Chapter 6 - negotiations

Rowan made it back to her house when the sun began to set. She had been gone for longer than she had expected so she hoped Leo hadn't woken up and left. He wasn't in any fit state to be wandering around the cave systems or the forest. She was relieved to see him still laying on the bed, he was awake but still here.

"Thank you for helping me, whoever you are" Leo said, half-serious half-jokey. Rowan smiled, he still had his humour which was good. She watched as he became less tense after she smiled, he was probably still on guard slightly given she was a complete stranger.

"Can you turn over for me?" She asked nicely, it surprised her how kind her voice sounded. Leo did as asked and turned over so Rowan could remove the bandages off him to check his wound. It was healing well so far but it'd take at least two weeks for him to be back up to normal.

"I think you'll be fine to go home in a week" Rowan said, checking it over one last time. If it carried on the way he was doing he'd be able to make it back to Lamarie and carry on doing most of his daily tasks. 

She patted him on the shoulder reassuringly before she got up and walked into the kitchen. She heard Leo let out a pretty depressing sigh. Slightly concerned for the boy she turned back to face him. 

Leo was laying on his back, his eyes closed and his good arm draped over his head. His mouth was pulled into a frown. She must've been staring for too long as Leo opened his eyes and stared at her, he could probably feel her eyes burning holes into him. She just stood there, staring at him, waiting for him to say something.

"I can't go back. I trashed something in Rika and now they want me to pay for it" It was clear to Rowan why he was being chased, he hadn't just pissed off one citizen, he pissed off the majority of them. Rowan could see a part of her younger self in Leo and even though she couldn't believe what she was about to say, she said it anyway.

"How about you stay here with me till it all dies down?" He instantly shot up, immediately regretting it as he winced in pain. 

Rowan rolled her eyes at his stupidity but couldn't hide the small smile that formed on her face. Some small part of her felt comfort in knowing she wouldn't be alone for a while. She was slightly nervous, human interaction wasn't something she did often and she was worried she'd do or say something stupid.

"Thank you so much, this means a lot to me" Leo smiled brightly before what looked like another wave of pain hit him as he crashed back down onto the bed. 

Rowan shook her head at his recklessness before turning to her kitchen. Leo could do with some food soon and she probably could as well, with the hunting she had done she was sure she'd be able to feed all three mouths that'd be in the house. She prepared something quick and simple for Leo to eat while she headed out to go see what was happening with the nations, getting a sense of how big this manhunt is would be a good idea.

"Here, eat this, it'll make you feel better. I'm going to see what's going on, stay here" Rowan turned her tone to less kind and more demanding, she wanted to make sure her point of him staying here got through to him. Leo nodded before grabbing the food. Once she was satisfied he was eating and he'd stay here she headed towards the door.

---

Toby was nervously pacing by the front gate. Leo still hadn't come back but neither had Daniel or his goons. To him that was both a good and bad sign. Good news was if none of them had returned it could mean they were still looking out there for him. Bad news was no one had come back because they caught him. Either way there was no way he'd be able to tell. 

The unknown was killing him. Caleb was busy trying to set up a meeting with Jon, he had assumed Daniel got Leo and was now going to try and negotiate. It wasn't just for peace this time, a young boy's life was on the line here now. 

This could be the moment that everything that Lamarie stood for would be tested. Toby would do anything for Leo and he hoped the other citizens would too but he seriously began to doubt to what extent Caleb would go for Leo. It worried him.

"Toby you need to eat something" Samuel said, interrupting Toby's train of thought. Sam was cautious walking towards him, probably worried he'd scare Toby. He just stared at Sam, he couldn't eat, not while Leo was possibly out there hiding for his life or even worse, being starved by Jon.

"Tobias please! You're just going to hurt yourself at this rate. What help will you be to him then!" Sam yelled, grabbing the younger boy's shoulders so he'd look him in the eyes. 

Toby couldn't hold it much longer, the worry and concern in his friends eyes made him crack. All the emotions he had pent up from the day overflowed. Sam was caught off guard by the sudden emotion but comforted Toby nonetheless.

"He'll be alright" Sam whispered, trying to reassure him. It just made Toby cry harder. 

Toby was so caught up in his own head, blaming himself, asking why it was Leo and not him who was in that situation, that he didn't even realise Caleb had come out to see what was wrong. He didn't even realise Caleb was the one now hugging him and Sam had stepped to the side by Maya who also had come outside.

"I've got a meeting with Jon, I'll do everything in my power to get Leo home safe" Caleb whispered as he hugged Toby even tighter, if that was possible. 

He couldn't reply, his throat felt dry and a heavy lump sat right in the middle of it, preventing him from speaking. It didn't take long for others to come and see what was happening, Eliza was the first one to go to Leo and try to help him.

