The Gift of Choice Part 2

By Eve-Liz Addams

Alinora is now one step closer to finding her soulmate, as her last guide told her they've already met. However, since her journey started, she has met so many people that she has no idea who her soulmate is.
Yet, instead of retracing her steps, Nora finds herself heading to the city of Quanteel to save a man who has helped her multiple times before. Finding her soulmate is important – but not at the cost of this man losing his life.
While she's in the city, Nora becomes entangled in an undercover investigation, which further delays her from finding her soulmate. Just when she starts believing she may have missed her chance...
Destiny steps in to help her once again.
Quanteel will soon celebrate the Prince's engagement; meaning all manner of people are now arriving in the city. Nora soon starts meeting some familiar faces, and realises she has been given another chance. Her soulmate has now come to find her.
The question is; will she recognise her soulmate this time when they reunite? Or is there perhaps one more guide the angel can send to help her?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Eve-Liz Addams
• Release date: Aug 24, 2022
• ISBN: 9780463899380

Eve-Liz Addams

Hi, my name is Eve-Liz Addams, and I'm an aspiring English author. I live on the South coast of England with my adorable boxer dog, and spend entirely too much time daydreaming. For a long time, I've been more immersed in fiction than reality, so I don't think anyone was surprised when I started writing out the stories that were in my head. It started out just as a fun hobby in 2013, but now I want to share my creations with the world.If you've read any of my stories, please share your comments and opinions in the reviews section. I'd love to know what you all think. :-)

Book preview

The Gift of Choice

Part 2

Eve-Liz Addams

Distributed by Smashwords

Copyright © 2019 Eve-Liz Addams

Cover Design by Phototoes at 99designs

All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

Thank you for downloading this ebook. This ebook remains the copyright property of the author and may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for your support.

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

***Chapter 1***

North of the town of Predeoli was an open grassland, where a border of trees was visible on the horizon. Somewhere further North was the city of Quanteel – our destination.

As the convoy of soldiers left Predeoli behind, I noticed they were all wearing red half-capes. I guessed that must represent those serving the city, just as the green half-capes represented those working in Predeoli.

The wagon continued clattering across the cobblestones until we reached the boundaries of Predeoli, where the noise faded as grass carpeted the ground. I stayed near Jake's prison as we moved, but the soldiers surrounding him wouldn't allow me to walk directly with him.

‘So you're Alinora.’ Chaz commented to me as we followed Jake's wagon. ‘The one who was supposedly Lennart's soulmate.’

‘I'm not, though.’ I corrected him. ‘And you can call me Nora. Unless you're one of those people who likes calling everyone by their full name. I didn't realise that was a thing before, but apparently it is.’

‘Nora, it is.’ He smiled. ‘Can I ask what happened to your face? You look like someone hit you.’

‘Oh, no.’ I waved off his concern. ‘I walked into a wall. Wasn't watching where I was going.’

He raised an eyebrow, mildly amused. ‘Does that happen a lot?’

‘Not really.’ I tapped my chin. ‘Although I have been told to pay more attention to my surroundings before.’

‘I'll have to keep an eye on you, then.’ He noted in amusement. ‘My name's Chaz, by the way.’

‘Nice to meet you, Chaz.’ I returned politely.

As I was looking at him, I suddenly noticed something strange about his face.

‘You know, you have really strange eyes.’ I told him, staring directly into them. ‘It's like there's a layer of glass over them. Are you happy? Because I can't tell.’

Chaz looked momentarily surprised at my words, but then laughed, looking away.

‘And here I was, wondering why you were staring at me so intently.’ He chuckled. ‘Do you stare at everyone like that?’

‘No. It's just that I don't meet a lot of people with eyes like yours.’

‘Then I guess that makes me special.’ Chaz smiled again. ‘Where are you from, Nora?’

‘A village a long way from here.’

Which made me think – my soulmate could be anyone I'd met since leaving there. That was a lot of ground to cover, and a lot of people to meet. Why hadn't I recognised them the first time around?

‘Do you miss home?’ Chaz asked softly, seeing my discomfort.

I thought about it.

