The cream brush parted the red
mane with ease, the smell of coconut and roses clinging to it. Each
pass of the brush smoothing out the mess of curls for only a few
moments. Since she was a child, Elena had thought these brushing
sessions were a lost cause. No matter what brushes she brought or
what lotions she applied, Maritza's mane never retained any shape
but it's curly forest. Yet she still jumped up at any chance to
help her half-orc friend. Some times it was just an honest opinion on
her looks, at others it meant to try to tame the wild mane and others
still it meant--

“Elena, can I ask you a
question?" Maritza said with a melodious voice, her shoulders
growing tense.

“You already did but you may
ask another one." Elena replied with a deeper voice, like a distant
thunder. A trait befitting her orcish heritage.

“Have you ever thought of
leaving? Going away to places beyond our hills? Seeing the world?"

Elena's came to a stop, a
bundle of red hair trapped in her thin green fingers. Her brows
creased in worry, her friend's words ringing in her ears.

“I have." was all Elena
could say, her mind a jumble of thoughts and emotions.

“Don't you think it would
be exciting? Meeting heroes and villains, traveling through far away
lands, living the legends that we were told so often when we were
children." There was a wishful tone to her voice, a fragile beauty
that left a sour taste in Elena's mouth.

“Maybe. It always sounded
exciting in Granny Lucy's stories," she admitted, “but they
were also dangerous. “

“But
that's what makes them exciting in the first place. Just imagine,
the two of us going through the crystal Laberinths of Arcadia, or
visiting the sea of Caves of Terragia. Maybe we could enjoy the
Festival of Fire of La Florencia, or go to
the Night of Tears in
Castleon."

“There are many roads
between us and any of those place Maritza, how do you expect us to
get there?"

“The same way Solangel and
Marielis did of course, we'll buy a pair of strong horses to take
us there and--"

Elena set down the brush
harshly on the table, the thud silencing Maritza. “And then what? A
sea separates of from La Florencia, Castleon is at war with Damasco,
Terragia has closed their borders since the fiasco of the King's
wedding and, as you yourself told me, Arcadia is lost to all but
their friends. I don't know about you but I have never met a Taurus
in my life."

“Come on, don't be such a
killjoy. Sure, La Florencia is far, but there are tons of cities for
us to see along the way. It would take us years to reach Castleon,
their war will be over by the time we get there." Elena turned on
her seat, taking her friend's hands in hers. Her soulful brown eyes
begged Elena to understand her.

“Maritza, please--"


“No,
you know we can do it. We have done it already. Remember our trip to
Karesh, how much we laughed when we finally reached the city. The
beauty of Lake Radia in the afternoon."

“I do remember. I remember
how we were lost in the desert. I remember the merchants who saved us
out of kindness, because we had nothing to give them. I remember how
angry our parents were when we came back, how worried they had been
the months after that."

“We made a few
mistakes--"


“We could have lost our lives." Elena
shouted, freeing her hands from Maritza's hold while tears
threatened to fall from her eyes.

“And what lives are they?"
Martiza stood up, marching up and down one side of the room as she
listed her grivances. “We spend half our days making inventories,
replying to letters and begging for aid. And the other half is spend
dancing to our parents' every whim. We barely have time to
ourselves, to learn who we are, what we want."

“And you think you will get
the time to do so on the road? Where the safety of a roof and the
warmth of a fire is never assured? Or maybe you will think of that
the next time you're crossing through the desert and your
water-skin turns empty?"

The two friends stared at each
other, baring their souls in the sanctity of their room. Silence
reigned supreme for several seconds, their hands trembling.

“I don't want this to be
everything I am Elena. I know what you think, that I'm still a kid,
that I don't think things through."

“Maritza I--"


“I
know, you always give me the same worried looks but I'm not a kid
anymore. I have thought about this long and hard. I have spent nights
without a wink of sleep thinking of this."

“And you still wish to do
it. Where will you even go? What will you do there? How are you going
to keep yourself fed?" Elena crossed the room, taking Maritza's
trembling hands into her own.

Maritza's
voice was soft but full of passion as she said, “I
am going to the city of Aquerintos first. I have a friend there who
says I can stay with him for a season, while I sort myself out."

“You're not talking about
Patroklos, are you? Maritza, you know he's barely got himself put
together."

“He's been doing better,
he has started working as a potter and it's been going well for
him."

Elena paled when her
suspicions were confirmed, a wave of nausea raising from her stomach.
She bit her lips and focused on the soft touch of her friend's
hands.

“There is nothing I can say
to change your mind, is there?" Elena said after a few seconds, her
voice filled with resignation.

“No, I will do this. I need
to do this, for my own sake."

Elena couldn't hold back her
tears, the knowledge splitting her hard in pride and sadness. “You
were always so willful. I never could get you to change your mind."

“That's not true, you
changed me a lot. I'm better because of you. More careful, more
aware of my flaws."

“I obviously didn't do
enough."

“Come with me." Martiza
said with passion, grasping the orc's hand tightly in hers.

“What?"
Elena
couldn't believe her ears,
for the second time that day her friend had taken the rug from under
her feet.

“Come with me to Aquerintos.
We can start a new life over there. We can discover ourselves and
then, we could travel the world. You know there's nothing we can't
do when we work together."

Elena stepped away from her
red haired friend, her hands seeking support in the nearest wall. “I
can't. I can't do that."

“Of course you can, you're
stronger than you give yourself credit for."

“I can't do that Martiza.
I can't leave my family behind. They need me."

“Elena." whispered Maritza
with shock in her voice.

“Dad has started to forget
things, mom's back is acting up and none of my brothers have a good
head for business. I can't leave them like that."

“We won't be together
then."

“No, we won't."

The two friends shared a look
and at once, they pulled each other into a tight hug. Warm rivers of
tears slid down their faces, their sobs echoing in the small room. A
single though running through both of their mind: We may never
meet again.

“I hope you'll be happy."
Maritza said between sobs, clutching the fabric of her friend's
dress.

“I hope you'll be happy
too."