"Oh sweetheart" Eliza mumbled, coming over and hugging him. Caleb let go to give Eliza some space. After all Caleb had to go carry on trying to sort out the mess the two younger boys had caused. 

At the end of the day Toby knew Caleb loved the both of them. Samuel followed Caleb as they both walked towards the gate. Once Toby realised where they were about to go he yelled out to them.

"I want to come with you" Toby announced. Caleb went to say no but before he did he looked into Toby's eyes. 

He probably realised the stubborn boy would probably end up following them anyway and at least if he went with them then Caleb and Sam could keep an eye on him. So instead of saying no, he nodded his head. Caleb carried on walking but Sam stayed behind a little to wait for Toby to catch up.

"Come on" Sam nudged him along to follow Caleb as they made their way down the familiar cobble path. 

It was a silent walk, no one wanting to say anything. The trip seemed longer than normal, painfully long. Toby was busy worrying over Leo, it was the only thing on his mind and no matter how he tried to get rid of the thought he couldn't. 

He knew why it was bothering him so much but he wished he could just get a moment of peace, was that being selfish? It took another nudge from Samuel to knock him out his spiraling thoughts. 

They had finally arrived at the gates of Rika. Daniel and Alexa stood there, staring them down. They made no move to let them come inside and a tense few minutes passed until Jon showed up. A smile was plastered on his face, to the average person it may seem genuine but to the Lamarians it was dangerous. Jon looked so carefree right now, it was off putting.

"We want Leo back" Caleb was straight to the point, he wasn't willing to put up with Jon's crap. Jon smiles grew wider and he threw an 'I told you so' look back at Alexa and Daniel. 

Toby glanced around while they were waiting for an answer. He noticed the storage building they'd broken into now had a brand new reinforced door and a guard stationed outside. It made him wonder if they had noticed the hole they had gone through to get in, since they thought it was just Leo and he ran out the front gate. 

It was a thought to keep in the back of his head, he was willing to break back in to save Leo. How exactly he would do that alone, he had no clue but for his friend he'd do anything.

"He committed a crime, now he's paying for it" Jon taunted, Toby was still conflicted if they had actually caught Leo. He knew Leo and he knew how fast he was, he didn't know if he was just trying to give himself false hope.

"They can't have him" Toby whispered a little louder than he thought he did. 

All eyes turned to him. Jon's fake smile immediately dropped and he turned angry real quick. He probably didn't appreciate Toby 'underestimating' him. Caleb was staring at him in disbelief, they had come here to save Leo and now Toby was making it harder to do that. Toby didn't actually know what he was doing, he just wanted to believe anything else.

"If you want to risk it Caleb then that's your choice" Jon replied back, trying to control his tone due to his anger. Toby knew Caleb was now stuck in a decision, maybe what Toby said gave him hope as well, they hadn't actually gone out and searched if Leo was out there.

"I want proof of life" Caleb finalized which caught Toby off guard. He never though Caleb would doubt Jon's ability but now he was. 

To be fair what Caleb had said was very smart and Toby hadn't even thought of that, he just wanted to leave and go find Leo but this way they can see if they actually have him or preferably, don't have him. None of the Lamarians looked away until Jon answered they were all too eager to see what would happen next.

"You'll get all the proof you'll need when we send you his head" Jon responded. His cold and cutting tone made Toby's face go pale, it was very hard to not believe him. 

There was no emotion in his voice, it sent a chill down Toby's spine. No one else said anything and Jon turned around and walked away like he hadn't just said she was going to behead a seventeen year old.

"We need to go back and consult the others" Samuel muttered as he grabbed Toby's arm and began to drag him away probably knowing that he may do something stupid.

"How do we know if they're lying or not?" Toby asked, yes he was the one to first bring it up but that was out of desperation and he didn't actually intend anyone else to hear him.

"Jon's got too big of an ego to not prance Leo around in front of us where we can see him and do nothing to help-'' Caleb began, everything he was saying was completely right 

"-if Leo is out there somewhere and I believe he is, we've just got to find him first" with that being said the three of them began making their way back to Lamarie. Each in their own silence trying to think of anything that may be beneficial. The hunt for Leo was one.

---

Rowan found herself going back to the beach. She had spent a little bit of the day watching the Lamarians trying to figure out what they were doing about Leo. It seemed they were worried but Caleb had called a meeting after he had left somewhere with Toby and Sam. 

She could only assume they went out to speak to Jon and something must've happened. Rowan was unsure if they believed Leo was with them or not, if they did think he was captured by Rika she had to do something to prevent them from surrendering. 

