Several minutes of eating filled in a silence between the four, where the two women intermittently stared at one another. The background noise of other conversations from dozens of other tables filled near to capacity lessened the silence only marginally as the two men would glance from one to the other unsure of what to say.
It was Yara who decided to bridge the gap as she tried a different tact, “That is a very pretty dress, Ashleen, though I can’t help but think it might be a little revealing for a cold winter’s day.”
“Thank you,” the other woman replied choosing only to accept the complimentary side of the comment. “Your dress seems to suit you as well.”
Sebastian and Wendle cringed even as Yara reddened more from anger than embarrassment. “Southwall’s wizards have to wear an apprentice’s white and I have chosen to be a healer so I also wear yellow. Until they decide to raise me to full wizard, I have little choice about what I can wear. Apparently, Kardor doesn’t have those same rules. That is a pretty fancy dress. I doubt any wizard of Southwall would actually wear something like it, however.”
Ashleen seemed ready to let much of what Yara inferred go as she returned, “Well, yellow does seem to be a good color on you, though perhaps green would go better with your eyes. Maybe when you finally prove yourself to your teachers, you’ll have to accessorize with green, though I am not sure that you could wear a dress such as mine.
“I admit that having rich, nobles for parents does have certain perks, but I’ve been able to wear whatever I want for quite awhile now. We let our wizards be themselves more than your guild appears to want for you. Like you’ve said, I rarely see one of your wizards wearing anything other than the same robes as another of their guild. I would think it a bit boring to wear the same thing as everyone else, but I am kardorian, I suppose, and not from Southwall.”
While frowning, Yara’s lower lip looked near to pouting, which actually nearly made Sebastian smile inappropriately. He found her face alternately beautiful and cute. When she looked cute like now, the mage could barely take her serious, but he knew that she was annoyed with Ashleen and bit his lip hard enough to remove the smile that had tried to creep onto his lips.
“I could certainly wear a dress like that, but I don’t have rich nobles to buy my wardrobe and I wouldn’t ask them to if I did,” stated Yara indignantly.
Ashleen surprised everyone by standing up from the table in a remarkably graceful way despite having Wendle on one side and another man on the other, who along with his group had begun to note the heated exchange between the ladies. She gestured for Yara to join her and added, “You think that you can wear this kind of dress? Fine, then follow me.”
With shock in her eyes, though Yara managed to contain most of the look to just those two windows of her emotion, the apprentice tapped Sebastian’s arm to make him slide off the bench to allow her to exit from its end. Unsure that she could have maintained the same grace as the wilder twisting over the bench, the girl had chosen the safer way to stand.
Glancing to Sebastian with a little worry showing only to him, Yara was suddenly pulled away by the hand by Ashleen. Wendle and the remaining mage were left wondering if they should follow the two to prevent anyone from getting hurt. Ashleen was a wilder who could cast lightning without even having to gesture and Yara was a healer. If things were to get heated, they feared what would happen to the second girl, who by her nature they assumed would be too gentle to put up a good fight.
The other eyes in the room that had noted the strange occurrence quickly went back to their conversations and eating, while the two men sat across from one another nervously.
“What do you think Ashleen is going to do to her?” Wendle asked worriedly.
Looking at the man as if he was crazy for asking, Sebastian retorted, “How should I know? You’ve known her longer than I have. Has she ever done anything like this before?”
Wendle gave the question a moment’s consideration before replying with a shake of his head, “Not that I have heard, though to be fair, she and I tend to be in different circles normally. The wilders usually seem to cling to each other and can be a bit standoffish from the rest of our wizards.”
“Really? Why is that?” the mage questioned being once more surprised by kardorian customs. He had just assumed, that wilder or practiced wizard, the two were just considered wizards among their peers and would follow much the same rules as one might in Southwall’s guilds. Perhaps because one followed a certain magic, they might study separately, but most of their wizards seemed to bond together despite which guild they gravitated toward.
“What’s going on?” a familiar female voice questioned before Rilena brushed past Sebastian to sit next to Yara’s plate.
“Ashleen’s going to kill Sebastian’s healer friend, I think,” Wendle smiled as he tried to joke about the women. His eyes looked a little too nervous to the mage to dismiss the man’s comment as just a joke, however.
A large clank as Rilena nearly knocked over her mug in her surprise, brought more eyes their direction, but the girl ignored the others as she asked, “You mean Yara, your apprentice wizard friend? Why would those two not get along? I would have thought they would actually get along pretty well.”
“I’m not sure,” Sebastian replied noticing that Rilena didn’t seem to think there was more to his relationship with Yara. “The two were acting odd almost from the moment they sat down to dinner.”
“Ah,” the woman looked confident that she had solved the mystery as she elaborated, “they’re jealous.”
“Jealous of what?” Wendle questioned her seeming not to comprehend a thing.
Sebastian had wondered at the comment as well, though as she answered, his hunch was confirmed by the brunette, “They’re probably jealous of the attention each girl is giving Bas. At least, that would be my guess.”
