Young Writers Society

James felt in that moment that maybe he should've been more understanding.

He didn't know everything that had happened to Eve, and he didn't know how she got here, but it was clear that she really was lost, and trying to point her in the right direction towards home could prove more difficult than he thought. There was nowhere in the world he knew that was so isolated or closed off that horses were considered foreign, but maybe there was more out there than he thought.

He felt his heart sink a little in his chest.

"I'm sorry," he said, his voice low. "Maybe... in the morning, I can try to help you figure out where to go. To go home."

Evaline felt detached trying to figure out what this all meant. The only clue she was given is the note, and although she kept reciting it in her head over and over, it still made no sense. Nothing made sense, and she had no idea what to do.

She laid down on the ground with her knees still to her chest, blanket wrapped around her. "Yeah. Maybe," she said softly.

She needed time to think.

James turned so he was lying on his back again, letting out a sigh.

"Why don't you get some sleep," he said, but it wasn't really a suggestion. He was done for the night. "Goodnight, Eve."

The night dragged on, and James hardly slept. For brief moments, he would slip into a state somewhere between sleep and wakefulness, awake of what was going on around him but just lulled enough that his reflexes were slowed, and his body felted weighed down.

Were Eve not around, James might've been able to let his guard down a little, but he'd been having trouble sleeping even before she came around. Every time he closed his eyes, he would feel like he was there again. He was afraid he would wake up, and find himself back there, tied up, and under the careful watch of Butch and his henchmen. It had two weeks since he'd escaped by sheer luck, and though he was free, in his body and his mind it felt like nothing had changed.

Whenever he found himself drifting off, he would jerk awake, eyes wide open, ready to fight. Ready to run again, if need be.

Calling his sleep restless felt like an understatement.

So he didn't sleep. Not really.

And when the sky started to light up, just before it crept over the horizon, James got up. Eve was still fast asleep, probably from exhaustion, and James was very careful to keep it that way.

He got up slowly and went to Elliot, grabbed his roll of bandages, and snuck off a small distance away so he could do what he needed to do in peace, without worrying about Eve waking and seeing him as he was now.

So he left, hiding a small ways away in the trees where he could still see her, but she couldn't see him - at least, without really searching for him. He redressed his wounds and made sure he was wearing clean clothes, free of the dirt and bloodstains he'd collected in his travels.

He really hoped he didn't stain these, they were his last spotless pair.

For a moment, when he was putting his shoes back on, he let out a gasp, and immediately clamped his mouth shut, eyes darting to Eve. But she'd stayed asleep.

He sighed in relief and finished getting ready, and returned to Elliot again.

Compared to the day before? He didn't feel any better, and he was sure despite clean clothes, he looked worse for wear, and that was a modest estimation of his appearance. He scratched at his chin and the stubble growing back in, debating for the hundredth time whether or not he should shave, or let it grow.

Beards could do a lot to change your appearance. He decided to let it stay.

When he finished packing away his blanket, his canteen, and his mug - everything aside from the blanket Eve was using - he heard Eve stir and he looked in her direction.

Now that he could finally see her in the early morning light of the sunrise, he could make out her features.

She had straight, dark hair that obscured half her face and pale skin, marked by dirt and plants. She looked tall and slender, and potentially, a little stronger than she appeared. If she lashed out it would be smart to be on guard.

Her clothes were filthy and torn, and nothing quite like what he'd seen before. She had a shirt that looked like it flowed out to the length of a dress or a cape but wasn't quite complete. It was hard to tell, with her lying down.

But he had been right about her looking ill-prepared. She had nothing with her but the clothes on her back, which told something forced her to run out here like that.

Even when Evaline was exhausted and Yoen signaled a goodnight, Evaline couldn't go to sleep. Not yet. She was in a quiet place where she felt at least a little safe, and it was the perfect time to think about what she had to do next. Her life was practically at stake here, and she had to be strategic about it.

She didn't know exactly how much time had passed while thinking; her internal clock felt jumbled and wrong, like someone had purposefully messed with its gears. Was it an hour? Two hours?

