Chapter 12: Unspoken Words

A somewhat sweet reunion will only lead to conflict.

Chapter 12: Unspoken Words

 

       ‘I’m going to make her see me more,’ his brother’s words and voice continued to play over and over in his mind. They plagued his thoughts…as if his brother was taunting him each second.

With Fey already gone, it made the pain sink in even more and his brother only twisted the wound harder with what he had done. Saei gritted his teeth as he took another step further out into the snow fields, wanting to get away from everything without his adoptive father knowing. He was sure they were looking for him, worried…

The boy stumbled in the snow and fell into a small pile with a wince of pain. Despite Fey doing what she could for his knees, it still had a tenderness that made it hard to walk a long distance. The snow pelted his face, whipping his black hair about as he pulled himself up with an audible gasp of pain.

‘I am my father’s true son…’ His brother taunted again, making Saei push through the snow harder with eyes narrowed out of anger. Fey didn’t seem to mind his company…unless…he misread her.

He was…a bit bold…when he went to visit her room before she left to see her one last time…but he couldn’t contain himself. Doubt arose though when he watched her leave from the front entrance…for she didn’t look back at him.

Did she…dislike what he did…?

Did she…possibly…like his brother more?

Was he too forward with the kiss…? Another blast of cold air collided into his chest, knocking him back a bit but he held his ground.

Was it because…of how he was…? He was different than his brother…and not knowing what he was…

All he knew was he wasn’t from here…

He didn’t belong here…

With doubt and uncertainty rising in his heart, he bit his lower lip to fall onto his knees with a soft cry of pain and gripped the snow with his claws. On the back of his hand…were scales…rugged…and disgusting. With a pained look, Saei raised his hand to the same cheek that had touched Fey’s…feeling even more scales.

What ran through her mind when he did that? Did she just want to run at the feeling of these…horrible things on him…?

A tear slid down his face as he placed his claws at the top of his scales and clenched his eyes shut when he tried to claw at them to remove them but he yelped in pain when all it did was pull at his skin.

The scales were permeant…

There was no way to remove them…

Growling lowly, he reached up to grip his right horn to yell as loud as he could to pull on it but it didn’t budge.

“Why?! WHY?!” He yelled into the frigid snow storm that only answered back with a howl of wind. He shivered slightly and tried to push on his good knee to help him stand but a low rumble shook the ground to make him fall back to how he was. Worried that it was some monster that was roaming about, Saei looked all around him to try and spot them.

Now that he thought about it, it wasn’t wise to come out here by himself…

Another low rumble made itself known…coming from before him. Saei quickly held his ground, standing and growling lowly to try and scare off what could possibly be the culprit.

A large paw…about the size of his bedroom…landed about a foot away from him. Snow was kicked up to be picked up by the wind, sending it deeper into the storm but Saei didn’t move as his eyes remained on the paw. It had…black scales…and sharp claws that could tear him to shreds. His heart beat faster in fear when another paw landed close to the other one.

The storm made it hard to see…

A few times when the wind would become less violent, he saw powerful limbs connected to the claws…rising upward toward the heavens…

He had to crane his neck back to try and see more of…what this could be. A scaled chest was seen…broad and breathing heavily…with some of the scales looking like armor for soldiers…

Saei wanted to take a step back but his legs were frozen in fear. Out from the storm, a long neck emerged to come closer to him…carrying a sharp head…that held horns that curved back along its cheeks and eyes that bore into him. His lips parted in a silent gasp when the creature’s pupils turned into slits, blinking slowly when it lowered its head more to breathe out hot air at him. A bit of chill was taken from him as he continued to stare up at this enormous beast.

His heart raced faster when it growled lowly at him, lips rising in a sneer to reveal sharp fangs as tall as his father.

Was this…thing…going to kill him…?

Not wanting to be a coward and trained hard to hide fear, Saei gritted his own fangs before parting his lips to try and scare off the thing by letting out the best roar that he could. It sounded more like yelling…but the beast huffed at his attempt.

With jaws parting, the beast reared its head back slowly due to its size and let out a roar that was loud enough to nearly make Saei fall back onto his rear and it made his ears ring. He winced slightly when the beast brought its head back down to him, blinking slowly as if expecting something else from the boy.

