AsheWindWaker
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- Posted: Wed, 25 Jul 2012 16:50:51 +0000
~~~
Elisabeth walked home with Sebastien, the two of them trying to dodge in and out of the rain. “Come on, Sebastien!” She cheered, her hair being soaked, matted, and droopy, becoming much longer than she was normally used to. Sebastien shivered near her, even in his jacket, which was why they ended up hiding out and riding through the storm in a nearby shoppe near the end of the town. Elisabeth looked around, and noted that it was the same book shoppe that she had purchased the flower book for her godmother in. She smiled when she thought about Anita, the woman having brought her so much joy and happiness in such a short time. It was clear why her mother and she had been great friends in her mother’s short life.
She browsed the shoppe with Sebastien meandering behind her, looking at all the old texts. She found something, a small but thick book on the kingdoms of Wiccashire and Arunedelle, and thumbed through it. She found the small paragraph she had read entirely interesting, and purchased it immediately. She followed Sebastien around the store as he shopped, and read to him random tidbits regarding what she found that she had found more than interesting.
“Did you know that out of the four Kingdoms, only two had existed previously, before a big war that separated them? Devonshire and Renvale were one, and Roudel and Lanval were another,” She said. She had known of the split from her childhood, just more of a story than fact. That was what her life always seemed to be. A story. But she wanted more, she wanted fact. She wanted more than to daydream her life away, and do something important, and if that included helping Sebastien and Sofia than she was proud to do so. She couldn’t stand to think of anything happening to them. In doing so her mind wandered while she read, thinking about the two children. They had been on her mind so often now, they never wandered far. And she was constantly afraid of them getting hurt.
Now even she thought of them, and she ceased reading. “We can probably take a ride home now, they carriages can take us,” She said, and they headed towards the door. They passed a man and his child coming in, and Elisabeth thought that the rain must surely be easing up. That was not entirely the case as the rain still came down quite hard. They made a run for the carriage, disregarding the cold wetness that lay upon them. A little cold was okay if they were going home to take a hot bath.
Elisabeth watched the world go by, the dark, gloomy world that seemed to be creaking up near her in a way that she couldn’t stop. She felt sad all of the sudden, and couldn’t put her finger on why. But there was something there, something else that picked at her as if she were a wounded, fresh scab. So, she decided to ignore it, pus it down inside her and continue on until it presented itself again, and then maybe she would face whatever the fear or sadness was.
At the manor, it was eerily quiet. Quiet did not actually describe the feeling. It was not serene, it was not soundless. It was…dead. She didn’t even hear any of the useless chatter of the maids. She told Sebastien to go take a bath and dry off, and she decided she would bate later, and instead just dressed in another dress of warm clothes. Afterwards, hearing the water running in the bathroom and checking on the young man, she searched the place for Kyier and Sofia. She didn’t see them, and assumed that they must have been together. She wouldn’t worry until she had to, because she was only worried because of what she didn’t know. They’d be back later. She took her book and headed towards the study, starting a fire in the tea room. Ara came down, stared at her for a few moments, and then padded upstairs.
Mathius brought Sofia home a bit later, before the sun had set. They came inside, Elisabeth almost having nodded off, and Sebastien had joined her in the sitting room. She got off the sofa and met them at the door, thinking at first it was Sofia and Kyier.
“Mathius! What…what are you doing here?” She asked. He merely smiled that handsome, white smile of his.
“Sofia here decided to join me at my shoppe today, and then helped me around the place while the storm passed. I just wanted to bring her home and make sure she got here safely,” he said, smiling down at the girl. Elisabeth knelt down and smiled, too.
“I wish I had known-,” but Sofia just walked past her, not angrily, but as though Elisabeth simply did not exist. Elisabeth understood, for as much as she could, and she wanted to make it right, but that would take time.
“Everything…okay?” He asked, watching as Sofia disappeared. Elisabeth only nodded.
“Yeah.” She looked over at him, and gave him a sad look. “We’ll be okay. Have you…have you seen Kyier? Honestly, I thought Sofia was with him,” She said, just as lightning one again took over the darkening sky. It seemed much darker than it should have been, because of the clouds blocking the sun.
