"Take care of your patient, Doc, I'll take care of Nea," the suggestive tone in his voice had Ezra frowning at him. "We'll see you at dinner."
Ezra's eyes narrowed as Ryder pushed me towards the door, ignoring my half-assed attempt to dig my feet in and stop. When we reached it, we paused at the sound of Ezra's voice.
"Remember," he started. We looked back to see him focusing on Roy, trying to calm the boy down while Kai argued with his sister off to the side regarding him. He wasn't the only one that noticed how, at times, overly protective Ellie was of her brother. "Some rules have harsher punishment than others when broken." His eyes shifted to meet Ryders to drive his message home. When they flicked to me I could see a hint of envy flash through them as they took in Ryder's hand that rested on me.
"Will do, Doc," Ryder replied with a two-fingered salute before continuing on his way.
I looked back as the door shut behind us, making contact with Ezra's eyes one last time before the doors sealed them away. They held a longing I hadn't witnessed in them before.
"What, planning on giving me another blue box?" I jokingly asked Ryder as he led the way, turning down now familiar halls.
It was the one thing I could consistently rely on him to do.
"Blue box?" He asked, looking back at me in confusion.
"Like blue balls, but, you know," I tried to explain, gesturing awkwardly with my hand. It only served to make his confusion deepen. "You know what? Never mind," I continued, but I hadn't needed to. Ryder had already turned around and continued dragging me behind him.
Sometimes I wished I was bigger just so I could make it harder for them to take me places without my cooperation. The compact size wasn't helping me much.
"Can you slow down?" I asked after jogging up slightly to keep up with his pace. It earned me a side glance from one of the older women that were passing by in the overly large hall. It was the main one that the smaller hallways connected to. She was quick to divert her eyes and quicken her pace when she noticed me looking at her.
Even after being subjected to them on a daily whenever I left our wing, I still wasn't used to the various eyes that watched my every move in public. It was strange finding myself missing any part of the years where I was a nobody.
Ryder reduced his pace, allowing me to keep up without struggling. It allowed me the opportunity to step closer to him, seeking comfort from the hushed whispers that accompanied some of the watchful eyes. Particularly the ones that were coming from the two women that were huddled together and giggling while pointing towards us as we passed.
I was tried to relax my muscles once they were out of my line of sight, but that was before my eyes noticed something new. They widened when I spotted a familiar face walking down the hall in our direction. It didn't take long for the giggles coming from behind to abruptly silence at the sharp click of heels.
"What does that old fool think he's doing trying to embezzle from orphans? I swear, it's the buffoons like him that give us such a bad rap."
Cassius's mother shook her head as she spoke to her lady in waiting, not taking her eyes off the stone tablet she held in her hands. The withered older woman who seemed to glide over the floor, her feet hidden in the robes that dropped onto the floor and trailed behind her, was one of the few women Cassius's mother trusted to be by her side. Despite her appearance, she effortlessly kept pace with the women who more than doubled her in age while appearing decades younger. The Sovereign Queen had offered her services to me to help me transition into my new role, but I had politely declined. It felt wrong to have someone so much older weighing on me hand and foot, even if the woman was capable of lifting a sofa when an earring drops and rolls beneath it without breaking a sweat.
