Jared instructed when they'd reached the log seating.

Strained, James squatted to lower it to the ground.

He could feel he was reaching his limit.

He let go when it was about three inches or so from the ground, letting it drop.

As he stood up straight Jared reached out to pat him on the shoulder, and James almost dodged it. The pat felt more like a slap. He wished people would stop hitting him like he was some sort of punching bag. And, of course, because life seemed to be painfully poetic, Jared slapped an old wound.

James couldn't help but twinge.

Jared noticed, and pulled his hand away apologetically.

"Sorry, are you okay?"

James forced a smile, and waved him off. "I'm fine. Just a little out of shape, is all."

That was only partially true.

"Was that all you needed?" James asked.

Jared smiled back, but James could see something like... pity in his eyes.

"Yeah, that was all," Jared said. "I think we're good for now. Just waiting for Maisy to wake up from her nap and for Elrick and Nathan to get back before we start preparing for dinner."

James nodded slowly and turned away.

"Alright," James said, wandering back over to where Evaline was very likely getting harassed by the girls.

And, it seemed he was right. The moment he walked back there was cry for help in Eve's eyes, and he understood.

"All done?" he asked, looking at the empty laundry basket.

"Yes--" Odeta started to say something.

"Come along, Eve," he said, nodding with his head for her to come alongside him. And of course, walk away. Escape.