Chapter 51: Worrying
Isaac had left with Lady Dandridge and Lady Deveris on one of the lady's routine mine trips about a week after she'd been attacked, and while this wasn't anything particularly unusual, what was unusual was that he still wasn't back. They'd been gone an entire day and a night and now it was the afternoon of the next day. Kyrie was terrified that something had happened to them, especially now that they all knew how the majority of the royal family had been killed off.
Setting down the last of the food that she had to offer for the animals in the menagerie, Kyrie quietly watched the carnivores tear at the meat that was placed within their reach. She kept a good distance away, not wanting to get caught in their meal, but she didn't leave the room quite yet. Instead she simply crouched on the ground, letting out a soft sigh as her hands rested on her cheeks.
Kyrie knew that she should just keep on going with her day like usual, and yet she was constantly looking in the direction of the door leading out of the menagerie every chance she got. The menagerie was fairly isolated; it had natural light coming in from above, but there were no entrances to it that led directly outside. As a result there really wasn't any kind of view to the outdoors. The greenery in the series of rooms was like being outside, but it wasn't truly the outdoors.
In an effort to turn her mind towards something that wasn't Isaac, she wondered if Renard had designed the inside of these rooms just as he'd designed the grounds around the manor. She'd never actually seen Renard in the presence of the animals though, so it wasn't likely that he'd ever touched this room. It was a bit of a shame, really, if he had then he'd have a chance to work with exotic flora that he rarely got the opportunity to work with thanks to their climate.
This train of thought didn't really last long though, because the desire to try and see Isaac was quickly bubbling in her chest. Finally, it just got too great for her to resist and she stood up rather suddenly. Some of the animals startled a little and eyed her warily, but she knew they weren't the type to attack on a hair trigger like that so it was nothing to be worried about. Promptly exiting the room, Kyrie went outside to rinse her hands and see if she could see signs of movement in the stables.
As she let the cool water run over her hands, her eyes scrutinized the manor gates. She couldn't really see evidence that it had been disturbed much to her dismay. Logically, this meant that she should head back inside and find something to do, but instead her feet took her over towards the stables.
Peeking her head inside, sure enough she was disappointed to only hear the soft nickering of horses. The carriage was still out, and she stood at the entrance rather dejected by what she saw. No doubt Jared had already taken care of the animals for the morning, and Kyrie let out a soft sigh before stepping inside. Reaching up to pet the nose of one of the calmer mares, the large creature snuffed a little and stuck her face against Kyrie, wondering if the woman had any kind of treat. Even though the mare's search turned up fruitless, she kept her face close to Kyrie's, not really caring to move away.
"Just where is your caretaker?"
Kyrie closed her eyes then, with her face pressed up against the horse. Usually Kyrie didn't get this emotional when Isaac left, but this was the first time they'd really gone anywhere after the attack. Wouldn't it be dangerous for the lady out there? It had only been a week since she'd gotten injured! Would she be able to keep her injury disguised? Wasn't she in immense pain? And if it was dangerous for her, what about for Isaac? Worry constricted Kyrie's throat, and she took a couple deep breaths, trying to tell herself that everything would be fine and that she should just get right back to work.
Letting go of the horse now, Kyrie quietly thanked it with one last pat before exiting the stables. Before she was able to make it more than a few feet away from the stables, the creaking of the gates sounded, and Kyrie perked up considerably as she turned around. At the same time though, she felt like she'd just been caught doing something wrong. On instinct, her body scrambled behind one of the bushes, crouching down there while her eyes watched the gates like a hawk.
There was tense silence from Kyrie as she held her breath, and the moment she saw the carriage pull in with Isaac at the lead she let out a sigh of relief. She didn't go back inside yet though, she stayed hiding behind her bush as she watched Isaac open the carriage door for the two ladies. Kyrie was so focused on this sight that she failed to notice there was someone else in her presence. It was only when a voice spoke dangerously close to her ear that she practically jumped out of her skin.
"What are we hiding for?"
Kyrie clasped both of her hands over her mouth to prevent herself from letting out a sound of surprise, and she looked at Renard with a clearly furrowed brow while his expression filled with amusement.
"Still as cute as ever, I see."
He chuckled at that, though his voice was soft to respect the fact that she was trying to be hidden. Kyrie furrowed her brow even harder at him, so he turned his gaze in the direction that she had been looking to answer his own question. When he saw that it was Isaac and the two ladies though, his expression immediately turned more serious as he suddenly stood up, emerging from behind the bush.
Kyrie practically panicked at that, thinking that Renard was going to give her away, but instead of paying Kyrie any more mind he strode right on over to Isaac. Slowly taking her hands away from her face now, Kyrie's eyes furrowed a bit in confusion and a little bit of concern. Had Renard been just as worried about Isaac as she had been? He hadn't seemed like it when he'd first approached her; then again though, Renard was kind of the master at putting on a happy face.
She couldn't hear them from where she was, but from what she could see Renard greeted the two ladies before the women headed into the house. Renard then moved to help Isaac bring the carriage and horses in, talking to him all the while from what Kyrie could see. Kyrie had to admit that she was a little upset to see him do this: she had wanted to be the first one to see Isaac when he got back, but she supposed it wasn't a big deal if she waited until Renard left. Except... What if Renard didn't leave Isaac alone?
