obseumtozh (ob-som-tosh) adjective

cozy, quaint, or peaceful. A special time spent with someone that brings a feeling of wholeness, meeting someone in secret to keep the warm feeling to yourselves, or the feeling of happiness for having spent a secret time with someone.

***

Laku opened his eyes, confused. He could see nothing but darkness and twinkling lights. Then the throbbing pain in his head reminded him of a bad dream. Or was it? Did it happen, or did it not? Did his future bride knock him unconscious inside his father's tomb?

How dare she!

He jerked up in a sitting position, only to realize that he had been lying directly on desert sand. There was a fire to his right, and two women sat around it, silent as the absent wind.

"What happened?" he asked, although he did not have to. He was slowly remembering, and his eyes went straight to Tia. Her beautiful curly silver hair reflected the fire, so did her stoic face.

It was Nascha who spoke, voice hoarse. "We escaped." She took a long breath and murmured, "Three nights ago."

He scrambled to his knees in disbelief. "I've been unconscious for three nights?"

Nascha nodded. He turned to Tia and scowled. "You knocked me unconscious."

It was Tia who nodded. "It was the only way to help Kalesch," she said, voice clear, far from the charming Zaria he first met.

Kalesch.

He looked around, hoping he did not look as stupid as he felt. "He's alive then?" he asked.

Nascha bent her head, tears rolling down her face.

"What did you do?" he asked his future bride in an accusing tone.

"I saved his soul."

A little dizzy, he moved closer to the fire. "What do you mean by that?" he asked. He frowned at Nascha, but the woman could not seem to speak. And so he looked at the only person who had the answer. If they had been traveling for three days, she did not appear tired like Nascha was. Her head was carefully wrapped by a dark cloth, her face clean, and her eyes looked alert. "What do you mean?" he repeated.

His eyes flickered to the small tent behind her. It was closed. He looked around again, not finding Kalesch. The weight in his midriff coiled as his mind began to wrap around what happened and the conversation at hand.

"I took his soul and planted it in your body," Tia said. Laku blinked, his mouth dropped.

"W-What?" he asked, dumbfounded. "Are you serious?"

"His body will continue to heal as you serve as his soul's vessel," Tia further said.

"You mean it will rot," Nascha coldly said. Laku's eyes followed the finger she pointed at the tent. "Everything that dies rots."

"Not if his soul is safely tucked away," Tia replied, lips barely moving as she sternly gazed at Nascha. It seemed that the two women had been having this discussion for three nights.

"You cannot even prove that Kalesch's soul is inside him," Nascha said, pointing at Laku who could only blink, his hands absently roaming over his chest and arms, unconsciously checking if he still had full control of his own body.

"It takes a while for a soul to wake up in a new vessel," Tia said, eyes on Laku.

"What do you mean by that?"

"That Kalesch may wake up in your head," Nascha said with a scoff.

"It doesn't happen right away," Tia said. "His body may heal before that even happens."

"How do you know?"

"Because this is not the first time I've done this."

Nascha shook her head and stared at Laku in disbelief. "Do you believe her?"

He blinked again. His eyes flickered from Nascha to Tia to the tent. "It's magic? It exists?"

Nascha groaned while Tia just stared at him, the corner of her mouth curling.

"It is older than the world," she said, answering his question. "You are both too old not to believe it by now. You should have long overcome your skepticisms."

Again, he blinked, fool that he was. Nascha, on the other hand, jumped to her feet. "I don't think you're being honest. You manipulated us into taking you to Kgosi and now you're making up stories so we'll hold our end of the bargain. Don't think you're fooling both of us." She harshly brushed the tears from her face with the back of her hand and walked away.

Laku, for some reason, found himself scrambling to his feet and following her, leaving Tia. "Wait," he called out to Nascha.

She said something in Tomera over her shoulder which sounded like, "Leave me alone." He continued to pursue her until they were far enough from the fire and the princess of Achnus, his future wife and queen. Also a soul-controlling witch and a... killer. "I order you to stop," he ordered. To his surprise, Nascha did. She turned and angrily faced him. "What made you say those things?"

