Chapter 2

Zarabeth took in a sharp breath as she managed to force her eyes open, the sudden darkness meeting her gaze causing the images from her dreams to abruptly fade away, leaving her lying there in a cold sweat. Swallowing hard, she took in a few even breaths to try to slow her racing heart, to calm her panicked mind.

"Just a dream. Just a dream." She whispered out to the darkness to convince herself that it was true, that she really was awake.

In theory, she should have been used to this by now, but Zara somehow knew that she'd always be affected by her nightmares. Even though she was no longer a slave in the real world, she was still a captive to the memories unwillingly played over and over again in her sleep. But in spite of this, she could easily accept the bad dreams and a few nights of poor sleep every week in exchange for being forever free. Besides, now she no longer slept alone. She had Jim. Or, at least, she had him about every other few weeks. Simply knowing that he was beside her as she slept was often comfort enough to get her through the longer nights.

Turning her head to see if she'd woken him, Zara was surprised to see the bed empty beside her.

"Jim?" Her voice was quiet as she slowly propped her arms beneath her, looking about the dark room without seeing him anywhere.

Curiosity driving her from the warmth of the bed, Zarabeth tried to ignore the cold flooring beneath her bare feet as she silently made her way from the room, looking this way and that down the short hallway until a silhouette on the backstairs balcony gave her some peace of mind.

Coming up to stand beside him, she smiled when Jim turned to face her just as she stepped out onto the small platform. "Hey you."

"H-Hey. What are you doing up?"

Letting him drape his arm around her, Zara stood close to him to keep warm, the night air cool against her bare arms. "Oh, I just woke up and didn't see you. Question is, what are you doing up?"

She gave him a sad sort of smile as she realized that Jim was wearing his father's jacket over his pajamas.

Jim looked distractedly out at the dark canyons beyond the house, Montressor's single moon casting odd shadows across them. "Couldn't sleep...so I thought I'd catch up on this month's riddles." He pulled his hand out of the pocket it'd been hiding in, a small stack of opened letters in his grip. They were the letters from Silver.

Zarabeth gave a small laugh as she looked up at the Etherium swirling high above them. "Riddles...A few of them were pretty simple to read. Maybe too simple. I think he's getting lazy."

"Doesn't really matter since he's leaving Tresslar. That's what he meant by the last one, right?"

"Yeah." She nodded with a small shudder as the breeze blew with a little more force, her nightgown pretty much useless against its cool breath. "I guess we'll find out where he's settled as soon as he sends the next letter. I just hope he gets there safely, wherever he's going."

"When was the last one?"

"It came three days ago, so he's been gone about four or five since it had to get to us from Tresslar."

Jim nodded in understanding without a word, the quiet comforting, not awkward between them until a thought wouldn't leave Zara's mind alone.

Looking up at him before lightly brushing the fabric of his jacket with her fingers, she spoke slowly, hesitant almost. "I wasn't sure you still had this. I've...never seen you wear it. Not since then."

It had been a little over a year since his father, Leland, had died saving Jim's life. Zarabeth knew he was still trying to heal from that day, even now. But of all the reasons Zara knew he was still struggling, the most difficult was keeping his father's dying wish. He wanted his death and even his meeting her and Jim to be kept a secret from Jim's mother, Sarah. Zara knew how much it still pained Jim that he'd lied to his mom, that he'd hidden away the hurt he was still sorting through for feeling responsible for his father's death, but Leland's promise was still being kept. Sarah didn't know.

After a long spell of silence, Jim released a heavy breath to urge himself to reply, his voice low but steady. "I've kept it on the ship...just in case mom ever stumbled across it." He was quiet again for a few moments, but he was obviously struggling with being able to say the other words on his mind, finally managing them with an even quieter tone. "It's weird...but I miss him."

She had no words to reply, no thoughts to comfort him. Over that year, she'd used everything she could think of, but Zara knew words could only do so much for a bleeding heart. Wrapping her other arm about him in a firm hug, she buried her face against the warmth of his chest, his heart steadily beating beneath her cheek as she whispered only loud enough to be heard above the wind. "I know."

"Here honey, you're gonna freeze to death."

Zarabeth looked up just as something heavy and warm was laid over her shoulders, the comforting smell of Jim surrounding her as he put his dad's jacket on her.

"There. Looks better on you anyway."

Mirroring his small smile, Zara stretched upward to leave a small kiss against his lips. "You say that about all your clothes."

"Well it's true. Can't be helped." Wrapping his arms about her waist as he chuckled quietly, Jim leaned down to nuzzle his face against the girl's neck, leaving a trail of kisses over to her right shoulder before pulling a little away to look down at the thick scar stretching from the middle of her collarbone to there.

The boy's smile flickered away for a moment, his fingers tenderly caressing the ridges and dips of the healed skin.

Zara squirmed a little beneath his touch, scrunching her nose up at him as she gave her short explanation. "Still itches sometimes."

Jim somehow managed his reply between kissing over the length of the scar, his voice low and frustrated. "If she wasn't already rotting away in prison, I'd slice-"

"I'd slice her chest open and see how she likes it." Zara finished his threat for him with a short laugh, getting the reaction she was craving as he looked up in surprise.

"Have I used that line before?"

"Only a handful of times, but yes." Giggling in satisfaction as he released an aggravated huff and a small laugh, Zarabeth nudged his sides playfully to get his attention again. "And I know you mean well, but Evanna and all those other scum bags got the justice they deserved. We're safe now."

"Well, as safe as you can be when your husband is a naval captain."

"Too true." Suppressing a yawn with the back of her hand, Zara blinked to remedy her watering eyes.

"Say no more." Jim gave the girl a mischievous smirk before suddenly pulling her into his arms, holding her bridal style as he made his way off of the balcony.

Taking in a sharp breath, Zarabeth hurriedly wrapped her arms about him as she laughed her surprise away. "Jim! What are you doing?"

Closing the door behind him with his foot, the boy carefully walked down the hallway back toward their bedroom at the end. "I'm making my wife come to bed."

Unable to keep from giggling quietly as he gently laid her down among the thick bedding, Zara removed the jacket from her shoulders, carefully laying it over the chair sitting right next to her side of the bed before snuggling down into the warm sheets and covers.

Soon the weight of another person joined her, followed by the warmth and familiar smell of her husband as he wrapped his arms about her from behind, his breathing even and deep as he laid his head against her shoulder.

This was what Zarabeth loved most of all. To simply lie there in the arms of the man who loved her, there was no greater feeling. She felt so safe and secure in his hold, able to sleep every night and live every day with the knowledge that Jim would always be there for her. If not in person, she could take comfort in knowing that he was just as anxious to come home as she was to have him back. She would always wait for him. She would always wait for the night those arms would hold her again.