A/N: thank you for #919 in fantasy, and for sticking with the story this long! also I had to update from my phone again so the format may be a little weird, sorry! desktop Wattpad is giving me some error messages when I try to post.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is..." Aevum did a sharp intake of breath, twiddling his thumbs together. They sat in the guest room on the stiff bed, warm morning sunlight streaming through the windows. He had just concluded a very long speech about how it had been great having someone around and how great Flare was, which was making her reasonably nervous.
"You can tell me," Flare prompted him kindly.
"Will you stay here with me?"
"Aevum, I..." Flare sighed. She didn't want this to happen, even though she could tell from the minute he laid eyes on her that it would end up this way.
"Flare, I really, really like you. As more than a friend. I thought you felt the same way, after how we talked last night," Aevum said in a hurt puppy tone of voice with a heartbroken look in his eyes. It took most of Flare's willpower to resist.
"I need to get to a necromancer, I told you that," she said softly.
"I have people that can do that for you," he pleaded.
"Aevum, it's not the same. Even if you did have someone do it for me, I wouldn't want to stay here. You're great, you're amazing, but I'm not looking for something like this right now," Flare looked away from his eyes and at the floor, tears threatening to sting her eyes. She hated hurting people, especially people like Aevum, lonely, hopeful people like Aevum.
"I guess that leaves me no choice," he sighed, standing up. Flare glanced up at him with furrowed brows.
"What do you mean?"
"The doors are all guarded and locked. You have no way of getting out," Aevum told Flare.
"What?" she shouted, fuming. She burst off of the bed, squaring her shoulders and squeezing her fists together tightly in an attempt to resist the urge to punch him.
"It's for your own good," Aevum said with a gentle smile, reaching out to touch Flare's arm. Stepping back, she yanked her arm away angrily. The king simply continued smiling, which enraged Flare. "I'll be back soon to bring you breakfast," he said, slipping out the door and closing the door behind him. She heard the lock click, and then his footsteps echoing down the corridor.
In her white hot fury, she kicked the nightstand, causing the lantern to knock off the stand and break with a burst of shattered glass. Aevum's footsteps came echoing back down the hallway, and he slammed open the door. His eyes flicked to the window, but when he saw the broken glass lantern he smiled with something that looked like relief.
"See you soon, Flare," he clicked the door shut again. Flare looked at the window and an idea slowly made it's way into her brain.
Tucking Abby into her backpack and swinging it over her shoulder, she realized her only surefire option for something to break the window with was the nightstand, which she dragged over to the window in preparation to lift it up when she remembered the room was on the second floor. Time was running out. Looking down the wall, she saw some fairly thick vines scattered about, seemingly strong enough to support her. Flare was nervous, but if she didn't do it now, she never would, so she hoisted up the nightstand and threw it into the window. It seemed to careen out and fall in slow motion, and time only returned to normal once it hit the ground and wooden splinters flew everywhere. Flare tried not to think about how that could be her if she wasn't careful as she wrapped her hand around a vine and swung down the wall. The descent was quicker than she imagined, and within a few minutes her feet were firmly planted on the ground again. Her breathing slowed back to normal as she smoothed her rumpled shirt and pulled her boots tight onto her feet.
"Hey!" she heard the loud bark of Aevum from above her. Looking up, she saw his frame leaning out over the edge, but not for long. Quickly, he darted back in, and Flare knew she had to make a run for it.
Blind sprinting ensued as she dashed over tree stumps and through backyards. When she finally took the chance to glance back, Aevum's guards were not far behind her. And they were on horses.
Knowing she wouldn't be able to make it relying on her feet alone, she looked around in the surrounding backyards. Cow, that was no good. Flock of chickens, useless. Seconds later, although it seemed like minutes, she saw a horse loosely tied to a post on someone's back porch. It was a gorgeous silver buckskin color, with a long mane and swishing tail, and had a rope looped around it's neck that was tied to a post. She yanked the rope off and looped it around her hand. As she climbed on, she couldn't help but feel guilty for taking what looked like a very quality horse, but that wasn't the priority at the moment. She just needed to focus on getting out of there.
