CHAPTER 16: THEY DON'T FOOL ME

Joanne was happy with her achievements with the play. Everything was going quite smoothly and she liked the fast pace. She was sure to be done with rehearsals sooner than she expected to. As she made ticks and checks in her journal, she remembered the talk she had with Mike. He was so defensive when she badmouthed Meghan. She was certain he and Meghan were close, too close. She remembered how Mike became edgy when one of the actors had said he was going out with Meghan. They're dating, she was sure of it. But why hide their relationship?

'They don't fool me.' She thought as she took a bite of her salad.

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'Pathfinder?' Meghan said in a whisper. I saw her stiffen. She pinned both her index fingers on the darts of her skirt.

'Who's the pathfinder?' I asked feeling lost in the conversation.

'Oh! She's…' Beryl was saying before she was quickly interrupted by Meghan.

'She's a noble guardian.' She blurted.

'You haven't been speaking to her the whole time, have you?' Brachia asked with a suspicious look.

Meghan shook her head in response. Her eyes mirrored pain and sadness for a millisecond.

'Well, we need to go see her.' Brachia said uncompromisingly.

'You don't think it's a bit too dark to go visiting?' Meghan asked.

'There's not gonna be a safe place to visit very soon,' Brachia replied.

'What do you mean?' Jade looked at her.

'The elders had a meeting earlier today and they said you were captured by humans. They don't think you're a match for the Archenemy.' Brachia continued in a more serious tone. Meghan didn't say a word. She looked distracted and worried.

'Is this true? Were you attacked?' I asked her.

'Yes…but I'm okay,' Meghan sighed and gave an assuring smile. Her eyebrows were furrowed even though she was smiling. She was faking it. Something was definitely wrong.

'No, you're not. You're weak and unable to defend yourself. The elders are probably right.' Brachia scoffed.

'Why are you being so insensitive?' Beryl asked her. I wanted to ask the same question. More than a few times I wondered what their relationship was.

Were they really friends? And why was Meghan so quiet? It was very unusual.

'It's fine. Let's go see her,' Meghan finally said.

'Smartest decision you've made in a while,' Brachia said with a grin on her face as she led the way. I wasn't liking her very much so far, but Meghan seemed to trust these girls.