Defying Equilibrium: Book III

Chapter 4: Familiar

There was a brief moment where there eyes met, and neither spoke a word. It was true that Louise had been told of her brother's coming, and had been expectantly waiting for his arrival, but that didn't change the fact that she was so surprised that it was all suddenly so real.

"Louise?" he asked, his voice soft and disbelieving

She was the last person that he expected to see here, of all places. A million questions raced through his mind in that single moment, but he would ask them later. The brief moment passed, and then they were across the room and he had never hugged her so tightly.

He felt taller. Only a few months had passed since they had parted, but in her arms his body felt taller, stronger, leaner. She blinked back the tears threatening to spill over from her eyes, and instead just hugged him tighter.

A few moments passed, and then she let out a strangled whisper of, "I've missed you so much." She pulled back and looked him in the eyes, and smiled like she hadn't done in months. "I've missed my idiot little brother so much. You had me worried, you know."

"How...what are you..." He was almost speechless. "Louise, how the hell did you get here?"

She glanced back at where Chase stood, leaning casually with his arms crossed. He gave her a small smile and a nod, and Oscar wasn't even surprised to see that they knew each other. Nothing surprised him now, save for the fact that his sister was standing right in front of him.

She bit her lip, stifling a barely suppressed grin. "I have a lot to tell you, Oscar."

He laughed. "Not as much as I have to tell you."

The bright green bird had left its perch on Fyrie's head, and returned to its home on Avon's shoulder. The sound of its wings reminded Oscar and Louise that there were still other people in the room, important matters to address, and that maybe their full reunion should wait till later.

Oscar caught the red-haired man looking at his sister with affection, and he remembered the fortune that Madame Jade had told him. That someone would become important to her. Was it him? Without waiting to be introduced, he held out his hand to the man, who looked as if he surprised to even be acknowledged.

"Oscar Escalante. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

Alfie took the outstretched hand, and his smile was warm, genuine and slightly shy. "I know who you are. I've heard a lot about you. The name's Alfred Schey, and Alfie to most. I'm Louise's friend, from the militia. We ran away together. Well, not together really, I mean technically she ran away first and I caught up, but that's a long story..." Alfie realised that he was babbling, and shut up. This place made him nervous, and he felt out of place among these skilled warriors and masters of magic.

But to to his surprise, Oscar just laughed and grinned. "Well, I'd definitely like to hear that story sometime. And thank you for taking care of my sister."

He laughed and scratched the back of his neck self-consciously. "Well, I didn't really, I mean if we're keeping count than it would be more accurate to thank your sister for taking care of me." Alfie laughed again, his laugh good-natured and self-deprecating.

Louise nodded to Dare. "And I'm glad to see you're alright too, Sidney."

He grinned. "Yeah, you too Louise. It's good to know that it is possible to survive the militia, after all." She had expected these words to contain bitterness, but they didn't. He surely missed his brother, but was genuinely glad to see her.

"And the Kingswin twins?" She asked. "Are they safe, too?"

Oscar nodded. "Yeah, safe and sound back in Damakis. And I think they're safer under Madame Jade's protection than anywhere else."