“Like you said, we need to stick together. How do you think I felt when I woke up to see you were nowhere to be found?”
“Clara, you’re overreacting. I had to piss.”
She clenched her fists at her sides. “Don’t you dare tell me I’m overreacting.”
“But you are. You’re acting like I’ve committed some heinous crime. All I did was pee!”
She rolled her eyes, beyond frustrated. “Did I actually scare you that much?” Carver asked after a few minutes. She finished packing her bag, and glared at him as she waited for him to gather the last of his things.
“Yes,” she admitted. She couldn’t believe she had admitted that to him, but he was her partner. It was her job to keephim alive.I only care because if you die we can’t complete the assignment.She tried to convince herself that was the full truth, but as good as she was at lying to herself this one fell short.
“I’m sorry.” His tone was sincere, and she waited for the punchline or sarcasm that never came.
“Apology accepted.” They started walking, falling into step. “I may have overreacted.”
“May have?”
“Okay, okay,” she smiled slightly, a little lighter now than she felt moments before. “I overreacted. I’m sorry. I woke up, you were nowhere to be found, and I feared the worst.”
“You worried I was hurt or dead.”
Actually, I’m selfish enough the worst I feared was you leaving me.“Something like that.”
Clara tucked her hands into the sleeves of her jacket, enjoying the feel of the brisk morning air as they started to walk. “Technically, this should be day two of our walking journey. Hopefully, we find people to join today.”
He nodded. “I personally think we’ve made good time. We don’t have an exact way to measure distance, but we’ve kept a good pace.”
Clara chewed on the inside of her cheek. In her opinion, everything mission oriented until this point was easy. Sure, they had a lot of physical activity, but she was used to that. It was this next part that truly terrified her–the part where she had to become someone else. She didn’t know how to do that.
“Um,” she inhaled deeply, not wanting to actually say the statement out loud. “Do we have our stories straight? For the, uh, the parts we’re playing? That’s what you called it right? The people we become and the characters we are.”
“Well, we’re both from Calyndor. What do you know about Calyndor?”
She scrambled to remember the history lessons she had been taught. She vaguely remembered information about the various kingdoms from basic training, but the unfortunate reality was she hadn’t used any of it over the last three years. It hadn’t been relevant, so she hadn’t retained it.
Carver stared at her as she tried to remember, and jumped in. “Calyndor is an extremely small, but wealthy, nation. They’re regarded as frivolous people. Far more concerned with food or events than politics. They’ve never been a threat, and they don’t hold any resources that other kingdoms have found valuable enough to plunder. Plus, the Calyndor typically squander their jewels in trades with other nations anyway.”
Clara couldn’t quite imagine a life without the threat of war. “If they’re not training to fight or think about war, what are they doing on a day to day basis?”
Carver grinned as though it was something he would have greatly enjoyed. “They’re living. They have adventures. They have fun. They visit different kingdoms and see the world.”
“That sounds so pointless.”
“You argue that this war has a point?”
Clara immediately stiffened at the implication. It felt like he was denigrating what so many people, including their fathers, had died for. “Survival?”
“Beyond survival though. If it was over, if we managed to end it, what then? Purpose shouldn’t be tied up in a war.”
“Isn’t yours?”
Carver didn’t respond immediately, and Clara knew he was taking her question seriously. Eventually he answered, “We’re getting off topic.” Blatantly ignoring her question he continued, “If you’re a Calyndor girl you’re going to have to smile.”
“This won’t work.” She replied entirely monotone.
“Oh c’mon. I know you’re capable of it.” She glared at him, but he only laughed. “Besides, you have a beautiful smile whenyou choose to use it. With that smile and your wit, you could rob a man blind and he’d thank you for it. That’s a skill we need on this assignment.”
She almost gave him a hard time about calling her smile beautiful, but she enjoyed the compliment too much to want to punish him for giving it. Instead, she laughed. “See?” He pointed at her mouth, “That smile, right there. A real smile. That’s what a Calyndor girl would have.”
