A Court Of Moonlight And Shadows (An Azriel/ACOTAR Fanfiction)

Chapter 12

There were small slits in the walls at a distance of every few feet once they got deep enough into the tunnel.

'I'd say it's the afternoon." Arcane ran her finger across one of them. The small ray of sunlight was enough for them to put out their torch and actually navigate their way.

There were a lot of twists in the tunnel and a few paths diverted from what the spymaster knew to be the right way.

Azriel nodded, "The sun seems to be above us. I'm hungry too. Maybe it's about lunch time."

Arcane frowned, "Is that how you measure time? Lunch time, dinner time?"

Azriel shrugged, "Some of us eat." Arcane smacked his arm and he smiled at the small contact.

"Let's eat, then." Arcane tugged open the bundle of pears. "Well, you can eat." She held out a pear.

Azriel shook his head, "I'll eat half of it and you can eat the other half."

"I can't eat. I'm not hungry." Arcane gave him the pear.

He thought for a second, "How about you pretend to eat?"

"Pretend?" She raised her eyebrows.

"Yes. I'm not going to starve myself to guilt you into eating anything. I know that it must be really  difficult for you to stomach that food." He bit into and pear and nudged her shoulder. "So, you can pretend to eat in the meantime. Imagine a pear in your hands and take a bite. If you trick your brain into eating habits, it will actually make you hungry eventually. "

Arcane watched him as they walked slower, almost as if on a carefree stroll and not in enemy territory. She sucked in a breath, "That'll look silly. Your pretend food, that is."

"Who cares?" He waved his arm around. "Does anybody? Anyone? What's that I hear? No?" He stopped when she stomped on his foot.

"Stop that. I'll do it." She rolled her eyes and, clearing her throat, held out her hands. Her fingers curled as if holding a round object. "So this is my pear? Made of air?"

He shook his head, "It's real. Tell yourself that it is real. Then take a bite out of it."

"Okay." She narrowed her eyes and looked for a long moment at her palms. "A pear."

Azriel chewed on his food slowly and carefully watched her furrowed brows and pursed lips. She puffed out a breath every few seconds and forced herself to part her lips. The more she visualized the food, the harder it became for her to take a bite out of the air. She closed her eyes and bought her cupped hands neat her mouth. They had stopped walking and he stood in front of her. Discarding the remaining part of his pear, he leaned forward so they were at eye-level. Her red mouth opened and closed around the empty palms and she chewed with a pained expression on her face and, even though there was nothing in her mouth, she clasped her fingers at her lips like she might vomit any second.

She opened her eyes and her shoulders slumped, "That was very difficult. "

Azriel smiled softly, "You did well. I'm proud of you."

She looked down for a minute, breathing deeply, her fingers digging into the silver fabric of her gown. Her fingers shook a little but it subsided in a minute. Then, she pulled herself up and nodded, "Let's keep walking."

She didn't look at him as she marched forward and he decided that he was not going to bother her with questions after her first step towards recovery.

He walked behind her and enjoyed her skipping across the floor and poking at different air slits on the walls.

"They made these holes because the tunnel is so long, right?" She asked. "So deep inside, if someone was traveling, they could get light and air?"