Beryl awoke to find herself staring at a wooden ceiling. She had no idea what time it was, but to her right light shone around a window's drawn curtains. If she went by how tired she felt, it couldn't be more than early morning. She was debating whether or not to turn over and go back to sleep when she heard someone say her name quietly. Looking over, she saw Nina coming from the direction of the kitchen, smiling. "Good morning, dear," she said. "Or as I should say, good day."
"Hmm?" Beryl sat up and blinked a few times, her vision fuzzy from sleep. "What time is it?" The rest of the house that she could see beyond Nina was bright and cheery, but she didn't notice any clocks anywhere.
"It's almost noon. Don't you worry about that, though," Nina added when Beryl made a small sound of disbelief. "You needed the rest. I wouldn't have disturbed you, except the doctor wants to see how you are after last night."
With that, the memory of what had gone on the night before came flooding back to her. "Oh. Well, uh, sure. Is he here?"
"He went back to his clinic, but he'll be back soon. Will you see him here, or would you prefer going to him?"
"Um... Here's fine." Doctor Teno was nice enough, but she didn't feel like answering a lot of questions without someone else around as a buffer. "I'll just get dressed."
"All right," Nina said over her shoulder as she went back to her kitchen. "I've made some fresh bread, too. You should really eat something."
"Okay," Beryl mumbled awkwardly. "Thanks." She felt guilty over Nina's doing so much for her, but until she could find a way to get home, she had nowhere else to go. Sighing, she slid out from under the covers, shivering a little when her bare feet touched the cold floor. She retrieved the dress that she had worn the day before-which was not on the floor where she had dropped it hours ago, too tired to bother hanging it up-and decided it was fine for another day. Not that she had anything else to wear, either way.
She changed quickly behind the dressing screen, wondering how anyone could live with so little privacy, and ran her fingers through her hair, not seeing a brush anywhere and not about to go rummaging through someone else's things. Before heading over to the kitchen area, she stopped at the window and peeked outside. There wasn't much to see from this angle, just a few trees, some remaining snow, and another house. It had been too dark to see anything of the village the previous night, either.
She had let the curtain fall back into place, turning to go, when she thought she heard something. Cheering?
"Is anything going on out there?" she asked Nina, who stood at the table mixing something in a wooden bowl.
"Yes, kind of a celebration," Nina replied slowly. "You know, after everything, for so long..." She trailed off and was quiet, her movements becoming stiff and jerky. Beryl knew she was fighting back tears. She tried to think of something to say. Before she could, Nina seemed to recover herself and spoke again. "We also wanted to do something to thank that young man for helping us." She met Beryl's eyes and smiled. "Though I'm not sure he's enjoying all the attention."
Beryl still didn't know what to say. "Ah," she mumbled. She wasn't sure how she felt about that guy. Yes, he had helped them, and now maybe she could try to find out how to get back home, but...
"Oh," she said suddenly as a thought struck her, "you're not staying in here just because of me, are you? I mean, I don't want you to miss out on anything..."
"No, no," Nina said, a little too quickly. She poured whatever was in the bowl into a pan and slid it into the oven. "I'm just not really in the proper mood for so much noise." Beryl wasn't sure if she should believe that, but then Nina added, more convincingly, "And I wanted to spend some time with Jack." She nodded to the little boy curled up asleep in a chair on the other side of the room. "It's been a lot of excitement for him, too," she said, smiling fondly. Beryl felt something then, some little twinge of emotion, but didn't have a chance to dwell on it as a knock sounded on the door.
"There he is," Nina muttered, to herself apparently, and went to let the doctor in. Beryl sat at the table, noticing the basket of sliced bread it held. Her stomach rumbled, reminding her she was hungry. She knew Nina wouldn't mind-she had said to eat something, after all-so she took a slice. She didn't see anything to put on it, but it was still warm. Before she could take a bite, the door creaked open and Nina was greeting the doctor, so Beryl turned in her chair to face them. Then Nina said, "Hello to you, as well," and stepped aside to let in both the doctor, and the person he had brought with him. Link.
Beryl tried not to stare, but it was difficult. For one thing, there was his height. Even though he kept his head lowered at an obviously uncomfortable angle, he barely avoided hitting the ceiling. For another, his appearance. She'd never been the type to gush over how "gorgeous" a guy was...but she definitely thought the word applied in this case, even with his strangely pointed ears. She couldn't remember ever meeting anyone who she thought could truly be called golden-haired.
