Runaway with Faye

Chapter 15

After purchasing a map, the two headed out on foot. Progress would be much slower without Holger, but it turned out they were closer to the border than they thought. And Jyri recovered from the heart arrow's effects sooner than expected. By the time they left the city, he was beaming.

"A few more days," he said, hitching up his pack. "Just a few more days."

"And how exactly are we going to get past the border?" Faye asked, trailing behind.

Jyri stopped in his tracks, frowning down at the dirt. "I haven't thought of that." He glanced at Faye, and continued walking. "Hopefully we won't have too much trouble. Coming back in would be a bigger problem."

"There's no one on Dorendi's side to stop us?" Faye asked, striding to keep up him.

Jyri shook his head. "They're lax on this sort of thing. Especially with refugees from Vustaria. They'll want to see I.D. though."

"I don't have an I.D."

"I'm sure they can work with you," Jyri said. "I haven't heard of anyone having difficulty getting through, aside from heaps of paperwork."

Faye scrunched her nose. "I'd rather stay here then."

Jyri chuckled. "We might not even have to cross the border, to find the portal." He looked to Faye. "I won't, anyway."

Leaving the country was one thing, but leaving the universe terrified her. And yet it sounded exciting. But who knew what other universes were like. What if they ended up somewhere worse? At least Vustaria was tolerable, as long as she kept her identity hidden. "I don't know what I want to do."

"You've still got time to decide." Jyri stopped to pull their new map out of his bag. "I need to make sure we're heading the right way," he explained, burying his nose into it. He glanced up every few steps to make sure he wouldn't bump into any trees. And then, he stopped completely, swearing under his breath. "I forgot..."

Faye stopped to look at him, and he looked as though a horrifying realization struck him. She peeked over his arm at the map. "What?"

"We're... we're around here," Jyri pointed his shaking finger to one spot on the map," and..." his voice trailed off as he dragged his finger towards the left, in the area they were headed. It landed on an image of a crudely-drawn building, with the words "Milthum" scribbled above it.

Goosebumps ran throughout Faye's body, and her eyes met Jyri's. She shrugged, and forced her face to relax. "We'll just have to walk around that area then."

"You'll have to be extra careful around here," Jyri said. "If anyone even suspects..."

"Good thing I wasted money on a ridiculous purchase," Faye said, acutely aware of her flattened wings pressed against her stomach. "Nobody will suspect a thing."

"I hope you're right," Jyri muttered.

As the day wore on, Faye found herself longing to free her aching wings. And breathing became more and more difficult. She didn't dare voice her complaints to Jyri, though she wished he'd put some of that poultice on them. No way could she risk having her wings out, even in secluded woods. When night hit, they found a spot under some trees to sit, and huddled against each other for warmth, wishing for their blankets. Jyri didn't want to risk making a fire. So dinner was, once again, bread. Though Faye successfully threw her knife at a pheasant. After stripping the feathers, she conjured a flame to cook it with. Jyri refused to take any.

"So all you're eating is bread?"

Jyri reached over to his pack, and pulled out a pear. He crunched into it. "Happy?"