-21-
A girl sat in a cave. Her head was buried in her arms which held her knees together. Her shoulder shook as she cried. Tears streamed down her face and dripped on her dress.
The cave was spacious; light beamed through the opening and sank into the pond.
She sat atop straw, bundled enough for two people to lay abreast. The cave was warm and clear of any bad odours.
It was silent, save for the girl's faint sobs in the cave.
"Ah! So this is where you were." Said a voice from outside the cave.
A boy entered the cave and stepped down the rocks.
He went to the girl and stood before her.
"We have to go back. The whole town will be searching for you if we don't." He said.
"None of your business." She replied.
She sniffed and wiped her eyes with her sleeves.
The boy sat down next to the girl and stared at her.
"Your father is worried. He told the servants at your house to search for you already." He said.
The girl sniffed.
"That's because he won't find me himself. He's working again. isn't he?. He's always working and working. He never has time for me. We rarely even eat together now." She said, sinking her head deeper in her arms.
"If you tell him, he'll spend more time with you for sure." He said.
"Don't wanna." She replied.
"Well, let's go back first and then find out what to do there."
She shook her head.
Water droplets from the stalactites above dripped into the pond below, causing ripples on its surface.
"Is there another reason why you are crying?" He asked.
For a moment there was silence.
"Why are you crying then?" He said.
His voice alone echoed in the cave.
"Is it because Aunt Risley's going away?"
After a few moments, the girl slowly nodded her head.
"I thought you were fine with it. You even congratulated her."
"Of course I'm not you dummy!" She turned to him and shouted. Then sank her head in her arms again.
"But aren't you happy for her? She's going to the Capitol. The Capitol! Isn't that great?"
"Mm." She nodded, "But I can be sad too."
"If she sees you crying, she will be sad." The boy said.
"That's why I'm here, stupid." She replied.
She wiped her tears as she raised her head.
"Here." He handed her a handkerchief.
She took it and stared at it.
"Is this the one I gave you?" The girl said.
"Mm." He nodded. "It is and I'm not giving it back. So use it and give it back to me." He replied.
"I already gave it to you, silly."
She wiped her face with it and blew her nose, then handed it back to the boy.
He scrunched it up and put it in a pocket.
"Even if Aunt Risley's gone, the other aunts are still here." The boy said.
"Who says they won't go as well? Maybe not now but Aunt Helen and Aunt Dorothy already left, and now Aunt Risley." The girl replied.
"You said it yourself." She continued, "I can't be happy like mother said if my aunts all leave."
"Well." The boy scratched his head, eyes darting around the cave.
"I don't think they will. But even if they do, you have your father, and your uncle, and Louis, and me. Even the people in town. You can be happy with them and they won't leave."
"So let's go back, okay?" The boy said.
He stood and stared at the girl.
The girl raised her head and looked at the boy.
"You promise?"
"Mm." The boy nodded his head and extended his hand.
The girl extended hers and interlocked their pinky fingers.
"Now, get up and let's go. If the town people get involved, we'll be in serious trouble."
The boy pulled the girl up and they patted their clothes.
They left the cave and ran towards the town.
-
Miriel reached the cave opening, ensconced between a rubble of rocks beneath a cliff. The ones that covered the entrance were displaced from the rubble.
She went to the opening and peered inside.
"Mark, are you there?" She said.
Moonlight seeped through the opening, casting a dim light into the cave. The pond's surface captured the darkness that blanketed the cave.
She saw a figure crouched and sitting in the cave.
"Mark?" She repeated
Silence enveloped the cave.
With her eyes adjusted, she saw the figure had grey hair and was sitting on the ground with his arms around his knees, face sinking in his arms.
She entered the cave, descended down the rocks and went to Mark.
"It has been a while since last I was here." Miriel said.
She sat on the ground beside Mark.
"Must be even longer for you."
Mark remained as he was, motionless like a rock.
"Here, you dropped this," She put the sword in front of him, "Sadly, I did not find the sheath. Though we can simply get another."
He remained ever still.
"So, why are you here, Mark?" Miriel asked.
Silence loomed.
"Tell me."
Water drops fell from the stalactites above into the pond below.
"....ow."
"Was that a breath?"
"...n't know."
"A grunt?"
"You wouldn't know!" He shouted, still hugging his knees.
"Then tell me so I know." Miriel replied.
Again, silence loomed.
"Mark." She called.
"Look at me." She repeated.
"Mark, look at me."
Miriel sank her palms and placed them on Mark's cheeks, then lifted his head. She saw his eyes tremble as they met hers.
She headbutted him.
"Ow." Mark rubbed his forehead.
"Look at me if I ask you to." She replied, hands still resting on his cheeks.
She stared straight at him, while his eyes avoided hers.
"We promised, remember?" Miriel said.
"Tell me. I will listen."
Miriel removed her hands and clasped them in her lap. Mark's head sank into his arms again.
A moment passed, and another, and another, until Mark shifted.
"I was scared."
"Mm." Miriel nodded.
"I was terrified, Miriel. My hands trembled. I couldn't even hold the sword right. I barely held it up when the spindlefell attacked."
Miriel stared at Mark as he continued, his head resting on his arms.
"So I ran. I ran far away from the spindlefell and the others and hid here. Far enough that no one would find me."
"I am scared Miriel." He continued, "And it's not just the spindlefell. I am scared of forests, trees, even the leaves and branches. I couldn't even hit the logs at the clearing. They all make me want to run and never look back."
"I am scared of fire and lanterns. I wander the corridors at night because I don't dare to sleep. My nightmares haunt me and I wake up screaming."
"That's why I am here Miriel." Mark turned his head and faced her.
Tears streamed down his face.
"Because I am a coward who gets scared when he sees anything that resembles a tree. Because I am a coward who couldn't hold a sword. Because I'm a coward who ran away from his duty."
"I am here, because I am a coward."
Miriel held a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped his tears.
"If you are a coward, you need but learn to be brave."
Miriel put the handkerchief back in her pocket and stared at Mark.
"Now, tell me. What has made you a coward."
So he told her.
In the dim cave, void of anyone else, he told her.
Of the monsters, the soldiers, and the people he met.
Of the demons that haunt him.
And the ghosts in his head.