Simone had been sitting on the back edge of the library wagon, flipping through a book on mythologies and worlds for any further clues on how to help Queen Serafina, when the sky began growing dark.
She stretched and sighed. She often lost track of time while reading, but was it sundown already? Though they were rationed to two meals a day, she usually tried to save a small snack from breakfast to share with Shayn at midday. He was much happier when he wasn't hungry.
His stomach was usually loud enough to let her know that he needed food. Where was he just now? She looked around, and noticed the people nearest to her were looking at the sky.
The library wagon had its designated place toward the middle of the large caravan during travel, and so had found a temporary resting place here, near the center of the sprawling encampment in this valley by a stream.
She looked upward and saw that the sun was still quite high in the sky, but it had darkened ominously. Simone set the book down and hopped off the edge of the wagon, unsure what was happening. It was becoming darker by the second.
Looking towards where the royal tent was pitched, she saw some manner of commotion, but it was not her place to respond to it. She was a mere librarian, and tasked with caring for the books!
Turning back, she looked at them with consternation. There were other library assistants, but many of the younger ones had run off to try to find their parents in the mass migration, promising to be back once that was accomplished.
Simone didn't like it, but she could understand wanting to make sure loved ones were safe.
A murmur arose from the commotion, which grew into shouts and cries. "Klain has fallen!" rang out, and spread like wildfire through the camp. People began to panic.
Simone's breathing quickened. She couldn't believe it. Though she'd seen Beast herself, and knew what he could do, something in her heart refused to believe the proud city she'd called home for most of her life fell into its hands–claws?--so quickly.
Was it razed to the ground? Was everything destroyed forever? Were there survivors? How many had died in battle? Was Kyler among the casualties? Her heart ached, and she sank to her knees as the gravity of the situation seemed to pull her down with it.
Her blurring vision suddenly focused on a hand outstretched to help her up. Shayn's. Taking it, she searched his eyes in the dim, eerie light for some clue to how he was doing.
"Are you all right?" She asked softly.
"Yes, are you?" He whispered, bringing a hand up to wipe a tear from her cheek. When had she begun crying?
"I'm sorry," She responded. "I don't know what's wrong with me."
"I know what it is to leave home behind, to wonder if it has been destroyed forever," He replied. "It is natural to mourn. We don't know if we'll ever be able to go back to Klain."
Her tears flowed more freely at his show of empathy. "Your home…"
"Destroyed by the Rhone when I was a child. We passed through the forest where I grew up," He reminded her. "Even when home is gone, you can carry your memories, and perhaps someday go back and make new ones."
She recalled the moment under the cherry blossom tree where he'd offered her a flower. She had thought then that he might be about to kiss her. The moment had passed, but not without an imprint in her heart.
"I'm sorry you lost all that," She apologized for the second time.
"I've had more apologies out of you in the last minute than the first several weeks of our acquaintance," He teased softly, but backed away after a glance that revealed they were very much not alone, but in the middle of a large group of milling evacuees all gravitating toward the royal family for news.
"I've likely damaged your reputation enough," He reminded them both, "I shouldn't be so close to you in public."
Truthfully, few enough people knew her that her reputation had stayed intact. Only one of the other library apprentices had questioned her at all about her absence, so the only ones who had any sort of curiosity about her dealings with Shayn were his family.
Still, since their return to society and evacuation from Klain, he had kept a respectful distance, other than hugging her that day in the library and kissing the back of her hand. It pained her not to have him close all the time, but she also acknowledged how noble it was for him not to make her out to be some easily-touched loose woman.
He had declared an intent to remain close to her, but nothing more. It would be improper of him to take liberties beyond what polite society deemed acceptable for two young people.
So she nodded and let him withdraw his hand and step back. The sky was brightening and people's attention quickly returned to the world around them after being fascinated and horrified by the strange display in the sky.
"Are we safe now?" Simone wondered aloud. "Not that we were unsafe, but that was a little strange."
"I think so," Shayn looked around. "I haven't heard any orders to—"
"FOG!" A confusing cry rang out. "THICK FOG! KEEP CHILDREN CLOSE AND HOLD FAST TO SOMETHING!"
"What?" Simone turned her head incredulously. "We're to be afraid of fog?"
She suddenly remembered the broken and dead forest that had been decimated by the acidic rain of the coast. If it could be rain, it could be fog, couldn't it?
Her eyes widened with fear and comprehension as they met Shayn's. His were pure concern, and quickly turned to assess the danger. He pointed silently just as she spotted the edges of what looked like a viscous cloud flowing around them and rising quickly.
Simone put a hand out to grasp the wagon. It looked like you could hardly see anything through the mist at all!
Shayn's hand landed atop hers, holding it in place.
"Don't move," He warned as his face faded from view in the rising mist. "Don't let go. Don't breathe until we know it's safe."
Simone sucked in a final breath, determined to hold it for as long as she could… which wasn't long. She soon became lightheaded, and reached her free hand out for balance. It bumped into Shayn's chest, and his hand flew up to hold hers there.
It was hard to see much of anything, but his touch was comforting. His heart was beating against her palm.
The moment seemed to freeze in time, lingering there as she counted his heartbeats beneath her hand. Her breath was running out, she would need to inhale or faint soon.
She swayed, and Simone felt Shayn tug her ever so slightly forward. She took an unsteady step.
Abandoning his hold on the cart, Shayn wrapped one arm around her waist to support her, pulling her body against his. The veil of mist wrapped them in a world all their own, and she swallowed, letting her arms come up around his neck as he placed one of her hands there.
Because she was lightheaded from holding her breath. She needed stability and balance. That's all it was…
Blind to nearly everything but the mysterious fog, she closed her eyes while his fingertips moved from her hand, trailing along her arm, to her shoulder, and then up to cradle her face. His thumb left a path of fire as it stroked her cheek.
"Is it safe?" She used the last of her air to ask. The fog obscured everything, and she could only hear muted sounds. It was as if they were in a white, quiet room out of the view of everyone on the earth.
He placed a kiss on her forehead.
"Yes, I think it's safe to breathe," He whispered against her skin. The fog had brought a chill with it that made her revel in his warm breath. Her pulse raced, and he hesitated before his lips began exploring, tracing to her temple, down her cheek, and lingering along her jawline.
She thought her heart might burst from beating so hard. It thundered like a battering ram against her ribs, desperate for more of his touch. When she couldn't stand the tension any longer, she turned her face into his, their lips meeting in a collision of passion.
In the mist, in this stark white, private little world in the midst of the multitudes, she kissed the man she loved for the second time.
If she stopped to think about it, she would question the wisdom of doing so here, in the middle of so many people, whether or not they could be seen. There was also the fact that Shayn hadn't been clear on what his feelings were, and these strange events might only muddy the waters of how he felt.
But she didn't think about any of that.
All she knew was that she hoped he never stopped kissing her. When his hand pressed to the small of her back, pulling her closer, her heart leapt. She clung to him, rejoicing in his nearness and unwilling to let it end.
Her heart crashed to the ground when he gently pulled away from the kiss, only to race ahead again when his lips began exploring the other side of her face, finding a spot at the base of her jaw that made her shiver.
She felt his smile against her neck and tilted her head to allow him easier access to the sensitive skin. He chuckled softly and moved his face to capture her lips once more as she began to realize the wind had picked up.