October 15, 2010

In Which Nora Asks to Be Asked

September 1, 1169

"Oh." That explained a lot. Not sure if she had the strength to look at Lord Severin right now, Nora instead focused on desk by the opposite wall. "So... what now, then?"

"That's up to you." She half-expected him to elaborate, but he never did. She wasn't sure whether or not she wished he would.

"I see." The tension in the silence following her last word was beyond palpable. In spite of the fact that she was a grown woman, Nora fidgeted in her seat. She had to say something. She had to look at him.

"Well... what do you want to do?" It seemed like a fair question. He'd only married her because they'd both been too drunk to know any better; as far as she knew, he didn't care for her as anything more than a friend. She loved him--she'd loved him for months now, and admired him for longer--but she didn't want to be with him if he would only keep her around to avoid hurting her feelings.

Severin shrugged. "Personally, I think this could work. We each have what the other needs, and it's a second marriage for both of us, so we wouldn't have any unrealistic expectations of each other. I for one have nothing to lose, but if you do, then I don't want to stand in your way."

I have nothing to lose. For some reason, that didn't sound promising; she wanted some assurance. "Well, do you have anything to gain?"

He took a minute to look her over, then closed his eyes and sighed. "You." Nora frowned; Severin's eyes widened, as if he'd just blurted out some horrible insult he would have preferred to keep to himself. "Not that I want to possess you or anything, of course. Just... well, you're an amazing person. You're clever and beautiful and the world just seems like a better place when you're around."

Ridiculous. Unable to contain herself, Nora snorted. "That sounds like such a cliche."

"Perhaps," Severin admitted, "but maybe cliches are cliches for a reason."

"That is also a cliche."

He tossed back his head, then laughed. "Give me some credit--you must understand that I'm rather hungover right now."

Nora smirked. "You did have a lot to drink last night."

"So did you." He returned the grin, then took her hand and squeezed it gently. "Anyway, I don't expect you to make up your mind right away. Take all the time you need."

"I appreciate that," she acknowledged him, blatantly aware of his fingers curling inward through the gaps between her own, "but I think I know what I want."

Severin raised an eyebrow; apart from that, his expression was unreadable. "In that case, would you mind sharing?"

"Well, it might be nice to be asked first." She flashed him a devious smile and watched as he cringed. "A little more romantic that way, you know? Might almost make up for the drunken ceremony that neither of us can remember."

Chuckling to himself, he laced his arm under her knees and hoisted her onto his lap. "Fair enough. Leonora Wythleit, will you do me the honor of not divorcing me?"

Nora giggled, leaning toward him and throwing her left arm around his neck. His hair was even more lustrous to the touch than it was to the eye. "My lord, I will not divorce you."

"Then stop calling me 'lord'."

Feeling coy, she winked, then granted him a quick peck on the lips--she wouldn't have minded more, but there was no sense getting the tongues involved when they both probably still tasted like the previous night's wine. "Not even in b--?"

She was cut off by the sound of the door slamming shut; funny, she'd never heard it open.

"With all due respect, my lord... what the hell is my sister doing on your lap?"

NEXT CHAPTER:

14 comments:

Van said...

I have two midterms on Tuesday, so updates might be a little slow this weekend. Sorry :(

Christina said...

Nothing better than two people getting questioned for their potential naughtiness!

Don't worry about the short updates, I'm still trying to catch up with this story. Midterms are coming up for me too..and I wanted to post my story this week :(

Van said...

Indeed--busted! :P

Thanks Christina. Good luck on your exams :)

Christi said...

aww they are triply cute together. I love how he asked her if she would do the honor of not divorcing him.. definitely not cliche :)

Van said...

They are pretty cute :)

Thanks Christi :)

thewynd said...

Falidor finally growing a pair?

This was adorable as only Severin and Nora can be. If there was anyone who could measure up in my estimation as a perfect woman for Severin aside from Alina, it would be her for sure.

Love this! And good luck on Midterms!

Van said...

Hmm, maybe Falidor's starting to man up a little... ;)

If nothing else, I'm sure they'll at least be comfortable. We shall see :)

Thanks Gayl :)

S.B. said...

I just love Severin with Nora! She will never be Alina, but that does not mean he can't find happiness and support and fulfillment with her.

Falidor...well. He needs to get a clue and grow up some.

I love LOVE LOVE this!!! And yes, good luck on your midterms and keep these coming when you can! Adoring this!

Van said...

She's definitely not Alina, but that's no reason why Severin couldn't be happy with Nora. He'll always love Alina (and likewise, Nora will always love Jothein), but it's certainly possible to love more than one person, and I think they both understand that.

In Falidor's defense, that would be kind of a shock--coming into work one day to find that your boss is suddenly all touchy-feely with your sister. Clearly, he didn't run into Sextus on his way to the castle :P

Thanks Beth :)

Anonymous said...

Good luck with your midterms, Van!

And Falidor had better be careful. If he puts up too big of a stink about this, he might find that Severin is not so easy to deal with come time for Falidor to quest after Raia's hand. (Assuming that ever happens.) Careful, careful, Falidor. ;)

And if it seems like I'm shipping a new person for Raia every week, it's 'cause I am. She's a fantastic enough character that whoever she ends up with, it's bound to be a good story.

But as for the people who officially got together in this post ... I have only one thing to say about that.

YAY!

Van said...

I imagine Falidor will calm down once he hears the whole story :P

Thanks Morgaine :)

Penelope said...

OOOOOoooooo daaammnnn!

Eh, he'll get over it.

Penelope said...

Also, I apologize for what I am doing to you inbox.

Van said...

Yeah, probably :P

Don't worry about the inbox--it's already a hellish mess of clutter. I seem to have a slight hoarding tendency when it comes to email. Seriously, I still have messages from 2004 :S