Page 76 of Whispers of the Elderoak

“Does it bother you that Aro likes me?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know.” He kept looking at her. “Because you’re hiding things from us.” She stared at him, silent. “Tell me what you’re hiding,” he tried again, eyes boring into hers.

“Not yet,” she said, fidgeting with a loose thread on her pants.

“Why not?”

“Would you?” she asked.

“Would I what?”

She sighed, looking toward the fire. “If you were thrown into a world you never knew. Filled with beings you didn’t even know existed, tortured, and then captured by a group of warriors…” She looked back at him. “Would you trust them?”

His eyes softened, almost imperceptibly. “I suppose not.”

“Exactly,” she said. After a few moments of silence, she added, “He was there. At the army camp.”

“What? Who?”

“Aro,” she said, and his eyes widened.

“What do you mean, he was there?”

“When I escaped. I heard growling and I saw him. I think he was creating a distraction…” she explained. “To help me.”

Casimir looked confused as he shook his head. “Why would he do that?”

“I don’t know. Ask him,” she said. “Youcantalk to him, right?”

“Of course I can talk to him.”

“Then ask him.” She pushed herself up, putting all her weight on her good leg. “I should get some sleep. I need to be well rested in case I have an execution to look forward to tomorrow.”

He stared at her with bewilderment but didn’t reply, handing her the large tree branch Raine had found for her to use as a makeshift crutch. Using it for assistance, she hobbled over to her bedroll, now placed in between two of their tents for more protection.

Before she had a chance to make her way to the ground, Casimir interrupted her. “Take my tent.”

She turned to him. “What?”

“Use my tent,” he repeated.

“Why?”

“You’ll feel safer with walls around you.”

“I’m not scared,” she whispered.

Casimir raised an eyebrow. “You’re not a very good liar, you know.”

She glared at him.

He nodded and gestured toward his tent. “Sleep well.”

“Thank you,” she said as she lifted the flaps and crawled into the small tent.

---