Rough Seas

31 - Back to Inertia

Tom held his sister closely, his bags at his feet. She sniffled a little, and he only squeezed her tighter. He had gotten word from Dianite that he was to return to Inertia immediately. That was this morning. Now, bags all packed, he was saying goodbye to his sister. There were some days where he hated being Dianite's champion. This was one of them. He had just gotten back after nearly a month of being away, and now he had to leave again? It hurt every time he had to leave, but this time... It was just making him feel terrible. Tom wasn't surprised by the slight dampness growing on his shirt. Blinking back tears of his own, he rested his chin on top of his sister's head.

"I'll be fine, Alice. Really." Tom said, watching as she pulled away slightly to rub at her eyes. Swallowing, he gave her a weak smile, one that she was easily able to read through. She was just as scared as he was, it seemed. Which was pretty darned scared, to tell the truth. Tom ha never been tis nervous about going to meet with Dianite. Ever. Maybe it had something to do with the letter that he had written being missing... Or maybe not. Maybe it was just nerves. Yeah, that's right. Just nerves.

"I know you will." Alice reached up to cup his cheek, giving his cheek a gentle pat. "Be safe, for me?" Tom's smile was genuine this time, and he nodded slightly.

"I will, Alice."

-

The trip had gone smoothly, besides Tom almost crying a few times. He had arrived just after dinner at the temple, and he had been able to put his bags into his room before he headed downstairs. Furia had already scared him, taunting him about the slight redness in his eyes. Tom couldn't deny it; he really disliked Furia. Unfortunately, they had to work together. Dianite had Tom as his right-hand-man, but Furia was his left. Most of the time Tom just tried to stay out of Furia's radar.

"A word, Thomas?" Glancing to his right, he spotted Dianite walking slowly towards him, his hand's clasped behind his back. Without a word Tom followed him, a sinking feeling in his stomach. The two walked in silence, before they entered Dianite's office. His was nothing like Ianite's. A roaring fireplace (that was seemingly always lit) was behind Dianite's desk, filling the room with even more heat than usual. Unlike Ianite's office, Dianite's had no windows, ensuring that no one could find it without already memorizing the location. Gesturing for him to sit down, Dianite stood behind his desk, facing the roaring fire. Tom took a seat, fidgeting nervously. Sudden meetings were never good. "I have two things that I need to speak with you about, my Champion. One, is that Ianite has declared war on us, and I will have to keep you here for some time."

"D-do you know how long, my lord?" Tom asked, his shoulders slumping slightly. Damnit. He had been hoping that this would be over quickly and he would get to go home soon. Stiff facing the fire, Dianite shook his head.

"It could be a few days, weeks, even months before it is alright for you to leave." Turning to face Tom, Dianite frowned slightly. "But that's not what is important here." Dianite said, watching Tom's face scrunch up in confusion. "You may recall," He started, flicking a wrist slightly, a somewhat crumpled piece of paper appearing in one hand. "that it was I who woke you in Emall?" Tom nodded, his eyes transfixed on the piece of paper. His face had drained of all colour, and Dianite had to resist smirking at the mortal. "Ah, so you do know what this is?" He couldn't stop the sneer from creeping into his voice, a strange mix of pride and disgust filling his chest when Tom looked down at his lap.

"I-I'm sorry my lord I'll- "Tom was cut off by Dianite slamming a hand down on to the desk, jumping at the sound of the impact.

"You will look at me when you are blabbering like a moron. You will look at me when I talk to you. Do you understand?" Dianite snarled, watching Tom's head shoot up, the mortal nodding quickly.

"Y-Yes Sir." Tom replied, eyes wide as he stared up at the god. He could feel his hands shaking, and tried to hide them by gripping the chair as tightly as he could. Dianite's eyes narrowed, and Tom felt himself shrinking away from Dianite, pressing into the chair as much as possible. Jerking his head to get Tom to come over to where he was, Dianite sneered slightly. Thomas stopped beside Dianite, who shoved the piece of paper into his hands. Swallowing sharply, Tom took it without saying a word.

"Pathetic." Dianite said, watching as Tom flinched a little. He was so easy to control, so easy to shape. Like a piece of clay, Tom could be molded into any role that he wanted. Hell, if Dianite had wanted something romantic from him, he was sure that he could have gotten Tom to do it. To become whatever, whoever, he wanted Tom to be. "Rip it up." At Tom's surprised face, he huffed. "I said, rip it up." Dianite said through gritted teeth.

"B-But Sir I- "Tom quickly closed his mouth as Dianite growled at him, quickly folding the paper. It took a few minutes, but soon, all of Tom's hard work, his thoughts and feelings, were laying in a few pieces in his cupped hands.

"Into the fire." Dianite said, jerking his head at the flames. Tom swallowed, stiffly moving to be in front of the fireplace, his eyes starting to sting. He let the paper flutter downwards as Dianite came up behind him, placing both of his hands on Tom's shoulders. "Good boy." Dianite said, ruffling Tom's hair as they watched the paper burn. Tom watched as the pieces of paper caught on fire, quickly becoming mere ashes in the intense flames. He couldn't help the few tears that trickled down his face, his hands clenched tightly at his sides. Dianite's hands on his shoulders were like brands, white-hot against his skin. 

(that moment when u were gonna add another part at the end but realize that it fits better in the next chapter (:)