‘I guess so.’ I acknowledged. ‘I miss my parents, and Cedric. They always looked after me, and I didn't tell them I was leaving before going. Well, I mean, I told them I was leaving the village, but only to go to the angel's statue – they don't know I'm all the way out here. Well, I sort of told Cedric when he found me, but I still didn't know I'd be coming all the way here.’

Chaz was very patient as he listened to me talk, showing no signs of wanting to interrupt me.

‘Why don't you go back, then?’ He suggested.

‘I'm going to have to, I think.’ I agreed. ‘You see, apparently I've already met my soulmate, but I don't know who he is. So now, I have to go back and speak to everyone I already met.’

‘Including this Cedric person you mentioned?’

‘I might meet up with him again.’ I realised. ‘Maybe he can help me search for my soulmate. But then what if this is something I have to do by myself? What do you think?’

‘I think friends are always very important.’ Chaz mused. ‘If it was something simple enough for you to do by yourself, wouldn't you be with your soulmate by now? I think getting Cedric to help you would be a good idea.’

‘Really? Then I'll ask him.’ I decided. ‘I know he'd be more than willing to help. You know, when I said I was going to walk to the angel statue to find my soulmate, he was really eager to come with me, even though he wouldn't get anything from it.’

Then something occurred to me. ‘I guess he could have asked for her to guide his soulmate to him as well, but he wasn't even going to ask Jake for the special wood that serves as the angel's favourite gift. Did I tell you about that part? The angel has a particular fondness for one type of wood, but only the carpenter who lives in the woods knows about it.’

‘Which was Jake?’ Chaz guessed.

‘Yep.’ I nodded. ‘Although, I don't think Jake is the same person who helped my mother and grandmother. He's his son, or apprentice, or something.’

Usually when I spoke about this, Jake interrupted from somewhere nearby. Even though he wasn't that far away from us, he probably couldn't hear anything, because he stayed quiet.

‘But you know, he has the same skills as his father.’ I continued. ‘And the angel listened to my request and sent me a guide. Which was a little strange, because it didn't happen to the rest of my family. But then I realised that rather than bringing my soulmate to me, she was sending me to meet my soulmate. Except now, I must have missed him, and I'll have to go back and search again.’

‘It'll be easier this time.’ Chaz encouraged. ‘You know where you're going, and you only have to speak to the people you did before. There's probably a reason you had to come all the way out here first.’

‘You know, you're probably right.’ I agreed, thinking this soldier was a genius. ‘The angel wouldn't have let me come this far if I was going in the wrong direction. She sent me guides for a reason, and she's probably still guiding me now in some way.’

‘But you already know you're going the wrong way.’ Chaz pointed out. ‘You don't know anyone in the city.’

‘That's true.’ I agreed, hanging my head. ‘And I don't really want to delay finding my soulmate, but…’

‘Can't it wait until you've found your soulmate?’ Chaz pressed. ‘Or at least your friend Cedric? Surely you'd feel better with someone by your side. If it's important to you, shouldn't it be done right?’

‘I think so too. But I don't have time to find someone else. Jake's in trouble now.’

‘Jake?’ Chaz repeated slowly. ‘…The carpenter?’

‘Yeah.’ I nodded. ‘He's stayed with me from the moment I met the angel, but something happened, and…I don't know how to help him.’

‘But if he's in Quanteel, and you know your soulmate's not, perhaps you're not meant to help him.’ Chaz argued. ‘Your path has already diverged, so maybe it's down to his soulmate to help him now.’

‘You think?’ I looked at Chaz worriedly. ‘I hadn't considered that. I mean, I know Jake has a soulmate of his own, but…’

‘You might just be interfering if you continue along this path.’ Chaz warned.

‘Then someone will have to tell me.’ I declared. ‘I'm not leaving now just because I think someone else will help him. Until I see them with my own eyes, I'm going to stay here.’

Beside me, Chaz sighed, but then brightened up again as he chuckled.

‘You sound like a very determined young lady.’ He commented. ‘I hope that strong personality of yours doesn't get you into trouble.’

‘Thank you.’ I smiled at him. ‘I hope so too.’

Chaz faced me in amusement, but then shook his head, almost in disbelief. Was it really that strange for me to help someone who wasn't my soulmate? Maybe it was before I'd found them.

Raising my hands to my chest, I clasped them together, and closed my eyes briefly.

