Chapter 52
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Arren shifted around her, pulling her closer in his sleep as she pushed her bare body up to a sitting position, pulling the blankets up to cover her breasts. Haribit stood at the curtains she had just opened, letting in the late morning sunlight. The smell of Isilla's breakfast filled the room.
Hairbit turned, preparing to rouse her from sleep and stopped. "Why are you wearing your mother's bracelets and where are your clothes?" she asked, confused before she noticed the form next to Isilla, still asleep but stirring.
Haribit raised her hands to her mouth, eyes wide as her smile. Embarrassed, Isilla looked down but there she met Arren's prone form, his eyes beginning to open. Quickly she looked back at Haribit and the woman nodded, understanding the communication.
She turned to dash away but the shadows at her feet moved, an alertness rippling through them as Arren fully woke from his slumber.
"Who?" he asked pushing his body up and turning. "Haribit," he breathed out, relieved to see the friendly face.
"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to interrupt!" she stammered out.
He shook his head, "It's fine. Please calm down. How late in the morning is it?"
"It's not late at all, the day has only just begun," she responded.
"You should let Isilla sleep," he scolded. "It is fine today though. Please have a maid bring another serving of breakfast and then go to my rooms and eat with Julen. Tell him I will be back soon and he can work on his studies with Mattin after he eats."
Haribit nodded and moved to leave.
"Haribit," Arren called again and she stopped, turning towards him. "The sheet. Take it and destroy it. Do not let any other maid touch it or even see it."
She bowed her head in a curt nod and smiling, swept out of the room. Alone he turned to Isilla, a small smile on his face.
"You look so lovely in the morning sun, my dearest," he said softly before wrapping her in his arms and kissing her deeply, gently pushing her back into the bed.
She pointed at the door, the maid would be there soon.
He shook his head kissing her again. "I'm awake now, no one will come in unless I let them in."
I'll talk to him over breakfast, she thought as he moved himself between her legs, his desire clear, the space between them disappearing. He slowed as she gasped underneath of him, surprised at his forwardness.
"Ah, my love, I am too excited, I am not hurting you am I?" he asked.
She shook her head and pulled him close, kissing him as he kissed her, her own pleasure in his touch growing.
He held her tight as he finished, kissing her forehead and eyelids before he moved away, lying next to her. She settled next to him as the maid knocked on the door with his breakfast. She didn't wait for a response and gasped as she entered, nearly dropping the tray.
True to her station she turned, placing the tray on the table and bowing her head, quickly taking her leave.
"She'll gossip to her friends, the other maids. By lunch everyone in the castle will know that I woke in your bed this morning," he said, a sly smile on his face as he pulled away from her and slid from the covers and onto the floor.
She blushed at his naked body in the light as he bent, picking up his discarded clothing to cover himself. The bracelet caught the sun, glinting gold and red as he moved. Dressed, he found her nightgown and handed it to her. She nodded her thanks, as she took it from him. She removed the bracelets from her own wrist, dropping them to the bed before she pulled the gown over her head.
"Why do you hide them in your trunk? These are important to you," he asked.
She shrugged, reaching for her book. They are not things fit for a princess. They would look silly with all that fine jewelry, she wrote.
"They looked beautiful on you last night. You are a princess. I don't understand your hesitation," he said brushing back her sleep tossed hair.
In my lands these would not be seen as you see them, she tried to explain.
He kissed her cheek, sweeping the metal circlets up in his hand, "But you are here now and whose vision of you matters more than mine?"
She smiled at him, touching his face before sliding out of bed herself and making her way to the bathing room. She closed the door and did her business checking her face in the mirror. Small dark marks left by his mouth ran down her neck but other than that, she looked fine, his touch leaving no change on her.
Quickly she ran her fingers through her hair, willing it to settle around her face but its own will was stronger, the curls remained a mess and sighing she left the room to meet her husband.
He had already set out the plate for Ilun. The beast laid next to the empty plate, waiting for scraps from Isilla's own breakfast. He sat on her stool, leaving the chair for her, their plates already laid out. He smiled as she approached and stood, holding up the heavy robe she had worn on their wedding night.
