chapter 5| Cas
Brandon ended up giving us a room to stay in for the night. At first, I thought me and Hibi were going to have to have an awkward conversation about whose taking the bed and whose taking the floor but that wasn't the case, as soon as we entered the room Hibi was at the desk, a pen in hand, jotting down notes in her little leather-covered book.
I tried to contain my curiosity but couldn't help myself as I ended up walking to her to peek over her shoulder. "Is this the part where you reveal you're evil and drive a knife into my spine?" I chuckled.
"That would hardly be fun, the movie has just begun. Let's at least introduce the side characters before doing anything harsh" She glanced back at me.
"You should really get some rest, you won't have much of that tomorrow when we head west"
"And what about you?" She snorted.
"This isn't the over guarded Kingdom Of Hearts anymore Cas, this is Spades. And as you can see we're not exactly in a five-star hotel" She said gesturing to the growing mould on the wall and the peeling paint.
"One of us needs to be awake to keep lookout no matter what is happening. The people here are dangerous and extremely aggressive" She looked to the side slightly "And besides I'm not all well-liked around these parts" A feeling of rage washed over me at the thought of her being possibly in danger but it was soon overtaken by concern.
"Then shouldn't I be the one protecting you" She shot me a breath-taking but mischievous smile.
"Don't worry Cas I'm a big girl, I can look after myself"
I looked closer at the page and realised it was a map of what I think was the KOS. As I looked further I could see the KOD and right below it all was the KOH. There were empty spaces around where I assume she'd never been, along with a completely blank space marked 'KOC' and nothing else.
It seemed like she read my mind because she got right to explaining "I'm sort of a traveller and wherever I go I make sure to draw it because nothing in the world scares me more than getting lost" She went on to explain the different parts of the map "Since KOC went into hiding behind their walls no ones been able to get in or out but-" She completely geeked out and went into rambling mode, her mouth running faster than her thoughts.
I unintentionally turned her out as I had no idea what she was talking about (And I found her pretty pink lips much more interesting to watch). Although I received the best education in the land growing up my mother absolutely refused to let me learn about the kingdoms, their rulers and how to get there. She said it was not of importance but I think she just never wanted me to have a route of escape.
A little too late for that actually.
"I'm boring you to death aren't I?" I snapped out of the pitiful childhood memories and saw Hibi looking down, an embarrassed look on her face.
"Nah I think it's cute, little nerd" I chuckled flicking her nose. "So how are we going to get there?" Her head snapped to me in a flash, her high ponytail almost giving me a whiplash.
"We?"
Confusion washed over me "You're not taking me?" Now she looked confused.
"I was planning on leaving you at West KOS to you know" She made a hand motion "Start over".
"And you didn't think that maybe I'd like to explore a kingdom that has been hidden away for years?" She shook her head.
"I don't think you understand Caspian this is not some fun adventure, none of my travels are. It's dangerous, you could get hurt-
"I don't care"
"We could get caught, you could get killed. You need to understand that this Kingdom has been hidden behind 100 ft walls, our chances of getting in are slim and that's only if we manage to get out of KOS without someone trying to kill us-
"Are you doubting my ability in combat?"
"I put you on your ass the first time we met" She exclaimed.
"That's not how I remember it happening love"
"I won't be able to look after you there Cas, I'm serious. A lot of the people here don't play fair, especially Queen Adaora herself, so if she here's I'm back here we're screwed" I tried to sympathize with her let it be but the thought of her leaving me somewhere with a bunch of strangers just didn't sit right with me.
Well, she's technically a stranger too.
"So you're going to be going somewhere alone without protection whilst everyone is basically coming to kill you? It's like you're begging me to come with" She groaned and facepalmed.
"Noooooo-
A loud knock on the door cut her off and by instinct, I stepped in front of her which I soon regretted as I felt a painful pinch on my spine "Get out of my way pretty boy" She grumbled as I sidestepped letting her through.
She swung the door open and a second past before a piercing squeal almost shattered my eardrums "Pops!" She disappeared behind the door.
So much for not being very well-liked huh?
"Hibiscus!" A deep and welcoming voice exclaimed from the other side of the door. "I can't believe you were in town and you weren't even going to pass through and say hello!" She let out a giggle "Don told me you were here and I rushed over".
"You know you shouldn't be running, it's bad for your back" She scolded but he responded with an earthy chuckle.
"Don't worry about me sunshine, I'm as good as I were 30 years ago" I couldn't help but smile at their encounter. It was precious. "Don says you leaving early tomorrow, that true?"
"Unfortunately so, God's I wish I could stay longer but duties call and I must answer."
"Yeah yeah I understand, just make sure to pass through more often when you go out on these adventures of yours, next thing you know you come back and I'm gone" She let out a gasp.
"We both know you'll be fine old man"
"I'll go to my grave fighting if I have to!" My heart instantly warmed to the lively old man, pictures of what he looked like flashing through my head "So how bout' you come down for a drink eh? One for old times sake?".
"Oh I mustn't" She insisted.
"Just one? then I don't see you for forever" The guilt-tripping seemed to work as she gave in.
"Okay okay, give me five and I'll be right down" They had a small exchange before he left and she came back in with all smiles.
"Who was that?" She didn't seem to mind my intruding as she started packing up her map and folding it into a small pocket, a smile still lingering on her face.
"Don's father, Malcolm, a true angel if I ever saw one" She walked to the door and looked back at me "I'll be going down for a drink, I won't be longer than thirty minutes which gives you time to catch up on your sleep schedule" She opened the door and almost left but peeked her head through the space between the doors.
"And Cas?" I perked up at the mention of my name. Her eyes softened. "Behave"