Chapter 190 - Take Care Of Yourself, Abby (1/2)
The middle of summer came too soon. All of the men in Ilmir had passed the adjusted version of the lowest tier Warrior exam so the time had come for the camp to move on, leaving behind a few broken hearts.
Several teen girls had fallen for the charms of some Warrior or other who would be leaving. A few seemed like they planned on coming back to stay but others were unwilling to commit after braving a winter here.
They wanted to go home and Abby couldn't really blame them. Teenage girls got over crushes quickly for the most part; they should bounce back within a few months.
Besides, now that she was almost universally declared off-the-market (despite insisting that she and Blaise weren't engaged) the boys who had been crushing on her were officially over it and starting to look more seriously at other girls closer to their ages.
Hopefully some of those bruised hearts would find solace in each other. Lian had already started spending a lot of time with Janna since they were both heavily involved in the drama program.
Abby didn't want to say goodbye but she knew she had to. Nearby, Katie was giving her husband a tight hug and whispering things she was glad to be too far away to overhear into his ear. Al would be leading the Warriors to their new camp and helping set up the second printing office over the next few days.
She shuffled her way over to Blaise and pasted on a brave attempt at a smile. ”Promise to write me?”
”If you promise to visit.”
This was really it. What Abby had been dreading for months was finally happening and she didn't know how to deal with it. She threw herself into Blaise's arms as if it could somehow make it so he didn't have to leave.
He was usually hesitant while hugging her but this time he crushed her to his chest with one hand stroking her hair. When they finally broke apart, she handed him the same blue ribbon as she had before. It had worked the first time and she hoped it would see him safely back again.
She tied the ribbon around his wrist herself and had to hold back tears. The mountains were safe enough but it was such a long time to be apart.
Blaise turned to leave but stopped and resolutely turned around and marched back toward her before leaning down to press a quick kiss on her lips. ”Take care of yourself, Abby.”
Her fingers were still touching her trembling mouth as he walked out of sight. Their first kiss had been a kiss goodbye. It was both incredibly romantic and incredibly depressing. It was going to be a very long year and a half.
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Things settled back into the same general pattern as before the Warriors came to town. Most of the Kanta were relieved since they could get back to work without having to worry about training but Abby hated it.
It was almost as if the past year had been a dream. So much had changed but there was very little physical evidence of it. A few new projects to work on. A few new buildings. The music box that still sat on her nightstand.