An Aimless War (Greatest Thief 2)

Chapter Ten

Tandrin spent a few weeks in West Draulin. It was nice having him around, partially because it meant he was pulled into meetings instead of Tannix. I also liked him. He had been kind to me the first time we met, and he still was. I didn't like his knights as much. The first time he saw me Eppson gave me a suspicious glance. The other knights never talked to me. They weren't the band of brothers Tannix's knights were.

Sometimes I went to family meals, just to keep up the appearance of being a good servant. I always stood near the wall next to whichever guard was on duty. It was actually fun to watch the family as they ate. They didn't act the way I had always imagined noble families acting, but at the same time I wasn't entirely surprised, given the way Tannix acted. Sometimes they would tease each other and laugh, sometimes they would have serious conversations, and sometimes they would simply talk about their days.

The day after Tandrin left, I decided to do something I'd been thinking about for weeks. That evening, after dinner, Tannix and I went into his chamber while Evrik lazily stood in the hallway. The novelty of being able to do their job had worn off by then, and the knights all joked about how boring it was to guard Tannix.

Tannix had some papers to work on, so he quickly settled down at his desk. I hovered nearby for a bit, watching him. The letters were beginning to look familiar, but I still had no idea how to read them. I got bored and wandered over to one of the windows, where I leaned against the still and stared out at the reddening sky.

"Tannix?"

"Hmm?" he replied distractedly.

"Do you remember in Zianna when I made you climb to the roof with me, and we watched the sunset?" I glanced over my shoulder.

Tannix looked up from his work, a little wary. "And you forced me to climb that wall even though you knew I didn't like it?"

"But it was worth it, wasn't it?" I asked, turning to stare out the window again. "Let's do it again."

"I'm busy."

"Exactly." I walked over to the desk. "Which is why you need to relax. So come with me."

"You do realize that climbing walls is the opposite of relaxing, right?"

"I'll help you," I promised. When he got up, I took his hand and tugged him across the room. He could have easily pulled back, if he really wanted to. "You used to be decent at it, anyway." I let go of him to push open the window and climb onto the sill.

"That was five years ago. I was fourteen. I'm quite a bit heavier than I was then."

I leaned out of the window to inspect the wall. "It's going to be fairly easy. We're so close to the roof, you might even be able to reach it from the window. Come on." I flashed him a quick grin, before grabbing the edge of a stone and swinging myself from his window.

Tannix muttered what might have been a prayer under his breath. Or maybe he was cursing me. Either way, he climbed onto the windowsill and tentatively leaned out.

It was the first time I had properly climbed in over a year, and I loved it. If it wasn't for Tannix, I might have crawled all over the side of the building, just for fun. Instead I stayed nearby, encouraging him as he made the short climb.

When we reached the roof I pulled myself up first. I moved out of the way and sat facing the sunset. After a moment Tannix joined me, breathing heavily.

"I hate climbing walls. I'm a soldier."

"It'll be worth it," I promised. Already the sky was glowing pink and orange. I took a moment to take in the rest of the view. We were nearly as high as it was possible to get, and the view was breathtaking. West Draulin stretched out to my left, the crowded buildings slowly became scattered and further spread apart until they became farmlands. The port looked at busy as it always was, with boats coming and going.