Chapter 58 - FIFTY EIGHT: Something More Important

As she waited for Dash to finish picking up his spilled groceries, Kel seated herself at the small dining table in his house. 

It was a relief Dash happened to leave his house when he did, or else she'd be in one of two possible uncomfortable situations.

Either she'd be figuring out how to silence the unlucky owner of the house she had mistakenly selected, or she'd be running from the authorities after getting turned in for breaking and entering.

From hostage princess to common criminal, she shook her head, laying out a piece of parchment she'd hidden in the waist of her dress. She had several more in-depth pages carefully concealed in her room at the palace, but this one had been crafted specially to give Dash a concise summary.

"Hmm.. it could certainly use a little more clarification here…" she murmured, tracing one of the various maps drawn on the page.

As she mentally rehearsed her plan, she tried to shrug off the anxiety that seemed to grip her chest more tightly every time she glanced at her surroundings. Coming here with Dash that night had been a mistake. Though she swore she'd never trust him again, she'd let down her guard so easily.

This time, however, she wouldn't make the same oversight. 

"I need his help is all," she asserted, pressing her fist against the table. "I can't trust Dash. No, I won't trust him."

As soon as she finished speaking, the untrustworthy man in question crashed through the door. His rushing led to him spilling a few fruits out of his bag again, this time on the kitchen floor.

"How clumsy," Kel clicked her tongue, bending down to grab the apple that had rolled near her chair. She was almost certain it was the same one she picked up earlier.

With a series of grunts, Dash loaded everything once again before setting the bag on the table.

"Shopping?" Kel asked, placing the bruised apple delicately on top of the bulging sack.

"... Not exactly," Dash replied quietly, glancing away.

"Right," Kel snorted. "You probably don't actually live here anyway."

Dash's eyes widened in shock.

"W-what do you mean?" he stammered. "Where else would I live?"

"Oh yeah?" Kel responded, running a finger along the rim of the bag. "But you were definitely on your way out with this food?"

"I couldn't eat it all," Dash confessed awkwardly, his gaze focused on the floor next to him. "I was taking it to-"

"Dash." Kel interrupted.

"..."

"Dash."

"A-anyway, I was taking it to," Dash continued, using a hand to shield his face, "to.. um to the almshouse nearby."

Kel studied Dash's timid figure for a few moments. It didn't seem like he was lying. What was there to lie about a bag of food for anyway? 

But why was he acting so strangely as if he had something to hide?

"If that's the truth," Kel lowered her voice, "then why won't you look at me?"

Dash flinched as she spoke, but he slowly turned his head toward her. His hand was covering his nose and mouth, but she could still see patches of red peeking out above his cheeks.

"What's wrong? Are you sick?" Kel demanded.

The wooden chair screeched along the floor as she jumped to her feet. She couldn't tell what, but something was definitely wrong with the man in front of her.

"I just didn't know.." Dash mumbled, swallowing hard. 

"..didn't know what?" Kel asked hesitantly.

"It's not that I hate the idea," Dash babbled on. "And I'd be lying if I said I'd never given it any thought-"

"Get to the point!" Kel cut in.

Dash glanced to the floor and took a deep breath before turning back to Kel.

"Your boyfriend," he said softly. "Earlier you said.. well, you know."

Putting her hand against her forehead, Kel took a few slow breaths to process the situation. 

No wonder Dash had been acting so out of character. How could he have possibly misunderstood her to this extent? Was he honestly stupid enough to think she'd call the man who helped deceive her into being a sacrifice by such a friendly title?

"Dash," Kel finally sighed, "what I said earlier. Did you think I meant you?"

She thought the man's cheeks couldn't possibly turn any redder, but she was wrong.

"I must have misunderstood," Dash murmured, covering his face with both hands.

"Since you know," Kel continued, somehow feeling embarrassed herself, "can we drop this now?"

"O-of course," Dash answered, clearing his throat. 

Though he said that, they both stood in awkward silence for a few minutes, each allowing their cherry-colored cheeks to return to normal.

Finally, Dash, who had regained most of his composure, gestured to the table. "Shall we sit?"

Kel, who was reminded of her own resolve to be an impenetrable stone wall in front of Dash, flopped back into her seat with a huff at his invitation

"We've wasted enough time," she said flatly, drawing Dash's attention to the parchment she'd already laid out. "I came here for something more important than your childish games."

Kel first began by describing what became of Barclay. It was difficult to talk about, but recalling her comrade's gruesome end strengthened her resolve even further. Unlike Kel's cracking voice and teary eyes, however, Dash remained entirely unmoved. Either he'd already heard the news, or he simply didn't care.

Kel was disappointed in his lack of emotion, but what more could she expect from the man willing to throw away his closest friend? Obviously, he wouldn't be overly attached to their burly superior.

Ignoring Dash's lackluster reaction, Kel spent the next several minutes giving a detailed overview of her plan. If things worked out, in the end, the Dragon Emperor and Mevani would both be left in shambles while she escaped to the south.

"Why the south specifically?" Dash asked as Kel finished explaining the diagrams and maps in front of her.

"There's no reason other than I want to," Kel replied curtly. "Do you have any other questions?"

Dash nodded and then sat fiddling with his lower lip as he pondered Kel's words.

"It all makes sense," he responded, "except one thing."

"And what's that?" Kel inquired absently as she began folding the parchment back into a tiny strip.

Dash watched her work with a stone-like expression. "Why are you doing this?"