"It's too cold," he explained, pulling it over her shoulders. She accepted his care before sitting in her own seat, her book and breakfast waiting for her. She looked up, glancing past him to her dresser. Her mother's bracelets sat in a pile with the rest of her jewels.
He caught her looking and smiled as he chewed his food. "That beast," he said slowly, moving past the subject, "Should really take his meals somewhere else. He is not a lap dog,"
She shook her head. He stays with me, she wrote.
He smiled at her, "I am not taking him away but can't he be trained to eat in the kitchen? A full roast delivered to your rooms three times a day will set the servants to gossip," he chided playfully.
She smiled. They are already gossiping about the great beasts I keep in my room, she teased back.
He smiled mischievously, "Hush." She giggled as he continued, "I have to leave after we eat. I wish I could stay longer with you but I must prepare for my meeting with representatives from the Light Realm."
What are you doing with them, she asked, curious.
He sighed, "We are having tea and I am to regale them with stories of our lands. Tell them how well our marriage is going and how pleased we are to be aligned once again. You are lucky that you do not have to attend, it will be very boring."
Won't they be upset that I am not there? It may make things seem unstable. You've taken a consort so soon after our marriage, she wrote.
He sighed, "It is fine, Isilla. They are aware you are ill and need rest to recover. Can we please not spend what little time we have together this morning discussing Elixabete? Or really any of this. Now that we can be open between each other and you are better, I would much rather learn more about my wife and for my wife to learn more about me."
I don't want to ruin this morning, she thought as she pondered whether to ask him about the place Aseir had shown her, the room from his own dreams. Later, she decided, moving away from it, smiling.
Alright, she wrote, you didn't tell me about the birds in your letters. What else do you do? I can eat and you can talk.
He smiled and reached for her hand, kissing her knuckles. "Well you've seen how good my art skills are."
She chuckled and he continued, "I don't do much I'm afraid. Your husband is really very boring. Most of my time is spent dealing with the Council as intermediary for the Crown. My father will not deal with them directly and Lehan should do it himself but he refuses."
How is he, she asked tentatively.
He frowned, "He is alive. One day I will have to ask you what really happened between you two, awake and asleep, but not today."
She nodded and changed the subject. Can you dance, she wrote.
He smiled, "Yes. Not like you, of course but with a partner. Of course, I am a prince. I was taught. Why?"
Isn't that what happens at balls? Don't people dance and eat, she questioned.
"Ah, yes," he said leaning back, you have likely never been to one," he said.
She nodded as she ate, confirming his suspicions of her.
"I'll tell you what it is like then. We will be announced and then we will sit at a grand table. There will be a meal of many, many courses. You will be expected to pick at your food. Because it is in celebration of our wedding, throughout the evening, various lords and ladies will give their congratulations on our marriage and present us with gifts which we will never see again. We will partake in one dance and then leave long before everyone has drunk their fill. Which is fine because then I will have you to myself for the rest of the night."
She blushed, the meaning behind his words clear especially after their morning encounter.
What would you have done if Lehan had married me that day? And how did you even begin writing me to begin with, she asked suddenly, curious.
He shook his head, "There was no chance of that, my dearest. I conspired with my brother to have you married to me. He had his own reasons for agreeing, he does not desire any peace between our lands but his way of doing so was entirely his own. I had no part in that."
Oh, she thought, I understand what Lehan meant now when he said that Arren was not acting in the interest of the Realm that day in the viewing hall.
"As for how I began writing you, that was an accident. The page who delivered Elixabete's and your letters simply mixed them up one day. I'm sure you found the ones that I had switched in the archives."
She nodded and he smiled at her.
"After the first one came to me by accident I just arranged it so all your letters would come to me and continued to write you. The page who Lehan passed the duty to wrote Elixabete and Mattin made sure that the letters in the archive were copies of those. If they had looked closer, they would have seen that, on record, you and Elixabete received the same letters regardless of what either of you wrote. The ones attributed to you, I wrote."
Lehan knows then, about us, she wrote.
