One Day More - a Sartorias-deles fanfic

Chapter 14

Clothed in a pale green dress, Iris descended the stairs of the small dwelling she shared with her mother. It had been several days since she last saw Alaraec—he had duties from which he could not escape, he said—but they corresponded some by letter. With the frequency of his replies, it almost seemed to her like he was waiting for her own letters. As her mother rarely let her leave the modest house when Iris was not seeing Alaraec, she anxiously awaited his letters, too. Cassiopeia constantly read the writings over Iris's shoulders; the younger woman had long ago lost the will to tell her mother no. Cassiopeia would criticize her, or threaten to throw her out, and then what would Iris do? Raec was supposed to marry someone in the nobility—Iris did not fall there. Especially with parents who had fled from Remalna not long after the civil war's end.

"Eat your breakfast," Cassiopeia said, sitting down across from Iris.

The meal was quaint—bread with melted butter rolling off and pooling on the plate. Eggs. A sausage, and a bit of yogurt that appeared to be sprinkled with oats. A glass of orange juice sat diagonally to the plate. Iris bowed her head in mute thanks before picking up her fork.

"Wrong utensil," Cassiopeia said.

Iris put down the fork and picked up another, waiting for her mother's approval. When the woman nodded, Iris ate again. They ate in complete silence, outside of the clinking of Iris's fork and knife on the plate and the sound of her own chewing. The quietness was uncomfortable, but Iris did not know how to break it. Cassiopeia drilled her with such an intense stare that Iris felt the innate desire to run. Unease settled in her belly, twisting it...or was that the food?

"Alaraec should be in the marketplace today," Cassiopeia said.

Iris did not bother to ask how her mother had that information; she did not think she would like the answer. When she had cleaned her plate, Iris pushed it away and carried it to the wash basin to clean off any food particles that might remain on its white, scratch-free surface.

"You will go see him."

Nothing would please Iris more, but how Cassiopeia said it...she made it sound like an order. As though Iris were her servant—or worse, a slave. Is that what her mother saw her as? A slave? A soldier, positioned at the frontlines of a battle in order to die? Iris had never been close to Cassiopeia for a variety of reasons, but now the distance seemed to stretch farther with each passing hour.

"When?"

"Now. Get your cloak and your shoes," Cassiopeia said, waving a hand.

Iris did as she ordered, keeping her head down until she opened the door to the dwelling to leave. Cassiopeia saying her name made her pause in the doorway. Iris looked over her shoulder but did not turn around to face the woman.

"Have fun."

That was a statement Iris had never heard. She kept her face as unreadable as she could as she exited and almost slammed the door closed behind her. Iris adjusted the belt at her waist and ensured she had a few coins in one of the pockets then threw her cloak over her shoulders and fastened it beneath her neck. With a sigh, she began her walk, all the while wondering what her mother had concocted for this day. Although Cassiopeia probably wanted Iris to spend as much time with Alaraec as possible, perhaps the absence had also fallen into her plan. What was the phrase Iris had heard? Absence makes the heart grow fonder?

If Cassiopeia had given her money to spend—which she had; Iris had none of her own—then Iris would indeed spend it...on a book. Although she told her mother as little as possible of her encounters with Alaraec, she did tell Cassiopeia of their mutual love of books. Perhaps Cassiopeia would even approve of Iris buying another novel; she had finished the one Alaraec gave her. A new novel would give her another topic of conversation with Alaraec.