In Which Riona Doesn't Get a Present

June 25, 1175

"He actually said that?" Riona raised her hand to her mouth and snickered. "God, your stepfather sounds hilarious."

"He's a character, that's for sure."

"Maybe you should introduce me."

"Maybe I will."

"Maybe you--"

"Keeping my spot warm for me, are you?"

Leave it to Isidro to interrupt a good bit of banter. Riona shot him a glare, but Casimiro chuckled. It was refreshing just how relaxed he was all the time. "Sorry, I figured it was a little early to turn in."

"It is, but my father wants to leave before sunrise." Isidro gestured for Casimiro to get off the bed, then jabbed his thumb in the direction of the door. "You might want to get settled before Bernardo starts snoring."

"If he's already in bed, then he's already snoring." Sure enough, a faint buzzing could be heard from the next room--and only faint because these walls were thicker than most. How did Casimiro manage to stay so well-rested? "Look, why don't you go bunk with Bernardo tonight if you're so concerned about everyone getting a good night's sleep? I can stay here."

"No."

"Why not?"

His eyes closed and his fists clenched, Isidro exhaled--long, steady, annoyed. "Because my stuff is here."

Casimiro didn't look convinced, but he must not have cared to argue. Riona wished he would. She got that Isidro was trying to help keep her secret, but it was so obvious--from the way he talked to her, all the time they spent together, everything--that Casimiro already knew. Why couldn't he just let Isidro know that? Hell, why couldn't Isidro just figure it out? "You and your stuff."

"Just get out of here, Cas."

"I'm going, I'm going." Sighing, Casimiro sent Riona a parting wave and stepped into the hall, closing the door behind him. Riona clambered over the bed and punched Isidro's arm as she crossed him on her way to the drawers; he only rolled his eyes and sat down on the bed, where Casimiro had been only seconds before.

"You're wasting your time, you know. You're not his type."

Hmph. Like he knew anything. Riona shot him a rude gesture, then pulled her tunic over her head and flung it into the drawer. "You are not privy to our conversations."

"Yes, but I know Cas and I know you--and I know that if you try something, you're just going to make a fool of yourself."

Bastard. Then again, maybe she was being too hard on him. Poor boy probably didn't know affection if it hit him in the face--not with his upbringing. Riona freed herself from the rest of Lonriad's clothes and shuddered. While Isidro had been good about making sure her boy clothes got laundered, her shift hadn't been washed in ages. She'd have to sleep in her bonds. She kicked off her boots and pushed the drawer shut, then left the dresser and proceeded toward her side of the bed.

"All right, now you've watched me change. Time to return the favor."

She stuck out her tongue at him. Isidro rolled his eyes, but relented and disrobed, flinging his clothes carelessly to the floor. God, men were such pigs. "I hope you know that this isn't a fair deal as long as you still have that binding on."

Case and point. "You're not missing much."

"I don't know, it's been looking tighter and tighter lately." Flopping back onto the bed, Riona smacked him across the arm; he smirked. "Sorry. I'm a man; we notice these things."

"I noticed."

"Happy birthday, by the way."

She blinked. How had he remembered? She couldn't even recall having told him. She hadn't even realized it until he'd said it--although, now that he had, she sort of wished he could take it back. "My mother always said she'd give me something special on my fifteenth birthday." She grabbed a strand of her hair between the tips of her fingers and held it in front of her eyes. It was a lighter red than her mother's had been, but it was all she had. "She died a few months before I turned seven. After my last birthday I kept asking my father what she'd meant by that but he didn't know what she'd had in mind." And after all these years, she couldn't even guess. She'd never known her mother well enough to do so. "I guess no one ever will now."

It probably sounded silly to Isidro. He'd lost his mother at a young age too and he probably thought mysterious presents were a petty concern. All the same, he reached for her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "What about your sisters? Did they get something from her?"

Riona shook her head. "Raia was only eleven."

"I see." He shut his eyes for a moment and allowed himself to breathe. Riona didn't make a habit of pondering the workings of Isidro's mind, but she had to admit that she was curious. Maybe he was thinking about his own mother. Maybe she'd had some gift she'd always meant to give him but never had the chance. Or maybe he was hoping she had.

But if he was thinking of her, his thoughts didn't linger long. "You know what?" He eased himself upward and slung an arm around Riona's shoulder, his skin warm beneath the cover of scratchy hairs. "I think you'll get her present. She probably left your father a note or something--'Open on Riona's fifteenth birthday'."

It was the sort of thought that might have sent Viridis into a swoon, but Riona wasn't a swooning sort of girl. Nevertheless, in her own odd, tragically unromantic way, she found she appreciated it. "That's silly."

"Maybe--but I still think you'll get your present." He kissed her on the cheek, then reached across her with his free hand and slipped his fingers between hers. "And when you get back home, your father will throw you a party, even if it's months away from both this birthday and the next."

It was a nice notion, but that could have been all it was. For all she knew, her father hated her now. Riona sighed and let herself fall back against Isidro's form. He was steadier than she might have expected. "What makes you so sure?"

"Just a hunch--but that's better than nothing, right?" He ran his thumb up and down her shoulder blade, then released her and buried himself beneath the covers. "Now, let's just try to get some rest. I know it's still early, but it won't be long before morning. You're at the age when time starts to run just a little bit faster."

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