Chereads / By Love We Abide / Chapter 10 - Rotten peaches and opened sheets

Chapter 10 - Rotten peaches and opened sheets

Our journey was one of few words with the biting chill assisting me in silencing this man. Though his lack of concern in face of how I led him to a path devoid of people felt oddly concerning, I continued either way, on one of the secret passages in this castle as I do not desire my reputation smeared. In all honesty, this route is farther than directly walking through the garden to the northwest where my room lies, but is still palatably closer than the guest room.

As if waiting for us to not be in its way, rain begin to pour not long after we shifted into the hallways. Amidst the pitter-patter of the rain, the awkwardness in the air is but submerged. I ignore how his grip on me was already ironclad and held on to him all the more, to ensure he doesn't slip. There is no need for that concern as he is robust in stature but seeing him so listless arouses maternal feelings.

Even if it is a rotten peach, he offered me a part of his life. I ought to return the favor. There is no scourge in saving a life. Howbeit of the winds pulling him away to the land of solitude's oligarchy, I allow a thread of my life tied to him so I may stitch him back at the seams. I've seen enough people to know when someone is breaking, and he is inch by inch, torn in the cruelest ways.

There is no explicit telltale, but I see it in the scarcity of care for his own life. Though the situation that allowed it to be revealed is rather ridiculous. I see it, in his desperate need for another. How even if I am a stranger, a distressed person trading in fallacies, the possible dependency I would have on him still seemed so imperative to him. The lethal yearning for even the semblance of love.

"Do hang on, we're but a minute away from reaching my dwelling." I encourage him. It might be a misstep on my side. But just for one night, I will let him rest under my ceilings. Just for one night, I will show him the care devoid in his life. Then when morning comes, he can wander the desert as a wolf again, as a particle of sand thriving in the escalating chaos.

A kind sentiment that goes by unappreciated. With the man halting in his tracks, a tug that cause me to nearly trip backward. Like a resistance to the idea of us being in a place so secluded and intimate as my personal room. I wrinkle my brows, confused on his attitude. Only to hear the most incredulous sentence ever.

"On our second encounter, and you're so keen on teaching me how to sneak into your room already? Athaliah, I've been burying all my doubts of you but it seems that you are intentionally luring me."

I retract my grip and continue to trek forwards. Be it a secluded road, risks are always present. It is ideal to move quickly. Hopefully, this man would catch on to my hints and trace my footsteps. And if he doesn't bother following me, then I would cross the bridge when it comes.

However, a tinge of empathy overcome me and I explain before I could go far. Playing on the ambiguity that allows me to retain information whilst assuring him that my intentions were pure. Not that I blame him for his improper image of me, after all, I am showing him the way to my room when drugged.

"Don't worry, your concerns are completely unfounded. It seems that fate just particularly enjoys toying with us"

Despite initially being reluctant to let this matter slide, the man speeds up his footsteps and catches up to me within a minute. I didn't have to be an expert to notice the discontent brewing in his heart. Our gait sped up one after another as if wanting to outrun the other. I could hear the intense sound of the rebec like a prelude to battle.

Author note: rebec is the predecessor of the violin.

"And is this fate something you enjoy with other men?"

Now it is my turn to be the one to halt my steps. In my entire lifetime, I do not recall having a moment where I felt so divided whether I should laugh or cry. I have yet to accept his hand in marriage yet he is already acting like I have a history of cheating.

A red flag if I have ever seen any.

In a heavy mood, I climb the northwestern stairs leading towards the abandoned wing where I alone dwelled. The rest of my siblings reside mostly on the third floor and the rest on the eastern wing of the renovated second floor. Here however I didn't require to worry about rumors spreading as the loyalty of the guards have been bought one way or another.

"Now, that maister, is a secret no one but God and me knows." The stairs line up one after another as if trying to portray my hurdles to escape this man. I waltz upwards in hurried steps, fearing he would catch up, that along with it I would reveal more than I wished to. That I was all along not the frivolous person many tried to portray me to be.

An unreasonable one considering I never acted that way in front of him.

On the top, I stop lamenting the shortness of the stairs. A relief settling in, a deep assurance that ties the bond between us further. He is not someone from this kingdom. Thus this man knew nothing about me. Is revealing my innocence really a weakness?

I ponder for a moment before being shocked senseless, a jabbing burst of restrained furry directed at me. "You better keep it that way, because if I hear of any salacious behavior between you and anyone, I will carve the most hideous corpse out of your lover."

Ignoring his claims, I approach my room and opened the unlocked double doors. Glad that I told my ladies in waiting to attend the banquet before me. I signal him to enter the room with a beckoning finger and a lazy smile, partaking in a charade I never used around him.

"To do that, firstly you would have to recover so you, yourself do not become a corpse." At the sight of his still figure, I drag him inwards softly, and push him so he sits on the bed. "Do obediently spend the night with me, maister door blocker."