He wouldn’t be swayed. Even with the pain in his leg…the doubt in his heart…and feeling as if at this moment…he was all alone, Saei gritted his teeth again and took a brave step forward toward the towering monster to part his lips, roaring the best that he could but this time…it sounded less like yelling. He panted at the end, giving it everything he had and stumbled a bit on his weak knee to fall before the beast.

Showing a weakness only meant he was done for and Saei lowered his head, ready for what was to come but he heard a soft growl like purr coming from above. Curious, he lifted his eyes high again to see that the beast…was turning away. It let out another noise, even softer this time as its full body came into view with a large tail trailing behind but Saei saw something on the side of its hide. It was a large wound…an open one at that…blood dripped out to taint the snow. It was deep…showing bone and all…and Saei was in shock…to see it still moving about. It must have felt terrible pain…but still held itself proudly without fear.

Slowly, the storm started to return and hid the beast from his view…the last thing vanishing was its tail that slipped away into the blanket of white. Letting out a breath of relief, Saei brought his eyes down to the blood with a frown.

Such a wound…

It could have killed him…but didn’t…

Confused…but grateful, he tried to stand but yelled out in pain when the cold snow made his injured knee much worse.

“Come on!” He yelled into the storm, bringing his good leg up and with a soft growl, forced his bad one to stand as well. It hurt badly…but if that large creature could stand tall which their injury…then he could do the same.

 

Was she dreaming? Or was someone playing a really cruel joke on her? If it was some dream, she didn’t want to wake up for any reason. Her heart beat so loudly she could hear it in her ears and feel it in her fingertips.

So many questions started to appear from where she tucked them away in her mind.

Mostly why’s…

Why did he hide?

Why didn’t he come to them?

Why did he work under the king?

Why…why…

The pain in her heart doubled as an invisible hand squeezed her throat to force out more tears and a soft whimper of a sob.

“S…Saei…” She barely whispered, clutching his cape to her body in one hand while her other started to inch out toward his face. Saei didn’t move a muscle, his eyes growing softer when the tips of her fingers brushed against his scaled chin. The touch was just slight, like a feather but even something so small meant a lot between the two.

So many years of missed time…

The last visual she had of him…was the storm…or so she thought.

This entire time…Imperial Rial was Saei all along.

From when they were in Hulei and he saved her from those thugs…

Providing a way for her to escape…

But when he approached her in the forest, he fought Basil…fiercely.

“I…I have…”

“Questions…I know,” he finished for her and gently moved away from her touch. “This is not the best time…”

“Then when is?” She asked in a pleading voice. “If not now, you’ll vanish again without saying a word and I’ll think you’re dead.” Fey choked on her words and brought her hands up to wipe away her tears. “You’ll leave…and I won’t know where you are…o-or who you are.”

The dragon’s eyes softened even more as he deeply exhaled and brought up the sleeve of his undershirt to press it to the wound on her cheek. She winced softly but looked up at him.

“This is…real, right? You’re not going to deny who you are anymore?” Saei didn’t speak at first, smoothing away the blood.

“No…now, where were you staying?”

“A-at the inn, east of the bars.”

“And your companions?” At the mentioning of them, her eyes widened with a gasp.

“Basil…he’s going to be in such a shock,” she told him but at hearing his brother’s name, he growled lowly and turned away slightly.

“I wish not to speak of him,” he whispered and his response only made her frown. Though she wanted to inquire about his signs of hostility, she stayed quiet and figured it had to do with his injury still.

Even with Saei standing right before her, he felt miles away. The dragon took the first two steps and glanced back at her to see her following slowly.

“I will escort you to the inn…when night falls…we will talk.”

“Do you promise?” She whispered, feeling a tad insecure. He could leave her to never be seen again. With a soft sigh, Saei finished climbing the rest of the stairs.

“I promise.” Once he reached the top, he waited patiently for Fey who was still in pain and it was clear on her features.

Each step she took made her jaw tighten. Her feline tail now looked crooked and it was probably too sore to try and let it sway mindlessly.

