Witches (The Order)Revised

Chapter 52

Merianna

It took Thyrion a while to get back to our meeting spot. We waited patiently in the dark as the temperature plummeted. I regretted not taking a cloak along with me, but I needed to leave it at home so I wouldn't be easily noticed while sneaking around. It was always harder to move around with lots of fabric flapping around. The point was moot now that Thyrion was the one doing the sneaking, and I missed my cloak dearly. Oh how I wished for a fur blanket and warm fire right then. I was leaning against the trunk of a nearby tree with my knees pulled up to trap in my body heat when Thyrion finally managed to return.

"Missed me?" Came his deep voice from next to my ear. With the jolt of surprise my first reaction was to attack and my elbow moved on reflex. I was even more surprised when I noticed that my elbow had landed squarely on Thyrion's nose.

"Why didn't you block it?" I asked as I quickly retracted my elbow again, revealing that Thyrion's nose was now red with a trail of blood slowly leaking out.

"You moved too fast for me to block." He muttered saltily as he gingerly cupped his nose. "You really don't think first before you attack do you?" He asked with tears brimming his eyes.

"Nope, it's a side effect from being raised in the Order. Especially around Noch." I muttered. I would lie if I said that I didn't feel at least a little bit guilty for almost breaking his nose. I didn't like or trust him but I also didn't hate him yet either. I was just glad he didn't try to tickle me, that would undoubtedly have resulted in something being broken, Noch knew well...

"Remind me not to sneak up on you again then. I'd like to keep my nose on my face where it belongs."

I couldn't help myself, he looked like a dejected child in an adult's body. I had never seen anyone look so pitiful before, especially with such a sad excuse of a pout. I barked a laugh and leaned back against the tree again. "I guess you do act like a normal human at times!" I laughed.

Thyrion didn't laugh though, he looked downright confused. "What do you mean by, 'act like a normal human'? I am a normal human."

My laughter died, but a rueful smile still lingered on my lips. "You are human, but you've been acting since the moment we met on the battlefield. You aren't your genuine self." My humor turned into a glare. "I hate people that try to hide behind flattery and charm."

Thyrion sat stunned in front of me like he didn't have a clue as to how to reply to something like that. Finally he managed to choke out. "How could you tell?"

"Nothing can escape My Lady's keen eyes!" Hezerial announced proudly from behind me. When I turned to look at him, he was wearing a smug smile.

Heaving a sigh I got up to my feet and dusted off my trousers. "It's time to head back anyway, and I've always been good at picking out who was acting to get into my, or mostly my sister's good graces. I guess that's one of the reasons I have a hard time trusting people." I shrugged and started wandering back deeper into the woods where I could already see the faint glow of our Gateway opening.

"I suppose that makes perfect sense then." I heard Thyrion say as he also got up and started following behind me.

"I shall see you at the Order then My Lady." Hezerial said with a bow, then he disappeared back into the Ether.

"Why is your guardian like that though?" Thyrion asked ruefully as he caught up.

"How do you mean?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"The whole 'My Lady' thing, if Elondara is any example to go by, then I would say that your angelic there might be a few branches short of a tree. He acts more like a servant than a guardian." He said, completely perplexed.