Evaline fell asleep, thinking about the time.



And then woke up when the sun sent its rays down her face, giving her deja vu from being woken up the same way yesterday. She opened her eyes and began sitting up, half expecting to be at the forest again, but then feeling glad that this was not another forest loop; she was still at the ditch, next to Yoen.

Yoen.

Evaline looked around and saw that he was still there. For a moment, she was conflicted; was she supposed to feel wary or relieved that he was still here? She didn't know.

They made eye contact for a moment. He looked to be an ordinary man around her age, not intimidating but not feeble either. She couldn't exactly place his profession, but judging from his stories about horses and his old clothes, she was thinking farmer. He appeared to have some injuries, too—maybe an encounter with rough animals? She briefly wondered how an animal would bruise and scar his face before settling her gaze on Elliot the horse. She still wasn't convinced that horses were alive and common, but... that sure looked like a horse.

Slowly, she got up to her feet pushed her hair back out of her face. She looked at the blanket she was holding then back at Yoen.

"Thanks for lending me the blanket," she said, offering it back to him.

She thought about this last night for a long time, and if she had any chance of surviving in this world, she had to make an ally.

James nodded his head in thanks and took the blanket and held it out in front of him, folding it over his arms until it was small enough to put into his pack.

"You're welcome," he said, as he put the blanket away. "Were you able to sleep at all?"

Evaline fidgeted with her hands a bit after Yoen took the blanket away. It felt odd to no longer talk to a voice in the dark.

"I—" she began, trying to figure out what to say back. She has always been so bad at small talk and would rather be in silence or speak whatever was on her mind, but she had to adapt. "Not really," she admitted, but then realized she did fall into a deep slumber when she allowed herself to.

"I mean, yes." She was so bad at this. "Did, uh... you?"

James forced a small smile that was so practiced it almost felt natural.

"Yeah," he lied. "I slept alright." And then he reached again into his bag, pulling out a journal, and reaching into the pages where he pulled out a map. He put the journal back and unfolded the map, laying it flat against Elliot's saddle.

"Now let's see if we can figure out where you're from. Do you know the name of the city? Or a city nearby?"

Evaline walked a little closer just enough to make out the outline of land on the map. That looked nothing like the continents on Earth which only confirmed her belief that she truly was not from this world.

But she couldn't tell Yoen that. He wouldn't believe her. She wouldn't believe herself if she were in his shoes.

"I doubt you've heard of it," she said, then quickly added, "How about I show you on the map instead?"

James raised his eyebrows and tilted his head down as he looked at her, but handed her the map.

"Alright. Show me."

Evaline took the map and held it out in front of her. She may as well be reading a fake fantasy map from a fictional book.

"Where are we right now?" she asked, tilting the map back towards Yoen.

James reached over her arm and pointed. They were near the borders of the Outlands.

Evaline only had a split second to think after Yoen pointed at the map.

"Really?" she said flatly, then pointed at some obscure spot on the upper left part of the map. "Because I'm from here."

James stared for a moment, as Eve's finger reached to the top of the map, pointing to the furthest edge of Lettera, on a small island he had never heard of or been to. He didn't know there were people up there. Frankly, he hadn't thought anything lived up there, but he supposed he shouldn't have been that surprised. He'd never made it that far north, but he hoped to someday.

That was the goal, anyway. The further he could get from the kingdom, the better.

His eyes drifted over to Eve in disbelief.

Maybe it wasn't so far-fetched that she was from there. Maybe they didn't have horses up there, on a frigid island by the northern ice caps. That would make sense. But how did she get all the way down south without seeing one? Had she been held captive all that time? Blinded or something?

He narrowed his eyes at her.

"How did you even get here? That's months away by foot."

Evaline took a deep breath. She was grateful that she had some time at night to think about different explanations she could use.

"I don't know," she said admitted quietly. "I was exiled."

It was lie, but it wasn't too outlandish. It did cross her mind yesterday while walking through the forest alone.