The mark on her cheek is what made his eyes narrow. Such a pristine face now bruised…

Fey reached the final step, holding his cape like a second skin for she didn’t want any bystanders seeing her in such a state.

Thankfully, Saei had no blood on him either or else who knows what would happen. People would think he was a murderer…even though he had plucked her life out of harm’s way yet again.

“Do you have a change of clothing?” His voice brought her attention up to him and all she could manage was a slight shake of her head. He sighed silently and looked out toward the crowds to see they were going about their business.

“That changes matters…does the inn you currently reside at have bathes?”

“I-in the rooms, no…and it’s pretty small…so…most likely not,” she replied and did her best to keep up with his long strides when he started to walk away, following right behind like a lost pup.

Saei took a moment to gather up the information and planned.

“We will venture to where your inn is and I will leave a letter for your companions that you are safely being cared for. My companion will not return until nightfall which gives you time to bathe in our room and eat.”

A soft blush came over her face when a certain worry arose. “…I…don’t have clothes though.”

“While you freshen up with a bath, I will retrieve proper clothing for you…not something a male would wear that is three times your size,” he noted, glancing back at her for a moment to see a small look of guilt. Sid was nice enough to allow her to use his clothing…and it was all she had. It didn’t help that this was the first city they had stopped at…so clothes counted as resupplying…right?

The dragon turned back to watch where he walked, taking the path away from the opera house and toward the inns but when he accidentally stepped on a stone that jutted out, he staggered and within the blink of an eye righted himself once more.

Fey frowned when she witnessed it and could tell he was limping but trying to hide it.

“Saei…?” She whispered and he slowed down to walk beside her. She basically saw it as his way of responding. “Does your knee still hurt? I can heal it for you,” she offered but her old friend shook his head.

“I am not selfish…”

“It’s not being selfish if I want to,” she frowned. “You don’t need to feel so distant…I’m here for you whenever you need to tell me something. Is it about the king? Did your companion do something? I want you to feel that you can express anything to me.”

“Be careful with your words,” he informed her with his voice mixing with a growl.

‘Maybe he’s just not talkative right now. I’m sure he has a lot on his mind…I might just have to wait,’ Fey told herself with a sigh and kept her eyes lowered to watch the ground pass beneath their feet along with the occasional flicker of his tail. The young Saei, though was just as serious as the adult now, was much more open. She could have a nice conversation with him if she just started to talk with him…but…currently, he was shooting her down at any chance she tried to rekindle what they had. It was beginning to feel like…this wasn’t even Saei. Her ears folded back sadly when she raised her eyes a bit to see if he had changed.

Sadly, he hadn’t. He veered off their path to head down more stairs to reach where the first inn resided.

Without even saying a word, he motioned with his head forward to silently tell her to find hers.

Fey kept her eyes off him, feeling like some mouse under the watch of a bird, and took a few steps forward to see if she recognized anything. She wondered if Basil and Sid had returned with the winnings…and if they were at the inn, it was going to be a complete shock if she had Saei in tow.

Hopefully, if that was to happen, the brothers could talk it out…if Saei was in the mood to talk.

“Which one was it…?” She asked mostly to herself, stepping past another inn where a few customers said their goodbyes before going on their way. Saei kept close, especially after the trouble Fey had gotten into. If anyone here found out, the greed would show and she would be back in the same boat…but until they managed to further distance themselves, she would continue to be a target. The feline walked past another inn that wasn’t hers and with her more focused on searching, Saei stole a quick glance at her that made his heart swell.

This entire time…she was in the care of his brother…and apparently another companion who he did not know besides seeing him with Yhisin and back at their campsite.

Still…what were those two thinking to allow Fey to be captured…? The worst of the worst could had happened to her and he quieted a growl out of anger at the thought of possibly losing sight of her if those thugs decided to take her somewhere else to do…who knows what and it disgusted him.

He would deal with them later…but now, he needed Fey to try and lower the stress she had been through.

