Notes in Ochre

Chapter 15 - Part 3

"How so?" I pressed, as she seemed to be opening up, rather than lashing out at the moment.

"It's pretty obvious, but I mean, who goes for the throat when your opponent is already down for the count? It was a low blow to bring up our parents. Even if he didn't know Father had died recently. For all intents and purposes, we still lost them both in coming here. Furthermore, he wasn't forthcoming about what that interrogation was really about and frankly, all I did was point it out. Instead of addressing it directly, he engaged in an argument with me, which is a common deflection technique. That makes me feel nervous, because I cannot determine what their real goals are." Where I had been surprised before, now I found myself utterly stunned. Briar had caught on to these nuances, as well, even if she had become caught up in her argument with him. She may not have the issue around the age difference as I had, but somewhere along the line, it seemed Briar had started taking notice of conversational tactics. Had our Aunt been schooling her in all this? I didn't remember her original character as being so insightful. Crass and an open book, but certainly, not deep. I found myself once again wondering how much had the original novel changed?

I mulled this over as the sea continued to surge and churn outside in time with the storm. The thunder seemed to finally be rolling off into the distance and it seemed that perhaps their dance would soon be over.

"Ochre?" Briar asked quietly. Before, the light show outside had eclipsed it, but now the only light in the room left to illuminate Briar's features was the small fire in the hearth that Prince Uther had lit earlier.

"Yes?" I replied. I wondered what was making my usually boisterous sister behave so timidly.

"How are we going to get out of here? How are we supposed to bring him back? It's just as Uther and Matthias said earlier, it's an impossible task. I've been worried the Archmage really did send us on a fools errand after all." I could tell this must have been gnawing at her mind. I patted her hand gently in reply. I couldn't exactly tell her it'd all be fine, or that it'd be easy. Even if I hadn't read the original novel and knew with utmost certainty that she could do it, I had confidence in my sister.

"If anyone is able to pull off such a grand scheme, it'll be you for certain, Briar, I'm sure of it." Briar squeezed my hand and I could see a small smile begin to wash away some of the tension in her brow. She leaned her head on my shoulder and we stayed like that, looking out my window at the mellowing storm for sometime more in contented silence.

Eventually Briar left and we bid each other good night. We were both exhausted from the trails of the day before and I hoped, as I continued to stare out my window watching the rain, that at least she was able to find sleep easily. I had stayed up as, though I was deathly tired, I could not seem to shake my anxiety entirely as my mind continued to spin. My thoughts turned over endlessly in my mind, giving me no respite nor resolution. Some grace arrived on my doorstep, giving me an intermission from my incessant worry, as I heard a soft knock at the door. I wondered if Briar was having trouble sleeping after all? I padded softly across the old thin carpet to the door to let her in.

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Author Notes:  Edited with... the edited content. LOL! Have a great day!  I'll be posting M/W/F this week to get us all caught up 😘