----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Art of Leo done by quillandtalon

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Wait, where are we going?"

I asked, finally waking up a bit.

Cameron froze and said without turning "Home."

It had already been two days since then and I still had no clue where we were going. We had been walking each night and resting during the day. Cameron had been very vague about our destination and wouldn't even tell me why we left.

I hadn't even finished my cottage yet!

"-er. Ember." The sharp-angled boy's voice brought me out of my stupor.

"Hm?" I asked lazily. I wasn't too eager to talk to him if he wasn't going to explain himself. I didn't know how Adriana followed him blindly. She never questioned him.

Maybe she knows where 'home' is.

"Are you hungry?" He asked without turning to look back at me. I trudged on behind the pair. I raised my left brow in thought. I hadn't even thought about food for a while. I was hungry but the frustration of not getting answers was overpowering any signals from my hypothalamus at the moment.

Instead of chewing him out for making me wait for answers, I shrugged, "I could eat."

He nodded and we continued on our path. We had come through the woods. Thanks to the trees though there wasn't much sun peeking through. It was early morning and we would be resting soon. I took the coverage as a time to sit on a nearby stump and take off my shoes. Cameron tossed me what looked like a protein bar and I eagerly ate the food before tending to my feet. I gently massaged my heel with the base of my palm. Walking for two days straight was not something I was used to. I finished my dinner and set to putting my shoes back on but not before I gave Cameron a stern look.

"So are you going to explain to me what 'home' means, or where it is? We're miles from my own house so I have no idea why I am still following you."

"Because you would be lost if you tried to leave," His tone was ominous and hard to read. He was looking at me through long lashes. I cleared my throat, feeling uncomfortable.

"Yes. That aside, I want to know why we are in the middle of the woods. I was in the middle of building a 'home', " My frustration grew at his silence. I tied my last shoe in a secure double knot, stood up, and spun on my heels to head in the direction we had been going. I heard a light footfall as Adriana skipped up to my side and grabbed my hand. She made easy conversation about anything and everything, such as her favorite color or her love for animals. I silently wondered to myself how she got here. She was too chipper for her own good and seemed to be pretty social. Thinking back to the village, I noted that she hadn't interacted with anyone except for me and Cameron. I looked over my shoulder at him. He maintained a stoic expression as he faced the ground, his hands in his pockets. Looking back to Adriana's small face I could only wonder about her life.

"Do you like to draw?" I asked my smaller companion. At my question, her eyes grew several sizes and, if I wasn't mistaken, turned a brighter shade of purple.

"I love it! The way all the colors intermingle with each other and the different texture styles. Sometimes I like to do an ombre technique when I draw hair, but a more baroque style works too. The shading is the best part though! No, wait! I think the outline might be my favorite or-!"

I laughed at her excited tone. She blinked, she was surprised by my sudden outburst. Her surprise turned to a brilliant white smile. I realized that I was still laughing. I hadn't laughed very much in my seventeen years, so for me, this was a new record. It seemed that I couldn't stop it from coming either. Almost as if all the held in laughter was bubbling to the surface and exploding. Once my mini laughter explosion was over I was aware of the pain in my side which was very foreign to me. Holding my side I looked to the grinning Adriana.

"You have a really weird laugh!" She giggled as I blinked at her strange words. " It's not a bad thing!" , she quickly amended, "I think it's lovely... but it sounded so genuine and loud that it was a little weird and silly." She let go of my hand and reached into her bag. She pulled out a piece of paper and held it out to me.

"I'm not very good at drawing, but I do love it...More than anything really" I took the paper and flipped it over. My eyes were looking at a masterpiece. She claimed she wasn't a good artist, but if she wasn't good then I was a toddler when it came to putting colors to paper.

The drawing was something that belonged in a museum somewhere to preserve its already wearing and tearing edges. It pictured a woman with a small animal on her shoulder. The woman had a flower crown adorn on her deep brown and flowing locks. Her body was covered head to toe with a flowing toga. It was much like a Greek goddess. The animal was similar to a lemur but had some features that appeared to be that of a dragon. The woman tenderly had her hand up to pet the small creature.

I looked at Adriana over the paper to see her awaiting my approval. I had never really handed out compliments so I wasn't sure how to go about doing it. I smiled at the artwork and handed it back to her. " It's very lovely," I said as I tried to project my thoughts about it into my face, which probably made me appear a little crazy. She clapped her hands excitedly as she took the paper back and gingerly placed it in her bag once more. I turned back to the trail in front of us to find an old and worn down castle. My breath hitched as I took in the sight.

The castle was extraordinary. It looked like something out of a medieval story. The stonework was covered in green vines that reached up to the top of the tall structure. Four giant towers stood in the four corners of the wall. It's a real castle complete with a large wooden drawbridge.

Adriana let go of my hand and cheered as we neared the castle, " We're here!" She shouted.

I looked over to her and then back to Cameron too took in the view. "Where is 'here'?" I asked as Adriana skipped a little ways ahead of me.

Cameron turned to me and flashed a charming smile, "Home."  

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

AN: Thanks so much for reading! Vote for this chapter if you think it's up to par! Feel free to leave a comment to let me know what you think!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------