April 15, 1176
"Nanalie.""Cord." Unfazed by his attempt at a smile, she gave a curt nod and a no-nonsense stare. She wanted to get this over with. Well, that made two of them. "My father said you wanted a word?"
She didn't look particularly curious. Had Adonis primed her? Or did she care just that little? Not that it was a problem. "Yes, well... how are you?"
"Well enough."She stated the word with a resigned indulgence, her mouth giving him nothing but her eyes telling him to make it quick. This was why he had failed. It wasn't her hasty, shapeless pile of hair--which might have been long and silky like her sister's--or her sculpted, hawk-like features--which may have been considered handsome--or even the skinny body in her form-free gown--which really could have been any form at all. This was why none of the men he'd begged and bargained with and even tried to bribe had given in. She was impatient, task-driven, harried; hardly the sort who made a man feel appreciated, no matter what else she could do for him.
"What's this about?"
Ah, but it wasn't as if Cord wanted to be here any more than Nanalie herself did. Nothing to do but take a deep breath, lean in, and get to the point. He'd say his piece, she'd turn him down... and there! Then he was free to propose to Asalaye. "Well... we're both grown people and I have a household that needs running and it gets a little lonely back at my farm; it would be nice to have some company."Nanalie raised an eyebrow. This was it--she was about to tell him not to bother and to just ask her sister like he wanted to. Boring as she was, she was clever enough; she probably saw right through her father's ploy and thought him a fool for worrying.
"And?"
All right. Maybe she just needed to hear it for sure. "Well, I was wondering if maybe... you'd keep me company."
There. Done. He could almost taste the sweet freedom. Just a couple seconds now..."Fine."
...what?
NEXT CHAPTER:
17 comments:
Damn coastal weather. My knee's been hurting like a bitch :(
That was idiotic. Oh, Cord. Oh, Cord.
On the other hand, she gave no implication that this was anything other than a business deal for her. Then again, that IS her personality.
Oh, Cord.
*facepalm*
Oh, Cord, you house-burning moron. I wonder if Adonis predicted/hoped for this.
-sigh- Though I dare say, Asalaye will be none too pleased, this works out well for Lonriad.
lol, I forgot about the house burning.
Come to think of it, Cord is going to need someone practical and reasonably intelligent to hold his crap together. I declare his stars to be lucky.
LOL! Oh man, seriously! Poor Cord. That was a dirty trick.
Now the way is cleared for Lonriad. Perfect. Bwahaha!
Pen: It pretty much was a business deal for Nanalie (which while perfectly valid in those days, isn't exactly what Cord wants). They're not very alike, these two :S
Yes, he did burn his house down :S I wouldn't say he's quite stupid, per say... just absent-minded and unlucky. Someone like Nanalie could at least keep everything running smoothly.
Alix: We'll see Adonis again in a few posts. It won't be his POV, but he'll certainly have a few things to say ;)
I wonder what Asalaye will say about this. She may just be hanging onto Cord out of habit.
Lunar: He certainly wasn't expecting that ;)
Yeah, if Lonriad didn't have a wide opening before, he certainly has one now :)
Although I knew this was coming, I kinda hoped it wasn't. Seems a bit too neat.
Well, maybe they will prove interesting together.
It certainly does seem neat, doesn't it? Suspiciously so...
OH SNAP! Cord, you idiot! I know I'm in favor of Lonriad/Asalaye (it's Severin and Alina 2.0!), but good Lord! Cord, that can't have been what Adonis meant!
And if it was, Adonis, what are you thinking?? If there wasn't a Lonriad, this could so, so easily spell misery for all involved.
I do have faith in Van's ability to make it all turn out right in the end -- or at least wrong in a compelling and entertaining way -- but STILL. Whether Cord is stupid or not is one question -- but he is definitely an idiot.
*facepalm*
Judging by Cord's musings about how he'd tried to get a few other guys to consider Nanalie, it seems that Adonis told him that Nanalie had to at least get an offer before he asked Asalaye. He didn't get any takers, so he figured he'd better ask himself.
And that didn't turn out so well :P
Oh, he's definitely an idiot, even if he's not quite stupid. That's a case of "pseudo-synonyms" in my mind, an idiot specifically being someone incapable of thinking things through (which seems to be the case for Cord).
Some of this is just impetuousness then. "I NEED for Asalaye to marry me and I need it NNAAAOOO!"
I mean, couldn't he have looked harder and longer for someone? Anyone but him? Did he just ask a couple of his chums and then go, "Well that's my work done."
*shifty eyes* Is Cord worried about Lonriad stepping into his territory?
I had a feeling she was going to call his bluff.
I don't think Cord is an idiot. He's been given a ridiculous responsibility and he wasn't keen on it and he did it anyway. I don't know what he was supposed to say. He fumbled it and sounded stupid but again, how do you do that?
I hope Nanalie knows what she's doing.
Pen: To an extent, definitely. But a few of the things he told Nanalie are true. His place is a bit isolated, and he does get lonely, and it would be nice to have someone there to take care of the house and put meals on the table and maybe pop out a few kids who could help on the farm. He was fairly young when his father died, so he's been the man of the house--and effectively an adult--for quite some time now.
I think his goal here was to show Adonis that Nanalie didn't care. That sort of blew up in his face :S
Hmm... you know, I'm curious as to what Cord thinks of Lonriad. Lonriad isn't a fan of Cord, but that's a given because so far Lonriad has been "losing". Cord might find Lonriad annoying. Or he might just not care.
Beth: Heheh... it does sound like the kind of thing she'd do ;)
Whatever Cord may or may not be, he's certainly unlucky. But no one can say he doesn't try.
Oh NO!!! But also hahah. Poor Cord. That kid really can't catch a break. What with the house burning and accidentally getting betrothed to his grilfriend's sister.
I think Adonis won this little argument though perhaps it was unnecessarily harsh on his younger daughter. How will he feel if she wastes away and goes to a nunnery because he took away Cord. Though somehow I don't see that happening...
He's certainly not the luckiest fellow, is he? :P
As for what's in store for Asalaye, I guess we'll see ;)
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