"Yes," he said simply. "But he is upset that things are not going as he had hoped. The change did not cancel the treaty, even after his outburst."
Did he mean to take me as a revenge against his brother, she thought. No, it's not important right now, she pushed the thoughts away smiling at Arren.
That seems like a good deal of work for a woman you've never met, she wrote.
"It was nothing to speak freely to the woman I fell in love with," he responded.
She smiled. I am very happy that you went through such trouble for me, she wrote.
"I'd do it again, I'd do it for a thousand years just to have this moment right now," his voice low and soft, a look of contentment on his face. His shadows circled her, lazy and light against her skin.
She bit her lip. I do have to speak on some troubling things, later. And we should talk about the . . . she touched her chest as he glanced up from the note.
He nodded, understanding. "Of course. After you've had a bit more rest. I wish you would eat more as well."
She looked down at her breakfast, half finished but her belly full. I've been sick so my hunger is low, she wrote.
He smiled and standing bent over the table to kiss her forehead, "I know my love. I do have to go now though. I'll see you settled in your bed first."
She nodded and stood as he cleared the table, scraping the leftovers onto Ilun's plate, the animal happily gobbling them up. Her blood, dried a brownish stain from the night before, stood out stark on the white sheet. She removed the robe and climbed into the bed, under the covers.
He sat on the edge of it, touching her hand. "Don't get out of the bed until Harbit can take that sheet. It is a simple thing but I do not want there to be any more talk of whether we have known each other or for how long."
She nodded and tilted her face up for his kiss. Smiling he obliged, meeting her lips.
Standing, he drew energy to himself, creating one of his little messengers who promptly disappeared in a puff of smoke. "To get Haribit," he explained before kissing her knuckles again. "I will be back this evening. Rest while I'm away," he said softly.
He released her hand and the shadows rose, swallowing him.
Haribit entered the room, peeking around the door a few minutes later. Isilla smiled and waved her in with a smile.
Sure that Arren had left, Haribit's lips stretched into a wide smile. "So how was it? You both looked very, ah, pleased, this morning."
Isilla's face felt hot and she touched her cheeks adverting her eyes even as her heart fluttered at the memory of him. Don't be so crass, she wrote.
"Crass? Whatever do you mean? I am just inquiring after my dear friend's health and wellness. After such a long illness, I should ask how you fared after such rigorous physical activity."
Isilla tossed her pillow at the woman who caught it, laughing. "You can tell me all about it while I take care of those marks he left on your neck."
Isilla touched them. Why didn't I heal them myself while I slept? Is it because they are not dangerous or because some part of me understood that I did not wish to? She lowered her hand as Haribit crossed the room.
Replacing the pillow behind her head, she placed her hand on her throat and began to heal Isilla. A warm pressure on her skin made her sigh as she picked up her pen, prepared to answer Haribit's questions.
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Arren shifted around her, pulling her closer in his sleep as she pushed her bare body up to a sitting position, pulling the blankets up to cover her breasts. Haribit stood at the curtains she had just opened, letting in the late morning sunlight. The smell of Isilla's breakfast filled the room.
Hairbit turned, preparing to rouse her from sleep and stopped. "Why are you wearing your mother's bracelets and where are your clothes?" she asked, confused before she noticed the form next to Isilla, still asleep but stirring.
Haribit raised her hands to her mouth, eyes wide as her smile. Embarrassed, Isilla looked down but there she met Arren's prone form, his eyes beginning to open. Quickly she looked back at Haribit and the woman nodded, understanding the communication.
She turned to dash away but the shadows at her feet moved, an alertness rippling through them as Arren fully woke from his slumber.
"Who?" he asked pushing his body up and turning. "Haribit," he breathed out, relieved to see the friendly face.
"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to interrupt!" she stammered out.
He shook his head, "It's fine. Please calm down. How late in the morning is it?"
"It's not late at all, the day has only just begun," she responded.
"You should let Isilla sleep," he scolded. "It is fine today though. Please have a maid bring another serving of breakfast and then go to my rooms and eat with Julen. Tell him I will be back soon and he can work on his studies with Mattin after he eats."
