As night began to fall, Mason and Amie stopped to set up camp on a flatland near the road. They gathered firewood and, after starting a fire, got to work, constructing their tent. Amie noticed Mason's inexperience, but patiently guided him through the process.
After eating the lunch leftovers – some bread and the soup Amie's mother had packed up for them in Letico – they sat in front of the fire they had made, across from each other.
"I will tell you everything about me tonight, and I will not keep anything from you," Mason said, breaking the silence. "Will you listen?"
"Of course, why ask?" Amie replied enthusiastically, moving from her position to lie down beside him. "Tell me already, I've been anticipating this for a LONG time. Finally!"
"Long time, my foot," Mason scoffed. "Don't regret this later."
"If you don't want me to, then let's go into the tent," Amie suggested. "It's cold out here. I'm freezing!"
"You can sleep in the tent, I'll be fine here," said Mason.
Amie frowned, her eyes widening. "Are you serious now? You want to leave me alone in the tent and freeze yourself to death out here?"
"That's not it—"
"I do not want to hear any of that!" she snapped. "Come inside if you don't want me to join you in the cold!" She entered the tent and waited for him. Mason hesitated but ended up going inside. They lay down side by side, staring at what could best be described as the tent's ceiling.
Mason narrated everything for Amie, excluding only the part of the voices he'd been hearing in his head over the past few days. He couldn't be sure of anything yet, lest he jump to a wrong conclusion. At some point, he wondered if Amie was even listening to him, considering her strange silence, but he continued anyway. By the time he finished his story, he realized Amie was already fast asleep.
Mason felt a tinge of disappointment, but he couldn't fault her for falling asleep, given the intense battle she'd endured earlier that day. Her deep slumber was a testament to her exhaustion.
"Look at her sleeping peacefully after all the bragging," Mason whispered. He made himself comfortable and wrapped himself and Amie with a blanket. It had been an eventful day. His body still ached from the beating he had received earlier from the bandit with a goatee.
Apart from the light from the fire outside the tent, the moon cast a silver glow over the surroundings, but the tent's canvas shrouded the interior in a soft, muted glow. As Mason looked at Amie's sleeping form, a fleeting sense of compassion touched his heart, but he suppressed it, rationalizing that his decision was necessary.
The night air was filled with a symphony of sounds. The soft hooting of owls echoed through the woods, their gentle calls a soothing serenade. The distant croaks of frogs in the moat are not too far away, accompanied by the crickets' chirping. The occasional distant howl of wolves and the soft rustling of leaves in the gentle breeze, all added depth to the night's orchestra. As the peaceful sounds blended together, Mason's eyelids grew heavy, and he drifted off to sleep.
Finally, morning arrived. The rising sun pierced into the tent, rousing Amie. She stepped out of the tent and stretched, raising her face to feel the warm morning sunlight.
"Mason!" Amie called out, spinning around. She hastened back into the tent, but he was nowhere to be found. She wondered if he'd gone to find a stream to bathe or change clothes, but then, as a stranger in Africlaux, where could he have gone, knowing the dangers of solo exploration of the woods?
She was still convincing herself that Mason probably went somewhere and would be back not long until she noticed one of their horses tied to a tree was gone. She rushed toward the cart. Mason's belongings are gone, and so were some of the supplies.
Mason had left, she realized. He abandoned her while she slumbered. What a coward! she spat. I will find him. I will never return to Letico as he wished. Never be a coward like him. I must find him and face dangers together with him. He is mine!
She continued mumbling in displeasure as she began to prepare. Hunger and thirst were far away now, and so was anger. The possibility of Mason getting in danger worried her so much more than anything. She would find him; she knew that. But she hoped she wasn't too late.
Mason had left at first light, packing his clothes and a few supplies he could carry. He had taken a horse and rode along the trail he and Amie were taking before. He had promised himself two days ago when the villagers forced him to take one of Daniel's daughters, that he would accept her and abandon her later on.
