CHAPTER 52: 49: WRAPPING THE DAY UP.

"Ready?" Aria asked, standing with a small sack hung on her shoulders. She had changed from her formal dress into something that looked more comfortable. Leather boots, shirt and pants that looked durable, with a black cloak draped around her body.

"Give me another minute." Selene was also dressed in similar clothes, although her outfit ended up looking supremely feminine compared to Aria, somehow looking as beautiful as ever even in the lackluster clothing.

Edward took a moment to take in her beauty.

He had also changed, helped by Selene’s concealing charm and the makeshift cover they had put up with some sticks. He was wearing a comfortable shirt, which was hanging a little too loose on his body. With black pants and leather boots that helped him walk on the uneven ground a bit better.

Edward couldn’t help but be a bit thankful for being out of the prickly formal dress. As pretty as he had looked, moving around properly in it was a chore in itself.

He exhaled a satisfied breath, only to end up flinching lightly from the voice that interrupted him from behind.

"Young master."

Edward turned his head to see Calen standing by his side.

"Hmm?" He hummed in question, not ready to break his comfortable stream of silence he had been maintaining since a while.

"Take this."

Edward looked at the small pendulum hanging in Calen’s outstretched arms, it’s intricate design making it look more like a decorative piece than anything. But knowing Calen, Edward was sure that it would be anything but.

He looked up at Calen, into his resolute eyes.

"What’s this?"

"A Protective charm issued to the high ranking knights" He paused for a moment, then added.

"You will need this more than I do."

He gazed at it for a moment, studying the pendulum, considering if he really should take it.

"Are you sure?"

Calen only nodded, not saying anything more.

Edward took the charm out of his hands, lightly flinching, again, when their fingers made contact. Then, slowly, he hung it on his neck, tucking the charm under his shirt as he wrapped his dark cloak around him.

Calen gave him another nod.

He had also changed, wearing a simple shirt and pants with a scabbard hung by his side as always. His hands always at the hilt of his sword even while doing nothing.

Rowan too, had also changed into clothes fit for travelling.

They had moved a little deeper into the jungle after making sure that their pursuers were all gone, taking cover beneath the lush canopy of the forest bordering the forbidden grove.

Now that the moon was high up in the sky, showering the creepy jungle with its pale light, they were getting ready to set camp for the day.

For most parts, they had already discussed on how they were going to move from tomorrow onwards.

They would always set camp in the evening, taking turns to keep watch over the others as they got their rest.

In the morning, they would move at a slow pace towards the west, since they were in a mountain right now, they would have to circle around it in order to get to the flat ground, which Edward guessed would take most of the week.

He sighed.

It was going to be a long journey.

Truth to be told, he was still a little spooked from what happened yesterday. He could still hear echoes of the morbid growls that the gravemites had let out, and the shrieks as they where cut into pieces by blades, it was still etched into his mind.

The Forbidden Grove was a dangerous place from what he had learned so far, and he was sure that the rest where hiding a lot of things from him still. Choosing to keep him in the dark because they thought that he was scarred...

That made him a little frustrated.

’I can help too you know?’

He was staring at Aria’s back, unknowingly pouting at her as he studied her preparing her backpack.

Edward did not like the fact that he was useless right now, and that he was holding back the rest from getting to safety. He clenched a fistful of his cloak as he struggled with the guilt, then when it refused to fade, he let out a small sigh and walked up to Aria, sitting next to a tree close to her as he watched her prepare.

It was about thirty minutes later that all of them where finally ready.

After putting all their stuff in a pile and casting some kind of charm over it, they lit up a small fire using the dry wood they had found laying around.

Selene’s hoard of items had come with a bonus of food items and ingredients, so for at least today, they could enjoy the luxury of a normal meal, which Edward found amazing after being exhausted by all the events that had happened today.

Except Rowan, they were all sitting close huddled to the fire, trying their best to heat up as the cold creeped up on them. Edward was the one doing the worst so far, the rest of them were used to using mana in their bodies, so they could use that as a barrier against the cold. Edward was just a normal human who had only recently learned how to use mana, so he had to unfortunately face the cold with his willpower instead of magic fuel.

They didn’t talk much as they slowly finished their soups, savouring the taste of the broth as they filled their bellies up.

And after, everyone apart from Aria and Calen chose a spot to lay down near the fire.

Edward was laying down next to a tree, wrapped in his sleeping blanket as he tried his best to make it comfortable.

He was tired, really tired.

Yet still, his mind raced for a long time, reviewing what had happened throughout day, processing it all. Until, finally, the sweet embrace of sleep finally welcomed him.