Chapter 10

The sun had already sat low, and darkness of the night had covered Dalelry. Elias and Tivon were in the cave behind the waterfall. It was already quite late, but both Elias and Tivon couldn't sleep. Elias was carving his piece of wood and Tivon was drawing in his journal.

Tivon's mind was all over the place. It was mixed with excitement and hope but also panic and worry. He couldn't stop thinking about the kiss. He couldn't stop thinking about Elias' lips on his.

Tivon looked down in his journal, where he was scribbling without thought. The whole page was filled with sketches of Elias. He suddenly closed his journal turning red as the sun. Elias looked up to see what startled Tivon. Tivon just smiled at him, trying to hide away the blush.

Elias smirked. That dorky smile. Must've made his day. Elias looked down at his carving. He was surprised to find himself blushing as well.

Elias made his final cut and said. »And I'm done.«

He stood up and put the knife back on his belt. He came to Tivon and gave him the piece of wood. The wood was carved into a bird.

»What is it?« asked Tivon.

»This is an ohil, an intelligent, but quite a rare bird. They are known as these tiny birds, who don't need someone to depend on, but when they find a true one, they are loyal to them forever.« Elias closed Tivon's palm, holding the carving. »It's for you.«

Tivon smiled. »Thank you.«

He examined it for some time and then put the bird in his inner coat pocket. Elias laid down. Tivon did too, but they still couldn't seem to close their eyes.

»So now that I know you are a prince, you ran away from the kingdom, right?« asked Elias.

»Yeah.« sighed Tivon.

»Must have been hard to leave the luxury of a prince's life.«

»I thought that it would be hard.« he glanced at Elias. »But for some reason, it is so much better now.«

Elias sighed. »And all of this time I've been thinking that you are just another runaway.«

»Well I still am… Would you think of me differently if you knew who I really was?«

»It probably wouldn't change, but I don't know if I would have a chance to even meet you if others knew.«

»Do you regret that you got to know me better?« asked Tivon, slightly scared to hear the answer.

»No. I don't regret a single minute with you.«

Tivon smiled to himself.

They were lying down in silence and then Elias asked. »Do you want to go for a walk?«

»But it's the middle of the night.«

Elias stood up and looked over his shoulder. »Are you scared of the dark?«

»N-no.« said Tivon while standing up.

Elias took his belt with two swords, his coat and a lantern.

»So, are you coming?«

Tivon nodded and they headed out.

The night was pitch black and when they stepped into the forest, Tivon couldn't see a thing in front of him. The only source of light was Elias' lantern, so Tivon walked close by, trying to keep up with his pace. Eventually, they came out of the forest into the small village.

»Is it okay for us to be out in the village, unchained in the middle of the night?« asked Tivon.

»It'll be fine, we just need to be quiet. And I don't have a reason to chain you anymore.« He looked over his shoulder at him. »Unless you want to.«

»I'm okay.« smiled Tivon, not even trying to hide his blushing this time.

»I want to show you something. And teach you some things along the way.« Elias continued walking, and Tivon followed behind him.

The village was quiet and empty. The only sound disturbing the silence, was the footsteps of Elias and Tivon. Elias stopped by a decently bigger building than the others.

»Come here.« Elias showed him the way to the window, that was locked. He took two lockpicks out of his pocket. »I'm going to teach you how to pick a lock.«

»Is it okay to break into a building?«

»Let's say we are here for a visit.« smiled Elias.

Tivon stepped closer. »The main thing about picking locks is that you have to listen to it.« He grabbed the lock and put in the two metal pieces. »You will hear these little clicks.«

Then Tivon heard a big click, and the lock gave loose underneath Elias' hands. »And that's how you do it with a simple lock.«

He offered him his hand and Tivon climbed into the building. The building was dark because there were no windows, except for the one they just climbed in from. In front of them was a big door.

Elias climbed in. »Now it's your time to pick a lock.«

He gave him the metal picks and showed him the lock on a door. Tivon nervously took the picks and grabbed the lock. He put in the picks and listened carefully. Every time he heard a little click his heart moved. Suddenly the lock gave loose in his hand with a big click.

