Chris stared at the ceiling, her body screamed from exhaustion but she couldn't bring herself to sleep. The wind creaked through the sky, easing the great quietness of the world.
She curled and uncured her fingers. Breathing deeply as her eyes strained to stay open. Her thoughts kept circling back to Zeven. Nothing else had occupied her mind since that night. Everything that she knew had been ripped away by him and she felt like she had been sent into a storm. When she was standing in its eye, she was safe, content almost; but hurricane Zeven was wildly unpredictable, and the peace could be shattered in a second.
She wondered if Gunter was right, Zeven acts in the way he deems best without thought for repercussions. He let her soldiers go free in return for her surrender, he helped a child in need- he was a conflicting person in all rights. Moral had little bearing on his behaviour if he deemed his actions to be for the greater good.
It is possible that his only goal in that moment was to neutralize the situation, but at the same time, he previously took great pleasure in pushing her. It was all so complicated, there were so many threads that spanned the problem. Not simple like a game of chess, the pieces would only ever act in the way they were preordained. The King would only ever move by one square, the bishop by diagonals, there is a rule and a predictable outcome for everything.
The only thing that had any trace of mystery was the person sitting across from you. Of course, some people are easier to read than others. By that extension there is a slight nuance to one particular chess piece. The humble pawn, useless in the hands of an untrained player, but when handled with care it can become the strongest piece. It has the most potential to grow and change.
A loud thud from downstairs sounded before she could hear the muffled shouts. Chris sprang up from her bed running down the steps that lead to the hallway.
The further she made it down the louder the sounds grew. As she flung open the door she saw Gunter frantically pounding on Zeven's door. At first she thought that it was Gunter making the racked, but the strangled sounds that came from behind the door shattered the idea. The pounding of Gunter's fist couldn't completely drown out the banging.
The door was locked and from the sound of it, Zeven needed immediate attention that couldn't wait for him to unlock the door on his own.
Chris's original panic vanished as she ran back up the stairs to her room. She slid open the secret panel, praying that it didn't lock from Zeven's side. Her bare feet hit the bottom and she quickly made her way for the door that would lead to his room.
With her hand on the handle she flung it open without pause. The only light in the room came from the window. A dull and still light, casting a haze over all it touched. Her eyes scanned for Zeven, he was no longer thrashing about the room. Instead he was curled in on himself just under the window.
Treading carefully Chris made her way over to him, moving around the open drawers and thrown blankets. It suddenly made sense to her the reason his room was barren.
"Zeven?" She called out to him quietly, but he did not stir. He was breathing heavily, his chest heaving with each breath. "Zeven, can you hear me?" A foot between them she called out again.
He groaned in his sleep before curling in tighter, his hands coming up closer to his face. Chris knelt down and crawled in closer. Her hand reached out to touch his shoulder, she shook him lightly as she tried to wake him.
She got no response from him, and debated leaving him, unlocking the door, and letting Gunter do whatever he deemed best. But something inside her pressed her to make sure with her own eyes. She cupped his face in her hand, rubbing her thumb across his cheek as she leaned in closer.
"Zeven, wake up."
His eyes shot open and he flung himself into the window seal behind him to get away from the blurry figure in front of him. With his back firmly pressed against the wall, his heart felt like it was going to jump out of his chest.
Squinting his eyes, he tried to make out the figure in front of him, but he couldn't clear the haze.
"I'm going to go get Gunter-"
"-Chris?
He reached out to her, catching nothing but air. His breath caught in his throat, and his hand searched more frantically. The emptiness in his chest left him gasping.
Watching his desperation, she moved her hand into his path, letting him grab a hold of it tightly. She heard his labored breathing begin to ease. His fingers were warm on her skin and she couldn't fight them as they crawled up to her.
One of his hands stayed firmly around hers, two of his fingers pressed against her pulse. While the other hand moved to the back of her neck. Moving like he feared breaking her, he pulled his head closer to her, trying to bring her image into focus.
He looked at her face, trying to remember something. His eyes were still distressed even as he looked at her. When he finally looked into her eyes, he felt a rush of emotions. Like his body turned to jello, he collapsed forward into her chest. His hand falling around her holding her tightly.
Chris was aware that Zeven was not fully awake so she did not pull back, he would forget this in the morning and things would return to how they were.
His ear was pressed against her chest in a way that let him hear the rhythmic beating of her heart. It had a calming effect on him, grounding him to the moment.
"I'm sorry." His voice was muffled and quiet.
With her curiosity peaked Chris whispered down to him.
"Are you talking to me or my mother."
Zeven paused, something indistinguishable voiced before saying, "you."
"Who's you?"
"Chris."
There was a sureness to his voice that none of his other answers possessed.