“No, actually. I haven’t. I thought he was here,” he said, and looked at the door knob. He seemed as genuinely lost now as Elisabeth had felt.
“Okay, I’ll wait until he gets back. You should stay here and get out of the cold, it’s getting dark, and the storm is coming back,” she said. He just nodded, and went into the tea room to chat with Sebastien. Elisabeth looked out the large door, passed the physical, passed the green grass and the dark clouds, passed the pathway and the trees, and she looked into something that was out there. Something that was in her, and she prayed silently, asking for aid in times of hardship and stress, and asked Feist, God of Bonds, if they could be bound together. Friendship was going to be more important now than ever.
It was three days before Elisabeth began to pace her bedroom. The storm had not let up, and after so much torrential downpour she thought she would be going crazy. But that wasn’t it. It was something else. She had not seen Kyier at all for those three days. She knew he was quick, and could easily come inside and to his room without anybody knowing, specially her. If he wanted to avoid her, he was doing one hell of a job. But she didn’t think he was. She now spent her days worried for Kyier, and her nights crying herself to sleep from sadness.
She looked out her window again, hoping against hope that he would be coming up to the door. Sebastien hadn’t mentioned seeming him, and Sofia…she had barely seen Sofia. Every time she entered the room or encountered the young girl in the hall, it was always the same reaction. She just turned and walked the other direction. No matter how hard she tried, Sofia would not listen to her. She tried baking a cake, anything to lift her spirits. But it sat there and remained untouched, and eventually is got crusty so she had to throw it away.
The only thing that shook her from her thoughts was the loud knocked that echoed through the still empty halls. She made her way towards the entry hall, down the stairs and gently let her hand roll against the dark wooden banister. She pulled the door open slightly, peering through the small slit as she watched Duke Hastings stand on the outside. She gasped, and made to shut the door when he reached in and opened it. She fell back, moving quickly away from him. Kyier’s words echoed in her mind, and she had tried too hard to avoid him. She wanted to yell and run to tell Sofia not to come down. But that would have done no good.
“Duke….Joshua…what are you doing here?” She asked him, watching as he came closer.
“I came to see you. You haven’t graced my presence since the ball, I was hoping when I came to you and sought to tell you my secret that it scared you?” he questioned, sounding so…gentle. And so…there was something more there. Elisabeth knew she couldn’t trust him, no matter what he told her.
“I don’t mean for this to sound rude, Your Grace, but perhaps it might be best if e had this conversation at another time,” She whispered, almost afraid to look him in the eye.
“I think now is good. Really, Elisabeth, have you no mind how to treat a guest properly?” He asked. She looked up at him, bravely forcing her sight into his.
“Guests are invited,” she said. “I believe you just showed up and expected compensation of sort…” She refused to let her eyes waiver, though she was terrified. This man might have saved her life, but she was smart enough to believe Kyier, a man in which did not hide behind a mask. His identity was clearly known. “I think it might be best if you say your piece and leave me rest, Sir,” She said, still trying to maintain an ounce of politeness for the man, though something reminded her she did not deserve it.
He stepped nearer to her, his scent wafting towards her and invading her nose. She almost coughed, because the scent was purely putrid. She never noticed how unattractive he was before. Perhaps it was best she thought of everyone the same until she could see who they really were, and perhaps now he was changing. But she still did not understand why he would use her.
“I don’t believe that you should treat me in such a way, Elisabeth. I did save your life after all,” he drew on. She nodded.
“That may be so, but you never told me why. Why did I deserve to live? I could have died. And Kyier has saved me just as many times as you have, I have counted and realized that-,” she kept talking, but his gaze shifted and he looked angry. But then she said something else, something that made him draw back. She stepped forward, braver than she had been, braver than the day she came to Landon, and looked him dead in the eye. “What colour are your eyes, Joshua?” She asked. “What colour are they?” For the first time, even though her façade of bravery she was more scared than she had been, and she reached back to search for a potted plant on the end table, the green vines wrapping around her delicate wrist and growing up her arm.