Fifteen

I tried to find Thelia after she fled from her rooms, but there was no sign of her and none of the guards had seen her. Otreg and Thiebaut couldn't seem to find her either, so in the end, I decided to wait. I hoped she'd eventually end up back in her rooms since she didn't know her way around yet, but when night came and she still didn't turn up, I began to get worried.

I had Otreg fly around to see if she might be in danger and Thiebaut search the castle once again as I paced back and forth in her sitting area. I felt like I was losing my mind. Where could she be?

Hours past and no one found her. Cam has disappeared as well, though that wasn't unusual since she seems to be able to disappear in the most obvious places. It's why she's a spy. Her full name was Cameleon. But she is also a sweet natured girl who loved to be around people, which might not make for a well spy except that she keeps secrets better than anyone I knew and hears things no one else does.

Morning came and went before Otreg burst into the room, a terrified Cam and an angry Thelia behind him. I stood up from the couch and went over, looking Thelia up and down for any signs of harm, then found her eyes. "Where were you?" I hissed.

She seemed to be surprised for a moment, but then glared at me. "It doesn't matter. Unless I'm a prisoner, I'm free to go as I wish, right?"

"Yes but…"

"Then I will go wherever I want and whenever I want. I don't think I need to tell you where I'm going or when. It's not like you told me exactly where you were going to be that night."

I narrowed my eyes on her. "The point isn't our trust issues! The point is that you were nowhere to be found after you ran off. No one could find you, no one knew where you had gone. And everyone was up all night looking for you. You could have died and we might not have found you!"

Her eyes blazed. "And guess who was up all night waiting for you one time? Guess who wondered if you were dead or alive? Guess who went out alone into the forest, expecting to find you, and found nothing instead? Guess who got hurt that night?"

I didn't have time to answer her because she grabbed her bag she'd brought, took Cam's arm, and left. Otreg stood beside me awkwardly, looking a bit scared. "I think I'll go talk to her," he said slowly.

"Don't." I sit down again and sigh. "Forget it, Otreg. She won't come around. If there's no way to get her to listen, then there's no point in trying."

"You're giving up? After just a day of her being here?"

I shrug. "I'm not going to force her to listen to me. Leave her alone. We'll return to our normal routines this afternoon."

With that, I storm out of the room in search of a strong drink.