The fire was... oddly dark, in the murky night.
Most of the fire had died down, it seed, but every so often I could see the dark orange flas inside the black smoke.
Luckily, thanks to the size of the building and the fact it had been made mostly of stone... the fire hadn't spread very far. Only a single other building had caught fire, a storeroom and barn that the Carvill knights used to house their horses and other items.
Glancing away from the cloud of smoke, I dared a glance to the man sitting nearby.
Vim sat on the wall's ledge, with slumped shoulders. Watching the fire like a hawk... had he even blinked in the last hour?
Looking away from him, I glanced up and down the... what had Vim called this part? The battlent?
He sat in-between two of the extruding parts of the walls, which sowhat hid him from view in the dark of the night.
I stood behind him, but not because I was afraid to sit on the ledge of this wall. It wasn't that high, honestly, only a few stories tall... but...
If I sat in one of the crevices, as Vim was doing, I'd not be able to keep an eye on him.
No one else was on this section of the wall. Most of the guards of the city, and in fact most of Ruvindale, was on the other side of the town. Either aiding in fighting the fire, or watching it.
A part of was... pained, to know that there was a very good chance that the fire had killed soone. It had spread so... so fast... Hopefully they also got the horses out of that barn, too.
And hopefully that young boy also found peace.
That young knight had guided to a small garden, covered in glass. In fact it had been very beautiful. The kind that made forget the severity of the mont... and because of that I had been ensorcelled by it. I had gotten lost in those flowers, which were blooming even during this cold winter.
What had been a simple trick to allow Vim to be alone in the storeroom... turned into losing track of ti.
Then the world had exploded. Glass shattered. The floor had rocked.
And in that mont, not only had I been forced to realize how serious the mont had been...
Closing my eyes, I groaned softly at the mory.
Of the young boy, who had been all smiles.
Of his shocked expression, upon seeing my ears.
Opening my eyes, I looked at Vim. He still sat there, staring at the fire... focused on it and nothing else.
Stepping towards him, I tried to look over his shoulder. To see if his right hand still had that young knight's blood on it.
That young knight's terrified expression as he died would haunt for so ti.
It hadn't just been shock. It hadn't just been terror...
It had been betrayal.
And sohow that hurt the most.
"Was... was this the right choice, Vim?" I asked the man with the tear-stained face.
Studying the Societies protector, I wondered how such a man cried so openly. So purely.
Yet... what were those tears for? How many of those tear stains were for the humans he killed? How much of his grief, so obviously visible on his expression, was for the knights... and how much of it was for us? For Lughes and Amber? Crane and Shelldon?
and him?
"No," he then said.
A shiver ran down my body, reaching my tail.
"But... my choices are never the right ones," he added.
His voice didn't match his heartbroken appearance.
It sounded strong. Firm. Unyielding.
Just like it always did.
Which was the real man?
The one who could set afla paintings of his own kind, and the humans who took them from us...
Or the one who silently sobbed at the horrible scene he had created with his own hands?
"I... I share this burden with you, Vim," I said lightly. In hopes that he'd not bla himself completely.
He had only personally killed two n upon our escape of the burning building.
The young boy who had guided us and an armored knight who had seen him do so.
Vim turned suddenly, looking at .
I stood up straighter, shocked a little he had actually looked away from the fire. He hadn't done so in hours.
"Bla. You knew them for a re few moons. Moons. Monts. A sliver of our lifetis. Don't get full of yourself, woman," he said to .
My jaw clenched, and I kept myself from growing too upset over his words. I kept myself from crying, and growling at them at the sa ti.
He didn't an those words. And I could tell... and not just because of his worried eyes.
He was trying to tell none of this was my fault.
"Don't you dare, Vim. Don't you dare try to coddle like a child. Don't you dare not include in the bla of..." I glanced at the fire in the distance. I couldn't see flas anymore. "Of this atrocity," I finished.
Returning to Vim's eyes, I hesitated.
How were they so clear? So...
It felt as if I was staring into soone who knew everything about . Soone that knew all of my faults, and failures...
And yet wasn't judging for them at all.
"Don't pity ," I whispered, a little worried as I stepped back a step.
Vim's eyes narrowed and he reached up and grabbed the higher part of the wall. With a single motion, he stood.
Stepping down from the wall's battlents, he took in a small breath as he stepped up to .
"I knew crane when she was but a child," Vim said.
I gulped as he lowered his head, his voice going a little deeper. "I helped Lughes bury his wife and daughter," he continued.
"I..." he went to say more, but stopped himself.
Vim suddenly looked hurt, and he looked away from . To the floor of the wall. Where the wood and stone stuck together in a misshapen ss.
"Don't stop. Keep going," I said firmly.
"No. Let's go... before..." he sighed and shook his head. "That's enough mistakes for one day," he said.
Vim turned, stepping towards the section of wall we had co from. Where the stairwell was.
Opening my mouth to say sothing... I realized I didn't know what to say.
He was blaming himself. For everything.
He had even tried to make angry, so that I would not bla myself.
Then upon realizing it hadn't... wouldn't work... He decided to stop trying.
Reaching out, to stop him... I found myself unable.
What could I say?
What could I do?
Vim ignored as he slowly walked away. He didn't even glance at the fire as he went for the stairs.
"Ooff..." I groaned, swallowing a sob as I went to follow him.