Haribit nodded and moved to leave.
"Haribit," Arren called again and she stopped, turning towards him. "The sheet. Take it and destroy it. Do not let any other maid touch it or even see it."
She bowed her head in a curt nod and smiling, swept out of the room. Alone he turned to Isilla, a small smile on his face.
"You look so lovely in the morning sun, my dearest," he said softly before wrapping her in his arms and kissing her deeply, gently pushing her back into the bed.
She pointed at the door, the maid would be there soon.
He shook his head kissing her again. "I'm awake now, no one will come in unless I let them in."
I'll talk to him over breakfast, she thought as he moved himself between her legs, his desire clear, the space between them disappearing. He slowed as she gasped underneath of him, surprised at his forwardness.
"Ah, my love, I am too excited, I am not hurting you am I?" he asked.
She shook her head and pulled him close, kissing him as he kissed her, her own pleasure in his touch growing.
He held her tight as he finished, kissing her forehead and eyelids before he moved away, lying next to her. She settled next to him as the maid knocked on the door with his breakfast. She didn't wait for a response and gasped as she entered, nearly dropping the tray.
True to her station she turned, placing the tray on the table and bowing her head, quickly taking her leave.
"She'll gossip to her friends, the other maids. By lunch everyone in the castle will know that I woke in your bed this morning," he said, a sly smile on his face as he pulled away from her and slid from the covers and onto the floor.
She blushed at his naked body in the light as he bent, picking up his discarded clothing to cover himself. The bracelet caught the sun, glinting gold and red as he moved. Dressed, he found her nightgown and handed it to her. She nodded her thanks, as she took it from him. She removed the bracelets from her own wrist, dropping them to the bed before she pulled the gown over her head.
"Why do you hide them in your trunk? These are important to you," he asked.
She shrugged, reaching for her book. They are not things fit for a princess. They would look silly with all that fine jewelry, she wrote.
"They looked beautiful on you last night. You are a princess. I don't understand your hesitation," he said brushing back her sleep tossed hair.
In my lands these would not be seen as you see them, she tried to explain.
He kissed her cheek, sweeping the metal circlets up in his hand, "But you are here now and whose vision of you matters more than mine?"
She smiled at him, touching his face before sliding out of bed herself and making her way to the bathing room. She closed the door and did her business checking her face in the mirror. Small dark marks left by his mouth ran down her neck but other than that, she looked fine, his touch leaving no change on her.
Quickly she ran her fingers through her hair, willing it to settle around her face but its own will was stronger, the curls remained a mess and sighing she left the room to meet her husband.
He had already set out the plate for Ilun. The beast laid next to the empty plate, waiting for scraps from Isilla's own breakfast. He sat on her stool, leaving the chair for her, their plates already laid out. He smiled as she approached and stood, holding up the heavy robe she had worn on their wedding night.
"It's too cold," he explained, pulling it over her shoulders. She accepted his care before sitting in her own seat, her book and breakfast waiting for her. She looked up, glancing past him to her dresser. Her mother's bracelets sat in a pile with the rest of her jewels.
He caught her looking and smiled as he chewed his food. "That beast," he said slowly, moving past the subject, "Should really take his meals somewhere else. He is not a lap dog,"
She shook her head. He stays with me, she wrote.
He smiled at her, "I am not taking him away but can't he be trained to eat in the kitchen? A full roast delivered to your rooms three times a day will set the servants to gossip," he chided playfully.
She smiled. They are already gossiping about the great beasts I keep in my room, she teased back.
He smiled mischievously, "Hush." She giggled as he continued, "I have to leave after we eat. I wish I could stay longer with you but I must prepare for my meeting with representatives from the Light Realm."
What are you doing with them, she asked, curious.
He sighed, "We are having tea and I am to regale them with stories of our lands. Tell them how well our marriage is going and how pleased we are to be aligned once again. You are lucky that you do not have to attend, it will be very boring."
Won't they be upset that I am not there? It may make things seem unstable. You've taken a consort so soon after our marriage, she wrote.