Mason would not risk the innocent girl's life for his perilous journey. He knew the bandits' attack was only the first and would definitely not be the last. As much as he had witnessed ever since he arrived in this world, Africlaux is a place where you must sleep with one eye open, or else you might end up waking up with your head missing. Unfortunately, Mason sleeps like a koala.
He rode as fast as he could. Knowing how skillful Amie was, it would be only a matter of time before she caught up with him. But if he was able to create a great distance between them, she would have no choice but to return to her village if she couldn't find him. She would be safe there. Not beside him; she would only be endangered if she stayed with him. She deserves a better man.
Mason traveled throughout the day, stopping only twice or thrice to let his horse drink from the small streams they came across, and rest from their tiring journey. At one point he came across a group of merchants traveling in the opposite direction in a long caravan train. Several men, both on horses and on foot, guarded the supplies. The majority of them wore only breastplates, while only a handful were clad in full armor.
Mason slowed his mount to a trot when he encountered them. The men gave him a wary look, their hands on the hilts of their swords. However, Mason gave them no reason to unsheath them. He knew better than anyone that any movement of his that might startle them would backfire on him and, in turn, send him to the afterlife. So Mason maintained a calm composure, allowing his horse to continue to trot.
As he rode past the men in front of the caravan, nearing a quarter of guards, he could now make out the Sun crest on their helmets and the Eagle emblazoned on their chests. The trade caravan must belong to a very powerful lord, given the intense security measures.
"Keep your head down, lad!" seethed one of the guards, his visor was up and Mason could see his brown glaring eyes. "You do not look your elders in the—Gods!" He must have seen Mason's face, considering the stunned surprise on his face.
This one is rude. Should we make an example out of him?
Mason glanced around. The voice was back in his head, and so was the ominous presence. It would be a quick death, you know? Men of this size are no match for you, my love.
"No!" Mason snapped, shaking his head to get rid of the voice. He remembered what happened when the voice took over his body once. Though whoever it was protected him, however, he almost attacked his sister. Mason did not want the kind of help that would endanger the lives of innocent people. Apparently, these guards were just doing their jobs, it was only natural for them to be wary of him. After all, he knew how he had almost lost his life to the bandits that attacked him and Amie the previous day.
"What did you say!?" the brown-eyed guard said, his angry look was back. At least what must be left of it, because Mason still saw the hint of surprise on his face.
Mason snapped out of his thoughts and looked around. Too many eyes were on him. He felt exposed, nervous. "I'm sorry… I wasn't… speaking to you, sir," he stammered. "I am a lowly peasant. I will not dare speak to you in such a manner."
The guard said nothing, he just stared at him, his mouth open. To avoid more intense attention, Mason lowered his gaze and increased his speed. He wouldn't let an unknown entity's voice in his head get him to lose his life. "Beheading was never a cure for a headache," his mother had always told him that. After making sure the caravan was lost in the distance Mason let out a deep sigh of relief.
Unknown entity indeed, the voice laughed. Beheading was never a cure for what? The laughter continued for a while. I would never let any harm come to you, my love. And you are more powerful than you—
"Get out of my head!" Mason snapped as he held his horse. "Who the hell are you to invade my thoughts?"
Allow me to introduce myself then. I am your—
"Stay away from me, I don't care who you are!" Mason bellowed at the top of his lungs, momentarily forgetting that he wasn't speaking to a visible person. "Can't a man even have some privacy in this world?"
Mason waited for a moment before he felt the presence receding. When he was sure that he was now alone, he continued his journey. At night, he stopped to camp at a lowland not far from the trail. He couldn't afford to get lost after abandoning Amie.
He ate some dried meat and drank from his waterskin before going to lie on the blanket he spread on the ground. Unlike the previous night, it was so quiet here in this wood, and it wasn't long before the cold breeze forced him to drape his coverlet over himself and sleep.