Flare had only ridden horses a few times in her life. There were a few wild horses that roamed her town occasionally that some people claimed, one of whom was her aunt's friend. Occasionally when her aunt took them over to her friend's house, their friend would let Flare and her brother ride the horse. It was fine, but she never took a liking to it, and continued her belief that horses were much more majestic and beautiful roaming the open plains with others of their kind, not tied up in a hot backyard. Even still, she vaguely remembered how to communicate with the horses using pressure and body language. Gripping the horse's mane tightly, she dug her heels into his side, and he leapt off the patio with such force that Flare nearly fell off.
He continued bolting through the town, leaping over fences and trampling flowerbeds, with such speed that Flare had to close her eyes so that the wind wouldn't dry them out. Daring to take another quick look behind her, she saw that the guards had begun falling behind, and she was reaching the outskirts of the kingdom. The horse vaulted over the stone wall separating the kingdom from the forest and instead of hooves clattering against stone, Flare began hearing the crunch of leaves under them. The sounds of the guard's horses behind them faded away as they went further and further into the woods, and she finally released the tight grip her ankles had on the animal's torso. He slowed to a walk, and Flare pat his neck.
"Good boy," she said with a grin, putting her hand on her chest to catch her own breath. She couldn't believe she pulled it off, although she had been shocked at Aevum's behavior in the first place. He had seemed so childish and sweet, not the type to get crazy possessive and lock a girl in his castle.
Flare hopped off the horse once she saw a creek, after first making sure that they were a safe distance away, and tied the horse up to a tree. He slurped at the water, seemingly thirsty, which seemed logical after all the running he had had to do. Abby squirmed in Flare's backpack, so she reached around and unzipped her. The cat promptly hopped out and began licking herself to smooth her ruffled fur.
"Sorry," Flare cooed, stroking Abby's head. Abby strutted over to the creek and began drinking alongside the horse. While the animals replenished themselves, Flare took the opportunity to pull out her map and take a look at it. She was headed east already, luckily, and with the added speed of a horse, she would get there in half the time. Hopefully the necromancers would still be there in the few days it would take her to get there.
Abby and the horse had finished drinking, and Abby was gnawing on some berries from a bush, and the horse was chewing up some clovers. Flare figured the horse needed a name, so she pondered for a moment.
"Silver?" she suggested, and his ears perked up as he turned away from his snack. With a laugh, she stroked his soft pelt. "Let's get going, Silver."
Flare stepped on a rock to aide her in climbing onto the tall horse. Abby leapt up after her, and as much as she knew Abby disliked the backpack, tucked her in it for fear that her claws would pierce the horse's skin. With a quick kick to his side, Silver darted off, his hooves thundering against the ground.

***

Around late afternoon, the woods had begun thinning out, leaving only a sparse scatter of trees before making way into a large open field. Flare likely would be heading into phytomancer territory, and she hoped she would encounter a town soon so that she didn't have to sleep in open fields like she had before crossing into the geomancer kingdom.
She felt a pang in her heart just thinking about the geomancers. It made her think of Dune. Dune's bright laugh, Dune's tight curls, Dune's lifeless eyes that burned their way into her soul as she got carried away by the dartou. Her eyes burned with tears, but she swiped them away quickly. Could she exist in this world without destruction and death following her? Sometimes it seemed impossible. Maybe she would be better off gone, better off finding a secluded place to live where she couldn't hurt anyone else that she loved.
With a deep, calming breath, she tried to quiet her thoughts and just keep riding forward on Silver. That was all she needed to do, focus her attention on the world around her. On the majestic animal with strong and mighty footsteps, on the carefree blue sky that sheltered her and everyone else underneath it, on the fragile cat curled up in her backpack. She just needed to breathe. She just needed to keep going.
After a few moments, she saw the beginning of a forest. But as the horse began riding through it, she started to realize it wasn't that. It was a marsh, phytomancer territory. Silver's massive legs sunk deep into the muddy water as he struggled with every step. Flare hopped off so that he could move easier, her boots instantly soiled by the muck. Mentally groaning, she helped Silver pry his hoof loose from a particularly sticky patch of mud. As they went deeper into the marsh, the mud became thicker and deeper. Silver was growing increasingly frustrated, whipping his head back and forth as he fought to keep moving forward. Flare attempted to calm him, but it was difficult.
