The Lady Knight

Chapter XXVIII: Chambers and Cares

The Lady Knight

"Jules, it has been a month since you brought me here," Richard whined, crossing his arms, "when will I be able to go home?"

"For the Lord's sake, please ask him to keep quiet, Jules!" Jackie sighed loudly from the kitchen, more amused than angry, "he talks of nothing but Bordeux all day, and I have tired of him."

I continued to stare at my hands, too deep in my thoughts to notice them.

"Jules?" I felt someone shake my shoulders, "Jules."

I jerked, startled. I glanced up to find Richard sitting beside me, his forehead creased in concern. "I apologise, Richard, what were you saying?"

He stared at me, disturbed. "Something is bothering you," he observed, "you have been very distracted since you stepped into this house four hours ago. What is the matter?"

I gazed back at him, not failing to notice how very much his huge, grey eyes were like Nick's in his concern for me. How very much he looked like him, and yet in so many ways, he did not. Almost at once, Elle's soft, yet significant words from a month ago returned to the forefront of my mind.

I am afraid you need to have your heart checked, dear friend, for I have a feeling it no longer belongs to you.

One month. It had been one, whole month and yet, I had not been able to forget them, digest them, or accept them.

Try as hard as I might, I simply could not shove this to the back of my mind and forget about it. It was always there in my thoughts, hovering in the background, stubbornly insisting for an answer.

Truth be told, I already had my hands full at the moment - working on the murder case, making sure Nick was safe, secretly visiting Limoges once every week to ensure Richard was safe, all the while on alert for all threats from Diego from the Order of the Serpents - and I absolutely did not need this to make my life more complicated than it already was.

In addition to Elle's words, I simply could not rid my mind of him, and the overwhelming emotions that had washed over me by his mere touch that day, when he had been almost about to kiss me.

It was beyond maddening. It had been one month. Thirty-one days. Seven hundred and forty-four hours. Yet, the memory of that day was still so fresh. Those emotions...they were still so raw. As if it was simply a minute ago that it happened.

I felt stupid for being incapable of sorting through my feelings. Most importantly, I felt horrible for being so distracted at a time when I was supposed to be on my highest alert.

"Nothing," I sighed heavily, shooting him a faint smile, "I simply grew lost in my thoughts for a while, that is all. Nothing to worry about."

Richard shrugged, satisfied with my explanation, leaning back against his seat. Jackie walked in from the kitchen at that moment, holding aloft a tray of what looked like coffee for Richard, and tea for me.

"Clearly, she is lying," she chuckled, as she handed Richard his coffee, "come now, Jules. What happened?"

They both looked at me with curiosity, as I fiddled with my thumbs in discomfort. This was not something that I could share with them so openly, especially when even I was not certain what I was thinking myself.

"I....fought with Nick."

"That is nothing new," Richard chuckled in amusement, relief plain on his face, "truly, I thought it was something serious."

I did not smile, and neither did Jackie.

"About what?" she asked me gently.

I fidgeted for a moment more. I was telling the truth when I told them that I had fought with Nick before I had come to Limoges.