Cutting it fine but, Day 3, Story 3

100 Stories, 100 Days

Prompt 3 – Ends

Acqua sighed softly as she rested her head on her brother's shoulder, watching the stars fading out one by one and the bright blue line on the horizon growing thicker. Amaro had long since fallen asleep, but Acqua was in no rush to wake him. They'd spent a long night out here, just talking about things that they'd needed to talk about and which Acqua's trip to Morilanta had brought to the surface.

It hadn't been an easy or pleasant talk, for all it was productive and long needed. Endings were after all often difficult and uncomfortable. Indeed, as much as Acqua had longed for her older brothers to stop treating her as the 12-year-old she'd long since outgrown, there was something unsettling about the knowledge that the last ties of childhood were now gone.

Still, nothing ended without something new beginning. Maybe now she would be free to be herself around her family, without feeling she had to act like the silly, somewhat innocent child they'd still seen her as. Acqua was, she hoped, at last free to be the young woman that guild life and the streets of Ilyamen had moulded her into. It would be a pleasant change not to have to pretend, no matter the cost.

One of the first things that would end as a result of this freedom was that she fully intended to stop holding back in spars with Talon. She was at least as accomplished with her daggers as Talon was and it was past time the student proved she had at least equalled her teachers in that area. Maybe then her family would stop worrying about her.

Acqua hoped so. It would make her and Mat's future plans a little easier. Shifting closer to Amaro for warmth, Acqua watched the sun rise slowly and bath the siblings in the light of a new future. She knew that, whatever it held, they were both ready for it.

Because no matter what endings or beginnings they faced, the bond between them was unbreakable.