Gabrielle was scowling, scowling and glaring. Her blue-grey eyes were narrowed and her silvery hair looked tangled. Her hands gripped the edge of the door so hard that her knuckles were turning white. Looking at her, Chaosti felt all of the words he had practiced in his head dry up in his throat. As Chaosti remained silent, Gabrielle's glare intensified. "What. Is. It. Chaosti?" She snapped, biting off each word.
As her anger sank in, Chaosti realized that he could never say the things that he wanted, needed to say. He bitterly cursed his own weakness and the knowledge that he was letting this moment pass by shook him to his core. Desperate to say something, to save the situation, he opened his mouth, but all that emerged was a croak. As Gabrielle's scowl faded into a worried frown, Choasti inwardly berated himself. He was a fool to think that he was worthy of her. He swallowed painfully and turned silently to leave the room, convinced of his complete and utter failure. As he slowly pivoted, however, he felt a hand grip his arm.
"Chaosti?" whispered Gabrielle, looking stricken. "Is everything alright, I'm sorry, I'm, I'm so sorry that I hit you earlier. I just hate how I'm feeling, I'm a healer and I can't even heal my best friend when she needs it most…I'm useless, just…useless…" Chaosti looked up and saw Gabrielle's eyes filling with tears. All thoughts of self-pity fled: his Queen was upset; he felt a rage building inside himself as tears slipped down her pale cheeks. Gabrielle's expression stabilized as she sensed the shift in Chaosti's mood.
He found that he couldn't focus on anything but her tears, the rage was building and Gabrielle's breath began to frost in the room's air. Fresh tears dripped down her face and Chaosti knew that soon he would slip entirely into a cold fury and there was nothing that he could do about it.
"I'm hungry." He blinked slowly, focused his stare on the rest of her face, trying to anchor his temper. Gabrielle gave him a watery smiled and repeated herself: "Chaosti, I'm very hungry, would you mind if we went to the kitchen to get something to eat?"
He felt his temper focus, sharpen, and, very slightly, release; she hadn't eaten anything proper today. He nodded quickly and instinctively grabbed her hand, her touch calmed the last edges of his temper enough for him to embrace the task of finding food for his Queen. Gabrielle, however, pulled him back. He looked at her face, searching for a clue as to what she wanted, what she needed, how he could serve. She smiled slightly and, gently, kissed his cheek. "Thank you, Chaosti" she whispered softly. He knew his expression became puzzled, always searching, always memorizing her features. She smiled again, knowing his confusion, "for being there" she explained, "for always being there." They left the room together, with Chaosti gently leading Gabrielle by the hand towards the kitchen.
Saetan smiled as he saw the two silvery heads walk down the hall. He let out a relieved sigh and leaned back in his chair.
"Lady, Prince" a voice said respectively and Saetan closed his eyes as Andulvar popped his head into the room, worry creasing the features of his face. "Everything alright up here?" he inquired gently. Every member of the household had felt the beginnings of a cold rage sweep through the Hall. That cold sweep would ensure that the servants would provide everything that Chaosti would need to care for Gabrielle, hopefully without comment.
"Fine, fine." Saetan blew out another breath. "That could have gone worse."
"Eh," smirked Andulvar, relaxing now that the situation was resolved, "the puppies are well-intentioned and any Queen trained with Jaenelle knows how to handle a male in a snit." Saetan snorted and hoped fervently that Chaosti would never hear that Andulvar had referred to his rage as "a snit."
"Ah, well, they're all growing up. The others may be next." A chair creaked as Andulvar settled himself more comfortably across from Saetan.
Andulvar smiled lazily, "we could always use a little more excitement around here."
Saetan rolled his eyes and muttered darkly "we can't all fly away if the Hall explodes." Andulvar's smile widened and Saetan found himself sharing in his friend's amusement. Suddenly, Andulvar's grin became more serious:
"If the boyos are beginning to stake claims, do you need to talk with the coven? Let them know what to expect?" Saetan sobered and sighed.
"Yes, probably. Although, given Gabrielle's reaction, it can probably wait for another day." Andulvar nodded in agreement and leaned back in his chair.
