Neoma (5)

The next morning, Dmitri had everyone wake before dawn. Rachel, of course, was happier than the world to go back into the woods. Natty had a cold shoulder turned on everyone that morning, and didn’t speak until noon.
Dmitri had decided that they would continue traveling until nightfall, so the group walked while eating a lunch that consisted of stale bread and whatever wild fruit they passed while walking. Rachel was too busy fixing the compass and talking to Charles about the wildlife in the forests to stop Natty from arguing with Dmitri.
“Why are we going to the capital?” Natty asked impatiently.
“I can’t tell you.”
“Are you taking me into a trap? What if we don’t get to live a life of luxury like you said?”
Dmitri nodded absentmindedly.
“Hey! Why aren’t you answering me? I have a right to know!”
“No, you don’t have that right while traveling with me! Could you please just shut up and cooperate for a longer time? I swear that I’m not leading you into a trap!” Dmitri shouted angrily.
Natty stopped walking almost instantly. Dmitri was really mad, and it wasn’t like him to yell so quickly… not that it bothered her. The wind suddenly picked up and Rachel was nearly blown over because she wasn’t paying attention to where she was going. Charles tapped Natty of the shoulder.
“We aren’t stopping until nigh– What’s wrong?”
Natty brushed his hand off her shoulder and turned away. “Leave me alone, it’s nothing.”
For the next few hours, the group walked until shortly after midnight. Rachel ran up to the front of the group and grabbed Dmitri’s shoulder, turning him around with tremendous force.
“Dmitri you bastard! We’re stopping where we are right now, and I don’t care what you say because we’ve all been walking since before dawn! Do you know that the Moon is near setting and all of us but you are walking in our sleep?” Rachel shouted angrily.
Natty poked Charles in the shoulder, trying to wake him up, but gave up and watched him continue walking until he hit a tree. Dmitri set up a fire and watched everyone settle down, Charles was swearing under his breath because Natty let him run into a tree.
Eventually, Dmitri fell asleep and the group slept until noon, when the fire was dead and Rachel had developed a horrendous cough. Wordlessly, everyone cleaned up and began walking to the next village. They arrived around late afternoon, when the sun was starting to set.
Rachel was in the room she shared with Natty at the local Inn, nursing her throat while continually checking on Dmitri, who was apparently brooding in his room. Charles had slipped off into the park and was looking at the flowers. Since Natty had nothing better to do, she sat down on the grass in the park and looked up at the sky. The moon was coming out; it was near a new moon. Suddenly feeling queasy, Natty turned her gaze away.
Her eyes caught sight of beautiful flowers that were as white as the full moon. The tips of the petals curled away from the center of the flowers, giving it all the more beauty.
“Ow!” Natty smacked the side of her head harshly, almost blacking out. A sudden buzzing noise from her brain had echoed in her head, causing great pain.
“Natty?”
“What?” Natty snarled, whipping her head in the opposite direction with a force that allowed the buzzing to return. “Ow, damnit!”
“You okay?” Charles asked, sitting next to her.
“Yeah, yeah. I’m fine, you can go away now.”
“Those are beautiful flowers,” Charles said, absently. “They are white lilies, you know.”
Natty gave Charles a look of disgust. “How do you know that? And what’s so beautiful about a flower anyway?”
Charles sighed and got up, walking over to the lilies and picked one up. He walked back to the spot where Natty was sitting and handed the flower to her.
“Rachel told me that when we arrived here, I would have to look at the lilies they had in the park. She told me that they are a really special flower to some people because it symbolizes new life.”
The lily dropped into Natty’s lap, where she picked it up and held it to her nose.
“You might not see its potential, but I see what a good thing it is.” Charles said.
Natty stared at the lily and held it up in comparison to the moon. “I see.” she said quietly.
“Huh?”
“I see this is a pretty flower. They used to grow outside the main gate, once.”
Charles smiled. “There is good everywhere.”
The lily dropped from Natty’s hand and she narrowed her eyes. Natty looked at Charles, who was staring at the moon. Where did that come from? Natty thought. How can the two of us, who came from the same environment, turn out so differently?
A half-hour later, Natty was sitting in the room she shared with Rachel, asking about flowers that were the color of the moon. Charles was in the dark room with Dmitri, listening to him grumble on about nonsense.