章 47: Borders pt.2 {46}

She could feel his intense stare, could feel those hazel eyes dig into her, but she ignored it; instead, ushering him with her hands wrapped in leather to sneak into the back of the cart to hide.

She was cautious of time and didn't want another cart to stroll up and get suspicious as to why a stationary cart had stopped.

Before Aloysia faced away, Liam grabbed her cloak. His eyes shone in determination, that of the likes she had only seen in a mother fighting for her child. "I won't let any of you down, I'm not as weak as I used to be, and I won't let anyone else suffer because of me"

Aloysia smiled.

"And about our argument, I'm over it, I don't care what happened in the past because that is no longer who I am"

He released his hold on her cloak, watching it sway back to her. She was utterly speechless. Yet a few words squeaked past her lips. "I'm glad. It was time you grew up"

A harsh reality.

In the distance, she could see Zillah returning along with Zelek who carried a shiny gold card between his fingers, smiling gleefully to himself.

As they trudged over fallen trunks, Zillahs hands caught Aloysia's eye. A smear being left behind with every branch or leaf swatted.

Drenched in blood.

And she wasn't the only one to see it.

Liam gasped in horror, trying to not let his mouth drop as he took her in. The dark red decorating her hand like a glove, dripping down her arm. He agreed to face reality, but this, this was excess and wasn't needed.

"Aloysia!" He barked quietly, already clambered into the back but now reaching over to the drivers seat with his torso, "We promised no more deaths"

His eyes shot straight back at her hands wrapped in leather - the countless lives ended- how many necks had her fingers slithered over and snapped?

He felt disgusted, betrayed... did she feel absolutely nothing?

"Don't go blaming her Prince" Zillah retorted in a not so friendly manor, "no one died"

As Zillah grew near, she answered for Aloysia as she could see the internal struggle on her face.

Aloysia hadn't even flinched at Liam's words.

"Then what is all that blood doing on your hands?" Liam questioned, hands folded in disbelief. He didn't know who to look at- Aloysia's pale, cold face, or the one staring at him with a displeasured frown.

"The shoulder wound- I treated it."

"You what?"

Liam retracted, hands gripping the bruised wood for stability as he tilted his head in confusion, "You treated the man's wound?

Zillah sighed, climbing her way carefully into the rough seat next to a silent Aloysia, taking the reins from her.

The blood had smeared onto Aloysia's hand once the leather was removed. Liam grimaced at the sight, confused as to why Aloysia was not reacting to anything.

His heart bobbed in his throat.

"Yes Liam, I addressed his wounds, we're not monsters"

Liam gulped.

"We kill only when necessary, and this didn't call for it"

"Wrong of you to assume if I might add" Zelek intruded, keeping a watchful eye on the horses and their surroundings, "Be grateful, we should have killed him- because once he wakes up, guess where he's going"

His eyes darkened.

"The king"

The prince lowered his head, ashamed for thinking of them so low.

How could he loose trust that quickly?

"You know, I thought you trusted us, trusted our judgement" Zillah sighed softly, hurt lacing in.

She faced away, "but I guess we were wrong"

Zelek came over to her with a giant leaf full of water he had collected, pouring it sparingly over her hands to clean them of the evidence.

The mud beneath them absorbing the water with a tint of red.

It didn't even get rid of the stain entirely.

Liam had no words, the guilt creeping in was too much to put into words- deciding it would be best if he just hid and stayed out of their way. He would prove himself another time.

"I- I'm sorry" he uttered before his body went out of sight, crouching beneath the blankets, mixing with the goods beneath them.

Aloysia hadn't moved. Even with the rein's control switched to Zillah, her body hadn't allowed her to move... and Zillah noticed, and knew why.

Nudging her gently in the shoulder she said quietly, "Hey, don't worry, we'll be fine-"

She sucked in a breath, "-we always are"

After hearing those words, Aloysia silently hopped of the seat, and clambered with great efficiency into the back to hide with Liam.

Only Zillah and Zelek were safe up on the seats...

~ before...

"How do you expect to get past them if your eyes match mine- it's suspicious" Aloysia laughed as she pulled herself up a branch; the daily exercise to keep her lean body. Wrapped in bandages that were stained red, Aloysia had discarded her cloak, shortening her shirt so that she wouldn't overheat. Her toned stomach barely shone through the bandages around her waist; the wounds wouldn't heal themselves.

