Lady of Sparta

A week slowly passed by. An awkward silence hung between Aristides and me whenever we were in the same room. I wanted to know how to fix it, but I didn’t know how to break the tension between us. He didn’t like that I knew about his wife, or he just didn’t want to think about it. I didn’t want to break him more than he already was. All I could do was just sit back and hope that he could make himself feel better.

During the week, I stayed inside the house. I didn’t venture out like I was tempted to. I was getting anxious from only looking at the four walls. The walls seemed to close in on me, making me go insane. I wanted to know what was going on with my situation. I haven’t heard from Embry or Germaine. As I ate some berries that were left out for me, I heard the door creak open.

I looked up to see Embry standing in the doorway. “It’s nice to see you again,” he said with a cheery tone. He looked me over, noticing that I was still wearing the same clothes when I last saw him.

My clothes were covered in dirt and had a stain of my blood from the wounds that I had. The cuts were still there on my arm, but they were going away, leaving scars in their wake. I looked like a mess, and I wasn’t used to that. I have always tried to look my best, but in the past that seemed impossible.

I groaned. I guessed I shouldn’t think of him when I want help. He was already making me feel uncomfortable in my skin, and Germaine didn’t join him, making it worse. “Nice to see you, too,” I replied with much less enthusiasm.

“Oh, come on. I have news,” he told me. The way he is acting told me that I may not enjoy this. It was almost like he wanted to get my hopes up.

I looked at him waiting for him to go on. His brown eyes focused on me as he stood, silently waiting for me to say something. A sigh escaped my lips. “Are you going to tell me, or am I going to be left in the dark?” I asked, annoyance ringing in my voice.

“Well, we came into a problem. Gaston told me that he may not be able to get you back. You walked through the Magic Lapse, and it’s very odd when it comes to sending things back. He’s working on a way to get past its shield,” he explained.

“What do you mean shield?” I question. “How can a time lapse have a shield?”

Embry shook his head. I was annoying him, and it was clear by the look in his eyes. “Listen, Gemma. You’re not going to be in Atlantis, so you don’t have to know about time lapses. It’s not your problem to worry about. It’s ours, so don’t worry about this. Just stay beautiful and relax.”

He stretched the word ‘beautiful’ out a little bit longer than it should have been. It made the hair on the back of my neck stand up and sent shivers down my back. I didn’t like the feeling that he gave me. It just kept on getting worse by the minute. The way he seemed to want me made me want to shrink away from him and hide, but I didn’t want to show him anything that he could use to his advantage.

“Well, you gave the news. Will you please leave now?” I asked him.

“Wanting to be alone?” Embry looked at me, trying to read my face. “It would seem like you would want to be around someone.”

I nodded my head, ignoring the last part. I didn’t want to be with him. I wanted company that I could be comfortable with. Being alone on a daily basis was getting annoying; seeing how Aristides was always gone by the time I woke up every morning.

“I’ll keep you informed.” Embry stood up and walked out the door. He left with another wink directed at me, and I was becoming more uneasy when it came to him. If anything, I was dreading his next visit.

I was alone again with only the sound of birds, chirping outside. It was almost calming. The only thing more calming than the birds would be if I was able to go outside and see them. I was getting bored with myself. I only had the four walls to watch. At least, back at home I had the TV. Who was I kidding? I was spoiled by my time era. I had all the technology that made life easier and people lazier. We had cars that could take us from point A to point B without any problems. There was a television that gave us entertainment, and there were phones that kept us in contact with others.

“I’m going to go insane,” I muttered to myself. It took me a second to realize that I did in fact just talk to myself. I didn’t have much time to dwell on it when Aristides walked into the house.

“Why was Embry here?” he asked. “He wouldn’t give me an answer.”

“He told me that they came into issues about getting me back. I’m stuck here with you for a little longer.” I smiled at him.

“Oh, I get to have your company longer,” he replied. There was a smile on his face, but it wasn’t touching his eyes. This was a normal smile that he gave me, and I could see that he wasn’t happy after everything that has happened.

“Yeah, sorry. I know that I’m not the perfect roommate,” I informed him. “But I’m better than nothing, right?”

He asked me what a roommate was. It never got annoying to me. I loved telling him about my time era. He always listened with fascination. He never let me get bored when he was around. He kept me talking about something. I didn’t know if it was because he didn’t like the silence or because he knew I didn’t like being in here by myself. The thought of the awkward silences came to mind. He didn’t like them as much as I did.

“How come you haven’t asked about my wife?” he questioned. It seemed like he had been trying to ask me that for a long time.

“Because it isn’t my place to ask,” I answered. I looked into his eyes, trying to gauge his reaction. “Why?”

“Everyone else always asked how I am, and if they didn’t know her, what she was like,” he admitted. “I hate it. They don’t even realize that I just want to move on, but they keep bringing her up. Hesperos treats me like I’m a broken treasure most of the time. I’m never just treated like a person.”

“Aristides, listen to me. Just because you miss her doesn’t mean that you are weak,” I told him. “Sometimes, people die. I know it sucks, and it hurts. It’s just a part of living, and you are not weak for missing your wife.”

“I didn’t say that,” he pointed out.

“But you act like it,” I retorted.

He looked at me. I couldn’t tell what he was looking for, but he found something. He gave me another smile, but this one touched his eyes. This was the first real smile that he had ever given me, and I almost wanted to scream. He was happy for that moment. It was a moment that would last forever inside my dreams.