The Last Swordmaster

Jack's Way of Comforting

Axel and I stayed silent for a few minutes before I closed the file. "What if Andras did this for all of us? What if this was all his fault?"

Axel stayed silent as I ran a hand through my hair and put my head on my desk. I sat there, silent, until a knock came at the door, startling me. "Coming!" I called, walking around the desk to the door. I checked myself in my mirror quickly, smoothing back my curly hair. I turned the door handle and opened it to find Jack there, wringing his hands. "What is it?" I asked, moving aside to let him in. 

"I wanted to apologize," He began, sitting in one of the plush, cushioned chairs. "I know this is important to you Scarlet, and I feel terrible for getting angry at you the way I did."

I walked over to him slowly, as if he were a bird that would take flight any moment out of fear. "I just want you to be okay."

"I know, but can I ask you something?"

My eyes widened slightly. "Oh, um, yeah."

"Do you love me? Do you really, really love me? Do you feel anything when I hold you or kiss you?"

I sat down next to him and grabbed one of his hands. He was almost feverishly warm. "I won't lie to you. I don't know. I know I feel things, but I don't know what, okay?"

He sighed. "How do you not know?"

"Why does it matter?"

Jack looked down at our entwined hands, brushing his thumb across my calloused knuckles. "I feel horrible for loving you, Elaine."

"Because of Myra?"

He only nodded in reply, and I bit my lip, trying to think of something to say. "Jack... I know she must have been everything to you, and moving on is probably impossible. Just don't feel guilty for wanting someone else. We're human, Jack. We crave this feeling. You can't help it. If she loved you, she'd want you to be happy now, doing whatever you wanted. It's probably hard to even look at me. You might even see her-"

"No," he interrupted. "That's what surprises me. You're nothing alike. She was so quiet, reserved, and passive. Once she opened up, though... she was very intelligent, like you. She was never really outspoken or rude. She was kind."

I leaned my head onto his shoulder. "Thank you for talking about it."

"No, don't thank me. You need to sleep. I'm keeping you up," he told me, planting a kiss on my temple. 

"I was doing something else anyway."

"What, that file over there?" He asked, standing. 

He started to walk, but I bolted up from my chair, ran to the desk, and snatched the file. I saw his eyes look it over before I could reach it, so thank the stars it was closed. "Yes, this. It's classified, sensitive information."

"Too sensitive for your deputy?" He asked, an eyebrow raised. "What is it? What's in your file that I can't see? I was the one you summoned, darling. I already know everything about your past."

If Andras did that to me, who knew what else he did? I didn't think it was the right time to tell everyone this. My hesitation caused Jack to put his hands on the desk in front of him, taking an almost offensive stance. Unfortunately, I didn't have much of a defense. "It's nothing," I insisted, gulping and looking at the file. "Trust me. Just... still fresh wounds. That's all Jack." 

"No, that's not it," he pushed. "You like you've just seen a ghost. You look shocked. Nothing on there should have shocked you. You asked me to trust you. Now you have to trust me."

Everything in me wanted to just fall to the ground and cry, but, somehow, I managed to stand with my shaking knees. "Jack, this... "

He laughed, interrupting my thought. "You don't even have a good reason not to tell me."