I snuck out after dinner, riding boots laced tight and a silk cloak fastened around my throat. I was pretty sure no one would have stopped me from leaving but I still used the same path hidden behind the house that I used to take before the raid.

The sun was just beginning to set but by the time I got to town, most of the shops were already boarded up for the night. Locks over the shutters and doors firmly shut. I didn't remember that from before and I wondered if that was some new rule enacted since the raid. There weren't many people out this late either, but I saw the candlelights flickering in people's windows.

I didn't walk anywhere in particular but it seemed my feet had a destination in mind when they stopped outside of a familiar house. I looked up at the gabled roof in need of repairs and the normally pristine garden that had grown unruly. I saw a flicker of a shadow from the window before a blonde head walked past, holding a basket of linens. My heart stopped in my chest.

Without thinking, I strode up the path to the house and knocked on the front door before I could change my mind. A blonde woman opened the door, older and more tired than who I was expecting. Her blue eyes widened in surprise. She smiled a friendly smile before glancing over her shoulder nervously.

"Hello, Miss Hayward." I gave her a polite smile, trying to look past her into her home. "Is Taylen home?"

I already knew the answer. I saw Taylen through the window, but Miss Hayward's mouth pursed in an unfamiliar fashion. "I'm afraid she's not up for company. And besides, it's getting late."

She started to close the door, but I planted my hand flat against it to keep it from shutting. "It's urgent."

Miss Hayward glanced towards the living room where I could imagine Taylen eavesdropping from the couch. "Very well. But make it quick."

I nodded, stepping past the threshold. Instinctively, I took a deep breath in through my nose. The Hayward family made their living by washing linens in town. Their house always smelled like soap and the lavender that they scented their washing basin with.

"She's through there." Miss Hayward pointed in the direction of the living room before retreating into the single bedroom that her and her daughter shared. Enough space to give up privacy but also to jump in if need be.

I hovered at the front door. Now that I was here, what was I expecting? My hands fidgeted with the hem of my cloak and with nervous steps, I walked into the living room.

It was just as I remembered it. A smoldering fire in the hearth, thin rug covering the pale wood floors, a worn couch pushed up against the window, and a rush of color that crashed into me.

Taylen wrapped her arms around me, her blonde hair fluttering around her shoulders. I froze for a brief second before gently placing my hands on her back.

"Nori, I'm so glad you're okay." Taylen breathed into my ear, squeezing her arms a little bit tighter before letting go. She dragged me over to the couch and pulled me down to sit next to her.

Taylen looked thinner, gods she was already so small, and was wrapped in a freshly laundered quilt. Her pale blue eyes flickered to the bedroom.

"I'm sorry about mom. I haven't been up for much lately. I told her to keep everyone out."

I nodded, clasping and unclasping my hands in my lap. The fire in the hearth made the room feel heavier than normal.

"I'm glad you made it back safe." I forced the words past the lump in my throat, remembering the last time I saw my friend.

Taylen winced, pulling the quilt tighter around her shoulders. "I'm also sorry about what I said to you from, before... I said horrible things to you and I was starting to think that I would never get the chance to apologize." Her voice raised just a little, but I could still hear the shakiness in it. "You know how the other girls in town are, they've always liked to gossip."

"Well you can tell them that if it wasn't for me, they would be dead. Or worse."

"Oh, I refuse to talk to them anymore. Well, anyone really." She brushed a strand of hair over her shoulder that had fallen over her face. "It's hard to just go back to normal after what we've been through."

After what we've been through. If only she knew...

"If it helps, they're dead now. The raiders. Happened the same night you escaped."

Her wide eyes searched my face and I could tell that she wondered what happened after her and the others got away. She waited for me to say something else, but I clamped my mouth shut. I wasn't ready for that.

"Me and mom are leaving soon. Someplace new, different. Someplace where it's okay to not go back to normal."

"That'll be nice."

"You could come with us." Taylen reached over and grabbed my hand with both of hers. They were ice cold, despite the stifling fireplace. "I'm sure mom won't mind. She always liked you."

"I can't." Leave town? I had only just returned to Dast. I couldn't leave.

"I thought you might say that." Taylen nodded, a sad smile on her face. "I don't know when we're leaving yet, but I'd like to come say goodbye if that's okay."

"Yes, of course." I stood, slipping my hands from hers. I glanced out the window. The sun had already set and the stars had come out. "I should probably go before someone notices I'm missing and sends another search party."

Taylen stood, giving me one last hug. Her voice dropped to a hushed whisper, "I still have nightmares about it."

I held her a little tighter, squeezing my eyes shut. "Me too."

_____

The heavy lock of Taylen's front door sliding into place followed me as I walked down the pathway to the main road in town. Just as I had started down it, a pair of footsteps fell beside me.

"Are you following me now?" I turned towards Rylan, who must've been waiting for me outside. The stars bathed him in their faint twinkling light.

"You try staying in the same room as the others." Rylan nudged my shoulder, shoving his hands in his pockets. "I was going for a walk for some fresh air when I saw you sneaking away. The guards didn't even notice you."

"I've had plenty of practice sneaking around." Just as the words left my mouth, I realized what it sounded like and so did Rylan if the smirk on his face was any indication. I whipped my head forward, heat flushing my face.

I gestured to the left and we cut through the wheat fields. It was almost ready to be harvested and the grain rustled against our clothing as we walked through the rows. I inhaled the raw earthy scent and it reminded me of home. Of being in the kitchen with a fresh loaf of bread in the oven.

"What were you doing?"

"Hm?" I opened my eyes, not realizing I had closed them. I had walked this path enough times to be able to walk it blindfolded. "Oh, I was visiting a friend. She was one of the others that was taken during the raid."

"One that you saved?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "She seems okay. She and her mom are leaving soon."

"How does that make you feel?" Rylan laced his fingers with mine now that we were out of the wheat fields and away from town. I looked up the hill to where my house sat, blazing with light from the windows.

"I'm glad for her." I led Rylan away from the front gate to a section of wall that was easily climbable even at night. "I never realized how small Dast was before."