And she knew she had never seen such intensely blue eyes. She felt her cheeks heat as she thought of the previous night, how she had felt almost hypnotized that first moment his eyes met hers.
Thank the goddesses he wasn't looking at her now. He hadn't even said anything yet. She wasn't sure what expression he wore as he listened to Nina and the doctor talk. Not uneasy, or excited...something like tense or expectant.
"I thought he could use a respite," Doctor Teno was saying. "Some were being perhaps a little too enthusiastic in their gratitude." The comment got a chuckle out of Nina. "Well, please forgive them," she said to Link. "It's been such a lot to deal with the past couple of years. I'm sure you understand, we're all just so grateful." He nodded, gave a small smile. "Of course," he said quietly. Beryl started when he suddenly looked over at her, embarrassed to have been caught staring. She blushed and looked away, forcing herself to focus on the other two. She hoped they hadn't noticed.
"Oh, please, come and sit down," Nina said, as if she had just noticed how awkwardly Link was standing. Everyone took a seat at the table and an uncomfortable few minutes passed during which the doctor attempted to get a conversation going with Beryl. But she couldn't seem to give more than one-word answers as she did her best to avoid looking at Link, who was directly across from her. It didn't help that now and then she could feel someone's eyes on her, and had a pretty good idea who it was. She tried to focus on the somewhat destroyed piece of bread she still clutched in her hand, though she definitely did not feel hungry anymore.
"I thought you might like to get out and see the town," the doctor said after a minute talking to the others. "It's a beautiful day, really feels like spring."
Oh, sure. Go out there and have the whole town gawking at her or bombarding her with questions. Not a chance. But all she said was "Maybe."
"...Can I get anyone anything?" Nina asked after a moment of silence, rising from her chair and moving to the kitchen. "I brewed a pot of tea." Without waiting for replies, she got out mugs and began pouring. Whatever was baking filled the house with a sweet scent, like a cake.
"Thanks," Beryl mumbled as she took the mug Nina offered her, though she wasn't particularly fond of tea. It was too hot to drink just then, but there was enough of a chill in the air that she was glad of the warmth on her hands. The others spoke some more, mostly about travel conditions. Beryl figured she should be interested, since she would have to try to find her way home. But she was feeling more and more tense as the feeling of being watched kept coming back. All at once, she couldn't stand it any longer. She raised her eyes to meet his and glared. "What?" she demanded, clenching her hands into fists under the table. He said nothing, looking down at the untouched plate of some sort of pastry that Nina had placed before him.
The other two seemed to finally become aware that something was wrong. Nina practically leaped to stand beside Beryl, and the doctor stood quickly, saying a little too loudly, "Well, we'd best be on our way. Don't want to hold you up any longer." He headed for the door and Link followed him. Nina went after them to see them off, leaving Beryl at the table alone. She heard their lowered voices but couldn't make out any words. Probably saying that she had acted like a little brat. The thought made her angry. Why was she the problem? It hadn't been her staring! She gritted her teeth, starting to viciously pick apart the bread she held. By the time Nina came back, there was nothing left but crumbs. Nina didn't mention the mess. Instead, she said, "Is something wrong, dear? You seem a little upset..."
Beryl resisted giving a sarcastic reply. When she thought she could speak without sounding too mad, she said, "I'm fine. I just don't like being watched like that."
Nina made a "hmm" sound. "Well," she said gently, "not to point fingers, but it seemed to me that you were doing your share of staring first."
So she had noticed. Beryl couldn't think of anything to say to that at first. But there was a difference, she thought. She had just never seen anyone like him before. She was fairly sure that he couldn't say that about her. She had always considered herself pretty average. But she didn't bother saying any of that. "I don't think it's the same thing," she said. "He just kept staring. It creeped me out."
Nina sighed. "Beryl, I really don't think you have anything to worry about. He did just save you, as well as this whole village. Maybe you could try to be a little nicer?"
Beryl didn't argue. "Yeah, sure," she said. Nina didn't look convinced, but she dropped the subject.
"Why not take the doctor's advice and go for a walk? I think I'll take Jack out, too. Some fresh air will do you good."
Beryl stared at her hands. Well, maybe it would. And...maybe...she should go apologize...or at least, thank Link for helping her, and everyone. She looked up, but Nina had apparently left already. Heaving a sigh, she stood and grabbed the cloak that Nina had given her, putting it on. It was actually surprisingly warm. Well, she thought, here goes. Opening the door, she stepped out into the sun.
This one is from the day after their first meeting. Obviously. :P Took a long time to get this one out. Just wouldn't flow.
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