Indebted

48

Slowly exploring the room, her dragon assuring her that there did not appear to be any danger nearby. Esti let out a puff of air as she exhaled deeper than she had in quite some time. Letting her body relax from the state of fear she had been holding since the storm had first swelled on the ocean. Firm ground under her feet. No enemies known nearby. Hospitable walls around her, promise of a warm meal. Esti was safe.

Rolling her lower lip under her top teeth, Esti steeled herself for disappointment, and sought out Atticus. He was still muted, though it seemed different now. She could not discern what had changed. It was subtle, whatever the change was. It had been two months and more since she had last seen him, since anything had really changed. Any difference would have stood out with how hard Esti had focused on the sliver of sensation that was Atticus. 

Still, she couldn't help but hope that maybe, he was going to come and find her. That he hadn't abandoned her. She had fallen in love with him, had believed he had felt the same for her. Esti felt like her fingers were starting to burn from holding a torch she should have long let go of.

Atticus had made her believe that she wouldn't be alone. Made her careful guarded heart just reckless enough to fall for him and all she had thought he had offered. That there would be someone who was hers. Naive, believing there could be a happy ending to her story. Practical to a fault Esti couldn't accept the rational, most likely explanation that Atticus had chosen to abandon her. His turn at Court nothing more than a brief dalliance away from living with the humans.

That she had woken up alone in the dark on the broken Queen's Tower because Atticus had already had enough of her; a more than logical conclusion to draw. A lover wouldn't leave their love alone in the elements in a crumbling tower. Except, to lose him would turn the world and her heart dark. She couldn't face another loss of such magnitude. Not unless she had to. Holding onto a lie was better. The threadbare delusion was all that was keeping her going.

Esti investigated cupboards in the small kitchenette, uncertain what the microwave was, and baffled by the range that only had buttons, and a smooth glass like surface that seemed to indicate it was a range top burner of some kind. There were two sets of every dish a person could ever need, packages of human food in the cupboards. Esti found each item endlessly fascinating.

Hot and cold running water in the kitchen sink, an electric water boiler hidden in a mechanical room for the finished garage, so nearby that the water heated instantly. This wasn't even the main home, the way Esti had heard Terrance describe the building made it seem like some kind of fancy barn or storage building. If this was modest living for humans, Esti's mind started to swirl strands of dreams from the ether.

Moving from the kitchen to the small but exceptionally functional washroom. Esti did have a slight thrill seeing there was a real bath tub, with running, hot water once again. Esti wanted a truly hot bath. Her tour completed with the small bedroom, a window looking towards the ocean that was a safe distance away now.

The painted black metal framed bed was soft, the sheets smelled freshly laundered with artificial florals that was both overpowering to Esti and kind of pleasant at the same time. Dragging her luggage to the room, Esti opened the bag with more clothing, digging through to find something that felt right. She would not be putting on the rubber boots again. Not unless she needed to. 

Esti took out almost everything she had packed. Arranging outfits on the bed. Settling on a black thick strapped bodysuit worn under straight legged black denim and a boxy red and black oversized plaid button top over everything. She had only seen three people on the drive from the beach. They had all been wearing plaid.

Taking her chosen outfit, and clean underwear along with socks to the washroom. Requiring more than a moment to figure out how to use the unfamiliar plumbing. Glad for her time with Norman, or else she wasn't certain she would have been able to puzzle it out on her own. Another minute needed to inch and adjust the tap until the water was just right. Stepping into the perfect running water from the shower head.