It only took hours, but Myra’s breathing had begun to slow. Her face felt dry, and her cheeks itched where her tears had flown. She wrapped Dacien’s wool blanket around herself tighter while her mind replayed the fizzing fire burning through her life.

“Have some water.” Dacien broke her out of her dooming reverie with a glass of cold water.

Myra took it carefully, took the tiniest sip. She shook her head with a deep exhale, forcing her mind onto different things.

She looked around Dacien’s house from the chair she burrowed up in. It was…Plain. Undecorated and grey. The front room they stayed in was almost empty, save for two plain wooden chairs, a simple table with a lantern, and a pair of cream curtains covering the only window.

It sure didn’t help Myra’s mental state. Still, she felt grateful for the distraction, and of course for being pulled away from doing something truly awful.

Dacien had stayed quiet for hours, letting Myra steep in her thoughts, the actions of the night. He, himself, had to process everything that had happened.

How could the townsfolk do something like that? The people he grew up with, worked with, partied with. How could they be so evil? And Myra… She was going to kill them. Suffocate and burn them, the way they had her possessions. How could she do that?

Dacien copied Myra’s breath, bracing himself to talk. He couldn’t meet the serious situation with the seriousness it needed. So he tried the opposite,

“Myra,” He began. Her eyes caught his for only a moment. “You can’t go back now, they’ll take you to jail. Or worse.”

She didn’t respond.

“That means there’s only one option.” He couldn’t resist the grin surfacing, “You’ll have to leave with me, to another town. We’ll wed, buy a house, make a family–”

Myra’s head snapped to Dacien, anger bursting. “Will you ever take no as no?! I’m not interested! I’d rather get arrested! Tortured and burned at the stake! My god, you are annoying! Is that why you brought me here?” She laughed in disbelief, “Or is this my divine punishment? Live life the way I never wanted, at the beck and call of another. Fine! Whisk me away – I'll stay mute – and you can live your deranged happy ever after! Yes,” she pondered aloud, “deranged. That's exactly what you are! I'm the weirdo?! They've clearly never met you. My God!” Myra rambled, and rambled, and was about to ramble some more until she set her fiery gaze back upon the man riling her up.

Riling her up is exactly what he was doing. The huge, dumb grin he wore was certainly proof of that!

Myra reeled her anger in, took a sharp breath. “Dacien, darling,” she mocked, “I think you might be my least favourite person in all of history.”

He held his shoulder as he laughed, a real joyous and smooth laugh. It was nice to listen to, Myra would admit. Almost contagious, so she fought to keep the scowl on her lips.

“That's a feat!” Dacien managed between breaths, “There are some terrible people in days past. Still alive today, even.”

“Yes, maybe re-evaluate your personality then.”

He let out an incredulous puff of air, “I have a great personality.”

“If that were true, then I wouldn’t question our friendship every time we meet.”

Myra kept her eyes steady, her brows slightly creased, despite noticing the way Dacien’s features softened while his eyes gleamed with excitement. “You’re admitting that we’re friends!” He said with all the enthusiasm of a childlike spirit.

“Possibly.” Myra grit her teeth. She couldn’t believe she was giving in to all the incessant chattering and constant barrier-crossing Dacien had subjected her to over the past month. And she almost hated the fact that she liked Dacien’s reaction to it. Hated the idea that he came across as cute – like a mischievous puppy who’d finally learned a simple trick. “You’re at least a little bearable.”

Dacien’s pride swelled, and Myra was quickly regretting her words. Still, there was definitely more she felt the need to say. “Thank you, Dacien. For taking me away from…everything. And for not running the other way.” She forced a small smile.

Dacien studied her expression for a handful of moments before redirecting his attention to the lamp on the table. He shook his head, only slight. “Don’t mention it. It’s what you do for friends, no?” He smiled again.

The moment took them into a comfortable silence.

It really highlighted the dead of night, the nothingness happening in the dark outside. It was just Myra and Dacien sitting comfortably in an almost empty room, their skin dyed a faint, flickering orange by the lantern, and the low sounds of their lungs moving. Myra felt her heartbeat drum a peaceful pace, finally calmed after such an awful day.

Darkness outside, darkness in the future, Myra couldn’t help but think. She cursed her own mind for ruining the peace, however true it may be. What would her future look like now? She had but not one guess. 

She took a breath to calm her quickening pulse. That would be a problem for later.