“Ah hah!” She proclaimed with a small smile growing when she finally came upon the inn that she remembered leaving earlier. Stepping inside, the smell of food being served for lunch was heavy in the air but Fey kept her stomach quiet when she passed by the delicious sight. It seemed after everything, her appetite had returned vigorously. The dragon followed behind when she nervously peeked into a room…he guessed belonged to her comrades.

“…they’re not back yet…?” She frowned but went into the next room which was hers and nervously looked back to Saei since he said he was going to leave behind a letter for Basil.

“This will only be but a moment…sit for now,” he told her, gesturing to her bed as he removed his hilt to place it against the wall and sat down at the small desk that was in her room to start writing on the provided parchment and quill.

At least he spoke a bit…but Fey obeyed and got off her feet by sitting down with a soft exhale at the feeling of cushioned sheets. Now that they weren’t walking, she quickly examined herself with a frown. She brought her legs up onto the bed to touch her ankles. There were small bruises where the shackles held her in their tight grip. Her tiny claws rubbed them slightly, feeling a bit of tenderness but her ears swiveled when she heard the scratching of the quill against parchment. Looking up curiously, Fey couldn’t help but watch him for a moment. His back wasn’t completely to her…but he was more turned to the side so that his face was seen and she never took the time to…really notice.

‘He grew up…a lot…’ She told herself. As a boy, he only had small horns that were just jutting out like some ram but now…they curved backwards along his hair, ending in sharp points that could easily impale someone if he plowed into them. His cheek had spots of scales here and there but most of them ran along the sides of his face to disappear into his hair. She guessed it’d be a human equivalent to a beard or sideburns as they called them. The silver eyes that once held murder back at the opera house had now softened a bit as he wrote away on the parchment…and they looked almost to be glowing.

‘…they remind me of the moon at night…’ The silver or white glow to chase away the darkness at night was the same glow he had in his eyes. With her looking over his features, she didn’t even notice when he had finished and stood from the chair to turn the parchment over to hide his message. He thought she would be ready to depart to his inn but when he checked up on her, her white eyes told him that she was not there…at least in reality with him. What she was thinking about was beyond him but her eyes were focused on him to the point where he felt the skin under his scales heat up slightly.

“Let us depart,” he stated, grabbing his sword which broke her out of whatever trance he had put her under and Fey blinked her eyes with a nervous look to stand on her sore ankles.

“S-sorry,” she kept her gaze lowered and exited the room, managing to slip past him when he held the door open for her to venture back down the hall of the inn. The food, once again, hit her and she did her best not to look at the meals before walking out completely but Saei felt something was amiss.

“Are you hungry?” He calmly asked, stepping back outside with his eyes looking down at her. Not wanting to get caught up again, Fey pretended to be interested on the magical lights up above which were barely noticeable with the sun out.

“I can wait until later,” she lied and her stomach knew she had fibbed, letting out a small growl in protest. Her claws went to try and silence it sheepishly but she nearly jumped when she felt a large hand on her shoulder. It forced her to raise her gaze up at the dragon.

“If you are hungry…then you are hungry. I will also retrieve some food for you,” he told her, allowing his hand to slip off before moving past her to start heading off toward the inn where he resided. This…didn’t seem like the Saei from a few moments ago who felt unreachable…but now it felt like he came out from the shadows to give her a bit of comfort.

“I can get my own food,” she hurried to catch up with him but he shook his head while taking more stairs.

“You have been through an ordeal today. All you will be doing today is keeping your mind calm and getting some rest,” he told her but didn’t pay attention to a step and came down hard on his knee. He gritted his fangs but stiffened when a small arm came around his waist bravely to give him…some sort of stability…no matter how small it was. His gaze was drawn down toward her only to find her looking right back at him with a soft hopeful smile.

“…let me help…please?” She asked and took the next step up, tightening her hold on him so that he could put as little weight on his leg as possible. Adverting his eyes from her, Saei wouldn’t fight her and managed to finish climbing the stairs with her help. It only became awkward…with her touch now on him as she continued to help him. He led the way with her right by his side to give all the support she could. With her by his hip, he felt the silence wanting to pop with her questions…but she seemed to refrain, the only sounds around them being cheerful people.

