Finding Eden by Camilla Beavers

early,” he looks down at his table,
“some of these have been here for years.”
    “ That's a shame,”
I say, “You do beautiful work.”
    The man shrugs, “I'm
sure they'll be picked up soon. Also, I believe your friend is
looking for you.”
    I look behind myself and
see Sahariel looking around for me. Too distracted by the
conversation, I must have not sensed he was close.
    “ Looks like it's
important,” he says, “you'd best be on your way.”
    I thank him again and run
over to Sahariel, clasping the necklace on as I run.
    “ Finally,” he
grabs my arm, “took you long enough.”
    “ Why didn't you
just come and get me?”
    “ Because everyone
knows I'm a royal guard,” he whispers, “and if I walk up
to you then people would know who you are.”
    “ Not like they
won't ever know.”
    “ That's not the
point, Eden,” he sounds frustrated, “I can't protect you
in a crowded area in public by myself.”
    “ Oh,” I say.
    “ Oh, is right.”
    He runs his hand through
his hair.
    “ Alright,” he
says after a few moments, “let's head inside.”
    “ Alright,” I
say, drawing the first syllable out and marching after him.
    “ Hey, Sahariel,”
one of the guards sneers, “haven't seen you in a while. Come
back to try and make up for your mistake?”
    “ Just let me pass,”
Sahariel says in exasperation.
    “ Why?” The
other guard as the doorway asks.
    “ Let me pass.”
    “ Come back to
grovel, I suppose,” one guard comments to the other.
    I look at Sahariel and
he's angry. The chord is plucked and I feel the second hand emotion
along with something else. What is the minor key? Guilt? Sadness?
    “ Just shut up and
let me pass,” his voice is quiet. He pushes past the guards and
I follow behind him with tentative steps.
    “ Her death was your
fault, you know.” One of the guards voices follows us as the
door closes, echoing down the empty hallway with our footsteps.
    I catch up to Sahariel
and I can feel his tension.
    “ You know,” I
say, “just because you don't have any colors doesn't mean I
can't tell what you're feeling.”
    “ I'm sorry. I just
haven't been here for a while. I thought it'd be easier.”
    After a few moments I
ask, “So, who were they talking about?”
    He stops in the middle of
the hallway and I stop with him. He turns to me, revealing his cloudy
expression.
    “ They were talking
about your mother.”
    “ But,” I
study his face, “why would they say her death was your fault?”
    “ Because I was her
guard. I was supposed to protect her.”
    “ What do you mean?”
I ask, “Are you saying you could have saved her?”
    “ There's a chance.”
    “ What!?”
    My mind reels and my
brain stops amidst the whirlpool of emotions on that of general
hysteria.
    “ You could have
saved her? Why weren't you with her?”
    “ I was doing
something else,” he admits, “something I felt was more
important.”
    “ Nothing could have
been more important than saving my mother’s life.”
    I glare at him.
    “ I doubt you'd
agree if you knew,” he looks me in the eyes, then his eyes
slide down and rest on my scar.
    I stare at him for a long
time. How am I supposed to react to this? I'm pissed but part of me
feels my heart breaking at the sight of his sadness. I reach for him,
my non-pissed side winning, wanting to comfort him. His head snaps up
and he looks down the hallway.
    “ We need to go,”
he says, the emotions gone.
    My hand falls to my side.
The connection tells me nothing as I watch him stalk off, shutting
down all of his emotions. I follow him around the corner and right
into his back.
    “ Ow,” I say
and rub my nose.
    “ Perul, Samir,”
Sahariel says.
    I peek around Sahariel's
back and see two men standing in front of us. They're twins.
    “ You brought her?”
One of them says.
    “ Yes, I have,”
he turns and pulls me out from behind him.
    The twins look at me and
I feel like I'm being thoroughly inspected, like some dog at a dog
show.
    “ You