“But I’m just friends with both of them,” he lied, though Sebastian doubted Rilena knew of their secret relationship, since he had never told her.
Giving a shrug before she replied, Rilena seemed unwilling to commit completely. “Even friends get jealous of people stealing time from them with someone they wish to be with more. Maybe Ashleen sees Yara spending time with you as stealing time from her and vice versa. Girls can be catty that way especially.
“They’re usually the worst when it comes to men they really like though.” She gave Sebastian a questioning look and inquired with a little smile playing at the edges of her lips, “Don’t tell me that you’ve been playing them from both sides, Bas? I didn’t that you were that kind of man.”
Looking alarmed by the accusation, the accused man replied, “I’m not! We’re just friends, so I don’t know why you would think that?”
A little sweat began to bead on his forehead from the line of questioning, but Wendle helped without realizing it as he asked in indignation, “Hey, why do you just assume that it’s about Sebastian? They could be fighting over me, Rilena.”
Puffing out her pursed lips and squinting her eyes at the wizard, she managed to make her nod very sarcastic as she replied, “Of course they would, Wendle. You’re quite the catch and I’m sure Yara figured that out about you in just a matter of minutes. I’m sure they’ll both be asking you to dance so you can step on their toes once they return.”
Dismissing the wizard as he feigned a wound to his chest, the pretty brunette slid closer to Sebastian, leaning towards him she rested her hand on his shoulder with her head conspiratorially close and continued, “So seriously, Bas, I know you’ve always said that you were close friends with Yara, and Ashleen would barely let anyone near you the other night in the cabin, so what are you not telling us about your friendships? I’ve been your friend awhile, but this seems more like girls fighting over a boyfriend to me.”
Wendle’s eyes widened in surprise as they flicked from Rilena to Sebastian multiple times. “No way,” he breathed quietly as the two mages ignored him as they stared at each other.
Swallowing
hard and vainly trying to find that place of stone some men seemed to find to hide what they were feeling, Sebastian tried to dispute her by saying, “Come on, Rilena, Yara and I could never be more than friends. She’s a wizard’s apprentice and they’re strict about those kinds of relationships and I barely know Ashleen, so how could you think such things?”
He was speaking a little faster than usual and running sentences as the cornered, young man tried to lie at least in reference to Yara. His love of the pretty healer may be known to the girl and maybe a select few close friends, but they couldn’t let the nature of their relationship be common knowledge or there would be punishment ahead for Yara. Prattling on was unusual for Sebastian and Rilena knew him well enough to know that. He only wondered how long it would take the woman to figure things out about them.
If not for the return of the two girls mentioned at that time, perhaps Rilena would have had the time to defeat his ruse. She was the first to notice the pair’s return and her eyes widened in surprise, which caused the two men to turn and look at the doorway as well. The sight of both girls in beautiful gowns began to draw more than just their eyes, however. Ashleen still wore her stunning blue, layered dresses more like a robe as it was cinched by her silver belt. Sebastian had to correct his assumption as he noted one layer had been removed and apparently it was layered into the robes that Yara now wore as well.
Apparently the wilder had decided to make the apprentice try on one of her Kardorian dresses, but since she was traveling the number of garments brought along was too limited to make a full outfit without taking away from her own. Now with one of Ashleen’s light weight, mid tone, blue dresses as the base with a second layer of blue green held together by a heavier, robe of a similar color but made from a shiny material, Yara looked like royalty in the Kardorian clothes. Sebastian thought that green was a perfect color for the blond hair and green eyes of the apprentice as Ashleen had predicted earlier. He could also tell that Yara was uncomfortable with the attention that came from wearing such a dress.
With a bit of blush in her cheeks echoed by the pink of her upper chest that was revealed by the robes, Yara’s eyes tentatively met Sebastian’s and gave askance.
“Wow, you look beautiful, Yara,” the young man stated quietly as she neared. He had nearly forgotten himself in the surprise of her glorious reveal, but managed to control himself with the audience around them. It was annoying that they could not share their true feelings naturally, but there were wizards and mages throughout the room after all and their relationship was supposed to just be friendly.
Ashleen’s attention strayed between the two and she seemed to feel the connection even so, he thought. Her smile lessened only slightly as she waved her hand at Yara and her dress, “Well, I guess I stand corrected. I said that she couldn’t wear a dress like this properly, but Yara has made me eat my words quite fully. Though I did say that green would look marvelous on her, didn’t I?”
Sneaking past Sebastian quickly as she sought to avoid the extra attention, Yara slid back into her position which she found even more difficult to do in the new layers. Her blush strengthened as the girl’s legs were revealed well above her knees until she figured out how to hold the robes closed with one hand as she moved. Rilena greeted her warmly and helped with setting the dress more appropriately as she settled to finish eating.
Sidling up to Sebastian, Ashleen commented, “It seems a shame to hide such a pretty dress behind a table like that and did you notice how lovely her legs are, Bas?”
Noting his blush in response to her words, as he had noticed Yara’s legs even before Ashleen’s comment, the wilder giggled, “You Southwall men are so easy. I would think you had never seen a woman’s legs before mine.”
