{"id":1444,"date":"2012-09-26T00:00:05","date_gmt":"2012-09-26T04:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=1444"},"modified":"2012-09-25T22:16:55","modified_gmt":"2012-09-26T02:16:55","slug":"winter-chapter-22-02","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=1444","title":{"rendered":"Winter – Chapter 22 – 02"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThe once and future king,\u201d Cameron echoed.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cAre we talking King Arthur, knights of the Round Table, T.H. White, <\/span>Mists of Avalon<\/span><\/em> craziness, or something else?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Neve uttered a weak, broken laugh.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThink about who you\u2019re talking to.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>You\u2019ve seen the things that attacked us.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>What\u2019d you call it, a troll?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThat\u2019s what it looked like,\u201d Cameron said, momentarily distracted from the matter at hand.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cBig, green, and ugly.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIt was a firbolg,\u201d she said.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cTraditional enemies, all that.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>We sort of shoved them out of our territory and out of the Isles, too.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Not nice types.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Neve inched closer, arms curling around his shoulders.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWe gave them a good reason for hate.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cEnough hate as a people to single <\/span>you<\/span><\/em> out?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>She winced.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThat\u2019s more complicated.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>And I don\u2019t want to talk about it.\u00a0 <\/span>It treads too close to things I fear.<\/span><\/em><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Cameron laced his fingers through her hair and held her for a few long, quiet moments.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Neve pressed closer, eyes sliding shut.<\/span>\u00a0 Maybe he\u2019ll just let it go.<\/em><\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYour family makes a lot of enemies,\u201d he finally said.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Close enough.<\/em>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYeah,\u201d she said, sighing.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIt either came with the territory or with theboys I grew up with, one or the other.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Not sure which.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 Maybe we can stay another day like this, even if the storm finally breaks.<\/em>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cJust a fact of life, I guess,\u201d she murmured into his shoulder.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cApparently so.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>He fell quiet again.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>He must have been listening to the storm.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Laying in his arms, she was comfortable and warm, but at the same time she was acutely aware of how much she still <\/span>hurt<\/span><\/em>.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Moving her leg was still agony and the rest of her still felt like she\u2019d been bruised straight down to the bone.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>But I\u2019m still alive to feel the pain.\u00a0 <\/span>That\u2019s better than the alternative\u2014much, much better.<\/span><\/em><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cSo is it?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIs what\u2026what?\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>She felt addled.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I must have dozed off for a moment.\u00a0 <\/span>What were we talking about?<\/span><\/em><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThis once and future king business.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Arthur, Round Table, all that jazz?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cOh,\u201d Neve said, swallowing a yawn before it could escape her lips.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cDo you want the honest answer, a lie, or what I actually believe?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Cameron considered the question for a moment, then said, \u201cWhich one am I most likely to want to believe?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cNone of the above.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Neve tugged the blankets closer.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cAll right.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Which is closest to the truth?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThat\u2019s an even harder question to answer.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Neve opened her eyes and looked up at him.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>His gaze was focused on something very far away.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>She sighed silently and tucked her face against his breastbone again.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI guess it might be.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Societies live and breathe mythologies, and that\u2019s honestly one of the most enduring.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Maybe it\u2019s that way for a reason.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I don\u2019t know.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I honestly don\u2019t know.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>I just know what the prophecies said, and the prophecies said that a king would rise.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>They didn\u2019t even say whether he would be a good king or a bad king, just that there would be a king. That\u2019s probably why everyone\u2019s jockeying for position now.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cAnd now we\u2019re back to discussing the war, aren\u2019t we?\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Cameron said quietly.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI\u2019m a part of it because you found me first?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYou\u2019re a part of it because you survived,\u201d Neve said.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThere was never any avoiding it.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Anyone who lived is eventually going to end up on one side or another.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Neutrality is a farce.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>You can try it, but it\u2019s probably just going to get you killed\u2014either because you said no to the wrong person or because someone assumes that because you trade with <\/span>this<\/span><\/em> community or sheltered <\/span>that<\/span><\/em> traveler, you must be on <\/span>this<\/span><\/em> side or <\/span>that<\/span><\/em> side of the conflict.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>She swallowed against the lump in her throat.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cI wish it wasn\u2019t that way, but that\u2019s the way it\u2019s probably going to end up.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIs there anything we can do to stop it from being that way?\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Cameron asked quietly.<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cYeah,\u201d she said.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cKick some ass and take some names and pray a lot that I\u2019m not wrong about all of this.\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cThis being?\u201d<\/span><\/span>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cEverything,\u201d she said.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cAbsolutely everything.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThe once and future king,\u201d Cameron echoed.\u00a0 \u201cAre we talking King Arthur, knights of the Round Table, T.H. White, Mists of Avalon craziness, or something else?\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Neve uttered a weak, broken laugh.\u00a0 \u201cThink about who you\u2019re talking to.\u00a0 … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[35,61,14,52,39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1444","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-2","category-chapter-22","category-story","category-winter","category-year-one"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1EBlN-ni","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1444","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1444"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1444\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1445,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1444\/revisions\/1445"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1444"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1444"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1444"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}