Ghost of a Blade

They’ll have to:

Rate on a scale of 1-10 how much they don’t want to answer that question.

He couldn’t help himself – he smiled back at her, fondly grasping one of her hands in his. “I’m quite sure we will, Milady. I can’t wait.”

But it seemed as though waiting would have to be something he got comfortable with, and fast. The auditorium filled slowly, and people still milled about, chatting and looking through their playbills. Perhaps he’d misjudged when the play was actually supposed to start? Or, maybe it was just a slow night. He wasn’t entirely certain.

As they sat and waited, an uncomfortable silence fell over them. Yen’fay had temporarily worked through the slight anxiety of being in her presence while he was talking about the drama about to unfold in front of them both, but now… he felt as if he was back at square one. 

He glanced slightly at Emmeryn. He wondered if she still remembered the… greeting she’d given him last time they met. It had been weighing heavily on his mind since then, and he was dying to ask her… something about it.

“…” He cleared his throat slightly. “Erm… Lady Emmeryn, if I may?” he asked, ignoring the blush steadily rising in his cheeks again, and locking eyes with her. “Perhaps it is inappropriate for me to speak so plainly, but I… have given much… thought to the time you kissed me.”

His warm, brown irises held her gaze, unwavering. “I was thinking… How magnificent it would be if I were allowed to return the favor in kind, Milady.”

If she were a more easily flustered woman, here would be the part where she would raise her fingers to her lips, and feel her heart beat faster. “Oh?” She vocalized, wondering if he were about to ask her not to repeat that. Or perhaps he had some stronger words to say. 

But no, it was both better and worse. 

“Return the favor in kind?” She asked, smile visible. A smile that faltered slightly, in the face of Yen’fay’s sincere gaze. A gaze she could not hold, and she ducked her head, blushing to beat the band. 

How magnificent…

Tenderly, as if he were gently lifting a fallen nestling back to its home, he cupped her face in his warm palm. After studying her a moment -- taking the time to appreciate her beauty as well as look for any signs of distress, he reflexively wet his lips with his tongue, and drew close.

Yen’fay nodded, taking careful note of the younger’s words. Frankly, the notion of falling in love with someone always by his side seemed a bit alien to him, considering his own upbringing. While arranged marriages were unusual where he was from, he’d still been raised with the expectation that he would marry a noblewoman – probably one from elsewhere in Valm to join their two nations and thus expand Chon’sin’s influence. 

However, he could definitely see the appeal. Surely, having known each other for so long must have significant benefits. The retainer must know all sorts of secrets having to do with Ryoma’s personality and moods that would take others years to figure out – including Yen’fay, himself. He wondered if the retainer would have made such a foolish error as not understanding the full gravity of Ryoma’s confession as Yen’fay had, just moments ago. He was still upset at his insensitivity. Perhaps someone who knew Ryoma better would have known how difficult that must have been for him…

Augh, but now wasn’t the time for beating himself up about something that happened so long ago. He tried to focus his mind again on Ryoma’s words, but found himself distracted for a different reason. The young king’s hair was… It was free. Unlike Yen’fay’s hair, which had been tied up to limit its contact with the water below, Ryoma’s was still cascading down his shoulders and back. If it came in contact with the scalding water they were pleasantly soaking in for any long amount of time, it would probably lead to split ends. Unacceptable. No brother of his would be subjected to such horrors, especially not the young king.

“Ryoma,” he interrupted softly, drawing closer. He hoped he wouldn’t come off as smothering to the young king, but hair was serious business. “Would you like me to tie your hair up similar to mine? So that it’s not in contact with the water? You may continue with your tale – I only worry that it might turn brittle if prudence is not exercised.”

And on a personal note, he thought it would be kind of cute if their hair matched, if only for this short amount of time…

Still keeping his eyes averted, Ryoma couldn’t gauge what Yen’fay thought. Even if he had been accepting all along, it was hard to fight down the nerves. If nothing else the words felt clumsy tumbling out of Ryoma’s mouth as opposed to carefully composed on a page (as they had been, late at night when he knew Saizo was on a faraway mission).

Whatever he had expected, Yen’fay’s words were not it. “I… pardon?” His hair? Was Yen’fay even listening? “Ah, of course.” Flustered as he was, he hadn’t realized he’d left it loose. Goodness knew what could have happened if Yen’fay hadn’t had a keener eye. He shifted so that his back was toward Yen’fay, a convenient excuse not to look at him. 

As he busied himself with his task, he was sure to keep attentively listening to the young king’s story. His words still seemed to carry with them the sunny optimism of a child. How sad that his wish had apparently never come to fruition. Still, Yen’fay had questions.

“Is that so?” he asked, strong hands still combing through Ryoma’s mane. “Would you not consider the two of you friends, then? I’ve seen how some of your younger siblings act around their retainers -- they seem quite close. I would have thought your situation might be similar.”

The Sun and the Moon

@mindofchonsin

5. An excited text.

[ SENT - 7:32PM ] : heyyyy mr grumpy buns! 

[ SENT - 7:32PM ] : have i got good news for you!

[ SENT - 7:33PM ] : there was this really great 2 for 1 deal for this a m a z i n g resort that i love love love. sooooo lucky you  gets to come along for the ride!!!! 

[ SENT - 7:34PM ] : i mean idk if its really your thing or not but you always look so serious and so tense i think it could do you some good. besides i really dont know who else id invite. so you like haaaave to say yes!! no buts about it okay?