Observance
The room was nearly empty, he noticed as he knocked hesitantly. The dry sound echoed around the open doorframe. The princess raised her head as if from a daze, dark eyes coming to rest on him. The decided smile on his face stayed; he did not let it drop.
"Hi," he said with reserved cheer.
"Hello," she said. Her voice was softer than before; it was the distance between them this time, longer than the span of a dining table. It held the same resolve, hidden well enough that if he were not so adept at listening and finding, it would have slipped his notice.
"Just thought I'd drop by...check out what everyone else's room looks like," he said, still standing at the doorway. She had risen to her feet politely, one delicate hand on the back of her chair, beside the desk where she had been reading. He glanced at the book she had chosen. Two nights of torture here, and this was how she passed the time during the day. He would have to try it.
"Please come in," she said.
He stepped inside, hands tucked in his pockets. Pretended to look around in curious appreciation, observing the softer decor of her quarters. It held more frill than he would have expected for a room in the kingdom of the dead.
"You do some redecorating?"
"No, I haven't."
He walked closer and stopped a few feet away from her.
"How is it for you?" he said quietly.
She stared at him, and he backtracked hastily.
"I mean, your reading...how is it?" he said, gesturing toward the desk and the forgotten book there. It had flipped closed when she had put it down, and he wondered briefly if she could find the right page again.
"It's a history of an ancient kingdom I'd never heard of before," she answered perfunctorily, and held it out to him. "Do you want it?"
"No, no, you should finish it first," he said, but took the book from her anyway. He looked through it awkwardly for a minute before handing it back. He met her gaze without wavering and finally managed to take the reservation out of his voice and smile. "Want to take a walk around, Raniye?"
A small smile spread across her full lips, and he was glad the awkwardness was beginning to fade. The initial hurdles were hard, but once they were past, it was always worth it. He had yet to clear them when it came to Destane's apprentice, but he would not give up there either.
It was most important that he get past them with her first. She was strong despite her delicate appearance, and she would not ask for help. To him, that was all the more reason to reach out.
"I mean, this place is mostly gloom and gray, but I'm sure we'll find something more interesting," he said, offering his arm with exaggerated grace. "My lady?"
The hesitation faded a little more from her eyes as she took his arm, and etiquette set them both in place, as if they were not in a dreaded land of the undead as prisoners, but back in the courts where they both had been raised and would have done this every day out of custom.
They walked together to the door, and he closed it behind them, hearing her breath catch slightly. Knowing the relief in that breath, he resolved to keep her out of that room as long as he could.