Chapter 17

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It was shortly after breakfast that Alma was working in her study while Jenny heated the tea kettle. The children immediately swarmed them both when they woke up and seen them in the kitchen, bombarding their ymbryne with hugs that Alma had to lightly scold them to calm down. After a long conversation during breakfast about what had happened (Alma sparing the bad or unneeded details), the children finished their food and went off to do their chores. Things were falling back into rhythm which made Alma a bit less stressed so she could focus on some of the council work in her study. Jenny wasn't quite sure what it consisted of and attempted to leave the woman be in case she was too busy, but thought she could make an excuse to go see her by making a cup of tea for the ravenette.

Eventually the kettle whistled and Jenny memorized how Alma took her tea by now, mixing in the two sugar cubes and began her trip down the hallway. She made it to the door of her study, lightly knocking on the door and felt herself perk up when she heard the woman from the other side.

"Come in."

The brunette stepped into the room, the ymbrynes expression seeming to brighten when she seen who it was, her posture straightening and the tired look in her eyes gone.

"I made you tea." Jenny says softly, setting it down on the side of her desk and noticed she was working on a few papers. "What has had you cooped up in here for so long?" She says with a gentle smile and set down on the edge of her desk, the ravenettes hand discreetly falling to brush against her hip.

"Just papers from the council I need to answer. Because of what happened with Miss Avocet when Barron had came here, they want me to possibly become head of the council." She sighs, clearly stressed by the thought as her thumb nail drew a gentle pattern against Jenny's lower back.

"Miss Avocet?" She questions. "Who is she?"

"You missed a lot since you left, haven't you?" Alma says, meeting her eyes and seeing her confusion. "Mr Portman -who you met last night- had come into our loop and when he made his last visit, Barron had followed him here. Either I was to go with him, or he would've killed Jacob and the other children which I could not have. Miss Avocet was my mentor from back at the ymbryne academy and she was hidden here when it all happened, but the children had informed me that after I had left with Barron, a hollow had raided the loop and took her with it." Alma explains, her tone solemn as her features changed. She seemed extremely exhausted, Jenny thought.

"So now after all of this, the council wants me to be in charge of it all and I don't know what I want to do." She admits, looking over when the younger woman got off the desk, walking instead over to where she set. Alma felt her sit down in her lap, being mindful of her injuries and the ravenette melted against her, resting her head against the women's shoulder and her arms wrapped loosely around her waist.

"Why don't you give it a week to think about? I'm sure the council would be understanding considering what you went through the previous days." Jenny says softly, her hand gently taking the woman's that rested on her thigh. "You need time to process all of this and then make a decision. It would be best to take your time and not rush it."

"I wish I could wait, but the council needs an answer soon and I don't know how soon I can make a decision. Not that I really have one." Alma stresses, pulling her arms away from her waist to mess with the paper. Jenny glanced over it briefly to see what the fuss over it was, but the ymbryne bounced her leg for a moment as a nervous habit and Jenny let out a small squeak from the feeling it sent through her. Alma glanced over when she heard the noise and seen the dark pink on her cheeks that Jenny could barely manage to hide. Distracted now from the previous stress, realization dawned on the ravenette and an amused look fell over her features.

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⏰ Last updated: 14 hours ago ⏰

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