»Good job. If I'm honest, I didn't know you could do it this quickly.«

"What can I say, a natural talent."

Elias smirked and opened the door. They found themselves in a bigger room, its ceiling closing into a dome.

»What is this place?« asked Tivon.

»It was a church of the saint of this island. Saint Dalelry.« explained Elias walking towards the windows covered with curtains. »But it has been abandoned for years.«

»And why bring me here?«

Elias smiled and grabbed the rope of the curtains. »To show you this.«

He pulled the rope, opening the curtains. The light of the moon shone through the coloured glass window, hitting the little pieces of glass on the ground, which reflected the light on the ceiling of the dome, painting a colourful light image.

Tivon was speechless. The colour lights were reflecting in Tivon's eyes. He looked at Elias, who was leaning against the wall smiling at him.

»How did you find out about this?«

»I was bored.« Shrugged Elias and went to the other side of the room. »But that's not the only reason I brought you here. I was thinking about how to teach you to throw knives.«

»Elias, you don't need to, you know I-«

»You could do it with your eyes closed.« interrupted Elias.

»What?« asked Tivon.

»You could throw them with your eyes closed." repeated Elias. "You just need to learn to hear the movements.«

»And how do you plan on doing that?«

Elias turned and pressed a button on the wall. A loud click went from the dome and a bunch of paper birds tied to the ropes flew down the dome, circling the building dome.

»They were meant for the people, to believe that Saint Dalelry controlled the birds on the island.« said Elias.

»And people believed it?«

»Who knows.« shrugged Elias. He grabbed a piece of fabric and stepped towards Tivon. He gave him his knives and the dagger.

»Is this a good idea?«

Elias took the fabric in both of his hands and asked. »Do you trust me?«

Tivon looked down at the fabric and back up at him in the eyes and nodded. Elias brought the fabric to his eyes and tied it behind his head.

»What if I hit you?« asked Tivon nervously.

»Don't worry about me. Focus on yourself and listen for the movements.«

He stepped away and Tivon focused on the movements of the paper birds circling them. He brought the knife in front of himself just as Elias had taught him and when he thought he heard a bird coming he threw the knife. He heard it hit the wall and then it fell on the floor.

Elias picked up the knife. »That was really close. Try again.«

He gave him the knife and Tivon released a breath. He listened closely and then when he heard paper flying by at his right side, he threw the knife again, this time hitting the paper bird.

Tivon raised his blindfold to see if he did it and to his surprise the paper bird was lying on the ground, the little knife stuck in it.

Tivon turned to Elias and shouted. »Elias, I did-«

Elias put his finger on Tivon's lips.

»Shhhh. Yeah, you did it.« smiled Elias.

»Sorry.« whispered Tivon, happy and immensely proud of himself.

»Do you want to try again or did you have enough for today?« asked Elias.

"Just a couple of times." He said sliding down the blindfold.

Tivon tried it again for a couple of throws, missing some, but hitting most of them. After the tiredness of the whole day hit him, he handed Elias the knives. Elias took his knives, but he left the dagger in his hands. »Take the dagger. You'll need it.«

Tivon looked at the dagger and then at Elias. »I can't take it. It's your fathers.«

»I know. But you'll need it more than me.« He started walking towards the door. »Come on, let's go.«

Tivon smiled and carefully put the dagger on his belt and ran after Elias.

Pit was sitting on the roof of an abandoned house. He was drunk but not drunk enough to sleep it off. His body was achy from the stings. That damn shary and lover-boy. Who do they think they are? He threw the bottle on the ground in anger. It didn't even shatter, which made him even more irritated. They think that they can do anything they want.

His plotting was disturbed by a quiet laughter down on the street. He looked down and he saw Elias and Tivon giggling at each other. He maliciously grinned. He'll see. When I get that boy alone... He will be sorry that he ever made a fool out of me.