The Tales of Scora

Chapter Six

 "I guess this is where we part ways." Ailia grinned, hands on her hips as she turned away from the sign that signified the directions of their destinations.

"See you on the other side." Beira said, nodding as she and Rydel headed off toward the left, where the sign had directed.

"Likewise." Raelyn smiled, as she and Ailia began down the road to the right. Beira didn't look back once they had gone their separate ways. She was nervous, to say the least, since the agreement between Avaladrift and Chivalin for the past few thousand years, was that she, the head of security, was supposed to be the one protecting the queen if no one else was able to; it was safe to say Ren wasn't able, and wouldn't be able for a long while, so the responsibility of watching over Raelyn had now fallen on the icy blonde's shoulders until further notice. This made her more tense than ever, which meant her emotions were heightened and even the smallest thing would make her explode in anger.

To say Beira was angry was an understatement. She was much more than angry, she was furious; Rydel made her seethe with anger. He never took things seriously, he was loud and obnoxious, and he kept touching her. Albeit, it was always harmless touches like a playful punch to the shoulder and the ruffling of her hair, it always managed to get under her skin.

"Stop." She growled at her "companion", who had found amusement in poking her relentlessly in the back.

"You're no fun, Bei."

"Don't call me that."

"Oh come on! It suits you!"

"You know what suits you?" She began. "A punch in the face."

"Ooh, I'd like that." Rydel teased, stifling laughter at the way she growled and her shoulders tensed.

"I've just about had it with you!" She shouted, finally turning to face him with fiery rage in her eyes. "You never take anything seriously, do you?! Why are you even here?!"

"To help you, Beira—"

"'Help me'?! All you're doing is making things harder for me! So shut up and get your act together!"

Rydel stared back quietly, gulping at the woman's rage. He was just trying to relieve some of her stress; make her laugh, make her not think about the fact that her friend was dead, and that her other friend was off galavanting without protection. "Sorry. I'll be quiet."

"Good!" Beira scoffed, storming off toward the monsoon forest, which was nearby on the horizon. Rydel hesitantly followed, trying his best to remain quiet and alert. The truth was that he liked her, in more ways than one; he only wanted to see her happy, and the longer he spent time with her, the more he realized that she must have despised him. He'd never have a chance, so he truly needed to drop the act and forget his feelings. He was used to women not reciprocating his feelings, so it's not like this was the first time. However, this was the first time it ever truly broke his heart when he realized she did not like him back. Beira hopped over a fallen tree as they trekked further into the forest, looking back to see how heartbroken and pitiful he appeared. A frown took over her features as she started to regret her actions.

As they went on their travels in search of the ginger, she felt herself growing more and more remorseful the more time that went by. She watched as Rydel walked on ahead of her, sadly kicking rocks out of the way with his hands in his pockets. She knew that he didn't mean any harm, and that she shouldn't take her anger out on him, but she didn't know how else to deal with her ever growing stress. Her parents were strict, and were often busy; she felt that they didn't have the time or the energy to deal with her emotions, so she taught herself to minimize them. At the same time, she never truly learned how to deal with them in a healthy way.