Chapter 7

Dear V.

All day my cousin has been pestering and pestering me about you. Who you are (which I don't really know even after all these letters), what you do (which I don't know either), and what you say. I've tried avoiding her for a while but she turns up in the oddest places and refuses to change the subject. Really, I don't know why she has such a keen interest in you. I don't ask her about her correspondent. All I know about him is that his name is Janco and obviously, is an Ixian.

Don't worry, I haven't told her anything about you besides the fact that your name starts with a V. And that brings me to say that even though we've talked for so long, we don't really know about each other at all. I know I was the one that initiated all this secrecy but can we stop? I'd like to think that we're friends at this point.

My name is Yelena. I live in the jungle, among the trees and I'm quite adept at climbing. My favourite scent is lavendar and I help my father gather lianas so he can make furniture (mostly chairs) and invent amazing machines. I have an older brother who gobbles down food constantly and a whole assortment of aunts and uncles. As for cousins...there are so many that even I can't keep track of them! My cousin Nutty, who also happens to be my best friend, is who I usually spend most of my time with. She is also the one that wants to know more about you.

And now... it's your turn.

-Yelena

Valek was having a terrible day. A new batch of soldiers had begun training and many had gone up to him to challenge him, only to find themselves unarmed and on the ground within seconds. The more experienced soldiers preferred to spar amongst themselves, leaving Valek with basically nobody remotely decent to spar with.

Except for Maren, of course.

But then she didn't count, as Valek was doing everything he could to avoid her. Lately, she had been acting more and more differently. In a bad way.

The first occasion happened around a month ago, when she asked Valek to help her with her tactics. Since this was a usual request for her, Valek agreed readily. He was told to meet her in a large storeroom on the bottom levels of the castle, which was mostly abandoned. She had come into the room a few minutes later than their agreed meeting time. When she had come in, she had been noticeably flustered. The clothes she wore to spar were rumpled and the top buttons of her undershirt were undone.

When Valek had asked her what had happened, she shrugged and brushed it off. Moments later, after Valek had disarmed her( too easily, in fact) and pinned her on the ground, she had looked at him with the strangest expression in her eyes. They grew soft, and were so different from the man-eating expression that she sometimes wore that he grew uncomfortable. He had hurriedly got off of her and made an excuse before escaping.

Ever since then, the looks that she had given him were becoming more and more longing. Valek had decided to putting a little space between them would probably be the best thing to do. Of course, that also meant that he had just lost one of his favourite sparring partners. Great.

When the mail cart arrived at the main entrance to the complex, Valek stopped thinking about Maren. He rushed to where the letters were being handed out and grabbed his own with uncommon haste, earning him a few amused (and confused) looks from the others. Slowly strolling back to his suite, he read her letter once, twice, and cursed.

She asked for friendship. One of the things that had disappeared from his life ever since he took this job. How could he tell her about himself when doing so, she would be disgusted, revolted by him? He knew most Sitians hated him with a passion for killing the King and his family and she was probably no different.

Although it caused his heart to twist with agony (and he had no idea why), he was going to have to stop writing to her. For real.

He closed his eyes. Maybe one last letter telling her that he was stopping this correspondence would be the decent thing to do. Even though he wasn't so infamous because he was decent.

Dear Yelena,

It warmed to him to finally know her name. It seemed to suit her and he could effortlessly imagine her gracefully weaving from tree to tree, leaving a haunting whiff of lavendar behind her.

I can't write to you anymore. I can't explain why, just know that I can no longer respond to your letters. It's been pleasant meeting you. I hope...

I hope what? Valek shook his head and scratched that out. He had no idea what it was he hoped for. All he knew was that he would never get it and it would always be out of reach, for someone like him.

-V.

It irked him that he still had to sign with an initial. It didn't seem fair for him to know her name, but Valek assured himself it was for the best. For some reason, he wanted her to remember him without hate. If she would even remember him after a few weeks, at least. And his letter! He sounded so flippant and fickle, as if she meant nothing to him. Of course, that was what he was trying to convey to her, but even so, he felt a stab of sadness.

Valek suddenly felt tired. He looked out the thin windows of his suite and saw that the sky was a dark velvet blue. He stood up and walked up to his bedroom, wondering why thinking about his life would exhaust him like this. He had a fulfilling job, his own suite in the castle, an abundance of authority...what more did he need?

He sat up in bed as he realised what he really needed at the moment was a large amount of brandy.

What did you think?:) And by the way, in case anyone was wondering, I put Janco and Nutty in the story not because I felt like it, but because they will eventually play a part in how the story will flow. So don't worry if the next chapter's going to be a lot of Janco/Nutty (I think it wil be, though).