03-23-2020, 11:08 PM
He pulled back into himself, as she knew he would. The cracks worried her though, driven so deep he was unlikely to come out of this unscathed. It made her feel helpless, and worried, but she did not want to share those emotions. The stone of his expression reminded her of their father then: determined to a cause, wedded to it by necessity not choice. She hated that but there was no alternative, so she stood alongside, trying to feel like a sister rather than a jailer. Truthfully they were both prisoners, choice an illusion. But she would make it count anyway.
The Negus was unphased. Probably that was a good thing. She could feel Anbessa’s tension, but let her own flood free. She had accepted worse when she took the shegurah in her palm and made the oaths, and for their mother’s legacy she would do whatever was asked. And for Bessie’s sake.
The words were not unexpected. Anbessa’s anxiety the whole journey betrayed his expectation even if he hadn’t truly voiced the concerns. Her eyes closed anyhow, brief as a heartbeat. A moment to steel herself. And then she followed.
The Negus was unphased. Probably that was a good thing. She could feel Anbessa’s tension, but let her own flood free. She had accepted worse when she took the shegurah in her palm and made the oaths, and for their mother’s legacy she would do whatever was asked. And for Bessie’s sake.
The words were not unexpected. Anbessa’s anxiety the whole journey betrayed his expectation even if he hadn’t truly voiced the concerns. Her eyes closed anyhow, brief as a heartbeat. A moment to steel herself. And then she followed.