Chapter 158 - Other Half

Katherine's morning, despite not filled with politics like Nathaniel's, was similarly dark in the beginning. There was no Hazel to wake her up, no Pete and Jack waiting in front of her door, and her bedside was empty. Knowing that she might have spend a night asleep next to him if only she hadn't been so greedy, the blanket felt even colder.

Her hand grazed the empty place beside her before it clenched. For a few minutes she just stayed that way. Then, slowly, she raised her hands to rub the sleep away, noticing how swollen and sticky her lids were. She sniffed, before a stubborn trait emerged around her mouth as she gritted her teeth.

"No crying", she fiercely whispered to herself. "No crying, not again. You know that tears don't help."

However, that didn't stop them from collecting in her eyes, like they did the previous night. Before they could spill, Katherine took a trembling breath, and crawled out of bed. With b.a.r.e feet, she tapped over to the window and opened it.

She only wanted to get a fresh breath of air, but instead she took a gasp of surprise as she saw a beautiful mountain range, the tips still laden with snow. It glittered in the sun, and accompanied by the uncountable flowers on the green meadow beneath her window, the view could rival the creation of any painter in the imperial palace.

"Wow", she whispered under her breath. Taking everything in with wide eyes, the window suddenly seemed too small. She was tempted to climb out to feel the wind and sunshine on her skin, smell the flowers and snow in the air, and fall onto the soft grass.

Then a breeze swept into the room, playing with her nightgown. The icy cold air made her shudder and instantly give up on her idea. Before going out, she definitely needed warmer clothes. Whatever valley the house stood in, it was nearly as cold here as in the Iceland's capital when she first arrived. Still, she would love to take a walk later.

But first, she had to eat something. Her stomach felt pitifully hollow, the belly flatter than she was used to, nearly carved in.

Just the second she decided that, it knocked on the door. "Lady Katherine?"

The female voice was foreign to her, so was the face of the old woman who brought in the meal seconds later. The woman also had no time for chatter, but she told Katherine where to find the soldier's quarters. As Katherine had heard she had been saved from the wolves by them, she wanted to thank them personally, especially Jack, who she hadn't seen for a long while.

As for Nathaniel, Katherine pushed the issue to the back of her mind for now. She would go to apologize in due time - at least for what really was her fault -, but she just knew she would get too emotional if she did it now. He had been so cold and aloof yesterday that she would either break down in tears or start a fight if she didn't take some time to calm herself beforehand.

So, Katherine first thanked her saviors, though they all claimed she had done the most important part by saving and healing herself. Then, accompanied by Jack, she explored the meadow, sniffing and gathering flowers in the sunshine. Jack proofed to be a valuable companion, since his stories filled the gaps of Nathaniel's until she felt like she really understood what had happened while she was asleep.

With her arm full of poppy and cornflower, she finally turned towards him. "What happened to Hazel? Does anyone know?"

"That little mouse?", Jack confirmed, pondering. The attention he had paid to the girl before was minuscule, so he shrugged. "I bet she found a place to hide. They won't deliberately single her out, since she's just a maid. She'll be fine, probably."

However, when the big man saw that Katherine wasn't satisfied with the answer and knitted her elegant brows, he began sweating. As a good father, his daughter's happiness was his priority, so he wrecked his brain if there was any other information. Anything that would make her stop worrying.

"There are still some informants in the city. Though I don't have any connection to them, maybe you can ask the Princes? They should know more about what happens in there. Since it is you, they might even send someone to get your little maid back, I guess."

Astonished to get such a good advice from her usually unreliable guard, Katherine raised her brows. "Of course, why didn't I think of that? I expected everyone to be thrown out, but I suppose that counts only for those who fight, not those who spy."

Glancing at the lone man amidst the flowers, Katherine suddenly realized what was turning him from the jolly ball of jokes and strange ideas into someone that was nearly normal. She felt a bout of pity for him, so she added: "I will also ask for your other half then. You said, Pete was left behind in the capital because he was injured, but he should be better now, right?"

"Other half?", Jack repeated, a bit peeved by the term. But then he told himself that the little girl surely wouldn't know the implication and cleared his throat. If he had to decide whose mind was dirty - his or hers -, it could never be his pure and innocent daughter after all. "That would be great. But don't worry too much. That old guy can't be brought down easily."

"Noted", Katherine said, and smiled cheekily. She knew that despite his rough front, this bandit with his black tooth worried quite a bit about his partner, and she thought it was wonderful. If she ever had a partner, she also hoped that it would be like this. Unknowingly, her eyes wandered back to the house she had come from, and her smile faded.

"Jack", she suddenly began, then paused for a second. She didn't know how to form her question or if she really wanted an answer. But finally, she couldn't stop herself. "How was Nathaniel while I was asleep? Did he... worry about me?"

"What?", Jack asked, stumped. It took him a while to understand the question, but he remained confused. "Why would he not? You are husband and wife! If he still doesn't worry, something is awfully wrong with him. Really, then I would go up there and beat the sh - uhm - cherries out of him myself!"

Hearing him, Katherine couldn't help but laugh at the awkward catch.

"Cherries!", she shouted and held her stomach, her eyes glistening with bliss as she imagined the sight. "Yep, please beat the cherries out of him! Jack, you are the best!"

As she was standing there and laughing, Jack suddenly felt a familiar cold gaze at the back of his neck, and his eyes shot to the house. There, on a window right next to Katherine's own room, a man had appeared.

When their eyes collided, Jack gulped, and forced an awkward grin. The red eyes gazed into his for a second longer, as if to give a warning, then they wandered to the woman at his side. Seeing the barely contained longing in the usually stony face, Jack couldn't help but sigh. Just how did the Lady get the idea that her husband wasn't worried about her?