After All

Chapter 9: Revelations

Zane escorted Artemisia up to his room, that way the two could have some privacy. He wanted to talk to her about what she had said without any prying eyes or ears.

"Make yourself at home," Zane commented as he opened the door to his room. Artemisia softly stepped inside and sat down on the foot of Zane's bed. Zane sighed at her silence before sitting down beside her.

"So... are you going to tell me why you went to the outpost?" Zane asked, hoping to get some answers from Artemisia without upsetting her.

"I... I was worried. About you." Artemisia admitted, shyly averting her gaze to the floor.

"About....me? Jeez, Artemis, I'm flattered, but... you could have gotten killed out there." Zane replied, surprised that Artemisia went out of her way to check on him.

"I wasn't thinking about myself. I was only thinking about you." She softly added, gazing up at Zane with forlorn eyes. Zane sighed and rubbed the back of his neck as he thought about Artemisia's situation.

"I think you're going to have to stay here for a while. It's too dangerous for you to go home. Especially now that the Skathi know who you are." Zane explained, hoping Artemisia would understand where she was coming from. She wordlessly nodded as her gaze returned to the floor.

"Does your family know that you're here? Or that you went to Skath?"

"They did... they're.... partially to blame for my injuries." Artemisia quietly reported.

"They had no right to treat you like that!" Zane angrily stated, folding his hands back into fists. Artemisia noticed Zane was getting angry and reached out to place a hand on top of one of his fists.

"Don't worry about me. I'll be alright." She assured, hoping it would be enough to calm Zane down. He exhaled a stressed sigh in response. Zane wanted to believe Artemisia but was too worried and angry to fully listen to her. Zane paused for a moment, trying to think of a way to cheer both of them up, when an idea suddenly came to him.

"Hey, do you want to go out tonight? I could show you around town. Just like we used to." Zane suggested, hoping that spending time together would be enough to cheer Artemisia up.

"I'd love to," Artemisia replied, a content smile spreading across her face.

"I'll go get everything organized. Feel free to stay here in the meantime." Zane instructed, rising to his feet and quickly ducking out of the room. Along the way, he caught up with his mother in the hallway.

"How is she doing?" Catherina asked, her eyes darting towards Zane's room.

"Better. We're going to go out tonight. Hopefully, it will lift her spirits." Zane commented. Catherina chuckled and shook her head, knowing all too well what was going on.

"Very well. Keep a close eye on her while you're gone. In the meantime, I'll go help her prepare for your date." Catherina commented, brushing past Zane and heading towards his room. Zane paused for a moment, puzzled about his mother's comment. Unsure of who else to turn to, Zane went to discuss recent events with his best friends.

"My mother thinks we're going on a date," Zane added as he finished telling his side of the story to Omar and Samuel.

"I mean... isn't it a date?" Omar asked, confused by Zane's confusion.

"I mean... I didn't ask her out on a date." Zane pointed out.

"Zander, you can't just look at the forest for the trees! You have got to see the bigger picture!" Samuel exclaimed.

"What do you mean?"

"You have had a fat crush on her since you two met! Now that you both are single, and she's going to live in your house, why not find out where your feelings are going to take you?" Samuel suggested as it suddenly clicked into Zane's head the severity of the situation he now found himself in.