Tainted Love

They didn't speak about the war camp. Gonyaul didn’t ask and she didn’t feel compelled to tell. After all, he ‘didn't want to be a part of this’.

Sure, Voah was feeling a little salty and spiteful after being abandoned but hadn’t she done the same to him not long ago?

Seeds of distrust had been sewn between the two of them. Both of them were questioning the integrity of the other.

In truth she was surprised and relieved to see that he had remained in the hovel they had been sharing, welcoming her return with open arms, which she accepted both happily and begrudgingly. Her feelings hardly matched his, however, in fact, she found herself questioning why she had even bothered coming back at all.

Part of it was that she wanted to be worthy of his affection which he gave in spades… another part told her to keep her promises instead of breaking more vows. Because now she had nowhere to go and no one else to go to. Not even her once precious Pillars.

The only place left to go was Alcuin, but Voah was a sham Arbiter and he would find out before too long. There was more to Alcuin too, but that was another thread of investigation she would have to follow.

Yes, she truly loved Gonyaul, that much was obvious by now, but it was no stretch to say that love was strained and despite the fact that she silently appreciated his constant attendance to her needs, she was starting to get annoyed of it. Annoyed at herself even feeling like that in the first place. Annoyed that they both were pretending everything was fine.

Were the two of them realistically compatible? Could they ever come to a compromise between her crumbled Pillars and Vauxian? A compromise between taking action and making peace? Or would one of them have to completely compromise their values?

She hoped it would pass, but sooner or later there would be a breaking point between her and Gonyaul.