The Eden Series: The Complete Collection (54 page)

“What about your father?”

“I don’t know how much he knows either. My father tends to just go with what the Shaman says, and doesn’t ask too many questions. He’s all about respecting the elders,” he said, scrunching his face.

“Well I need to find some answers. I love being back, but I need to understand everything that’s happening. Will you help me?”

“Do you even need to ask?”

Soon afterwards, Aiden was alone and in bed, and could finally let his mind and body rest. The fight with the bear may have turned out in his favour, but he could already feel his body growing sore. The physical pain on top of the mental exhaustion he was feeling from his conversation with Moose left him completely drained. Thankfully he knew if he got at least a few hours of sleep his body would feel better. That was the benefit of being in Eden. He might feel sore now, but the healing capabilities he had would rectify that shortly. As for his other problems – well now he had Moose’s help. That was better than nothing.

As he closed his eyes, all thoughts vanished from his mind, and he began to sink into a blissful sleep. It only lasted for what felt like seconds, before he was woken by a light scraping sound outside his window. His eyes shot open and looked around. He waited quietly for a minute. Then it came again.

“Now what?” he whispered, throwing the covers off, shivering against the cold. Walking over to the window, he lifted the pane slowly. A creak echoed throughout the quiet house. When he stuck his head out, he immediately recognized who was there.

“Good morning,” she smiled up at him. His heart began to beat faster as he looked down at her. “I hope I didn’t wake you.” Lily smiled wickedly, her violet eyes wide with excitement, white hair shimmering in the fading moonlight. The sky was beginning to grow pink on the horizon, showing the signs of a new day.

“Lily, what are you doing here?” he asked. It wasn’t that he was necessarily upset that she was there, even though he desperately wanted to sleep, but her presence scared him a little…while at the same time stirring up other feelings.

“Come out here with me,” she said, ignoring his question. Aiden looked longingly at his bed.

“I can’t,” he said, turning back to look at her. “I need to rest, and I know what you are now. You’re dangerous.”

A small pout formed on her lips. “Dangerous? Says who? Just come with me warrior. I’ll make sure you get some rest.” She was smiling now, her plump lips stretched invitingly across her face. Something inside him wanted nothing else but to follow her, but a tiny voice in the back of his mind warned him against it. He was about to respond, when suddenly there was a light tap on his door and it creaked open.

“Aiden?” Rain’s voice whispered. He turned around in surprise, hiding the open window with his body. She looked suspiciously at him. “Who are you talking to?”

“N-no one,” he stuttered. “What are you doing here?”

She narrowed her eyes at him, taking notice of the open window, but didn’t press the subject. “I need to go out again, and your room in the best way to leave unnoticed. You don’t mind do you?” Panic gripped him. For some reason he didn’t want her to see Lily. A protective feeling rushed over him. He looked back through the window and breathed a sigh of relief. She was gone.

“Where do you go?” he asked, turning back to look at her. She straightened defensively. “I mean, if I’m supposed to look the other way all the time, shouldn’t I at least know where it is you’re going?”

“Who are you? My father? I don’t need to explain myself to you.” Her last words dripped with sarcasm.

“I don’t think your father would approve of this. I am a guest in his home. It seems wrong.”

Rain stepped closer now, moving quickly across the room. “Don’t you dare tell my father about this!” she hissed, pointing her slim finger in his face. “I am going out, and you’re not going to say a thing. Is that understood?” Aiden looked down at her angry face. Something told him he didn’t want to make more of an enemy out of her than he somehow already had.

“Fine,” he gave in. She walked around him, lifting one leg through the open space. He grabbed her arm before she fell. “Just know this though; if you get hurt, or I suspect what you’re doing is wrong, I
will
tell your father. I can promise you that.” Rain glared at him, but didn’t say anything as she disappeared over the ledge. She was out of his sight in seconds. Something in his stomach told him he should follow her, but she’d probably expect that, and he really was quite tired. Aiden finally shut the window and went back to bed, falling asleep the second his head hit the pillow.

