Chapter 4! Hope you enjoy it.
Chapter 4: Under the Night Sky
“Where did he get off calling me farm boy?” Roian said as the two walked through the festival. “I’ve never even been on a farm.”
“You should be careful though.” Chris said looking at him. “Picking fights with people from the city isn’t wise.”
“Yeah, I know. But I wish they didn’t treat us like this,” He said looking down.
“I know how you feel, but they’re bigger and older than us. I don’t want to see you get hurt.” Chris said.
“Let’s just forget about it. What do you want to eat?” He asked.
They had walked into an open area in the forest of tents. All around the clearing there where food stands, each serving a different food. Chris looked around at all the different stands. The smells of all different foods swept over her.
“There are so many choices.” She said with a big grin. “I can’t just pick one.”
“Then let’s get some of everything.” Roian said pulling out the money he had one and counted it. *300 gold. That’s more than I thought it was.”
“Do we have enough? We used most of the money Grandma gave us and she told us to only use that much.”
“What Neina doesn’t know won’t hurt her.” Roian said walking up to the nearest stand.
There was food from all over Enderea and they got some of everything. Spiced rice, fried fish, and pumpkin pie where just a few. After buying them they went to a small cliff outside of town and ate.
“I can’t eat any more.” Roian said falling to the ground.
“That’s a surprise. You’re always hungry.” Chris said lying down next to him and looking up at the sky.
Roian looked at her and then around the area. He remembered playing here with his brothers. Hiding amongst the rocks and skipping stones in the nearby river. The memories brought a smile to his face. Chris looked over at him.
“You’re thinking about when we where kids, aren’t you?” She said sitting up.
“Yeah, but that was a long time ago.” He said still smiling like a little boy. Chris sighed and looked over at the Spiritual Tree. He sat up and looked at her. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. It’s just the tree.” She said in an almost sad voice. “It was going to bloom this year.”
“It is strange isn’t it?” He said looking into the branches.
They looked at the tree in silence for a few minutes. Then they both sighed and Roian looked at her.
“I wish it would bloom. I wanted to see the blossoms. They’re said to be the most beautiful thing in the world.” Chris said looking down.
“No way is that true.” Roian said stubbornly.
“How can you say that?” Chris said turning to look at him.
“You’re prettier than any stupid flower.” He said turning his head so she wouldn’t see him blushing.
Chris just laughed. Roian loved her laugh. To him it was the most beautiful sound he had ever herd. He turned back to her and she planted a kiss on his cheek. His face burned bright red and he felt a tingle in his right hand where the scare was. This made her laugh again and he blushed harder. Chris stood up and grabbed his hand.
“Let’s go back to the festival.” She said smiling.
“Yeah.” Roian said standing up.
They walked back to the festival together. It was almost midnight and they would have to go home soon. They wanted to make the most of the last few minutes left in the night. They spent the whole time searching the booths again. It was just as fun the second time, but they had to go.
* * * * *
The walk home was short, shorter than it should have been. It seemed like the night had gone by to fast. When the reached the house, they said good-by. Chris went in before Roian so she could talk to Neina alone.
He waited for five minutes, and then went to open the door, but something caught his eye. He turned around in time to see a hooded figure doge down one of the side street.
*Who was that?* he thought. He went to fallow, but Neina called his name from inside.
He walked through the door into the kitchen. Chris had already gone to her room for the night. Neina sat alone at the table looking at him.
“Have fun tonight?” She asked.
“Y-yeah. Where’s James?” Roian asked closing the door behind him.
“He went out. Why so concerned?” Neina asked tilting her head up and giving him a suspicious look.
“No reason. It’s just the first time, other than this mourning, that he wasn’t here,” He said. “Well, I’m going up.”
“Good-night.” Neina said still looking at him.
Roian went up the ladder and into his room. He put his bow next to his bed and took of his tonic, boots, and gloves. He went over to the window to shout the curtains, but the same figure dashed down another street. He was curious as to who it was and what it was doing sneaking around at night.
He swung his feet out the window and climbed down the vines growing on the side of the small house.