18.

Once at the tower they created a make-shift camp in the lower main room. Luckily, it was warn enough that they didn't need to risk a fire. Despite not sleeping for so long Sofia tossed and turned on the hard stone floor. Eventually she did fall asleep, but was plagued by nightmares of being chased by castle guards. When she awakened her body felt bruised and she had a headache. She leaned up, glancing around the room. It was dark since the sun had gone down. Despite the sleep she still felt exhausted, but had no desire to resume her uneasy rest. She waited for her eyes to adjust to the lack of light, and felt around on the floor.

"Cedric?" she whispered, but there was no answer. He was either still asleep or gone. That thought hit her harder than it should have. He wouldn't leave her here alone, and she had no reason to think he would. She felt around where he had been sleeping, but the spot was empty. Her heart skipped a beat, but she closed her eyes and forced herself to rationalize. There was no reason for him to abandon her in this tower, again.

She stood up and stretched. It did little to ease the tension building in her body. There was a shuffling and she jumped. Then a scratch and hiss followed by light.

"You're awake?" Cedric asked. He stood on the steps, holding a lantern. He tossed aside the used match.

"Where were you?" She didn't mean to sound accusatory, but her heart was still racing.

"I went upstairs to see what I could scavenge." He held up the lantern, "I found this and some matches. No food, but there are some edible plants and berries nearby if I remember correctly. I'm afraid I don't really know how to hunt or fish…" he trailed off.

"I can fish, but we don't have the stuff we would need. Bait and hooks and so on…" She looked down at her feet, feeling awkward. It was this place, it gave her the chills. She could see the spot where she had been shackled down over a year ago, and ghostly remnants of the cult still remained. There were still symbols painted on the stone, though they had faded. The air here even smelled sinister, like poison.

"If you want you can go back to sleep, and I'll head out for those-"

"No." she shook her head. "If you're leaving so am I." she hugged herself, there was no way she was going to stick around here, alone. And it wasn't like she'd be able to go back to sleep, even if she wanted to.

#

Cedric held up the lantern, trying to remember where he had seen those berries. He had already located the edible greenery, but adding berries would make the ruffage much more tolerable. He glanced over at Sofia, who was walking close, she looked worried. He bit his lip and kept looking for the berry bush, he could have sworn it was around here somewhere.

Finally he found it. He handed the lantern to Sofia so he could gather the ones that were ripe enough to eat. It was hard to see, but he could tell by touch. The repetitive motion allowed his mind to wander, and he tried to wrap his head around the fact that this was his life now. At least until they made it out of Enchancia, then they could at least stop hiding in the wilderness. His frown deepened, it wasn't fair for him to force this life on Sofia, even if she had volunteered for it so readily.

"You don't have to stay with me, you know. I'm recognizable, but you aren't. You could travel through the villages if you were careful." He tried to sound sensible and aloof. In truth he selfishly wanted her to stay with him.

"I want to go with you," she said.

He smiled, "It's not going to be easy." He told himself he should talk her out of it, but couldn't bring himself to do it. He turned back to her when he had gathered two large handfuls of berries.

"I know that," Sofia held out the sack they had been collecting their food in. He dropped the berries inside of it. "I can rough it," she looked him up and down, "better than you can probably."

"Why do you say that?" he smirked, he saw a smile tug at her lips.

"I've camped out lots of times, and I was a buttercup," she said proudly.

"Is that so?" He watched her secure the sack.

"Yes. So you can stop trying to chase me away." She turned to go, but he stopped her.

"Sofia," he said, and she looked at him. "I haven't thanked you, for everything. For helping me with the cult, and-"

"We'll starve to death if you plan to list off everything," she said, smiling at him.

"Thank you," he said, deciding to keep it simple. He found it hard to think straight when she smiled at him like that, and the way the light from the lantern flickered across her features didn't help.

"You're welcome," she said over her shoulder as she walked off. He caught up and took the lantern from her. Then she took his free hand in hers, and they walked back to the tower.

#

Sofia knew she was probably being foolish. She should have sent him on his way and fled in the opposite direction. He had brought so much trouble into her life, but she couldn't leave him now. She had finally decided that he deserved another chance. It wouldn't be easy, but she knew that he really was a good man. He just needed the reassurance and support to keep it up. She had hope. Hope that he had learned from his mistakes, hope that she could trust him again, and hope that he really was the man she thought him to be. If he wasn't, she knew she wouldn't be able to stay with him. Only time would tell.

She also knew that he was wrong about her being able to pass through the villages. Her face, as well as his, would likely be plastered on wanted posters and spread out all over Enchancia. She wouldn't be surprised to find them up by the end of the week, so travelling with him in the woods was considerably better than doing it alone. She sighed, his hand was warm.

The moon was barely a sliver in the sky, and clouds were hiding the stars. She was grateful he had found the lantern. Her peace dissipated when the dark tower came into view.

"After we eat, we should keep moving," she said. They had rested long enough, and the further distance between her and that place the better.

"Good idea, it's still a few days travel to the border."

"You didn't happen to find anything else of use in that tower, did you?" She decided to distract herself from the gloomy tower with their worrying situation.

"Like what?"

"A knife, clothing, blankets, stuff like that." She tried to think of other things, and listed them off as she did. But he only shook his head.

"I stopped searching once I had found the lantern, we can take a look after we've eaten." He released her hand to take the bag from her. He set the lantern on the floor, and Sofia watched the flame's light dance on the walls.

