The people assembled in SolarRears held their collective breaths as the door at the top of the stairs creaked open.
~
Vetinari led Ienska forward, her hand, grasped firmly enough to prevent escape, rested in his own. He could feel the resentment radiating off of her as he paused on the landing at the top of the stairs.
He was, for now, his own man again. There are some things that no amount of belief can do to a person without their own belief.
~
The god raised his arms and there was silence.
"It is time," he said. "For us to depart."
"No!" they all shouted.
"We must journey to Cori Celesti," he continued. "And take our rightful places."
"What of the girl?" they all shouted.
"She is…" he looked at her. "She is a girl."
"Ah," they all said, and, having heard it from the god's mouth, "It must be so."
"We depart now," he said. "And enjoy the coffee."
With that, they vanished.
~
"How long can you keep us concealed?" asked Vetinari.
Ienska glared at him. "Longer if you stop talking and do as I say."
"Of course," he agreed graciously.
Nearly holding her breath, she guided them through the busy common room of SolarRears and out into the fresh, though damp, air.
As soon as they were clear of the crowds, she dropped his hand.
When she thought of what had almost happened, she…well, she wanted to say she was nearly sick. But, to her great annoyance – like most things relating to Havelock Vetinari – she couldn't. She knew that she disliked him, obviously. The fact that she hadn't been the first one to struggle back to normalcy bothered her, though. She had depended on her belief that she and Vetinari would never be anything more than rather tentative friends, and it had failed her spectacularly.
She glared at him through the drizzle. Apparently, his belief in that fact had been strong enough to break him free, and, for some reason, she was terribly insulted by that.
What on the Disc is happening to me? she asked herself, trying to chase away the obnoxious thoughts.
He seemed to notice her glare and looked over at her.
"Should we find the horses?" he asked.
She nearly groaned, but then realized that, without the smelly creatures, they faced a much longer journey away from the city and the rain.
"Yes," she admitted grudgingly. "I suppose we should."
~
Vetinari watched the girl beside him out of the corner of his eye.
It felt very good to be back in control of himself again, but there were certain things he couldn't quite seem to sort out.
For instance, why had it been himself, so much more deeply entangled in the city's belief, that had managed to break free first? Surely the girl's belief in their total incompatibility was strong enough to have prevented her from acting out the part the city had cast her in?
But, then, it had been a different type of belief that had freed him.
Belief in choosing his own time, in being in control, in not taking advantage of a situation that might take advantage of him as well, and, above all, in the fact that she would have made the rest of his life miserable.
Still, she seemed very quiet as the entered the stables, her wet hair clinging to her face. He was even becoming accustomed to the way her tunic clung to…other things.
Yes, he admitted to himself with a small smile. He might just miss the drizzle after all.
~
The owner of StellarRears looked over the day's profits. And blinked.
"Stanley!"
Moments later, his assistant, a gangly youth who had only just begun growing into his hands and feet, appeared. "Yes, sir?"
"Do we have any of that coffee left?" He hadn't bought into the religion that had temporarily taken over his business and built that ridiculous needle structure down the road. So long as they paid. But there might be something to this coffee thing.
"Yes, sir."
"Good. I want you to take some and find out how to make it."
"Sir?"
"We're going to start a…a chain, Stanley."
"A chain, sir? Of inns?"
"No…of coffee shops," he played with the phrase for a moment. "StellarRears Coffee."
~
"I think," said Vetinari as they walked the horses out of the city. "That I'm going to avoid coffee from now on."
"Why ever do you say that?" asked Ienska, trying to get under his skin.
He didn't answer. Figured. Of all times for him to not make some sort of annoyingly calm response, he would pick now.
Why couldn't he just be obnoxious again?
She glanced over to see him watching her. Great.
"So where are we going?" she asked after a time.
He shook his head, dark hair falling into eyes that she was quite relieved to find were blue once more. Her fingers itching to push it back out of his face, Ienska began to think that something of their ordeal had rubbed off on her. Which was the last thing she needed right now. "I don't know."
"Well, out of this downpour, anyhow," she said, tugging at the hem of her saturated tunic, thankfully returned to its proper length.
"Oh, I don't know," said Vetinari, glancing down at her with…amusement? in his eyes. "It has its fringe benefits."
Now what in the world was that supposed to mean?
"It's time to mount, I think," Vetinari observed as they paused on the road.
Ienska glared up at her bay. "I suppose."
She hadn't asked him to come with her, but, for once, she didn't mind when he offered her a hand up.
~
The hoof prints left in the road slowly filled with water, then mud, then were gone. In the air above, a single yellow feather drifted slowly back to earth.
***
NB: Well, that's it. Sorry this is so short, but I'm smack in the middle of my Junior year and struggling to keep homework, band, and writing in the air at once. This was mostly inspired by a desire to get something written and finished, as well as, of course, rainy, drear, dear Seattle. I hope you enjoyed it, despite the brevity. Valé!