Adelphe's Convalescence

Arrival of the Paladin

Arrival of the Paladin

Addie was forcibly and violently woken from a rather peaceful sleep when her bed suddenly jumped and she was nearly thrown off the side. A cry of surprise left her lips and she was saved from hitting the floor only by grabbing onto the nearest steady thing.

Which turned out to be Ferrant who, being comfortably settled in the very center of the bed, wasn't in danger of falling. However, he quickly sat up, grabbing hold of Addie in turn and dragging her back to him as the entire world around them rocked and bucked.

Echoing through the air, the metallic screeching of an impossibly large monster rang out.

"That's the..." Ferrant gasped looking down at her.

"The plate is shifting!" She nodded once in confirmation.

Something across her room hit the floor and shattered. She turned to see the broken remains of a decorative vase. It was only the first, as the rocking continued, sending more items falling from her vanity, her shelves. Books toppled over from their piles. She just barely managed to grab Eneas' journal before it could join them.

She didn't know why she saved that particular item. Hitting the floor wouldn't do it any damage, but her hands had reacted before her mind had time to think about the action.

Addie held the journal to her chest, protecting it against her heart, as Ferrant grabbed hold of her. They didn't dare move as the world pitched erratically around them.

All the while, Addie wondered, filled with the horror of the prospect, what had happened now?

Had Amorette destroyed another pillar? Had she finally finished destroying the one that had only been partially broken? Sybille said that they could safely lose three in any area, but that didn't seem at all comforting a thought now that she was living through this again.

The world only righted itself after a couple of long, painful minutes wherein Addie became even more sure with each passing second that the plate would collapse right out from under them. Even once the swaying stopped, the metal groaning continued for a couple seconds after. The sound of it a threat that, at any moment, it could begin again.

Eventually, even that faded, and Ferrant let out a long, steadying breath as Addie's hand tightened on the arm he had wrapped around her belly.

As the crying of the plates ceased, the silence of the night returned. Addie didn't know what time it was, but she knew it had to be late. She didn't think she had ever spent an entire day in bed, doing nothing except loving and being loved.

A long, lazy day had been strangely therapeutic and she fell into a deep and wonderfully restful sleep, comforted by the warmth of Ferrant's near body and the steady rhythm of his breathing.

To be so abruptly and rudely pulled from that warm sleep was jarring, lasting even after the shaking of the world had ceased.

"I thought you said the problem was being solved," Ferrant mumbled just as the sound of quick footsteps moving outside of her room began.

"It is," she whispered, frowning at her hand. "Or, it was. Unless something else happened."

"Something... like what?"

She shook her head, turning to press Eneas' journal against his chest.

"Take this. Go home."

He grabbed it reflexively, but looked up back to her as she scrambled from the sheets. He was momentarily distracted by her nude body before she grabbed a robe off of the back of a chair and pulled it loosely around her shoulders.