"How do you feel, Zia?" Roun asked, his breath rising in white plumes.
"Fine enough. A little tired, maybe."
"Do you want to rest?"
"I'll be fine,"
"Actually," Epiphany broke in, "Stopping might not be a bad idea." We set down our packs where we were. I pulled over Epiphany's pack and looked inside. The sack of food was very small.
"I hadn't realized our supplies were this low," I said, alarmed.
"We won't starve," Roun said, smiling wryly. "But if I'm right, most of what's left is bread."
"How did this happen?" I asked.
"Well," Epiphany answered, hesitantly, "You were sick, and..."
"I see." No one spoke. I looked around and shivered. "Isn't it strange to be out in the open like this?"
"At least it lets us see where we're going," Epiphany said.
"But there's nothing to see," I mumbled impatiently, looking away from the rolling hills of dried grass. We had hardly seen an insect. I had been so impatient to move forward and see things. How could I be sitting still?
And after the previous night, when I had finally asked Epiphany and Roun to stop arguing, they ignored each other. Epiphany talked and Roun joked, but they never spoke to each other. Why did I have to be in the middle?
I stood suddenly. "Can we go?" I asked impatiently. "Epiphany, Roun, are you ready?"
"Why the rush?" Roun asked, looking surprised.
Epiphany was staring at me as well, but I could not read the expression on her face. She was usually the one to hurry us forward. "I'm ready if you are, Zia," she said.
"Good. Let's go." I turned and began walking, not even waiting to see if they followed. I strode up the next rolling crest, wanting to get away, from both of them. I loved them, but why did they have to make it so hard? All I wanted was to finish what I had set out to do, in peace.
"Wait! Zia!" Roun called after me. I hesitated. But I was angry- at what? Everything was supposed to be right, but it was not. I had failed to learn magic. When I finally discovered my way of saving the world, everything conspired to stop me. And then, nothing but rolling meadows and two friends who could not get along. It was so close to being right, but everything, even being angry, felt wrong. I decided that I would take three more steps and then turn around to wait. One... two... and over the crest of the hill, I was looking down at the sky.
"Epiphany! Roun! Come look!!!" I waved back before running down the hill. Not a blade of green poked through the thick mat of skyflowers, which spread through the entire depression. I stared and filled my color-starved, life-starved eyes for one long moment. Then I laughed and dove to my knees, and began quickly picking from the blue. Epiphany and Roun reached the top of the last hill and stopped. Roun stared, blinking. Epiphany paused, then ran down to me, laughing. Roun followed. I threw wreaths over Epiphany and she over me, and Roun laughed, a skyflower behind his ear.