This is my story for the new contest of the writers anonymous forum. The challenge was to take the two random words from the log in that you need to type in when you typed your password wrong and write a story with those.
My words: Pinecone and dumplings
Summary: A sweet little one shot about Ion and Esther. Takes place between Ridu betraying Ion and Ion meeting with Lady Sforza as they stay in a large house somewhere in Rome. Ion is tired of staying inside while Abel and Petro try to arrange a meeting with lady Sforza and takes a stroll through the garden.
Disclaimer: I own nothing just the idea. All characters of Trinity blood belong to their creator.
Couple: Ion X Ester
Word count: 1.327
Chapter 1, evening stroll
'Why…I don't understand. Why Ridu?' he thought sadly looking out the window. The garden looked nice this evening. Father Petro and Father Abel had said he shouldn't let himself be seen so the only time he could safely look out the windows was in the evening or at night but he wasn't allowed outside until they'd gotten a chance to arrange a meeting with Lady Catherina Sforza. Ion scrunched up his nose when he saw two children run home playing some type of game.
'Enough I can't stand sitting around anymore.' Ion thought stubbornly. He got up and headed out into the garden.
"Surely father Abel won't mind me taking a stroll as long as I don't leave the garden or get seen." he said smiling and taking a deep breath.
The garden was a large one with a small pebble road winding through it and around the house to the front. The whole house was surrounded by a large stone wall giving them complete privacy here. The back side of the garden sported an almost forest like look with its large trees and the small stream that floated through the garden. A wooden bridge lay over the stream where the pebble road crossed it and went into the back of the garden where the trees were closer together and blueberry bushes wound over the ground.
A soft thud broke the spell of peace the garden had had on Ion and the boy frowned picking up the pinecone which had fallen onto the ground just next to his feet. Ion looked around and frowned. He couldn't sense anyone so he shrugged and walked on putting the pinecone in his pocket.
When he reached the bridge he sensed someone ahead of him suddenly.
"WHO GOES THERE?!" he called glaring at the dense part of the garden. A shocked yelp met him as he walked closer. Then he saw the familiar red hair of Esther Blanchett and chuckled as he saw her struggle. He walked over to her and saw that her dress had gotten stuck in the blueberry brushes when she'd tried to get up after hearing him call just then.
"Careful you'll rip it." he said chuckling and helping her free her dress from the bush with his good hand.
"It's dangerous you shouldn't go outside without letting them know." Ion said simply.
"Alright I'll go inside but you should go inside also. If it's dangerous then surely you shouldn't be outside your Excellency what with that shoulder." Esther said getting up and walking to the bridge.
"I'll be fine." Ion said following her pretending not to care.
"What were you doing there anyways."
"I was picking blueberries see?" Esther said showing him her basket full of berries.
"I thought I'd bake a pie from them."
"Oh." Ion said.
A soft thud right where he'd been standing seconds earlier made him jump slightly and turn to glare.
"Stupid thing." he grumbled picking the pinecone up and looking at it.
"It's a pinecone." Esther said smiling.
"I know that!" Ion snapped.
"Sorry." he mumbled when he saw Esther flinch some.
"It's alright I guess you feel bad having to stay here the whole day with nothing to do. Did you know you can tell if it will rain soon by these?" Esther said pointing at the pinecone.
"You can?" Ion asked curiously.
"Yeah , if it's going to rain soon the pinecone closes up to keep the rain away for its seeds and when it gets dry and warm it opens up." Esther said.
"Hey this one isn't closed..." Ion said pulling the one he'd found earlier out of his pocket to check if it were closed too.
"That's because your pocket is dry so it opened up again." Esther said. She ran over to the bridge.
"When I was little the kids in my hometown used to do this a lot. They'd all take a pinecone or a twig or chestnut and throw it off the bridge into the stream then went to the other side to see who's would come out from under the bridge first." Esther said. Ion smiled and looked at the water then at Esther. They grinned and threw the pinecone into the stream then went to the other side of the bridge and watched.
Ion blushed some looking at Esther as she stared intently at the water.
'She's so pretty and nice. No I shouldn't think that way…I can't she's a Terran. ' he thought.
"Is something wrong Excellency?" Esther asked looking at Ion who seemed suddenly sad.
"N-no it's nothing please call me Ion Sister Esther." he said smiling some.
"Only if you call me Esther. Oh look they're coming!" Esther said smiling brightly before leaning over the bridge and pointing at the pinecones.
"Mine's first." Ion said feeling somewhat proud that his pinecone had won.
"Yup. You won." Esther said smiling.
Ion stared at the two pinecones in the water and sighed.
"Ion! Come on! Father Nightroad will start to worry!" Esther called out to him.
"Coming!" Ion called back. He sighed some.
'It can't be…I'm a Methuselah and she just a Terran…it's forbidden. Besides she likes Father Nightroad a lot it seems.' he thought quietly as he trotted back to the house.
"What's that strange scent I smell?" Ion asked as he hung up his coat by sister Esther's.
"Oh no! The dumplings!" Esther said running into the kitchen. Curious Ion followed her and watched as she pulled a plate out of the oven with strange looking dough balls.
"Saved just in time." Esther sighed as she carefully put the hot dumplings onto a small plate to cool.
"What are those?" Ion asked looking at them he'd never seen such a thing.
"They're dumplings. They're an Asian type of food and very tasty want to try one?" Esther asked.
"Sure." Ion said smiling. Esther took one of the dumplings and gave it to him.
"Careful now they're still hot." Esther said taking one herself and blowing it before taking a bite.
Ion watched her quietly and blew on the dumpling then took a bite as well.
"This is really good!" he said taking another bite. Esther smiled.
'I'm glad he liked it. I wasn't sure if he would eat such a thing.' she thought smiling at the young earl fondly.
"Did you two have fun today?" Abel asked walking into the kitchen.
"Father Nightroad. Yes we did." Esther said smiling. Ion nodded as he ate his dumpling.
"Good next time though let me know if you're going outside both of you. It's still dangerous even in the evening in the garden." Abel said smiling.
"We will father. would you like a dumpling also?" Esther asked.
"Hm, no thank you I should go and discuss a few things with father Petro." Abel said leaving the kitchen again. Esther looked confused but smiled nonetheless and gave Ion another when he asked for it.
"You refusing food?" Petro asked Abel when he came into the hall. He'd heard Abel was always hungry.
"She made them for someone special not for me." Abel said smiling knowingly.
The end, for now.