DESCENDANTS (THE DESCENDANTS SAGA) (9 page)

-18-

T
he sky started to change, and they realized they would not make it to Vitoria-Gasteiz before nightfall. Luckily they were coming upon a little town called Durango, so Sollara decided to stop and get some supplies.

“Kai, I am going into the town to buy a few things. We had better get you some clothes as well. I don’t think shorts and shoes that are too small will be enough to keep you from catching a cold.” 

He opened his mouth to protest when a low rumbling sound interrupted. Sollara looked down the road after the sound. That was when she saw a large red beast coming at them with a dangerous speed. She screamed and ran behind Kai, pulling at his arm, trying to bring him off the road.

“What are you doing?” he asked in frustration.

“I am trying to save you from that beast,” she shouted. Her breathing was heavy as she used her full strength trying to move him. But he would not budge.

Instead, he started to laugh, a deep, full-chested laugh. She stopped pulling long enough to stare at him in frustrated embarrassment.

Stealing an occasional glimpse over his shoulder at the beast that was coming ever closer, her eyes widened in fear. She turned to Kai who only smiled at her.

“Your beast,” he said as he pointed and waved, “is called a truck. Look, there is a man inside directing its movements.”

Sollara wasn’t sure if she should believe him or not but hesitantly took the c
hance. Once again she
looked over his shoulder at the beast. To her surprise it was as he said, and inside the belly of the red beast sat a man. He smiled at them and returned Kai’s wave as he passed by.

She watched in awe until it was out of sight. “I read a lot about automobiles. I never imagined them to look or sound like that,” she confessed.

“Come, let’s go get those supplies you wanted,” he said as he motioned her towards the town. “I think I may have to come with you. How can I put you on a plane alone after a reaction like that to a truck? Oh and Sollara, be very careful in the town. There are many beasts
of different shapes and colors.
” His teasing was rewarded with a slap on the arm from her. After which he feigned pain, rubbing his arm and pouting the rest of the way. She was embarrassed and frustrated, but she also felt a huge weight lifted off her shoulders. She and Kai were now getting along, the afternoon’s mishap seemingly far behind them.

The first store they passed was a jeweler’s store. In large lettering painted on the front window was the word, Valuador. Sollara decided to get some of her jewels appraised and maybe even sell some. She figured that if Elian was right about the coins’ value, then the jewels should be worth a lot as well. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out a large black stone that had bursts of color within it.

An elderly gentleman seated behind a glass display case greeted her as she entered. In her rusty Spanish she returned his greeting. He smiled at the attempt.

“What can I do for you?” he asked.

“I was hoping you could give me a value for this stone,” she said as she placed it on the glass case in front of him.

He raised his eyebrows and then examined the black stone.
“This is a very rare opal,” he said. “We normally don't see them this size. It is almost three carats. It’s got to be worth around five thousand Euros.” He handed back the stone.

“Do you know anyone who buys precious stones?” Sollara asked.

“I do
,
but I can’t afford that beauty. I would love to have something like that in my store. But I only have two thousand Euros in my safe at this time,” he replied.

“I’ll take your two thousand Euros for this stone. I have another just like it.”

“Miss, you cannot be serious! You would really sell it to me for a fraction of its value?”

“Yes, and don't think of it as a steal
—
you are doing me a favor,” she assured him.

He went into the back room and came out with an envelope full of Euros. As he lay the envelope on the counter, he proceeded to ask again if she was sure she wanted to sell the opal for less than half of its worth. Sollara laughed and reassured him of her decision. They said their thank yous and goodbyes; she gave him back the stone and walked out the door.

As she left, she watched him pick up a weirdly shaped object and hold it to his ear. He then began telling someone of the great stone he purchased. She looked around the store, and other than her, no one was there. It made her smile to know she had brightened his day. But she was curious to know to whom he was talking and what the object was. She made a mental note to ask Kai about it.

On her way back, she asked everyone who passed her by if there were any rooms available. But no one knew of any. There was an annual wood carving festival going on, so the town was unusually busy. Assuming they would be spending the night outside, she bought two blankets from a street vendor. She must have thanked the man a dozen times before she set off to find Kai. It excited her using money to buy things. She couldn’t wait to do it again.

Kai was sitting on a well at the edge of town waiting for her.

“I got some money and blankets. Let’s go get you some clothes
,
so we can be on our way to find a place to rest tonight.”

He didn't respond but followed after her into town. They came across a men's fashion boutique. The attendants looked curiously at the pair as they entered the store. Sollara looked as if she had walked out of the past in her dress, and Kai wore only a pair of shorts. They figured they were just browsing and left them alone to look.

