It was dark, and late, when the door opened finally.
By that time Stare had rid herself of the worst of the tears. Also she had shed herself of the heaviest clothing, getting rid of the light chainmail, the belt and tunic. She lay in just a simple pair of underhose, curled up beneath a warm fluffy blanket, sniffing periodically, not able to sleep.
When the creak came, she knew who it was. It was inevitable that he would come, whether that night, the next day or time after. And there were only so few people that entered her bedroom at all, especially in the quiet of the dark, that she had no hesitation knowing his identity.
Hugging her arms around her knees she continued to lie there, her back to him, half naked but in her natural feathers.
He had seen her worse.
There was a long period of silence that extended. Solemnly she stayed in her stance, not expecting anything more than anger from him and recieving only quiet. The seconds ticked by, not even an owl hooted outside. Her breathing filled her ears and the emotions of simply living began to grow too much again, as wet began to fill her eyes.
"The brewery?" He asked suddenly, quietly.
The question caught her completely off guard. For a few seconds she froze, trying to figure out completely what he meant - then the answer came to her, obvious. The reason she had gone to Corone in the first place. To secure his ownership of the Grand Celestial Brewery.
"It's ... Yours," she said very quietly, whispering in a minute, hoarse voice. "Completed. Secured."
A slow, steady intake of breath.
"Right. Good," he paused. "And the household?"
"Sorted as soon as I came in," she replied, a little louder and with more force. But she was still lost and sorrowful. "Done. You have ... It's fixed," she buried her beak deeper into her arms.
There was a long pause. Then she felt pressure on the bed as a weight depressed into it, sending her side rising. A shiver ran down her spine but for the sake of sanity she tried to ignore it. Instead she kept where she was; inward and holding herself and unable to sleep.
"Good. You are of great use to me, Stare. You serve me well."
I never had a choice in the matter, she said to herself.
He took another moment of silence. "I know that you partly loathe my entire existence, but I cannot let you go. I never will. Your very being had begun to enable me to become what I am supposed to be. To understand what I am." The weight shifted as he moved closer to her. "Stare?"
She closed her eyes slowly and let out a inaudible sigh. "Yes?" Her insides were squirming, wanting to be left alone in her misery.
"I had a long conversation with Raevin. He sees no reason for you to lie. And neither do I." Her heart began to thump a little faster. So be believed her now? "But to ascertain the real truth ... Well. I need to see."
That word. Pronounced and strong. A little too obvious to go unknown, full of meaning and a thousand other iterations.
It meant he had fixed the cuff. In those few hours, somehow, he had managed to heal the broken magic on it, however much was broken, and likely this time it would be far harder to take off. Stare knew though that she had no choice this time. Her chances of escape, of leaving this life had failed with Raevin coming to the harbour town. Her chance of ever being free from this man, this god, were dashed with the article of international slavery from Hernsford port. Rubbing at her temples she groaned inwardly at the thought of going back to that life, that way of never knowing if there was someone else watching - but it was what it was.
Rolling over, deliberately not looking at him, she shoved out her left hand.
"Just do it," she said in a gruff voice.
There was a very quiet moment of breathing before she felt the cold metal being pressed ... Into her hand. Not right onto her wrist. He was giving it to her, to place on her own.
Slowly her eyes flickered up and saw him.
He was leaning against the headboard of her bed, one leg folded beneath him, and the other outstretched. White hair lay in perfect folds around his shoulders, never seemingly needing to be brushed as normal. His vivid blue eyes gazed back at her, and they were not full of malice or anger or hatred. Rather, they were full of patience and a willingness to know, to learn.
To understand her more? Maybe.
Looking down away from him her eyes focused on the cuff in her hand. It was the same dull grey metal, tainted with black, but instead of one dim stone set deceptively into it, there were now five. They were dark and opaque, not jewels but rather rocks. They shone though, with a dull light that seemed to hold otherness within them.
For a mad moment Stare considered throwing the thing across the other side of the room. But what purpose would that ever serve? Just to irritate him more, make this whole situation worse. So she sucked in her breath, through the small holes that were her nostrils, and pushed herself to sit up. Without looking back at him she took the cuff in her right hand, and held out her left, pausing for that second.
The moment was eternity. But it was what it was, she was who she was now.
Carefully she pushed the cuff onto her wrist.
