I rolled over in bed and lifted the blankets off my rested body in the direction of the sun that was just shining through the window, it’s warm golden light providing a glow into the hotel room. I left my bed to gaze through the window. The sunlight filled the sky and illuminated every inch of the land and seemingly to the very end of the sea in the horizon. The sea however, was dark, the hues of light not being able to penetrate its dark borders.

“Du bist früh aufgewacht” a thick, German accent came from behind me. Leon had woken.

“I’m an early riser, always have been” I replied. He sat up in his bed, the mess of his blanket falling to the floor.

“Why would anyone want to be up this early?” he asked.

“I grew up on a horse farm. I was up every morning before the sun would even rise to bring horses in from our pastures, feed them, groom them, and sometimes fit in a ride” I explained. He raised his eyebrows skeptically.

“Horse farm, yes? So you were a country girl?” he joked. I laughed quietly and shrugged, smiling his way once more.

“Yeah, big country girl,” I said sarcastically. “Horse girl turned surgeon turned spy”. He smiled. I guess I had never really spoken to him about my past or where I had come from based on the childish and curious look on his face.

“I like it” he said with a nod. I smiled and shook my head.

“What about you? I imagine you didn’t grow up on a horse farm” I asked him.

“I went to a specialty boarding school until I was eighteen,” he started, exhaling sharply. “Never saw much of my father or my mother. I was trained from a young age and forced into this profession. I’m not sure what else to tell you, before this and before. . .before you, I don’t remember much,”

We were both looking into each other’s eyes for what seemed like years before his shifted his gaze off of me. The story his eyes told me was a far sadder story than the one that had come out of his mouth. I wanted to make him feel better, however I didn’t know where to start. His continuous silence suffocated me.

I made my way to the bathroom for a hot shower. My toes clinched at the pale, ceramic flooring of the shower as I adjusted the temperature and waited for the hot water to darken my hair and spill down my back. When I finished, the entire bathroom was foggy, the mirrors covered by a thick layer of steam. I threw my hair into a towel and lightly brushed my lashes with a jet black mascara and fussed over eyeshadow and blush. I wrapped myself in a towel before stepping back into the hotel room to get changed. As I opened the door, Leon took it as his que to shower and get ready while I clothed myself. Once I heard the bathroom door closed and the water was turned on, I dropped my towel. I began to rummage through my duffel, searching for something to wear. Just then, the sound of the bathroom door opening caused me to jump and turn around.

“Heilige Scheiße,” Leon said, instantly widening his eyes but then covering them as I noticed.

“I forgot my clothes”

Next Chapter: Chapter Five