Sollara worked diligently, selecting outfits for Kai to wear. He ended up agreeing to the first two things he tried on. She couldn’t decide if he was being nice or just wanted to get out of there, so she didn’t press him to continue
—
regardless of her desire to see how amazing he looked in everything he would have tried. She loved watching him; if the situation were different, she could play dress up with him all day.

Despite her want for new clothes, she decided not to stop and buy herself any until they got to Vitoria-Gasteiz. It was getting dark, and a comfortable and safe place to sleep was a priority. After paying for the items, which surprised the store attendants, they set out on their way.

The sun had long since set, yet they kept walking, neither of them saying a word. Kai now walked two steps behind her. And when she tried to stop and even their stride, he would fall back again. She watched him curiously as his eyes darted back and forth, scouring the area for danger.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Just keeping my eyes about, making sure nothing dangerous is around. I mean we don’t w
ant any scary beasts to get you,” h
e laughed, proud of his jibe.

“I know this is all new to me, but you don’t have to…”

“If I don’t, who will?” he interrupted.

It annoyed her that he felt the need to watch out for her, that he thought she was weak. But she also hoped that some part of him truly cared. A voice in the back of her mind told her that she should have given him a proper chance to explain his actions when he first tried.

It frustrated her that in all her dreams of meeting him, the reality of it was nothing close. She had thought he would whisk her into his arms and confess his love, and they would live happily ever after, just like in the romance books she had read. She felt like an idiot for having such foolish expectations even though, she never fathomed that her dream of meeting him would actually become a reality.

Her mind was racing with questions. Why would she want him to love her anyway? Other than his form that she dreamed to hold
,
his soft hair that she so desperately wanted to run her fingers through
, and
his stunning blue eyes that at the very glance made her weak in the knees. Those are all shallow reasons to love someone. From what she did know of him, he was a deceiver and a hothead. She would have been better off with a simple guy like Elian.

After deciding that she was a strong, capable woman, she promised herself to stop letting childish fantasies control her. She would not settle for anything but respect and true love from a man. After all, she didn’t want to end up in a relationship like Mari and Sugoi, one of constant fighting and manipulation.

Kai motioned off to the side of the road to a small clearing protected from the wind by the trees. “This will be a good place to set up camp,” he said.

Sollara unrolled the blankets and threw one at him. Then she set out to collect some sticks to make a small fire. Its warmth would keep them comfortable, and its flames would keep animals away.

When she had collected an armful, she started back to the camp. As she got closer, she heard the sound of popping wood and saw Kai sitting over a roaring fire. It frustrated her immensely; she felt like he wouldn’t let her contribute in any way. Throwing down the sticks next to his fire, she set to making her bed.

“I don’t get it. How did you know to collect sticks to make a fire?” he asked, not realizing how belittling his questions would seem to Sollara.

“I am not an idiot,” she snapped in response.

Realizing his mistake, he set out to explain. “No, I know that; I just mean, you lived underground. I’m sure you never had to make a fire before. How’d you know to collect sticks?”

“We have fire there. Servants would bring wood from the Surface,” she paused, knowing that she had only half answered his question. She wanted to tell him more but wasn’t sure if she could fully trust him yet. But what other choice did she have? He was the only one with her. “I had instructors and tutors. And one of them, the one who taught me self-defense, was also an avid hunter. He would tell me stories of his hunting trips and how fire kept away the beasts. So I thought it was necessary to have a fire.”

Kai raised his eyebrow at the mention of the instructor so she went on to explain. “Sugoi wanted me well educated so I could aid him
and Mari in ruling one day. H
e sought out the best educators available, and each day I studied and trained.”

“That makes sense,” he said as he caught her unsettled gaze. “I’ll take the watch while you get your sleep tonight.” He diverted his eyes from her and focused on the flames.

“The hell you will! Just because Asima forced you to take me to her does not mean I am your burden. We are in this together. You take the first watch or the second watch, but if you refuse to let me participate, I will refuse to sleep, and I will keep walking all night to Vitoria-Gasteiz!” She was tired of feeling helpless, her whole existence she had been made to feel that way. And she especially wasn’t going to let Kai treat her
in
that manner.

He looked at her, raised his eyebrows as he assessed her threat. “Fine, you take first watch then.”

She could tell he was not impressed. It irked her that he gave her first watch. She knew it was always the easiest of the watches. It is easier to force yourself to stay up than to force yourself to wake up and keep an alert mind. It was another thing her self-defense instructor had taught her. But although she was mad, she was happy to finally be given something to do.

She watched as he rolled up his sweater to use as a pillow and crawled under his blanket, wrapping it tightly to his body. For a brief moment she let her thoughts slip to cuddling in next to him, to feel the
intoxicating coolness
of his body. Realizing her moment of weakness, she quickly chastised herself.

