The Son Of Snakes

11 - A New Partnership

A frail, sickly looking woman laid in a bed, simply staring at the ceiling. She let out a haggard cough, and right after continued to stay completely silent and still.

She lived in a small house, with very few items inside. It barely counted a house, but it was shelter for her and her daughter, and that was all she could ask for.

The door suddenly opened, and a man walked in.

"Hey, how're you holding up?" He lightly smiled.

"Same..." The woman's voice came out in a whisper.

"I still haven't found a cure." The man admitted, looking at the ground ashamed.

"Not...your fault..." The woman barely spoke.

"I know." The man replied. "But you saved me before, and it's my turn to save you. You and your daughter. I'm sure I'd be able to find something if I could travel across the sea, but..."

"Then..." The woman started to speak before the man cut her off.

"Don't say it." The man ordered. "I can't leave you here, and go out on my own. If someone found you and your daughter...no one could protect you!"

The man sighed. "I'll find something. I swear."

Unknown to either of them, someone had been listening on the conversation through the thin door. A young woman, clutching a blue headband in her hand.

"Then I'll find a cure." She whispered to herself. "Protect Mom for me, please."

. . .

Ria's heart wouldn't be able to handle much of this anymore. She felt like it was going to physically burst through her chest with every action Nikolas did towards her.

She had wrapped herself around Nikolas' arm, walking with him through the streets of Athens. After that headpat he gave her, she could barely think. And when she could, it was all about him.

Why was he making her feel this way?!

Meanwhile, Nikolas was having his own dilemma. Something was wrong with his partner, Ria. She was holding onto him tighter than before, and something soft was pressing into his arm.

Not only that, but she seemed out of it for some reason. Maybe it was because both of them had no idea where the nearest inn or bar was. Either could be a good source of information, or be entirely worthless.

But they were becoming lost in this city. It was certainly larger than any structural area Nikolas had been in before. He felt like it was the same for Ria too.

But there was one final thing which was bothering him. He wondered if she was sick, or afraid. Because every once in a while, he could hear her heart thumping clearly.

Usually he'd have to focus to hear a heartbeat, but in times like now he could clearly hear it. He had thought back, and almost every time, it had something to do with him.

The one time it didn't was when that Captain...whatever his name was, attacked and tied them up. But even then, that quickened heartbeat felt different than these other ones for some reason.

They were similar, but he could hear that there was a difference. And that difference was him. Whether it be him talking to her, or patting her head like his mother had done with him.

Was he that scary? No, but it was different than that other time. It couldn't be anger, could it?

No, he would've heard it when they talked. He wasn't sure what emotion Ria could possibly be feeling. It didn't help that he hadn't felt his emotions in a long time.