Thankfully, the pain was subsiding and he tried to use his leg more but Fey felt the sudden shift and continued to lend her weight.

‘Stubborn…’ he thought and looked up to finally see his inn. It was much bigger than the one she had stayed at and surely cost more.

“Wow,” she whispered with a smile but Saei kept walking with her trying to do her best to keep up to offer her support. It didn’t last much longer for he stepped into the expansive inn which dislodged her arm from him. The residents inside seemed more…fancy? She felt out of place suddenly with Sid’s ragged clothing on her that almost felt like it was about to fall off anytime now. The only thing giving her closure was Saei’s cape which she wrapped around her more with ears tucked back.

“Do not mind them,” he whispered to her to offer some comfort before placing his hand on her lower back to guide her forward past the tables of residents eating. She stiffened only slightly with her heart pumping blood faster through her system to be led down the wide hall toward many rooms. It didn’t take long for Saei to finally stop and open the door to his room. It was much bigger than hers, able to house possibly three people comfortably. Fey stepped in, trying not to think of the claws on her back and immediately went over to the window to look out at the city.

She could see the arena from where they were…and prayed that Basil and Sid were well and didn’t beat each other up too bad. She also hoped they weren’t too worried for her.

“The washroom is there,” Saei pointed to a door near where she stood. “There are fur towels and lotions. Take your time. I will return soon with clothing and food. Lock this door behind me and I will knock five times when I return,” he explained and went to turn around.

“Saei, wait,” Fey frowned and took steps closer to him as the large feral turned back to face her in question. “I…I j-just…I want to thank you…for…everything you’ve done…not just as Saei…but as Rial. I probably wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for your help.” Her eyes lowered to stare at the floor, feeling tears wanting to form. “…I thought for so long…that you were lost or…possibly dead…and that I’d never get to see you again like this.” After letting out a shaky sigh, she managed to bring her gaze back up to him to see him still standing there…and listening. “I know you don’t want to talk…not now…and maybe…never…I don’t know what happened but I meant what I said. I’m still Fey…the old Fey…and…you’re still Saei. Nothing has changed. It doesn’t matter what the king did…or what I’ve been through. We’re together again…and…that’s all the matters to me,” she smiled sadly, a tear finally slipping out from the side to race down her bruised cheek. “I just hope that you will talk to me.”

Saei was like a statue, unwavering and only showed signs of life by breathing slowly and Fey thought maybe…she would never reach him. Perhaps, whatever Saei was going through had pulled him so far away he was unreachable. Her smiled slowly lowered into a frown and she was about to head to the washroom to get all of this off her mind but a single question stopped her.

“…do you have your uiorl with you?” His question forced her to look back at him curiously to see that his face had softened slightly.

“No, sadly,” she answered with a frown and remembered how her string instrument got caught in the battle they had at Hulei. “It was back in the city…when you all found Basil and me. It was caught in the rubble. I’ve been wanting to play since but…haven’t really had the time with the traveling.” She was confused as to why he asked her but saw him thinking for a moment.

“If…I manage to find a uiorl in the markets here…will you play for me?”

Basil might as well had been there and ignited her face on fire and she never felt her heart beat so hard but she ignored her growing shyness to see this as a sign that Saei was slowly returning to her.

“Of course, any song you want,” she smiled excitedly. “But in return, I want to be able to ask my questions.” She had him cornered now and saw it in his eyes. Saei always loved her music and she knew how to twist it to her advantage but she held back a giggle when he huffed and turned toward the door.

“Go and rest. I will return soon, Fey,” he told her and slipped out of the door to disappear from view but she placed a clawed hand to her chest to feel a subtle warmth returning at hearing her name being said.

“One step at a time,” she told herself and headed to the washroom. “…he’s just now back…wonder what would had happened if I didn’t knock the mask off…”

It was her doing that she had revealed his identity…so what if she didn’t lose her temper and just let him walk off after saving her? Would Saei continue to pop in and out of their life only to give them some sort of help before becoming nonexistent once more? She sighed heavily with a frown, not wanting to think on it more but felt relaxed at seeing the washroom.

