Chapter 43
Chapter Forty-Three
Sierra wondered if this was what people felt like when they were diagnosed with cancer, and told they only had a few months left to live.
While she obviously didn’t have the same hard limit they were given, facing the fact that her death would be coming soon was more challenging than she had anticipated.
She had thought she was prepared for this, but she was wrong.
Sensing her emotions, Aodhan dropped his arm over Sierra’s shoulder and pulled her into his chest. “Don’t panic. Remember, this is just the future of your current path. If we make a change, there could be more images.”
Sierra nodded into his tunic, but the tears wouldn’t stop. She knew she would fix this—she had to—she just wasn’t sure how, since their current path had felt like the only one that would get her out of the clutches of Conlan, but it appeared that it as it was, it wouldn’t work.
Fia rose from the chair and headed into the small kitchen, quickly stirring some powders into mugs. She made three, carrying them back to Aodhan and Sierra, placing one in each of their hands before sipping her own.
“It’s a calming brew I make. It’s all natural; don’t worry.”
Sierra sipped the beverage from where she was tucked into Aodhan’s chest. He held her with one arm, quickly downing the drink in the other before setting the cup on the side table and running his hand up and down her back in a soothing motion.
“We had planned to head to my father after this, either with a solution to the loss of magic, or to meet up with our friends to help us devise a plan that didn’t end with my father imprisoning Sierra again.”
Fia nodded, her face going blank for a few minutes. Sierra furiously wiped her cheeks. The tears had stopped coming, at least, but she needed to calm her emotions and take some deep breaths so they could come up with a new plan.
Fia’s eyes came back into focus. “I haven’t checked your father’s future in a long time, but I did check for him back when he was a younger man, before you were born.”
Sierra’s felt her eyes widening as she realized that Fia was older than Aodhan, and possibly even older than Conlan. Aodhan’s eyes were wide too, which made sense as he had told Sierra earlier that he thought Fia was only 200 at most—so apparently they were both mistaken.
“But, I just checked, and it doesn’t seem like much has changed for him in the past three hundred years,” she continued.
“Even with the birth of you and your brother,”—Sierra was surprised that Fia already knew, but then again, she had probably been the one to show Aislan that everything with his transition would go okay—“You would think it would change, but your father has apparently been on the same path in life for a long time.”
Aodhan didn’t say anything, continuing to rub Sierra’s back.
“So, what are we going to do?” Sierra finally pulled away from Aodhan’s chest, placing her arms on his chest while he moved to grip her shoulders.
“I’m not sure. I need to think on this a bit and come up with a new plan.” His eyes moved to the window, where the light had begun to dim at some point during their conversation. “Let’s stay here for the night. Tomorrow, we can discuss this more, after we’ve had some sleep.”
Sierra let out a yawn at his words, realizing that running through the forest and crying had zapped all her energy. But as soon as she was done yawning, she realized that Aodhan had just invited himself to stay at Fia’s place. “Wait, are you sure that’s okay?” She looked at Fia for confirmation.
Fia’s eyes sparkled. “Of course it is. I already saw you would be spending the night and made up my extra room.” She rose from the chair and motioned for them to follow. “I’m afraid it’s not much, but I don’t often have overnight guests.”
She led them into a room that was very similar to the one Aodhan had at Teach Crann. Though sparsely decorated, it had a wooden bed with small side tables on either side and a wooden dresser across from the bed with a large mirror perched on top.
“I only have one wash facility, and it is the door across the hall.” Fia looked at Sierra’s clothes, which were not in the best shape, considering they both didn’t fit, and she had slept in a hollowed-out tree the night before.
“I did foresee that you would need clothes, and I set aside a few items that should hopefully fit you. I’m closer to your size than Aislan, I think. ”
A smile emerged from Sierra’s lips at the thought of finally wearing clothes that fit after all this time. “Thanks so much; that would be amazing.”
“I’ll go get them. In the meantime, you two clean up.”
Aodhan led Sierra across the hall, where the washroom was located.
Similar to Teach Crann, there was a water basin, and a large tub, as well as something resembling a toilet.
Unlike the tree house, it gave the impression that this place had multiple sources of running water.
Making it easy for Aodhan to begin running a bath.
