Ashan 9th, 709
The look that Grace gave to her best friend was not one of pity or even sympathy. It was instead an empathetic look of rightly placed worry and fear. Trials had come and gone since Ivan approached the half-breed. The topic had not been brought up again and Night had not seen the man since he tried to corner her. And yet there was a sinking suspicion that things were about to get a whole lot worse. She hadn't breathed a word to anyone besides her father, and the most she'd said to him was that they had a problem. She didn't dare to elaborate, she was too scared to. Her father had simply brushed it off as the Master having done something new, something cruel and unusual and Night was acting cautiously. Rightly so, but it wasn't like the Master's punishments getting harsher changed much of the current dynamic of the house.
Grace, on the other hand, had tuned in to the fact that something was off near immediately the next time the pair crossed paths. Grace had been trying and trying desperately to get Night to spill what was bothering her. But the half avriel had remained eerily silent on almost all matters. Especially those related to Ivan and the Master. In a way, it irritated Grace. Night had always treated the other girl as her closest confidant until this moment. What had changed? As the season turned warm and bright there was only one choice. Try to distract the other girl and then get her to accidentally spill it. And what better way than an adventure? Night had been a bit apprehensive when Grace approached her with little warning and tried to get her to run off in some random direction. The sun had returned but the world was still cold and would be for a good number of trials to come. And yet, when had the bitter temperature ever bothered either of them? Finally, the half breed had agreed and when the sun was just starting to rise, casting beautiful crimson and gold light across the cold and dead earth that would soon blossom with new life, they left.
In Grace's mind calling it an adventure and getting her best friend as far away from the Master's house as possible was the best course of action. After all, the wild spirited half-breed adored adventure. She lived it the same way she breathed air, adventure and heroism were practically in Night's blood. Literally, if you set both of Night's parents down and analyzed them. Though it was sometimes hard to break old habits, her father had never acted like the typical Avriel, and from what both Night and Grace knew the half-breed's mother had been quite the fire cracker.
The two had left with little in hand besides some bread and a couple of blankets for when they did get hungry or cold. If it wasn't for the fact they could only snag some meager scraps they might have even been able to trick themselves into calling it a picnic. Together the two sat looking up into the sky, the sun setting and stars appearing after their long walk out.
"So what's been with you lately?" Grace asked out of the blue. Her tone was apprehensive, obviously she realized that something was direly wrong and she didn't want to upset her friend. Night remained completely silent, turning her body away slightly.
"It's nothing, I'll be fine in a couple of days," the half-breed whimpered quietly. Of course, that was a lie. Night was terrified and she was certain the situation would be worse in a couple of days.
"You know, you keep saying that and I fail to see it happen," Grace said. Her tone became a touch harsher causing the half breed to flinch. Grace's expression turned soft once more and she sighed. "Listen Night, I'm your best friend. Your only friend, excuse me for saying it but we both know it's the truth, we tell each other everything! What's so important or dangerous and private about this that you don't want to tell me of all people? If you give me a good reason then I'll drop the topic, but right now I just feel a little hurt. Do you not trust me anymore?" Grace's expression fell into something that was best described as heartbroken.
"No! No! Goodness no, I'd never stop trusting you, Grace. Besides my dad, you're the only one left that I can trust. Let alone want to trust. It's just... I'm scared Grace, I'm really, really scared." The half-breed said. She sat up, her entire body shivering slightly. The shiver wasn't from the temperature either.
"What? What could possibly scare you? It's not like the other kids have messed with you as much ever since your father told them off for that one time with the river," Grace said with a small smirk on her lips. Her tone turned a little teasing as she also sat up and leaned towards the half-breed.
"Let's not talk about the river," the girl said with a slight glare. The memory of the event alone made her feel cold and heavy. "It's just that. One time last Cylus when my classes ran late, you weren't there to meet me. Ivan... cornered me alone."
Grace instantly went from worried to what was best described as a frothing beast. "I swear to every immortal under the damn sun if that bastard did anything to you I'm going to cut off hi-!" Grace started screaming after launching herself to her feet. Night wrapped her arms around the legs of the older girl making a shushing noise. With enough effort, she was able to drag a very upset Grace back down and into a sitting position.
"Easy Grace. He didn't do anything... perverse. He pinned me to a wall, but that was pretty much it. He didn't even hit me. Besides that, it was just talking. What he said is what's had me so off for the last couples days. Grace, he told me that his father wants him to marry me!" The half breed said. Her voice cracked as tears bordered in her eyes. The thought alone had her distraught.
Grace gasped her eyes widening at the idea. "You're kidding. What did you tell him? What are you going to do?" Grace's voice was little more than a whisper like whimper. Night sighed turning away from her companion.
"I don't know. I was able to slip away. I think I might have bitten him hard enough to break a finger, he'll leave me alone for a while if I'm lucky. But I'm still worried. If it's his father's request it's going to come back up again. And if his father demands it, bad things are going to happen," the black haired girl whimpered. She moved to lie on her side and pulled her knees up to her chest. If his father did request it, there was little they could do to avoid it. Her own father still held custody over her, but the Master held custody over her father. "I"m scared Grace. Really, really scared."
Grace went completely silent for a moment, her eyes flicking every which way as she drowned in her own thoughts. "I've got it!" She suddenly cried startling the half breed who quickly sat up. Her feathers were flared outwards, her wings at an odd angle. Her poor muscle control made it hard for her to pull her wings back in without a little force applied by the hands of herself and Grace. "Sorry Night. But I've got a brilliant idea! If the Master actually wants this to happen he'll have to bring it up to your father. Your father will talk to you about it immediately. When that happens we run away! You and me, we'll finally leave this place. Head for Etzos, you'll get a job as a guard and I'll become a bard. We'll take all the money I've been saving and stay in an inn, then when we finally have enough saved up we'll buy a house together and we'll finally be free!" The other girl said in a breathy burst of excitement. Her eyes were absolutely wild and the smile on her face only proceeded to get wider and wider.
"You've thought about this a lot haven't you?" Night asked with a small laugh. Grace nodded enthusiastically. "You're actually serious aren't you? What if we get caught? Won't we have to leave my dad behind?"
"We won't get caught, I'll make sure of it. We would have to leave your dad behind, but I'm sure he'd rather you be free than married to that," Grace said with a puff of her chest. "Besides, he was only supposed to say here until you were educated. If you left then his contract would essentially be null and void.
"You know what... Fine then, it's a promise! The moment the Master tries to make this an actual thing we run away together," Night said with a nod. She moved to lie on her back, Grace mirroring her movements, as her eyes traced the starts.
"Oh look! A constellation!" Night gasped.
"It kind of looks like an Avriel..."
