Flowers in the Snow (A CountryHumans Fanfic)

Chapter 2

Don't question why my writing style suddenly changed in the last few paragraphs of this chapter...

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A tear fell.

"I'm sorry..."

Another accompanied it.

"Don't be, my dear friend. I do not blame you for any of this."

Anger. Fear. Sadness.

Regret.

"But you should! You should be mad at me! You should tell me you never want to see me again! I'm at fault for all of this and then failed to prevent this! I did nothing to prevent this war!"

A pause.

"I-.... I couldn't do anything..."

A sob of guilt

A warm and tender hug.

"Please, do not blame yourself for this. It is not, and never will be, your fault. Moreover, I am glad you are not involved. I do not want to see you hurt."

A teary sniffle, muffled by a furry pelt.

"Just please, be careful, ok? I do not want to see you hurt either."

A warm, genuine smile.

"Of course, I'm not a fool! And once this is all over, we can go out for drinks to celebrate! Just like old times!"

Another, equally genuine smile joined the first.

"Just like old times..."

~~~

Reich, as per usual, was the last to awake in the morning, sleeping in to the point it was nearly noon.

He groggily opened his eyes, hissing at the burning rays of the sun, rolling over and stubbornly yacking the feathered blanket over his head. He groaned, trying to coax himself back to sleep, but to no avail, as the sun shone brightly through his windows and a particularly loud bird tweeted obnoxiously.

"Fuck you too, bird," he groaned, too lazy to remove himself from his warm bed despite mentally berating himself for it.

He eventually became fed up with himself and tossed the blanket off with a huff, rolling into a sitting position.

He yawned, stretching his arms above his head, hearing a few cracks from his back. Yawning again, he stood, glad that he had carpet so that his feet would not be subjugated to the cold stone floor.

Straightening out the heavy blankets so they at least resembled some form of neatness, he walked over to the dark wooden dresser nestled against a wall, various books and trinkets lying haphazardly on top. A mirror with a frame of silver dragons hung proudly above it.

He opened one of the drawers absentmindedly, knowing the motions by heart as he surfed through the various clothes kept messily inside. Wanting to be comfortable yet formal, since he knew he was going to get dragged into another meeting, he pulled out a simple white shirt and leather trousers, throwing them onto his bed before closing the drawer. Opening another drawer, he pulled out a sleeveless cloak with gold lining, also tossing it onto his bed.

Reich closed the drawer and quickly discarded his sleepwear and put on the clothes. Once he finished straightening everything out, he grabbed a hair tye from his dresser and pulled his hair into a loose bun, letting a few bangs fall into his face.