Hi everybody! This short chapter has been in my brain for a while now, and forced its way onto my computer tonight.
It contains spoilers for The Stone Key, so if you have not read that book (shame on you!) it won't make a lot of sense to you.
I am very anxious to hear your thoughts on this story, as it is a character I have not written before, and a part of the Ober Chron that we don't really have much information on. So please please please review!

-Fall Apart-

He opened the door quietly and entered the dark house. Listening intently, he sighed in relief as he heard nothing but silence. She was asleep. The boys were asleep.

He crept carefully down the hall to their room, and peeked in. A prone form lay on the bed, facing away from him. He gingerly removed his boots and coat, and slid into the bed next to her.

"Nice of you to come home," a sullen voice rang out in the dark room.

"Serra, I told you I would be home late. I said I was sorry, what more do you want?"

"I want to be able to believe you when you say you're sorry, Gilbert."

"I am sorry. I would much rather be here, rather than out in this freezing weather strategising for a rebellion!"

"Then why do you spend every waking hour with Gwynedd?"

"Because I'm his head armsman. He needs me."

"I need you! The boys need you! But sometimes I think you can't see that."

He heard a break in her voice, and felt an irrational anger towards her. Why did she have to be so dependent on him? Couldn't she do anything by herself? "The boys don't need me. They can barely stand me since you been slandering my name in front of them."

"Well, who else do I have to talk to? I can't tell all my friends how my bondmate is never at home because he's helping plan a coup on the Council, can I? We'd be thrown in the Councilcourt cells in a heartbeat."

"What do you want from me? I can't abandon Gwynedd, not right at the crucial moment when he needs me most."

"That's the problem. You won't give up anything for your war-mongering. You endanger your family, and don't seem to care!"

She couldn't put a name to what she wanted from him. A bit of enthusiasm, maybe. A bit of love. Like he was back when they were first bonded. When he was interested in her, in their relationship.

When he had started courting her, it was as if he was fascinated with every little thing she did, spellbound by her appearance, her voice, her teasing retorts to his flirtatious comments. But then it gradually changed, and she felt like he was constantly comparing her to someone else. And she had the horrible feeling that she never measured up. When he looked at her, he seemed to be looking through her into the past, into someone else's eyes. Playing with someone else's hair. Kissing someone else's lips. How long was a girl meant to put up with that?

And then he had gotten involved with Gwynedd, and she had seen him less and less. After the boys had been born, she had hoped he would return to his old self again. But every time he looked at their sons he had that look in his eye, that measuring look that she so resented.

When she spoke again, her voice was thick with tears. "I just want it to go back to how it was," she whispered softly.

He sighed. "I'm not sure we can go back. We've changed."

Anger stabbed through her despair. "Well, then maybe you should just go and stay with your precious Gwynedd then! Since obviously you don't want to be here!"

She would not cry. She would not cry. She would not cry.

Another sigh from his side of the bed. "Maybe that would be for the best."

--

When she woke up the next morning he was gone. She didn't know where, and she told herself determinedly that she didn't care. She would not fall apart.

Stay tuned for a possible sequel. I am half plotting a story for Gilbert's return after Elspeth tells him to go back to Serra. I will have another chapter of Mindstream up before that though. A Gilbert and Rushton centric chapter that comes in between this chapter and the sequel. :) Don't be afraid to REVIEW! sends coercive suggestions to review to all readers