Once they entered their chamber Rom sat on the bed riddled with guilt as Edýia padded towards the fireplace that burned brightly in the hearth and sighed. In the stuffy silence, neither of them dared to speak not did know what to say regarding what had happened to Maya.
Haren was many things but he'd never beaten a woman. If anything it was the opposite, he liked to bed them and unceremoniously shove them out the door. He liked to use them and then get rid of them before women became an obligation. He was tactless and unapologetically idiotic but he'd never beaten up a woman before. What he did to Maya was out of ilks. What possessed him to go to such length? Pondering on the matter any further was a waste of time and the only that held the answer was Maya.
Edýia closed her eyes to gather whatever remained of her witts and made her way to the bed and plopped herself next to Rom still clueless as to what she could say to him to break his self-loathing spree. Rom buried his face in his hands and let out a cry in despair. He was hurting and still in the dark about what to do, to make it better. Rightfully so, but then again Maya had held her ground and prevailed against Haren. It was a worthy feat because Haren was a battle-hardened warrior.
" Rom" Edýia gave in and broke the silence. It was getting to her, despite his broodiness Rom had a good heart even though he kept it mostly hidden from others. He saw it as a weakness.
Rom didn't reply.
" She will get through it. Maya is strong and brave. Not many could or would stand up to Haren, and she did, bravely. " Edýia made an effort to bring some light into the whole disarray in his mind.
" She did." Rom raised his head with a touch of pride in his tone and turned to look at her with bloodshot eyes and was on the brink of crying.
" But she shouldn't have" Rom pulled Edýia into his arms trying to contain his plummeting mood and took a deep breath.
" I get it you're her brother and that you want to be by her side in her time of need but Maya is a big girl, and she proved that by standing up to Haren. It is quite a feat, and not something that should not easily be overlooked " Edýia continued to comfort Rom while he just took a deep breath and nodded.
" Maya is the only family I have left and I almost lost her once. It has been just me and her for so long. Now, I don't how to stop worrying or feel responsible for her. I thought she would be safe here but I was wrong just like I was about the but, and I keep thinking that no matter how hard I try to keep her out of harm's way it seems that I fail each time" Rom had given the matter some serious thought. Edýia pulled away from the hug to look at him " No one is safe Rom. Not you, not me. All we can do is fight for survival. I understand but I also think that Maya is more than capable of looking after herself. We can't change the past but we can be better prepared for the future" she took his hands in hers and clicked her tongue and took a deep breath. By the looks of it, she had more to say but held her tongue.
" You're right, of course, you are." Rom chortled more than taken aback by what she said.
" Maya knows how to fight. I know she does so you worry for nothing" Edýia finished her thoughts reminding him that indeed Maya had been trained in single combat and skilful with a cutlass.
" You win. You and your annoying voice of reason" Rom finally snapped out of his grim spirits and smiled at her.
The clinking bells in Edýia's laughter echoed in the room at his remark and he felt his spirits lift even further. A bundle of wit and sweetness sat before him and it was all his. She'd chosen him, a self-loathing prick to spend the rest of her days with. He was beyond fortunate to have met a steel-eyed, golden-haired rare loveliness and he had no intentions of letting her go.
Slowly Edýia's laughter waned and turned into a sigh of delight as her eyes keenly watched him mesmerised. And he couldn't help but wonder what was she thinking of.