“Shall we?” asked Darren. He looked much more comfortable and self assured than Lucy felt.
“Yes,” said Lucy.
Justin quirked an eyebrow in her direction, which she ignored as she walked forward on Darren’s arm. Justin watched the two of them walk in together. He waited a few minutes and then followed. This was definitely going to be an interesting dinner.
Chapter 36
The social time before dinner went better than Lucy thought it would. She and Darren walked around and chatted with people. Professors did come and ask about Lucy’s tattoos. She always made sure to credit Maya with the artwork. Eric gave her and Darren an odd look, but Lucy assumed that could be for any number of reasons. They had fun chatting with Chloe and Grant who had come together and were apparently dating. Spending all the time together preparing for the team competition helped them realize they worked well together and enjoyed each other’s company.
Part way through the crowd, they met Maya and Jared. Maya took one look at Darren, and Lucy could tell something was wrong. She raised an eyebrow at her.
“Darren, you don’t mind if I steal Lucy away for a minute do you? Girl stuff,” Maya explained.
Before Darren could reply, Maya led her a few feet away.
“Ok, what’s wrong with what Darren’s wearing? Justin seemed amused, not that that is unusual, but I guessed something was up.”
“Not too many people here would catch it, but for those who do they’ll definitely be confused. You are dressed as a powerful, single woman. Darren is dressed as a warrior’s consort. Definitely not in your league and belonging to another woman. Usually, a woman would only be escorted by another warrior’s consort if the woman was related to either the warrior or the consort.”
“That would explain Eric’s strange look,” said Lucy with understanding. “Then, I have to ask. What is Justin dressed to portray?”
“The clothing suggests honored warrior, and the embroidery suggests druid,” responded Maya.
“In other words, a much better match for me.”
“Yes, but if it makes you feel any better, I think he’s been to Salmatina and procured the outfit there. It’s not something he got specifically for the feast.”
“Wait, so he really is a warrior druid?”
“You’d have to ask him about the details, but you’ve seen some of what he can do.” Maya waved off the question.
“Yes, but that’s here, in school.”
“It’s a good school,” said Maya with a shrug. “Let’s go back. We can talk about Justin later if you want to.”
Lucy most certainly did not want to talk about Justin later. Although, maybe she did owe him an apology. If he had the outfit before the event even existed, he wasn’t wearing it to provoke Darren. On the other hand, he could have worn something else, so perhaps he still was. Lucy decided to wait until the end of the evening before she apologized for anything. There was still plenty of time for things to happen that would nullify that apology.
She smiled at Darren as she came back. Part of her felt bad for him. He had done some research and tried really hard. He simply hadn’t done enough research. Lucy wondered if she would have accidentally done something like that if Maya hadn’t helped her. She certainly couldn’t have done the tattoos by herself. They continued to wander around talking to people from their classes. About the time they were getting hungry, Eric requested they all find their seats so dinner could begin.
Lucy was worried that Justin would have somehow arranged to sit next to her at dinner. She was sure she would enjoy his company even though he was in an antagonistic mood tonight, but there was a palpable tension between him and Darren. She did not want to try to eat a meal in that tension nor did she want to spend half of the meal trying to diffuse any possible risings in that tension. She was relieved to see her table fill up and note that Justin was not present. Although Darren didn’t say anything, Lucy could sense relief from him.
“Of course he’s relieved. I’m hard to compete with.”
“So, you’re competing now?”
“He thinks we are.”
“I’d roll my eyes in your general direction, but I have no idea where you are sitting.”
“Well, if you’d like to keep it that way, I wouldn’t turn around if I were you.”
Of course, Lucy had to turn around and found herself face to face with a pair of brown eyes. Lucy arched a brow at him and turned back around.
“Was my table full when you made your reservations?”
“No, but I thought it might put undue stress on your date for the evening.”
“How kind of you.”
“Not at all, I’m well aware that I can talk to you from any point in the room. Any point on the grounds for that matter. I thought I would leave your table for those who do not have that luxury.”
“I can’t spend the whole evening talking to you though. I have to talk to other people as well.”
“I know.”
This time Lucy did roll her eyes.
“Something wrong?” asked Darren. He noticed the eye roll, but he had missed the earlier turn around as he was talking to Chloe who was seated on his left. He did not know Justin was directly behind them. Lucy was hoping to keep it that way as long as possible.
“No, sorry, they itch, and Maya put eye make-up on them, and I can’t rub my eyes. I hoped rolling them around a little would help. Next time I’ll shut my eyes.”
He nodded. Not knowing the details of women’s make-up, he accepted her answer.
“So, Darren,” said Lucy, deciding it was time to talk to her date, “I never did ask if you know how to dance or not.”
“Are you asking now?” he responded with a smile.
“Not very bright is he?”
“Yes, I’m asking. Do you know how to dance?”
“Yes, I know how to dance.”
“Are you any good?”
“Fair to decent.”
“Beware your toes.”
Lucy smiled at Darren and sipped at her wine.
“How are classes going?”