"They'll know you're related to me somehow, it's not safe for either of you to go up front either"

Zillah sighed mockingly, leaning against the very tree Aloysia was climbing, arms folded over her chest. "You do know we can change our eye colour?"

"-What?" The assasin blurted, loosing concentration while her hand slipped on the next branch, sending her crashing onto the ground- right at Zillahs feet.

Raising her head slightly while spitting out mud and a spec of blood, Aloysia moaned painfully as she pushed her abused body to turn and sit.

Rubbing her bruised back, she swore.

Zillah couldn't help but snicker, which Aloysia didn't find very amusing, now picking out twigs and dirt from her messy blonde hair. She didn't have any hair tie.

Zillah ignored the remarks. "All night children can do it, we were trained by our parents so we could blend in other worlds" Zillah continued, not once bothering to help the pissed sibling below her.

"Never thought I'd have to use it"

And Aloysia was grateful, she didn't need help getting up- but she did need help understanding.

She added, "I was never taught that, and I'm older than you..."

Zillah smiled. "Exactly, it's probably because you were ahead of us that they thought it wasn't necessary" She dipped her body to Aloysia's height sat on the floor like a trouble child, arms still firmly folded. "How do you think we have survived here for so long without being discovered?"

The moment she caught her sisters stare, Zillah focused on a colour around her. To Aloysia's surprise, the very eyes she had known and recognised, turned a foreign green.

She reached for her face, lips parted in awe.

In a blink, those familiar filters slid back over her, the crimson finding its home once again.

Aloysia retracted her hand, taking a steady inhale while inwardly thinking.

She moved her way around her sister to gaze into the heart of the forest.

"I can hold the colour for around 3 hours at a time, that should be long enough"

No answer. Aloysia scratched at her head, wincing at the small bruise forming. Finally, after a beat of silence, did her chin turn to Zillah in curiosity.

"So, what you're telling me is that you and Zelek can appear normal? But I can't?" Her lips thinned.

"Well, yes". Quite simply put.

"Hmm, makes sense" Aloysia drawled sarcastically, rolling her eyes at another feat she couldn't do.

Zillah's eyes narrowed. "Its the only one thing we can do that you can't Aloysia"

Her thighs grew tired at staying crouched, brushing some of the dirt of her sisters shoulder that now had more hair flowing down it since they first found each other; it being that the hair had grown wildly.

"Let us be at the front- let us get you and Liam safety across the border"

Aloysia went to protest, but stopped, and gazed upon Zillahs serious exterior.

"It is the one thing that we can do for you- that I can do for you. Please sister"

She was flat out begging, border-lining desperation.

After a moments deliberation, Aloysia sighed, rubbing her mucky and sweaty forehead before reluctantly murmuring. "Fine, you two are stationed up front." She knew full well putting up a fight against her stubborn sister would get her no where.

And so here she was, crouched at the back, in awfully close proximity to Liam's lying down body- awaiting patiently- and quite helplessly as she willed her body to do nothing.

"Zelek, got the card?" Zillah asked, pulling her hood back to appear causal, eyeing her brother stood next to the cart.

He smiled, pulling his own back as he waved the card in the air- a victorious demeanour oozing off him.

Zillah rolled her eyes, attempting to swipe the card right under his nose, but he suspected it- pulling his arm back so that Zillah nearly fell into him.

She squealed as her arms caught her flying body by grasping the sides to stabilise herself; heart rate picking up as her ears peeked to hear deep laughter.

Zillah peered up; Zelek was chuckling hard- eyes scrunched as he gently pushed a grunting yet amused Zillah back to sitting, taking his place beside her.

They both grabbed the reins, gaining a feel for the leather around their skin. Their eyes examined the dirt road ahead, sheltered by magnificent lush trees reaching high.

He turned his head; staring back at him as he gazed over his twin was not the crimson eyes he knew- but a foreign pair he came to recognise; green, and as rich as the forest coating the Southern Kingdom.

In her iris' reflection, his own reflected the same vibrance, but a crystal blue- as calm as the streams of the East.

Together they portrayed a toothy grin, acting as if normal merchants reading themselves to share their goods with the West.

They were not the wanted ones- so they should get through without issue.

Right?