"Hidden Away"
Title: "Hidden Away"
Author: Rissy James
Characters: Glitch and DG
Rating: PG-13
Summary: One-shot. Post-series. Echoes of the past speak of a lost and (almost) forgotten love, and the difference between what was and what is.
Author's Note: Written for Challenge 2A ("Epistolary Fic") at tm_challenge over on Livejournal.
[ Hidden Away - Seek And Ye Shall... - Dainty and Inelegant ]
Hidden Away
When Glitch was informed one night over dinner that his private study had been unearthed during the chaos and bustle of restoring the Central palace, he'd been hard pressed to contain his squeal of delight. When DG heard of Glitch's good news, she convinced him to allow her to accompany him.
Two days of dust and grime, of cobwebs and woggle beetle exoskeletons followed. It seemed Ambrose had been in the midst of packing when he'd picked up and left everything behind in a hurry. When he returned almost ten annuals later, his head was much lighter but his heart was worn and happy.
Cleaning it themselves was a mildly successful endeavour. A week in, DG set to putting books back on the freshly lemon-waxed shelves. Pulling a jumble of hard-cover journals and technical manuals out of a box, she lost her grip on one. It fell to the floor with a thud. Cursing low under her breath - at which Glitch's tsk, tsk sounded from the opposite side of the room - she bent over and picked up the book.
From its flapping pages fell a piece of paper.
“Ooh, look,” she said with great interest. Glitch looked up from the volume that had distracted him, a personal account of building what looked to be a very complex machine, if the diagrams were to be believed. Glitch had shown it to her earlier with a grin; she'd cocked her head to the side, frowning. Perhaps looking at the picture from a different angle would change the amount of sense it made.
“What is it?” Glitch asked now.
DG held up the paper as she shelved the book she'd dropped. “A hidden letter.”
“Brilliant, lets see!” Glitch got up from the desk and crossed the room. DG handed him the paper, and watched as he unfolded it. His eyes scanned down quickly, but even faster was the deep blush that rose to his cheeks. Within seconds, he'd finished reading and had at the same time turned an amazing shade of crimson.
“Oh my,” Glitch said in disbelief as he folded the letter. “Ohh my.”
DG laughed; she couldn't help it. “Love letter, huh? It can't be that bad,” she said. “May I?”
“At your own risk.”
Rolling her eyes, DG took the letter and unfolded it. The paper had once been gold; in the intervening annuals, the sheen had worn off and the colour had faded to pale yellow. It had been written with a very light and fine, but steady, hand; the signature at the bottom belonged to Ambrose. An unsent love letter.
My dearest, sweetest Treasure,
The towers of the city are aglow in moonlight, but my heart remains with you, resting in Finaquan fields. My eyes linger to the south. My ears stay keened for the merest mention of your name.
A thousand escape plans have burst fully formed into my head, though none will execute as perfectly in reality as in fantasy, from trial and error I know this well. Patience is key to peace; this I seek desperately.
My duties in Central City keep the burden of being away from you at bay during daylight hours, where out of sight the twin suns cannot stand as celestial reminders of each moment passing without my having reached for you, looked upon you, breathed beside you.
DG tore her eyes away from the page. “Eloquent, weren't you?”
Glitch shook his head. “Him,” he said quietly, plucking the letter from her fingers. “Not me. I could never - no, not me.”
DG sighed, and looped her arm through his, noticing that he'd pocketed the letter with the finesse of a magician. “So, who was it for?” She looked up at her friend to see the blush in his cheeks rage anew. She perked her eyebrow curiously. “Glitch... who was it for?”
[ Hidden Away - Seek And Ye Shall... - Dainty and Inelegant ]
