The Last Dance

The Last Dance (25)

Wow, so thanks for all the great response I got on the last chapter =) For a few days I was even on page 2 of what's hot, talk about surreal! Thank you so much, and I really, really appreciate all the comments and votes.

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xo.

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Recap:

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He nodded slowly, miserably. "So... what now?" He asked thickly 

And I knew he meant without even having to hear the words.  

"You said we were friends..." I said slowly. "...and we still are. I won't leave you just because..." I trailed off again, gesturing between us.  

I managed a shaky smile, though I knew it didn't reach my eyes, and I knew he could tell. Still, he fought to return it. 

I turned away before he could see the tears that refused to be blinked back. I felt, if anything, worse than before. Yes I was glad that he was staying, but at what cost? Would he end up resenting me anyway because of what I'd just done? 

Wordlessly, we each took our reins and trudged slowly on towards the castle, shielded by the shadows of the night that could, for a moment, mask all our misery and doubts. 

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Chapter 25 - Home Sweet Home

The sun had disappeared, leaving no lingering rays of light or heat in its wake. It seemed also to have taken all sound with it.

Skirting the edge of the village, there was no sounds of the night life of the townsfolk. Everything was quiet and still, with not even the hint of a breeze to stir the dust up from the roads.

The silence lay thick, like a blanket over the town and was an almost eerie presence that accompanied us to the castle.

The only evidence of life came from our own gentle steps down the cobblestone paths. Our shadows could barely be distinguished from the surrounding darkness, and the pale silvery light of the moon ducked in and out from between the houses, barely illuminating a strip of the road before disappearing again. It would have all been much more disconcerting had we not been home.

The atmosphere matched our grim moods, even seemed to taunt us as we reached our destination. The faint clip-clop of the horses' hoofs seemed almost deafening to me as it echoed between the buildings, lost to the night.

I disliked being at the edge of town. I longed to be in the city square surrounded by the tireless merchants who sold their counterfeit wares in the dead of night. I missed the sickly sweet smell of roasting apples and cider filling the air with its pungent and intoxicating aromas, even the sounds of forbidden lovers meeting in the shadows of doorways and closed up shops for a few stolen seconds together.

Anything would be better than this taunting silence. Whatever turmoil we had both experienced, it seemed to have leaked out to the surroundings, tainting it with bitter emptiness.

The loneliness crept under my skin making it tingle uncomfortably. I hated the state of things between us now. The quiet didn't help, only made it easier for the icy numbness to spread through me. I wished I could break the silence but didn't know how.