“Good. Philip has gotten much better. He’s still nervous, and that doesn’t help, but people are getting less afraid to be around him.”
“I’m glad to hear it. I was afraid he would drop out before making any progress.”
“I have to ask, have you gotten any better at archery?”
“No, I’m still a danger to myself and others,” responded Lucy with a laugh.
“Why don’t you practice?”
“I have other things I need to learn. It’s much easier for me to throw fire bolts than it is to shoot arrows. I do more damage and feel less pain. Arrows seem like a step backwards at this point, not a step forward. Besides, I think Justin was getting tired of healing me.”
“I never tire of healing you. You come up with the most interesting injuries. Tell him about the horse jumping exercise…and the subsequent shower scene.”
“I somehow don’t think that would be a good idea. I probably shouldn’t have brought you up at all.”
“Probably not.”
“Do you think I’ll be able to spar with you guys again now that the competition is over?” asked Darren.
“I don’t see why not. I can ask Gavin if you want. How did you do in the weapons competition? I was able to watch part of one of your fights, but that was all.”
“Considering how inexperienced we were, we did better than I thought we would. We made it through the first four rounds.”
“Not bad.”
“We didn’t do so well with the poison though. We don’t have anyone like Maya. We are all reasonably skilled, and Chloe is better than most, but none of us have had enough training and experience to identify both of the poisons and come up with the antidotes in time. If we had had a couple more hours, we might have gotten there.
“I couldn’t have brewed up the antidote either,” replied Lucy.
“You could have, but you don’t have to. Leaching
poison is a good skill. By the by, did you check the wine?”
“Yes. Did you?”
“Always.”
The food arrived, and Lucy was glad to see it. She was hungry, and it was always difficult to carry on two conversations at the same time. Eating would give them all something innocent to do.
“You should work at getting used to this. You never know when a skill like this could come in handy.”
“Like Gavin’s horse jumping idea?”
“That hurt.”
The food was excellent. Each person was given a small, glazed, unidentifiable bird stuffed with rice and mushrooms. There were dinner rolls, pea pods, and candied pears to go with the birds. The Dining Hall grew quiet for a moment as everyone began to eat. Then conversation began to flourish again. Lucy continued to have one conversation with Darren, while listening to Justin comment on that conversation and other things in her head. It was amusing and frustrating at the same time. Lucy was sure Justin was laughing at her. It was a good thing he was not at her table. She could not have made it through dinner if he was sitting across from her, eyebrow cocked with amusement. She was sure it would have been worse if he was sitting next to her. He felt close enough, and that was with space behind her. He would feel too close if he was next to her.
When everyone was finished eating, and a large portion of wine had been drunk, an orchestra began to play, and people began to dance. Maya and Jared were out there immediately and stayed out there the rest of the night. Maya seemed to know every dance ever invented. Jared knew most of them as well, let her lead sometimes, or faked it admirably. Lucy was surprised to see Gavin out there. Of course many weapons masters, which he was on his way to becoming, had to be graceful on some level or they wouldn’t live long enough to be weapons masters. Lucy sat and sipped on her wine, wondering how long Darren was going to wait before he asked her to dance.
“I’d ask you to dance, but it would be rude to do so before your date did.”
“True, besides, it’s harder to make a scene cutting in if I’m not dancing.”
“How very true.”
“Well, shall we?” asked Darren in a voice that implied he had resigned himself to his fate.
“Yes please,” responded Lucy.
They made their way to the dance floor where Darren did indeed dance fair to decent and managed to avoid stepping on her toes. They danced three songs in a row before Justin asked to cut in. He had such a polite expression on his face that Lucy was sure he was seething with tightly controlled laugher. Darren didn’t look too pleased with the request that wasn’t really a request, but nodded, handed Lucy off, and went back to sit at their table. Justin put one arm around her waist, winked at her, and began to dance as though he had been dancing for years. They moved well together and without effort.
“You’re very good at this.”
“I try.”
“For someone who doesn’t like formal events, you do very well with all the requirements for one.”
“Practice can lead to perfection, but it cannot lead to enjoyment.”
“Don’t you like to dance?”
“With the right woman, I enjoy dancing very much.”
“You must be loving it now,” Lucy attempted to quip, but was put off guard by his blunt and seemingly honest answer.
“Naturally.”
The music ended.
Lucy smiled sheepishly, “I don’t want to stop dancing.”
“Come now, I have had my dance, I must return you to your date.”
“Thank you for the dance.”
“My pleasure.”
Justin returned Lucy to Darren, but didn’t stay for small talk.
“He’s a better dancer than I am.”
“Don’t worry, you’ll learn.”
Darren seemed bothered by something, but Lucy didn’t feel like prying. He would either tell her or he wouldn’t. She watched the other dancers dancing and talking. After a few more sips of wine, it occurred to her that she and Justin had been talking mind to mind. To an observer, it looked like they were silently staring at each other and randomly changing facial expressions. Lucy wasn’t about to explain how Justin and she communicated so she asked Darren to dance again instead. He smiled and led her back out to the floor for some more songs. Justin did not cut in again. In fact, Lucy was pretty sure he was no longer in the Dining Hall. She wondered where he was for about a minute and then dismissed the thought and continued to dance.
