The Girl Who Would Be Sultan

Chapter 5: The House Of A God

The tension between Kallisto and Alastar was intense, and the heat of the moment still coursed through both of them as they left the temple. Walking side by side on the way back to the palace, they both felt the heavy weight of the awkwardness between them. Neither of them knew what to say, afraid of crossing the line.

As they walked in silence, Kallisto couldn't help but replay the kiss in her mind, savoring every moment of it. She had never felt so alive, so connected to someone before, and it scared her. She also hated the fact that the joy in her heart probably mirrored the guilt in his from the very same thing.

Unlike the night before, not even a quick goodbye was murmured before she shut herself into her room.
He pulled out a larger and heavier flask than the night before from his bag and quickly downed it. Trying to drink away the apprehension of next week's trip to the temple.

More work was required of her preparing for her move to Akia.
Shortly she would be taking a Ship to her new island home to check on its progress and offer up any final design choices that she may want for her new palace, She spent most of her time inside the chambers with her father and brother setting up a new system of government and selecting new officials.
Though the colony was almost finished, it was time for several colonists to start moving over. It was quite difficult for her to find anyone who wished to rule under a woman, despite the promise of new
land homes built in the city at the royal's expense. Those somehow through some miracle she had changed the opinion of her father, and through some minor extent even her brother on the opinions they held towards the notion of a woman in power, The public would be an entirely different beast. 

3 days had passed since the incident.
They had not spoken anything other than formal pleasantries, and of those, the words could be counted on one hand.
Alastar awoke in his quarters with a pounding headache. Realizing that he must have left his post yet again to seek out the tavern, and somehow stumbled back to his bed in one piece.
Grumbling at the ache of his body and mind, he forced himself out of bed.
After slipping into his now less than pristine uniform, too nauseous to eat, he went straight for his post.
The Eunic guard at the door raised a questioning eyebrow at him. Alastar took a moment to be grateful the man was mute.
Alastar stood outside Kallisto's door, his mind consumed by a mixture of heartbreak, guilt, and duty. It had been 6 months. The weight of his wife's death still bore down on him heavily, and he struggled to find solace in anything except alcohol.

He missed Desdemona so much, and he knew his grief was blinding him, but his grief was all he had left.

And yet, as he stood guard outside her door, listening to the gentle murmur of her voice as she read aloud to herself from within, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was falling deeper into a trap of his own making. He knew that Kallisto was growing more skilled at the arts they were teaching her, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of pride for some, mixed with an unfathomable discomfort for others.

For a moment, he considered stepping inside, speaking with Kallisto and perhaps finding some small comfort in her presence. But the bitterness and pain that boiled within him prevented him from taking that step. He knew that he was in no state to be around her, not when his emotions lay so close to the surface. She had enough on her plate as it was.

So, he remained outside the door, his eyes fixed on the intricate patterns of the wood. He would do his duty, no matter the cost to himself. He would guard and protect Kallisto, even if it meant sacrificing his own happiness. It was the only way he knew how to cope with the pain of his past, and the only way he could find any shred of meaning in his life.

Kallisto and Alastar found themselves in a small room in the temple, lit only by flickering candles placed carefully around the space. The week had passed, and they stood facing each other, really and truly, for the first time. Though he had practically never left her side,