A Court Of Moondust And Shadows (Azrielxoc)

hard work

  So she did notice.

  'Hello. I have no clue what are you referring to.' He answered, but couldn't help the small smile on his lips.

  Rayna shook her head. She walked towards the door and opened it, taking a step outside.

  'There is no one is the garden at this hour. Shall we speak outside?' She asked, even though it didn't really sound like a question.

  The woman didn't wait for an answer as she made her way outside and into the lovely garden just behind the house. She could feel him walking behind her, hesitant, at a respectful distance.

  They stood in silence for a bit. Rayna watched him from the corner of her eye. He seemed troubled, not by being there but by something else. She guessed it had something to do with the potential war, that he blamed himself in some amount. He was the spymaster after all, she thought, he was the one who was supposed to know things. And yet he seemed lost and felt almost useless. She sighed, understanding.

  With sure steps she walked over to the tree and sat down, leaning back on it. Azriel tracked her movements with his eyes, but continuing to stand right where he was. Stubbornly, Rayna patted the ground next to her. He didn't move, his brown frown in confusion. She might have been the most confusing person he had ever met.

   'What? Scared your gonna get your leathers dirty?' She challenged when he still wouldn't move.

  Azriel sighed deeply, his curiosity to see wherever this was going winning as he slowly sat down.

  'Tell me your secret, I'll tell you my own.' She spoke after a moment of hesitation, looking in the distance.

    'What?' Azriel's head snapped in her direction, a shocked and even more confused look on his face.

   Rayna took a deep breath, the wind playing with her hair. She seemed to glow under the moonlight, Azriel noticed.

   'It's a human game Elain taught me.' She turned her head to look at him. 'You tell me a secret about you, a not very known thing and I shall tell you one as well.'

  He still didn't look convinced.

   'Amuse me.' She moved her gaze to the garden. 'I'll go first.'

  She stopped for a moment, thinking. Azriel noticed how her face tensed as she searched for what to reveal to him.

    'I hate the sea, large bodies of water in general.' She spoke after a few seconds, her voice soft.

 Azriel paused for a moment, surprise on his face.

    'But your husband is a sailor.' He said.

 A smile appeared on her face.

    'I'm aware.'

He moved so his body was towards her.

    'Why marry someone who spends more time on water than on land then?' He asked, trying to make it make sense.

  Rayna titled her head to the said, a playful smile on her face.

   'Now, that's another secret. This is not how this game is played.' She denied him his answer.

 Azriel turned his head away, watching the garden like she had been. They laid there in silence for a few minutes. Rayna started losing hope of getting an answer. Maybe it had been a bad idea. She had just been trying to make him loosen up, take his mind off things. She had been foolish again, to think someone like him would...