"The grey weeping willows say that someone has been following you around since yesterday evening."
I gulped.
"Who is it?" I asked quietly, trying to hide my anxiety.
Her expression changed slightly.
I bit my lip. This wasn't good news at all! Who was following me?! And why? Did they want to harm me or kill me? Or maybe both?
"Please sit down," the priestess gestured towards a bench near the door and I sat down obediently.
"Eurybia wants you to be careful and safe. If you feel threatened in any way, call for me and I will protect you."
I nodded. "Okay, thank you."
I didn't know exactly what to think of the priestess. In a way, I wanted to trust her, but my feeling told me that I should still be cautious. She was still a stranger to me in a way.
My thoughts drifted to my family, whom I had not seen since the day of the blessing. My family had now become strangers to me too. Even my best friend Tlaca had not shown her face since then. At this point I was sure that her mother would not let her see me.
At least that's what I wanted to believe from the bottom of my heart.
The priestess cleared her throat and thus let me out of my dark train of thought.
"Do you have a question for me?" she asked. "You seem like something is bothering you?"
I hesitated. My instinct told me to be careful, but who else did I have? Everyone had turned their backs on me. No one wanted a renegade in the family.
I felt the need to confide in someone. I didn't want to burden Lito with this. He would be at my side day and night and I couldn't justify that during his convalescence. He would not rest until he had found a way to rescue me from the mess that lay ahead, according to the grey weeping willows.
The priestess knew about almost everything that concerned me. Was it so wrong to tell her what had happened today?
So, I took a deep breath and started telling her about my experiences during the day. About how I found myself in this hidden room in my house, about the misty figures in black robes wandering around in Lito's garden and then finally this loud bang whereupon the figures vanished into thin air.
As soon as I finished speaking, she gave me an astonished look. "How did you manage to get into that secret room?""
I shrugged. "It was simply there."
The priestess looked at me thoughtfully. An uneasy feeling came over me. Maybe it was a mistake to tell her everything...
"Alright." She sighed deeply. "This is really bad news."
"Bad?" I repeated confused.
"Yes, very bad indeed."
I frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Someone knows about your existence and they are after you. You must leave this place immediately. We cannot allow these people to find you here."
"But..." I stammered. "Where can I go? Where can I run to?"
The priestess shook her head sadly. "We don't know yet. But we'll figure something out together. Don't wander off alone anywhere until I came up with something. Do you understand?"
I nodded slowly and she smiled reassuringly at me.
"Come back tonight at midnight." With these words she took her leave.
She left the temple quickly, leaving behind a heavy silence.
Afterwards, I walked back home with Lito. It was already late afternoon and darkness was creeping closer.
"Is everything okay?" Lito asked as soon as we entered the house.
"Yeah, everything's fine," I replied quickly.
His look spoke for itself, but he seemed to let me get away with my obvious lie.
When we arrived at Litos' house, he held me by the arm. "Yona, I want to tell you..... I want to tell you....."
He stammered and looked deep into my eyes. "I want to tell you that you can always count on me! Always!"
With a smile on my lips, I hugged him tightly.
"I am so grateful to you for always looking out for me!"
He returned my hug fervently.
He murmured softly something that sounded like "I love you". But I wasn't sure if I had heard him wrong. Besides, I was too embarrassed to talk to him about it. What if I had misheard? I wanted to avoid this unpleasant situation.
We broke away from our embrace and Lito looked at me worriedly. "Are you going home now?" he asked, leaning against the wall of the house. "I don't want to go home and I don't think I'm welcome there at the moment".
Lito nodded. "I can understand, today was Zao's wedding. If I were you, I wouldn't want to go home either."
I stared at Lito. Today Zao had married that bitch Hua. I had been so focused on myself for the last two days that I had completely forgotten about it.
I had never intended to attend the wedding, but I felt even worse when I thought about Hua being my sister-in-law.
"In the temple, some were talking about the wedding. According to them, it was very pompous." Lito nervously ran his hand through his hair. He knew he had ruined the mood. Was there even anything to ruin?
"Then it's even better that I spent the day with you! I didn't want to attend this wedding anyway!"
Lito smiled happily and I returned the gesture.
"Let's go inside," he suggested. "It's probably the best thing for you to stay with me tonight," Lito said and I nodded in agreement. "Thank you, you are my salvation."
***
Lito and I ate dinner together and talked about the events of the day.
His parents came through the front door less later. When they saw me, they gave Lito an indefinable look and then disappeared upstairs to their room.
"I don't think your parents want me to be here. Remember I'm a renegade now."
Lito shrugged his shoulders. "My parents will leave us alone. They're glad I'm even alive after being brought here like a heap of misery."
"If you say so...", I murmured and Lito nodded in agreement.
We talked for a while before we both went upstairs to Lito's room. He put a mattress on the floor and on top of it a pillow and a blanket. "You little poison dwarf may sleep in the royal bed while I, as your servant, will camp on the floor in an exemplary manner!"
