Rise (15 page)

Victoria reached down and felt along her side. The bandages were hard and sticky with her blood. As she did, she felt Roman watching her every move, eyes full of concern. It was hard to recall much of the day before, given that Raela had stabbed and poisoned her, but she hadn’t forgotten what Roman had said to her.

“
It’s my fault.” He startled her with the seriousness of his voice. Granted, his voice was always fairly serious, but this time it sounded hollow, regretful. “How is this your fault? You had nothing to do with this.” Victoria asked, feeling mildly irritated. The last thing she needed was him to try and play hero after the fact. She could have used his self-sacrifice before she got stabbed.

“
I should have known. I saw the way she was looking at you. I should have known how dangerous she was.”

“
Roman” She looked at him, hoping she could stop flinching long enough to speak. “I didn’t even know, and I actually live with her. I’ve lived with her my whole life. She’s been the same, irritating, rabbit-face girl my entire life. I had no reason to suspect anything else, so I didn’t. If it’s anyone fault, it’s mine.” She searched Roman’s face as she spoke. His face seemed to be relaxing slightly.

“
Besides, I’m not permanently injured. I’ll heal up, and we’ll get back to the quest.” She tried to smile, but stopped, because she figured it would look rather ghastly. Roman looked at her uncertainly for a moment, but then broke into a small grin.

“
So, who taught you how to brawl?”

Victoria laughed, ignoring the pain in her side as she did.

“
When I was younger, there used to be a lot more girls at the convent. I guess they were just here to learn some religious texts. Simple stuff. I was a bit of a bully.” She admitted. “Did you take their lunch money?” Roman teased, and he grabbed her hand, and rested it in the palm of his own. “No” she laughed, “But I did take their slop. I used to pile bowls in my room. I didn’t even like slop. I just took it because I could, I guess—“Her story was interrupted by an angry growl from her stomach. “Woah, I’m hungry.” She said with such force, that Roman laughed out loud. “No worries. I brought you something from the city.” He got up and walked to Victoria’s desk, that was next to the door. She saw him bend down, pick up and tray, and walk slowly back to the bed.

“
Here, it’s just a little something.” He placed the tray on her lap, and Victoria couldn’t help but squeal in delight. It looked just like the giant hamburger she’d had at the diner with Roman. Surrounding it were long, golden French fries. Without any further hesitation, she grabbed the sandwich in her hand, and took a huge bite. As she chewed, she frowned, slightly. It still tasted delicious, but it tasted a bit odd, almost like something was missing. As if he read her thoughts, Roman smiled. It’s a veggie burger. They’re just as tasty, and much healthier. You almost died. I wouldn’t want to kill you again. Oh, and before I forget, I brought these too.” He reached into his knapsack that was sprawled on the floor, and withdrew a stack of comic books. “I’ll just put them here.” He said, as he made room on her nightstand.

“
What’s going to happen to Raela?” Victoria asked, after she’d devoured her veggie burger and fries.

“
Nothing.” said Roman, calmly, but in his face, she could see that he looked the farthest thing from it. “Why not? That’s attempted murder isn’t it? I’ve read about some of the court cases in Gracelia.” Victoria protested, and she licked French fry salt from her fingers.

“
It’s not really that simple. The convent is tied to the Other Sisterhood. Right?” Victoria nodded. “The Other Sisterhood technically operates outside of the law. The Board is completely aware of our…activities, but they ignore them, generally. But if you tried to prosecute Raela for attempted murder, legally, they’d have to look into the entire convent and…” He trailed off and sighed. “There’s nothing we can do, legally. As for the convent, she’ll probably be kicked out and sent back home. There’s nothing stopping her from coming back, though.”

Victoria felt a chill go up her spine, and she wasn’t entirely sure why. This was Raela they were talking about, right? Sure, she’d attempted murder, but she was still Raela, wasn’t she? “What are you thinking about?” Roman leaned closer to her, and looked into her eyes.