Soulmate, wherever you are, know that I am still thinking of you. I hope you are happy with your friends and your family. Know that I haven't forsaken you, but I must be true to myself. A friend of mine is in danger, and I want to help him. Stay strong, and I will see you when I can.

With my prayer finished, I opened my eyes to see Chaz staring at me again.

‘Something troubling you?’ He asked kindly, his eyes somehow showing no emotion.

‘I just wanted to let my soulmate know I hadn't forgotten about them.’ I explained. ‘They probably can't hear my exact words, but I think they know what I'm feeling. They've given me strength when I needed it in the past, so I'm trying to send them reassurance.’

‘That's some link.’ Chaz noted in amazement. ‘I'm surprised you missed them with a bond like that.’

I hung my head again as worry gripped me about my lack of observation. What if they had noticed me, but I'd ignored them? What if they stayed away out of consideration for me?

‘I think you would have recognised them if they were directly in front of you.’ Chaz mused. ‘They may be someone you've encountered before, but not necessarily spoken to. It might make them easier to find as well, if you search for friends of a friend, or something like that.’

I looked up at him hopefully. ‘You think so?’

‘I think you were destined to be happy.’ Chaz explained, a small smile on his mouth. ‘You wouldn't only be allowed one shot at things if there was a chance you'd fail the first time. Perhaps you were supposed to travel first to grow and experience new things. Now that you've seen more of the world, you'll find who your soulmate is.’

I shook my head even before he finished talking.

‘Our soulmates are supposed to be with us through anything.’ I insisted. ‘If I was going to travel, I should have done it by their side. We share the good times and the bad, and become stronger together.’

‘Well, you know more about this than me.’ Chaz conceded. ‘But if that's true, then you should head back sooner rather than later. The sooner you can meet them, the sooner you can start growing together.’

‘I know.’ I frowned in irritation. ‘But this is important to me.’

‘More important than finding your soulmate?’

‘Of course not.’ I retorted without thinking. ‘But…it's difficult to explain.’

‘You think your soulmate will wait for you.’ Chaz summarised. ‘But what if he interprets that reassurance you sent him, as an assurance that you're happy where you are, so he should find someone too? I envy your link with your soulmate, but some things are better explained with words.’

‘You're right.’ I accepted. ‘And I will explain it to them when we meet. But for now I have to trust them, because I know they trust me. Whatever happens in the future, we are destined to be together. That won't change.’

‘But you could make things easier for yourself.’ Chaz pointed out.

‘I wouldn't be me if I didn't do this.’ I disagreed. ‘What if I left now and found my soulmate, but after telling him my story, he hated me because I didn't see this through to the end? I have to do what I believe is right.’

‘There's no way your soulmate would hate you.’ Chaz chided me. ‘You've got to stay together forever, haven't you? How could you do that if one of you hated the other?’

‘Maybe that's why I haven't found him yet, then.’

Chaz and I continued talking throughout the day, where I explained more and more of my story to him. His patience seemed unending as he listened, but yet I was still having trouble understanding his eyes. It wasn't like they lacked all emotion, it was just that there seemed to be some kind of barrier preventing me from seeing any further – preventing me seeing his soul.

I wondered, how could you share your soul if no-one could see it? He must let that barrier down for someone, or else he'd never find his soulmate.

By late afternoon, our group started passing through pockets of trees, and before long there were trees all around us. Still, it wasn't a very dense forest, and Jake's prison had no trouble over the ground, even though there didn't seem to be any defined path.

Alec's soldiers had spread out as we'd been walking to cover a wider area, but as the light faded from the sky, they pulled in again before Alec called us to a stop altogether.

Two large fires were built – one for the soldiers around Jake, and the other for Alec and the returning royals. Since I was still content to stay with Chaz, I couldn't talk to Jess or the others, but I wasn't too bothered by it.

I was also grateful that we had the warmth of a fire to ward off the cold of the night. I hadn't noticed before, but this dress really wasn't good at keeping me warm. For starters, it was too short for travelling in, but now it also had a rip across the bottom of my right rib which was allowing an awful draft in.

That night, the fire was enough to keep me mostly warm, but the next morning as we were all roused, dark clouds hung in the sky. Having noticed this, Alec drew us all together before we could start the day's journey.