I laughed and shook my head. "Lito, you are still recovering. You should sleep on the bed."
"No! I know what is proper for a gentleman!"
With that he grabbed me and laid me on his bed.
"Hey!" Laughing, I pushed him slightly away from me as he carefully laid me down on the bed.
"Sleep tight you crumpled ball." he said, turning out the light.
"You too, birdbrain!"
***
Shortly before midnight, I sneaked out of the house. I had kissed Lito goodbye on the forehead while he slept. I had the uneasy feeling that I would not see him again for a while.
I had not forgotten my appointment with the priestess.
The night breeze was cool and I felt goose bumps on my arms. The village was silent, only from the forest could the fluffies be heard hopping through the forest.
I crept along the gravelled path, trying to be as quiet as possible. The lanterns that were placed along the path from time to time provided enough light to keep me from straying from the path.
When I arrived at the temple, the priestess was already waiting for me at the gate. "There you are Yona, I thought you weren't coming."
Before I could say anything back she grabbed my arm.
"Come on we don't have much time left."
Perplexed, the priestess pulled me along the pebbled paths towards the coast.
"Where are we going?", I asked after a while, careful not to sound too panicked.
"The grey weeping willows have informed me that the misty figures are dire harbingers. You are to leave Niantra at once.... Come this way..."
She pulled me through an embankment and we walked along a narrow steep path that wound down through the scrub.
"But where should I go? I don't know my way outside Niantra on my own," I said, making sure to stay on the path. "Don't worry about that, I've found someone who can help you!"
I stared at the priestess' back in amazement. She knew someone who could help me?
Not ten minutes later we were standing in one of the many bays of Niantra. But I had never seen this bay before.
The priestess looked around. "There it is," she murmured and pulled me further along the edge. In the darkness, a silhouette became more and more visible.
When she seemed to recognise us, she lit a torch. Long red hair shone in the darkness. A pirate stood in front of us. She wore a black eye patch and a black hat with a large red rose embroidered on it.
She wore a long black coat that was ankle-length around her legs. She also wore long stilettos that had a large heel. She looked very stylish for a pirate.
I had never imagined pirates like that. More like loud drunkards who raided other ships in rags and could barely make a living.
But the pirate in front of me was brimming with class and elegance.
"Look at that. So this is the landlubber I'm supposed to take on board?" The pirate's voice was powerful but also slightly raspy.
"Yes, that's Yona."
The pirate's gaze literally pierced me. She looked me up and down. "Well then, let's go Miss Renegade Landlubber."
"Go where?" I asked, shocked. Everything was happening a bit too fast for me now.
"I'm taking you away from Niantra. I'll tell you everything else on my ship. My crew is already waiting for us. Besides, your goddess won't be pleased that I'm staying here for long."
I no longer understood the world.
"Here Yona, I have packed you a bag. It's got clothes and everything you need in it."
"But...." I couldn't finish because the pirate interrupted me.
"Priestess, I don't have any more time..."
The priestess clasped my hands.
"You can trust the crazy pirate. She's just out of her mind. Nevertheless, she will be able to help you. Your journey begins now! Remember what the grey weeping willows said."
I was so overwhelmed that all I could mumble was, "Okay."
"That's settled then." The pirate took my backpack and threw it into a small rowboat that lay in the water behind her. "On board, landlubber."
I did as I was told and sat down in the rowboat. The pirate pushed the boat and then jumped in too.
"See you priestess!" she shouted and grabbed the paddles. She tossed one into my lap. "Come help me."
I nodded and together we rowed out into the wide sea. The water was black as night. Only occasional stars flashed down at us through the cloudy sky.
"YOOONNNAAA!" someone shouted behind me and I turned around.
He was standing on the seashore. Behind him was the priestess, who seemed to be trying to calm him down.
"Who's that loud landlubber back there?" the pirate asked.
"My best friend," I whispered, returning Lito's gaze.
Lito fell silent. He knew that I would leave now. He knew he would never see me again. He knew it. You could see it in his face, which was lit up by the flare.
"Yona.... I... love you!" he cried and I flinched.
"This seems to be more than just a friendship, renegade landlubber," the pirate laughed, but I didn't respond.
I looked at a Litos face. He waited for my answer, but I couldn't give him one. He would surely hope that I would return to him out of love. But I could not.
For me, for the time being, there was no going back.
It hurt to see him like this, but I knew that what I was doing was right. I turned around and looked into the face of the pirate.
"Let's keep paddling."
The pirate raised an eyebrow. "So you're a heartless renegade landlubber. Interesting combination!" she laughed and we paddled on out to sea.
I could feel Lito's pain. The look on his face, his tears. I saw everything in my mind's eye.
I had broken his heart and thus destroyed our friendship. So there was no turning back for me....