Dawn

From the moment Sarya heard people speaking about the royal family of Xaila staying in Ishgard, she tried to keep a low profile in the streets. While Radhja, the queen herself, was not here for the festivities, her son and daughters were. Which was already enough reason for the dark mage to stay hidden. Ofcourse, Rhysand would not listen to those warnings, but then that was no surprise as she had never deemed him to be smart or careful. It was thanks to him that she had gotten herself into this mess, with apparently no way out. But, oh well, at least she had someone to keep her warm at night. Or well, most nights… Maybe she just had to get used to this new life, away from everything and everyone she knew. It had been the price she had to pay to keep him alive.

After a short trip to the market to buy some supplies, the black-haired woman quickly found her way back to her room, trying very hard to limit her exposure to the outside world, just in case someone would possibly recognize her. And, upon returning, she had half expected to find Rhysand still sleeping, now having claimed her side of the bed as well as his own. However, when she could not find him there, she frowned slightly, removing her dusty old cloak and placing it over the back of a chair as the door fell shut behind her. A shiver immediately rolled over her as she was still not used to the cold temperatures here. For a moment, she even had half a mind to get back into bed, where it was warm and pleasant, but with the lack of companionship… Well, perhaps a warm bath would be a better idea. That could also distract her from worrying a bit too much about him.

However, a few moments later, as she was getting the tub ready, she suddenly heard a knock on the door. In the meantime, the temperature inside the room had risen due to the fire needed to heat up the water, and she had already removed most of the unnecessary clothes. While Sarya probably should have known that Rhysand would not knock on the door, she still smirked, thinking it was him. Because who knew, maybe he had forgotten his keys or something. On her bare feet, she walked up to the door, scarcely clothed. ”Back again so soon?” She teasingly asked, opening the door and noticing that it was not Rhysand. ”Oh” She said, clearly having made a mistake as the Crown Princess was now standing in front of her, dressed in unrecognizable clothes, even if her face betrayed her. This was kinda awkward.


”Nymeria.. I did not expect you here.” The woman told her, feeling the unimaginable threat of tension in the air after she had betrayed her own kingdom for the sake of a traitor in their eyes. Immediately, Sarya felt like she needed to close the door between them, as she was a fugitive, running from the family of the woman who used to be her friend, but she was already caught. So, there was no use in hiding now. ”How did you find me?” She asked, avoiding the conversation about her betrayal because she did not want this to get in between her and her friend, even if it probably already had. But if anything, Sarya missed her old life more than anything, and she had not expected that running would feel so heavy on her heart.

When it was Nymeria - one of her oldest friends - who stood behind that door instead of Rhysand, she suddenly felt shame washing over her, knowing that she knew who she had expected to see. Once, the dark mage had been strong enough to resist temptations from almost everyone, even the ones from Rhysand, but perhaps now, she was not the same strong woman anymore. Maybe, somewhere along the way, she had allowed him to wriggle his way into her heart, resulting in her saving his life at the cost of her own. And now that she was banished, he was the only one left she could hold on to. But without a purpose in her life, like the one she had before she spent the nights with the criminal whose life she had saved, Sarya felt completely lost and utterly useless. Which often made her doubt if she had made the right decision, even if she could not have never made a different one because it would have felt wrong.

But this… This felt wrong as well, standing in front of the woman she used to call her friend without knowing how to explain herself, feeling ashamed of the weakness that had driven her to give up everything she held dear once. Her words did sting because she had never thought she would find herself in a position where she would doubt the intentions of the woman in front of her. ”Are you suggesting that I still can?” She responded with a certain softness lacing her words because even if she was clearly in doubt about this, there was a part of her wishing that it could be true. That she could, in fact, still count on the woman, regardless of the mistakes she made against her family.

When her next words sounded, and a shrug followed, she made the smile return to her face. Sarya even chuckled softly, reminding herself of the time Nymeria had spent in the company of the sisters. ”I forgot, we may have taught you too well.” She said, smirking slightly, knowing the sisters were masters at finding other people. It was the one reason they were so extremely useful to the crown. But, ofcourse, the Crown princess also knew all about their tricks to hide themselves. This might have made it far too easy for her. For a moment, the black-haired woman looked back into the room, wondering if she should let her in or accept the offer to take a walk. After all, she had no idea how long Rhysand would stay away. ”I…” She had been about to take a bath, but she supposed it had to wait now. ”I’ll put something on.” The mage decided, even if she still allowed the elf to come inside while she changed into something a bit more suited to the cold weather. She walked up to the chair where she had dumped most of the clothes and started putting them back on.