He was preserving you.
She didn’t believe it, or rather, she hadn’t and in this moment her mind changed. Behind a pensive breath there was a small shift in her pupils, an ever so subtle twitch in all the small muscles of her face.
This was a revelation that bore mixed feelings, but her emotions were firmly locked after the last slippage so it’s only manifestation would be the thin line of her lips and the slight furrow of her brow.
“M-m-m-m-my wh-wh---wits!” Suddenly her expression exploded, she laughed, again to marvel at the putrid beauty around them. Her eyes to rest on the ivy that covered entire sections, it caught the light, shimmering and dewy, it was gorgeous despite the parasitic nature of the plant.
The Crown’s men have brought us promise and hope.
Her laughter flattened, but a forced smile followed. The Crown. Promise and Hope were not without their price. She might have paused to explain this, but her eyes darted from the ivy and rotting books to the doorway and steps.
Clamoring down the stairs just then was Daryl, with a poor, jostled pitcher of water with droplets clinging and a slash spilling as he came to a surprised stop in the doorway just ahead.
“You woke her up?!” His young voice was hardly small, and genuinely alarmed. But before Gloria might even address the matter, Daryl’s eyes shifted to Genny and expression softened with understanding. Meanwhile, Genny’s hand slipped into the crook of Gloria’s elbow that they might walk side-by-side and help one another balance up the stairs.
Genny would lead on, slowly, a small smile forming as they began their ascent. “C-c-c-cakes… cl-cl-clever.”