They say down and Cedric began preparing the herbs for consumption while Sofia munched on the berries. They were tart, and felt acidic in her stomach, but they were better than nothing. They finished their meager meal in silence. Sofia was trying to think of ways to fish, if only there was a knife around here. She could sharpen a stick and try to spear them in the river. She had never done it before, but had seen it accomplished and was desperate enough to try. The leaves and berries were hardly satisfying, but hopefully it would keep her going.

They took the lantern, it was still very dark out, and walked through each room of the tower. They found a few small knives but they were horribly rusted and Sofia discarded them. There was another lantern, and some more matches, which they took. No clothing or blankets, but she did find some rope and a hammer. She hesitated outside of the last room, the one she had been held prisoner, but she stubbornly pushed through. Cedric followed, unaware of the room's significance.

"Last one, let's hope there is something more useful in here," he said darkly.

"I doubt it," she walked around, looking along the floor. A glint of metal caught her eye, but it was only the chains, still there after all this time. She stiffened and closed her eyes.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"No," she tried to shrug it off and continued walking along the room. Nothing. There was nothing in here but bad memories. Then a thought occurred to her, "the fireplace!"

"The fireplace?" he asked.

"I could use the poker to spear a fish… I wouldn't have a knife to clean it so we'd have to eat around the unwanted bits." She shrugged that off though, she was too hungry to be squeamish. "Let's go see if it's down there."

They walked along but stopped at the top of the stairs when they heard voices below. Cedric extinguished the flame of the lantern and they silently pressed themselves against the wall. Sofia gripped the hammer she held, and strained to listen. There were two voices speaking, but she couldn't make them out. Cedric tugged her sleeve, and she followed him back into one of the rooms and silently closed the door. He proceeded to lock it with magic.

"Who could be down there?" Sofia hissed, a part of her thought it was the cult. But they were all dead.

"I don't know. The guards wouldn't have been able to get this far so quickly," he whispered. "Hopefully it's just some people walking by. We didn't leave anything below to alert them to our presence and they won't be able to get through that door."

"So we just need to be quiet and wait them out," Sofia nodded. "Do you have a spell to spy on them?" she asked. Cedric began to shake his head, but then stopped.

"Wait, I do." He retrieved his wand and flicked it in an arc. A small wisp of smoke appeared and glided under the door. When it returned they could hear the hushed voices of the couple below. It quickly became apparent why the couple had met at the tower and Cedric silenced the spell quickly, and shuddered. She could imagine him blushing, though she couldn't see it.

"Why would anyone choose a place like this… for that." Sofia shuddered, but had to bite back laughter. It had to be the relief that they were still somewhat safe.

#

They cautiously checked on the lovers, waiting for them to leave, but were dismayed to find that they had both fallen asleep. Sofia had Cedric unlock the door and they slowly made their way down the steps. The two had set out their own lanterns, which lit the room. A poor excuse for a fire smoldered in the fireplace. The sun was starting to rise, though, so the additional light was unnecessary. However, she spotted a pack with fishing equipment next to the man. It appeared as if the couple was travelling much like her and Cedric, though obviously better prepared.

"If they start to stir put them back to sleep," Sofia whispered. Cedric only nodded and she set to work riffling through the couple's belongings. The two had cast aside their clothing and Sofia only hesitated a moment before snatching the woman's dress.

"What are you doing?" Cedric asked her as she began to undo the ties of her own gown.

"What does it look like? Turn around," she waved at Cedric and pulled the dress off. She set it down in trade for the woman and pulled on the simple and soft cotton one. It was a pale pink color, and fit quite nicely. It was shorter, and way more practical so she was grateful. She snatched up the fishing gear, a hunting knife, and hoped the lavish dress would make up for the stolen goods.

#

They made their way towards the river. Sofia stopped and dug about for worms wherever the soil was soft. When they reached the water they found a secluded spot and Sofia got to work baiting her hook. She offered to show Cedric, and he watched politely, but she could tell he wasn't paying attention. By late morning she had caught enough fish to make for a great breakfast and Cedric built a small fire while she cleaned the fish.

"You really should be paying attention to what I'm doing. You might need to catch and clean your own fish one day," Sofia said, grinning.

"Why should I when I have you to do it for me?" he smirked at her, and her heart beat a little faster. For the first time in a long time it wasn't out of fear. She looked down at the fish and continued working.

"Well then you're cooking them. I can't do everything." She brought him the prepared meat and bowed dramatically. He shook his head in mock irritation.

"Do I just toss them in the fire and pull them out when they're black?" he asked with a sly smile. He stuck the meat on a spit and balanced it over the heat. She laughed and rinsed her hands in the river. The pack of fishing equipment had some soap so she used it to carefully wash the blood and guts from her hands.

"Come here and wash your hands before you eat, you can get sick if you don't," she stood up and he joined her by the river while the fish cooked.

She handed him the soap, but he took her hand instead. She looked up at him and he kissed her. She was surprised at first, but then relaxed comfortably against him. He pulled away, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear and smiling down at her.

"What was that for?" she asked.

"You were humming," he said softly.

"I was?" she asked, confused.

He only nodded and kissed her again, she decided that he must be so hungry that it was messing with his mind.

~The End~

Sorry for the wait… again… lol. But here it is! Now it's finished. I could probably write continue this story FOREVER but I just don't have the time I'm afraid. I really need to work on my novel… maybe I'll come back and do some epilogue/drabble things once I've finished editing.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed this story (If you stuck around to read this monstrous thing)! I tried to end the chapter with some fluff :)

Let me know what you think if you want to, all the reviews, faves, follows are GREATLY appreciated. They always brighten my day. Love you all.