Silver Skies

9. Night wanderings

A/N: I'M BACK! A new chapter for my Stormers! I  wanted to thank you all for the support on the last chapter. I was overwhelmed by how many of you told me to take my time and that you would be there. I am so very blessed to have readers like you.

B U R A K
شَوَّال
T R I D A R I

Burka found Falaq preparing for bed, her chamber doors wide open as servants bustled in and out.

His sister wore a loose silk tunic and wide pants, making her look even thinner than he'd thought she was. Though she was thin, she was not weak looking. If anything, he observed her to have the features of a warrior, with a shadow of the woman inside peeking out in the flow of her hair, her young golden eyes, the curve of her chin. She was so very young. Too young to face all of this.

Her faux handmaid observed everything with large eyes. Burak observed her in turn. He could see now what he had missed in the midst of everything. This was no handmaiden, and only a fool would take her to be so. He could see it in the contours of her face that she came from nobility. He could see the unblemished skin around her hands and the soft pink glow from within, speaking of a woman who had never had to work a day in her life. The way she carried herself, even as she simply sat at the edge of Falaq's chambers, was elegant, poised, in an oblivious sort of way. He fought a smile. The pair needed to improve their story. No one could mistake this woman to be a slave - she simply wouldn't know how to be one.

"Burak?" Falaq finally noticed him. She turned to her brother with a small smile. Ishtar's curious gaze landed on him as well, and a startling amount of warmth emanated from those brown eyes.

"Are you alright?" Burak inquired, motioning for the servants to leave them.

Falaq smiled an easy smile, and once again Burak was struck by her genuine nature. Falaq walked and talked as though she had no secrets, no shame, no fears. She saw the world as her play pen, learning and growing. Burak envied her for a moment. He wished he could feel the same. But he had seen too much, to become blind to the darkness of this world.

"Are you alright, my brother?"

"You faced death tonight" Burak said quietly, his heart seemed to frost inside his chest, "that fire could have caused you unimaginable pain and suffering"

Falaq said nothing. Her golden eyes watched him carefully. She could feel the depth of his words, even if she did not understand that the past threatened to choke him in that moment. A crease appeared between Falaq's brows, and to Burak's horror pink colored the tip of her nose and tears filled her eyes. Before he knew it they spilled over her cheeks. He quickly pulled her into his arms, and she began to cry.

"Shh" he patted her hair awkwardly, "all will be well, little one"

It took Falaq a few moments to be able to speak again. And when she did, tilting up her tear stricken face to her brother, it was to utter that which shocked him.

"Bahar?"

***

Burak barely made it to his chambers before his facade fell apart. He slammed the doors behind him, breath shaky and hands trembling with fury and despair. His golden eyes were no longer cool and unimpressed. They were wild and afraid. He wrapped his arms around himself, shivers shooting through his entire body. He could feel a sickness seep into his bones, the sickness of despair.