It was more civilized than what she was used to back in Hulei. It had a nice size tub with pipes running from it to provide water when needed and towels hung nearby neatly.

“I could get use to this…” She said. If she wasn’t worried about going back home, Treaish would be a nice place to live. The sights alone were to die for but toss in the upbeat atmosphere and it was heaven. For once though, she could relax a bit without worrying about being chased, someone trying to steal her away, or Sid’s advances.

“The knucklehead…I really do hope they aren’t worrying…” she whispered and turned on the water to let it pour into the tub, mixing hot with cold. “…I’m all right…” She told them, knowing fully well her words wouldn’t reach them. “I just hope when we all come together, it will be calm.”

 

 

“How could we lose her?!”

“I made sure to keep an eye on her every so often and last time I looked she was there!”

“Damnit all!”

It wasn’t the type of congratulatory win they were expecting. Already tired from going up against each other and having it end as a draw due to both knocking the other out, it made both ferals’ hearts drop when Fey was no longer where they left her. Basil was the first one out of the arena, not caring about retrieving his ticket for winning the prize money. Sid was torn both ways, bouncing on his feet toward the announcer and to where Basil had left to but he groaned to follow the feline, turning down his winnings for now.

“Where could she be?!” Basil skidded to a halt outside the arena, looking both ways while slightly panting since he was still worn out from their fight while Sid stopped beside him.

“…calm down a bit and think,” he told him but Basil glared at him, fangs bared.

“I will not calm down! Fey is lost and out there somewhere! Who knows what happened!”

“Shut up and listen!” Sid roughly gripped his shoulder to stop him from bolting again. “Fey was feeling tired, right? Instead of watching us go at it, she probably just went back to rest up.”

“She wouldn’t leave without letting me now,” he growled back and tore his shoulder from his grip but Sid narrowed his eyes to smack Basil hard across the face, making the feline’s eyes widen.

“I may be a flirt but I can’t believe I understand Fey more than you. We have been asking a lot of her recently with the traveling and back with the wyrsuil. She is tired and sick and yet she sucked it up to keep moving. Her home may not be out there…hell, she could be the last one of her kind and we haven’t considered that. I’m at fault too but there’s a high chance she just went back to sleep. She’s terribly stressed from everything so calm down before you work her up even more,” he spat out with venom.

Basil touched his cheek with narrowed eyes but sighed. “…fine…we’ll go and check the inn.”

“If she is there, let her rest. We have the money…just have to go and claim it. We can resupply while she gathers her strength. It’s going to be harsh getting to the pass and even more so past that point.”

“…fine fine…” Basil whispered and started to walk as fast as he could without full blown sprinting back to their inn. His heart was in the pit of his stomach…for now he had lost Fey a second time…all because of a stupid fight. He could had backed down to Sid…but his pride told him that he was better than the hare and wanted to prove it. His stupidity did this…and he knew Sid felt the same way.

He never took the time to possibly think about how Fey inwardly felt about everything…and it must be a horrible experience for her. With Imperials on the hunt for her…promising her to a king who would only use her…and it wasn’t just them. He was sure if anyone found out she had the power to do miraculous things…they’d be wanting her to themselves. Sure, he helped get her mind off it last night by playing games with her…but…it was still only a temporary fix to a bigger problem.

He needed to let her know that he was there for her…to support her…and would never let her go again as long as he lived.

His feet picked up the pace to finally see their inn come into view.

‘Please be there,’ he begged mentally and rushed into the inn, catching the eyes of people who were enjoying their meals but he maneuvered around them with Sid following.

“She has to be here,” he reassured and held his breath when Basil opened the door to Fey’s room…to find it completely empty. His face paled more and it was hard for him to catch his breath but Sid scooted in to look around to see if she had maybe come back for a moment before leaving. His orange eyes spotted something out of place though.

“…Basil, look,” he picked up a piece of parchment paper but the feline snatched it from his clutches to read it himself.

‘Your carelessness nearly cost the mender her life. As of now, she will be in my care where I will return her to her home without either of you putting her in danger. If you desire to challenge this claim, meet me out front of Treaish once the moon rises and I will see to it you never harm her again.’ -Imperial Rial