The Way We Fall

Chapter 5 (Roche)

The door to her cell opened with a squeal at midnight. Roche rubbed her eyes, rising from the bed of hay she'd been sleeping on.

"Thank you, Sir Iber. That will be all." Verita said warmly to the guard holding a ring of keys. He bowed to Verita before walking down the corridor. Verita waited for him to leave before wiping the grandmotherly expression off her face.

"I don't want to hear it." Verita said tightly before Roche could get an excuse out. "Follow me now. And don't say a word."

Roche obliged, dread curdling her gut. Now she'd done it. She'd messed with the royal family and now she would lose her job. She'd go back home and endanger her mother with her very presence.

Verita marched Roche back to the library, not slowing until they'd reached her quarter. She planted her wrinkled hand on Roche's back, shoving her through the door. She calmly stepped through the threshold, bolting the door shut with an ear splitting metallic screech. Her eyes were murderous when she turned back around.

"Do you have any idea how much danger you were in today?" Verita hissed, shaking a knobby hand at Roche. Roche stumbled back a step.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know-"

"Do you know how deeply King Romulus hates inkblood? What were you thinking?" Verita snarled. Roche blinked, the blood draining from her face.

"I-Inkblood?" she stammered dumbly. Verita grabbed Roche's shoulders, giving her a light shake.

"I know you have it, girl."

Roche felt faint. "I don't know what you're talking about. I don't know anything about inkbloods." she protested, feeling like she was listening to someone else speak. Verita shook her head, her eyes glimmering with an indecipherable emotion. Roche was very aware of the fact that she was now performing for her life.

"No one I have apprenticed has ever cleaned the library as quickly as you have and completed all of my tasks. Not by normal means." Verita insisted. Before Roche could react, the woman had yanked up the sleeves of Roche's gown, revealing her normal, golden brown skin. No injection sites or rippling black inkblood. Roche yanked herself out of Verita's grip.

"See?" she pleaded desperately, "No inkblood. Now-"

"Do you think I'm stupid, girl?" Verita hissed, "Your mother told me in the letter."

Roche's jaw dropped. Her head spun. "But- you said-"

"I know what I said!" Verita snapped, slumping against the wall of her quarters. "Inkblood hasn't been present in the castle's walls for many decades, Roche. It isn't safe for you here. I also didn't want to encourage you to stay, in case you didn't mean well for the royal family. But I knew your mother very well. She was kind to me many years ago, and I know she would not raise a daughter who intends to use inkblood for anything malicious."

Roche swallowed, her tongue unsticking from the roof of her mouth. "I would never hurt anyone. I never have."

"I suspected as much. More so after you put your life on the line for a mere serving boy." Verita sighed, undoing her tight bun. Her gray hair cascaded down her back like a waterfall. Somehow, it made her look older. She sank onto one of her wooden benches, one of the few that weren't covered in books. "I don't understand. Why does your mother want you here in the Faultless City? Surely the outer villages would be safer for someone with inkblood."

Roche closed her eyes. "I needed to leave. Raiders were coming more and more often."

"So you left your mother to bear the raids alone?" Verita asked skeptically. Roche's eyes felt like they were lit with flames as they opened.

"I didn't want to!" Roche blurted out, "But during the last raid, I used my inkblood to fell a tree in front of our farm to keep the raiders away from my mother. A raider saw me use it. I was... very lucky." Roche recalled how the raider's eyes had widened, first with confusion, then with elation. Inkbloods and their families could be sold to the king for burnings for a very high price. He'd been ready to shout for the other raiders to round Roche and her mother up. He'd run back to his horse, only to be shot down by Roche's neighbour, who's seen the raider approach their farm. Tears pricked Roche's eyes at the memory. She bit the inside of her cheek, letting the metallic flush of blood chase away the salty sting in her eyes.

"I couldn't continue to put my mother in danger with my presence. I can't go back." Roche whispered. Verita's eyes softened.

"So you came to the Faultless City?"

"My mother said she knew someone here who could help me get control of the inkblood," Roche shrugged, "Besides. Who's going to look for inkblood in this city? No one would dare suggest inkblood exists here."

Verita stared at her for several long moments. Whatever she saw in Roche's expression made her nod slowly.

"You must stay away from the King and his children from now on." she chided, "You know that they wouldn't hesitate to burn you at the stake if they knew the truth."

Roche's heart lifted in her chest. "You're not going to tell?"

Verita nodded, narrowing her eyes. "Of course not. However, your mother has entrusted me to keep you safe. I know something of inkblood. I can help you learn to control your usage. In return, you must stay out of trouble."

Roche couldn't believe her luck. "Thank you! I won't forget your kindness, Verita."

Verita turned away. "Eat your dinner. We have bread tonight."

A/N Ngl, I fully expected Verita to be a female version of Gaius from the show Merlin, but I'm finding her personality to be so different. Verita's more likely to whack Roche upside on the head than give a kind word of advice lol. What do you think of her so far?

Also, looks like we got a bit of Roche backstory. Heads up, there's more to it ;) You'll learn more about her soon.

And to top it all off, woohoo we got two reads yesterday!!!! I'm not sure if that's me looking over the chapters after posting but in the odd chance that someone other than me is reading this: THANK YOU!!! I really hope you enjoy!

All feedback and criticism is welcome :D Have a good one everyone!