Loyalty Is Love
Disclaimer: All characters and locations herein are the property of Tamora Pierce. Plot and actual written words owned by me. Written for Challenge 16 of the Seanfhocal Circle.A hand shook Sandry's shoulder, waking her from an uneasy sleep. She had a feeling she'd been dreaming, but couldn't remember what of. Slumped in a chair, she started to straighten only to groan as her muscles cramped from the uncomfortable position.
"Here, let me help you," Lark's voice was comforting.
As she eased to her feet she saw that it was morning, and scraps of sunlight penetrated the heavy, musty curtains of the room. And someone stood at the doorway, watching her.
"We did all we could for him, but it was too late."
She shivered.
"Are you alright?" murmured Lark.
She didn't answer.
The figure at the doorway stepped in, and a thread of light fell over it. Blue habit, brown face. "Sit down," advised Moonstream, doing so herself.
Still Sandry would not speak.
"How is he?" asked Lark.
Moonstream sighed. "Not well. He's alive, but it was all we could do. He will be ill yet for months before he can return to a working life, and he must never go back to how he's been living until now. The stories I heard from the servants… it's a wonder his heart lasted this long."
"But he'll live?" insisted Lark.
"Yes," replied Moonstream. "With the proper care."
It only took a moment to decide.
Of the four siblings of Summersea only one was there now. No one could know what that distance meant, how important they were to each other. Not even Lark, not even her uncle. Alone together in the cottage that had been bustling for years, Lark and Sandry had enjoyed a peace and closeness that kept them together even while their loved ones were missed. It was a bittersweet time, one she knew they would both look back at fondly.
A time like that may never come again, she knew. If she left now, Lark would be alone. She knew that, too. The woman who was her teacher, her friend. She trusted her judgement above all others. She owed her so much, all the joy and light that filled her since her parents were lost to her. Lark was not a solitary woman, she knew. It would be hard for her, living alone.
It only took a moment to decide.
"I hate to leave you, Lark," said Sandry, and she did.
"I understand," replied Lark. "I do love so having you around, but the duke needs you."
It was a sad decision, decided Sandry as she unpacked that afternoon, filling the room so close to her uncle's with pieces of her life. It was the choice she knew she had to make, so it wasn't really hard. Just sad.