What that could be she had no idea yet but she'd figure something out. The meeting seemed like it would take a while and she wasn't going to learn anything new so she decided to spend some time at the beach before going back to Leo. 

She wanted to give him as much time in silence so he could rest well and heal better. It had been a whole day and Rowan wanted to see some slight improvement, even if it was tiny. She had planned to tinker with her armour, fixing some imperfections but that would be too loud, so with nothing else to do this was where she found herself. 

The moon was full tonight, bringing a lot more light to the dark beach. It was nice and comforting, something about the low glow was calming. For just a couple minutes she could get away from everything and relax before having to go back into constant worry mode. So for just a minute she let her mind wander away to somewhere far away from the war going on and the fugitive she was now harbouring in her house.

"I promise I won't be as scary as last time" Rowan jumped at the female's voice. She hadn't expected to see her here again and with her guard let down she was completely vulnerable to someone sneaking up on her.

"Oops, didn't mean to make you jump" Rowan heard Sky chuckle to herself slightly before sitting herself down next to her.

"Aw come on, don't go all silent on me now" Sky whined out childishly and Rowan couldn't help but smile and choke back a light laugh. She glanced at Sky for a moment, her voice still playing on Rowan's mind. It was so familiar.

"What do you want?" Rowan asked then cringed immediately after at how they may have sounded. Luckily it seemed like Sky didn't take it badly as she sent Rowan a dazzling smile. Rowan's heart rate increased slightly at the smile, it felt like there were butterflies in her stomach. What the hell was happening to her.

"Not sure really, mainly bored and finding a new person around here is pretty interesting" Sky didn't seem nearly as fazed as Rowan was but what she said definitely caught Rowan's attention.

So Sky must be around here pretty often to know who a 'new person' would be, even though Rowan had been here for a couple years now she made sure to keep hidden. Rowan's eyes flickered to what Sky was wearing, she hadn't actually had a proper look yet. 

It was pretty average, black trousers and a white tank top under her dark blue cloak. Dark blue wasn't a colour either of the two nearby nations wore. Rika was dark purple and Lamarie was a lighter blue. Rowan herself wore a dark green, it blended with her background better and let her hide easier. She couldn't lie and say Sky didn't suit the blue colour, it was just intriguing.

"So where exactly are you from?" Rowan asked, a small smile tugging on her lips but it vanished into a frown once Sky had responded

"Oh you know, around" What type of answer was that. Not one that is useful anyway. It didn't take a genius to know what she was doing. It was almost like a game of cat and mouse. Rowan knew it was possibly dangerous what she was doing but the new adventure fascinated her into keeping talking.

"Now how about you tell me where you're from" Rowan and Sky both knew she wouldn't reply to that. Rowan admired Sky's jokey confidence.

"You'll know when I know" Was the best thing Rowan could come up with on the spot. She was very much someone who liked to plan everything through but in the moment she just blurted out whatever sounded good enough in her head. 

Sky tilted her head back as she let out a laugh, finding Rowan's answer amusing. Once the two had finished chuckling and laughing an oddly comfortable silence fell around them. It was odd because they were strangers and should be on guard when they were around each other but for some reason neither of them were.

"So no one knows you're here?" Sky asked quietly after a few minutes had passed. Unknowingly a slightly smug smile appeared on Rowan's face. Of course no one knew she was here, she was good at what she did. And that was staying out the way. 

The only people who know she lives here are Leo and Sky and she let them know. Yes Sky caught her off guard that night but she could've easily made up an excuse about being a traveller and Rowan could see Sky believing it. A change of pace to her boring daily life was needed, this wasn't the way Rowan thought she'd get it but it was welcomed.

"Nope, well besides you" Rowan answered not letting her know that someone else knew, that person being Leo. Even though she felt comfortable around Sky she wasn't about to go telling her anything which could be used against her.

"What are you doing out so late?" It was Rowan's turn to ask the question this time and she was generally curious. Rowan also wanted to make sure that Sky wasn't here for a certain reason, not that Sky would tell her if it was something sinister.

"Like I said I'm bored and a change of scenery seemed nice" Sky said smiling, Rowan should've expected that answer. If anything she was hoping she'd be able to see some type of tell in Sky, something that she maybe did when she was lying. That'd be pretty useful to know.

"I need to head back now but if you're here tomorrow night I'd love to talk more" Sky abruptly stood up, sending one last shining smile to Rowan before quickly disappearing into the forest. 

Rowan debated following her but decided it probably wasn't worth the hassle, it was an option to keep in mind though. Rowan honestly liked all the new social interaction she was getting, it was a dangerous and weird way to get it but that was just her life, if she put herself in these situations she's pretty sure she can get herself back out.