‘As you are all aware, our mission has two parts.’ He addressed his soldiers. ‘Our primary objective is to get the Prince and his fiancée safely back to the Palace. However, it is also our job to transfer the prisoner to Quanteel so that he may face trial.’

Why couldn't he have used Jake's name? Calling him the prisoner just sounded cold.

‘Considering the approaching weather, I have decided to take His Royal Highness back to the Palace immediately. I shall take only a handful of men with me, so the rest of you will proceed as planned. Once I have safely delivered the Prince, I will return and continue the rest of the journey with you.’

The soldiers took their orders without question, and in response, a small group broke away to get the horses ready.

‘Alec.’ Jake called, without having to raise his voice much. ‘Some of us are more suited to walking in the rain than others. You should keep an eye on what you promised to protect.’

In response to Jake's words, Alec glanced at me.

‘Alinora, can you ride?’

I shook my head, before remembering the second part of my trip to Predeoli with Lennart.

‘Jake put me on a horse once.’ I told him.

Alec glanced at Jake, but Jake just continued staring at Alec. Getting the point, Alec turned back to me with a bleak expression.

‘Then you'll have to stay here.’ He decided. ‘I can't afford to have you slow us down.’

I nodded in acceptance, planning on stay with Jake anyway, but apparently Jake himself wasn't so happy with this arrangement.

‘Then take that one instead.’ Jake indicated Chaz with his head. ‘I'm sure he can ride.’

‘Chaz?’ Alec raised an eyebrow at Jake. ‘I don't think he minds the rain.’

‘He doesn't mind talking non-stop, either.’ Jake growled. ‘Throughout the whole of yesterday, I was stuck in here with no choice but to listen to them. I don't want another day like that.’

So he could hear us. I already knew Jake didn't like listening to me, but for some reason, his words really hurt.

‘We won't talk.’ I promised.

‘Don't be silly, Nora.’ Chaz glared at Jake. ‘He's a prisoner; he doesn't get to choose who stays and who goes.’

But I wasn't sure Jake was listening. I wasn't sure Alec was listening either, for that matter. The pair of them were staring at each other as if they were having a conversation without having to say it out loud.

Eventually Alec nodded, and raised his head to us once more.

‘Chaz, from now on you'll be escorting the Prince and his fiancée.’ Alec declared. ‘Consider yourself promoted.’

‘Wow.’ I blinked in surprise. ‘Well done, Chaz.’

Chaz however, didn't seem so pleased with this news.

‘On his word?’ Chaz demanded. ‘Since when do we listen to prisoners?’

At Chaz's outburst, Alec's face turned dark. ‘What was your original assignment?’

‘To make sure the prisoner reached Quanteel for his trial.’ Chaz reported firmly.

‘Right.’ Alec's expression didn't ease. ‘So where in that did it include chatting to girls you found on the way? As far as I can tell, you spent the whole of yesterday with your head in the clouds and didn't think to check on the prisoner once.’

‘We were walking behind him.’ Chaz protested. ‘I could see he wasn't escaping.’

‘And what about his welfare?’ Alec pressed relentlessly. ‘Would you have noticed if he came down with a fever, or contracted an infection? Let me remind you, your job is to make sure each prisoner faces their trial – not to decide their judgement for them. Is that clear?’

Chaz's face twitched in irritation, his glass eyes only half-concealing the rage burning within them.

‘Yes, sir.’ He ground out through gritted teeth.

‘Good. Now go find yourself a horse.’ Alec ordered. ‘We're leaving immediately.’

Chaz stormed off without a backwards glance at me, so I was left staring at Alec in confusion. Was it really necessary for Chaz to go if he didn't want to? We didn't have to talk so much if it really irritated Jake.

‘Is he going to be a problem?’ Alec asked Jake quietly.

‘How should I know?’ Jake scoffed, looking bored again. ‘I'm not here to do your job for you.’

Alec nodded crisply and then looked up at me.

‘Sorry about this Alinora.’ He apologised in that same firm voice. ‘I'll be back as soon as I can. I advise you not to get too close to Jake in the meantime.’

I nodded mutely, not having to be told twice not to go near someone who didn't like me.

With his job done, Alec moved over to the mounted soldiers, and not long after, the group of them left. Their cantering hoof-beats were quickly suppressed in the green foliage, and even though the trees here weren't that dense, it didn't take long for me to lose sight of them as well.

