Hi y'all! This is my first fanfic for years. Based after the Study series and the Glass series. Will update asap! Please R&R. ^.^
'Valek,' I whispered his name on the wind with a childish thought that it would be carried to his ear. Being apart never grew any less painful or hard to bear; business was business and as the Ixian ambassador I had plenty of business to attend to in Sitia. The futher South I travelled, the more raw the feeling churned inside, like having a constant upset stomach.
This time it was to some hovel clutched onto the side of a cliff, it was a small miracle the wooden fortress was holding on, whoever had built the wretched place had either been mad or held a death wish. Or both.
The massive wooden structure resembled something of a ship's prow, made entirely of driftwood, it forever smelt of rotten seaweed and salt. The Stormdancer clan had requested Opal's guidance with some glass issue, I had tagged along under pretence of a concerned mentor, it simply wasn't safe for a young girl to travel the Plains alone. Hypocrite, I was barely convinced by the lie and I was damned sure Opal wasn't either, but we were both grateful for the company.
Somewhere below, where the waves crashed and the strong winds blew against the caves, I could imagine with far too much clarity the kind of guidance Opal was giving the Stormdancer's. Kade was down there too, as clan leader (and unrequited lover) I could foresee plenty of 'guidance' going on long into the night. It was alright for some.
After a series of long sighs, I finally placed the board back over the window. A storm was truly brewing now and despite the dancer's channelling its power, it was still going to be a big one. The fire was dwindling in the grate, for what good it did in the first place, but I was half glad. A fireplace in an entirely wooden structure was beyond all logic. But as embers cracked and spluttered, I felt my bones respond with teeth-chattered assurance, it was damn cold!
My 'business' would have to wait 'til the storm had passed at least. It was a waiting game; a certain ship with a certain illegal Ixian cargo was rumoured to be weighing anchor off of the coast here. It was a reliable rumour too, since that lovable assassin Valek, her lovable assassin Valek, had beaten out the answer from a wayward crew member, literally.
Valek. I sighed more roughly. This would not do. Pining was not in my forte. I could miss the man, terribly, but pining? And if my stomach would have stop churning at the very thought of his absence I would have been most thankful.
After sending a serving girl running for extra blankets, I dismissed her with a relieved look on her face. Awe and fear followed me in equal amounts, my reputation was heavier than my saddlebags!
Kiki, I thought to my horse, stabled somewhere nearby, any bad smells? There was a short pause where I wondered how far they had stabled her after all, but when came No bad, all good. Apple? I settled into my bed with a small smile tugging reluctantly at my lips, I would have given the world to that horse if she asked it.
The fire finally died and the room succumbed to the darkness. I buried myself further under the blankets and tried not to think of the awful swim I'd have the pleasure of in the morning. The room creaked and I could have sworn it swayed slightly with the wind, my mind drifted and I fell into a swashbuckling sleep.
It wasn't the footsteps that woke me, nor the sudden crackling of the flame. It was Kiki, happily calling through my slumber: Ghost!
I sat up, throwing the covers off and peered excitedly about the room. I expected to see Valek perched on the sill, eating one of Kiki's apples, or sprawled on his back by the fire, but no… He was nowhere to be found. But there was a fire. He had been here, no doubt. Kiki! Where Ghost? Her answer was even slower coming than the last: Close. Here but not here. My heart sank. Balling my hands into fists, I struggled to resist the temptation to beat the blankets senseless. He was here, but not here… Why didn't he wake me?
Three months and six days. I always kept count, whether I wanted to or not. The aching in my stomach switched to nausea and I rushed to the window, throwing the board off and letting the cold, sea air sweep past me in gusts. I breathed it in, let it whip my hair about my face and felt it sting my eyes as I stared out into the gloom.
Once the need to heave my dinner over the ledge had passed, I closed it all up once more and thumped back to my bed, thoroughly grumpy and even colder. Where the heck was he?