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.
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