Although I was sad to lose my travelling companion, the true meaning of why Alec needed to leave early didn't strike me until several hours later. With thick, ominous clouds covering the sky, it was already colder than yesterday, but I was okay all the time we kept moving.

That was until the rain started. Small spatters dropped on my face and exposed arms at first, but quickly grew in volume until I was soaked through. The rain wasn't as heavy as the storm I had experienced after leaving Bravillis, but it was relentless.

All through the day, the rain continued; turning the ground under us both slippery and sticky. Thankfully there was no wind, but the rain itself was enough to chill me, and I wrapped my arms around myself as I walked, trying to keep warm.

No-one spoke during the day, only breaking the silence when we stopped for the night. Unfortunately, that only made things worse, since the rain prevented any fires from being made. Soldiers tried their best to shelter under the spindly trees around us, so I attempted to do the same as I looked longingly at Jake's prison. At least under that wooden roof he was dry.

It was too cold for me to sleep for any length of time, and I assumed the other soldiers had the same problem, because we left even before dawn broke to start our plodding journey again.

The improving light indicated that the sun had risen somewhere, but with the thick, turbulent clouds pouring down on us from above, it was impossible to see where. I'm glad these soldiers knew where they were going, because everything looked the same to me, and even the path had disappeared in a mush of mud, leaving me completely lost.

After a couple of hours of travelling, the rain started to ease, and colour was returned to our drab, grey world, as sunlight flickered down through small patches in the clouds.

Although a fine mist-like rain continued falling around us; the relief of escaping the heavy rain drops was enough for me to look up and take stock of our surroundings again.

In the distance, above the trees to our left, a rainbow shone out faintly against the grey sky. Red, orange, blue and purple bands arched up into the sky before falling down into the trees again.

‘Jake!’ I called without thinking. ‘Jake, look. Look!’

My shout also gained the attention of the nearby soldiers, but I ignored them as Jake appeared at the bars of his prison with a weary expression.

‘A rainbow.’ One of the soldiers realised, following my point.

‘Well, that's a sight for weary eyes.’ Another man agreed. ‘You don't see a lot of them in the city.’

‘You do in Predeoli, though.’ His companion noted. ‘I wonder if it has something to do with all the rain.’

Turning back to Jake, I saw him looking this way with a watchful expression.

‘Isn't it pretty?’ I grinned.

‘Yeah.’ He agreed softly, not taking his eyes from me.

‘You weren't even looking at it, were you?’ I accused.

‘I saw it.’ He replied shortly.

Even as we were speaking, the clouds parted above us, allowing a stream of bright sunlight to banish the last of the rain. Raising my head to the sky, I closed my eyes as I felt the warm sunshine start thawing out my frozen face.

‘That's a good omen.’ The second soldier declared. ‘The journey should be easier now.’

I opened my eyes again, to look back at the rainbow that was still delicately painting the sky. How could anything that pretty be anything other than good?

Shouts from up ahead gained my attention, and I quickly looked in that direction to see men springing out of the trees in front of us. In fact, it wasn't just at the start of our procession, but all around us, men came jumping from the shadows of the trees to surround us.

The sharp clang of metal rung out, mixing with the shouts now filling the air. In total confusion as to what was happening, the only thing I could do was stand there, trying to make sense of the situation.

Around me, soldiers clashed swords with our ambushers, as they tried to hold their footing in the sliding mud.

In my peripherals, I saw someone fall down, giving the advantage to his opponent, but I looked away before I could see what happened next. I didn't care who these people were, I just didn't want to see anyone else die.

I wanted to run away, but everywhere I turned, there seemed to be more people fighting. Perhaps I should go back. Predeoli should be safe, but I didn't know which direction to run to get there.

‘Alinora!’

I raised my head to see Jake beckon to me from within his cage. I didn't know what he wanted, but from the look on his face, it was something important. And I could do with borrowing his confidence right now.

Picking my way across the quagmire towards him, I kept my eyes down, desperately trying to avoid watching any of the fights. When I got close enough, I ran the last couple of steps to get to Jake.

