User blog:Leea/The Tale of Voronwe, Chapter 36

Previous Chapters
1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th, 27th, 28th, 29th, 30th, 31st, 32nd, 33rd, 34th, 35th

4th Era 110, 11th of Last Seed, Summerset Isle
It had been only about a month, but it had felt like an Era had passed. He smiled down at her amber eyes and handed over the (rather weighty) satchel of coins. "The house is sold. Here's your share of the profits, like promised."

Curwe hefted the sack into the house, letting it lean on the inside of the doorjamb. "Thank you," she replied. "Eldacar's house sold rather quickly, if I might say so."

Akadil smiled. "It is a landmark, remember?"

The curiosity of who might have bought Eldacar's house itched at her. "I know its not really my place to ask, but do you know who bought it?"

He smiled. "It is perfectly fine for you to ask. The house was bought by an enterprising young man. He plans to turn it into an inn."

She laughed. "Now, when he opens it, people can say 'I stayed in a clump of mushrooms' and laugh at the expressions of their friends' faces."

They both laughed at the imagined reactions of the patrons and the stories that would be told about the place.

* * *

He watched them from the window, the lawyer not knowing he was there. He had cast invisibility as soon as they had heard the knock on the front door. He had listened to their conversation at the door, then watched them as they took a walk together on the beach. They seemed to be having a good time, the lawyer especially. He knew infatuation when he saw it, though he did not believe that his love would betray him and leave for the city to live with the Altmer. Balasian leaned on the windowsill, being careful not to let it creak, giving away that something was in the house that no one could see, though the distance that the two friends were, it was likely that they would not hear anything. Still, better to be safe than sorry.

He could see that Akadil was a changed man, being something different previously. No doubt he "changed" when he got to know Curwe over the course of a few days when she had been in Firsthold. He didn't blame him for liking her, but if push came to shove, he'd have to reveal himself and... Balasian shook his head. His imagination was getting away from him. Everything was fine. They were just friends. There was nothing to be jealous about.

* * *

"Its been good to catch up," Curwe said, standing next to Akadil, gazing out over the waters.

He shifted his gaze over to her. "Indeed. Maybe we should do this more often."

She cocked an eyebrow. "I don't have anything else that is still for sale in Firsthold."

Since she apparently didn't understand what he had been talking about, he didn't press the point. He didn't want her to think he was forcing himself on her....that would ruin everything, and drive away the one person in his life that had pulled him out of his rut. He cleared his throat. "Uh, yes."

"You came on the same boat?" she asked, watching the waves.

"Yes. Captain Kael brought me over again." He pointed out over the water to a blurry shape in the distance. "See? There's his ship."

She peered out, the glinting and shining of the water making it somewhat hard to see. Wait...there. She saw a ship bobbing out in the distance. "I see it." She rubbed her eyes. "Now I understand why he wears that black eyeliner."

He chuckled softly. "Yes. Watching water from the wrong angle can blind you after a while." He turned suddenly and began to walk to his boat. She followed behind. "Are you leaving already?" she asked.

He spoke while walking. "Yes. I'm afraid I've already stayed too long as it is."

"What...what is going on? Why are you so suddenly abrupt? Did I say something?"

He turned to face her. Curwe's face was screwed up in confusion, and part of him ached that he was the one who had put it there. "No. I just..." he trailed off as words began to fail him once again. He stared at the wet sand. "I've taken up too much of your time with idle talk. I--"

"Friends catching up on each other's lives is not idle talk," she pointed out.

"I...I..." he tried, before sighing heavily, running his fingers through his hair as she stared at him in concern. "I know. I...I know. Its just...I appreciate our friendship more than you can imagine, and I find this...new...person I've become has a much harder time with farewells with friends than he used to, when he was much more oblivious to these things." he replied.

She smiled a little. "I think I know what you're going through," she said, the water lapping at her shoes. She ignored it. "You've gone through a drastic change from a bland formal person into a happy and spirited man. I hardly blame you for still being in limbo." Her smile grew, and he felt his heart thump. "You'll get used to these new feelings in time. After all, it has been barely a month."

"Yes." he replied, before looking out over the top of her head. "I need to go before I stumble over my words again."

Her smile was as warm as a fire in the hearth on a cool night. Just a glance made his heart thump hard again. "I guess this is goodbye then," she replied. "Remember to have fun out there."

He looked down at her. "Yes," he managed. "You too. Goodbye, my friend." As he turned to board the little boat, she surprized him: she gave him a hug. It was so unexpected that he froze momentarily, before litterally melting into her arms as he held her as tight as he dared. "Thank you for all you have done for me," he whispered.

"You give me too much credit," she replied into his sleeve. "All I did was give you leave to go to a show and made a bad joke."

Akadil laughed painfully. "It was awkward at the time, but now it will be a great memory."

She parted from him. "That's usually how it goes."

Indeed. "Goodbye, my friend. Remember, I will help you however I can. All you need is ask."

She nodded. "I remember." She smiled up at his face. "Goodbye, friend."

Curwe watched as his boat grew smaller and smaller on the horizon, waving until she could no longer see him. She heard footsteps come up beside her.

"He really likes you," Balasian remarked.

"It appears so. He's a nice man." Curwe replied, continuing to watch over the ocean.

"Any chance he's going to compete with me?" he asked, gazing down at her.

She turned to face him. He had a poker face. No way to tell if he was joking. "I hope you're joking."

"And what if I'm not?" he asked, his face still remaining inscrutable.

"Because you had better be. I'm not going to take any nonsense like that from you."

He finally broke into a grin. "Glad to hear I don't have any rivals."

She scowled up at him. "You still had better had been joking. Were you?"

"Of course."

"Good." She sighed. "You have to know your timing with jokes."

The grin remained on his white face as he wrapped her in his arms. "Oh, but it was placed right. It led you right into my arms."

A small smile formed on her lips. "Maybe..." she replied coyly as she "allowed" herself to be kissed.