He sighed, "It is fine, Isilla. They are aware you are ill and need rest to recover. Can we please not spend what little time we have together this morning discussing Elixabete? Or really any of this. Now that we can be open between each other and you are better, I would much rather learn more about my wife and for my wife to learn more about me."
I don't want to ruin this morning, she thought as she pondered whether to ask him about the place Aseir had shown her, the room from his own dreams. Later, she decided, moving away from it, smiling.
Alright, she wrote, you didn't tell me about the birds in your letters. What else do you do? I can eat and you can talk.
He smiled and reached for her hand, kissing her knuckles. "Well you've seen how good my art skills are."
She chuckled and he continued, "I don't do much I'm afraid. Your husband is really very boring. Most of my time is spent dealing with the Council as intermediary for the Crown. My father will not deal with them directly and Lehan should do it himself but he refuses."
How is he, she asked tentatively.
He frowned, "He is alive. One day I will have to ask you what really happened between you two, awake and asleep, but not today."
She nodded and changed the subject. Can you dance, she wrote.
He smiled, "Yes. Not like you, of course but with a partner. Of course, I am a prince. I was taught. Why?"
Isn't that what happens at balls? Don't people dance and eat, she questioned.
"Ah, yes," he said leaning back, you have likely never been to one," he said.
She nodded as she ate, confirming his suspicions of her.
"I'll tell you what it is like then. We will be announced and then we will sit at a grand table. There will be a meal of many, many courses. You will be expected to pick at your food. Because it is in celebration of our wedding, throughout the evening, various lords and ladies will give their congratulations on our marriage and present us with gifts which we will never see again. We will partake in one dance and then leave long before everyone has drunk their fill. Which is fine because then I will have you to myself for the rest of the night."
She blushed, the meaning behind his words clear especially after their morning encounter.
What would you have done if Lehan had married me that day? And how did you even begin writing me to begin with, she asked suddenly, curious.
He shook his head, "There was no chance of that, my dearest. I conspired with my brother to have you married to me. He had his own reasons for agreeing, he does not desire any peace between our lands but his way of doing so was entirely his own. I had no part in that."
Oh, she thought, I understand what Lehan meant now when he said that Arren was not acting in the interest of the Realm that day in the viewing hall.
"As for how I began writing you, that was an accident. The page who delivered Elixabete's and your letters simply mixed them up one day. I'm sure you found the ones that I had switched in the archives."
She nodded and he smiled at her.
"After the first one came to me by accident I just arranged it so all your letters would come to me and continued to write you. The page who Lehan passed the duty to wrote Elixabete and Mattin made sure that the letters in the archive were copies of those. If they had looked closer, they would have seen that, on record, you and Elixabete received the same letters regardless of what either of you wrote. The ones attributed to you, I wrote."
Lehan knows then, about us, she wrote.
"Yes," he said simply. "But he is upset that things are not going as he had hoped. The change did not cancel the treaty, even after his outburst."
Did he mean to take me as a revenge against his brother, she thought. No, it's not important right now, she pushed the thoughts away smiling at Arren.
That seems like a good deal of work for a woman you've never met, she wrote.
"It was nothing to speak freely to the woman I fell in love with," he responded.
She smiled. I am very happy that you went through such trouble for me, she wrote.
"I'd do it again, I'd do it for a thousand years just to have this moment right now," his voice low and soft, a look of contentment on his face. His shadows circled her, lazy and light against her skin.
She bit her lip. I do have to speak on some troubling things, later. And we should talk about the . . . she touched her chest as he glanced up from the note.
He nodded, understanding. "Of course. After you've had a bit more rest. I wish you would eat more as well."
She looked down at her breakfast, half finished but her belly full. I've been sick so my hunger is low, she wrote.
He smiled and standing bent over the table to kiss her forehead, "I know my love. I do have to go now though. I'll see you settled in your bed first."
She nodded and stood as he cleared the table, scraping the leftovers onto Ilun's plate, the animal happily gobbling them up. Her blood, dried a brownish stain from the night before, stood out stark on the white sheet. She removed the robe and climbed into the bed, under the covers.