Nothing I said or did would change this man's opinion. His beliefs.
He blad himself. Completely. Always would.
Which... really wasn't fair.
I was here too, wasn't I?
I had cried too. I still would.
I had been involved as well. I had been the one to carry Amber's corpse. I had been the one to deliver those letters and...
Following Vim down the stairwell, I was a little surprised to find a guard at the bottom of the stairs. He was polishing a tal boot.
He stared at us, with wide eyes full of concern... but said nothing as we left the wall's rampart, and went back into the city.
Glancing behind us, at the man who slowly went back to polishing his boot... I was a little glad that he hadn't said nor did anything to try and stop us. To question us.
Right now Vim would have simply killed him.
For a few good minutes, I followed behind Vim in silence. Occasionally I glanced up to the sky, to the dark clouds hiding the stars above us.
The smoke was covering the whole city... and the sll was...
Wait... we were heading back into the city. Deeper into it. Back towards the fire.
"Vim...?" I asked.
He didn't respond, so I hurriedly stepped up next to him. He frowned as he glanced at , with a look that told he really wasn't in the mood to deal with .
"Where are we going? Aren't we leaving?" I asked him.
Vim's eyes grew soft, and he looked away... and after a mont slowly ca to a stop.
"Leave..." he whispered to himself.
"Shouldn't we? The paintings are gone now... and we don't know where anyone else is right?" I asked.
"Right..." he said softly.
A little worried, I wondered if he had...
No...
"What were you planning on doing, Vim?" I asked him, a little bothered by that look on his face.
Vim looked at , and I noticed the way his eyes slid up and down my body. If he had been anyone else, I would have shied away at that look.
"Go to the inn. Get your bag. Change your clothes," he said.
"What of you?" I asked, not letting him step away. I even started to reach out, to grab his arm.
"Primdoll."
My arm went still, a re inch from his.
He nodded. "One last thing."
My hand clenched, and the silken glove protested. I felt it stretch... becoming looser than it already were.
"I'll co with you," I said, nodding to him.
"You've done well. You've been a great help, Renn. But please... let pity you. Let protect you. Let do what I have to," he asked .
My face twitched as I grabbed his arm. Right below the elbow. "No! That... that might very well be my fault, Vim...!" I said sharply.
Vim's face told he didn't believe , but I persisted. "Really! I... I was the one who agreed. To that families servant. I was the one who took that order!" I said. Nearly shouted.
"I know," he said gently.
Going still, my breath caught as he smiled softly at . "I know. I read your note before Lomi and I left. I rember seeing it on the counter," he said.
My mouth went dry, and I nearly choked as I shook my head at him.
He had known all along?
"Thus, why I've told you. Hold your head high, Renn. You weren't at fault. If it had been anyone else at the counter that day, this still would have happened. Amber, Lughes, Crane... they all would have agreed to it. They all would have accepted the contract. Even I would have, had I been there," he said.
"But..." I didn't know what to say.
Vim reached out, but did so with his other hand. He patted my head, which was a little... painful. The pins keeping the hat on my head prodded as he touched .
"Go get changed. Get your stuff. et at the eastern gate. The one near the docks," he said.
For a small mont I considered arguing. But...
That tone in his voice. That look on his face...
Vim stopped ssing with my head, and then reached into his shirt. He shuffled sothing around, and I watched as he pulled sothing out.
The sound of crinkled paper drew my full attention... as he extended it to .
Looking up from the rolled up painting, I stared up at his blurry face.
"No..." I whispered.
He smiled and nodded.
Taking the painting... I forgot about the hand still connected to Vim's arm, and allowed the painting to unfurl on its own.
With a shaky hand, I watched a familiar scene co into view.
"Vim..." I sobbed, staring at the scene Lughes had painted before I had left. The one with Lomi in that odd dress...
The one with all of us. Sitting before a fireplace.
Yet... there was now a new addition. A small part of the painting had newer paint upon it. Dried, finished... but the layer was a little bit more raised than the others.
Standing near where I was seated, was now Amber. She wasn't smiling, and instead had her familiar frown on her face... yet sohow, that made smile all the more.
I cried as I rembered my other hand and released Vim as to unfold the painting even more. To take the whole thing in.
It was rough at the edges, telling that Vim had probably cut it free from a fra... but I didn't care.
Right now this was the most precious thing in the world.
"Go on. Eastern gate," he repeated, not even giving ti to tell him how much this ant to .
Where had he gotten it? The Sleepy Artist? The storeroom...? And why, out of all the paintings he could have taken...
Why this one?
Sniffing, I nodded. "Okay. Eastern gate," I accepted.
He nodded and gave a small smile. "Thank you. I'll not be long," he said.
Vim stepped aside, to round . He walked away gently, as if he had no idea just how deeply he had just placed himself into my heart.
Watching him go, I felt conflicted.
This was normal for him, wasn't it?
Enduring this. Bearing the whole thing. Alone.
It made sick.
As Vim left, heading back towards the noble's district... I made a small vow.
To the painting in my hands.
To the many paintings that were now lost.
To those in the paintings.
To Amber.
To Vim.
Folding up the painting carefully, I sniffed and glanced around. To make sure no one was looking at .
There wasn't. Only Vim was on the road with . And he was drawing farther away.
One day he'd let bear this burden together with him.
One day I'd share in the bla and sorrow.
"One day."
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