Late the next morning, as they ate breakfast, Rain joined them as if nothing had happened. He didn’t know when she returned, but whenever it was he had been soundly asleep. As usual, she avoided eye contact with him, which he was beginning to get used to. It wasn’t until afterwards, when he was sitting out in the sun by himself, that she spoke to him.

“You snore loudly,” she said, sinking down on to the grass beside him.

“You apparently don’t sleep at all, so what’s worse?” he replied, keeping his voice neutral. He didn’t want to fight with her if it could be avoided. She actually chuckled.

“I sleep when I can,” she offered casually.

“Are you going to tell me what you’ve been doing?”

“No,” she answered quickly. They sat in an awkward silence. She was pulling out pieces of grass, throwing them away and going back to rip more. “I hate that my father won’t let me ride with the men,” she said suddenly.

“I can see why that would upset you,” he replied, trying to keep his voice from sounding excited. She was actually making conversation with him. This was a good step.

“Moose will become chief, and Wolf got to go to the King’s army, but you know what I get to do?” she asked, turning to face him now, her eyes filling up with angry tears. Aiden shook his head. “I get to be a wife and a mother, and stay home all day cooking… I get to be just like my mother.” Her words were filled with bitterness.

“I like your mother,” Aiden said, immediately cursing himself for sounding like an idiot. She shot him a harsh look.

“That is not the point. I want to be more than that, and because of who I am and where I’ve been born, there
is
nothing else! You have no idea how frustrating it is.”

“I think I can imagine.”

“No you can’t. You’re this famous warrior who everyone loves. There is no way you understand.” She started ripping up the grass again, this time harder than she did before.

Aiden laughed lightly, igniting another hostile glare. “I wasn’t always a warrior. I don’t even really think that’s what I am,” he confessed, looking up at the clear sky. “I came here without a clue of what this world was, or who I was expected to be, but you know what? I didn’t sit around cursing everyone because of it. I made the best of my situation. I made my own path by learning and trying new things.” He looked over at her now. “Rain, just because you’re expected to be one thing doesn’t mean you need to be that. Everyone makes their own paths in life if they want to, you just have to try.” She looked over at him silently, then looked down at her hands. Aiden glimpsed a mixture of emotions on her face before she turned away. Sadness, and… regret? He couldn’t make sense of it, but when she looked back up they were gone, and a blank, neutral look took its place.

“Thank you, Aiden,” she said softly, leaning in to kiss him lightly on the cheek. “You really are a nice guy.” Before he could say anything back, she stood up and went inside. The whole exchange confused him, but he didn’t have time to wonder about it because Moose came out from behind the house the minute his sister disappeared.

“Goddess she has a lot of issues,” he said lightly, but the look in his eyes was one of concern. He threw a glance at the closed door, then walked over to stand in front of Aiden. “Shall we?”

“Shall we what?”

“Go for a ride, of course!” he smiled. “What else is there to?”

The two boys rode as fast as their horses would take them, whipping through vast fields as the wind rushed past their faces. It was invigorating to ride at such a speed, as if it were the only real way to feel alive. It was no wonder the Riders loved their horses so much, Aiden reflected. He wondered if Wolf ever missed this sort of thing in the Capital. It was impossible to even keep up a conversation, but neither of them seemed to mind. The action of riding was enough to let out any issues they might feel. Finally Moose slowed down, motioning for Aiden to do the same.

“I feel bad for her,” Moose said, looking up at the blue sky.

“For who?” Aiden asked, slightly taken off guard.

“Rain. I feel bad that she wants to be one of us and she can’t,” he explained.

“Maybe she can –”

Moose interrupted him with a laugh. “No, she can’t. It just isn’t the way of our people. And besides, my father would never allow it. They think it is bad luck to bring women along during a hunt. She really is quite a good rider though.”

Aiden looked over at him, his eyebrows raised in surprise. The idea of Rain riding a horse like them seemed shocking almost. She was so tiny, and their horses were such large, grand beasts that to picture someone as small as her riding one was almost impossible.

