She was worried.
Sima told her he was going to be fine. He told her a lot of things, actually: about the Book of Fate, about their previous owners, and how the gods came to be; about the world hidden in the artefacts, about the unimaginable power he wielded and how he needed to unlock its full potential from his predecessors. All so very important... Too bad she couldn't bring herself to care, not when Connor was still in a coma.
Malkov had reassured her. Said as long as no one attacks him it should be fine.
"But that's why I'm worried..." She whispered out loud, too distraught to care that the thoughts in her head weren't fully in there anymore. What if he won't wake up? What if it wasn't what Sima told her? What if—
Mariya forcefully calmed herself with deep breaths, but when that started to fail, she tightened her grip around his hand.
"...When will you wake up, Connor?"
Nobody knew, but Mariya's heart almost stopped beating when he suddenly collapsed onto the floor that day, and then seeing the old man fall into unconsciousness too, she had to manually stop every cell in her body from clawing the old codger's heart out right then and there...
Well, she supposed there was something good to come about his sudden loss of agency after all:
"You look stunning even when you're asleep," She sighed playfully to herself as her eyes wandered from his face to his neck, then down to his arms, the only part of his body that wasn't covered by the soft blanket provided to them.
"Interesting. You do realize I'm gonna tell him, right?" Mariya's gaze turned to the door, and she beamed.
Leaning on the doorframe was Malkov, a sly smile on his face.
"Yo," He waved, feet already crossing the width of the room in a few steps.
"Hello Malkov," She greeted tiredly, stifling a yawn from escaping her throat, "What are you doing up so early?"
His brow creased, "Get some rest; you've been here for days,"
"I do!" She lightly protested. And she did! If you consider one hour of napping rest...
His frown deepened, and he motioned to flick her forehead, "Then why do you look like a ghost?"
"That's rich! You're paler than me, Mr 'I haven't seen the light of day for years because of my boyfriend',"
He shrugged, "I'm just tellin' ya, if you don't take care of those bag under your eyes, Connor won't be able to recognize you anymore,"
"Look," She stated with a tone of finality, "I know you mean well, but I'm not gonna leave till he wakes,"
"No, you're not," He replies, the same amount of decisiveness in his voice.
She moaned in annoyance, her nose scrunching up, "What do you want from me?"
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Malkov took out a little booklet from his bag and tossed it over, "It's time to go. That's what I want,"
Catching the book in mid-air, she turned it over and around repeatedly, "What even is this?"
"Read it and you'll know. Make sure to say goodbye, we'll be waiting outside," She saw him turn and leave without so much as another word, to her confusion and chagrin. She eyed the notebook once more, clicking her tongue at his crypticism before opening it.
"Bet this is just some trick to get me—" She was staggered to silence the moment her eyes landed on the first page, complaints flying out the window...
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF NULLIFICATION SPELLS & POTIONS
"H-He did it..." Her vision blurred, and tears came rushing out in droves, "H-He actually did it. Oh my—"
She lost it then and began to cry in earnest, her emotions on a high never known to her before.
'We have a chance! W-We actually have a chance...' She thought amid waves of joyful whimpers and sniffles, all the while gripping the book close to her chest, afraid that if she'd let go for even an instant, it would disappear...
Delirious from the endorphins thrashing around her head, she forgot herself for a second and began to call out, "Connor! Oh Connor did you hear?! We can do it! We can..." Until she realized. And Malkov's words replayed in her head:
[No you're not]
[Make sure to say goodbye...]
The words struck her like jackhammers, and she began to hyperventilate.
[Make sure to say goodbye]
[to say goodbye]
[say goodbye]
[goodbtye]
[goodbye.]
[goodbye..]
[goodbye...]
Suddenly, she calms, and mutters, "Say... goodbye," She stared at Connor's sleeping frame, quiet and serene.
Slowly, she reaches for him. For his face. The moment her digits touched his face, a jolt of electricity-like shock ran from her fingers before travelling through her entire body. He felt... warm...
'Goodbye.' She thought as her hand gently rubbed his cheek.
'Yes... We have to say goodbye. He has to go to Shangri-La. That was the plan...' She realized what Malkov's words meant.
[Say goodbye... and leave with no regrets.]
'I see.' She lets go and stands up straight, her resolve now firmer than before.
Her eyes, clear and unperturbed, search around the room and land on the table, where a piece of paper lay quietly alongside ink and quill, basking in the dawn rays of the sun.
Quickly, she pens a letter, its contents unknown to everyone but them...
Folding it up and placing it on the bedstand, she stares at him one last time, and suddenly, a stray impulse lodges itself in her brain.
Mariya blushed, but shakes herself out of her shame and follows through with it:
She leans in towards Connor, her lips tantalizingly close to his, and with their noses almost touching...
-Chu~!-
"Au revoir, ma petit chou-fluer,"
She leaves him with a chaste kiss.
Fortunately, he doesn't wake; no signs tell her he even knew the kiss took place, and yet she was satisfied.
She knew this won't be the last one she'll ever give him... Not by a long shot.
----------------------------------------
When she stepped out of the church, she was accosted by a camel.
"Woah! Calm down, girl!" She dodged its foot and began soothing it.
<
It grunted, and although Mariya didn't speak camel, she could tell it calmed down a fair deal when it saw her.
She held her camel by the reins, looking around, 'Now then, who riled my camel up so—'
"Yo!" A light and cheerful greeting from behind her told her all she needed.
'Ah. So that's the reason,' She realized, not one bit surprised to find that he was the culprit.
As expected, Malkov's figure greeted her when she spun around.
"Ready to go?" He inquired innocently enough, though she knew that wasn't all he meant.
Still, she nodded without hesitation.
"Good. Then let's giddy-up; the faster we can find a solution, the faster you can see your boyfriend,"
She smirked at his cheeky remark but didn't argue. After all, he is right...