Hello again! Hope everyone had a good christmas! Sorry for taking so long to update. I'm having real difficulty writting this story but I don't know why! I have lots of ideas but I can't seem to get in the writting mood. plus having two other stories to write makes things a tad difficult.
But enough of the lame ass excuses. I shall not give up! Read on and enjoy the chapter!
Sam's footsteps clattered along the stone floor as he raced up the steps. Muttering to himself, he pulled on his heavy cloak and stepped out onto the sentry. The cold hit his face with a harsh whip of wind. Once more it was his turn as sentry, normally he didn't mind. He just wished it wasn't so damn cold. He bolted the heavy door behind him and made his way across the narrow path. He walked around the corner to where his fellow guard stood, wrapped in furs. Sam raised his gloved hand and called out in greeting. To his surprise it was not Brel that met him, but Kailith. Sam blinked dumbly for a moment before he found the use of his mouth.
"What are you doing here?" he asked,
Kailith stared back equally surprised, "Brel asked if I would take his shift tonight. Now I can see why." She replied, with a smile.
Sam gave a sarcastic smile in reply and took his place next to her. They stood in silence, staring out across the night, watching the clouds drift across the darkened sky. Sam stifled a yawn and heard Kailith laugh,
"Getting past your bed time?" she asked with a smile. Sam glanced at her,
"No." he said, annoyed, "I didn't sleep well last night." Sam sighed quietly and stared back at the sky.
The stupid thing was it wasn't a lie. Lately his sleep had been plagued with nightmarish dreams where hordes of dead would come lumbering forward. In his dream Sam would stand between the dead and the city. He would try to move but the bells that hung about his chest would suddenly become so heavy they stopped him from moving. He would try to lift them but the handles felt cold to his touch.
Sam shook his head. He had no doubt about what his dreams meant.
"Are you alright?" Kailith asked him. Sam blinked but nodded, "I'm sorry." She said quietly. Sam looked at her confused, "For what?"
"How I acted yesterday. Leille was right; I shouldn't have spoken to you like that. I mean, you're the prince."
Sam shook his head, "It's alright." He said, "I think you're the only person outside my family who actually speaks to me like a normal person."
Kailith smiled and laughed. "Why, thank you your highness."
To his surprise Sam smiled back. The pair stood in silence for a moment.
"I hate these dark nights." Sam said with a sigh. Kailith looked at him,
"I'm the opposite." She said, "I hate the mornings. The captain always puts me on first duty. I think he does it on purpose." She smiled and looked at him, "I can never get up in the mornings" Kailith continued, "Leille has to come in at least four times before I'll even open my eyes."
Sam laughed at this, remembering how often Ellimere had had to come and drag him out of bed. He looked down at the girl in front of him and smiled. Some how he felt slightly better. Kailith smiled back before turning her head away quickly. Sam brow furrowed at her action. Had he said something wrong?
Still confused, Sam returned to watching the sky, ever hopefully of seeing his mothers Paperwing soaring towards him, but every so often his eyes would drift back to girl beside him. In the dark her pale face stood out more than usual and made her eyes look dark. He tried to remember what colour they really were. He imagined them to be a bright green, much like the emeralds that Ellimere wore. Sam shook his head. Why should he care what colour her eyes were?
Sam yawned again, his breathe billowing out in a grey cloud and next to him Kailith shivered.
"Are you cold?" He asked, trying not to sound too concerned. Kailith nodded, and brought her hands to her mouth, blowing puffs of silvered breathe onto them. Sam closed his eyes and felt into the charter, pulling at the marks for heat, burning and flame. He drew them out and knitted them together and binding them to form a small flare that glowed brightly in his hand. He held it out to Kailith who took it gratefully, cupping it in her own hands.
"I was never any good at this kind of thing." She admitted.
Sam looked at her surprised, "I thought all royal guards were charter mages?"
"We are." Kailith said, "I'm just not a very good one." Sam laughed quietly and turned away.
"I'm more useful with a blade." Kailith laughed, "What are you looking at?" she asked when she noticed Sam wasn't listening,
"Hm?" Sam mumbled,
"You've staring at the clouds every couple of second for the last ten minutes." She said,
"Isn't that what we're supposed to be doing? We are the night watch." He answered sarcastically,
"Actually we're supposed to be watching the eastern horizon." She said, pointing in a different direction. "You keep searching the sky. What is it you're looking for?"
Sam sighed, leaning forward and resting his arms on the battlements, "My mother is returning soon."
"And that's a bad thing?" Kailith asked, leaning forward to meet his face,
"I don't know." Sam shrugged, "I am to be the next Abhorsen."
Kailith shifted beside him, "And you don't want to?"
"It's not that I don't want to… I just don't think I can." Sam hung his head. Why was he even telling her all this?
"But you feel like you have to?" Kailith asked gently,
"My sister is to be the next regent; therefore I am the abhorsen-in-waiting. I don't have much choice."
"Have you tried talking to the Abhorsen?" the girl asked, shifting to weight to lean her back against the wall, facing Sam.
Sam shook his head, "No. How do you tell your parents you don't want the same things they do?"
"It's not an easy thing to do." Kailith sighed, "My father is a fisherman and since we don't have any boys in our family and Leille gets sea sick," Sam snorted a laugh, "My father wanted me to follow in his footsteps. But here I am."
"What did he say when you told him?"
"What any sane parent does." Kailith said with a smile, "He yelled." Sam gave a small laugh.
"Finally my mother managed to calm him down and talk some sense into him." Kailith said, "Now he's teaching some of the boys in the docks how to do it."
Sam looked from her to the ground and then back at the sky and sighed. Kailith cocked her head to the side and looked at the prince,
"You're not just the Abhorsen-in waiting." She said softly.
"Yeah. I'm also the crown prince and laughing stock of the town." Sam muttered sarcastically.
"That's not what I meant." Kailith said, "Don't forget you're a person too."
Sam blinked and looked up at her,
"You're Prince Sameth." Kailith said with a smile, "Creator of strange mechanical creatures!"
Sam couldn't stop himself from laughing. He smiled at Kailith, wondering how a few simple words made him feel so much better. A feeling washed over him as he looked at the girl next to him, her face glowing warmly from the light of the small flame in her hand. It was a feeling he couldn't quite place but Sam wasn't a child anymore. He knew what it felt like to be attracted to someone and it wasn't at all unpleasant, kind of like a fluttering in his stomach.
"Your highness?"
Sam jumped slightly at the sound of her voice and couldn't fight down the slight blush that rose to his face when he realise just how long he'd been staring.
"Is something wrong?" Kailith asked her face frowned with concern. Sam swallowed and shook his head,
"No, nothing." He said, rather too quickly.
"Are you sure?" she said, holding the light up to see his face, "Your face is red."
Sam looked away, praying she wouldn't notice but lost all hope when he heard her giggle,
"Is your highness blushing?"
"No he is not." Sam argued, "And don't call me that."
"Call you what?" Kailith asked innocently,
"Your Highness. It sounds weird coming from you."
Kailith laughed, "Alright Prince."
"Just call me Sam." Sam sighed, starting to wonder what whether that earlier feeling had just been a stomach ache,
"As you wish." The girl said with a smile,
Sam frowned at her, "You're thoroughly annoying, you know that?"
"I know."
Thanks to everyone who reviewed and gave me the kick up the arse I needed to get this chapter finished!
next chapter soon! (my new years resolution was to update more often... hmm.)