Somber

Chapter 61: Duties.

Dedicated to @Nivedita_1D :)

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Chapter 61: Duties.

Skye's POV

It was weird. This feeling of disappointment and sadness at the idea of Frederick having to leave. When I first met him, I wanted to be as far away as possible from him. I thought he would be a big part of me meeting an early death. But with time, and all the shit that's happened, we began to care and understand each other. Now he was off to deal with his Fire Warden duties and my heart felt heavy as he struggled to put on a shirt while dealing with the pain of his injuries.

"Why now?" I asked. "You said you had a couple of more weeks till the ceremony where you would be replacing your dad as the leader. What's changed?" my voice was low and sad.

Frederick grimaced as he finally managed to get the shirt on. He took a deep breath before he answered.

"I can't tell you that. I'm not allowed to tell anyone".

"Why not?" I pushed.

Frederick sighed, "Because it's fire warden business... and you're not a fire warden".

I kept quiet this time. He noticed and glanced my way. A look at my expression must have told him something because he walked towards me cautiously.

"You know I wouldn't be leaving if it wasn't important. I wish I could stay here, with you. I feel better when I'm here to protect you, but I have no choice but to hope that these bunch of idiots can keep you safe. And I hate it, alright? I want you to know, that if I had a choice, I would stay here instead".

I nodded, fully aware that he was telling the truth. The fire and determination in his eyes were all the indication I needed of his honesty.

As he watched me steadily, he stepped closer, cupping my face with both his hands. I could feel heat rushing to my face in embarrassment, and he must have noticed because he smiled briefly. But then the smile faded and his tone was serious when he spoke next.
"If you get hurt, in any way whatsoever, while I'm away... I will kill them. Whoever hurts you? I will make sure they never hurt you again".

Before I could reply to his declaration, there was a hard knock on the door. Frederick glanced at the door in annoyance, as if he knew something that I didn't. He stepped away from me as the door was opened from outside.

My eyes widened at the realization that Zayn was the one visiting us. I held my breath as I saw the state he was in. The burnt clothes, the healing wounds across his arms and face... the Queen must have tortured him.

"Zayn," I said with relief. I walked to him and he quickly did the same, meeting me half way. He quickly pulled me against him, enveloping me in his arms.

"I'm sorry. I feel like I apologize a lot... but I'm sorry," he said.

"I was worried about you... and Harry. Where is he?" I asked, as soon as the thought came to me.

"Downstairs, speaking with Louis. There's been some developments. I'll explain everything when we are all down there," he explained this with little emotion. He turned to Frederick.

"You're leaving". It wasn't a question, more like an observation. Frederick nodded and that was all he contributed.

"Alright. I will give you a moment to say your farewells. Thank you for all you've done to keep her safe, I am forever in your debt".

I saw Frederick's eyes widen slightly at Zayn's words, but he managed to rearrange his expression into his usual scowl in no time at all.

"Trust me dude, you do not want to be indebted to me... plus, we both know I didn't do it for you". He said nothing else as he moved towards me, letting Zayn know with his actions, that he was done speaking to him. Zayn understood this and turned to leave the room, giving us, as he previously said, a moment to say our farewells.

Frederick waited a few seconds after he left to speak again.

"Gotta love the guy... he has known how I've felt about you for a while now but he's entirely unconcerned about leaving you alone with me. Guess he doesn't consider me competition at all," there was no bitterness in his voice, but the tone he used suggested that there should be.

I hesitated before speaking, "Zayn knew about your feelings for me?"

Frederick chuckled. "Yeah! He noticed weeks ago. Probably why he trusted me to protect you. He knew I could never let you get hurt.But you've known for a while too, haven't you?" there was no accusation in his voice, just pure curiosity.

I shrugged. "I think I did. I just- I don't know".

"You were hoping you were wrong?" he asked.

I shook my head. "No, I just, couldn't find good reasons for you to care for me that way".

He looked at me pensively, as if debating something. Then he gave me his signature half smile.

"Maybe I'll tell you someday".

I tried to push the subject further, but he ignored me. Instead he leaned close and place a lingering kiss on my cheek. The warmth of his lips didn't startle me. I expected it by now.

"See ya," was all he said before he rushed out through the door, without giving me a chance to say the same.

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I feel like all my chapters from now on (except for the last two probably) will be shorter than the ones I used to write. I've been working so many hours of overtime at my job that i think I might have killed my brain. Or fried it, at the least. Lol. Being an adult sucks, let me tell you guys. If you can can avoid it somehow, I will suggest that you do. Anyways, I decided that updates for this story will be on the weekends, because I work too much during the week to have time to write. So yeah, now you know when to expect a new chapter :)

I hope you're all doing great both in your personal lives and in school and all that. Love you my awesome earth family. Stay awesome <3

Liz.x