Elania and Austin made their way out of the swampy area and back in the forest, they came across a stream that they stopped at to clean themselves. They washed their clothes and hung them on shrubs to dry, and as Elania was all clean standing by a tree getting into a fresh dress, a short-sleeved maroon one, Austin was in the water washing himself; both of them facing outward so as to give each other some privacy.
She finished dressing up and sat down on one of the tree’s protruding roots to comb her hair, tempted to look at Austin but keeping her eyes to herself. Styling it up into a pony-tail with a bit of it falling down the side, she then looked down at her locket and held it in her palm.
“Always in your heart,” Elania quietly read the words that were engraved on the back and smiled;
