December 8, 1179
"I'm not going to tell anyone, if that's what you're worried about." Ellona jerked her arm out of Casimiro's grasp and subdued herself with a sigh. He supposed he had panicked when he'd whisked her away to a random guest room, and now that they were here he wasn't even sure what to do with her. It wasn't in his nature to threaten. Hell, it was barely in his nature to stand firm. "There wouldn't be much point in that, would there?"
"Lettie might see the point. The rest of Searle's family might too." He wouldn't even mention his own family. Isidro knew, but he'd always had so many problems of his own that he'd never bothered to make it another one. Casimiro suspected that his mother knew as well--didn't mothers always know?--but she seemed happy to keep it tightly under the rug and hint that he start looking for a bride. He wasn't sure the rest of them would be so indifferent.Then again, he supposed Ellona had about as much family-related baggage as almost anyone.
"Then it should be Searle who tells them. I'm not my mother, Casimiro. I'm not in the business of ruining lives for no reason." It was an odd thing to say at any point, or at least an odd way of saying it--almost like she was talking to herself more than she was to him. Her face was so firm that she was almost vulnerable. One wrong word and he could have sliced her to pieces.But it was only for a minute. Her mantric resolve retreated to a fortress in her eye and she sent forth instead a caustic smirk. "But remember when we met? I thought you said Neilor wasn't your type."
"And he's not." But at least the air in the room was a little less uneasy. "Just because you like some men doesn't mean you like all men."Ellona snorted. "I don't even like most men."
"Exactly. It's a broad category. Give them to me freckly and blue-eyed and not too hairy." And for all he'd never understand, there were some who wouldn't have said the same of that type. "What about you?"
"Self-important pricks, apparently."
And there it was, that same stubborn glaze, so jaded she would crack without denting. She would keep his secret. He didn't fully understand why, but she would. Perhaps he could return the favor. "Do you want to talk about it?"
If he could tell from the tilt of her head, it wasn't an offer she was used to hearing. "Would you listen?"NEXT CHAPTER:
11 comments:
Kind of a fluff post, but it had to happen.
Those two could both use a friend who -- if s/he doesn't quite understand -- is willing to listen to their unconventional tales. So, yeah, I think this did need to happen.
Poor Ellona. *sigh* The breakup really seems to be wearing on her. And I can't imagine what people are saying behind her back ... of course, they're probably claiming that Ietrin got rid of her, not the other way around, because it was incredibly ballsy of Ellona to leave him. Heck, Ietrin is probably the top guy spreading the rumor.
As for Casimiro ... are there, other than Searle, any nice freckly, blue-eyed and not too hairy men he could meet? The only one that comes to mind is Jadin, and something tells me that he's a bit more into ladies than he's into men. ;)
They could both use more friends. Ellona's main confidante right now is Raia, who is understanding, but very busy, what with the business and the new baby and her older kids being a handful. Casimiro's is Izzy, who is also quite busy with kids and assorted knight duties, especially since he seems to be put in charge of quite a few things. A new connection would benefit them both.
Ellona's life has changed pretty drastically since the breakup, and yeah, talk would have only increased :S She could use another sympathetic shoulder.
Alas, I can't think of anyone for Casimiro at the present time :( But on a positive note, I don't think he's looking for outright romance just now (though he may want it at some point...)
I just hope that it never becomes to Ellona's advantage somehow to spill the beans about Casimiro and Searle. If it gained her anything, she might have gotten them arrested. :O
If she had told, then what might have really interested me would have been Sparron's reaction. I have to wonder whether he wonders if Searle is sleeping with another man.
Yeah, here's hoping she never has a reason to tell :S
Good question about Sparron. It's probably one of those things he just tries not to think about. He could be telling himself that Searle is mainly interested in women, or that he's trying to make things up to Lettie, or that he wouldn't risk finding out if other men were willing to sleep with him. But since he hasn't actually seen Searle, it's pretty easy to wonder :(
Whoa. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Pandora's dead? Octavius and Holladrin's Pandora? The one who got to wear her mama's wedding dress? When did that happen?!?
I was wondering if anyone would notice that :S
Pandora actually died on the day of this party, only in the morning. Childbirth. The baby (barely) survived, but Pandora didn't last long after it was over :(
Her family hasn't gotten the news yet. In fact, Octavius is probably at this party, under the impression that everything is okay :S
... And now my heart is officially broken. Poor Octavius, having a good time at the party, and having no idea about Pandora.
I hope that little baby stays ok! Octavius should go to see her as soon as he can. He'd like to be able to hold a new little Holladrin, wouldn't he?
(And if he can't, I vote that Jeda and Ietrin's third daughter be named Holladrin, too. Oh, and if they ever have a son, he should totally be called Octavius.)
Still ... what is it with Octavius's daughters? Jeda has a miserable marriage that has already gone on for far too long, and Pandora (I hope) had a happy marriage that didn't last nearly long enough. :(
For the sake of keeping from drama overload over the next few months, the baby will be fine. And Octavius will be seeing her soon enough.
If Jeda has a third daughter, she will totally be named Holladrin! Those two were very close, after all.
Pandora's marriage was happy, for all it didn't get to last very long. Hopefully Thallie can have a long, happy life.
You know, that turned out much better than could initially be expected. Ellona's got plenty of room in her life to be understanding - after all, her life hasn't been that conventional of late. I snickered when she said that she went for self-important pricks, because she's been pretty brave throughout, and it's got to be something that still rankles Ietrin.
It could have been worse, for sure. But you're right--Ellona definitely has the room to be understanding.
Oh, I imagine Ietrin is still pretty upset over the whole thing. We'll be seeing the consequences of that later in 1180...
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