Aizel looked down at her horse. The spotted mare was prancing down the road like she hadn’t a care in the world. She didn’t look tired at all.
But Aizel was completely happy to extend their trip, so she nodded her assent.
“Besides, there’s a beautiful spot I discovered close to here that would be especially good for watching the sunset,” Erich continued. “And, if I recall correctly, it had lots of flowers.”
Aizel smiled, raising her eyebrows as she nodded again.“I already agreed, silly boy. You don’t have to convince me twice.”
A short distance later, Erich nudged his horse onto a small side path and Aizel followed his lead. Her heart felt squeezed, like it couldn’t beat properly. She didn’t want this trip to end and it hurt even more to know Erich didn’t want it to end either.
But the thought of her sister in the hands of the ruthless Quotidian... anger welled up inside her at the impossible choice she had been given. Why did Erich deserve to live while her sister died? He was a prince! He had lived a happy life with a loving family and complete freedom already. Didn’t Celesta deserve to experience the same thing while she was still alive?
The intensity of her feelings overwhelmed Aizel, she didn’t notice the changing landscape around her.
“What do you think?” Erich cut into her thoughts.
Aizel lifted her head. They were riding through a large, grassy plain. Trees lined the horizon and she could see a gentle river bubbling quietly through the grass.
It was beautiful. She lifted her eyebrows and nodded at Erich.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” he said, as though reading her mind. “The only problem with it is that it belongs to Chendas and not Iseldis. This isn’t all of it, though.”
Carefully guiding the horses over the uneven ground, Erich followed the side of the small river.
The water was so clear Aizel could see every rounded pebble on the bottom of the riverbed. Watching the constant motion was mesmerizing.
As they approached the end of the meadow, she could see that the edge was a drop-off. The sounds of rushing water grew louder and the river poured over a cliffside to create a cascading waterfall.
Erich dismounted and she followed his lead. Leaving the horses to drink from the stream, he reached for her hand and pulled her toward the edge of the cliff.
“I found this place a few weeks ago when I was searching for you,” he said. “It’s surprisingly uninhabited for being so close to the capital. I’m amazed no one has discovered it and built a small farm here. I would be quite happy to wake up to this view every day.”
Aizel opened her mouth in amazement as they came close enough to the cliff’s edge to see the views below.
This had to be the very top of the world.
The small river turned into a foaming white waterfall. It bounced and sprayed down the cliffside, which was taller than the treetops below it. A series of interconnected lakes spread out across the landscape below, offsetting the deep green forests with a bright blue.
In all her life, she had never seen anything more beautiful than the ocean. While that still held true, the deeply saturated colors of this endless view were a possible rival.
“It’s incredible isn’t it?”
Aizel barely registered his words. Such an obvious question hardly deserved an answer.
“Have you never seen it before?” he questioned further. “I received a report that you had been sighted at a village just through that forest. By the time I got there, I could find no trace of a wandering Majis sorceress. I thought you might have left the village through this direction.”
Thoroughly confused, Aizel looked up at him. She had no idea what he was talking about. His voice was odd, like he was lying. What was going on? She shook her head and swiped her hand through the air. “What are you talking about?” She pointed to herself, then to ground at her feet, then to all the land in view. Then she shook her head again. “I’ve never been anywhere near here at all.”
Erich watched her, his face puzzled. He turned back to look at the valley far below.
For the briefest moment, Aizel realized she could carry out her task here and now. They were standing on the edge of a tall cliff in an empty meadow and he had his back to her. A life for a life. Justice.
She could imagine her arms lifting...
She jumped backward, putting physical distance between herself and Erich.
This wasn’t her. Those thoughts weren’t her own. She was tired and scared and felt like she had no option available to her.
But she did. She did have the option to choose not to commit a horrible act of violence that would end the life of another person. The Quotidian might stoop to that level of evil, but she never would.