He sat on the edge of it, touching her hand. "Don't get out of the bed until Harbit can take that sheet. It is a simple thing but I do not want there to be any more talk of whether we have known each other or for how long."
She nodded and tilted her face up for his kiss. Smiling he obliged, meeting her lips.
Standing, he drew energy to himself, creating one of his little messengers who promptly disappeared in a puff of smoke. "To get Haribit," he explained before kissing her knuckles again. "I will be back this evening. Rest while I'm away," he said softly.
He released her hand and the shadows rose, swallowing him.
Haribit entered the room, peeking around the door a few minutes later. Isilla smiled and waved her in with a smile.
Sure that Arren had left, Haribit's lips stretched into a wide smile. "So how was it? You both looked very, ah, pleased, this morning."
Isilla's face felt hot and she touched her cheeks adverting her eyes even as her heart fluttered at the memory of him. Don't be so crass, she wrote.
"Crass? Whatever do you mean? I am just inquiring after my dear friend's health and wellness. After such a long illness, I should ask how you fared after such rigorous physical activity."
Isilla tossed her pillow at the woman who caught it, laughing. "You can tell me all about it while I take care of those marks he left on your neck."
Isilla touched them. Why didn't I heal them myself while I slept? Is it because they are not dangerous or because some part of me understood that I did not wish to? She lowered her hand as Haribit crossed the room.
Replacing the pillow behind her head, she placed her hand on her throat and began to heal Isilla. A warm pressure on her skin made her sigh as she picked up her pen, prepared to answer Haribit's questions.
Arren shifted around her, pulling her closer in his sleep as she pushed her bare body up to a sitting position, pulling the blankets up to cover her breasts. Haribit stood at the curtains she had just opened, letting in the late morning sunlight. The smell of Isilla's breakfast filled the room.Hairbit turned, preparing to rouse her from sleep and stopped. "Why are you wearing your mother's bracelets and where are your clothes?" she asked, confused before she noticed the form next to Isilla, still asleep but stirring.Haribit raised her hands to her mouth, eyes wide as her smile. Embarrassed, Isilla looked down but there she met Arren's prone form, his eyes beginning to open. Quickly she looked back at Haribit and the woman nodded, understanding the communication.She turned to dash away but the shadows at her feet moved, an alertness rippling through them as Arren fully woke from his slumber."Who?" he asked pushing his body up and turning. "Haribit," he breathed out, relieved to see the friendly face."I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to interrupt!" she stammered out.He shook his head, "It's fine. Please calm down. How late in the morning is it?""It's not late at all, the day has only just begun," she responded."You should let Isilla sleep," he scolded. "It is fine today though. Please have a maid bring another serving of breakfast and then go to my rooms and eat with Julen. Tell him I will be back soon and he can work on his studies with Mattin after he eats."Haribit nodded and moved to leave."Haribit," Arren called again and she stopped, turning towards him. "The sheet. Take it and destroy it. Do not let any other maid touch it or even see it."She bowed her head in a curt nod and smiling, swept out of the room. Alone he turned to Isilla, a small smile on his face."You look so lovely in the morning sun, my dearest," he said softly before wrapping her in his arms and kissing her deeply, gently pushing her back into the bed.She pointed at the door, the maid would be there soon.He shook his head kissing her again. "I'm awake now, no one will come in unless I let them in."I'll talk to him over breakfast, she thought as he moved himself between her legs, his desire clear, the space between them disappearing. He slowed as she gasped underneath of him, surprised at his forwardness."Ah, my love, I am too excited, I am not hurting you am I?" he asked.She shook her head and pulled him close, kissing him as he kissed her, her own pleasure in his touch growing.He held her tight as he finished, kissing her forehead and eyelids before he moved away, lying next to her. She settled next to him as the maid knocked on the door with his breakfast. She didn't wait for a response and gasped as she entered, nearly dropping the tray.True to her station she turned, placing the tray on the table and bowing her head, quickly taking her leave."She'll gossip to her friends, the other maids. By lunch everyone in the castle will know that I woke in your bed this morning," he said, a sly smile on his face as he pulled away from her and slid from the covers and onto the floor.She blushed at his naked body in the light as he bent, picking