The knock on her door had her looking up, but She knew it was him before he even entered.
"What do you want?" She asked placing the bracelet beside her. He looked at it, remembering, then looked at her.
"You still have that." He stated and had her draw her brows together before registering what he spoke of.
"You don't throw gifts away. I mean, not ones like this that hold so much sentimental value."
He shrugged at the words she said and walked further into the room, before sitting beside her.
"I didn't want to come here." He said beside her."
She bit her lip and turned to him, jutting out her chin,
"So why did you? Why are you here then?"
He took that stubborn chin in his hands and tilted his head,
"Because even though I chose to ride and riding is supposed to clear my head, I didn't feel satisfied. I didn't feel okay with the way you left."
"What's that to you anyway?" She wanted to sound spiteful and rude, but she was suddenly too tired, too weary. Even to take out her chin from the hold he had on it. On her.
"Damn it, Rose. You know you matter to me. You always have." He said, and after thinking for a moment, he added, "You always will."
She let out a breath and finally took out her chin from his hold,
"Then why did you leave me ?" She found herself asking. Eyes closed she fought the tears. The tears of frustration, the tears of anger, the tears of lost love. But she lost that battle.
"I never meant to. Someday I'll be able to properly explain what happened all those years ago." She opened her eyes and it broke his heart to see the pain in them. The pain he'd tried and failed for so long to not see, "but today I'm asking–no– I'm begging to let my word to you be enough."
"You want me to believe you had a good reason for breaking my heart?" She asked with a sniff, then scrubbed angrily at her tears,
"When you put it like that, it doesn't sound good."
"There's really no other way to put it, Cephas."
He raked his hand through his hair, sighed, and then nodded,
"Yes. I suppose I am."
She looked at him for the longest time, into his eyes, and saw some of the same turmoil she'd felt, and then finally, she nodded.
"Today I'll take your word, on the ground that you tell me when it's time. I'd like to know."
He nodded and watched as she reached for the bracelet once again, stretched it out to him,
"What? You're returning it?"
She shook her head, "Put it on me. The way you did on the night of my sixteenth year."
He gazed into her eyes. She wasn't sixteen anymore, she looked at him with much more wisdom than she had back then.
But the love was the same, and so was the light. If there were any changes, it was that her love and light had grown,
"Very well." He said and took the bracelet from her. She smiled when he clasped it on her wrist and looked at it.
" it still fits."
~~~~
They didn't discuss the journey, but there was an unspoken decision that Cephas was back on. Not like he had taken the things she said any seriously anyway.
But at least the air between them was somewhat clear.
"We leave before dawn," Rose said the night before their departure. She had found him in the training field with some men.
Had waited while he sparred, and watched. He didn't wear a shirt, and she had contemplated leaving. In the end, she found herself staying and watching. Each move he made was a dance, each flex of his muscle was like art. And oh how she longed to trace her fingers along the hard lines of his back.
"Stop it, Rose." She chastised herself and managed to convince herself to leave when he spotted her.
She waved at her with a boyish grin, that made her foolish heart sigh.
Raising her heart to wave back at him, she decided she was going nowhere.
"Well," he replied gulping some more water, "that seems alright. Spoken to Hannah and Jasper?"
Rose bit her lower lip and shook her head.
"Don't want to tell them we're leaving?" Cephas asked tilting his head,
"That's a bit impossible."
He shrugged, "Hannah hates saying goodbye though."
Rose smiled, "I know. But no, I'll let them know. I only just came to the decision myself."
"And expect me to be on board." He said, smiling when he saw her furrowed brow. It was simply too easy to get her,
" Don't worry, warrior Pixie. I was actually beginning to wonder why we weren't moving."
She screwed up her face, "Git."
He just laughed as she got up,
"Send my cousins my love." He called out as she watched her go.
Then laughed some more. It was going to be one hell of an adventure.