The tall, muscular Callum, race-walked through the double-sided door with his eyes buried in his clipboard rifling through the pages.
"Rue! I wasn't expecting you. Did you put out an order 'cuz I've double-checked so many times…"
"Hi Callum, and no I didn't place an order."
He looked up and sighed in relief. He stopped in front of her and his eyebrows lowered in confusion at the three guards around her.
Rue was too enchanted by his golden eyes, defined cheekbones, and neatly combed-back hair to notice and address his uneasiness. They didn't leave for their special room as her nosey gang was not with her, it was just her guards.
Rue finally spoke with a smile. "I'm just dropping by to let you know I may be away for a while." She looked hard into his eyes. "Because you mean too much to me I wanted you to hear it in person, in case you didn't already." She held her chin even higher, pushed out her chest, and added with a wide smile, "I've volunteered to join the assassination Quest."
Callum scratched the back of his head and said looking down into her eyes. "Yeah, I heard you volunteered..."
As he spoke Rue's smile began to break and she began a battle with her back to prevent it from slouching.
"...I'm not surprised since your Dad has to go and I know you two are inseparable."
"You knew?" she blurted.
"Yeah," he said before he put one hand on her shoulder and said in a gentle and caring tone. "I was shocked when I heard, but if that's what you want I can only wish you the best. Good luck."
That wasn't supposed to happen. To her, he may as well had told her good riddance. Too many thoughts began to crowd her head about what she should do next and Callum's eyes began to shift away from her as she stood saying nothing.
He stared at the dead-silent guards before he cleared his throat to say, "Look Rue, I appreciate you dropping by but you came at a bad time and I have to get back…"
It snapped her out of her trance and her mouth spoke for itself, "Yeah of course. Farewell."
He smiled and rushed off towards the doors.
Back in the carriage, she stared at the clouds building up at one side of the sky. The weather was changing as more clouds began to darken and faint thunders roared from behind them, forming something ugly like what she felt inside.
"Would you like a handkerchief mam?"
"No," she replied to the female guard before she wiped the tears from her eyes. "I got something in my eye but it's out now."
She could no longer see the sun that was hidden by the rain clouds but she knew it was near noon. The carriage headed for the plains of the Zunera-xefi.
Upon their arrival, the entire sky had become overcast and so her guards took with them umbrellas from the carriage. They followed her on her journey to the grand temple.
The journey there felt longer than it ever did. Soon her father and Ezra would be gone to leave her with the royals and Lucius.
She stopped to look at a fountain, beautiful statues, and flowers that she never noticed before while looking for a sign to tell her what to do next. It began to drizzle and the ground became covered with dark spots one after the other. She kept to the tiled paths and her guards opened umbrellas over her head. Something warm filled the icy cold storm inside her and for the first time she told her guards, "Thank you."
She looked off the side of the winding path closer up the mountain to notice a rainbow across the vast lands of temples and stoned grounds. Though time was going by something inside her felt at peace and she stopped and stared at it. The gentle wind hit cool on her skin and the soft droplets from the edge of her umbrellas turned into a predictable rhythm.
After the rainbow vanished the sound from a bell being hit from the grand temple made her know it was noon. She was still not there. The time to withdraw was up and she could do nothing but continue her journey there.
Through the sheet of rain, she saw them standing at the front of the temple. It was the same five along with some elders and the orator. No one had withdrawn and no other had volunteered.
As she stepped under the shelter of the temple she could hear the rain beating against the low roof. Her father held his arms apart and tears began to burst from her eyes as she rushed to him.
His arms wrapped gently around her. "There-there it'll be alright. I knew something was off about you from this morning at breakfast.
He nudged her back to look into her eyes and said as he shook his head, "My dear, you're late. Is this what you wanted?"
Her body trembled from her heavy breathing, tears streamed down her red face and her cracked voice made it difficult to understand her words.
"I-I don't know Dad," she sobbed. "I was thinking about stuff… And my duties here--and you being away" --she rubbed her left eye-- "I realize I want to be where my father is. If you're going I'm going…"
Being overwhelmed with joy he hugged her tight within his arms.
"You don't know how happy I am to hear you say that," he told her.
"That is so cute. Let's see how long that lasts when one of them dies," said Skinner. The others that stood around them had seen and heard everything.
Within a split second, Skinner crashed facing frontward onto the hard wooden floor. Dayrue and her guards walked off before he realized she had tripped him. Her guards took the only umbrellas that Rue and her guards had brought and headed through the rain.
"The stealth master, it had to be you," mumbled Skinner as he pushed himself from the ground.
"Anyone for tea?" asked Ezra who had an apron around his waist. He looked to focus on the rain that had started to pour like a waterfall. "Looks like we're going to be here for a while."
He had a tray with three steaming cups of tea on top while Roshar poured the others from a kettle on the ground stove nearby.
Skinner rose to his feet and commented as he took a cup, "The new guy. I thought you would have left by now. You're tougher than you look."
"Ezra? Nah, he'll be fine. He's one of the Fronteras that's good exposure," said Roshar who came up behind him and gave him a hard pat on the back.
Ezra's slight utter of pain got Rue to smile, as she leaned away from her father. At the moment she despised him but she could do nothing then.
The volunteers were final, next up was the preparation for the dangerous Quest.