The minutes ticked by as she watched the stables, and she could feel her heart constricting with each moment that passed. A pang struck through her to think that she wouldn't be able to see Isaac right now, and she was just about to get up and head back inside with a rather defeated demeanor when she saw Renard leaving the stables. He was alone though, and all the tense waiting and irritation towards him quickly melted away.
The gardener looked up at the windows of the house with concern for just a moment before making a straight line towards Kyrie's hiding place. He didn't really stop when he reached her, instead he just reached down and lightly mussed up her hair.
"Sorry about that, he's all yours."
Giving her an over the shoulder smile, the gratitude that Kyrie felt couldn't be overstated. The two of them really did have a unique dynamic going on, one that Kyrie definitely would miss if it was ever to go away.
Furtively looking around her to make sure no one was out and about, Kyrie quickly darted over to the stables. A little out of breath as she stood at the door, she watched Isaac go about his work for the briefest of moments before running over and throwing her arms around him in a tight hug.
"Kyrie!"
He knew who it was the instant her small arms had touched him. He tried to turn around but found himself unable to because Kyrie was attached to him so firmly, so as a result he simply let his arms rest on hers. Her face was buried into his torso, and once again he was overcome with love for the woman behind him. She didn't want to emerge from his back because she could feel herself getting emotional: it felt like she would start crying if he confronted her face to face. Besides, it just felt too good to hold on to him and know that he was very much still with her and unharmed.
Since he couldn't turn around, Isaac reached behind himself to gently touch Kyrie's head. Once he made contact with her, he let his fingers snake their way into the strands of her hair to give her head a gentle massage.
"Kyrie..."
His voice was softer now, and she let out a soft sound of contentment from his soothing touch. The two of them stayed like that for a couple moments before Kyrie loosened her hold enough for Isaac to turn around; the moment she did that he smoothly turned, taking her up in his arms and kissing the sides of her face until her eyes opened up to look at him. The urge to cry had passed for now, but there was still concern on her features.
"What happened...? Why were you away for so long?"
He loved that she'd been worried about him like this, and his hand moved up to cup the side of her face.
"Lady Dandridge had more in store than she advertised. We did go to visit one of the mines, but after that she had me take them to the royal castle."
"T-the palace?! But why?"
Her eyes grew wide at that, and she trembled a little in Isaac's arms. He couldn't resist holding her tighter in an effort to comfort her.
"I couldn't really say. What I can say is that I didn't really sleep at all out in the stables; I could feel that I wasn't really welcome in the slaves quarters, so I thought it better to take my chances with the horses. I can't imagine it was any better for Lady Dandridge or Lady Deveris inside the palace. Still, they emerged from the castle this afternoon and we're here now, completely unscathed."
Nuzzling her face into Isaac's chest, Kyrie's words came out muffled, but Isaac heard them nonetheless.
"I'm so glad you're alright. I don't... I don't know what I'd do if--"
Kyrie found it hard to finish the rest of that sentence on account of the lump that rose in her throat, and it didn't help that Isaac interrupted her by lifting her chin up so that he could capture her lips in his. Letting out a soft sound into the surprisingly deep kiss, Kyrie's eyes closed as she lost herself in his embrace. A warmth began to spread all throughout her that combated the dull terror she'd felt upon hearing that he'd been to the place where all the killing had happened.
When Isaac pulled away briefly to allow the two of them to breathe, he also spoke softly to her.
"I know, Kyrie… I feel the same about you."
After that statement, Kyrie was quick to take his lips back in hers: she really wanted to keep her brain shut off, having it think of nothing but Isaac for the moment. She didn't want to worry about where he'd been, she wanted to enjoy every ounce of his company that she could get rather than have her mind fret about things that she had no control over.
The two of them continued this for a number of minutes, until Isaac ended up moving back to sit down on one of the stable benches. Kyrie remained standing for now though, her expression a bit glazed over as Isaac's hands slid up her sides, tracing the subtle curves that he knew so well. Kyrie looked down at him rather flushed, and Isaac couldn't help but be captivated by her.
His eyes briefly flickered over towards the entrance to the stables as he contemplated the chances of Jared or Renard happening upon them. It was rather unlikely: Renard had said that he was going to find Jared and get started on the garden. If Renard had found the boy already then Isaac would have Kyrie all to himself for the next while. He could feel his body stirring at the thought of that, and when his eyes looked back at her she could easily read the desire stretching across his face.
Blushing brightly in response, Kyrie averted her eyes from looking at him directly, but Isaac once more turned her face to him.
"I could do this all day."
His voice had an almost wistful quality to it as he spoke, and the words only caused Kyrie to blush all the more. Isaac satisfied himself by kissing all over her face, murmuring softly all the while.
"And you... I can see by your expression that you'd have no complaints if I ever did."
Isaac smiled as Kyrie tried to sputter out a response. Instead of waiting for her to form a cohesive sentence though, Isaac swallowed her words in yet another heated kiss. This hadn't been the reason that she'd initially come out here, but she certainly didn't resist now that things were moving in this direction. One of these days she'd come out here not to have sex with him, but today was not that day, evidently.
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