Biv was dreaming.
He dreamt a lot, especially here lately. The dreams were seldom pleasant, even though they weren’t usually enough to wake him up completely……even when sometimes he wished they would. This dream seemed out of the ordinary just by virtue of its lack of activity. As far as he was aware, he was in his old room at home, sleeping. Or dreaming that he was sleeping, which was kind of strange, because he really shouldn’t be able to identify the water stains on his ceiling, the closet door with the hole in it, or the cracked pane of glass in the room’s single, small window if he were truly asleep.
That was just further proof it was a dream, he supposed. Especially because now it seemed more like his room at the inn; a tall wardrobe in one corner, a thick comforter laying at the foot of the bed, a round table beside the bed that held a lamp and a vase of flowers.
Either way, it should have seemed peaceful, especially in comparison to his usual dreaming. But it didn’t.
Someone else was there. Even in his dream-sleep, it made him shiver.
He couldn’t say just how he knew. He just knew. It almost seemed as if he could see t hem, standing in shadow in the corner of the room by the wardrobe. He could almost hear them, breathing quietly in and out in the darkness (was he still asleep in his dream? He wasn’t quite sure).
He could almost…..almost…think that he felt a shadow pass over him, that he felt a soft touch on his cheek…
He was sitting up now, and there was no one there. He was completely alone, and despite the initial strangeness he’d felt at the invisible presence, he wanted it back. But it was gone, he was alone, and when he looked around the dark room, he could see that it was actually, aside from the bed he lay on, completely empty. Bare.
He woke up with tears on his cheeks.
My nap was not to be. I was too angry to be able to really relax; all I seemed able to do was shift and turn in the uncomfortable seat. Eventually the noise roused Puck….if he’d ever really been asleep in the first place. He raised his seat upright, raising a hand to his mouth to cover a yawn.
“S’matter, princess?” He said sleepily. “Got a pea stuck in your mattress?”
I just grunted in reply. Granted, Puck hadn’t done anything to fuel my foul mood, but it was there nonetheless. I was hardly in the mood for his teasing.
“She doesn’t mean to piss people off,” He continued lightly. “It just comes naturally.”
I didn’t answer that right away. “You heard, huh?”
“Didn’t have to. I know what talking with Kiasis is like. Don’t let her piss you off too bad. She’s just……lacking in social graces.”
“Yeah. If by social graces you mean things like compassion and humanity.”
“Ah, well. She’s not human, now, is she? Wait’ll you meet a few more Sch’silians before you make any definite conclusions. They’re not exactly the most compassionate people.”
I sank lower in my seat. I was sulking, I was well aware of it. I just couldn’t bring myself to stop, childish thought it might be. “Like you’re such a wellspring of empathy yourself. You didn’t give a damn about those hostages back there. The only reason you’re even looking out for me is because I’m your ticket home.”
His silence at that was beginning to make me feel guilty for lashing out at him when he finally answered. “You know, princess, just for the record, I’d almost be satisfied to just live out the rest of my days right where I’m at. I like it here. The food’s great, the technology’s fun, and I happen to like the little niche I’ve carved out for myself. But I’m taking you home because I want to. I want to repay my friend Oberon….my friend, not my king…for not keeping his daughter safe in the first place. I want you to have a chance at a decent life that doesn’t involve working your skinny fingers to the bone in some mine shaft. Sure, I get something out of the deal, but I think you think I’m getting a lot more than I actually am. And if I were, so what? It’s not like you’re not reaping any rewards yourself. Maybe you ought to stop worrying about other peoples’ motives and just worry about living and what life’s going to throw at us next. You’ll avoid a lot of unnecessary bitterness that way.” His voice softened a little, and I relaxed. “And just so you know, I would have gone back for that poor kid and his sister. But keeping you safe is top priority right now. You can’t always save everybody, even when you want to.”
I probably would have had an acerbic answer to that if I didn’t suddenly feel so damn guilty. Puck was one of very few people who’d ever tried to help me out in life; I didn’t really have a lot of room to go questioning his motives.
And besides, I could most definitely feel a pair of eyes boring into my back.
Well, Puck’s back, actually, because when I turned, it was him that Kiasis was frowning at.
“I was unaware that there were hostages on that vessel.” Her voice was sharp, and I wondered how much of our conversation she’d overheard.
Puck nodded simply. “That’s because I didn’t tell you. Or were you prepared to risk both Holly and Biv’s lives by going back and fighting with Tengu?”
The look she gave him would have withered grass; I might not have cared for her much, but I found myself quite happy it wasn’t directed at me. For an instant, she looked like she was going to knock him across the cabin the way she had me, but she didn’t. She just turned and stalked back to her corner.