up his discarded clothing to cover himself. The bracelet caught the sun, glinting gold and red as he moved. Dressed, he found her nightgown and handed it to her. She nodded her thanks, as she took it from him. She removed the bracelets from her own wrist, dropping them to the bed before she pulled the gown over her head."Why do you hide them in your trunk? These are important to you," he asked.She shrugged, reaching for her book. They are not things fit for a princess. They would look silly with all that fine jewelry, she wrote."They looked beautiful on you last night. You are a princess. I don't understand your hesitation," he said brushing back her sleep tossed hair.In my lands these would not be seen as you see them, she tried to explain.He kissed her cheek, sweeping the metal circlets up in his hand, "But you are here now and whose vision of you matters more than mine?"She smiled at him, touching his face before sliding out of bed herself and making her way to the bathing room. She closed the door and did her business checking her face in the mirror. Small dark marks left by his mouth ran down her neck but other than that, she looked fine, his touch leaving no change on her.Quickly she ran her fingers through her hair, willing it to settle around her face but its own will was stronger, the curls remained a mess and sighing she left the room to meet her husband.He had already set out the plate for Ilun. The beast laid next to the empty plate, waiting for scraps from Isilla's own breakfast. He sat on her stool, leaving the chair for her, their plates already laid out. He smiled as she approached and stood, holding up the heavy robe she had worn on their wedding night."It's too cold," he explained, pulling it over her shoulders. She accepted his care before sitting in her own seat, her book and breakfast waiting for her. She looked up, glancing past him to her dresser. Her mother's bracelets sat in a pile with the rest of her jewels.He caught her looking and smiled as he chewed his food. "That beast," he said slowly, moving past the subject, "Should really take his meals somewhere else. He is not a lap dog,"She shook her head. He stays with me, she wrote.He smiled at her, "I am not taking him away but can't he be trained to eat in the kitchen? A full roast delivered to your rooms three times a day will set the servants to gossip," he chided playfully.She smiled. They are already gossiping about the great beasts I keep in my room, she teased back.He smiled mischievously, "Hush." She giggled as he continued, "I have to leave after we eat. I wish I could stay longer with you but I must prepare for my meeting with representatives from the Light Realm."What are you doing with them, she asked, curious.He sighed, "We are having tea and I am to regale them with stories of our lands. Tell them how well our marriage is going and how pleased we are to be aligned once again. You are lucky that you do not have to attend, it will be very boring."Won't they be upset that I am not there? It may make things seem unstable. You've taken a consort so soon after our marriage, she wrote.He sighed, "It is fine, Isilla. They are aware you are ill and need rest to recover. Can we please not spend what little time we have together this morning discussing Elixabete? Or really any of this. Now that we can be open between each other and you are better, I would much rather learn more about my wife and for my wife to learn more about me."I don't want to ruin this morning, she thought as she pondered whether to ask him about the place Aseir had shown her, the room from his own dreams. Later, she decided, moving away from it, smiling.Alright, she wrote, you didn't tell me about the birds in your letters. What else do you do? I can eat and you can talk.He smiled and reached for her hand, kissing her knuckles. "Well you've seen how good my art skills are."She chuckled and he continued, "I don't do much I'm afraid. Your husband is really very boring. Most of my time is spent dealing with the Council as intermediary for the Crown. My father will not deal with them directly and Lehan should do it himself but he refuses."How is he, she asked tentatively.He frowned, "He is alive. One day I will have to ask you what really happened between you two, awake and asleep, but not today."She nodded and changed the subject. Can you dance, she wrote.He smiled, "Yes. Not like you, of course but with a partner. Of course, I am a prince. I was taught. Why?"Isn't that what happens at balls? Don't people dance and eat, she questioned."Ah, yes," he said leaning back, you have likely never been to one," he said.She nodded as she ate, confirming his suspicions of her."I'll tell you what it is like then. We will be announced and then we will sit at a grand table. There will be a meal of many, many courses. You will be expected to pick at your food. Because it is in celebration of our wedding, throughout the evening, various