It was a short journey, and the pair walked in silence. It couldn’t quite be described as uncomfortable or easy silence: it simply was.
Anastasia walked a few steps behind him, letting Mikhail lead the way and escort them through the crowded city streets. She was tired. She had never used so much magic, and she didn’t know what had compelled her to do so today. She did know that it had never come so effortlessly.
She looked around as they walked towards the boarding house, seeing the appalling conditions spreading out around them. It was all a result of her father, her family… she felt sick to her stomach when her mind reeled with the wealth sitting in the palace, collecting dust.
She was lost in her thoughts when she ran into Mikhail, who had suddenly stopped, bumping into his back. He turned around with a small smile on his face.
“Are you alright there,Your Grace?” He always used the nickname when he wanted to bring some of the fire back to her expression.
Anastasia rolled her eyes, and Mikhail nodded towards the front door that they had stopped in front of.
“After you.”
The pair was quiet as they stepped inside the door, immediately greeted by the innkeeper’s warm face. She ushered the both of them through a warm sitting room, plain but cozy, and up a slanted set of steps.
Mikhail and the innkeeper chatted easily back and forth; Anastasia watched on, studying his face. He was kind and attentive to the innkeeper, listening to the tales about her family, but she couldn’t place the other emotion on his face when his eyes flickered to hers.
“Here we are,” the innkeeper’s voice got a little louder as she pulled out of the conversation with Mikhail to address them both, “It’s small, hopefully, it will be comfortable. I’ve had some food brought up.”
“I’m sure it’s wonderful,” Mikhail grinned. “We need to leave before dawn anyway. Thank you for your hospitality.”
“Thank you,” the innkeeper had turned to Anastasia, grabbing her hands. “You have no idea what you did today. People are whispering. You bringhope.” She squeezed Anastasia’s fingers and handed Mikhail the key to the room, then jogged off down the stairs, wiping tears from her eyes.
Anastasia stood there, paralyzed, not sure what to do with the praise. Mikhail studied her, noticing how uncomfortable she got when someone complimented her.
“Let’s go,” he leaned over and put his hand on her arm, nodding towards the door. “You need to eat to replenish the magic you used today.”
Anastasia nodded silently, following Mikhail as he unlocked the room and let them both inside. Anastasia stepped in front of him, studying the small room.
“Mikhail,” she hissed, turning to him as he shut the door behind them. “What were youthinking?”
“What?” He looked at her, confused, as he took in the small space. “This is much nicer than most people in the city could ever hope to achieve, Anastasia,” his voice got stern. “If you think that this isn’t —“
“No!” Anastasia cut him off, crossing her arms over her chest. “Mikhail. There’sonly one bed.”He stopped, standing up straighter and looking over at the bed as if it was the first time he saw it.
An awkward silence fell between them, Mikhail stopping to let his hair down and retying it.
“We can’t do anything about it,” Mikhail finally shrugged. He went to sit down at the small table at the foot of the bed, unwrapping a basket of bread. “Come eat.”
“We can’tdoanything about it?” Anastasia snapped, careful to keep her voice down so the innkeeper wouldn’t overhear. “We can’t stay here!”
Mikhail ripped off a piece of bread and dipped it in a pot of stew, gnawing on the end. “Where else do you suppose we go? Unless you want to sneak back into the palace tonight.”
“We can’t do that, but, Mikhail, this is —,” Anastasia blushed furiously and waved towards the general direction of the bed. “It’s improper!”
Mikhail looked at her, a deadpan expression on his face. “Really? You care about court etiquette right now?”
“I just think —“
“I’ll sleep on the floor if you’re scared of me,” Mikhail smirked, raising his eyebrows once more before chuckling darkly to himself and digging back into the food.
“Scared of you?” Anastasia hissed, sitting down across from him in a huff. “You’re impossible.”
“Eat,” Mikhail nodded towards the food, “I wasn’t kidding. You used up a lot of energy today; I was worried you were going to overexert yourself.”
“You were worried about me? Touching,” Anastasia quipped back, the small space feeling even smaller around the both of them. The air seemed to get thicker, and she took a deep breath. If only she weren’t wearing so many damned layers.
“Of course,” Mikhail shrugged, looking up at her, “We can’t have you losing control.”
