Chapter 3 - Elijah

 

          When I woke up in the morning, Jael was gone. I breathed a sigh of relief. I'd thought he'd make our parting more difficult for both of us, but it appeared that he had some sense after all. 

          I admitted to myself that part of me had hoped that he would have made such a fuss that I would have had to let him come with me. That part of me felt hurt because he hadn't, and yet I couldn't help feeling slightly lighter, knowing that I wouldn't have to force him not to come with me. I would miss him. I hated to admit it, but I would miss him more than I wanted to believe. I just couldn't understand how my feelings could change so fast. Especially so soon after Micah...

          I rose, pulled on my boots and jacket, and left the room. It was time to take my leave of this inn and this town. I had already dawdled too long. Every day was another day closer to her subordinates discovering my location, and then it was only a matter of time before I was captured and taken back to her, to be put at her mercy. My skin broke out in a cold sweat just thinking about it.

          I clumped down the stairs. As I peered around the room, my eyes caught Jael's bright green ones. My heart fell. Oh, shit. He hadn't left. 

He was waiting for me. 

          You have to tell him right away, I told myself firmly. If you don't, he might get the wrong idea. 

          I approached the table, trying to decide the best way to tell him and not hurt his feelings or give him the wrong idea. Now that it had come down to it, I was extremely reluctant to tell him the truth. Let him come, something inside me whispered. Things aren't too hairy right now. Let him stay with you for a while, and when things start taking a turn for the worst, dump him. 

That was almost worse. 

          "Good morning," Jael said cheerfully. Too cheerfully. He's up to something, my assassin training whispered to me. But what?

          "Good morning," I said in return, eyeing him skeptically. He grinned at me beamingly, but that just made me more suspicious. 

          "I already ordered for you. Have a seat." He gestured to the seat across from him.

          Still watching him skeptically, I sat down carefully. He seems...pleased with something. Is he that happy to be rid of me? I squashed that thought with another. More likely, he figured out a way to follow me. Or he thinks he found a way. I'd just have to wait and see if this bright idea of his was really all that intelligent.

          Our food came, and we ate our final meal together. I watched Jael throughout the entire meal. He just couldn't lose that overly cheerful smile of his. I finished, thanked Jael again for his kindness (in reply to which his smile grew even wider), and took my leave.

          As I walked down the road, I sighed, shoving my hands into my pockets. Well, that's over. Now onto business. Where should I...?

          Someone tapped me on the shoulder. I whirled, twisting around the person so that I was at his back, crouching slightly so that I would have a better angle at which to punch him in the kidneys. I drew back my hand to strike and hesitated when I saw that the person had long hair. A woman?! I thought in confusion. Then I recognized Jael. In that split second of hesitation, Jael spun on me, just as fast, a smile still on his face. I wondered vaguely how he could move that fast and not know anything about hand-to-hand combat and once again filed it away for later thought. 

          "Hello! What a coincidence meeting you here!" His grin widened, if that was even possible. He didn’t seem the slightest bit shaken that I had almost seriously injured him.

          "What are you doing?" I growled, straightening up from my fighter's stance, just slightly angry at letting him startle me.

          "Oh, just...wandering." I stared at him. "You never asked where I was going that night. Truth is I wasn't actually going anywhere. I just chose a road and started walking."

          "And?"

          "And what?"

          "Why are you following me?" I growled in frustration to his act of innocence.

          "Who says I'm following you?" he said still innocently.

          "If you're not following me, then what are you doing?"

          "Wandering." He grinned in triumph. "Want to join me?" he said casually, but his eyes gave him away. I wasn't the only one who didn't want us to part. But unlike him, I at least knew why I didn’t want us to separate. I knew but didn't want to accept it as the truth. And I also didn't want to allow the hope to kindle that his reason was the same as mine.

          I stared at him. The twinkle in his eyes told me he had planned this ever since I told him I was leaving and that he anxiously hoped I'd agree to his "clever" scheme. I thought about it. 

          You know you want his company, idiot. You even know why, which is more than he can say. So why don't you just say yes? 

          I sighed in defeat, a smile slowly creeping over my face. Besides, you have to admit, he's got you. Wherever you go, he'll just say he's going the same way. And I don't feel like ditching him. I like him too much to do that to him. "Sure." Suddenly, I grinned as wide as him. "Truth be told, I don't have a destination either."

          "Great." He offered his hand, trying to conceal his pleasure. "Then we'll be a pair of wondering fools until death, circumstance, or choice parts us." He raised his eyebrows, waiting for me to shake his hand. I grasped it firmly.

          "Then what are we doing standing around here? Let's go!" And we walked down the road, enjoying each other's company in silence.