The Rats Refrain - ONC 2023

Chapter 17 - Lyron

My eyes instantly find Gwen's and there is a fear in them I hoped never to see again. Only this time it is worse. This time she is afraid of me for reasons I don't fully understand.

Still, despite that fear, she straightens in her seat, lifting her chin defiantly as she watches me begin to make my way towards her.

"Can I help you?" A gruff voice interrupts as a mountain of a man steps in front of me, effectively blocking my way.

Looking him up and down in astonishment, my jaw drops. Has the world gone mad? Why is it that everyone seems to think they're able to defy me and my authority now?

"I am going to speak to Miss Weatherby." I reply stiffly.

He glanced over at Gwen. "Does she want to speak to you?"

His voice was loud enough that it carried across the room, and Gwen paused for a moment before nodding. She looked like she wished she could say no and that hurt me more that I cared to admit.

After another moment of staring me down, the man stepped aside and allowed me to continue to her table.

She was exactly as I remembered her. Aside from the slightly too big dress, which was clearly borrowed, nothing had visibly changed. "You left?" I asked softly.

She nodded, "I did."

"After you promised to stay?" I asked.

"I made that promise before I knew what you kept in that room." She snapped back, careful to keep her voice low as the people around us leaning in closer, clearly interested in our conversation.

"Couldn't you wait until I was back? Give me the chance to explain myself?" I ran a hand through my hair, dropping into the seat opposite her. "You don't even know the truth."

"So tell me it?"

"Don't you think I would if I could?" I bit out through gritted teeth as the curse fought to prevent the words from escaping me.

"Just tell me. Is it true it's your fault the rats and people in your home are that way?" She asked.

Sweat was beading on my brow and it was clear her observant gaze caught it from her slight frown which formed on her own.

"Is it my fault? Yes. Did I do it? No." I forced out, breathing heavily with the effort of getting as close to the truth as I could.

"That doesn't even make sense."

"It doesn't." I agreed, "But it's all I am able to give you right now."

"I don't understand." She huffed, "What could possibly be stopping you?"

In a kingdom where fae had been long forgotten and magic was a barely believed myth, it was near impossible to make her see.

"I can't tell you now, but I will as soon as the month is up." I pleaded.

My eyes begging her to understand. I was not a man accustomed to begging, and it was clear she could tell.

"Please." I asked. "Please come home and give me a chance."

"I can't." She whispered, and my shoulders sagged in defeat. "At least not right away."

"What do you mean?" I asked, a flicker of hope burning in my chest.

"It's my father. He has been missing most of my life, but they've found him and he's sick. I need to go and be with him."

"For how long?"

"I don't know. As long as it takes for him to recover. I can come back when he does?" She offered.

I sighed. "Do you have a way to get there safely?"

"I... not yet. I only just got the letter."

I looked out into the night where I knew the mare waited with one of the inn's grooms before returning my attention to her. "You can take my horse as long as you promise to come back before the end of the month and give me a chance."

"You trust me to keep this promise after I already broke one?" She asked, voice quivering with uncertainty.

I injected all the feeling I could into my words in an effort to make her understand. Soulmates were a concept lost in time to the kingdom, but I knew she was mine and I felt sure she felt the connection, too. "I trust you with something far more fragile than a promise, Gwen, and if you don't return it before the end of the month as promised, I can assure you it will be broken beyond repair."

Her eyes widened and a flush stole across her cheeks as the weight of my words sank in. "I will come back." She promised.

"Before the full moon? There's so much I cannot tell you and so much I hope I one day can so please, Gwen, come back to me."

"I will. I promise you I will. I'll just grab my things now. I cannot thank you enough." She whispered, eyes filling with tears as she grasped my hands where they rest on the table before us.

Not giving me a chance to say another word, she dashed off, disappearing from sight.

I have waited a thousand years to find my true love. What's one more day?