Silver Silence

A Penny for Your Thoughts

Siles woke up with August's arms wrapped around him. He could feel August's chest rise and fall against his back as he breathed the slow and deep breaths of sleep. He didn't dare to move and wake him up. Instead, he closed his eyes again. He would have fallen back asleep, but he could hear the whispers of the servants in the halls around him.

"If Bella makes me roll dough again today, I'm going to kill her," someone hissed, his voice strangely clear despite the stone walls separating him from Siles.

"Oh, Toby's here. Why is Toby here? He's supposed to be in the kitchen. Oh well. Smile and nod. Move on. Goodbye. What was I doing? Find the duster, right," a new voice rambled on, just as clear as the first had been.

"Late late late late late oh god Kial is going to kill me – look at that there's guards outside the King's quarters he must be back – doesn't matter you're late get going late late late -" the new speaker's words overlapped the previous voice, her incomplete sentences rushing along at a speed Siles wouldn't have thought was possible. Her words were strangely clear, too. They didn't sound like whispers through stone walls; they sounded like whispers in his ears.

Siles' eyes shot open. He bolted upright in the bed, pulling himself out of August's arms as he scanned the room for intruders. The room was empty, light from the rising sun twisting through the curtain over the window. The voices had stopped. August mumbled something beside him. One of his hands stretched towards Siles, resting on his thigh.

All at once, the voices returned.

"Lucy must have been lying. She had to have been. She just thinks they would make a cute couple. She's hopeful. Delusional. But I could check. Could pretend I'm asking about breakfast. Yes – that'll work."

A knock at the door interrupted the whispers. August finally opened his eyes beside him, blinking groggily. "What's that?"

Siles slipped off the bed and tiptoed to the door, plucking his knife from the bedstand. He eased the door open and peered through the crack. The main room was empty. The knocking returned, coming from the main door to August's quarters. The light rapping meant it was probably a servant. Magicians usually knocked confidently, as if they were trying to break the door down.

"I think a servant is here. Do they usually go away if you don't answer?" Siles looked to August.

August propped himself up on his elbows. "Yes. We should answer, though. They might have breakfast."

"At this rate, I don't think you'll get up in time to answer the door."

"You're up. Why don't you answer the door?" August smiled at him. No, he smirked. He knew what he was asking. He knew that Siles didn't want anybody to know that he had spent the night. Siles glared at him.

"Fine." Siles grabbed his clothes from the floor and pulled them on. He ran his fingers through his hair as he approached the door, hoping to at least look somewhat orderly. Maybe the servant would believe that he had just happened to stop by that morning. Some of the servants were gullible. But most of them weren't. He opened the door.

A servant looked up at him, her arms tucked behind her back. Her eyes widened and a smile twitched at the corner of her mouth. "Would the King like breakfast in his quarters or will he have his breakfast downstairs?"

"Breakfast in his quarters," Siles mumbled. He shut the door in the servant's face before she could get the chance to bow. Damn it. He imagined the whole kingdom would know by noon.