When the musicians stopped playing, people started to drift out. The Dining Hall was always open so no one was kicked out, but the magic of the evening was ending and staying didn’t feel right. Besides, some couples had other destinations in mind. Lucy was ready to wash the tattoos off her body and get out of her dress. Granted, it was comfortable for a dress, but it was still a dress. Darren didn’t say much as he walked her to her room. When they got there, Darren looked at her intensely.
“You’re not going to ask me in are you,” he said more than asked.
“No, I’m sorry, I’m not.”
“You know I want to be more than friends.”
“I guessed,” replied Lucy trying to keep her answers short and to the point while making sure they maintained their current physical distance.
“You don’t want to be.”
“More than friends? No, I don’t”
“I had fun tonight with you.”
“I had fun too. Thank you for taking me.”
“If it wasn’t for Justin, would I stand a chance?”
“This has nothing to do with Justin,” responded Lucy, slightly confused.
“I don’t believe that.”
“You can believe what you want. That doesn’t make it true,” Lucy shrugged. She wasn’t going to spend a lot of time trying to convince him of something.
“I had hoped…”
Darren stepped forward as he said that, and Lucy wasn’t sure if he intended to kiss her or not, but she didn’t want to find out. She pushed open the door to her room and stepped inside.
“Good night, Darren,” she said firmly.
“Good night, Lucy,” he said with a sigh and a sad smile.
Lucy closed the door before he could say or do anything else. She washed off the tattoos and the make-up. Part of her wanted to take a shower. The other part of her wanted to crawl into bed and forget that the last conversation with Darren had ever happened. He did so well the entire evening. She had hoped they would be able to say good night without him saying things she didn’t want to hear or doing things she didn’t want him to do. She didn’t want classes to be awkward. You can ignore the fact that someone might have feelings for you right up until the point they say something. Lucy sighed as she decided to forgo the shower and climbed into bed.
“So, are you alone in bed or do you have company?”
“Alone, and you?”
“Alone. I was making sure he behaved himself and that you didn’t need any help.”
“I can handle Darren. He’s not the type to force a girl to do anything.”
“Force no, but I’m sure he suggested or even tried.”
“Perhaps. I didn’t give him much of an opportunity to.”
“A good move on your part.”
“I’m sure it was. Did you get to dance with your mystery girl?”
“I did.”
“Was it all you thought it would be?”
“Better. I didn’t know if she could dance or not. The fact that she could was a pleasant, though not totally unexpected, surprise.”
“I’m glad. Are you going to tell me who she is?”
“I’m tired. I’ll tell you tomorrow.”
“No, you won’t.”
“Probably not.”
“Good night, Justin.”
“Good night, Lucy.”
Chapter 37
After the competition, it was difficult to go back to classes. Lucy did not find them as challenging as the competition had been and therefore, they also felt less
satisfying. Not that she was bored by any means, simply less challenged. Darren hadn’t spoken to her much since the social event. He didn’t exactly ignore her, but he didn’t treat her with the same amount of friendship. Perhaps it had never really been friendship on his part. Perhaps it had been closer to flirting or friendship with the specific intention of it becoming more, and she had never wanted to believe that one excluded the other. Luckily, he didn’t try to press his suit, but things were still awkward. Her favorite parts of the day were still the evenings she spent with Justin, Maya, and Gavin. Justin was teaching her the art of subtlety and that was a challenge. It was also occasionally tedious.
“Tell me the point of this again,” said Gavin as he watched Lucy change the ribbon she was holding a fractionally darker shade of violet.
“There is not so much a point as a broadening of possibilities. Some spells or ideas need a fine touch. In other cases, a delicate touch can be more effective, or less noticeable. I’ll give you a simple example and then a more practical application,” said Justin. “I could turn my hair a different color in half a second. It would be immediately noticeable. However, if I varied it a shade darker or lighter every other day for a few weeks, I would get the same effect eventually without attracting attention. I know you don’t care about hair color, but bear with me. Little changes can be useful if you have the time to plan ahead. A more drastic use could go something like this. If you are planning to attack a fortified position, and let’s say it’s made of stone, you could open tiny cracks in the foundation and even help a natural spring of some kind to find its way into the cracks. Eventually the walls will crumble. Before they reach that point, the weakened foundation would make it easier to pull or push the walls down. Some planning in advance can make or break a battle.”
“I can see how it could one day be useful, but it doesn’t look like something I’d want to spend time learning,” said Gavin.
“I can’t do a lot, but I do find it useful,” commented Maya. “In some cases, the smaller the changes, the more believable they are.”
Gavin shrugged. Subtlety was not his strong point and never would be. He could use finesse with a blade, and that was about it. Politics and changing hair colors he would leave to the others. He went back to studying for a language test.
The Eye of Elicion: The Kinowenn Chronicles Vol 1 Page 28
