Lovers Not Without Sin | Dutch van der Linde x OC

Chapter 54

Ada doesn't know much about this part of West Elizabeth, but her first impression is that it is hot.

She fans herself with her hand, checking once again that she hasn't accidentally left her coat on and groans when her fingertips meet her sticky skin. At least she's almost there, in good time too; with her not needing much sleep she only had to wait for Altair's energy levels to regenerate when they did make any stops.

But it is so refreshing. The open plains and even more open skies above are freeing in more ways than she'd have imagined, soothing her mind to the point where she's not even concerned about Dutch or how he's feeling now. Whether or not she should be is a different matter, and she partially feels guilty for not doing, but after escaping her newfound cage she never wants to go back.

Referring to camp as a cage may be a bit of an exaggeration, but no matter how nice it's decorated, a cage is a cage. Being made to stay in one spot, even if it's your favourite spot, becomes uncomfortable after a while. She needs to move and stretch and experience, and see the world for all it has to offer. Even if that is in the form of stifling heat and thick air.

It's not clear who's more relieved, Ada or Altair, when she hitches him outside the Federal Bureau in a shady spot. After giving him some treats, he guzzles the water in the trough in front of him and Ada makes her way up the steps.

"Can I help you, miss?" the man at reception asks, and she clears her throat, forgetting she hasn't spoken more than a few uttered words to her horse since the start of her journey.

"I'm here to see Roy... Mr Vickers?"

"You have an appointment?"

"No," Ada shakes her head, only now realising how tired she is and how much her brain has slowed, "he said to come by at some point."

"I can't let you in without -"

"It's okay," Roy himself interrupts, leaning on the support of the archway to the right, somehow looking taller than he used to. "She can come through."

The receptionist nods at Ada, before looking back down at the paperwork on their desk. She's not sure how to greet Roy but follows him after he gestures his head, leading her to an office and opening the door for her. Her steps are relaxed but timid, taking in the view of the room.

"Wow," she murmurs, looking at how expensive everything looks. Roy moves past her to sit at his desk by the window while she runs her fingertips over a particularly nice vase. She remembers where she is, looking at him as he watches her silently and some form of clarity returns to her about how odd this situation is. "You really have moved up in the world," she says before taking a seat opposite him. "Why am I here?"

"You look well," he smiles softly.

"Thanks," she shrugs, absentmindedly running a hand over her hair which had been thrown into a plait before she left and not touched since. "Why am I here?"

He smirks, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "You always were one to get straight to the point."

"Roy," she warns.

"I'm surprised you even came; truth be told I didn't expect to see you ever again. What made you come?"

"Don't rightly know," she sits back. "Should've known you were only looking to waste my time."

Roy chuckles, mirroring her posture. "Now you sound more like the Ada I knew."

"I'm serious. If you don't say something of interest in the next thirty seconds I'm going to leave." The hot air would be enough to make her agitated, never mind the lengthy journey she's just taken and the added fatigue settling into her bones. It would have been wise to take a recess elsewhere before coming to visit him, but there's no going back now.