I woke to a light tap on the door. Shaking my head I used my elbows to push myself up as I struggled to remember how I'd ended up in a bedroom that didn't belong to me. Once I did my eyes narrowed at the door in time to hear a second slightly louder knock.
"If that's you, Geralf I don't want to talk to you." I called out and he paused with his hand inches from the door. Standing there he considered what I had just called out before he politely knocked again and I growled. "Geralf, go away."
"Ailis, I believe I told you before that that is my room you have taken over and...no." Geralf muttered and with a sigh he looked squarely at the door. "Ailis, I have come by to apologize for my actions. Would you allow me entry so I may apologize?" He called out and I blinked, taken a moment to think of an answer.
"You can come in. I really can't stop you since this is your bedroom." I answered and the door slowly creaked open to reveal Geralf who actually bowed in my direction. Closing the door quietly behind him the stitcher started to head towards my bed only stopped when I narrowed my eyes at him. "Why did you come here really? I doubt very much you wanted to apologize for injurying me."
"Why do you say that, Ailis?" Geralf asked and I pointed towards the door just as a knock made the door shake. "That was not me." He told me and I rolled my eyes at him, arms now crossed against my chest.
"Of course it wasn't, Geralf. Since you're in here with me and that knocking is making the doorframe shake I'm guessing that your creation is doing that. Should we invite it in before it breaks down the door?" I sighed and he nodded, taking a single step towards the door just as there was a crash and he rushed towards me, both sets of eyes wide and unblinking.
Standing there Geralf's creation held the remains of the door in one of its muscular hands and if a skaab could look embarassed it managed it. "Too late." I muttered as Geralf cocked an eyebrow at his creation, asking it with a slightly raised voice to kindly drop the door. Which it immediately did and we both flinched at the crash as what was left of the bedroom door smacked into the floor, sending pieces of it in every direction barely missing us.
"That was unexpected." Geralf eventually pointed out, straightening his apron and I groaned, rubbing at my eyes. "I should ask it to stand guard outside the room."
"A little late, stitcher. Maybe it's lonely and it just wants some company." I suggested and he turned his head to stare at me, mouth slightly open. "I was joking." I growled at him and he swallowed as I glared at him.
"I knew that, Ailis. Truthfully I wanted to show you my newest creation, with a few alterations, as well as apologize. When I enquired about your death and subsequent revival I did not intend for you to take offense or to upset you." Geralf began and I took a shaky breath. "You are the first person who has listened to me without making fun of me immediately afterwards. I find it...refreshing."
"If you really want to be my friend we need to get something sorted first." I started and Geralf nodded, making me giggle despite the urge to kick him in the shin for setting his skaab on me earlier. "First of all I want your guarantee that you won't sic your skaab on me again." Geralf nodded again before he had even understood what he'd agreed.
"Good. My second condition and my last is that you would find me somewhere to stay in this castle. The third and final condition is that you never ask me about my death and rebirth unless I choose to tell you. Do you agree?" I asked him, sticking out a hand and Geralf frowned. At first I thought he wouldn't agree then he surprised me by sticking out his right hand, minus his gloves.
"Agreed." Geralf said, a faint smile on his lips and I gave him a tiny smile of my own. Reaching out a little further I felt his hand give mine a firm handshake and that made me realize that despite his constant work they were surprisingly soft. "Ailis, why are you staring at my hands?" He asked and I quickly released his hand, hoping that my cheeks weren't glowing.
"I've never seen you without your gloves." I replied and he gave me a slight nod who I noticed he had his eye fixed on me for several moments before he cleared his throat. "Why? Did you think I was staring at you because I was interested in you?" I teased and Geralf grimaced as I rose from the bed, my arms again crossed against my chest. "I'll admit you are fun to spend time with but I am not interested in you beyond that. Especially not as a potential boyfriend."
"I was not implying that, Ailis. I merely suggested that we could be friends." Geralf retored though the pause left me wondering if he had been considering it. "Now are you interested in taking a tour of Trosad?" He added and I smiled, climbing from the bed. His creation moved several steps to the left allowing us to leave the bedroom and with an audible sigh, Geralf beckoned me to follow him.
I allowed him to lead us outside, his skaab bringing up the rear as we headed towards the front room of the castle. Silently I followed at Geralf's heels, keeping my eyes peeled for his sister but Gisa put in an appearance even as we left the castle and I let out a slow breath not surprised to see the fog flow from my mouth. With a shiver I pulled my cloak tighter around my shoulders, grateful once again to Jace for gifting it to me.
It wasn't until we reached the outskirts of the graveyard where Geralf had found me when he froze and I nearly knocked him over, his skaab grabbing my shoulder to keep me steady. "Where are we?" I whispered but Geralf didn't seem to hear me, his attention focused on something moving in the fog. Even the skaab kept quiet and I stared as a zombie stambled out of the fog and directly into Geralf's path.
Geralf took one look at the zombie before he frowned at it, turning his head to look at me. "It's a messenger from my sister." He muttered and I raised an eyebrow until he gestured towards an envelope clutched in what remained of its left hand. As Geralf took the envelope I cringed as two of the zombie's fingers dropped off though Geralf didn't even flinch, ripping the envelope apart as he extracted the note.
