484 - In the Lesser Purple Tourmaline Reading Room

Ailadas was sittin’ in the Lesser Purple Tourmaline Reading Room and he’s reading to Sera Eren.  She’d been coming into the Marble Palace every day after my lessons were done and they’d had kaf in one of the parlors and then he’d offer her his elbow to walk her to one reading room or another.

I was supposed to be doing the work he assigned me, and I kind of did, but only as much as I understood… and sometimes I did it later than I was sposed to.

I didn’t realize at first that they were spending so much time together and I shouldn’t be listening in on them, but Minis showed me his two secret places and said he’d show me another one when I was a little older.

I lay in the space in the ceiling and played at pulling all the plugs out of all the listening tubes, and Jia was helping me by reaching into some that were really, really plugged deep and pulling out stuff with his tentacles.  It was a neat place and I wanted to show Nuni, though I promised not to and  though it was kind of hard to see things if you lay on the light holes all through the floor that let the hallway light up into it.  I wonder if I could pee through one of the holes.

But that would give away the secret and they’d tell me not to come up here any more. And I heard a couple of servants in one room having a secret meeting and giggling and making love when they should be working.  Most of the others there was just quiet or the clinking and rattling of things being cleaned.  And there was Ailadas reading to Sera Eren.

He read out of this funny little book called ‘Lifas Araias’ about an orphan boy who had an adventurous life and thought and wrote about things in a kind of different way.  He was reading poetry to her all last eight day.

I like Lifas better.

I rolled over on my back and looked at the pattern of my shadow on the ceiling of this place and heard him finish the last bit of the latest chapter.

“There, ahem,” he said and I heard the book close.  I had the other listening tubes closed and my ear next to that one.  While Ailadas reads, he doesn’t cough once.  “Ahem.  I hope you are enjoying this, Trathila.”  That was different.  He was usually so careful and called her Sera Eren.  Did she tell him he could call her by her first name?  I thought back and realized I didn’t remember the last time he'd called her Sera, and she was still being a little bit careful about talking up to him… I mean, she was a sola and he was an Aitzas.

“This one is enjoying herself thoroughly, Ailadas.  Thank you so much for this.  This one looks forward to it every day.”

There was a yawny meow that was probably Ribbons trying to paw a greasy pastry or something off the table but letting his mistress know he was wanting some.  He was weird.  Most people who couldn’t see wouldn’t trust a cat to be their eyes.  “Ribbons, no… you have fish waiting at home.” I almost giggled because I could hear how grumpy he was, as if he were answering her back.

Ailadas chuckled.  “I suppose we should have treats for you along with treats for us,” he said.  “Ahem.”

Then he started to cough, three, four, five times in a row as if he was nervous.  “Ah… Trathila… I hope you don’t think this is too forward of me… I have been wondering… I’ve… ahem… ahem…”

He went all quiet then.  She didn’t say anything.  I heard some rustly noises.  “Might you, Trathila Eren, consider marrying this dried up old man?”

What?

The rustly noises must have been him getting up and bowing to her, and having to guide her hand to him so she could feel him bowing… and maybe putting the split ring into her glove.

Marry?

She answered him equal to equal in her firm way.  “Ailadas, I appreciate the gesture –“  Oh no, she’s going to say no! “But I would rather you ceased referring to yourself in such a depreciating way.  If I am to be your wife I should hope you would oblige me by considering that.  I accept.”

They’re going to get MARRIED!  Wheeeee! I put my mouth against the open tube and yelled“CONGRATULATIONS!”   

Jia made his cheeping noise. And then I whistled.  Oops.