Just when she thought he wouldn't be able to go any further, she saw a small wooden cabin on a part of the marsh that rose up above the water. Giddily, she led the horse onto the small "island", and realized that there were a few other cabins around it too. The houses were all one story, but a good size, and made out of trees and plants twisted around one another. She knocked on the door. of the first one she saw.
"Holly?" she asked. She recognized the woman who had opened the door as the phytomancer who had helped her and Calico cross the field.
"Flare, right?" Holly asked with a soft smile. Flare nodded in response. "Come in, come in. We were just about to have breakfast."
After tying up Silver to a branch outside and taking Abby out of her backpack, Flare looked around and saw a cozy kitchen and small breakfast table. Two children, maybe ten years old, and a middle aged man seemingly around Holly's age sat with plates in front of them, piled with a variety of fruits in colors like deep maroon or dark navy.
"I'm sure I could whip something up for you quickly," Holly offered, shutting the door behind her and pulling a chair up to the table for Flare.
"Thanks," she replied, putting a hand on her grumbling stomach as she sat down.
"Nice to meet you, Flare. I'm Oake, Holly's husband, and these are our daughters Fuchsia and Cottonia," the man said with a warm smile.
"Hello," Flare offered a grin to the two girls, but they just stared at her with shy curiosity for a brief second before refocusing their attention to the food. Holly slid a plate of fruit in front of Flare before taking her own place at the table and diving in.
"So, Flare, has Calico sent you to deliver his favor? I'm still expecting in from him," Holly said with a light laugh.
"Actually, um..." Flare coughed. She didn't want to tell Holly that Calico was dead, because she truly didn't know for sure, but didn't seem like Fox was prepared to show mercy towards him, and with the way Zorro's tail was lashing and the terrified look in Calico's eyes...
"Flare?" Holly asked, concerned, as Flare shivered.
"Calico is... he's being punished for theft. I think he's in jail," she responded with a shuddery sigh.
"Oh," Holly said with furrowed brows. "Poor boy," she mumbled, returning to her breakfast. "So what brings you here, Flare?"
"Just passing through. I was actually wondering if you had anything to help keep your feet elevated above the mud, as I have a horse with me and he's not doing so well."
"Oake has quite a collection of mudshoes," Holly laughed, looking at her husband. "Tell her, dear."
"I'm sure I have an old pair you could take. Amazing inventions," Oake said.
"Of course, it doesn't help that it rained last night. There will be excessive mud for at least another night," Holly sighed.
"If you think it would be easier for you to stay until the mud dries up, we have a couch you could sleep on," Oake offered.
"That would be perfect, if I'm not imposing too much."
"Wonderful. Can I take your dishes, dear?" Holly swept up the plates of everyone at the table and began washing them in the sink.
"Can I see your kitty?" One of the twin girls reached out to touch the cat that Flare cradled in her lap, and she jolted away as a reflex. The girl looked up, surprised, and drew back with a hurt look on her face.
"No, I'm sorry, it's just - here, you can pet her," Flare said hurriedly in an attempt to repair the damage that she had done. Her face brightened as her hands reached out to grab the cat. Gently, Flare placed Abby in her arms.
"I'm Fuchsia, by the way. That's my twin sister Cottonia. You have a cute cat," Fuchsia said as she cradled Abby. The cat seemed to be warming right up to her, purring and rubbing her head against the girl's chin. Fuchsia giggled and stroked Abby softly. Although Fuchsia and Cottonia were identical twins, they couldn't give off more different first impressions. Cottonia wore a loose dress, tied her long hair up neatly, and did everything with a sort of reserved composure, like in the way she sat with rigid posture or folded her napkin perfectly. On the other hand, Fuchsia dressed herself in casual clothes that looked like they had received a lot of love over the years, wore her hair in a choppy and messy bob cut, and her actions were active and restless, like how she swung her legs back and forth as she sat or crammed multiple pieces of fruit into her mouth.
"Thank you," Flare smiled. "Cottonia, would you like to try holding her?"
"No thank you," the girl said complacently.
"Well, thanks for letting me hold her. She's really adorable," Fuchsia set Abby on the floor, and the abyssinian strolled away leisurely.
"Flare? Want me to show you where you'll be sleeping?" Holly asked, and with a grateful smile, Flare got up and followed her into the living room.