Head in the Clouds

Chapter 11: Who the Hell are You?

Her heels clicked against the stone path as she rushed toward the man waiting for his transportation. With her heart thrown to the ground and stomped on, she was in no mood to be played with. She walked over to him and grabbed him by the arm.

"Who the hell are you?" She practically spat.

The thief turned to her. He tried to hide his fear of the angry woman in front of him and managed to do a decent job at it. He looked down at her, lip still busted and eye still a bit swollen from their last encounter at the cave.

"Hello," he greeted her calmly, "I'm Ko. My father, Kai, is a nobleman to the king of Callaco, and I've been hoping to run into you again for a while."

She studied his still bruised face. He looked at her with a certain seriousness that didn't quite match the almost comical tone he took on. He was still pretty to her, though she was pretty numb to anything good at that point. She managed to do a good job at swallowing her tears for the time being, but she wasn't sure how long she could hold it in.

"Why are you here?" She practically hissed.

She seemed distressed, even Ko could notice this. He knew it probably wasn't the best time to talk, partially out of fear he'd get his ass kicked again.

"Perhaps this isn't the best time to talk," he suggested looking over her shoulder.

She turned around to find Carter standing at the door. He raised his glass to her before continuing to sip the white wine. She turned back to Ko, her eyes were glassy but she fought through it.

"Let's discuss this at a later date," suggested Ko, "Do you know that cute little restaurant a few streets down?"

"Lola's," stated Deidre, "Tomorrow at noon."

She didn't wait for a response. Instead, she held her tongue and walked away from Ko. As she left the palace, she noticed her vision affected by the pooling of tears, but she kept walking. She walked for a half-hour before she arrived back in her cabin.

Ripping her dress off and changing into a pair of old shorts and a tanktop, Deidre checked the clock: midnight. It was too late to take her frustrations out on a punching bag in the gym, so she settled for the next best thing.

She walked out to the barn and found Nadja laying motionless with her eyes closed. She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding when she noticed her stomach rising and falling.

Deidre couldn't look at Nadja in her state. It would have been too much. She closed the barn doors and headed back to the cabin.

It wasn't until she threw herself into her bed that she began to weep. All she could see was that beautiful girl beside Clyde. She was perfect. Her body was small and petite, her skin was smooth and devoid of any battle scars. She was everything Deidre couldn't be, and it killed her.

That was the first time in a long time that the warrior cried. She barely knew how to contain herself as her tears cascaded down her face and the memories of the night flooded her mind. She couldn't help but think about how Clyde tried to run away with her. Did this mean he didn't want to get married? Was he just scared? Did he really love her?

"I should have just gone," she mumbled, "I should have just gone. I should have just gone."

She cried until her eyelids were too heavy to carry and her throat became sore and fell asleep on a wet pillow. She woke up a few hours later with the sunrise and felt even worse than when she fell asleep. As she dragged herself out of bed, her brain pounded against her skull in protest, and she couldn't help but sneeze a bit, but that's just what happens when you stand out in the rain.