He was sat in a pub in London somewhere which wasn't out of the ordinary for Robert Dent. He’d had a bad day and needed something to do part-time at the weekends. Sure he loved weekends to himself and spending them with Khaat but he needed to do something constructive and there was only so much time that he could spend in pubs – especially with his mates. Rob yawned and stretched, enjoying the way his muscles gently pulled and his joints clicked. Rob put his arms back down on the table and his friend looked over to him with a raised eyebrow. Rob returned the gesture and the two began to laugh. Rob ran a hand through his hair and it was then that he noticed that the ring wasn’t sparkling. It was emerald green and Robert wondered what had happened. It wasn’t usually that colour it was red usually. Of course it bloody was, idiot. His mind snapped angrily. They’re rubies!
Rob bit his lip, this couldn’t be good. He put his pint down on the table and got to his feet with ever y intention of finding Khaat.
“Where are you going mate?” one of his friends asked, looking up from their game of Poker.
“My, uh, girlfriend is in trouble, Trev.” Robert said hesitantly. That didn’t sound right on his tongue. He’d fix it later though.
“What do you mean she’s in trouble? What colour is the ring?” Trevor asked, folding.
“Erm... green?” Rob said it as if it was a question and he knew instantly that something had to be wrong.
“Nah mate,” Nathanial said from where he was sat. “That’s black.”
“What!?”
Robert ran out of the pub, deciding to spare dramatics and a magic shoe by Apparating out of the pub. He ran into one of the alleys and took his wand out of his pocket. He lit the tip and pointed it at the ring. It was getting darker by the minute and Rob was biting a hole into his lip. He placed the tip of his wand on the onyx gem and closed his eyes, thinking of Khaat and only Khaat. He felt himself forced through a tight tube and landed on some mossy ground.
He was up on his feet instantly and he took his wand out, yelling ‘Lumos Maxima’ and lighting the area. He looked up at the trees. They were completely bare and devoid of any foliage. What had happened? Rob walked through the trees out into a clearing. She was lying there, she wasn’t moving. Rob broke into a run and crossed the length of the clearing in seconds. He knelt down beside Khaat and put his wand behind his ear. He didn’t know what to do. She couldn’t be taken to St. Mungo’s. Not like that. Rob lifted Khaat’s head into his lap and slowly began to run his fingers through her hair. He was lost. What in Merlin’s name had happened?
“Khaat? Baby, please wake up.” Rob murmured; his voice hollow and raw with emotion. “I-I should have been here. I know I should of. I just... what was going on that you didn’t tell me? I just.... what happened?”
He was insane, he was talking to his semi-dead ... what? Wife? No way, as much as he would love for her to be that wasn’t it. It wasn’t what they were. He felt lost; he didn’t know what to do. Soon enough, though, the tears were streaming down his cheeks. Shakily, Rob picked up his wand and ran a quick diagnosis spell over Khaat, wanting to know the extent of her injuries. A few broken ribs and some abrasions to her arms, legs and body, he read out from the results his wand showed. But it didn’t show any internal bleeding or anything like that.
“Damn it Khaat!” Rob snapped. “I love you! So much that I actually want to lock you away forever sometimes. It’s killing me to see you like this! I love you! Please, I’ll do anything for you, anything. We’ll get married! We could elope somewhere and avoid having to write out hand letters to every member of that cult of women I’m related to. We could honeymoon in Jamaica and learn how to make reggae music or something. Maybe I could grow my hair and we could both get dreadlocks. We’d look like a right pair of idiots.” Rob laughed through his tears and wiped some of them away with his hand. “Just, please. Wake up for me? Please? You're to young to be buried six feet under and I love you too much to let you go."