Chapter 2

Akkarin lay on his bed with his hands behind his head, staring at a spot on the ceiling and sighed. Dinner hadn't gone as well as he had expected. He turned over and lay on his side. Sonea could handle a couple of novices surely, but after her sudden outburst at dinner, he guessed she may be weaker then he hoped. Unless there's another reason, he thought. He shook his head. No novice in the houses would sink that low.

Akkarin turned over again in frustration. It was 3am his senses told him and he hadn't been able to shut his eyes once. Knowing that Sonea was in the next room, possibly upset, was killing him. He flipped back over to his back. He had taken Sonea's guardianship because of the secret he expected her to keep, but the more he watched her and questioned her, the more intrigued he became and the more he was proud to be her guardian. He chuckled to himself quietly and sat up. A memory of him dropping some crushed flora leaves into Lorlen's drink when they were novices came into his vision. He laughed again as he remembered Lorlen falling asleep almost instantly and didn't move once as he drew a moustache and beard on him, not to mention some rude words on his forehead.

Akkarin shook his head in disbelief and got out of his bed. He needed something to help him sleep and he knew that if anything could help him sleep, it'll be flora leaves. He opened his door quietly and almost had the urge to tiptoe comically past Sonea's door. He chuckled. Just one memory of his childhood and he's already beginning to think like he used to.

He touched the door to the kitchen quietly and almost looked taken aback when he saw another figure sitting on the counter. He walked over to it and could hardly hide his surprise when he discovered it was Sonea. She looked up at him, really not in the mood to look embarrassed and smiled. Akkarin observed her closer, the dark having not adjusted to his eyes yet. Her eyes looked red, puffy and bloodshot. She'd been crying. Akkarin glanced down to her hand and saw a glass with green powder floating around it. She knew about flora leaves too. However, 5 other glasses stood by her side and he almost chuckled. It had taken one to knock out Lorlen, yet here Sonea was, drinking her sixth glass.

"Are you ok?" Akkarin asked, pouring himself some of the sleep powder. Sonea nodded, sniffing. She could just about catch his appearance and blushed, thankful that it was dark. His dark hair was ruffled and even though bags had developed under his eyes, he still looked very young. His pyjamas where tighter then they were supposed to be, ruffling up against his broad shoulders. If she knew any better, she'd say he almost looked attractive.

Akkarin had regarded Sonea with surprise. Although he liked her happy, when she was sad she was a lot more relaxed and at ease. He stared at her short black hair, which was ruffled at the back, meaning she obviously hadn't had much luck at sleeping. Her nightgown caressed her figure beautifully and the quality silk stroked her skin delicately, revealing only the smallest of her cleavage. Akkarin shook his head and looked up at Sonea. Checking out his favourite was not the way to go about things. Yet he felt her gaze on him. He looked up and she looked away. Then she lifted her head up and glared into the approximate direction of his eyes.

"Why can't you sleep?" She asked politely, but curiously. Akkarin chuckled.

"I was worrying about my favourite novice." He admitted. Sonea raised her eyebrows in disbelief and took another sip of her powder and said nothing. Akkarin saw her surprise, even if he could only just see her silhouette.

"It took one glass of that stuff to knock out Lorlen." He reminisced, moving next to her. She stiffened as he approached, then relaxed.

"I've always managed to stick out a good amount of drugs. Slum dwellers seem to enjoy drugging other drinks more then drugging themselves." She said, shrugging her shoulders. Akkarin chuckled. He should have conversations with her in the dark more often. She seemed to open up a lot more. He leant over her to put his finished glass on the counter and felt her shiver as his arm brushed hers. He heard her sharp intake of breath as she almost dropped her glass. Akkarin walked over to her other side and hauled himself up onto the counter. Sonea was surprised at how casual he was being all of a sudden.

"I used to use flora leaves a lot when I was a novice. It was a harmless drug, yet was very entertaining to put into peoples drinks. Especially Lorlen's." He explained, chuckling at the memories. Sonea turned to him in surprise. Akkarin had been a bad boy? Ha, she thought to herself, maybe he isn't so terrifying.

"A rebel, yet you still made it to High Lord. You amaze me." She mumbled under her breath, her eyes beginning to waver. Akkarin laughed and sighed.

"I guess I never needed to study, I had all the knowledge already." He said shrugging. Sonea nodded slowly and went to jump off the counter. Her throat had gone dry and water was what she needed, no more powder. However, as she jumped off, she was overcome with dizziness. Akkarin realised this and jumped of the counter to hold her steady. She flinched at his touch, but then slowly the dizziness disappeared and the warmth of Akkarin's hands felt strangely comforting. She looked up and realised how close he was to her, his breath tickling her scalp and the warmth of his body radiating off of him onto her. She moved away, aware that the whole scene seemed to be strangely erotic.

"Ok?" He asked, concerned. Sonea nodded, and then forgot he couldn't see her.

"I guess I had too much flora powder." She replied, chuckling. Akkarin hummed in reply and leant against the counter, drinking his. Sonea stood there for a moment, and then took a step forward. Her throat was still dry. She almost screamed in shock as the floor gave way underneath her when she took a step forward. Akkarin instantly moved forward and, forgetting he was carrying the glass, he dropped it. The smash echoed around the walls, but he was too concerned about Sonea. He bent down and stared at Sonea. She was holding herself up with her arms, and was looking down at the floor. Akkarin put his finger under her chin and lifted her head up.

"You aren't ok are you?" He said, smiling. Sonea shook her head and laughed, looking down again. Akkarin stood up and wrapped an arm around her waist. He hauled her upwards and Sonea felt a strange rush through her stomach. His arms were very strong. They'd always been covered with black robes so she was rather surprised when she felt them haul her upwards.

She swayed a bit, but slowly regained her balance. Akkarin hauled her back up onto the counter. He walked over to the other side of her and flicked his hand. The glass that had shattered gathered into the air, and slowly morphed as one, and changed shape. Sonea watched the dark silhouette change shape in amazement and grinned as it took the form of a dove. Akkarin smiled and placed it onto the counter.

"Neat trick." She mumbled. The corners of Akkarin's mouth roused into a smile.

"I had a lot of spare time on my hands as a novice. So I taught myself plenty of 'neat tricks.'" He replied. He yawned as he leant back against the counter. He noticed Sonea head had slumped onto her shoulder. He frowned and moved towards her. He realised the slow, soft sound of her breathing and smiled. She was asleep. He didn't want to wake her, so picked her up and cradled her into a baby carry and walked up the stairs to her bedroom. He laid her down on her bed and admired her. Her eyes had almost gone back to normal and she looked peaceful. Almost like an angel, he thought, looking at her short black hair spread out on the cushion and her white nightgown, spread along the bed.

He smiled and head back into his own room, where he collapsed onto his bed and shut his eyes. Before he knew it, he was breathing rhythmically, dreaming of angels that looked like Sonea.