Chapter 51: Scouting The Palace
Back at the hill, the men were beginning to feel lethargic. There wasn’t much they could do other than hide out from the Flori and stay away from the cave. With Evanna gone, they would all hear the whispers every few minutes, the man’s voice grated at them. If they slept, their dreams took on a bizarre turn; either they were nightmares, or their memories would resurface in a disfigured way, ending with the voice trying to lure them into the cave.
The three of them sat apart; Axel rubbed the back of his neck as he glanced between the other two. Their postures were stiff, and they refused to talk to each other, like a pair of children fighting over a toy. He couldn’t understand the dilemma; he interrupted the near fist fight earlier and clipped them both behind the ears before yelling at them.
Since then, the pair stayed quiet. This was not what they needed right before entering the lion’s den as it were. He also began to feel quite protective over the princess; he didn’t want either of them to have her. Nobody was good enough for her in his eyes.
"You two better get your shit together by the time they’re back. We need to focus solely on the quest at hand. That lass is out there right now, probably getting herself into more trouble and doing who knows what to make it easier on us when we make it to that place," Axel spoke sharply, making both men flinch at his words.
Axel already felt guilty for not coming with her and providing some backup, but he was not the lightest on his feet nor the quickest and knew that it was best the girls went by themselves.
"You’re right. I’m sorry I attacked you. I am just protective over her," Ger said sincerely with his head in his hands as he pulled some of his dark locks out of his face. He contemplated putting it in a small bun, his hair was becoming quite long, but when he looked at Axel, he saw his hair was put back in a rough half-up hairstyle to keep his long strands out of his face. It must be hard as well with his long beard.
"More like you are jealous you didn’t pick up the courage to do it yourself," Ronan muttered under his breath; Ger heard his response, pulling him out of his reverie about his hair.
"What was that?" Ger growled; he heard what he said, but he also knew that Ronan wouldn’t dare repeat it to his face.
"I said I’m sorry too. I promised you I would only flirt with her. I don’t want to jeopardise this quest. So, I will back off," Ronan said in a strained voice, forcing himself not to grumble the words.
The pair looked at each other then Ger stood up and held his hand out for Ronan to take as he approached. They grabbed each other by the forearm before Ger patted Ronan on the shoulder roughly and broke apart.
"Now, hug it out," Axel demanded, with his hands crossed against his chest.