Collaterals

Even More Silence

He wasted no time with niceties, walking ahead of her and pushing open the door he knew led into her study. He looked over his shoulder at her as he gestured, "After you, Your Highness."

Her face remained unmoving, but her eyes turned slit-like as she stalked past him, into the room. Khaled looked now to where a Diviner entered the reception ahead, making way to the hallway to join them inside. And so Khaled was quick to slip inside, the door clicking shut behind him as he turned his back to it and looked to Leila, "If you have something to say— away from prying ears— now is the time to say it."

Leila's fingers were set on the desk of her study. She flattened her hand atop the hard wood, looking to him now with bowed brows, as she opened her mouth to speak. Khaled took a step closer, but her eyes shot to the door in warning. So he stayed by it, his hand on the knob behind him so as to stop it from turning. With the corners of his mouth sunk down, he watched as she looked to the side and gulped, hard.

Again, Leila opened her mouth, lips moving. And when no words came out, her hand, fisted, rose, and fell fast and hard as they slammed against the desk.

Khaled's hand slackened against the knob. Distantly, he felt his feet carry him, one step ahead of the other till he'd crossed the distance between them and stood in front of her. He'd not expected his own voice to be so gentle when he asked, "Can you not...Can you not speak?"

Leila held his gaze as the Young Lord searched her eyes. And when she looked away, when his question was met with silence— silence, silence, even more silence— he could not help it; he grabbed her shoulders, hard enough that her eyes widened in shock, "Is it your throat? Are you hurt? Tell me! Leila, tell me, tell me where does it hurt?!"

But she'd already begun to shake her head, shoulders shrugged as she pushed him off her and stumbled out his grasp, putting several paces of space between them just before the door opened.

Khaled did not look away, did not bother and see who'd interrupted them. Not until she did, back straightening as she gathered her senses, her hand moving to run through the strands of loose hair. A breath later she'd moved away, so that Khaled was left with nothing to do but watch her give him her back and walk out the room, the door now held open by the very Diviner Khaled had rushed to keep out the room. A slim one, with blue eyes and robes that seamed to drown him. The very Diviner Leila had once imagined speaking, Khaled now remembered. The robed figure did not look at him as he bowed out the room, the door clicking shut.

And so alone he was, again, with nothing but the ghost of her absence. That and silence: even more silence.