She frowned and scoffed at him. "Because what she's saying is impossible."

"So is the story of you predicting the future," he countered.

That made her freeze.

"You should be the last person to not believe in magic."

"I only believe in the one that I experience," she said, lifting her chin. "And so far, I do not see Kalesch being alive." She pointed with her finger. "His body is inside that tent. It's not breathing. It's...dead. His... soul, wherever it is, is nowhere. Not inside you, not in the desert." Tears welled in her eyes. "My... Kalesch is dead and it's all my fault."

"No, it's that priestess' fault. It's my father's fault for wanting maidens in the afterlife. If there's anyone to blame, it's—"

"Me," she cut in.

Laku sighed. "Very well," he said. "It's your fault."

She blinked at him, tears and all. "It is, isn't it?"

"If you say so," he said. "As it was my fault that I let Tia lead me to the tomb. If it weren't for us, Kalesch may still be alive. That priestess may have succeeded and you'll be a sacrifice inside my father's tomb." He stepped closer and stole a glance in Tia's direction. "Look, my friend, I don't trust her either."

Her eyes narrowed. "Why don't I believe you?"

"I would really love to believe her, trust me, but I'm the prince of this empire. Why do you think we chose a princess from Achnus to be my bride?"

"Because they're the closest enemy."

"Exactly. It just so happens that I like her—or liked her, really, because she was quite charming when we first met. You were there, so you should know. But she's not the same woman who tried to impress me that night, do you agree? It only means she has a motive," he said, murmuring his words as if Tia was behind him. "I suggest, my friend, that we believe that she has magic."

Nascha looked utterly confused. "Why?"

"Because it will make us cautious," he said. "You're saying you want proof, right?" She nodded, wiping her tears with the back of her hand. "I suggest we wait for Kalesch's body to..." Laku awkwardly tried to relay the rest of his statement by raising his brows and nodding. But Nascha continued to stare at him in confusion. "You know..."

"What?" she asked.

He grimaced. "We can wait for his body to... smell," he said, grumbling the last word.

She gasped. "You mean rot."

Clearing his throat, he arched his back and lifted his chin. "You say we've been traveling for three days. If she's telling the truth that there's magic going on here, then his body should have already... you know..."

"And if she's lying?"

"Then we'll take her straight to the courts of Kgosi. I'll behead her myself."

She nodded, although she did not look convinced. "Then we're still traveling to Kgosi?"

"Yes."

"Just the three—four of us?"

Even counting Kalesch's body, Laku was not confident. But he could no longer trust anyone, not after what the guards did. "Those guards could be anywhere. And if the priestess had told anyone about you, then you are in danger. We have to move along." He took a long breath and let it out with a small smile. "You and I are comrades in this journey, Nascha, my friend." He shrugged, adding, "I can lose a bride, but I can't lose an Oracle."

After their talk, he left Nascha and returned to sit beside Tia. She remained quietly staring at the fire. He stole her a glance and loudly stretched. "I guess you did not feel safe to seek refuge in the royal camp?" he nonchalantly asked.

"We argued about what to do. Going to the royal camp was out of the question. It wasn't wise to be carrying two unconscious bodies, one of them the crown prince. We would have been killed before we could explain." She gave him a look.

"Oh," he said, pretending like he had not thought of that. "You could have woken me up."

"That's not how it works."

He nodded his head a few times. "Right."

What else should he say? What else should he ask? His head still throbbed, and he was still confused. Was she telling the truth? Was she an enemy? But she saved Nascha. And as she said, she saved Kalesch, wherever he was inside him—if he was inside him. "Nascha says you know the way to the ocean."

Tia nodded. "I have a compass."

Laku awkwardly grinned. He would not admit he was afraid of Tia, but he could say he was slightly wary. The people of Achnus had always been a mystery. There were many stories about them, their mountain, and their dark history. When his father first told him he was to marry their princess, he threw a fit. Then he started to have nightmares. Thankfully, Tia was beautiful, and she seemed graceful. Until that night he witnessed her kill someone like it was nothing.

