Smile of hope
X
Isis leant over Malik's sleeping form to tenderly brush his hair with her fingertips.
"Are you sure everything will be fine?" she finally asked in a low voice, lifting her gaze to meet his. The same way Mother —no, Lady Ishtar— used to look at him when she felt concerned for his welfare. The same blue eyes, the same worried expression and gestures... A small knot formed in his throat.
Despite all this, he tried to make his voice emotionless when he replied, "Yes, Lord Ishtar has many tasks to achieve tomorrow. In any case, I will distract him as much as I can so as to give you both enough time to go out."
Isis nodded, her features softening and then got up to head for the door. When walking past him, she offered him a smile —a slight, barely visible one. A beautiful and rare thing she had not done for a long time. And although this caught Rishid somewhat off guard, he found himself wishing to see this again and wondered what it would take for such a thing to happen once more.