Xerc fell into a restless sleep, barely able to move from the pain of the bruises on his body. His eyes shot open from a spark of a nightmare in which involved a very sharp knife, his throat, and menacing laughter coming from a man's voice. He put his hand to his neck and winced at the thought.
Slowly but surely he roused from his position and sat back against the headboard. Clenching his eyelids hard, he released them and allowed his eyesight adjust to the darkness. For the first time he noticed how he could see all of his floor, the starkness of the wood panels accenting the light walls. Wow, he thought, Yua did quite a job well done here. I did promise to pay her. Involuntarily, he found himself moving off of his bed and heading toward a drawer when he caught himself halfway. His foot paused midstep, nearly crushing Lethenia's tail, and receded back.
What in the blazes am I doing?! It's as dark as the blackest mountain crevice! She probably won't be awake in her room anyways. Xerc retreated back into his bed, his heart exhaling as if a bit disappointed. He shook the notion aside in his brain and gently lied down. But this time his eyes wouldn't shut. They kept a locked gaze with the immaculate ceiling. He drifted off into a state of bethinking. Nearly dreaming but entirely awake. Like a halfway stop between slumber and reality, a place where Xerxes could rest for hours.
But he didn't have hours. Or if he did, he at least didn't want them. Time was never an important thing to him. Why not take his time if he could? He didn't need time to constantly remind him of the dues he had to pay. Or rather, due. "Why, " he quietly asked of himself, "did I bother to help Yua today? It took time away from important things. Things in dire need of attention. She distracted me. But why?"
He closed his eyes and stopped thinking, reassuring himself that he did the right thing of helping someone in need. Yeah, she distracted him, but so do a lot of things. No. This was different. He couldn't pinpoint the exact reason, but, somehow, he knew, it was a different sort of distraction. One he hadn't experienced in quite a long time.
Xerc scoffed at himself and came to a decision that he would surprise her with a few silver. Such pay would most likely be more than she would receive in tip and, after all, she did such a good job in cleaning up the disaster that had once been his room. He walked over to his chest of drawers and took out seven silvers from his drawer and headed towards the door. Slowly and cautiously he unlatched his lock and opened the entranceway. No one inhabited the stark hallway, except the clump of person whom he recognized. "Yua?" he whispered.
