This love is like a curse (6)
His hands were completely white. Almost as white as himself. And also unusually graceful and beautiful.
Talia, without thinking, reached out to him, but felt the bird, clenched in her palm, twitch its wing, and hastily retreated.
- It is forbidden. I have something in my hands.
From under the hood, heavy from the rain, you could see how the boy’s eyes narrowed.
He looked down at her hand pressed to her chest.
- Is this something important?
Thalia hesitated for a moment, then shook her head.
- No, it’s not important.
- Then throw it away.
“Even if it’s unimportant, I can’t throw it away.”
Her harsh words made his perfectly smooth forehead frown. He seemed to be getting irritated. She even had the thought that he might just leave her here and leave.
But instead, the boy again did something completely inconsistent with his cold appearance. He suddenly bent down, and then, without hesitation, picked her up - all smeared in mud and wet from the rain.
Thalia screamed in surprise. Then he hugged her tightly and said dryly:
- Don't move.
Thalia immediately obeyed his instructions.
While she carefully loosened her grip so as not to harm the bird she pressed to his chest, he confidently walked up the sodden slope. His movements were deft, almost cat-like.
But even despite the agility with which he got out of the quagmire, he could not avoid the mud. He frowned as he noticed stains on his pants, boots, and coat.
- Terrible.
“...You got dirty helping me.” I will compensate for the damage. I can buy you clothes much more expensive than this. Actually, I'm the daughter of a very, very important man. I will order the servants to give you a generous reward.
The girl said this out of genuine guilt, but for some reason he seemed offended.
The boy walked past the earthen pile near the pit and said bluntly:
- Petty, but already so arrogant.
Thalia flushed. At another time, she would have slapped him without hesitation for saying something like that. No one dared to talk to the emperor's daughter like that.
But for some reason... now she could not utter a word. The cold rain mercilessly lashed her forehead and cheeks, but her face glowed as if on fire.
He stopped under a spreading tree that Senevier had not yet managed to uproot. At this moment the bird made a faint squeak.
The boy, who was about to put Thalia down, froze and looked down at her hand clenched against his chest.
-What are you holding?
It seemed like it was only now that he really became curious.
She hesitated a moment before carefully opening her fingers.
- Bird? - He muttered incredulously.
And it's true. The tiny chick, with its unsightly, muddy wings drooping down and its bare pink breast, looked more like a rat than a bird.
Thalia blushed. Although it was the chick that was ugly, for some reason she was the one who felt pathetic.
“He just fell into the mud.” But in general...
Maybe he was prettier before.
She wanted to say so, but hesitated. This brown, bony chick was hardly ever particularly beautiful. Most likely, an ordinary starling, of which there are plenty everywhere.
But the boy seemed to have decided that even such a pitiful creature deserved sympathy. He supported Thalia with one hand and pulled the other - with the chick - towards the inside of his hood.
The girl opened her eyes. His skin, touching her fingers, was surprisingly warm - like the glow of a fireplace. The chick, in search of warmth, pressed against the hollow under his collarbone.
-Your fingers are like ice. How long did you stand there?
The boy, who had previously been looking at the chick under his chin, turned to her. Now Talia could get a close-up look at his blue eyes, hidden under thick eyelashes, heavy with rainwater.
Up close, his eyes were very unusual. Like a clear winter sky strewn with silver dust.
The girl, looking intently at him, muttered absentmindedly:
- You know... There is a silver crown in your eyes.
The boy's eyes widened slightly.
His lips parted slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but immediately closed. Thalia suddenly realized that this nameless boy was also looking into her eyes. What did he see in her pupils?
While she was thinking about this, a familiar voice was heard somewhere in the distance:
- My girl!
It was the nanny.
She was still not used to calling her “Your Highness” and therefore from time to time she called her as before, for which she often received reprimands from her mother and other maids. But it seems she couldn’t relearn it. Her worried voice echoed in the distance.
“I... have to go,” Thalia whispered.
She didn’t know why, but she really didn’t want to say those words. And maybe the boy didn’t want to hear them either.
He stood motionless for a long time, and then, as if reluctantly, he slowly lowered her to the ground.
When his hands released her, Thalia felt a piercing cold. Only then did she realize how warm his embrace was.
After hesitating a little, she handed him the chick.
-Will you take him with you?
Because my hands are too cold, and you are warm.
She wanted to say it out loud, but he had already leaned down and carefully picked up the bird. Then he brought it to his plaster-white cheek and pulled his hood, trying to protect him from the rain.
Thalia, without taking her eyes off him, asked:
- Will he... survive?
-...Yes.
Blue eyes, which reflected the silver crown, did not leave her face for a long time.
- He will survive.
The boy's face remained expressionless, but for some reason Thalia thought he smiled.
Then she turned sharply and ran away - through the rain-drenched garden, between uprooted rose bushes and piles of earth like fresh graves.
She didn’t know how far she ran, but suddenly, as if on a whim, she turned around. He was still standing under the big tree.
Why doesn't he leave?
Может, ждёт, пока утихнет дождь. Or maybe he’s just looking after her.
Suddenly Thalia had the urge to go back. Return to it.
Hide from the rain with him. She wanted to sit next to the warm fireplace and watch the chick recover.
But while she hesitated, the nanny suddenly jumped out of the building. Apparently she had been looking for her for a long time - her plump face was glowing.
- Where have you been?! You can’t even imagine how long Mrs. Senevier has been looking for you!
Она крепко схватила Талию своими пухлыми ладонями и потянула её в сторону пристройки.
- And who do you look like! You will soon have to meet His Majesty, and you look like this!
-...I was just walking. And she fell.
- My God, what a walk in this weather?!
Screaming in an indignant voice, the nanny walked towards the corridor leading to the palace.
Thalia, almost trailing behind her, looked back.
But the boy had already disappeared.