lords and ladies will give their congratulations on our marriage and present us with gifts which we will never see again. We will partake in one dance and then leave long before everyone has drunk their fill. Which is fine because then I will have you to myself for the rest of the night."She blushed, the meaning behind his words clear especially after their morning encounter.What would you have done if Lehan had married me that day? And how did you even begin writing me to begin with, she asked suddenly, curious.He shook his head, "There was no chance of that, my dearest. I conspired with my brother to have you married to me. He had his own reasons for agreeing, he does not desire any peace between our lands but his way of doing so was entirely his own. I had no part in that."Oh, she thought, I understand what Lehan meant now when he said that Arren was not acting in the interest of the Realm that day in the viewing hall."As for how I began writing you, that was an accident. The page who delivered Elixabete's and your letters simply mixed them up one day. I'm sure you found the ones that I had switched in the archives."She nodded and he smiled at her."After the first one came to me by accident I just arranged it so all your letters would come to me and continued to write you. The page who Lehan passed the duty to wrote Elixabete and Mattin made sure that the letters in the archive were copies of those. If they had looked closer, they would have seen that, on record, you and Elixabete received the same letters regardless of what either of you wrote. The ones attributed to you, I wrote."Lehan knows then, about us, she wrote."Yes," he said simply. "But he is upset that things are not going as he had hoped. The change did not cancel the treaty, even after his outburst."Did he mean to take me as a revenge against his brother, she thought. No, it's not important right now, she pushed the thoughts away smiling at Arren.That seems like a good deal of work for a woman you've never met, she wrote."It was nothing to speak freely to the woman I fell in love with," he responded.She smiled. I am very happy that you went through such trouble for me, she wrote."I'd do it again, I'd do it for a thousand years just to have this moment right now," his voice low and soft, a look of contentment on his face. His shadows circled her, lazy and light against her skin.She bit her lip. I do have to speak on some troubling things, later. And we should talk about the . . . she touched her chest as he glanced up from the note.He nodded, understanding. "Of course. After you've had a bit more rest. I wish you would eat more as well."She looked down at her breakfast, half finished but her belly full. I've been sick so my hunger is low, she wrote.He smiled and standing bent over the table to kiss her forehead, "I know my love. I do have to go now though. I'll see you settled in your bed first."She nodded and stood as he cleared the table, scraping the leftovers onto Ilun's plate, the animal happily gobbling them up. Her blood, dried a brownish stain from the night before, stood out stark on the white sheet. She removed the robe and climbed into the bed, under the covers.He sat on the edge of it, touching her hand. "Don't get out of the bed until Harbit can take that sheet. It is a simple thing but I do not want there to be any more talk of whether we have known each other or for how long."She nodded and tilted her face up for his kiss. Smiling he obliged, meeting her lips.Standing, he drew energy to himself, creating one of his little messengers who promptly disappeared in a puff of smoke. "To get Haribit," he explained before kissing her knuckles again. "I will be back this evening. Rest while I'm away," he said softly.He released her hand and the shadows rose, swallowing him.Haribit entered the room, peeking around the door a few minutes later. Isilla smiled and waved her in with a smile.Sure that Arren had left, Haribit's lips stretched into a wide smile. "So how was it? You both looked very, ah, pleased, this morning."Isilla's face felt hot and she touched her cheeks adverting her eyes even as her heart fluttered at the memory of him. Don't be so crass, she wrote."Crass? Whatever do you mean? I am just inquiring after my dear friend's health and wellness. After such a long illness, I should ask how you fared after such rigorous physical activity."Isilla tossed her pillow at the woman who caught it, laughing. "You can tell me all about it while I take care of those marks he left on your neck."Isilla touched them. Why didn't I heal them myself while I slept? Is it because they are not dangerous or because some part of me understood that I did not wish to? She lowered her hand as Haribit crossed the room.Replacing the pillow behind her head, she placed her hand on her throat and began to heal Isilla. A warm pressure on her skin made her sigh as she picked up her pen, prepared to answer Haribit's questions.