“No hot water, unfortunately. That’s something the humans definitely have on us,” he joked. “But while this is running, I’ll get some kettles going in the kitchen, okay? I’ll be back in a minute; you just relax.” He placed a kiss on the tip of Sierra’s nose before slipping out into the hall.
Sierra began stripping off her ill-fitting clothes, admiring her clear skin in the bathroom mirror.
Fia returned before Aodhan, reaching an arm into the bathroom, a robe grasped in her hand. “This is for tonight. I put an outfit for tomorrow in the bedroom.”
“Thanks, Fia,” Sierra replied, grabbing the robe, and holding it up to see that ,while it was still a bit long, it was more her size than anything else she had worn since coming to Sidhe.
Aodhan returned next, two steaming kettles in his hands, which he added to the bath. “Two more should do it. I’ll be back.”
Sierra nodded, turning off the faucet as the water drew close to the brim of the tub. She stuck her hand in, surprised to find that the water was warm. Two more of the large kettles of water Aodhan was bringing would indeed make the bath hot.
The door creaked as Aodhan slipped in a second time, dumping the water from the kettles into the tub. Instead of walking them back to the kitchen as she expected, he simply set them outside the washroom, closing the door.
“Get in.” He motioned to the tub, as he began to disrobe.
Sierra didn’t need any more encouragement as she stepped over the edge, sinking into the water. It was heaven on her muscles, which were sore from so much overuse, and it was a balm for her soul, which was still reeling at the thought of her grim future.
Sierra closed her eyes and leaned her neck on the rim of the tub.
She didn’t even open them when she felt Aodhan step into the tub, seating himself between her legs directly opposite of her.
He was a bit too tall for the tub, and he had to keep his legs bent, but he also appeared to relax as he leaned back against the side of the tub.
Aodhan didn’t say anything, and Sierra was glad.
She needed a little time to just be in her mind and not worry about the world around her.
Aodhan seemed to sense that, even though she didn’t voice it, and he simply rested one of his hands on the side of her foot underwater, rubbing calming circles, his eyes closed as well.
Sierra ran over everything in her mind, trying to think of a way to solve their current predicament while also changing her path in life enough to change her future. She thought over everything that had happened since she came to Sidhe, replaying each conversation in her head.
She must’ve gotten distracted, because the next thing she knew, Aodhan was nudging her. She opened her eyes to see a bar of soap held out in her direction.
“You should wash so you can get to bed.”
Sierra nodded mutely, taking the soap, and running it slowly over her arms, her energy zapped from the events of the day.
Seeming to notice her lackluster approach to washing herself, Aodhan deftly extracted the soap from her hands and began helping her wash.
It wasn’t anything sexual, just him helping her get clean.
He even helped her wash her hair, massaging the soap into her scalp just the right way, and tipping her chin back with his finger as he poured water over her hair to rinse it out.
“You’re good at this,” she whispered at some point.
“At being a decent being and knowing how to bathe? I’m glad you think so.” His tone was light, and Sierra appreciated that he was trying to cheer her up. But she was afraid that nothing would lighten her current mood.
When he was done, he picked up a towel from nearby, holding it out to her.
Sierra looked him straight in the eyes. “I’ll get out on my own. I’ll meet you in the room in a few minutes.”
Aodhan smiled. “Alright, I’ll see you there.” He leaned down to give her a peck on the lips before exiting the room, closing the door behind him.
Sierra sat in the tub a bit longer, before rising to dry herself with the towel Aodhan had left behind. During the last few moments of the bath, an idea had come to her. She wasn’t sure if it would work, and it would involve getting Fia on board.
She sucked her bottom lip in between her teeth as she considered the rest of the plan.
It involved a small amount of deception, specifically deceiving Aodhan, and she hoped he wouldn’t be too mad when he found out.
But if she was going to have a fighting chance, no—scratch that—if they were going to have a fighting chance at having a future to enjoy together, it would have to work.
Slipping on the robe, Sierra snuck out the bathroom door, heading to the kitchen on a hunch, hoping that Aodhan wasn’t listening too intently.
She was in luck. Fia was sitting at the table poring over a scroll while sipping out of a mug. Her eyes connected with Sierra’s as soon as she entered the room.
“It just might work,” she whispered, her eyes sparkling.