"I have missed you so much. They are afraid to say your name, and when I remind them they look on me with sad eyes. I could not live with myself if you had believed that I had forgotten you. I will never forget, you know, I would wait until doomsday. I know you are to return."
"And now you go away, and I will wait. So I have your room, and so you have my ribbon still.?
"I keep it with the words I keep for you."
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
It had all been a dream, then, hadn't it? The fairy had not been there, in his bed, giving him the comfort of her presence and her sing-song fragmented sentences. Not really. Years had passed and somewhere between the confusion of the Foreigner, the betrayal of Anne, the clamor of war, Everett had given up hope that he would ever go home. That he would ever see this beloved creature again. She had been taken and then he had to leave.
That was the end of the story.
Hope had not crept in when he returned to Rhydin. It was too dangerous a thing, and he had asked his own personal Pandora to keep it slammed shut in her box, safe from the wicked teeth of reality. He had not let it occur to him that he would ever see Victoria Chylde again. She was a thing that Everett Ogden could not lose twice.
Imagine his disbelief; his absolute elation when suddenly in the inn, there she was, as though she had never left. He'd lost full use of his right leg in battle, but for a minute, he would have been able to fly.
"I was in the sky. I'm sorry you could naut come."
She was like a sister, in a strange way. He loved her just desperately, but he would not think of her in a base way. He could not, not even if he tried. Everett held the dear little thing to his chest greedily, and cared little for the bustle around them in the bar. It went on for some time, but the actual content was just a lot of extra icing on top of a very simple cake.
"I love you and I missed you."
"I love you and I missed you...just terribly."
She helped him up the stairs and into his room. Everett sat on the edge of his bed as she marked the space with her eyes, her disruptive riot of color slicing through the grey patchwork pockets of his own little corner. He was cowed at the absolute grace of the universe, that at a time when he began to feel uncertain that he had made the wrong choice in leaving England willfully, that she should be returned to him. Her words echoed in his mind.
"What can I do for you, my Sweet Friend?"
"Keep me Ever and ever. We can live with your books."
In his copy of Shakespeare's sonnets, Everett kept the little ribbon which had once been all that was left of her, in his world. It had lived with his books all this time; did she know that? Maybe she did. At the very least, she would feel it. Being a Seer was rather like being a poet. She grasped at things where others could not. Viki did not need to see the cane to know that her friend was still in pieces.
?I think if I go home, I shall die. I worry if I stay in this place, I shall sour.?
?You will naut sour because... because... because you are naut milk.?
Though it had been a near-miss, he hadn't died in England, and he hadn't soured in Rhydin. Everett had only aged and like wine, it made him more complex. Not a bad thing for a relatively simple man.
That night, they were awake long after most others had found their dreams. They lay side by side, in his bed, her fevered glamour heating the space well beyond the need for blankets. Inky fingers lovingly traced the lines of her curls and the angles of her face as he told her everything he knew.
Everett told her about the aftermath of the truth of his brother's former wife, and how one heartbroken Ogden did his best to carry another for a while.
He told her about duty, and honor, and following his brothers to a far away war for a sovereign he'd never even seen.
The Poet spun stories about battles. The noise. The blood. The horror of watching a man suffer and the still beauty of those that could welcome the peace when it came. The nightmares in the faces of those that couldn't. His guilt. His fear. His desperation. All of these things pointed the way home, and home was here. This lawless place.
This place that had been colorless until just a few hours ago when his sweetest friend came home.
"Keep me Ever and ever."
He promised her that he would, no matter what it meant.
And Everett kept his promises.
"And now you go away, and I will wait. So I have your room, and so you have my ribbon still.?
"I keep it with the words I keep for you."
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
It had all been a dream, then, hadn't it? The fairy had not been there, in his bed, giving him the comfort of her presence and her sing-song fragmented sentences. Not really. Years had passed and somewhere between the confusion of the Foreigner, the betrayal of Anne, the clamor of war, Everett had given up hope that he would ever go home. That he would ever see this beloved creature again. She had been taken and then he had to leave.
That was the end of the story.
Hope had not crept in when he returned to Rhydin. It was too dangerous a thing, and he had asked his own personal Pandora to keep it slammed shut in her box, safe from the wicked teeth of reality. He had not let it occur to him that he would ever see Victoria Chylde again. She was a thing that Everett Ogden could not lose twice.
Imagine his disbelief; his absolute elation when suddenly in the inn, there she was, as though she had never left. He'd lost full use of his right leg in battle, but for a minute, he would have been able to fly.
"I was in the sky. I'm sorry you could naut come."
She was like a sister, in a strange way. He loved her just desperately, but he would not think of her in a base way. He could not, not even if he tried. Everett held the dear little thing to his chest greedily, and cared little for the bustle around them in the bar. It went on for some time, but the actual content was just a lot of extra icing on top of a very simple cake.
"I love you and I missed you."
"I love you and I missed you...just terribly."
She helped him up the stairs and into his room. Everett sat on the edge of his bed as she marked the space with her eyes, her disruptive riot of color slicing through the grey patchwork pockets of his own little corner. He was cowed at the absolute grace of the universe, that at a time when he began to feel uncertain that he had made the wrong choice in leaving England willfully, that she should be returned to him. Her words echoed in his mind.
"What can I do for you, my Sweet Friend?"
"Keep me Ever and ever. We can live with your books."
In his copy of Shakespeare's sonnets, Everett kept the little ribbon which had once been all that was left of her, in his world. It had lived with his books all this time; did she know that? Maybe she did. At the very least, she would feel it. Being a Seer was rather like being a poet. She grasped at things where others could not. Viki did not need to see the cane to know that her friend was still in pieces.
?I think if I go home, I shall die. I worry if I stay in this place, I shall sour.?
?You will naut sour because... because... because you are naut milk.?
Though it had been a near-miss, he hadn't died in England, and he hadn't soured in Rhydin. Everett had only aged and like wine, it made him more complex. Not a bad thing for a relatively simple man.
That night, they were awake long after most others had found their dreams. They lay side by side, in his bed, her fevered glamour heating the space well beyond the need for blankets. Inky fingers lovingly traced the lines of her curls and the angles of her face as he told her everything he knew.
Everett told her about the aftermath of the truth of his brother's former wife, and how one heartbroken Ogden did his best to carry another for a while.
He told her about duty, and honor, and following his brothers to a far away war for a sovereign he'd never even seen.
The Poet spun stories about battles. The noise. The blood. The horror of watching a man suffer and the still beauty of those that could welcome the peace when it came. The nightmares in the faces of those that couldn't. His guilt. His fear. His desperation. All of these things pointed the way home, and home was here. This lawless place.
This place that had been colorless until just a few hours ago when his sweetest friend came home.
"Keep me Ever and ever."
He promised her that he would, no matter what it meant.
And Everett kept his promises.