All Of Us - Part 1: Summer

Chapter 30 - Thet

- Dæor -

The silence is deafening. The only sound I can make out is the nervous tap of his heel against the ground. I stifle a sigh and quietly lean forwards. Looking up, I inspect his face once more. His features are sharp and strong, all angles and edges: his jawline, for instance, is clear and distinct, especially when he's clenching his jaw. Like now. A mop of unruly nutmeg hair sticks out on top of his head, and stubble covers his jaw. When did he get so unkempt ? My eyes trail down his neck to his broad shoulders. Even sitting down, he towers over Evangeline, who's already pretty tall. A sharp nose casts a sidelong shadow on his face, almost matching the ones under his eyelashes.Two bister-brown eyes glare out at the ground from underneath bushy eyebrows. He doesn't dare look her in the eyes.

My gaze shifts to her. White hair is swept up in a clean topknot at the top of her head, revealing her long neck. Not a trace of the bruises he gave her linger. Her features are alert, her eyes bright. She seems to be doing quite well, and to have recovered from yesterday. Yesterday... I look away, my pulse picking up. When Aline burst into my office, all red in the face, screaming "Evangeline is unconscious," my heart had lept in my throat. It stayed lodged there as I raced down the hallway and barged into her room, and didn't budge as I saw her on the floor, inanimate. She was so pale... She looked the frailest I'd ever seen her, only bones and skin and ragged breath. I pass my hand over my eyes and sigh. My heart remained in my throat, even as Doctor Mulligan inspected her and told me that it was fine, she just hadn't eaten and had fainted. She was fine, but my heart rate wasn't. Thank Sheso she's feeling better today.

As if on cue, she shifts in her chair and shoots me a tired gaze. I muster a faint smile and a thumbs-up; her eyes seem to grow brighter in response. With newfound courage, she turns back to the figure before her and clears her throat: "Thet. You can either sit there for another extra hour, or we can talk. I don't care, I finished my training for the day," she shrugs. "Your loss." He glances at her and they make eye contact, brown meeting red, before he flits his gaze back to the ground. "You know... We have a crucial advantage over the Guards." She purposefully diverts her gaze away from him and pretends as if she was monologuing to blank space. "Their recuitement methods are idiotic. Truly, truly idiotic - they basically just grab a dozen men here and there, with no selection criteria. Apparently, they had no choice, since the number of volunteers has dwindled down to a trickle ever since the Queen died and the King got harsher. Most Guards have been recruited by force. Of course, there are some motivated ones - the ones who truly believe in the King and stuff. However, more often than not, those ones pass the exams and trainings to be able to access the higher ranks. All the low ranking Guards... They aren't motivated, they aren't unified. But we... We are motivated. And we could be unified." Her eyes spark as she spreads her hands before her. "We have a common aim, a common enemy."

"My enemy is the Crown." His voice is coarse, rugged.

"And I thought I showed you that I wasn't the Crown." Her tone is hard and he looks away.

"We could be unified, and stronger than the Guards. It's not that complicated. That's why I wanted to speak to you today." She pauses. "Why do you hate me, Thet ?" she murmurs quietly.

He exhales and hunches up. After a few moments, he finally answers her question: "I... I'm not sure I hate you. I'm not sure of anything anymore, Prin- Evangeline. You... You do hate him, don't you ?" She doesn't ask who. "Yes," she replies, not a trace of hesitation in her eyes. "I loathe him." He sighs again, before leaning back and looking at her, straight and honest. "I haven't been able to sleep properly for the past month and a half. I just couldn't. You see, when Isaac-" His voice breaks, and his head falls back on his chest again. She doesn't say anything, but there is compassion in her big round eyes.