Chapter 15
But she didn't move like her. Not her gait. Not a tilt of her head. Not a movement of her hands.
Nothing.
Her eyes came to him and those eyes were not his beauty's eyes.
His Ilsa had lived a life full of abundance and serenity. When she was a child, she broke her toe, but that was the biggest difficulty she faced until she faced the difficulty that ended her days on this earth. They met young, fell in love young and married young. They had a marriage full of promise and pa.s.sion, laughter and contentment. His Ilsa had a good life from her first breath, but not to the last one.
No, six months she suffered from her illness. Actually longer, though they didn't catch it at first.
Then she took her last breath and that breath, as had the ones before it for months, had been pained.
But this Ilsa, what lurked behind her eyes was so deep he could mine it for centuries and never get to the bottom of it.
He also didn't know, if he made that effort, if he would find riches...or despair.
What he knew, what he'd come to understand in their brief time together, and what he must guard against was the overwhelming desire he felt to find a shovel and start digging.
"Thank you for coming so quickly," she said, taking him from his contemplations and he knew by her expression she might not know his exact thoughts, but she suspected they were of her twin.
She was right as well as wrong.
There was also pain in her eyes, perhaps for her, perhaps for him, maybe even both. Further, there was sorrow, and that was probably for him.
But she also looked angry.
And that was a surprise.
"I didn't know you would be here so fast," she carried on. "I had something to eat, some wine and a bath. If I'd have known, I would have delayed the bath."
He most a.s.suredly did not need her talking about having a bath. It brought thoughts of her pressing close to him when she was in his arms in his bed in Fleuridia and when she did that, she'd been fully clothed in her world's garments. Thoughts of that, and worse, thoughts of her naked, were thoughts he did not need.
Therefore to end them, he stated, "I should have given you some time to refresh yourself. But now we're both here, we should proceed."
She nodded, took a step into the room and began talking.
And when she did, Apollo couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"You're right. We should proceed so we can move on. And I'd like to start by thanking you for the guard and the clothes and, well...everything."
"It's my duty to-" he started but she spoke over him.
"And I'll ask that you allow me to keep them when I leave."
He blinked. Slowly.
She carried on.
"I'll also ask for a loan. A small one and I'll leave it up to you how much it is because you'll know better than me how much it should be to get me to where I need to go so I can do what I need to do. But it'll need to be enough to get me back to the Vale, maybe Fleuridia, and help me to get set up."
She lifted a hand and quickly continued.
"I want to a.s.sure you that it's pretty obvious in your world you've got a wad, or about seven of them, of cash, but still, I'm not taking advantage. I'll keep track, and when I have a job, I'll start to pay you back."
"When you have a job?" Apollo repeated her words in a question because he was not sure of every word she'd said, but he thought he was sure of her meaning.
He just couldn't believe it.
"Yes," she confirmed.
"A job in Fleuridia or the Vale," he stated.
"Yes. It's pretty here but it's also pretty cold and, uh...well, kind of close to you," she replied.
Apollo said nothing.
But he felt
"I'd actually like to be on my way tonight," she informed him. "Is that too much of a rush for you? To get me a loan, I mean. That is, if you agree to the loan. If you don't, I understand. I'll ask Achilles. Or Derrik."
He had something to say to that.
"You'll not be seeing Derrik for some time," Apollo declared and watched her head give a small jerk.
"Sorry?" she asked.
"You and Derrik will not be in each other's company for some time," he stated.
"Um...I...well, I know. As I said, I'm going, like, tonight. And I'm not good at good-byes so if I could ask one more thing of you and that is for you to tell all the guys I said adieu and thank them"-she put her hand to her chest- "from the bottom of my heart for being so cool, I'd appreciate it." Her head twitched again and she clarified. "I mean, I won't see Derrik again unless I have to ask him for money. After that, I probably won't see him at all."
She said this and she didn't like saying it. There were many ways she was surprising him but that message was clear.
She would miss the men, and specifically Derrik.
Apollo felt his skin start to p.r.i.c.kle again.
