Beams of sunlight fell across the bed as the sun peaked over the eastern horizon, signally the beginning of a new day. Outside, the movements of the city's inhabitants could be heard as they awoke to great the morning, readying loaves of bread for the ovens, throwing open shutters, and cursing the screeching gulls. In this room, however, silence reigned, pierced only by steady breathing.
For Alanna, this morning held neither joy nor excitement. Throughout the night, she had remained awake, dreading its arrival and savoring the last minutes of darkness as they slowly drifted away. In the end, they had fled too quickly and with the first rays of sunlight came a sense of loss that created a pit which settled deep in her stomach as she gazed down upon the man next to her, listening to his breathing. She did not want him to go.
She smoothed the hair away from his forehead with soft fingers and he shifted and sighed under her touch, bringing a smile to her lips. His hand reached up to grab hers and he brought it to his mouth for a kiss before bringing it to rest on his chest. Alanna shifted her wait from the elbow she had been leaning on so that her other hand was free to replace the first, running fingers through his light brown hair. He opened green hazel eyes, still swimming with sleepiness, to gaze up into her purple ones. With his free hand he reached up to stroke her cheek with the back of his hand before bringing it down to run a thumb over her lips. Bending down, she kissed him slowly and deeply, feeling his hand tangle in her hair.
"Good morning," she whispered when they broke their kiss.
He brushed gentle fingers across the dark shadows under her eyes. "Didn't you sleep, lass? I'd have thought our goodbyes last night would've worn you out." He ginned up at her playfully, though his smile did not fill his eyes as much as it normally did. She was not the only one dreading this morning. Judging from the sounds that could now be heard in the house, they did not have much more time left together.
Alanna just shook her head, smiling. "They did. Like always, they left me feeling exhausted and wishing that we'd never stopped." She lay down, curling her body into George's and tucked her head under his chin as his arms tightened around her and he dropped a kiss on her hair. "But I couldn't sleep. I don't want you to leave." The last part was barely a whisper.
George heard her and pulled her even closer to him. "I don't want to leave either, lass, but I have to. This Claw is trouble." How he hated Claw. Finally, after nearly three years of waiting and then having to stand by as Jon earned her love, he had her in his arms. Jon had gotten over a year with her. Because of Claw, George had only these few stolen months and he knew, he knew, that when he walked away from her today, he would most likely never get her back. The thought had been eating him up since they had made their decisions the night before and every time it flitted through his brain he felt something squeeze his heart painfully. These few months together had only made him fall more in love with her. She was all he wanted: all he wanted to touch or smell or taste for the rest of his life. In her arms, in her kiss, he had found peace and joy and a love that overwhelmed the love he had felt for her before. He did not want to let her go.
But he had to. And she had to let him leave. It was who they were: he could not shirk his duty and she could not stem her thirst for adventure. It was these qualities which drew them together and kept them apart yet without them, they could not love each other. This was always what Alanna cherished in George: someone who loved her just for her, with her temper and her unladylike behavior, someone who could be her truest friend. He loved her fiery spirit but she could also let her guard down around him and show him her insecurities, her doubt, and it only served to make him love her more. Halef Seif had said she looked softer when she slept. George did not need to watch her sleep to see that softness because she was willing to let it show through around him.
And so they lay in each other's arms, savoring every second, knowing that their time was dwindling, falling like sand in an hourglass, grain by grain. After what seemed like an eternity and yet not long enough, a knock sounded on the door. Without a word, Alanna hugged George to her tightly before sighing and sliding off him, sitting on her heels and bringing the sheet up with her to cover herself. George sat up as well and leaned over to kiss her. She rose to her knees, letting the sheet fall to wrap her arms around his neck as one of his wound itself in her hair and the other drifted down her back before pulling her tight against him. They kissed for long moments before another knock sounded at the door and Alanna sadly pushed him away, pulling the sheet up once again. The sadness in her eyes broke his heart but he managed to get out of the bed and start dressing as she simply sat and watched.
At last, the moment of departure came. They'd decided the night before, in between goodbyes, that Alanna would not come outside with them for fear she would be recognized. Their final farewell would therefore occur in this room, the King of Thieves dressed for winter traveling and the small knight, tendrils of hair falling across her shoulders, wrapped in a white sheet and hugging her knees. She did not cry; she would not waste precious time crying while he was here. That was something for later. She simply sat, memorizing his features, allowing the love that filled his eyes to warm her heart. It would be many months before they saw each other again, if they were still alive that was. George reached forward to brush a lock of hair behind her ear before leaning in to kiss her one last time.
As they broke apart he whispered, "I love you. Stay safe."
"And you," she replied, her eyes bright with unshed tears. "I won't stay away long, I promise."
With that, he turned to go, pausing once at the door to gaze back at her before continuing down the stairs, out the door, and back to the Dancing Dove.
In House Azik on Dog Lane in Port Caynn, in a bedroom lit by broad beams of sunlight, an exhausted young woman cried herself to sleep, reaching in her sleep for a warm body that she could no longer find.