590 - Over the Breakfast Table

Kyriala had this enormous smile on her face this morning.  So did I.  I kept catching sight of myself in various reflections in the Hearthstone.  I tried to tell myself that it was just our joy at Kall and Laisa’s announcement of betrothal but... was it because of the dreams I’d had the night before?  Had she dreamed too?  Oh… she wouldn’t have dared… would she?  Oh… oh… I thought to the night before Gan and Fara went away… and… well… it could be my memory of her sighs and moans that fueled my dreams… couldn’t it?

I kept catching her smiling at me and turning away just as I looked up and I kept looking away just as I saw her turning to look at me.  And smiling.  She wouldn’t have.  She couldn’t have.  I… raised my fingers to my nose.  There was no hint of the scent I’d found on them.  Smelled like…almost like… no.  There was no way that Farasha was here… did all girls smell like that… um… I… Ky was very casually dressed, with her hair gathered up in a classic ‘tendrils falling’ that absolutely had to have Skorsas’s hand behind it somewhere.

I’d put my hair into a solas braid, though longer, since I’d learned to tie it back to train with Kall.  I loved visiting Yeola-e.  This morning I was able to watch the best in the country train with Virana-e, Kallijas, his teacher Azaila and the students at the school of the sword, along with Kall and my guard… The best warriors on this part of the earthsphere.  I was no-where near the calibre to join that lot.

“I know you don’t want to, Kall, but the winds should be good enough for you rise this afternoon.” Niku was saying.

Kallijas had this goofy look on his face, blushing like mad, and he and Laisa had hidden their hands under the edge of the table and the cloth so they could lock their newly-allowed fingers together surrepticiously.  Ky, next to me, smiled again and I caught a whiff of her… her perfume surely but she didn’t wear perfume to breakfast… under the table her foot nudged mine.  I found myself blushing and nudged back, trying not to show anything and somehow we ended up with our feet wrapped around each other.  We had bare feet because we were flying and slippers were not necessary at the Hearthstone, even in the depth of winter and suddenly the room was even warmer.

“I… we have to get back.  We’ll have our families waiting for us on the Marble Palace roof, I’m certain.”

Laisa smiled.  Her hair was still in a solas style braid from her training this morning.  She was able to train with the younger students at the School of the Sword.  I had to keep reminding myself it was all right that she was better than I was at sword work.  She wasn’t going to ‘take’ anyone’s attention away from me.  She was just going to marry Kall.  Or Kall was going to marry her.  They’d be here after I ascended.  I… really, really needed to ask Ky soon.  I glanced over at her and found her smiling at me again, her foot warm against mine.  It was as if I suddenly had more sensitive feet and my vile organs stirred.

I refrained from cringing, and did my best to remember the dream from last night and the scent of roses.  If Ky had snuck in while I was asleep, nothing wrong or bad for either of us would have happened.  I just hoped that… well, if she was smiling so much....

“Minis, you are just staring at your breakfast,” Virana-e said.  “How’s the stomach?”

“Oh, fine!”  I shook myself, glanced at Kall and Lai and then at Ky before shoving a spoonful of fruit into my mouth.  “Mph… was… um… I was just thinking.”

He had a hand across his mouth, smiling.  “Ah.  Well that’s good.  Oh, shoo, you silly bird.”  He took the young scarlet out of the dining room.  “This one has to learn that no pets are allowed in here with the food.”