Elina

At first it was just a drizzle. Then a few fat drops. Then it poured so heavily that it felt like I was breathing water. It was the heaviest rain I had experienced in years.

Salem didn't want to stop. Time is money, he said. But eventually the rain grew so heavy that he couldn't see the road anymore. So he gave in.

We found an abandoned hut by the side of the road. It must've been recently abandoned. Because the inside was still relatively clean. The roof didn't leak. There was a wooden table. A few chairs, a few shelves.

Salem said, "This was probably a trading outpost."

"Why?"

"Merchants used to trade at outposts like this to avoid the import tariffs of major cities like Merkelborough. But last year the Eisen King lowered import tariffs. Now merchants prefer to take their goods to the cities because it's more profitable. Cities are where you find people. People is where you find money."

"Oh."

He pointed at the shelves. "If this was someone's residence, it would be located further in the forest. Like your hut. Only reason for a hut with this many storage shelves at a roadside is to act as a trading outpost."

Hmmm, I never thought of it this way. Witches tend to just do whatever they wanted. Humans seem to be strongly motivated by money.

I sat down. It was a simple chair with only a backrest. I put my hands on my lab.

Outside the rain continued to pour. An endless rush from the sky, a symphony of nature. I breathed in. I breathed out. The scent of rain brought back many memories.

Memories I hadn't thought of in a long time.

Salem stood, leaning against the doorframe. He had one eye on me. I looked at him. I smiled slightly. This was a lot like then, many years ago.

I said, "Why don't you sit down."

"No, thanks."

"Don't worry, I'm not going to run away. When I do, it will be on a sunny day."

He looked at me, then outside. He stayed where he was.

I sighed.

We stayed like this for a while, listening to nature. Somehow this silence was pleasant. The soothing sound of the rain made me feel like we were the only ones in the whole world. As though this little hut was an island. Like the rest of the world was only a dream.

But I knew Salem wasn't feeling like this. Because I knew where his heart lay.

Yulia Udell. To think he was risking his life for a sibling. He said that they survived together. That they had no one else but each other.

I almost felt a little jealous. I never had anyone like this in my life.

I said, "Salem."

"What?"

"Tell me more about Yulia."

Hesitation. Contemplation. A conclusion.

He said, "She is stubborn. She works hard. Her sense of humor is better than mine."

"You don't have a sense of humor."

He said, "She never laughed at my jokes, but she laughed at how hard I tried to make her laugh."

I leaned forward in my chair, resting my chin in my hands. Just now I saw tenderness in his eyes. A flash of the real him. Again. Hmmm…this is interesting. I'm glad I didn't rush to kill him.

"She is lucky to have a brother like you."

He glanced at me. Then looked outside. Into the rain.

He opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it.

"What is it?" I asked.

He continued to stare into the rain. Then he said, "Hide your cuffs under your cape. Someone is coming."

I had two options. Disobey him and see what he does. Or obey him and find out what was wrong.

I had tried out the first option before. It would be boring to do it again. Especially in the rain. So I pulled my hands back and hid them under the cape.

I said, "I suppose I'll be your wife again?"

He looked at me. I looked at him.

Huh-hunnn~ I bit lower lip and grinned. I knew that he knew that this was the only option. But for a captor to ask his prisoner to pretend to be his wife was deliciously awkward.

I said, "Don't worry, I won't expose you...unless I do."

Uncertainty in his eyes. But he said nothing. Because he had no other choice.

He had a sword, but I held all the power.

Outside, I heard a horse neigh. Not Salem's horse.

A man's voice. "Finally some shelter!"

A woman's voice: "I thought we were going to drown."

Intimate voices. Like they've known each other for a long time. Like a married couple.