43 lines
No EOL
2.9 KiB
Markdown
43 lines
No EOL
2.9 KiB
Markdown
The fire had gone low again.
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Alisha sat on the stone sill of the narrow window, knees tucked to her chest, watching snowfall drift down through the slitted view. The room was quiet save for the occasional groan of the fortress timbers and the faint wind that swept across the rooftops of Winter’s Edge. Behind her, Telaryn still slept—or pretended to. Wrapped in a cloak, her silhouette was barely visible in the dim orange of the coals.
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Alisha spoke softly. Not to wake her. But perhaps hoping the words might still reach her.
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“I was born in the lower quarter of Caerthall,” she said, tracing her fingertip along the frosted edge of the glass. “You wouldn’t know it. It doesn’t exist anymore. Burned in the first wave. My mother kept a baker’s stall. My father... I never met. He was a sailor, I think. Or a liar. Maybe both.”
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A pause.
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“I had two younger brothers. Bren and Cail. They used to chase goats through the alleys and steal apples from the shrine offerings. Cail thought if you ate from the spirits, they had to bless you.” She smiled, bittersweet. “We were hungry a lot.”
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Snow gathered on the stone ledge outside. Alisha’s breath fogged against the pane.
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“I joined the house when I was fifteen. Palace stewards came looking for girls who could read, who could be taught to serve quiet and unseen. I had sharp eyes, and I never spoke out of turn. That mattered, I think.” A shadow passed her face. “I thought I’d escaped the hunger.”
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She glanced toward the bed, but Telaryn did not stir.
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“I used to watch you,” she said more quietly. “Before I ever met you properly. From doorways, behind servants’ screens. Always the still one. Even when others laughed or faltered. You didn’t pretend. I liked that.”
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Alisha rested her chin on her knees. Her voice, when it came again, was smaller.
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“The night they breached the outer walls, they told us to run. The queen’s attendants fled first—carriage in the back tunnel, sworn guards, all gone before the banners even fell.” She swallowed. “I didn’t. I found you in the library, remember? You were still reading.”
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A pause.
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“I stayed because I couldn’t imagine not staying. Not out of duty. Not for crown or kingdom. I stayed for you.”
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The words hung between them like frost on glass.
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“I loved you before I even knew what that meant,” she said, voice trembling now. “Before I knew what it might cost.”
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Still, Telaryn didn’t speak. But her hand shifted beneath the blanket, just slightly. Enough to make Alisha wonder if she was listening. Enough to hope.
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Alisha looked back to the snow, and whispered, “Now it burns. It scares me, how much I’d do for you.”
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Silence again.
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But something in the chamber had shifted.
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Outside, the snow started to fall. Slow. Relentless. Like time that refused to pause for anyone’s grief or love.
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And inside, Alisha remained at the window, her past now spilled like embers—quiet, fading, but still warm enough to wound. |