Propped against a tree with her blanket over her shoulders, Sollara studied the stars and the moon. The beauty of the sky once again overwhelmed her. Unable to control her awe, tears escaped.

“Sollara, are you all right?” Kai asked, as he propped himself up to get a better look at her.

“Have you been watching me this whole time? You’re supposed to be sleeping.” She glared at him, making sure he understood how seriously she took her post of first watch. He sighed and turned over, pretending to go back to sleep.

She watched him for a while and figured by the unsteadiness of his breathing that he wasn’t sleeping. “Well, if you refuse to sleep, I might as well lie down, too.” She began to fiddle with her makeshift bed. Bed was an over exaggeration really. It was a blanket over top of a pile of leaves that Kai had collected. When she discovered the leaves, at first it made her smile. But the more she thought about it, the more she felt babied by Kai, and she had had enough of that for a lifetime.

Knowing Asima would not be impressed with how she was acting, she decided to be nicer to him in the morning. She watched the flames dance and twist until her mind went blank and sleep took over.

-19-

S
oon the rays of the sun spread over her face, pulling her from her sleep. Deciding to stay in the in-between dream and reality state a little longer, her mind drifted back to the field where she had curled up next to Kai.

“Darn it all!” she growled, as she bolted upright, “This is going to be harder than I thought.”

             
“What will be harder?” Kai asked drawing her into a fully alert state.

She noticed a heavenly smell, and it distracted her from his question. Glancing over she saw Kai roasting something above a fresh fire. He gave her a look of confusion and raised his eyebrows in anticipation of her response. Not wanting to say anything foolish to cover up the truth, she settled on a shrug of the shoulders and a half smile. The sun was higher up now, and the birds serenaded them with song. She wondered how long he had been awake, and concluded it was at least long enough to catch some food for breakfast.

“Well, good morning Sollara. I trust you slept well… You sure did snore like an old man.” His contrary attitude to that of the day before caught her off guard. It seemed she was not the only one who promised to make today a fresh start.

“I do not snore,” she said as it was all she could manage to think of.

“Trust me, you do.”

She felt her frustration rising, so in an attempt to stick to her promise, she changed the subject. “Well, you seem to be in a good mood this morning.” She gave him the most genuine smile she could muster.

It aggravated her that he was acting like nothing had happened between them yesterday. Like he didn't grossly offend her and then proceed to ignore her. She continued to struggle with her mixture of negative thoughts and her desire to start anew. Kai interrupted by handing her a piece of the meat he had just cooked. She offered him a smile of thanks and turned to her breakfast.

“It's rabbit,” he said before she had the chance to ask.

Normally, Sollara would be hesitant about eating something like rabbit. But she was so hungry and it smelled so good that she inhaled the meat before he had even finished his second bite. He watched her wolf down her food out of the corner of his eye and smiled in content.

“Do you want mine? I’m not very hungry.”

Sollara misinterpreted his generosity as smugness and found herself in a surge of irritation. To avoid a verbal fight she waved her hand in refusal and starting packing up her bed. When she was packed, she did not wait for him but started down the road towards Vitoria-Gasteiz.

The march had acted to calm her, and as she passed an apple tree she grabbed two apples. When he finally caught up to her, she offered him a smile and tossed one of the apples at him. He fumbled with his blanket but managed to catch the apple and returned the smile.

“What in the blazes?” she said as she turned back to the road. She stared ahead
, mesmerized by the
huge
buildings
that rose
out of the ground in the distance.

“That would be Vitoria-Gasteiz,” he said with a smile as he watched her joy-filled face.

“Those buildings are gargantuan!” She stood frozen in awe for a moment.

He walked on in front of her, and she ran to catch up. Soon the large buildings came into full view.

“Let’s go to the airport and check in,” Kai instructed.

The airport was just outside of Vitoria-Gasteiz. They could see the great city spread out in front of it, and Sollara so desperately wanted to go exploring. She looked at Kai, and as if he
could read her mind, he said, “Why
don't you go into the city. I will arrange our travel and come and find you. But please don't get yourself hurt or do anything stupid.”

She offered him a fake glare at which he laughed, and then she started running towards the city. “How will you find me?” she turned and yelled.

“Oh, I have my ways,” he yelled back.

Sollara ran up and down the streets, taking in the perfect amalgamation between Old Spanish and new world architecture. She stopped to buy some cinnamon sugar donuts from a street vendor and gave him a large tip. Then she sat on the side of the battle of Vitoria monument while she greedily ate them. Never had she imagined tasting such things, touching such things. She ran her hand over the white and black marble of the monument and studied its scenes of death and pain, all under the dark protective angel on its top. It was beautiful. She could have stayed and looked at it all day, but there was one more adventure she wanted to have before Kai found her.

