Crimson

Selfish meets responsibilities.

By the time I reached the city ,it was completely dark.

The brief possession spell had lasted longer than I thought but it's effect and after effects were clearing off already.

The horse was in a frenzy .

I could not bring myself to cast another spell on it , so I tried to soothe it by whispering my thoughts .

I told the horse about Mama , about Ali.

He scoffed when I told him about the royal Crimson family and the Conclave , so ,I scoffed too.

I could finally see my neighbourhood ,it was dark like always .

I wondered if Ali had stayed to wait for me to come back .

I had wanted to stay at the shelter overnight just to avoid the confrontation I knew was coming ,but, Ali would have been more worried and angrier .

He tried as much as possible to limit my interactions with anyone related to the shelter.

I knew it was for my own good but sometimes I just wanted to forget that one wrong move and would mean apprehension by the government.

It would be extremely bad since I could not even return the items I had taken.

I sighed ,the darkness around irked me.

I had tried to monitor the area occasionally to reduce the crime rate.

It had been tough at first , but ,It had gotten better with time.

There were hardly any crimes here recently.

But, if something was not done about the darkness ,all the work I had put in would be a waste. I had to find out if I could get large fry lanterns in this streets .

As we approached the gate ,I got off the horse to unlatch the gate .

After unlatching it ,I still had to drag it and it was one very heavy gate.

It was too advantageous for me to consider changing ,it discouraged criminals and daily usage increased my chances of bulking up .

I took hold of the handles and pushed it , making an opening wide enough for the horse to get in .

I turned still holding the gate , you had to hold it while it was open else it would roll back closed .

The horse stood on the other side shifting unsurely .

" Come on now , It's completely safe ", I was grunting .I had never actually talked while opening the gate ,it was f*****g hard.

The horse looked from me to the gate and then came forward hesitantly .

Once he had successfully passed ,I let the heavy gate go and instinctively put my fingers in my ear , a loud bang followed .

The horse jumped and I stared , amused.

Scared ,jumpy horses were hard to come by. It was a shame that everyone recognized the horse , so ,I had to return him to his owner .

I put my hand on the horses head , rubbing in circles as I guided him forward , I had always preferred walking ,so , there had never been any accomodations for horses in my home .

I would leave him outside for now and come back with blankets and food .

I loved the horse but I was not letting him into my house .

Leaving him by the door ,I opened up and walked in .

I never locked my door ,but ,I still knew when someone came into my space .

I waited at the door ,it could be Ali.

He would have been too angry to go back to the Haze alone .

I removed my coat and flung it , a soft sound informed me that it had landed on a pile I kept .

I moved to where the switches for the fey lanterns stood and struck a match .They immediately began to turn on in the different places I had positioned them .

Fey lanterns always started out very dim and gradually grew brighter , I enjoyed watching this transformation .

Since the Cleansing had taken electricity with it ,fey lanterns were the go to for artificial light .

They came in different shapes ,figures and colours . Their brightness levels vast and depending on the price they had cost.

Some people that were unable to afford fey lanterns made do with candles.

They were new designs too everyday.

He was standing by the wall my arsenal was displayed on ,his fingers caressing a short blade with a gold hilt.

He was still in the black garb he had donned earlier .

" You've added a lot of them since the last time I was here " ,he observed.

I nodded and then remembering he could not see me ,I answered out loud.

" It is really just a few ".

It sounded like a lie even to me.

I moved to where I kept old clothes ,there were some blankets in there .

I found two large ones and moved on to my almost bare kitchen.

I had apples ,I always bought lots of them.

After stuffing as much apples in the middle of the blankets , I got a bowl and filled it with water.

I changed my mind halfway , dividing the water into two.

Done with that , I was faced with a predicament .

I did not want to have to make the trip two times and I had no idea how to carry two heavy blankets filled with apples and a bowl of water.

" Give the bowl to me ".

I gasped at his cold voice . I had not heard him walk up to me .

I had been avoiding looking at him since I entered because I could just imagine how angry and twisted his face would look .

I turned still avoiding his gaze which was only slightly possible as we were similar in height .

Pushing the bowl into his outstretched arm , I turned around immediately and grabbed the blankets choosing to walk ahead .

The horse was just as I had left him .

I arranged the apples before him and then laid one of the blankets on the wooden floor .

As if he understood , he got onto the blanket and lay down , I smiled at his intelligence .

After covering him with the second blanket ,I moved the apples and the bowl of water closer to him , so ,he could eat as he lay down .

I stood to admire my handwork , satisfied , I nodded.

" Are you done with the unnecessary delays? "

It seemed like the cold made him sound more evil.

I shook myself.

I was not going to fold ,not folding ,not folding.

" I will make tea , then we can talk " , I declared.

He did not reply , so, I turned around and regretted it immediately , he had on a look that I could not decipher .

" What ? " ,I spat out in an uncool manner.

" You..hate..tea ", he stated slowly like someone that was used to communicating with people of lower intelligence .

He opened the door and walked in before I could refute him .

I stood in the cold , with only a sheer shirt on , thinking of what to say to Ali .

I was definitely already folding.

The cold got the best of him ,I ran in before I could come up with any arguments .

He was by the stove .

" I'm making hot chocolate ", he announced .

I clapped my hands despite myself and rushed to the stove to warm up and assist with verbal encouragements.

He was stirring the thick liquid in two different cups simultaneously .

Ali liked sweet things too ,that was one issue we both agreed on.

He pushed a cup to me and lifted his to his mouth.

I drank a little of the hot liquid and put my cup down as he put his down.

I sighed, satisfied.

If only we didn't have an argument to hash out.

Ali was looking at me.

" I had enough time to think it through", he started.

He took another sip of his drink.

" I was angry with you for running out so recklessly to meet the brigadiers and pulling such a thoughless stunt".

I traced the rim of my cup and looked at him.

" You sound exhausted " I observed.

I hated the way he sounded ,I wanted him to sound angry not defeated.

" Exhausted from overthinking and stressing. But,in your recklessness I saw reason".

I blinked , I had not expected that.

" I understand why you chose that course of action ,you would never be reckless if you thought it would affect someone and I want to apologize for doubting and getting angry with you".

" I can't call you irresponsible when you're the most selfless person I know ".

He downed the rest of his drink.

" I have to go ".

I blanked .

" Wait ,it's late already."

He smiled ,his usually empty eyes full of an emotion I couldn't finger out.

" I need to sort my thoughts .This brigadiers are not like the local guards ,if they were looking for the shelter, then we need to prepare ourselves for several scenarios ".

He turned, letting himself out .

The house suddenly looked empty ,the only evidence of his presence ,the empty cup.

I felt so selfish in that moment .

I had jumped out of the coach because I had been excited to talk to Vita.

My responsibility to the shelter , Ali and the hundreds that depended on me had come second .

The cup no longer interested me .

Abandoning the kitchen ,I walked to my bed and got in , barely tucking myself completely.

I had made several promises to Ali and I had forgotten them in an instant.

Getting caught was not an option , a lot of people waited for me to help them .

I had decided to do this and there was no backing out when so many lives were at risk.

With a new resolve , I chanted my sleep spell .

Tomorrow was a new day.

Tomorrow ,I would set my priorities right.