CHAPTER 53: 50: COMPANY IN THE DARK.

The sky was still dark when he woke up.

The fire they lit had long since died, the charcoal in the pit still glowed with red light, emitting a measly amount of heat. Not at all enough to ward off against the chill that had taken the world in its clutches.

Edward slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes as he struggled to see in the dark.

The moon was still high up in the sky, and through the canopy of leaves, he could see that the stars had shifted a little from their place.

Something stirred next to him, and Edward turned his head.

"You up?"

It was Rowan, his face a little too close in the darkness, making Edward jump in surprise.

He covered his mouth in order to not let out a squeak, and took in a few quick breaths, studying his wilding heart.

Rowan let out a small chuckle, pushing his hair back as he gave Edward an amused look.

"Sorry."

Edward gave him an unamused stare.

"That’s not funny you know." He whispered, scared that he was going to be too loud with the noises.

Rowan shrugged.

"It was pretty funny to me."

Edward exhaled, a little annoyed.

Shaking his head at the man, he looked around the camp.

Aria and Calen had gone to sleep, Selene too was sleeping.

It was just him and Rowan.

He let out a little yawn, covering his mouth as he took in the deep breath.

Wiping the moisture in his eyes away, he shifted, looking back at Rowan, who had went back to sit under his own chosen tree.

"How long until sunrise?"

"Around 5 hours."

"We’re supposed to stay awake that long?"

Rowan nodded.

Edward bit back the urge to let out a groan, frowning a little as he fought of the cold creeping into his body.

Contrary to his expectations, sleeping on the ground with nothing but a blanket had still been very comfortable. Even more so than the soft, fluffy bed back at estate that he had grown to love. Maybe it was exhaustion, he was still a little drowsy as he leaned against the bark of his tree.

Unlike Edward, Rowan looked like he was fully awake. The signs of weariness that he had seen earlier in his eyes nowhere to be seen. He had neatly folded his blanket into a square and placed it next to him, leaning on his own tree as he stared into the darkness.

Edward studied the eccentric man for a little, at least as best as he could in the dim moonlight.

The pale light was lazily bouncing off his sharp face, his auburn hair waving a little as a cold breeze flew past him. His eyes were still alert, watching for anything that was out of place in the still forest.

Edward was a little jealous of how dependable he looked, sitting there like he was a guardian of all those who wanted to rest.

He let out a long breath, the fog from his warm breath piling up right next to his lips.

"How are you so alert?"

Rowan turned to him, then gave a small shrug, his expression barely visible in the moonlight.

"Experience I guess" He said quietly.

Edward considered the answer for a moment.

"You do this a lot?"

Rowan nodded.

"I used to be a soldier."

Edward scrunched his brows in confusion.

"Aren’t you royalty?"

"Being royalty doesn’t mean I get to slack off, I’ve been doing this for 4 years now."

A sudden question popped up in his mind, and his mouth moved on its own before he could think.

"Wait- How old are you?"

"Nineteen." The answer came a little too quickly, more like Rowan was trying to convince himself rather than Edward.

Edward considered his answer.

"Younger than I thought."

Rowan raised his eyebrows, shifting a little as he spoke.

"How old did you think I was?"

Edward gave him a small shrug.

"I don’t know... maybe twenty five?"

Rowan looked a little hurt.

He gave him a forced smile, shaking his head, then asked him.

"What about you? How old are you?"

Edward opened his mouth reply, only to end up pausing midway.

He blinked.

"That’s weird..." He mumbled to himself.

’I don’t know how old I am...?’

While it was true that he had always been acting like the teenager he was, only now did he realise that he had never asked anyone how old this body was.

He raked his mind through all his memory, trying to find anything, even a passing mention of his age.

When everything failed him, he flashed Rowan a nervous smile, scrubbing the back of his head.

"I don’t know."

"What?"

"What...?" He repeated, a little too quietly.

Rowan blinked.

"You don’t know how old you are?"

Edward shook his head.

"I forgot to ask."

Rowan looked at him for a long moment, then burst out into sudden laughter.

Edward flinched, ’shh’ing him to not make too much noise.

Rowan covered his mouth, descending into a fit of giggles.

It took him a long while to calm down, by which he was wiping away the tears forming in his eyes.

"You really don’t know how old you are?"

"No..." Edward mumbled, starting to feel a little done with the conversation.

"Aww, did you really forget your own age?"

"I didn’t have a choice alright!?"

Rowan poked him a little further.

"The heir of the strongest house in the country doesn’t know his own age, pfft!"

Edward gave him a deadpan stare.

"At least I’m not a dragon who can’t use his powers."

Rowan paused, then gave him a sly smirk.

"I’m still stronger than you."

Edward pouted.

"What does strength even matter..." He mumbled.

Rowan let out a low chuckle, playing with a small plant on the ground as he spoke.

"True... I wonder why we even need strength."

Edward looked back at Rowan.

Silence.

Then,

"Pfft!"

Edward held back the urge to throw a rock at him.

"You’re mean!"