Victoria sighed, and looked down at her empty plate. “I’m just wondering what caused this. Her change. It was so sudden, really. In response, Roman just shrugged his shoulders. “You changed, I changed. It happens. Sometimes, it’s a bad change, like Raela’s.”

“
You changed?” Victoria raised her eyebrows in surprise. She remembered Roman when she’d first met him, face to face, on that dark night that seemed so long ago. He had seemed different, but his eyes had never glittered like Raela’s.

“
I did." As if he were reading her mind, he hastily added “But you didn’t know me when I was at my worst. It was a bad time. I don’t like to revisit it.”

Victoria rolled his answer around in her head for a moment, before deciding to let it slide. She couldn’t imagine him ever having a dangerous streak as wide as Raela’s, but she supposed he had to have one at some point, or else he would have never been sent to the convent.

The two sat in silence for a few more minutes before Roman stood up from his chair, and waved his arms about the air in a dramatic stretch. “Well, I should probably be going. It’s getting late. I wouldn’t want to be late for…monk activities. Very important, you know.” He flashed her grin, and ducked out the door, leaving Victoria to stare at her empty plate in the darkening room.

In the days that followed, Roman visited every day. She was grateful for this because excluding him, no one, at all had been to see her. On her fifth day of healing, it dawned on her how odd this was, and she made a point to ask Roman about it when he returned.

As expected, bright and early on the sixth day after her injury, there was a soft knock at the door. “Come in.” Her voice sounded much stronger than it had before, and Victoria considered that to be a sign of major improvement. The door creaked open, revealing Roman, who entered the room carrying his duffel bag in one hand, and a paper bag of food in the other. He set the bag carefully down onto her lap and slowly slid out its contents. “Beef Stew.” She nodded in appreciation. “Sister Katherine told me that you needed something hearty, to help speed your recovery. He pulled utensils out of the paper bag, handed them to Victoria, and settled back into his chair with a magazine in one hand, and an apple, from his duffel bag, in the other. They’d settled into this routine, to which Victoria had grown rather accustomed to. They didn’t have to talk, they could simply be in the presence of each other. It was a nice feeling, she had to admit. But today, she did want to talk.
“Roman, I—I had a question.” Why was she feeling so nervous all of a sudden? She was just asking a question. A simple question, right? She continued on, slowly. “Why hasn’t anyone been to visit me but you?”

He looked up from his magazine, and Victoria watched as an odd expression overtook his face. “Just busy, I guess. I told them I’d take care of your food and things. I didn’t want them to worry. They’ve got enough to deal with.” His words were rushed, and Victoria had the creeping feeling that he was lying to her. She wasn’t sure, but when she saw that Roman said all he did with his face buried in his magazine, she knew that something was wrong. “Roman, look at me.” Her voice was still a little soft, likely because Raela had bruised her neck during their brawl, but it was enough to get his attention. He looked up, still avoiding her eyes. He’s clever, Victoria thought, as she watched Roman’s eyes settle on a place just slightly above her forehead, so that it looked like he was looking at her.

“
I’m glad you think my forehead is so interesting, but stop avoiding my eyes. No one is coming to see me, and you better tell me why, or I’ll go find them myself.” Victoria shifted to her side, to make it appear as if she was going to try and get up. She wasn’t, as she was still hurting too much to even think about walking, but she knew that would get Roman going. He’d been obsessed with her healing since day one.

“
What, no! Sit down!” Victoria winced. His voice came out louder and stronger than he intended, so he followed it up with an apology. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to yell. Just sit down. You need to heal.” Roman ran his fingers through his hair, something Victoria was quickly recognizing to be a sign of stress.

She narrowed her eyes, and settled back into her pillows. “Just tell me. Why has no one come to visit me?”

Roman sighed, and rubbed his forehead. “The thing is, you’re in danger.”

Victoria felt her world slow, and she looked at Roman and blinked. He was staring back at her, solemnly, as if what he’d just said had no effect on him whatsoever. “Come again?” Victoria rubbed her ears, so that she could be sure of what she was hearing. “You’re in danger. I told you already, there is nothing to stop Raela from coming back, and from what the sisters have told me, she might.”

