Silver as the Sword (WATTYS 2016)

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

(/Cal/)

I sat at the table in the mess hall, alone, a chipped cup of cold coffee sitting in front of me, the black liquid staring me in the face. It tasted like tree bark, per usual, and nothing was going to change that. Resting my head in my hands, I inhaled deeply and then pushed the drowsiness down, I needed to be awake for this meeting. It was going to be a hard one, and a long one judging by the itinerary Farley had shoved into my hand last night. There was a lot to cover, and I was bone tired.

I hadn't slept well last night, and neither had Mare. She'd tossed and turned for a few hours, before finally settling in and dozing off. I had laid awake though, looking at the ceiling, just listening to the soft sound of air entering and leaving her body. It was calming, soothing even, just to know that she was there, alive and well. Eventually I had been able to slip into a doze as well, until Mare had rolled over and pressed herself up against my side. She normally wasn't demanding when she slept, but last night, she had clutched my arm like I would vanish if she didn't hold on tight enough.

The chair opposite of me scraped against the ground and I glanced up from my musing to see Evangeline sink down into it slowly. Her hair was pulled into a loose braid and she seemed to have located a gray shawl that she had draped over her shoulders. Her eyes were as tired as my own, and behind her irises, I could see the nightmares that haunted me as well.

"What brings you in here so early? It can't be the coffee." I deadpanned, trying to end the prickling silence between us. Chuckling at my own joke, I brought my cup up and took a long drink and tried to swallow quickly to avoid the taste. When I glanced back at her, I saw that my teasing had fallen on deaf ears. She didn't look the least bit amused, or interested in playing games for that matter.

Shifting under her steel gaze, I set the cup back down and tried to hide my discomfort by leaning back in my chair. Seeing my movement, her eyes dropped immediately to her hand which was clutching the edges of her shawl to the point of almost ripping it. We sat in silence after that, the two of us struggling to come to terms with the situation we were in. Not that I blamed her, I had been in a similar state after the Guard had picked me up. I had been bitter and angry with the world, but the way I had seen it, I could have either took the cards fate dealt me and learned to play the game, or I could have folded and hoped the next hand was better. Evangeline was not the kind to fold, unless she had changed more than I thought. A year could make a hell of a difference in a person, and if I wasn't proof of that, then I wasn't sure what was.

Eventually she sighed, grabbed my cup, and then scrunching up her nose at the smell, she took a deep drink as well. She gagged as she swallowed and I watched her slam the chipped thing back on the table, almost shattering it. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and then whispered, "How do you put up with this place?"

I could hear the gravity in her tone, the fine line that she was walking. Evangeline was walking along the edge of a glass bowl, the edges cutting her feet and threatening to shatter at the slightest misstep. I had been in a similar position, and sometimes, I felt like I never actually left it. Shrugging at her question though, I pulled the cup back toward me and ran my thumb along the side of it. "You learn to shoulder reality and bear it."

"I don't want to bear any more reality than I already have, I want to go home." She hissed, her dark eyes latching onto mine as she leaned forward, like a cat about to pounce. I sat a little straighter, calling on my bearing as a general and prince in her mind to deliver my next words carefully. "And you think I don't?"

She stiffened in response, and bowing her head again, tried to hide her expression from me. I softened my voice immediately and sighing, I ran a tired hand down my face and whispered, "I want to go home as much as you, but it's not happening. You'll have to accept that like I have."