The silence grew and they started to ascend. In total, 99 steps will take them to the top and she was determined to count each one.
“So,” Diane pushed again, “what did your father want to talk about?”
Smiling to herself. Her bodyguard and best friend would ask until she gave her a straight answer. “Oh, the usual,” she answered vaguely.
“He intends to change guards early this year,” she blurted. “Oops! I wasn’t supposed to tell you.”
Hee-hee Alex chuckled. “Don’t worry, he has already informed me.”
Diane’s lime coloured eyes widened. “He did? That’s a first.”
She laughed again, then changed the direction of their conversation once more by asking, “Does my brother still paint those strange images?”
“Yes.” Her face turned sombre. “They get stranger by the day,” she confessed reluctantly.
“What do you mean?”
Squirming, her eyes tried to avoid Alex’s sapphire gaze. “Well... it’s just...”
“So, are you still the only one who has seen them?” Diane nodded. “Do you think he’ll let me take a peek?”
“I don’t know,” she answered honestly.
Dropping the topic, they continued in silence until they reached the top floor. Turning towards her bodyguard she studied her for a bit.