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Navia sat down on the couch, kicking her heels off and propping her legs onto the armrest, “Morning.”
“Morning.” Wriothesley said, looking over a pair of readers at her then back at the newspaper in his hands.
She asked, “Any big news this morning?”
“None.”
She smiled, "Excellent."
She followed up, “No mysterious sea monsters?”
“No.”
“No political scandals?"
“Not yet, at least.”
She looked at him, “Any prison outbreaks?”
He answered, “None I haven’t handled. Did you make the long trip all the way down here to ask me for the news, don’t you have a better use of your free time than this?”
“No.” Navia said, “Not that. I don’t know why I came down here. No, that’s false. I came down here because I told you I would.”
“Very well. I would say make yourself at home but it appears you’ve already done so.”
She looked around, “Do you ever get bored down here?”
He answered, “Constantly. I think the only time I’m not bored is when you are down here.”
“Well, I for one, am gladdened by the fact that I inject a bit of novelty and spontaneity into your routine.”
He folded up the paper and leaned back in his chair. With his glasses on, he looked more like the administrative official he actually was, instead of the Wriothesley she knew him to be.
She spent her time staring up at the ceiling, the movement of the waves outside of the tampered glass window projecting onto the metal ceiling lulling her into sleep.
And everything was quiet.
She was woken up by her body being tossed around in somebody’s arms, like they were running from somewhere.
A guard looked down at her as he stepped into the lift, mashing the buttons, “Good, you’re awake.”
She jolted up, getting on her feet, “What’s happening?”
The guard explained, “You had fallen asleep in the Warden’s office. Then, his condition started to act up. He called guards down to evacuate you from his office and to take you back to Poisson.”
“Take me home?” She shook her head, “I can’t go home. He needs my help. I can’t leave him.”
“You must, Miss.” The guard said calmly, “The Warden in that state is dangerous, he loses himself and cannot control himself. You were at serious risk of being hurt, or killed, if you hadn’t been evacuated. You cannot go back, for both you and the Warden’s safety.”
She ran a hand through her hair, “How? He was completely fine before I fell asleep. I saw him, he was perfectly normal, how could the curse act up? I don’t understand.”
“It is not something he can reason with when it takes its hold. He ordered for us to bring you to safety, that should bring you solace.”
“No, it doesn’t.” Navia shook her head, the cold metal beneath her feet as the realization she had left her shoes in his office hit her, but she didn’t care about that right now, “I saw him the last time it happened. He had all those cuts from his chains and the glass. If I hadn’t shot down the door, he would’ve been seriously hurt. More than I would’ve been.”
“Even if I were to let you back down, the doors are locked and can only be unlocked from the inside. You couldn’t get in either way, and the Warden told us to get you back home so we will escort you there.”
“No.” Navia refused, “I’m not leaving. If I can’t get inside, then I’ll just wait on the other side of the door. If I leave now, then what am I proving?”
The guard answered, “That you care about your health and safety.”
“That I’m going to leave him when things actually get hard, and I cannot do that.” Navia answered. She begged, “Please take me back down, let me be there in the only way I can. If the curse makes him lose himself, I can try to bring him back again.”
The guard sighed, “You insisted, but if you get hurt–”
“–It’s completely my fault and I will take responsibility." Navia swore, “Just don’t make me leave.”
The guard pressed another button on the lift, the lift started to go back down. Navia grabbed his shoulders, “Thank you! Thank you. I will make sure you won’t take the blame for this. The Spina never forgets its friends.”
“I can only give you so long before sector patrol comes back around. So try not to linger for too long.”
When the lift hit the floor again, Navia practically jumped out of the cage. Her bare feet slapping against the hard metal floors. She stopped at the door, the screeching of chains from the other side brought back unpleasant memories.
She pressed her face against the door, “Wriothesley? Wriothesley!”
No response.
She sighed and slid her back down the door, “Archons above, I wish I had brought my gun.”
Every bone in her body called for action, to somehow break in and make everything better. But the guard was right, there was no way in. Only Wriothesley could let her in, but Wriothesley had no way to in his current state.
Every time something crashed, or the sound of chains scraped against the floor, Navia’s eyes flinched closed and her hold on her skirt became a bit tighter. She couldn’t say she wasn’t scared, because that just wasn’t true. She was scared, yes for her safety, for him mostly.
“Wriothesley?” She asked again, hoping the sound of her voice broke through the thick metal, “You know, Silver always tells me that I talk too much. I always tell him that that’s impossible. But he’s right. And you know what the worst part is, most of the time it feels like I am just talking to myself. Like right now. I don’t know if you can even hear me.”
She sighed, “I hope you can.”
A thud rammed into the door, Navia only answered, “I know. I know you’re trying.”
She smiled sadly, “So until you can figure yourself out, or they make me leave. I’ll just sit here, and talk. Which, admittedly, is my greatest strength.”
She hung her head, “I’ve been thinking about what you said yesterday. That was really kind. I don’t think anyone has ever looked at me like that before. Most people say I’m loud, annoying, or just capable. Maybe all three. But no one ever really notices anything outside of that, like when I’m scared. Which is kinda ironic, because I’m scared all the time. I’m scared right now, actually.”
A chain struck the floor.
“Not of you.” She said without hesitation, “I’ve never been scared of you.”
The guard spoke up, “Miss, please finish up. We don’t have much time left.”
She said softly, “I don’t know if you heard any of that, but I really hope you did. I really do. I will see you later, when you are feeling better again. Bye, Wriothesley.”
She turned to go, but she stopped in the middle of the hallway, thinking she heard something from the office. Maybe she had imagined it, maybe she had willed it, maybe she wanted so badly to hear something that her own mind was betraying her.
“...Navia.”
“Wriothesley?”
The guard warned her, “I’ve given you all the time I can, we have to go or else the patrol will find you and then they will actually make you leave. I’ve already endangered your safety enough by letting you stay as long as you have.”
She looked between him and the door, “I can’t go. Tell them it was me, pin all the blame on me, go now so they don’t find you. I need to be here.”
Something hard struck the door, not violently.
Navia ran fast back to the door, pressing both palms against the cold metal, “Wriothesley!”
She heard a cough, “...There?” Ragged and rough. Barely recognizable as speech.
“Yes.” She answered immediately, “Yes, I’m here.”
“...Good.”
She laughed despite herself, “Yes, good.”
“...Why?”
“Because.” Navia answered, “When someone matters to you, you stay. No matter what. So, I stayed.” Tears welled up in her eyes.
He strained, “Shouldn’t. Home, Navia. Tomorrow.”
The guard stepped forward, “Miss!”
She stood up, “Fine, I’ll go.
From the other side of the door, “Tomorrow?”
She nodded, “Yes, absolutely. I’m coming back tomorrow.” She stepped into the cage lift, and now that she had unloaded everything she wanted to to Wriothesley, all she could think about was how she was going to walk home without her shoes.