His were crimson eyes, so like my own. . . Searching. Burning through the crowd. He studied me to see if I would acknowledge him. I refused to show my surprise, did not look at him. Certainly I did not speak. I would be damned if I allowed him that much.
But I did hear his voice. Low, with the hint of an accent that would never blend into the Rhydin patois. ?Pardon me, Allie,? he said, addressing his companion. ?Family matters I do believe have arisen.? He nodded courteously to the woman, who chuckled and waved him off.
He walked through the crowded inn, angling subtly towards me. I steeled myself against the expected confrontation and endeavored to ignore him. Ordered something to drink and chatted with the bartender. Just another face in the crowd. . . perhaps we had never known each other.
Discerning my attitude, he stopped in his tracks and made a show of turning his back to me before he returned to the fire and sat upon the bench there with his companion. ?Sorry, Allie. I suppose some things are never forgotten.?
The woman, Allie, opened her eyes and regarded him. ?But you don't truly ever forget, right Dae...?? she mused.
?True,? he answered, with a voice growing cold.
His companion lifted her chin and studied him, adding, ?Some don?t forgive, either.?
Family matters. Forgive and forget. Gods. Spare me the melodrama, I thought. You left of your own accord. I collected a mug of bloodspiced wine and moved to a table along the wall, aware of the darkening mood in the place and its affect on me. I did not want to listen to him. I did not want to look at him. He was a traitor. Outcast!
He was a symbol of something that should remain in the past - a remembered lesson, a warning not to trust. Oh, I am not outcast, I left, and I have my own family, one that actually cares for me, he had said, claiming Bloodshire over Vladslace. No, I would never forgive, and never forget. I was born to Vladslace. I looked over the inn?s patrons, studying auras, seeking the potential that I always looked for in those days and so rarely found.
And my glance betrayed me, fell unwilling upon his back.
He felt my gaze - of course, he would - and immediately turned and stared me down, spoke in a deliberate aside to his companion: ?I would suppose so, Allie.?
The woman glanced hesitantly from him, to me, back to him. Enough games, I thought. I pursed my lips and rested the full weight of my attention upon in him silent challenge.
But I did hear his voice. Low, with the hint of an accent that would never blend into the Rhydin patois. ?Pardon me, Allie,? he said, addressing his companion. ?Family matters I do believe have arisen.? He nodded courteously to the woman, who chuckled and waved him off.
He walked through the crowded inn, angling subtly towards me. I steeled myself against the expected confrontation and endeavored to ignore him. Ordered something to drink and chatted with the bartender. Just another face in the crowd. . . perhaps we had never known each other.
Discerning my attitude, he stopped in his tracks and made a show of turning his back to me before he returned to the fire and sat upon the bench there with his companion. ?Sorry, Allie. I suppose some things are never forgotten.?
The woman, Allie, opened her eyes and regarded him. ?But you don't truly ever forget, right Dae...?? she mused.
?True,? he answered, with a voice growing cold.
His companion lifted her chin and studied him, adding, ?Some don?t forgive, either.?
Family matters. Forgive and forget. Gods. Spare me the melodrama, I thought. You left of your own accord. I collected a mug of bloodspiced wine and moved to a table along the wall, aware of the darkening mood in the place and its affect on me. I did not want to listen to him. I did not want to look at him. He was a traitor. Outcast!
He was a symbol of something that should remain in the past - a remembered lesson, a warning not to trust. Oh, I am not outcast, I left, and I have my own family, one that actually cares for me, he had said, claiming Bloodshire over Vladslace. No, I would never forgive, and never forget. I was born to Vladslace. I looked over the inn?s patrons, studying auras, seeking the potential that I always looked for in those days and so rarely found.
And my glance betrayed me, fell unwilling upon his back.
He felt my gaze - of course, he would - and immediately turned and stared me down, spoke in a deliberate aside to his companion: ?I would suppose so, Allie.?
The woman glanced hesitantly from him, to me, back to him. Enough games, I thought. I pursed my lips and rested the full weight of my attention upon in him silent challenge.