Sounds of Fire

5

First things first for the morning, Anatolia went to Derek's room with the intent to smooth things over. She didn't want him mad at her, and she needed his support for when she, probably, gathered the courage to apologize to Lady Grace. She knocked on his door and waited a few seconds before opening it. Derek was sitting at his artifact table, his back to the door, his shoulders tense. He wasn't moving and Anatolia knew he was waiting for whatever she had to say. Taking a deep breath, Anatolia closed the door for privacy. "Derek, listen-"

"If you're going to give me an excuse," he said coldly, "you can just leave."

Anatolia heated in embarrassment. It was often that she got Derek mad and didn't apologize, only made excuses, but this wasn't one of those times. "No. I'm... I'm sorry." She hated admitting she was wrong, but this was necessary. "I was so angry at Lady Grace that I completely dismissed her efforts. I'm sorry. I should have listened to you."

After a long minute Derek's shoulders eased. He finally turned around, his eyes sad. "I accept your apology," he sighed, "but I want you to do something for me."

"What?" Anatolia had already accepted doing random jobs for Derek as apologies. It was easier for her than actually saying the words. She didn't mind doing both this time.

"Talk to her." He raised his hand as Anatolia's mouth opened in protest. "Just talk to her, without getting into an argument. Hear her out, I know you want to. You owe her that much. Not only did you treat her like garbage, you assumed things that were incorrect. It's time to stop acting like a child and talk to her."

Crossing her arms over her chest, Anatolia turned her head. She bit her tongue to stop herself from protesting, which she desperately wanted to do, then nodded sharply. "I guess I can do that." She didn't want to do this, but for Derek, she would. Just this once.

"Now," Derek demanded, standing. "Go right now. She hasn't left her room yet so that'll give you some privacy."

"What?" Anatolia resisted when Derek started to push her out into the hall. "No way. It's too early, and how do you know she hasn't left yet?"

"Because I haven't heard her. Now go." He pushed Anatolia towards Lady Grace's room, leaving her in front of Lady Grace's door. He walked backwards to his room. "Go on. Knock." He watched and waited.

Anatolia growled, rolled her eyes, but raised a fist to knock. Derek was still watching, waiting for the actual knocking to happen. Huffing, Anatolia knocked twice, raising her eyebrows at Derek. He smiled and disappeared into his room. Anatolia scratched the hollow of her cheek and jiggled on her feet, wanting to leave since Lady Grace hadn't answered the door. Just as she was about to run off, the door opened a crack. Lady Grace peeped out and, when she noticed Anatolia, she opened the door wide.

"What do you want?" Lady Grace said, flat. "Am I making too much noise? Did I wake you up?"

Anatolia hadn't heard the lilt of piano until then. She gave a nervous, unsteady smile, knowing she deserved the cold shoulder but not liking it. "No. I just... I wanted to talk."

Lady Grace narrowed her eyes, disbelieving. "About what?"

Don't lie. Derek's voice fluttered into Anatolia's head. She turned slightly and found Derek peeking out from his room, his door cracked open a sliver. Well, if he was going to accept her apology, she was going to have to have that conversation with Lady Grace. "Uh, I came to apologize and maybe... talk about our disagreements?"

Lady Grace's face became more guarded. "What game are you playing?"

Anatolia started to get ticked. "It's no game. Are you going to let me in so we can talk or can I go?"