My foot slipped in the wet mud, and I fell forwards onto the bars keeping Jake in place. His hand shot out to grab my arm, and between the pair of us, we managed to avoid me falling on my face.

‘Help.’ I begged, still holding onto the bars.

‘It's alright.’ He promised, staring intently at me. ‘Ignore them, they won't harm you.’

‘I'm scared.’

‘Look at me.’ Jake ordered.

I was already facing him, but his words made me look at him properly. Irritation mixed with a fierce determination on his face, but as I held his gaze, I realised his eyes were coloured with concern rather than irritation.

Standing this close to him, I could also see the distinct green colour of his eyes. They were a dark shade, and slightly murky, so from a distance, they could easily be mistaken for brown. It made me think that I had never seen anybody with eyes like his before.

‘Your eyes are really pretty.’ I murmured.

Jake's lips curled up into a faint smile, as amusement softened his expression.

‘You said that to me the first time we met, as well.’ He reminded me. ‘Do you remember?’

I nodded, but then flinched when a pair of fighters stepped behind me. I grabbed the prison bars more tightly, as if that would make them disappear again. In response, Jake's hand tightened around my arm.

‘Alinora.’ He called, softer than before. ‘Keep your eyes on me.’

His expression was just as determined as before, but whatever worries he'd had before had disappeared. Instead, there was just a powerful confidence, as if nothing could ever bother him.

‘You look much the same as you did that time.’ Jake noted, watching me even though there was still a fight going on behind me. ‘Completely soaked through, but with a hopeful spark in your eyes. I thought you were a bounty hunter at first. Why else would you be so insistent to find me?’

‘I needed you to make a carving for the angel.’ I reminded him.

‘Yes.’ Jake sighed, faint irritation flickering across his expression before disappearing again. ‘That was quite a misunderstanding. And your stubbornness didn't help.’

I kept my eyes on his, using them as a distraction against the sounds of fighting around us, but I didn't know what to say.

‘That rip in your dress.’ Jake started, without looking down. ‘How did you get it?’

Surprised by his words, I looked down and touched a hand to the ripped fabric of my dress.

‘I fell down some stairs.’ I explained.

‘Fell?’ Jake repeated sceptically. ‘I know you're clumsy, but that's a bit far, even for you.’

I raised my eyes to glare at him, then winced when there was a loud shout from behind me. Immediately, Jake's jovial expression sharpened, and that same controlled look entered his eyes, willing me to focus only on him.

‘It's okay.’ Jake spoke softly. ‘They're not after you. How did you manage to fall down some stairs?’

‘The banister was old.’ I answered quietly. ‘It collapsed under my weight.’

Jake nodded, his expression lightening even though his eyes never left mine.

‘Nora!’ A voice shouted.

Startled away from Jake, I straightened and looked across the slushy mud to see Eli looking at me.

‘Are you alright?’ He asked, noting Jake's hand still around my arm.

‘I'm fine.’ I replied with a slight smile.

That was when I noticed the fighting around us seemed to have stopped. Looking around, I spotted several bodies lying in the mud around me, and suddenly felt sick.

Turning back to Jake's cage, I closed my eyes and bowed my head, as if that would remove the images from my brain. Jake squeezed my arm once, and then let go, retreating further back into his prison.

‘Don't look.’ He recommended.

Why couldn't he have said that earlier?

‘Come away from there.’ Eli ordered.

I glanced up at Jake to see his face had closed off, but meeting my eyes once more, he jerked his head to once side, indicating I should leave. Knowing I had out-stayed my welcome, I reluctantly let go of the metal bars containing him, and stepped backwards.

‘Nora.’ Eli called again. ‘Come with me. Alec told me to keep an eye on you.’

I nodded in acknowledgement, and slowly crossed over to him, trying not to let my eyes stray towards any objects lying half-buried in the mud.

Our procession started up again, and this time I walked with Eli far in front of Jake's travelling prison. The path was still too slushy to traverse easily, so the pair of us walked through the trees to the side of the path where the ground was slightly firmer.

‘Jake didn't say anything to you, did he?’ Eli asked after a while.

I had been staring at my feet, focusing on where I was walking, but at Eli's words, I looked up. The forest around me still looked the same as usual, but thankfully there was no sign of the bandits that had ambushed us earlier.

‘He was talking about when we first met.’ I answered Eli.

