The names fell with finality and were committed to paper. Paper could be burnt or even ripped up, but there was something certain in the way that he wrote, as though the names she had carelessly discarded were being carved into stone. His quill was a chisel, and the paper their graves. Fists clenched she held them tight behind her back. Elyna waited for the scratch of the feather to cease, gaze fixed on the scrawl before she reached out, wordless and accepted the quill in her left hand. Her signature was added in silence at the bottom of the page and the pen set aside.
She had done as she was ordered by the Knight. The Skyrider would rise her life and that of her unborn child to see her debts to the Kingdom clear. She tried to search the tall-man’s expression but he seemed intent on turning away. She wondered if the weight of war fell as heavily on his shoulders as she currently felt it. A lead weight around her ankles or hanging from her neck. Yet they would both carry out their duty. They would fulfil their responsibilities to the Crown and the Iron Hand. Elyna found that she didn’t dislike the man before her, he was crude but he was a tool of the system and it was a system she knew.
The Skyrider turned as she was dismissed and made her way across the floorboard, only to be halted by the final order. She looked back over her shoulder, scanned the mess of debris before rolling a shoulder in a shrug, “do it yourself.”
Without a second glance she left. There were plans to make and bags to pack. Someone would have to look after the animals, someone would have to look after the house.
She had done as she was ordered by the Knight. The Skyrider would rise her life and that of her unborn child to see her debts to the Kingdom clear. She tried to search the tall-man’s expression but he seemed intent on turning away. She wondered if the weight of war fell as heavily on his shoulders as she currently felt it. A lead weight around her ankles or hanging from her neck. Yet they would both carry out their duty. They would fulfil their responsibilities to the Crown and the Iron Hand. Elyna found that she didn’t dislike the man before her, he was crude but he was a tool of the system and it was a system she knew.
The Skyrider turned as she was dismissed and made her way across the floorboard, only to be halted by the final order. She looked back over her shoulder, scanned the mess of debris before rolling a shoulder in a shrug, “do it yourself.”
Without a second glance she left. There were plans to make and bags to pack. Someone would have to look after the animals, someone would have to look after the house.