October 7, 1173
There had been no shortage of knocks on Viridis's bedroom door in the past couple of days. She had been faint but not to the point of delirium, worrisome enough for frequent checks but not so far gone that she wasn't aware of them. Her father stopped by often, as did her stepmother. Xeta and Vera came in the mornings, and Riona and Aldara in the evenings. Her brothers and her stepbrother and the twins were all regular visitors during the day, and even Raia and Falidor had trekked up from their house a couple of times. When she'd heard this particular knock, she had--naturally--assumed that it would be one of the usual suspects.But sometimes, the world did like to throw surprises her way. "What are you doing here?"
Her cousin nudged the door shut with the heel of his boot and strode forward, smiling as he rarely did. She wished he would do so more often. He was so handsome when he smiled. "Well, your brother is getting knighted today and married tomorrow, and I happened to be in the area, so I figured I might as well stay for the occasion. Feeling any better?""Much, thank you." Viridis adjusted the pillow behind her back and sat up a few more inches. She wasn't a short girl, but Searle was one of the tallest men she knew. She wasn't sure why that mattered, but it did. "I won't be going to the ceremony today, though. Father and Nora think I should save my strength for the wedding."
"Oh?" Searle started to make his way to the bench at her vanity, but Viridis cleared her throat and nodded toward the empty side of the bed. He shot her a strange sort of look, but all it took was a well-placed pout to get him to relent. "Well, I imagine the wedding will be the fun part anyway."
"Doubtlessly," she coughed as he sat down beside her. Frowning, his eyes flickered in concern; she hastily composed herself and waited for him to settle. "It's a shame that I won't see him knighted, though. He's my brother, after all."Searle kicked off his boots swinging his legs onto the bed. Odd--none of her siblings ever did that. "I'm sure he understands. Besides, you have other brothers."
Almost amused, she sniffed. "The only way Lonriad will be getting knighted before he's forty is if he gets some lady in trouble. And Roddie and Falidor are just babies; I don't even know if I'll live long enough to see them knighted."
She hadn't meant to say it--it had just been a stray thought that had crossed to her mouth unchecked, and she wished she could take it back. But alas, that worried look had returned to his face. "Don't say things like that."She shouldn't have. She shouldn't have, and she knew it. But now that she thought about it... "Why not? It isn't as if anyone expects me to make it past twenty, is it? My family is probably astounded that I've managed to live this long."
Searle sighed. Knowing him, he wanted to say something reassuring. Knowing him, he couldn't. "Well... at least it's not one persistent thing, like with your poor baroness or our cousin in Bandera, right? You just seem prone to illness. Maybe it's just the climate here that disagrees with you. The sea might do you well."
The sea? But that was so far away... "Oh, I couldn't.""Why not?"
"My family is here." She stifled another cough, letting her head fall back against her pillow. "My father has a duty to the people and my siblings have lives. I couldn't ask any of them to leave all of this behind just to take me to the sea."
"I could take you."If she was caught off-guard by his words, then his face betrayed that he himself was even moreso. Mortified, he sat up and pulled himself off the bed, scrounging around for his discarded boots. "I'm sorry. That was--I mean, I didn't--I should really be going. The service will be starting soon."
She could only gape at him in a shocked state of rejection as he pulled on his boots, then hurried to the door as though the room was on fire. There was no sight quite so cruel as that of Searle's back. "Don't you want my answer?""No." He grabbed hold of the doorhandle and pulled it back, stepping into the corridor and turning around only for a couple short seconds. "I'm sorry, Viridis. I think we'd both be better off if we could forget that this conversation ever happened."
He gave her the chance to neither agree nor argue before shutting the door behind him.
NEXT CHAPTER:
10 comments:
The reason I have been putting off the next Orbis Umbra:
In general, OU updates take me the shortest time because I don't use preview pictures and can therefore write and shoot simultaneously. Tomorrow is going to be a very busy day for me, so I've been saving OU for then. Thanks for your patience.
So it looks like there is something in that quarter ... hmm.
Though I can't say I really blame Searle for running away. Viridis probably looks like quite the innocent in his eyes. (I say "looks like" because, well, she is one of the 8,000 Kemorins.) Plus ... Searle does not have good luck with relationships. At all. He probably doesn't want that to rub off on Viridis.
Add to that the bevy of commitment issues and the fact that he barely survived Riona's suicide ... yeah. Somehow, I don't see him wanting to fall for a girl who might not make it to twenty.
All the same, I'm shipping them. ;)
Well, damn...
How old is he? She?
Morgaine: Oh, there's something there. But yeah, Searle has sufficient reason to be scared. After Riona's suicide and his divorce from Danthia and whatever the hell's going on with Elarys... yeaah, I think he's afraid he'll break the poor girl, especially since she's been kind of a sanctuary for him.
You're also right about him not wanting to have another lover die on him. I don't know if he could take that :S
Chene: Viridis is fifteen. Searle is twenty-six. So... brow-raising by today's standards, but nothing unheard of way back when.
Oh goodness, that was a relief. Not that this will be the end of that but for the moment, Viridis has dodged a bullet. Unfortunately, she doesn't know that she has dodged a bullet, but she has. She so has.
Man, Searle Kemorin is really not wasting any time. And is that Sparron's profile I spot?
Heh, and Searle's comment about Viridis having other brothers was awkward. It's as though they're interchangeable.
And why does Viridis think that Lonriad can't get knighted on his own?
Oh, she's definitely dodged a bullet :S
Heheh... this post takes place a couple months after the last one. Time does fly in Naroni. And yep, that's definitely Sparron.
Yeah, I debated taking that sentence out, but I ended up keeping it in. I figure Searle's probably a little awkward with the whole self-assurance thing and might not read too much into his own words.
As for why Viridis doesn't think Lonriad can get knighted, that's just because she thinks he's an idiot :P (and at fourteen, what boy isn't?). He'll grow up at some point, though.
I can't wait to see Lonriad as an adult and a knight. He will be irresistible. But that's a complete aside here, lol.
As for Virdis, I sort of love her a little bit. She is one of those silly innocent girls. I can see her seeing nothing but good in this Searle and ignoring any bad. But by the same token, I love that he seems to hide all the bad too from her. He seems to know he's not the right match for her, but that only interests her more.
Oh, Lonriad will definitely be a heartbreaker ;)
I think you pretty much summed up the whole situation just there :) Viridis seems to have kind of a rock star crush on Searle right now. Based on what other people seem to think of him, she probably has sufficient evidence that he might not be good for her, but she seems to be focusing on his good side (and to be fair, he does have a heart of tarnished gold). But yeah, he seems to be a bit worried about scarring her for life or something.
Searle's reputation might be tarnished, but that was the sweetest offer. They don't seem all the ill-suited to me. Affection, even imperfect affection, a precious thing.
Viridis seems very...I don't know, calm? Accepting? Not quite resigned but she's not bitter about her health and her prospects.
It was rather sweet of him. It's nice to see him showing affection.
Viridis might secretly be somewhat bitter, but for the most part she is rather resigned about behind the fact that she'll probably die young. Poor girl :(
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