With that laugh and a last parting touch to his arm, Ashleen rejoined Wendle in that graceful way she had, though Sebastian also noticed how she revealed her legs to the knee and the flash of her silver slippers.
Chapter 15- Over the Edge
The musicians played and the crowd inside the hall danced on the cleared part of the floor. Married couples and the temporary gathering of those single paraded around the hall while dozens more sat or stood around the edges talking and watching the dancers. It was a similar night to the one in Falcon’s Keep, Sebastian thought, except that he had Yara close to him.
Just because she was near did not mean that they could spend all night dancing together, however. They still had to put on the pretense of just being friends and no more. Given their professions, it was probably wise to be as they appeared, but the two were in love and there was little that could be done to remedy that even if they wanted to change. For the time being, it became like a shell game between them and the other dancers.
Dressed in Ashleen’s beautiful and alluring Kardorian robes, the two girls were in the highest demand. Sebastian didn’t even beg the first dance of either girl as they were whisked away so quickly by other waiting men. Soldiers, mages, wizards and even some of the nobility came to the gathering hall of Windmeer to socialize, especially during the long winters of North Continent. Sebastian lost track quickly of who actually danced with the girls first, but he thought at least one of the men were from one of the lesser houses of nobles residing in the castle.
Rilena dressed in her basic falcon uniform received several offers as well, but the beautiful girl wasn’t always comfortable with strangers and grabbed first Wendle and then Sebastian as she worked up the nerve to dance with someone from Windmeer. It was on the second song that the two were caught in a slow dance and, after quickly questioning if the other would be comfortable, settled into the movements nearly touching torsos.
“So what were you called into the ravens’ office about today anyway?” the girl asked looking up slightly to see his face better.
“Well, the same reason as you for the most part,” he responded easily having nothing to hide from his companion on that particular path. “You know. They mainly asked about the adventure in the mountain for the most part, though they did seem to be as intent on having me join the Winter’s Edge tournament as well.”
“The Winter’s Edge tournament? Bas, that will be amazing to see you take on those wizards, that is if I can find a way to be in Hala when you compete!” she said excitedly and seemed to be playing scenarios in her head to try and figure out the way already.
“Well, that’s if I decide to join it.”
“What?! You have to do it. You’re the best candidate to take on those wizards from the mages. I can’t wait to see their faces when you show up dressed in a falcon’s uniform and beat a few wizards at their own game,” the brunette implored with her dark eyes. “You just have to do it, Bas.”
Once more he felt that sickly feeling he often had these days from all the mages demanding more and more from him despite his real wish to be left to himself. “I don’t know, Rilena, it just seems so stupid to join a tournament like this. I’ve never been that interested in competing like that. Training and learning how to become the best I can is one thing because it will save my life, and others can depend on me to be that way. Fighting just to fight seems like a waste of time to me.”
Sighing, Rilena paused their dance and took hold of both of his arms, “Well, then think of it as sparring with wizards. If training and sparring are fine in your mind, then that’s the way you should view it. I mean, I doubt that the tournament is set up in a way that will be any less safe than a sparring match. We take precautions in training, but sometimes accidents do happen, right?”
Her words made more sense than Sebastian would have originally believed. If the sparring meant becoming a better mage from the training such methods allowed, then perhaps Rilena was right. A chance to duel with some of the best wizards in the country and a chance to learn from those men might not be the useless exercise he had originally thought. “That’s an interesting point,” he confessed. “I hadn’t thought of it that way and I guess if I do well that can better the name of the corps also.
“The ravens said that I could pick a team to support me as well. Maybe I should have you come along so you can pick up what’s left of me if I fight the wrong wizard?” he added with a self deprecating laugh.
A stern frown was his first answer from the girl as she reprimanded him, “Don’t think like that. You’re the mizard and you’re good at thinking of answers to big problems. Set your mind on figuring out how to win the tournament. You’re not allowed just to settle and let them bully you right out of there, Bas.
“As to joining you,” a look of emotional pain crossed her face when she confessed, “I don’t think I can. They want to send Markun and I back with a larger force to meet up with a second group coming from Falcon’s Keep to deal with that fortress.”
He was disappointed by her words. Sebastian had hoped to find a few good friends to join him and Rilena had become one the best over the past several months at Falcon’s Keep. “I could ask Ravens Stallis and Liom to change that maybe. Depending on how important they view my training for the tournament that might change where they send you.”
With another sigh that led to a quick hug, Rilena replied, “I’m sorry, but I can’t ask you to do that. You know that fortress needs to be dealt with more than I need to see you fight in Hala, though I really, really want to see you there. Markun doesn’t know the fortress entry at all, so other than you, I’m the only battle mage with first hand knowledge of the place.” She winced a bit thinking of just what learning she had received first hand including her torture.
“The wizards will send Druick and maybe even Nerieth, so they can always lead the task force instead. In fact, even if you do go, Druick is likely to lead based on experience alone.”
Another frown from Rilena brought a complaint as she retorted, “Because he’s older than me or because he’s a man?”
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