The room was silent, Ashley sat beside Leora her head down. She didn't know how to face Leora, her fingers played against each other...every second that passed by without Leora saying a word felt like a dagger through her heart.
Still trying to take in everything Ashley told her, she cleared her throat breaking the silence "so you're....."
"I'm sorry" Ashley interrupted in a haste, looking at Leora with pleading eyes.
Leora paused... What exactly was Ashley apologizing for. She was the one supposed to say sorry, all this while Ashley was going through everything alone, yet she wasn't sensible enough to notice, taking a deep breath
"No, I'm sorry Ash...I should have noticed something wasn't right with you the moment you came back from that forest" Leora said, gripping Ashley's hand
The warmth from Leora's grip calmed her down. And like that tears started rolling down her cheeks uncontrollably. The thought of leaving her best friend, that she might never see her dear brother ever again...
She was scared of the journey. She didn't want to leave...she didn't know what waited for her out there, but most of all she didn't want to die.
Leora held Ashley in her arms, silently stroking her head...she wanted to comfort her but she couldn't say anything, not a single word could come out of her mouth, making her feel even worse...she wasn't ready to loose her best friend and with that thought she decided one thing "you're not leaving"
"What?" Ashley replied between her sobs
"I'm not letting you go anywhere with that strange man" Leora said still stroking Ashley's hair, like a mother comforting her child.
Sitting up from Leora's arm. She wiped her tears "I have to...."
"No you don't...for all we know, that man is a stranger....what if he's lying to you, maybe he's a slave trader that's going to sell you off" Leora argued
"But...."
"No buts Ashley....you're too kind, naive, easy to manipulate. If I had known you still met that strange man I would have killed him myself" her voice rang higher frustrated and angry
Ashley watched Leora, her words were convincing. She knew nothing of the reaper...he didn't tell her anything apart from the fact that he's the reaper and she is his bride but the fact he knew soo much about the mark was enough reason
"But the mark...."
"Listen to me Ash..." Leora interrupted "...if I have to go to the end of the earth to get that thing removed I will, but you are not leaving with that man" she said with finality
What was she going to tell her brother if he came back and Ashley was gone, 'please protect her for me' those words rang in her head, the look on his face while pleaded. She won't be able to face him...she wasn't going to let anyone take her away. It was her duty as her best friend to keep her safe
Ashley sat quietly, there were soo many parts of the truth she left out... deciding it wasn't necessary for her to know. Like the dreams she had and the fact that she might die on the journey. She knew Leora had a point but if there was a way to save her best friend and her town from destruction she was willing to take it even if it didn't make sense
Standing up from her seat, she went in to organize her counter. She had to start preparing for her departure "I will be leaving in three days...I've made my decision, if you can't watch me leave don't come then...good bye" she said softly going up to her room leaving Leora sitting alone.
Laying on her bed, soft tears ran down her cheeks. She couldn't believe her final good bye to her best friend was going to be this heart breaking "please keep them all safe for me" she whispered between her sobs...crying herself to sleep
Three days had passed quicker than she could imagine, Ashley stood behind the counter, hair packed into a bun, she wore a pair of trousers and boots...she had didn't have much to pack, just a little sack of clothes and some food items for the road, her satchel was fastened on her waist with herbs she thought she might need for the journey
She stood silently waiting for him to come take her.
Her shoulders ached and eyes burned, she had been crying for three nights straight. Leora hadn't come after their argument to see her. She didn't blame her, she would be upset too if her best friend was leaving with a complete stranger to God knows where
A figure morphed into the shop startling Ashley she would never get used to the way he appeared and disappeared
Stilling her heart, 'i guess its time' she thought, trying to convince herself she's making the best decision for everyone, even though her heart felt like it was going to escape through her mouth
"You have been crying" the male voice brought her out of her thoughts
Quickly wiping her tears, she hadn't noticed she was crying "No... something just fell into my eye that's all" she lied
Picking up her bag, she said "let's go then"
Kyle watched her through his hood without expression...he couldn't understand the emotions of the human heart nor did he care but seeing her tears made him uneasy
"Take my hand" he said raising his gloves hand for her to take
She placed her hand on his
"We're going to be morphing out of the town, to where we will begin our journey" he said as black shadows slowly engulfed both of them
Taking a last glance at the door, she hoped Leora would come to say her last good bye, smiling painfully she mouthed "good bye"
"WAIT" a voice shouted desperately, making Ashley pull her hand away from his, turning to the door. Leora stood there panting heavily, body covered in sludge, her hands on knees like she just ran a hundred miles