Page 81 of To Fight and To Fold

Aaryn nodded, comforted at least by the quick transportation. To move somewhere entirely new with a flash of magic. What a life these druids must live!

"But you'll bring me back? Tonight? I can sleep here?" she asked, afraid if she left, she might not be able to return.

Thea smiled softly, and Aaryn ignored the butterflies taking flight in her stomach. "Yes, we can come back tonight."

"How's that sound?" she asked Starspark. "It'll be quick," she presumed, and glanced at Thea for confirmation.

Thea patted Starspark as well. "A blink of time. I'll bring her right back."

He opened his eyes and huffed, billowing Aaryn's dress.

"I think that's as good an answer as we'll get," Aaryn said, and stepped away, her hand slipping from his warm scales. Starspark's big, green eyes followed her, and it broke her heart all over again to walk away.

"It won't take long. Come this way," Thea directed.

Aaryn carried her shoes in one hand, and peaked over her shoulder once more at her dragon—her dragon—before following Thea.

Thea led them back to the magic pillars and moved the painted tile into place.

The circle glowed as it was completed and Aaryn braced herself as the magic took hold. It didn't hurt, but it surrounded them with an odd tingle that was unfamiliar to her.

When she blinked, they were standing in a similar circle, but a different place. The glow faded as the tile moved itself out of line with the magical pattern.

"What's this one?" She was trying to commit everything to memory.

"This is the biggest of the isles. But we simply call it the Heart,” Thea said, gazing proudly out at their surroundings.

They'd materialized in the center of another set of runes, within what seemed to be a… town. All around them were more buildings molded from the earth, formed by magic, their simple wooden signs depicting businesses or arrows directing toward paths that led deeper into the isle. Fruit-bearing trees and shrubs and flowers and little gardens were planted amongst the walkways. It was… beautiful.

It reminded her of Evergale… if Evergale had been rife with nature and freely walking dragons.

"Wow," was all Aaryn could come up with, pulling from a vast vocabulary.

"It's come a long way from the beginning," Thea said, and led her away from the teleportation runes. She directed her toward a path between two large trees—upon closer inspection, Aaryn realized there were doors in their trunks—which eventually ended near a huge clearing with a firepit in the center. The embers were cold.

There were even taverns! Eventually their path branched off into more paths, and on either side of those walkways were those little homes, carved into a hillside, hollowed out of a tree.

"It's gotten pretty crowded recently… more people are joining us from all over Rishika."

"Why?"

"We’re a refuge," Thea answered hesitantly.

Aaryn sensed there was something Thea wasn't saying, but Aaryn could guess well enough what she meant. "From Evergale?"

Thea nodded.

"I'm just around this bend," Thea said, and then led her to a small cottage that looked similar to all the others. "It's not… a castle, or anything, but it's mine, and I think it's nice."

Thea spoke as if she was already apologizing for what awaited them, and Aaryn wondered if Thea wanted to impress her. She kept the question to herself, and instead she tucked a smile into her shoulder and waited for Thea to let them in.

Thea motioned for Aaryn to walk ahead, and the doorway revealed a quaint, cute home that was very Thea: a simple bed and wardrobe, a small firestove for warmth and cooking, and an equally small table. The only thing on its surface was a tin cup with wilting flowers in it. A screen sat off to the side by the wardrobe for changing.

Aaryn had expected it to feel much like Thea's quarters had, at the castle. Empty and barren. But it didn't. This place was clearly lived in, with a haphazardly-made bed and creased pillows, a stray shirt tossed on the end of it.

Thea was partial to weapons, that much was clear. Or at least, upon closer inspection, staves. They lined the wall in all sizes. Some were carved or whittled, or painted and stained artfully. The remaining wall was covered in what seemed to be art, the lines of dragons and skies and elementary suns scribbled into the paper.

"Do you have… children?" Aaryn asked, managing to keep the incredulous tone out of her voice. How much of a double life had this druid led?