“Wolf used to work with her when my father was away on the hunt. He treated her just like she was a boy and it paid off. He never once took it easy on her, even when I told him to.” A small smile filled his face as he sunk into a thoughtful silence. Aiden waited while Moose remembered. “Ever since he left, no one has paid much attention to her.” A sudden feeling of sympathy filled Aiden. Moose looked over at him and shrugged. “I think that’s why she acts out so much, you know?”

“Maybe we should take her out for a ride?” he suggested.

Moose shook his head. “My father wouldn’t like it, and I’m supposed to be the next chief. I can’t be encouraging her to act inappropriately.”

“Well, what if I just took her out then?”

“You could try,” Moose smiled. “But something tells me she doesn’t like you much.” They both laughed. It was true, she certainly wasn’t impressed by him. But maybe they could be friends, Aiden hoped. Suggesting they turn back, both boys kicked their horses into a full gallop again, letting the adrenaline fill them.

When they returned, he found her sitting against the stone wall at the back of the house. She was reading a book and had a small orange cat curled in her lap.

“Hey,” Aiden greeted, announcing himself before he scared her. Rain looked up disinterestedly. She always did this; always made him feel awkward and unwelcome. Shrugging off those feelings, he continued with the plan he had decided on. If she didn’t want to be friends then fine, but he would at least try. “I was wondering if you wanted to go out for a ride?” She raised her eyebrows.

“Like a date?” she asked, her voice dripping with cynicism.

“No, not like a date,” he corrected immediately. “Like two friends going out for a ride. Moose says you’re really good, so I thought you might want to get away for a bit.” Rain looked thoughtfully at him for a second. Finally she lifted the small cat off her lap and stood up.

“Alright, let’s go.”

They walked the horses to the outside of Avalon before mounting them. Then Rain took off before Aiden was even prepared. Cursing, he kicked his horse forward, pushing him to keep up with her. They stayed like this for a while before she finally slowed down. Her face was pink with excitement. It was the first time Aiden had ever seen her look happy and content, rather than angry or bored.

“That was fun,” she laughed. Aiden smiled back while peering into the forest beside them. There were no spells out here to protect them. “You’re not bad for someone who isn’t from the west.”

“Thanks,” Aiden said sarcastically.

Rain chuckled. “I don’t mean to say that we’re the only tribe that’s good at riding –”

Aiden held up his hands. “Sure, sure, I get it. Wolf was the one who taught me, so I guess that would explain my ‘not badness,’” he replied, using his hands to make the quotations around the last two words.

“Well, he did a good job.”

“Yes he did.” He looked over at her intently, letting the words hang in the air. She turned to look back towards Avalon.

“Should we get back?”

He took another slow look at the forest’s edge. She probably wanted him to say no, but he didn’t want to push their luck. He had that feeling in his gut like they were being watched. He could feel eyes on him, but couldn’t decide if they were friend or enemy. Looking back to her and the longing in her eyes, Aiden made his decision.

“How about a bit further, then we’ll turn back?” The only response he got was a quick smile before she took off again. He scrambled to follow once more.

* * * * *

She watched him ride away, struggling after the girl. It was weird how easily she could find him now. There was a connection between them, although she wasn’t sure if he felt it too. She did, though. It was unsettling and intriguing.

Swinging from the branch she sat on, she landed lightly on the forest floor. It would be dark soon, and she could enter the Rider’s city again and try to lure him out. It wasn’t like Lily to feel protective of a human, but she knew it was the right thing to do, even if the Goddess hadn’t come to her.

It was right after they had kissed and she had been chased away. Lily had been sitting beside the river, far away from where the humans had been. A squirrel sat beside her as she washed her long white hair in the cold water. It didn’t bother her, the coldness. She didn’t feel such things anymore.

“My daughter,” a voice called out, filling the small space with light and floral scents. She knew who it would be even before she turned to look. The Goddess sat on a rock, shaded by a large tree. Her long golden hair was braided, flowers woven throughout. She had the same bronzed skin as Lily’s, but hers shone so brightly it almost hurt to look at. Peace and love was written on her perfect face; her tiny pink lips raised in a welcoming smile, and bright emerald eyes observing her lovingly.

“Mother,” Lily smiled, bowing her head to the floor.