‘When was that?’

‘A long time ago.’ I thought back to that time. ‘I was out looking for the statue of the angel that exists near my hometown. But I needed the angel's favourite gift for her to guide me to my soulmate.’

‘And how does Jake fit into this?’ Eli pressed.

‘He knew how to make her favourite gift.’ I explained with a smile. ‘Because it's a special type of wood, you see. And Jake's a carpenter.’

Eli turned to me with a frown. ‘Is that what he told you?’

‘No. He didn't have to. There were wood carvings all around him.’

‘I see.’ Eli noted. ‘And when did you meet Alec?’

‘Alec?’ I repeated, confused why we were suddenly talking about him. ‘About a week ago. When Lennart and I first arrived in Predeoli.’

‘So you knew Lennart before meeting Alec as well?’ Eli realised.

‘Yeah, cos I thought he was my soulmate. Only, now he says he's only a guide as well, so supposedly I need to talk to everybody I've already spoken to –’

‘Nora.’ Eli put a hand up to stop me. ‘I'm afraid I really don't have the time to listen to you right now. After that last ambush, I'm worried there might be more. Stay with me, where I can see you, and I can protect you.’

‘Oh.’ I nodded, and kept my head down to avoid slipping in the mud.

Of course it made sense that as a soldier he wouldn't have the time to listen to me. I missed my talks with Chaz.

But then he was a soldier too, wasn't he? Perhaps he shouldn't have been talking to me either. If that was the case, I would have immediately stopped talking to him. Rather than Jake saying it irritated him.

We plodded on for the remainder of the day, as my dress and hair started drying out in the sunlight. However, the same couldn't be said for the ground, which was still just as wet and slushy as before.

Yet somehow, some of the soldiers still managed to build a fire in the incredibly wet conditions. I don't know how they managed to light wet wood, but I wasn't going to question it. They could probably speak to the forest the way Jake could.

With the aid of their merrily burning fire, the chill of the night was kept at bay somewhat, although I still had trouble sleeping. Not only was the ground really too wet and uncomfortable to sleep on, but I was jumpy; thinking of more ambushers out there in the trees.

So it came as some relief when the soldiers around me started getting up and breaking the fire apart, ready for the next day of travel. The sun hadn't risen yet, but just like yesterday, shortly after we started walking, dawn's pale glow started illuminating the trees around us.

I stayed close to Eli as we travelled, but didn't try to talk to him, and he seemed content to ignore me. The day was pleasantly warm for travelling, and mercifully dry, but the heat was starting to make me drowsy. After the last couple of nights not sleeping well, I didn't have the energy to keep walking at the same pace as these soldiers.

Not being able to keep up with Eli, I started falling further and further behind, until he noticed I wasn't with him and came back to me.

‘Nora?’ He questioned. ‘Are we going too fast for you?’

I opened my mouth to reply, but now that I was looking at him properly, I noticed a cut in the leather covering his upper right arm. Although the material was brown, the area around the tear appeared to be darker – like if it was stained with blood.

‘Is your arm okay?’ I asked, forgetting what I had been going to say.

He looked down to what I was staring at, but then dismissed it.

‘It's only a small cut.’ He assured me. ‘I know it's hard, but I need you to keep up, if you can. We're already behind schedule because of the weather.’

‘Can I see?’ I pressed, indicating his wound.

‘When we stop for a break.’ Eli allowed. ‘For now, please just focus on moving forwards.’

Nodding in agreement, I did my best to keep up, but it was hard. The main path that Jake's carriage had to follow was too slushy to traverse easily, but under the shelter of the trees were many hidden roots making it equally challenging.

My legs and my side were really aching by the time Eli finally said we could stop for a rest. I was so happy to be given a break, that when I spotted a low, almost horizontal tree stump, I sat on it without thinking.

It was still wet, which meant my dress was now as well, but it was a small price to pay to take the weight off my legs.

It was only after I'd been sitting there for a while, that I remembered the wound in Eli's arm. Although he had been the one to call the stop, he was actually still moving around, seeing to the horses that pulled Jake's prison.

From here, I couldn't see that he had any trouble with his arm, so maybe it really had been only a shallow cut. But there was still the possibility of any open wound getting infected.

Searching around where I was, I decided that