That unstable, beautiful valkyrie of mine drove through night, during which some point I fell asleep. I was woken up by a shake of my arm, finding us parked in front of reasonably nice motel. Early in the morning.
Without a word, she got out the car, expecting me to follow and just shake off the grog.
"Where are we?" I asked, catching up with her on the way to the check in office.
"Wyoming," she replied briskly as she opened the door.
"Why are we in Wyoming?"
"Where the wind called..."
I wasn't expecting her to be willing to get the keys herself, but less so to be shoved forward to do it instead. For whatever reason she was in a hasty, and foul mood. Even the clerk noticed the odd behavior, eyeing her waiting several feet behind me.
"One bed," I requested, looking over my shoulder at the scowling Seer.
Once I had the keys, I took the lead to find the right number among the doors. Hazel was lagging behind when I looked back. Shifty eyed looking at things around her as if they bothered. Just as I unlocked the door, she had caught up with me and rushed inside as if seeking safety.
Instantly I heard her whimper in the dark so I flipped the lights on to find her facing a wall.
She seemed to avoiding something, and whatever it was, turning her back on it was not helping. I took off my sweatshirt and watched her paced a couple times across the room before I gently caught her arm to stop her.
"What's wrong with you?" I asked.
I followed her gaze to one of the empty chairs, at which she stared with disturbance. I hated to see her like this. It reminded me far too much of the horrendous memories I stole from her.
"Hey, what is it?"
I seemed to get her attention some, as she shuffled in closer to me, averting her eyes from whatever she saw.
"I see things..." she murmured. There was something like shame there.
"See what?" I asked carefully, lending a calling hand to her back.
"People here that shouldn't be..."
I glanced around the room, trying to understand. "Ghosts?"
She shook her head.
"Mother escaped the castle and won't stop talking."
Wonderful. Now there was hallucinations. Illusions that could become all too real if it weren't for the warding branded into her back.
I gave her face a stroke of my knuckles.
"You're just tired, love. I'm sure it will pass."
That didn't appear to give her any confidence, but she let me usher her to sit on the bed and pull off her boots for her. She then took off her jacket, dropping to the floor carelessly. I sat down beside her as she unhooked her brazier and slipped the straps off so she could pull it off without removing her shirt. Neat trick. No less alluring, however.
She had the nicest assets, in my opinion. I didn't pay much mind in the past, as an angel. But I'd come to understand that human men seemed to find them almost obsessively attractive. There we're alot of things different about the way I looked at her now. I noticed it all. Before, the entire sexual aspect of our relationship was about her. Not that I didn't enjoy it, but it never came from a place of selfish, carnal needs. Now I wanted it all, for myself and her.
I'd kept it to myself all this time, since losing my grace, mainly because of her mental state. Just waiting for the right time. And this didn't appear to be it. But it was all a guessing game with her. I couldn't possibly keep track of her mood swings and understand when the right time would be.
"Make it go away, make it go away..." she uttered in harsh whispers to herself.
With a heavy hearted sigh, I tucked her into my side under my arm.
"I wish I could, love."
