Decoy Danger

As things began to wind down for the evening, Shila realized that Mylo had split off from the rest of the group. She excused herself from where everyone was sitting together in the field and went to look for where he had disappeared to.

She found him just a little further away, keeping to himself and looking at a map. He looked uncomfortable, rubbing and rolling his neck. Shila smiled as she approached him and sat down by him.

“Why are you hiding?” she asked.

“I’m not hiding,” he said. “I just wanted a little bit of quiet. My head hurts.”

“Oh. I can leave.”

“No, that’s alright.”

She smiled shyly and looked down, then back up at where he kept rubbing his neck.

“Your headache is probably coming from tension in your neck,” she said. “Probably from all the walking and looking down at those maps. And stress.”

“Probably,” he sighed. “It’s fine. I’ve had these headaches forever, so I’ve learned to live with it.”

“I can help, if you want,” she said.

“Yeah?”

“Mhm. Lie back.”

He seemed a little startled when she gently pushed his shoulder to have him lie down with his head in her lap. He looked at her and she felt herself blush again from the awkward expression on his face. She felt some points in his neck and found the tension that was causing his pain, then placed her hands on either side of his face.

“This is going to sound a little scary,” she warned him.

“I can handle- oh, shit.”

He was a little alarmed when she suddenly jerked his head to the side and his neck loudly cracked. She leveled his head in her lap again and he stared up at her with wide eyes.

“What was that?” he asked.

“That was your neck, thanking me,” she giggled. “Don’t worry, I learned how to do this from a real physician. My father would get similar pain from his stress, but it went all the way down his back.”

“Lucky he had you,” he remarked.

“Yeah,” she sighed. “I hope that wherever he is, his back is okay.”

Mylo tried to sit up, but Shila pushed him back down.

“You don’t want to put weight on your neck right away,” she told him. “Just relax.”

He dropped his head back in her lap, and she couldn’t help but gently run her fingers through his hair and brush it out of his face. They just sat there for a little while, and she eventually started to pluck flowers from around where they sat and tucking them in his hair.

“You’re ruining my image,” he told her.

“The tough guy image?” she asked. “You may know how to fight when you need to, but you’re no thug, Mylo. I’d say a mellow evening in a flower field suits you just fine.”

“Is that so?”

“It is.”

He finally sat up with a sigh and rolled his neck and shoulders back.

“I don’t know what you did, but I know who to come to next time it’s tight,” he chuckled.

“Any time,” Shila said softly. “Seriously.”

There was a beat of silence and they just looked at each other. Something felt like it was tugging at Shila’s chest, and the next thing she knew she was leaning forward to kiss him. He was surprised, but didn’t push her away. When she pulled away to look at him, he almost seemed dazed.

“I did a bad thing, didn’t I?” she squeaked.

“Maybe,” he said. “But you haven’t run away yet.”

“Neither have you.”

Another beat of silence. Then Mylo’s arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her into much longer, deeper kiss. Shila had never been with a man like this before and it was always something that scared her, but she felt comfortable and safe with Mylo. When he pulled away, she just wanted to curl up close to him. He rested his forehead against hers, just looking into her eyes for a moment.

“You should go back,” he said. “Try to get some sleep.”

“Or I could stay here just a little longer.”

She did just that, but eventually she must have dozed off because she woke up on her bedroll. Mylo must have carried her back. He was already awake and checking inventory as he packed things back up. Shila’s eyes met his for a moment, and she could tell he hadn’t slept a wink the night before. He offered her a reassuring smile.

When everyone was awake and ready, he spread out a map to brief them on where they were going.

“If there is anything you need for the last stretch of journey to Goldshore, the capital is your last chance to get it,” he told them, pointing to the capital city on the map. “Just make sure you’re careful. If you thought things were bad in Oakheart, they’re a hundred times worse there. People aren’t going to be friendly. Make sure you don’t go anywhere alone.”

“Are there other rebellion factions there?” Luis asked.

“Yes, but they won’t be public,” Mylo said. “We also can’t guarantee that they have our same interests, or that they aren’t corrupted. No one talks about where we’re going, or we might never get there.”

Everyone nodded in understanding. Shila had only ever been to the capital when she accompanied Lady Emory to some events and gatherings there. In other words, she had seen a very painted and pristine version of the city. The rest was grimy and dangerous. Still, she couldn’t help but wonder if it was a place she might here news of her father. Especially if other rebel factions were there. Maybe she had a chance to find him. Or at the least, find out if he was alive.