Vhalla regarded him cautiously. She didn’t know how to respond to the sentiment, so she kept her mouth shut and waited for him to give it more color. Daniel obliged.
“You know, I was engaged.” Vhalla nodded, prompting him to continue. “She still lives in Paca. And, I still haven’t had the courage to go back there yet. Not even when I went East looking for you. I had thought, if I’d found someone new. . . If I could show that I had not been nearly as devastated from losing her as I was that it would be easier.”
Vhalla realized he was talking about her. He had been her crutch, and she had been his validation.
“Then again, I built a bit of home here instead.” Daniel quickly put an end to his prior train of thought.
“Built a bit of home?” Vhalla was unfamiliar with the expression.
“You’ll see. It’s what I wanted to show you.”
Daniel finally stopped before an iron gate leading into a narrow alleyway. It was tucked between two large buildings, and Vhalla glanced around curiously. He produced a key, unlocking the gate and motioning for her to go ahead.
The alley was so narrow that they could no longer walk side by side, and Vhalla was forced to take the lead. She ran her hand along the stone walls on either side of her, utterly overcome with curiosity about where they’d end up. The walkway opened into a courtyard that stole Vhalla’s breath.
It smelled like Cyven.
A large tree stretched upward to the watercolor sky, and tall Eastern grasses grew untamed at its base and across the ground to where she stood at the end of the stone alleyway. River rocks created a pathway to a building nestled against the others, which made up the courtyard his home was hidden within. It was construction she was familiar with; the roof was thatched instead of shingled with tile or wood like the West or South. She was frozen in time, unsure of how she’d stumbled across the alternate world in which she now stood.
“What do you think?” Daniel leaned against the corner of the building behind them, a bittersweet expression overcoming his face.
“It’s amazing, it’s like, like . . .”
“Home,” Daniel finished for her. He started for the house. “No one wanted this plot because it had no real street access. Nobles couldn’t get their carriages or horses to it easily. They also couldn’t put their wealth on display. So they built up on the perimeter, and somehow the middle was left untouched while they fought over who would get to enlarge their house. No family could agree on who had the best claim, so my wanting it offered the city a solution.”
Vhalla followed behind him as he spoke, the grasses tickling the fingertips of an outstretched hand.
“I had intended my future bride to make her home here, with me. I thought it would ease her transition from the East.”
“Do you ever intend on going back to Paca?”
He shook his head. “Baldair needs me here. My future is here, especially after what happened.”
Vhalla grabbed his elbow, stopping Daniel in his tracks. The motion made her shoulder hurt where a bruise had formed from the earlier training, but Vhalla kept the pain away from her face. She looked him in the eye and spoke slowly, hoping his heart would hear her every word.
“You don’t need her. You’ve so much to give.”
“I could say the same to you,” he whispered in reply.
Vhalla’s chest felt hollow. Somehow, the weird circumstances that had brought them together had given them insights into the uglier portions of the other’s heart. They’d never been that different. They’d both been wanting to fill the gaps in their life. Perhaps they’d went about it the wrong way, but with someone who could have been the right person.
“Show me your home.” Vhalla released his arm.
“Gladly.”
Daniel led her through the decently sized, two-storey home. There was more than enough room for a small family, which made it feel all the emptier. It was modestly furnished with the trimmings of a lord still building his name and his wealth.
He stoked a fire, and Vhalla found herself baking bread. Daniel sliced cured meat and honored her as a special guest by bringing out spiced cheese from his larder. It made her homesick, as Vhalla remembered going through the same motions growing up.
“I think I should go East,” Vhalla mused aloud.
“I was wondering why you hadn’t yet.” Daniel pulled out a chair for her at the roughly crafted table that sat before the stone hearth of the kitchen. “I rode out to Leoul and asked for you after the North.”
“It didn’t feel right,” she confessed. “I’m a danger to myself and others. I’ve changed so much. I just haven’t been ready.” Vhalla leaned back, watching the world darken outside the window. “But this reminds me of how much I miss it.”
“I didn’t want for this to cause you turmoil.” Daniel rolled up his sleeves before carefully extracting the loaves from the oven.
“You haven’t. It’s almost so peaceful it feels wrong,” Vhalla admitted with a laugh.