“
But,--“Victoria searched for the right words, “Wasn’t she kicked out of the convent, and sent back to her parents?”

“
Raela’s not a child anymore, so her parents have no more jurisdiction over her than the law does, in this case. She hasn’t been spotted around here at any rate, but Sister Katherine doesn’t want anyone getting near you while you’re healing.”

“
What about you?”

“
Well, I wager I’m a little bit different than other company you might have.” Roman chuckled, and Victoria grew a little uncomfortable. “I’m the only person who can come in and out. It’s easier to monitor you that way. But Grace is outside guarding.

Victoria smiled at the thought of Grace, and her holy scimitar blinding anyone who tried to enter. “Do you think she will try to come back?” She asked, although she wasn’t sure if she wanted to know. She didn’t like the idea of having anyone, particularly an assassin, possibly following her for the rest of her life.

Roman shrugged. “Probably.” He said, then he saw Victoria’s face. “I mean, maybe.” He said hastily. “In all honesty, Victoria, it’s possible. She’ll probably want revenge, because you destroyed her dagger.” “One of her daggers.” Victoria muttered. “How did she get two daggers anyway?”

“
Stolen.” Roman frowned as he said this. “It’s looked down upon, generally.” “Why?” “Because, like I told you, in a way, the dagger chooses you. If you steal a dagger that chose someone else, it’s just…wrong.” He didn’t have to explain any further, Victoria knew what he meant. Her dagger felt like a part of her, and it would just be all wrong if it was in someone else’s hand.

“
What happens when you steal a dagger?” “I don’t really know.” Roman said, shaking his head. “I haven’t really seen it done. But I hear that it doesn’t work properly or something, but I don’t really know what that means” he confessed.

“
So, I’m stuck in here until I’m completely healed?” Roman grimaced. “Pretty much.”

“
You aren’t just here because you have to be, are you? You would come, even if I wasn’t in danger right?” It wasn’t something Victoria had meant to ask right away, but it’d been on her mind for the past few days, and she couldn’t erase her doubts.
“Victoria, look at me. I would be here if you weren’t in danger. I would be here even if you weren’t hurt at all. Please don’t doubt that.” Victoria looked into Roman’s eyes as he said this, and sensed that he was being completely sincere. She felt herself release a breath she didn’t know she was holding in and she grabbed Roman’s hand. There was something so truthful, genuine, about him. Despite the fact that he’s an assassin monk who lives a double life. She smiled wryly, leaned in, and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips, surprising herself a little. It was definitely out of her comfort zone, but it felt right.

It was another full week before Victoria felt confident enough to try and walk. Her confidence alone, however, wasn’t the only thing that was building. As much as she enjoyed Roman’s company, being trapped in the confines of her room was slowly driving her insane. That, combined with the lessened pain in her side, encouraged her to try and walk again as soon as possible.

It was slow going at first. She felt pain shooting up her side at every step, but as the days turned into weeks, Victoria felt her side paining her less and less. By the fifteenth day following her injury, Victoria was walking in circles around her room, buzzing with anticipation. With Roman’s assurance that in a few more days, she would be allowed out, she started doing arm and leg stretches.

“
Knock knock” She heard a soft rapping at her door. “Come in.” The door slid open, and he sauntered in, carrying his knapsack over one shoulder. “Sorry, couldn’t bring anything today. I did bring some slop from the kitchen.” He held up the bowl hopefully. Victoria grimaced. “Just set it on the nightstand, and maybe I’ll eat it.”

“
How’re you coming?” He asked, as he settled himself down in his usual chair by her bedside.

“
Good, good” she responded, and she twirled her foot in a circle, experimentally, to see how it would affect her side. No pain, that was good. “I’m feeling good.”

“
We might be able to get you out of here as early as tomorrow.” Roman said, as he watched her twirl her foot some more. “Really?” He nodded, smiling. “That’d be fantastic. I can’t wait. But, wait—Victoria remembered something that she hadn’t thought about in a while. “Our task, what about the task?”