I watched on, keeping close to his skaab as Geralf's eyes moved over the letter. Eventually he raised his head, crumbling up the letter with a sneer on his face and with a casual toss he threw it at the zombie who didn't even move. "Tell my dear sister that Ailis is my companion and not hers." He growled at the zombie who actually managed to bow without falling before it turned around, stambling away while Geralf glared at it.
"Well I do prefer you over your sister. At least you never bashed me in the head." I told him and Geralf stared at me, still frowning until I gave him a quick grin. He returned it straight afterwards and I giggled, shocking myself into silence.
Okay, why am I acting so girly? I was never like this when I was alive.
"If you're ready let's continue my tour of Trosad." Geralf suggested and I quickly nodded, keeping the hood down so Geralf couldn't see my two darkened cheeks. We had only been walking for less than half an hour when I saw a zombie staring at us. After peering at it for a few seconds I glared at it and Geralf stared at me, now standing at my side with his skaab towering over us.
"It's back." I grumbled and he blinked at me then the zombie before his eyes narrowed at the zombie, who continued to stare at us moaning softly.
"For the last time I won't bring Ailis back." Geralf told the messenger who had just started to turn around when something struck the zombie in the side of its head, the zombie managing one last pitiful moan before it crumbled to the ground. The thing that rose from the fog made my heart skip a beat, something with withering tentacles and more eyes than would necessary on one being came lurching out.
Waving its tentacles around the creature ignored us, leaning down before it started to tear into the unfortunate zombie. Th zombie tried to climb to its feet but the horror grabbed its legs in two tentacles before it pulled, tearing the zombie's legs off before it proceded to beat the zombie into a mess of blood and guts the sight making me gag a little.
"I don't think that's one of Gisa's." Geralf whispered and I cocked an eyebrow at him once the urge to puke vanished.
"Gee you think? If we head back to the castle maybe it won't notice us." I suggested, keeping my voice low in case the abomination noticed us. Thankfully it was too involved in pulping the unfortunate zombie so we started to back away though just as we started to fade into the fog I heard a crunch and the abomination's head snapped up, its multiple eyes peering directly at our hiding place. I looked back at Geralf who pointed to his skaab and I rolled my eyes, grabbing the stitcher's arm before I pulled him further back into the fog.
The horror moved its head, tentacles waving in the air before it lurched to its feet and as it started to head in our direction I froze. I began to tremble as the monster grew closer and my grip on Geralf's tightened. His arm throbbing now, Geralf looked down at me.
He was about to tell me to let go until he saw me wide-eyed and unblinking as the abomination lurched closer and closer. Seeing my shoulders quivering he sighed, turning to his skaab he whispered something I didn't hear. In a flash the skaab leapt from our hiding place, knocking the abomination over with a screech. I would have stayed there staring if Geralf hadn't pulled me into the fog and I shook myself out of my daze before I started to run back to the castle.
I took a few steps before I checked if Geralf had followed to see him giving his skaab a backward glance before he took off after me. Barely able to see in the fog I stumbled multiple times, leaving my legs bruised though the fear of being caught by that tentacled horror forced me to ignore the pain as I crashed the fog until a hand reached out and grabbed mine.
I flailed at it just as Geralf loomed out of the fog, making me shriek before he could clamp a hand roughly over my mouth. "Ailis, stop struggling. It's only me." He whispered and I lifted my head, glaring at him until he uncovered my mouth.
"Who else would be running around in the dark?" I snapped and Geralf frowned at me, his mouth opening to answer back until we both heard the sound of shuffling feet. This time I took the annative, pulling Geralf backwards so the dense fog would hide us. Watching from the fog I saw the tentacled creature wander nearby and I swallowed, hoping it wouldn't see us. It didn't at first shuffling by and I gave Geralf a weak grin, nodding my head towards the castle. After a pause he motioned me to follow him and we slowly crept in the opposite direction of the horror, Geralf glancing back just as the creature raised its head.
To our shock it sniffed the air and before I could figure out how it could smell anything without a visible nose its head swung round. Multiple eyes lining its face stared directly in our direction and I swallowed as it raised its head, its impossibly long limbs raised above its head before it let out a shriek that left my ears ringing, the noise making Geralf clamp both hands over his ears.
For a brief moment I couldn't hear and at my side Geralf raised his head, his eyes widening before he started to shout. Still unable to hear I blinked at him, confused until he threw his body at me. Thrown to the ground I caught a glimpse of the monster as it lunged, just missing us before it smacked into the ground.
I blinked back stars to find myself pinned to the cold and dusty ground by Geralf, the stitcher's cheeks turning a deep red once he realized just how close we were.
"You mind...getting off of me?" I coughed and he quickly rose, even offering a hand up with I gratefully took. Helped to my feet I gave him a quick smile which disappeared when I remembered the monster that had righted itself. Grabbing Geralf's hand I yanked him towards me and we vanished into the fog just as the monster turned back to find us gone.
This time we stayed in the fog, keeping silent until we could be sure that the monster pursuing us was long gone. Even with the creature gone I kept telling myself that I was only keeping a firm grip on Geralf's waist due to fear.
Though I did notice he didn't push me away.