Widower: Thanks a lot ! I'm glad you liked it.
ladyk: You'll see… happy you enjoyed it.
Captain Spam: But what if it wasn't the council who sent the message?
Quadrono: I hope it turns out good… thanks for the advice.
Lily (Lena) Evans: I'm not the best speller out there, but at least I try. Thanks for the review.
Thanks for the reviews. If I were rich, you'd all get some money!
………
Chapter 2: Figuring Her Out
Chris stared down blankly at her right hand. Borus stood near her, waiting to be of some assistance. They were in the dimly lit dinning hall of Vinay del Zexay's most popular tavern. All the customers were gone, and the room seemed unnervingly quiet.
Leo and Louis stood by the door. The only noise, other than the clink of armor as someone shifted, was the scratching of the Marshal's pen.
"And that's what happened?" The Marshal's voice disturbed the silence like a shockwave. "Are you sure these men attacked you first? And you only acted in self-defense. Is there anything else I should know?"
You could take the hint and get lost. The Council's Marshal had been questioning them for hours, and Borus's patience was running thin. He only wished for the Marshal to leave Chris alone.
Chris shook her head.
"Are you certain? Because I need a full report for––"
"She's positive," Borus said, barely holding himself back from strangling the man. Chris shot him a grateful smile, though he could easily tell it was forced.
"Aye, Milord," nodded the Marshal, not seeming to notice the scowl on Borus's face. The scowl followed him until he left the tavern, its door closing with a ring of the bell attached above the doorframe. Leo let out a sigh.
Louis looked at his boots uneasily. An uncomfortable silence filled the room as Chris stared at her lap. She grimaced quite suddenly, but went right back to staring. Borus had the urge to reach out and comfort her, to do something, anything that wound make her feel better. He knew that her rune was causing her pain, as all True Runes do, but he barely noticed when it did. She hid her pain so well that people would never suspect.
But Borus knew. He would see the slight twist of her expression or hear a falter in her words. He could feel the air around her tighten as a wave of pain struck. No one else seemed to note it, because it was so slight and passed in but a second.
But now, the rune was causing her pain both physically and mentally, and maybe already had been.
"Milady," he said, moving to her side and placing a hand on her shoulder. "Perhaps you should get some rest. It has been a long day." He knew it was a gross understatement. She nodded, and, quite to his surprise, let him help her up.
"I think Borus is capable of walking you home, Milady. We'll turn in." Leo said, moving toward the stairs with Louis in tow. The big knight paused on the first step, looking at Chris, but continued a moment later.
Borus waited for her to lead the way, but after an awkward moment, he realized that she was not going to move. On whim, he grasped her by the shoulders, and steered her, like he would a child, into the crisp night air. She made no objection as he took a detour down a street going the opposite direction of her estate, and still said nothing when he led her to an empty beach a little ways out of town. He stopped there and, reluctantly, let go of her shoulders. He could tell she was in another world by her phased out expression.
Her thoughts were interrupted as Borus yawned deeply, and she looked around her with curiosity. It was a tiny spot, seemingly untouched by any living being. The sand was soft, and warm water lapped at the tiny shore. A crescent moon lit the sand like sparkling gems. Borus seemed to be very familiar with the spot.
"Why did you take me here? Something you wish me to see?" she asked, her face still sullen with memories.
"In a way," he said, playfulness overriding his normal seriousness. He made her sit down about a foot away from the lapping water, a boyish grin spreading across his face. "I used to come here as a child, Milady, but only by myself." He carefully sat down next to her, loosening a strap on his armor to be comfortable. "It does not look like anyone has found it yet."
Chris looked at Borus, almost stunned. He had never shown her his playful side, only his serious, protective side. She was used to an occasional funny comment made by him, but he never acted upon it. It was almost like seeing Roland laugh at one of Percival's jokes. Almost.
"I would like to start with a good memory, if you do not mind." He leaned back on his elbows. "Do you remember the one morning all those years ago, when Percival came…" He paused, waiting for her to remember.
"––Into the meeting room, not wearing any pants…" she finished for him, a small smile appearing on her lips.
"You were so flustered that you closed the door in his face and slipped a note under the door, though I remember not what it said." Chris shook her head.
"'Become decent, good knight, for polka-dots on even underwear are not in the meeting room dress code…'" She stared at the sky, eyes unfocused, remembering Leo's incessant laughter and Salome shaking his head, and Borus with a huge smile on his face as he listened to the ranting Percival walk from the meeting room. More memories emerged. She welcomed them.
