He sat down again opposite her, studying her for a time. He needed to think of something he could say that would make her respond to him. She had already shown she would not answer questions of why she had not helped, and that his tears meant little. Emotional distress would not work. He had to find a different approach. There was only one thing he could be sure of … she was still here. She had not attempted to hide herself from him or walk away. Why did she stay? What did she want from him? Was she here simply because this was her home?
Jaden looked over the smooth flawless features of the woman sitting in front of him.
‘Do you have a name?’ he asked.
The woman opened her eyes, revealing blue so deep it made even the sapphire stream look gray. For a time, he could not tell how long, Jaden was locked in her gaze, helpless to do anything but stare back. Her eyes soothed him as much as they frightened him, played as much as they fought, inspired happiness as much as sadness. She was as beautiful as she was terrifying, and suddenly the world did not seem to hold as much colour. Next to her, nothing seemed as vibrant or alive, but all seemed more wondrous in her presence, as if her very being was enough to make him question all that he saw.
Jaden tried to break the lock, to stop her from staring into him, from reading him, but was still powerless against his curiosity of her.
‘A name,’ he managed to say, ‘do you have one?’
The woman’s stare was stern but without much emotion. There was not even a hint of happiness or anger in her eyes.
‘My name is Raquel,’ she said, her voice now softer, almost a whisper.
‘Why didn’t you answer my questions before?’
‘Sometimes it is better to let someone speak than to give them answers.’
‘Then will you tell me now why you did not help?’
‘I will tell you what you need to know. No more.’
Jaden felt agitated. ‘Why not?’ he asked sharply.
‘There is much one can hear, and much one cannot,’ said Raquel.
‘I am ready for anything,’ Jaden protested. ‘You can tell me.’
‘If you are ready, then why do you hurt?’
Jaden paused, questions racing through his mind as he attempted to understand the woman. She sat contentedly looking back directly into his eyes, unflinching, allowing him the time he needed.
‘You will use my pain against me?’ he asked.
‘You will use it against yourself.’
‘You speak as if you know who I am better than I do,’ said Jaden challengingly.
‘Sometimes who we are is more than what we can see.’
There was silence, Jaden lost in questions once more. He understood her. Her philosophy was similar to what his grandfather had taught him. He didn’t want to understand her, but he did. And even though he did not agree entirely, he knew what she said was true, and there was nothing he could say to oppose it and prove otherwise to her right now. He would have to give in and let her have the final word. She had beaten him, for now.
‘Then tell me how you were in my dream,’ he said.
‘I have been with you through the night. You saw me before you slept.’
Jaden lowered his eyes, breaking the lock between them for the first time. ‘It can’t be that simple,’ he said.
‘The truth is not always easy to accept; it must wait until you are ready.’
‘You’re right,’ said Jaden, shaking his head and conceding defeat. There was no purpose in fighting this woman. She was beyond his years in more than just age. But he would contain his frustration around her. He remembered that this was his chance to learn from her, from someone seemingly wiser than himself. He would be a fool to let it slip by for the sake of being right. ‘But why are you here?’
‘I am going north,’ she said.
‘Can I walk with you?’
‘You do not wish for my help,’ Raquel reminded.
‘I would not mind some company,’ he said.
Raquel seemed to consider this by holding his gaze, her eyes curiously intense from beneath her dark outward-curving brows. She smiled. ‘You may,’ she said.
Jaden could not return the smile, but strangely felt more at ease knowing he would not have to make the journey alone.
‘We should leave soon,’ he said. ‘I want to get to the two highest peaks.’ He coughed as he stood, as if thinking of his destination had returned the sickness. ‘I’m sorry, I’m not well.’
‘I know,’ said Raquel, simply, closing her eyes once more.
‘Are you coming?’ asked Jaden.
‘Lead the way,’ she said. ‘I will follow.’
Jaden looked unsure, puzzled by her actions, or lack of them. He reluctantly turned to begin walking without her, deciding it was better not to stand around and ask her questions she would not answer. Every ten yards, he glanced over his shoulder to see if she was following as she said she would, but even by the time he had reached the end of the clearing, she still hadn’t moved from where she was. He wasn’t sure if he was to trust her. She said she would follow, he reminded himself, but were the Daijuar bound by their word, or was this a game to her?