Ahri looked up to check on the man, and his clear blue eyes told her she found her contact. A black beard with streaks of white framed an amicable face that smiled at her with a missing tooth. He motioned to sit, but Ahri just gave him a pointed stare that made him freeze on the spot.
"Who are you?"
"I'm Dylan. And you must be in trouble if your mother sent you here." He winked, and Leah giggled by her side. He seemed genuine, but Ahri was still apprehensive because of the knights and didn't want to let her guard down just yet.
"What do they want?" She asked Dylan, indicating the scene that was still unfolding in the tavern's entrance.
"Come on, you know the answer to that!" He said a bit louder, and Ahri just cocked her head in a silent warning. He raised both hands and lowered his voice before replying. "Knights of the faith, looking for the healer's daughter."
Ahri sighed. She had deduced so, but hoped she might have read too much into the situation. They were probably doing the same in several taverns and inns across the town, in an attempt to flush her out.
"It was smart of Eleanor to dye your hair, they stopped two blond girls on the way in."
The knights left moments later, assuming their target wasn't there either. Dylan looked at her in expectation, and she finally motioned for him to sit across from her. He looked at Leah for the first time, and his ocean blue eyes gawked at her for a full minute before Ahri cleared her throat to interrupt the stare contest.
"I'm sorry, but… Leah?" He asked. The girl smiled at him, but her eyes showed no sign of recognition.
"Dylan, is it? I'm Ahri," she said, getting his attention back. She was getting protective over the girl, and even if the man was friendly, she'd rather keep the child off the spotlight for now.
"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Ahri. I suppose Eleanor wants me to take Leah back, right?"
"Not just Leah." She was also on the run there, but even if she wasn't, she wouldn't leave the girl with a stranger.
"You swim us home?" Leah asked all of a sudden. Ahri squinted at the odd phrasing and was ready to correct her when Dylan chuckled.
"I don't want to drown your new friend, Leah. But I can find someone to take you home." He winked again, and Ahri felt her annoyance growing.
"Do you care to explain whatever the hell you mean?"
"I'd love to, but if I want to get you out of here today, I need to get going. Come, there's a room in the back you can use while you wait."
Ahri tried to ask for more, but the man dismissed her questions as he explained what they were supposed to do. Apparently she needed to cross the border right before dark and wait in the middle of the forest until nightfall. She protested as much as she could, but Dylan had the same air Eleanor did when a discussion was over.
Soon, she found herself alone with Leah in the small room at the back of the tavern. Frustration was pilling up because of her doubts, but with no target to keep shooting questions, she focused on Leah. There was a small bucket with water and clean cloths in a corner, so the first thing she did was to clean the girl to uncover her wounds.
Her hair seemed like a darkish brown at first, but as soon as the water carried away the dirt, a few ginger strands shone through. The poppy seeds must have been at full effect, because she didn't flinch as Ahri worked on her cuts with a mix of echinacea and chamomile. She didn't know how none of the wounds got infected in that disgusting environment, but she used the healing herbs, anyway.
"Ahli, you dragon," Leah said in a voice way more cheerful than the first time she spoke, as she played Ahri's hair. She noticed the particular strand Leah was holding had gone back to white because of the water and tied it before more of the paint was washed away.
"I am not a dragon, Leah. But you are. Do you want to change back?" Ahri didn't know how to deal with a dragon, but she was dying of curiosity to see the change that she missed in the Cathedral.
"No," Leah answered. "I like girl Leah."
"Did you ever change in the crypts?"
The girl shook her head. "No. Girl Leah secret!" As to emphasize her meaning, Leah put a finger in front on her mouth. The words didn't fully form in her lips, and the effort to talk was clear in her forest green eyes.
Ahri only knew a few sick kids brought regularly to the shop by desperate mothers and tried to compare them to the girl in front of her. Leah's vocabulary and speech were below standard for what she supposed was her age, but her actions were far smarter.
"What do you think about Dylan?" Ahri asked, recalling the odd interaction between the two. Leah giggled before answering.
"Water dragon fun!"
Ahri stopped dressing the girl's wounds, trying to understand what she meant. Dylan was a dragon. A water dragon. She recalled the words Leah had used about swimming them home.
"What kind of dragon are you, Leah?"
"Leah earth dragon."
Pieces of that complicated puzzle were coming together in her mind, and Ahri cursed her mother for not telling her anything. Dylan talked about her as if they were close friends, so her relationship with dragons wasn't something of the past. She couldn't understand why Eleanor kept something so important from her, and that bitter taste remained in her mouth for a long time after that.
The girls waited in that tiny room until the first sunset and then walked to the southern border, as Dylan had instructed them to do. Ahri wasn't fond of trusting someone so blindly, but in her current situation she didn't have the luxury to doubt her mother's contact. They reached the river that marked the end of Lightbridge and watched the famous bridge that named the town.
She had crossed it a few times with Eleanor to fetch herbs and flowers that didn't grow inside the town, but now the crossing felt different. Permanent. Despite Ahri's thumping heartbeat, she schooled her reactions to avoid troubling the little girl that walked by her side.
The flow of people was at its peak, so the knights were on high alert, standing tall on the border and choosing people to question. Ahri stayed behind and let a few people cross before her to analyze what they were looking for.
"What is Ahli doing?" Leah asked by her side.
"I'm paying attention to the world around us, Leah." She remembered how her mother taught her how to read the space before taking action, all those years ago. "Tell me, what do you see?"
"Bad man, bad man," Leah pointed to the two knights on the bridge, and Ahri's heart clenched.
"Yes, they are. But watch closely. Can you see that tall man with the large bag? They asked to see what was inside. They are looking for something that shouldn't be leaving town." Like a dragon, she added in her head.
"Oh, they stop pretty girl too." Leah pointed to the second knight, who was handling a girl with light blond hair a bit too roughly. Ahri felt her blood boiling at the scene, but knew better than to come close.
"Yes, Leah. That's why we need to be smart. Come, stay close to me."
Ahri waited for her chance, and eventually it came in the form of a young man in simple clothes. He was probably a merchant and was leaving the town empty handed after selling his product. Perfect. The girls got as close as possible without alerting the man and crossed the bridge as an inconspicuous family of three.
The road that cut through the forest was wide, and a few horses coursed the path away from the bridge. Ahri didn't know their final destination, but was instructed to walk away from the road and into the woods. It was not the safest place for them, but nor were the roads since they began looking for her.
All her fears were suddenly amplified when Leah let go of her hand and sprinted to a path between the trees.
"Leah! Jesus Christ, where are you going?"