The day had gone from day to night and the back to day again. Leaving Chris to find a way to pass the time. She had started at the kitchen table, but trying to solve an impossible puzzle without anyone to discuss ideas with was almost as hard as trying to get the answer. Moving away from the table, she began to roam listlessly.
The house was quiet. Not the same lively home it had been recently. Instead it was like a warped version of reality, like all the furniture had been moved an inch to the left. Even Gunter could not ease the deafening silence within the walls.
With each sound she made, the emptiness only seemed to echo. As she wrote at the table in the kitchen, the soft etching of pen to paper was not complemented by the low humming that sang with them. Her footsteps were not mirrored nor were they paired with a second set. Even the piano silent, a piece made for four hands cannot adequately be played by just two.
Each moment that passed she found herself listening for even the slightest trace of something. With Gunter off in another part of the house, there was no comfort to be found.
Endless silence followed her as she walked around. Finding her in every room she hid in.
A patterned knock broke through the noiseless barrier, unable to help herself, she rushed towards the sound. Meeting the door just as it opened. Her eyes locked with a man who was not Zeven, and for some reason that bothered her.
Instead, standing in the doorway was Brennan looking surprised to see her.
"You're not Zeven."
"No, but if you were planning on proposing he'll be here some time today."
"What?" Brennan's head tilted and his eyes grew wide as he stammered.
"The flowers." she pointed to the bouquet of flowers Brennan held in front of his chest.
He followed her gaze down having forgotten he held them at all.
"Ahh, yes, these flowers," he waved them slightly in one hand, "Mae picked them and asked me to bring them over."
Chris tried to look around Brennan, "Where's Mae."
If the question was sensitive, Brennan didn't show it. He wore his same soft smile that she knew well.
"She was too tired to come in person, but she sends her regards," gesturing with the flowers again he added, "Can I put these in some water?"
She stepped aside to let him through. Knowing exactly where to go, Brennan navigated seamlessly through the house and cabinets grabbing an old, unused vase.
Taking great care of each flower he gently put them into the vase and then filled it with water. Sighing as he set it on the table, he then stepped away to look at it from a distance. The smile was still on his face, but his eyes did not express anything other than grief.
"Zeven doesn't usually put them in a vase."
"He and I have a differing opinion on their life."
There was an awkward silence between them, but Chris had had enough of silence for a long while.
"You did it all for Mae, didn't you?"
When he didn't respond she continued.
"She is pretty sick isn't she?"
"Yes. She is."
The way he responded was both resolved and raw. It sounded like he only thought of it as a fact, but the pain in his eyes said they would move heaven and earth to make it a lie.
He walked away from the flowers, after fixing them in the vase again. Moving to the common room he sank into the couch with a sigh.
"I owe Zeven both my life and hers," she sat down beside him, "I first met him when he came to pick out a child to serve him. I guess that they were just tired of having to deal with him, so they wanted someone who could never disagree or object. He was probably about seven then… his mother had died only a year or two before then.
Anyways, he walked into the orphanage and it was obvious he didn't belong there. His hair was cropped short and he wore a freshly pressed suit, smaller than most of the other kids in there. I must have looked like a good option, I remember being quite tall for my age and I didn't flock to him like most of the others. He bipased everyone else in the room making his way back to me.
I can't remember exactly what he said, but I do remember being incredibly angry. I think he threatened to take me away without asking first… regardless I lashed out at him and knocked him to the floor.
I was a different person back then, just as he was a different person then too. Well… as you can imagine, that was a poor decision on my part. I didn't know it, but I could have suffered very severe consequences if Zeven didn't take it in stride like he did. After picking himself up off the floor, he said that I would be going with him and we'd be leaving immediately.
I was irate, I refused to leave without my Mae. I tried screaming and protesting enough that they would refuse to take me. I yelled for my sister, kicked and hit anyone who tried to get close, however as a child, there is little to be done against a fully grown adult. I was hoisted into the air and slung over one of his butlers.
It is very clear to me the moments after that. Mae tottled into the room, she was so young but even knew something was wrong. She waddled over crying as she tried to get to me. When Zeven stood in her way she looked up at him with tears in her eyes. He picked her up from the floor, looking back and forth at the two of us as we desperately tried to reach each other. He focused on me and asked if the commotion was over 'this little thing' And for a moment all I could see was him dropping her to the floor and leaving her crying.
But then, he said he'd take her too, and from that moment on I swore my loyalty to him. There is no doubt he saved her life, too many times to count at this point, even living in the castle there were days when we feared that she wouldn't pull through. But he stayed with us in all of those moments, sharing the grief and the joy.
I would lay down my life for him if he asked."
"That was a lot."
"Now you know that I owe him too much to repay. I am truly sorry for having to betray your trust, but it's a lie to say I wouldn't do it again for him."
"I forgive you."
He looked at her eyes, blinking as if to clear off a haze. It was like he had used up all his words and now there were none left.
"I forgive you, don't get me wrong it still hurts to think about, but I understand why you did it."
"I'm still sorry."
"As you should be. But now, we can all be friends. You, me, Mae, even Zeven. Just… next time, If he asks, tell me and I'll work something out."
Her face was soft, an expression he was not used to seeing on her. She looked more like a woman now, it was still Chris in there, but she just seemed freer. More relaxed, less restricted. And it seemed to have helped her change as well.
He wasn't sure if she had even noticed a difference in herself. She was brighter. Happier.
As the conversation moved to lighter discussions, he watched as she curled her legs underneath her as she sat. Her body tilted to the side resting her back on the arm of the couch while throwing an arm over the back. It was not her usual posture, she was not trying to pretend to be a prince, just trying to be comfortable.