“No.” Mannik answered the woman simply. “There’s a lot of things not right in this world. We do what we can. No. There’s nothing you can do, and nothing that you should do. If you insert yourself into the investigation, you are putting yourself at risk, and making all of these precautions and sacrifices was completely useless.”

The only thing that gave away how angry Mannik felt as Adel relayed her story was a tightening around his eyes. Adelmar wasn’t telling him the entire truth, that much was clear from her pause. He wasn’t going to push her to say more, but did want to ensure she was alright.

Although initially Mannik hadn’t been sure how she would react to him linking hands, when he had attempting to tug away, she squeezed his fingers, revealing a strength that he knew was there, hidden under layers she must have built up throughout her life. He left his hand in hers, although Mannik was seriously wishing his hands weren’t covered in dust from Below.

She continued to talk, and Mannik raised an eyebrow in surprise. She hadn’t called her fiancé? At all? A strange feeling welled up in Mannik. Sadness that he was apparently a wedge between them, although that fact also made him oddly happy. There was also an indescribable feeling of pride welling up in him. She trusted him enough and wanted him to help her. He’d never have her how he wanted, but it was becoming clear that he could still be here for her. That felt good, in its own way.

“Yeah….” Mannik’s voice came out deep and rasping. He cleared his throat and tried again. “I wanted to make sure he’d be here for you… He called you? He’s on his way? Did he, uhm, mention anything else?” Adelmar had stated that he’d called her…did she know he was away with Sarah? God…he couldn’t tell Adel that. Surely Zenon wouldn’t bring Sarah here, especially not looking how she had. Adelmar would be so hurt. She knew about most of his flings, yes, but this one was too close to home.

Mannik was ripped from his thoughts as he leaned back away from her wrist. She answered the question, and then suddenly, she was leaning against him! He stiffened and inhaled quickly. All it did was make him realize that him stiffening was probably uncomfortable for her, and his breath inhaled just made him realize how good she smelled.

He forced himself to relax, and once he did, emotions welled up inside him again. Mannik sighed, letting her stay. The warmth emitting from her felt amazing. Mannik wanted to stay in the moment forever, but a small voice kept telling him he wouldn’t want her to feel this way forver. He could feel her stress and fear from how tightly she was holding his jacket, and a moment later the shaking of her shoulders told him she was crying. The trembles reached out to him, and Mannik felt something inside of him crack completely. He gave another sigh, and let his free hand slip around her waist gingerly. Not wanted her to think he was being inappropriate, and not wanting to frighten her, Mannik increased pressure just slightly, hugging the woman he loved tightly. He lowered his head, and tilted it, leaning against her gently. He sighed into her hair, and spoke again. “It’s alright. I’m here. Everything is alright now…”
~</3~
“Ompfh!” Sarah left her room, and was tugged into an unforeseen embrace. Before she could protest or question these actions, Zenon was speaking to her, and stepped back so she was staring into those remarkable shining eyes he possessed. Two weeks? What is going on here? Mannik?

A million questions were raised in her mind, but before she could vocalize anything, he had kissed her forehead, and then his lips were on hers. Sarah’s eyes closed almost immediately, and her lips shifted, attempting to return the kiss. Then Zenon had stepped back, and was reminding her of her responsibilities again. Sarah made a small sound of protest, her mouth falling open.

Her blue eyes were wide, and looked even bigger with the makeup still on her face. It seemed to take a moment for her to pull herself together. She bit her lip and stared at the ground. It was difficult to tell if the redness on her cheeks was belaying how flushed she felt, or if it was just the makeup.

Finally, Sarah gave a nod. “Alright…yes. We…we need to go…Two weeks. What are you talking about, what you say or do? We’ve a long ride ahead of us, I expect that you’ll tell me then, hm?”