𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑎 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑒𝑓 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 | 𝐆𝐈𝐋𝐀𝐍 𝐃𝐀𝐕𝐈𝐃𝐒𝐎𝐍

4 ⋆✶⋆ The Crossroad

The cluttering of steel craping steel and vile cursing awoke me. I shot upright in bed, with a racing heart only to realize I wasn't at home and it wasn't going to be a bad day. And that brought me peace for a moment, only for my thoughts to wash it away as quickly as a wave.

Because I didn't deserve it and I was a horrible human being for being here at all. At least, that's what I let my head tell me. I frowned as I thought about the tumult that had disrupted my short sleep.

Curiously I peeked out of my bedroom door and saw the tall Ranger already in uniform behind the furnace cursing and hopelessly scraping egg off the bottom of a pan. It seemed funny to me that such a well put together man could let such foul words leave his lips. Without making any noise I moved towards him and looked over his shoulder. "What happened?"

Not at all thrown off by my sudden voice, he just showed me the pan. "I let the egg burn a bit."

I frowned and only then noticed the table was already laid in with plates, bread, fruits, meats and cheese. There was a little vase with a red flower in the middle. Somehow that warmed my chest a bit and suddenly I felt a little bad for having thrown so many insults at him, which he had taken without getting angry. He had come close one time, when I'd said he mustn't have known what it felt like when somebody loved you.

Gilan looked over his shoulder to me and looked me up and down as I stood there in my night gown. I had never had one until then, but now that I had seen he was in the Ranger's attire, I wanted to crawl back into my bed out of shame.

"Did you even rest at all after your attempted escape?" He asked worriedly, eyeing my dark circles.

"Enough." I waved it off. There was no reason for me to entrust to this man all of the pain and suffering that he had brought me. Even less after last night.

The brown haired man cocked an eyebrow up, not believing it for one second. He left it alone however and gestured at the table. I only saw then that it was already laid in with plates, bread, fruits, meats and cheese. There was a vase with a flower in it in the middle that had not been there the night before. Somehow that warmed my chest a little.

"Have a seat."

While he poured the burned egg on our toasts I surveyed my mug a little closer that had a dark liquid in it. I pointed at it and asked him what was in it. The Ranger had replied that it was our fuel.

A symphony arose to my nose and every inhale was a new melody, the gorgeous smell of bread stroked my nose revealing the empty well my stomach had become over night. But sitting down seemed submissive, so I kept to my feet.

The young Ranger sighed, getting a bit tired of my antics. "Just sit down please, I won't keep you here forever, just until you've reached a decision on your own. Without the strings of your family. But if you keep annoying me like this I'll keep you here anyways."

I snorted. "You've really lived a privileged life have you not? You have never had to beg on the streets for scraps, never bloodied your knees praying to gods you don't if you believe in that someday things might get better. Not once have you had to sacrifice your happiness for your family, your lifetime has not been burdened the same way as mine."

Tears had sprung in my eyes without me noticing and I hadn't wanted them to, but the load weighing down my every step had finally become a bit lighter by throwing these accusations at him. Huffing, I fell unto the soft bench with my arms crossed. I glanced down, so maybe, just maybe he wouldn't see the tears.

There was a long pause and Gilan took a sip from his fuel before he answered, clearly having thought very hard about a fitting answer.

"And yet now, you have a shot at the life you prayed for and you refuse to take it. Why?" His gaze fluttered over my every feature as if he'd finally taken the time to take a look at how I actually looked like.