OVERLOOKED ㅤkotlc

013. Jolie

Rimeshire is a cold place.

Before we moved in, it was already pretty cold, compared to places like Havenfield. It was never uncomfortably cold for me, but sometimes Dad and Rex say it is.

I didn't really believe them, but when you're awake at 1 a.m., and it's late autumn, it gets pretty fricking cold.

But even when I tell my brain to shut up, I can't sleep. All I can see is Rosaleen, and crimson, and Sophie, and shadowflux, and Jolie.

I wasn't here when she was still... alive. But Mom and Dad used to take me to her Wanderling all the time.

I didn't understand back then, but they'd tell me about her, and I'd ask when I could meet her; and then they'd tell me she was "gone."

And then, one day, I understood.

I inhale a breath and push away the heavy tangle of blankets, sitting at the edge of my bed. I need to take a walk.

I leave my bedroom, wandering down the winding staircase. The triplets are already asleep, and it's strangely peaceful.

"Can't sleep?"

Oh. Dad. "Yeah," I say, as I grab a cloak and fasten it around my shoulders. "I'm gonna go take a walk outside to clear my head."

Dad puts down a mug of Mom's cinnacreme. Normally he's not up after midnight, or he's in his room. "Mind if I come with you? Maybe it'll warm me up. It's a cold night."

"It is," I agree, and he looks surprised that I feel the cold today. "You can come if you want, but it's probably even colder outside."

Dad shrugs. "Probably." He's already wearing a thick cloak, so I open the front door, glancing behind me to see if he's coming.

He is.

We step outside, and it's snowing, tiny snowflakes twirling around us to their own Dance of the Sugarplum. Our boots leave footprints as we start for who-knows-where.

Dad reaches over to gently flip my hood up, then does the same to his own. There's another silence before he says, "What's keeping you awake?"

I bite my lip. "The mission, I guess," I say, careful to be vague. "How about you? You're normally asleep by one."

Dad chuckles. "The mission, I guess."

For a moment, I think he's mocking me—but then I realize that he's telling the truth; he's worried. "Oh. I'll be fine, Dad. Don't worry."

He raises an eyebrow. "And yet, it's keeping you up to the point where we're taking a walk at one a.m., in the snow."

I can't help but laugh, but even I don't know what I'm laughing about. "You know that girl—"

"Rosaleen?" Dad grins, a tease in the tilt of his lips. "The one you talked about yesterday, right? And yesterday-yesterday?"

My cheeks flush. It is cold, after all. "Yeah. The one who's going on the mission with me."

"Ah. About that, Dex, what if there's only—"

I shoot him a look, and he returns it with a cheeky smile. "Dad. No."

He laughs, and it echoes in the meadow. I think something I've noticed about him, since before I could walk, is the genuine look in his eye whenever he's happy.

His grin fades into a faint smile as we continue walking. "Are you worried about her getting hurt?" he says finally, his voice sympathetic.

I hesitate. "Maybe." I shake my head. "I mean—yeah. I think. Because—if something goes wrong, and she gets hurt—then I don't know, I don't know what I'd do. It'll be my fault she's even on the mission. And I know she can handle herself, she's smart and all, but... I just don't want her to get hurt."

There's a really long silence. But I let it be. Sometimes, when I say something like this to Dad, he goes all quiet, then finally responds with something surprisingly helpful.

The snowflakes around us has gone all slow and drifty. It's stopped snowing, but the left-behind's are still lost and looking for their place to land.

"She can handle herself," Dad says. "I used to the same thing as you, actually. When I found out your mom was in the Black Swan, I was literally paranoid that she wouldn't come back every time she went out."

I laugh a little. I don't remember that, but I do remember when they had long talks late into the night.

"It drove her nuts," he says, with a laugh. "I'd make her promise to come back every single time, and I kept seeing... I kept thinking of Jolie."

"Mom's not Jolie," I automatically say, then wince at how carelessly I said that. "I mean—their circumstances are different. Mom knows what she's doing. Jolie was—there was Brant, who was—misguided. And... And she was alone."

Dad hums. "Rosaleen's circumstance is also different. She knows what she's doing, her choices aren't going to be affected by an unstable lover, and she's not alone."

I'm quiet for a moment. He's right.

The snowflakes are gone now, and the ground's covered in a fresh sheet of snow, a contrast to the midnight sky. It's been a while since I was outside on a peaceful night.

"Thanks," I mumble, after a good five minutes. I blow out a long breath, and it's so cold that I can see it dance in the night air.

"Of course." He stops, the snow crunching underneath his feet, and turns to look at me. "You should sleep now; it's almost 2 a.m., you know."

"I know."

I don't make a move to go back indoors, and Dad sighs and leads us for one more lap around the meadow. "Last one," he says. "You're doing fancy weapon stuff with Tinker tomorrow, and I don't think she'd appreciate if you were sleep-deprived."

I laugh. "Fancy weapon stuff?" I tease.

He grins. "Fancy weapon stuff," he says, with a self-satisfied nod.

"I'm sure you know this already," I say after a moment, my voice coming out small, "but you really helped me. And... I'll miss you when I'm on the mission."

Dad glances at me, his eyes softening. "I'll miss you, too," he says, reaching over to squeeze my hand. "We still have two weeks; let me know if you need anything, okay?"

My lips tilt into a content smile. "Okay."

And as we walk around the snowy field, I can't help but feel like a little boy again. The only difference is that in two weeks, I'll be sent to what might be my death.

AUTHOR'S NOTE !

tysm DexIsTheBestBoi for coming back to read this, and for the sweet comments and pm! <33