"You won't see him again not because you're leaving to go somewhere to get set up." he said, attempting to keep the annoyance out of his tone. "You won't see him again because I'm not allowing it."
Her back shot straight and she whispered, "You won't allow it?"
"No," he replied.
"But-"
"You'll also not be going anywhere but Karsvall."
"I-".
"And you'll not be working at all. An Ulfr woman does not work."
She blinked.
Then she stared.
"And you may not be of this world, but you're an Ulfr," he finished.
"How can I make money if I don't work?" she asked.
"If you need anything, you ask for it. It will be provided for you," he answered.
"But-"
"Now," he interrupted again. "As for the children-"
It was she who interrupted this time, and she did it by snapping, "Hang on a ding-donged second."
"Ilsa-"
"No." She kept snapping and now she did it advancing; her hand up, finger pointing at him and jabbing the air. "You listen to me now and stop cutting me off. It's rude." She stopped moving and dropped her hand. "You can't tell me what I can and can't do; where I can go and who I can see."
She stopped talking so he requested, "May I speak?"
"Only if you don't p.i.s.s me off when you do it," she allowed and he really didn't want to find her amusing.
But, d.a.m.n it all, he did.
He just didn't let it show.
"I'm afraid what I'm about to say will do that...if I take your meaning as I've learned what those words mean from Finnie, Cora and Circe."
Her head tipped to the side. "Finnie, Cora and Circe?"
"Women here from your world married to men from mine."
Her eyes got huge and that wasn't amusing.
It was endearing.
G.o.ds, but he'd made a colossal mistake bringing her here.
"What?" she cried.
He drew in breath and explained, "Finnie, the Ice Princess of Lunwyn, Cora, the Gracious, Princess of Hawkvale, and Circe, the warrior Queen of Korwahk, are all from your world."
Her eyes got even bigger.
Thus more endearing.
b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l.
"Cora, the Gracious is of my people?" she breathed.
"You've heard of her," Apollo deduced.
She threw out a hand and exclaimed, "h.e.l.l yeah! Everyone raves about her in the Vale."
"She's much loved," Apollo agreed.
"Totally," she stated. "Holy cow. She's from home?"
Apollo crossed his arms on his chest. "Your home, as is hers, is here now, Ilsa."
"Well, yeah. I know," she replied immediately. "But you know what I mean."
"My point is, it would be good to stop thinking of the other world as home."
She said nothing but the excited surprise drifted from her delicate features as she held his gaze.
He tried not to think that he rather enjoyed the excited surprise lighting her features and reverted to their previous subject.
"As I was saying, I'm afraid I'll anger you with what I have to say but in this world you are a woman, you are my charge and you are an Ulfr. Further, you're aristocracy by birth as well as marriage. Your father in Fleuridia was a count. Therefore, all around, you are an aristocrat and must behave in this world as one."
Her tone was cautious when she asked, "I can a.s.sume it's widely known your wife has pa.s.sed."
"It is," he affirmed tersely.
"So everyone will know she's not me. And anyway, if I'm not here then I don't have to behave in any way that's expected of me."
"I have decided to explain your..." he paused, "appearance by saying you're a distant cousin of Ilsa's with an uncanny resemblance to her but you grew up in the Vale, thus you don't know how to speak Fleuridian. You've come to be sheltered here due to your parents' untimely demise and your unwed status seeing as your husband also met an untimely end."
She took another step to him and stopped, saying, "But don't you see, Apollo? If I just go, no explanations have to be made."
"You're not going, Ilsa," he denied.
She mimicked him, crossing her arms on her chest. "I'm not staying, Apollo."
He was losing patience, not that he had much in the first place.
"It's not safe," he told her curtly.
"I was on the run from Pol for three years. Yes, this world is different but I think I can take care of myself."
"I'll remind you that you were on the run and he found you. When first I laid eyes on you, you were not doing so well at keeping yourself safe."
She clamped her mouth shut and he knew his point was made.
So he moved on.
"It's my duty-" he began to continue but she interrupted him.