"And that time when you and I found Leo passed out on the stable floor. You asked him what happened, and he said, 'I met a woman… and what a woman…' " Chris tried to impersonate Leo's rough voice, earning an amused chuckle from Borus.
"And you said, 'What are you talking about?'" Borus added.
Chris's smile widened as she continued. "Mmm, and then that woman with the accent came and yelled, 'You de' one! You de' one who feed my hoss beer! You try and ride her! I glad she kick you' ass befoe' any 'ting happe'!'" She paused. "Too bad her rolling pin was not bigger; it might have knocked some sense into him." Borus chuckled at this.
Chris could not help but laugh in hindsight. The very idea of Leo and a horse… "And," Borus continued, "remember the night when Louis refused to having milk instead of wine, and we got him so drunk that he began to sing?"
The memory of the horribly out of tune song bouncing off the chamber walls slightly warmed Chris. "'I'm hic a lit-tle tea-hic-pot, short-hic-and stout,' " Borus sang, imitating the drunken swaying Louis displayed and as he tried to 'pour tea' into Roland's glass, eventually knocking it over.
Laughter like a welcome rain began coming from Chris's mouth. She almost thought it was not her, and was surprised when she realized it was. She was laughing so hard while trying not to laugh that she began to choke, and Borus, laughing as hard as she wanted to, only laughed harder as she struggled to get air in her lungs. Chris placed a hand on his shoulder to steady herself from all her hacking, only to fall backwards into the sand with him, and they laughed like little children. The laughter eventually died, and was replaced by a content silence.
Chris sighed as her eyes were pulled into the starry sky above. She forgot where she was, her worries. Water rolled onto the shore, every drop luminous with moonlight. Wind whispered in her ears and the sand comforted her sore body. Borus, too, was calmed by their surroundings. He turned his head to gaze fondly at his captain, whose eyes held the same faraway look as at Budehuc. Fondly? Borus shook his head to himself. He knew he could not think of his Captain in that way, but he also knew how much he wanted to. He recovered from his inner thoughts.
"Milady?" he spoke, his voice quiet.
"Yes?" she replied, keeping her eyes on the sky above her.
"Do you mind if I ask you something that is, perhaps, rather… personal?"
She seemed to ponder this for a moment, but answered, "No, not at all."
Borus took a moment to word his question, then spoke, slowly at first, "What do you think of when you look at the sky?" Chris was startled by the question.
"I…" her eyes grew distant again as they melted back into the sky.
"You've been doing it a lot lately… If there's something wrong, you know you can talk to one of us, Salome, Percival… even I…" Borus looked at her earnestly, hoping she would answer. Seconds passed, then minutes.
"Please, Chris." More silence.
"You try to trick me, Borus. That it not your real question, is it?" Her voice startled him. He laughed nervously.
"What is your real question?"
Borus looked at her uncertainly, studying her face for something he was missing. "I… I do not mean to be accusing, Milady, but… I believe you know the reason why your rune went out of control." He held his breath, waiting for her to answer.
She sat up, slowly, resting arms on knees and chin on arms. "…Perhaps…" she murmured. "I do not believe I do …"
"Perhaps? You can tell me, Milady. Possibly I could––"
"No."
"But Chris, ah, Milady––" He struggled to get to her, but he was too late.
"No. I cannot. You must understand, Borus, I… I just cannot. I do not know why it has… failed me."
"Very well, Milady," is what Borus would have said, but he stopped himself before his breath forced the words from his mouth. Instead, he sighed, looking over at her.
She looked back at him, and their eyes locked. And in that split second, Borus saw it all. Her happiness, anger, pain, and sorrow. Then he saw something else, something that was bigger than the rest. But before he could make it out, she blinked and looked away.
That must be it! he told himself excitedly. That is what is bothering her! But what is it? He nodded to himself, now knowing that her eyes were not the impenetrable façade he had thought them to be. He would find out, no matter how much prying it would take. He would figure out Chris.
"I understand, Milady." Then, almost as an afterthought, he added, "It is getting late, and I was supposed to return you home quite a while ago." Chris nodded, and together, they left the quiet spot on the beach and headed back to the Zexen capital.
Borus shuddered. For some reason, he felt it would be the last time he saw the quiet spot on the beach. He took one last, long look at it, before catching up with his Captain.
………