She had just finished pillaging three clothing stores and was on her way to the fourth when Kai caught up with her. He stared wide-eyed as he counted the many bags hanging off her arms. Doubling forward with his arms over his stomach, he roared in laughter. She offered him another cheeky smile and a shrug of the shoulders in explanation. When his laughing did not cease, she tapped her foot and glared, waiting for him to finish.

Finally, he managed to pull himself upright and steadied his breathing. “Do you have enough or do you need to keep shopping? I mean you could probably manage to fit one more bag on you somewhere; maybe you could carry it in your teeth.”

She looked over her bags and realized he was right; her shopping was getting out of control. It felt like she had a whole lifetime of shopping to catch up for, and she wanted to do it all at once.

“No, I am finished,” she concluded with a sigh.

“I’m glad to hear that. I would offer to help you carry some of those bags. But since last time I offered you basically ripped my head off, I will politely decline to help this time.”

She trudged behind him, attempting to balance her fifteen bags stuffed full with new spoils. It seemed to be a lot longer walk to the airport for Sollara. Perhaps it was because she had to stop three times to shift her bags. Each time she stopped she noticed Kai struggling to force back his smile. His delight in her predicament fueled her stubbornness and gave her strength to continue on.

They passed many vehicles, none of which scared her. She was getting accustomed to the things of the Surface: big buildings, electricity, cars; but she knew there was so much more she had yet to see.

They finally arrived at the airport, and Kai motioned some of the porters to help her with the bags. She was happy he wasn't carrying any and also happy to finally be able to stand up straight. She stretched out her back and gawked out the terminal’s large windows at the steel birds parked before her.

“I read about planes in an old magazine that we had in the library. But seeing them in person is completely different. It’s hard to understand that we’ll be inside one of those and then go up in the air.”

He smiled at her child-like wonder; it made him reevaluate his disregard for such things.

“I’m so excited. I can’t wait.” She squealed
and
clapped her hands in glee.

“Well, you don’t have to,” Kai said as he directed her toward the men with the bags. They followed and were waved past the lines of people waiting for flights to a private corridor; it led to the back of the building and outside.

“Here is your personal jet, ma’am.” The gentlemen carrying the bags placed her items on a cart in front of it.

“Personal jet? As in, just for us?” Her mouth dropped open as she got caught up in the wonder of the moment.

Kai laughed and shook his head while he watched her.

“However did you manage to pay for that? Last time I checked you only brought a pair of shorts. Were you hiding gold in your pockets?”

“While you were shopping in Durango, I called the people we are staying with. I had their jet sent here and readied for our departure today,” he said casually.

She looked at him and then the jet, then back at him, turning one last time to the jet. Face beaming, she started to run and disappeared as quickly as she could up the stairs and into the steel beast.

It was outfitted with beige leather and had private recliner seats and a big overstuffed couch. Black screens were on every chairback, much like the ones that she had seen in the airport but without green writing all over them.

“Is that a television?” Sollara asked in anticipation.

“It certainly is.” Kai picked up a remote and began flipping through the channels.

“I read about televisions. But for the life of me I can’t figure out how they get all the moving pictures inside that box.”

“I’ll show you one day. It will be easier than explaining. Here, do you want to try?” He offered her the remote.

“I have waited a long time for this day!” she said eagerly as she snatched the remote.

Without waiting for instruction, Sollara starting pushing random buttons, and soon all the screens crackled with static. “I broke it,” she pouted.

“No, it’s not broken. Here, let me show you.”

She took her seat next to the window and watched Kai position himself across the aisle. He quickly walked her through how to use the remote. And for the next hour of the flight, she was torn between channel surfing, as he called it, and staring out her window at the endless skies and at the tiny features on the ground.

Although the TV enthralled her, the view out the window quickly won. It was just breathtaking, more than she could ever have imagined.

“What is that?” she asked pointing out the window.

Putting down his book, Kai moved over to see what she was pointing at.

“That’s the ocean.
”

“The ocean? But it’s so big!” she gasped.

“Yes it is. The Surface of the world is seventy percent water.”

“I just never imagined....” Her thoughts trailed off as she gazed at the vastness of the ocean.

“Wait until you get to touch it!” Kai smiled as he returned to his seat.

“This plane must have cost a fortune.”

“Nothing more than a handful of your stones would bring,” he offhandedly replied without raising his nose from the book.

She wondered if he was giving short answers because talking about subjects such as wealth was not appropriate. She decided not to press him further.

She reached forward to touch the images flickering at her through the TV. The Surface had so many new things for her to explore. She had read about most of them, but seeing them in person was still such an experience. At the same time it was going to be hard to adjust to this new world
—
full of endless possibilities and unspoken rules.