An Aimless War (Greatest Thief 2)

Chapter Eight

The next day started with a loud knock on the door, and Tannix's grumbling voice beside me.

"Goddess damn it, I didn't think they'd be this early. Finn, get up." He shook my shoulder. "Go to the couch."

Still half-asleep, I climbed out of bed and stumbled across the room. Tannix tossed a blanket at me as I sat down. I pulled it around my shoulders and watched Tannix answer the door. Two burly servants started to maneuver a bed frame through the doorway.

"Under the window should be fine," Tannix said. He went to step behind his changing screen, and emerged a moment later in a fresh tunic and new pants. He sat on his bed to pull on his boots.

The servants tucked the bedframe against the wall under one of the windows. Another servant dropped a mattress on the bed, and then another one started to neatly arrange sheets on it. The burly men left and returned a moment later with a small dresser, which they pushed against the wall beside the bed. Then they were all gone as abruptly as they had arrived.

"It's a formality," Tannix broke the silence as he finished the lacing on his left boot. "It isn't too odd for servants to sleep in their master's room, in case they're needed at night. Maybe a little old fashioned, but not strange enough that anyone will think anything of it. I thought if we had a bed brought in, it would help with the whole facade. Well, I mean... that said, you can use it for real, if you want to. I just thought you would rather stay with me. In my bed."

I looked over the little bed, and the dresser. "I'll ruffle up the sheets every morning to make it look convincing." The blanket slid off of my shoulders as I got up, and I walked over to the new furniture.

"Oh, also, there should be clothing in the dresser."

There was. Drawers of new clothes. Better quality clothing than I had ever had in my life. I pulled out a dark blue tunic and lay it on top of the dresser to really inspect it. It was soft, and so fine I almost didn't want to wear it in case I ruined it.

"They might be a bit big," Tannix admitted, leaning against the side of the dresser. "But I thought you'd grow into them once you start eating properly."

"I don't think I'm ever going to get any taller," I pointed out.

Tannix shrugged. "You're the same height as Tairia, so you aren't exactly unusually short. Besides, that isn't what I meant." He reached out to take my arm, and gently tugged me closer. He rested his hands on my waist as he looked me over. "I just meant that whatever they were feeding you in prison wasn't the best quality food, and even before that you were always hungry. I just think you'll fill out a bit more. You'll be healthier."

It sounded like he was trying to kindly imply that I looked like a skeleton. I didn't pull away but I crossed my arms and fixed him with what I hoped was a convincing look of displeasure. "Are you saying you don't like the way I look?"

He raised an eyebrow, apparently not fooled in the slightest. "I actually quite like the way you look. I like that when I hug you, you completely fit in my arms. I like watching your expression. The way your eyes will lock on something, usually something shiny," he chuckled. "But sometimes you do it when you're thinking. And I like the way you think. I already told you that, but that's really where it started with me. I started feeling this way because when you were twelve years old, you treated me like an equal and aside from my knights I'd never really experienced that. And last year, you kept doing it. You called me out if I said something rude, you made me think about my life, and this kingdom, in a new way. I have had the best education available in this kingdom, and still, you taught me so much. So your mind caught my attention, and drew me in, and was the reason I've thought about you almost every day since we met, even when we were apart."