She could do the same to him.

But not if I could make her feel like she could not kill me.

***

Nascha was not a crier, but that night, the tears just kept flowing. After Tia, the woman she first knew as Zaria, convinced her that it was safer to travel back to the desert instead of getting help from the queen, she tried not to think of what happened in that tomb and how things could have turned better than it did.

But the horrors she witnessed nights ago were not one her mind could easily conjure to disappear. The lifeless body of Karei in the eduali, the deranged look on Alika's face as she tried to kill her. Kalesch and how he tried to save her. Tia killing Alika.

She closed her eyes, and warm tears flowed anew. She did not want to believe Tia. In fact, she just wanted to wake up and realize everything that had happened so far had been nothing but a nightmare. She would rather work in the tomb and carve until sunset. In fact, she could just wake up and never tell another story to anyone. If it only meant she could be back home with her family and with a living rayeshka.

She returned to camp and found Laku asleep. There was not a part of her that believed he was wary of Tia. If he was, he would not want to sleep with the woman nearby. Tia was awake, but the woman said they should get more sleep before they continued on with their journey.

"Are you sure you know the way to the ocean?" she asked. They both spoke in Kgos, and they both had accents. If they were in a better circumstance, it would be an amusing subject to bond over.

Tia looked at her and gently smiled. "I know you're wary of me, Nascha of Tomesh. It makes me wonder why you even endured our journey thus far."

"I had no choice. I couldn't just leave Kalesch's..." She could not finish her statement and just bent her head. "If what you say is true and his soul can return to his body, I would want to see it for myself."

"I understand that my gift can be quite unbelievable, but for my people and I, we live with it." She turned to Nascha, eyes growing gentle. "You don't believe my magic because it doesn't suit your people's beliefs. What I can only tell you is wait. In time, you'll realize that your rayeshka is alive. And the moment we get out of this desert, you will witness more truths and even magic beyond your imagination."

She had to chuckle at the last statement. "I don't trust my imagination."

"Maybe you don't have to." Tia looked beyond at the darkness. "How far have you traveled outside of Tomesh?" She did not answer because she was ashamed to admit she had been nowhere outside of Tomesh. The hairs on her arms stood when Tia smiled at her knowingly, as if she knew her secrets. Somewhere in her mind, she could hear Kalesch telling her it would not be wise to tell anyone, even Laku, about her carvings, and she agreed. "I understand," Tia said, nodding her head slowly. "You'll be surprised how magical the world is, Nascha of Tomesh. And once you experience it, you will go back to this moment and laugh." They stared at each other for a long while before Nascha blinked away and said, "I'll stay up a little longer."

Not an hour later, she was sleepy. The stars became a blur as her eyes stared blankly up in the sky, the arms around her legs becoming slack as sleep became heavier to fight off. But Nascha fought it. She shook her head, blinked a few times, and murmured prayers to the sand god. She prayed for a short night, a safe journey, and no more abductions. And soon, she was asking questions again.

What was Tia? If her magic was real, then how could she do it?

And why is her hair silver?

She looked down and twirled her own silver tresses. Her imagination was taking her to unbelievable probabilities again, and she shook her head, slapping her cheek. "Get a hold of yourself, Nascha. Think logically." Like how Kalesch would if he was here.

And then again, the tears returned.

I can't let anything happen to you...

How could he have said those words, keep them, and then just leave her?

She stood and walked away from their little camp, unbothered by the cold. If it would keep her awake, then it was welcome. She did not go far, though. After being bound, the events in the tomb, carrying two bodies, and traveling with Tia, she did not have the energy.

Standing in one spot, she looked down. What were the odds that she was not standing over an air pocket—That her weight would make it cave in and swallow her whole?

"Nascha," a voice said behind her.

She looked over her shoulder and slow turned. It was Laku. But somehow, it did not feel like him.

He walked closer, his brows morphing into a familiar eternal frown. "It's me, Kalesch."