Natame Secrea: *feeds her more of the story* here ya go, happy now?
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Chapter 9
~~~Rain and Stables~~~
I'm standing on my balcony, leaning on the black metal railing. It is about seven in the morning. I have been standing here for the past hour. The sun rose no more than fifteen minutes ago. In between the pale gray clouds the sky has a pinkish tint.
Although the scenery is beautiful it is not why I am up so early. I flick my hair out of my eyes with my left hand. My hair is getting too long, I haven't cut in a year, over a year; not since the ball held in honor of my twelfth birthday.
The wind blows my hair back into my eyes, so I untie my light blue ribbon from my wrist and tie it around my hair. It does not secure my front hair, it is still too short. What the ribbon does not hold back blows freely in the wind. Perhaps I wear too much blue, but lately it seems to fit my mood.
The sound of approaching people brings me out of my reverie. I look out to the road, trying to see if it is him. It's not him, just some of the townspeople going to their morning work.
A light drizzle begins, but I pay no attention to it. That sounds like a chocobo, maybe... I run downstairs and into the courtyard. My skirt gets caught in the closing front door and I take precious moments to open the door, free my skirt, and re-close the door.
I make it down the few steps and onto the stone floor of the courtyard as he is dismounting from his chocobo, Blessed. I fling my arms around him in a hug. "Aurie, I've missed you so much!" I say to the startled sixteen yr. old.
He laughs and returns the hug. "I've missed you too, Zali. Aren't you up earlier than you usually are? Last I heard from Braska you never rousted yourself out of bed before ten."
I smile, "Braska said you were coming home today. I've been awake for over an hour, waiting for you to get here. And it's nine, not ten." I lead Blessed into the stables, and put her in her stall, which is next to my own chocobo's stall. My dad gave Fortune to me before he died. I was eight at the time.
I was about to sit on one of the benches that we have in the stable when a hand closed around my arm and stopped me. I look up and am confronted by Auron's twinkling brown eyes. He sits down on the bench and pulls me onto his lap. I sit there willingly, my head leaning against his chest.
"I didn't want you to catch a chill from sitting on the cold hard bench," he whispers into my ear. "So tell me, how have you been?"
I giggle at his joke. "Bored and lonely, is anything else new?" I smile slightly. "Mother hasn't made me take any more etiquette lessons. She's too busy screaming at brother. She doesn't approve of his girlfriend. I'm not too sure if I do either."
"Oh, why's that?" he asks, running his fingers through my hair. He only pauses to take the ribbon out of my hair.
I sigh contentedly, "I don't know, she's really nice. I just can't help but think..." I trail off. Auron continues stroking my hair, aware that I'll continue when I'm ready to continue. I finally whisper, "She's an Al Bhed. The Al Bhed's comings and going from the house are un-remarked on now. I don't think that she would kidnap me; she's far to sweet to do that, but what if one of the other Al Bhed come back and try to kidnap me again. With the access they have to the house, it would not be difficult."
"Have there been any more attempts to kidnap you?" he asks, concern showing on his face. His fingers catch on a snarl and he gently begins to untangle it.
"No, not since the party," I say, "but, I'm getting the distinct feeling that they are only biding there time." I shiver, "I'm cold." I pull my legs up onto his lap and wrap my arms around them.
Auron takes the hint and lets the subject drop. "Maybe you should wear more," he says. "On second thought, don't. I like your outfit the way it is." He stops playing with my hair and wraps his arms around me.
"I'm still cold; it's because my clothes are wet," I say. "I suppose I should go change." I swing my legs down to stand up. Auron's arms tighten around my waist. "Aurie," I whisper, scared, "are you going to let me go?"
Auron pauses as if considering. "No," he finally whispers, "I'm not. Do you really even want me to?"
I shake my head from side to side. "I..." I close my eyes, holding back tears. "Auron, let me go." My voice wavers slightly. A tear trickles down my face and I reach up to brush it away.
Auron sighs and lets me go, "it shall be as the Lady says." He sighs inaudibly as I stand up.
I pause, "I'll be right back," I say and run to the tack room whispering, "I promise." I grab a few blankets from the tack room and change into a knee-length black skirt and a red long-sleeve turtleneck.
I go back into the main part of the stable carrying a pile of blankets. I sit next to him and hand him a blanket before draping one over myself. I lean my head on his shoulder.
He slips his arm around my waist, "thank you, Zali." He uses his free arm to spread his blanket over his lap.
I close my eyes, finally warm and comfortable. My eyes open as I feel a gust of cold air against my shoulder. My eyes slowly begin to focus and I notice Auron standing up. I grab his arm as it goes past me.
"Auron, where are you going?" I ask and pull him back down next to me. He is surprised by my action and loses his balance. He falls on top of me. His face is scant inches from mine.
I giggle, "Sorry Aurie, I didn't mean to make you fall." I look up and meet his eyes. I quickly look away, a faint blush on my cheeks. He stands up slowly and pulls me up next to him.
My head is spinning slightly. I stare at the ground until he finally puts his finger under my chin and lifts it up so I am looking at him. He leans forward slowly and I close my eyes, unsure of what will happen next. My heart is beating fairly fast.
My eyes shoot open as I feel his lips brush against mine. I stumble backwards in surprise and would have fallen had his arm not been around my waist. Once I am steadied he drops his arm and turns to leave, obviously thinking that his advances are unwelcome.
Before he takes more than a step my arms are around his neck and I am once again standing in front of him. I stand on my tiptoes and kiss him gently on the lips. He kisses back passionately.
We finally break off and I lean my head against his chest. I murmur up at him, "I love you, Auron."
"I love you, too, Zali." He whispers, as he stands there, his arms wrapped around me.
We stand there like that for the longest time. My head is resting on his chest; his arms are wrapped protectively around me. A noise alerted Auron to the presence of another.
Auron looks up and sees Braska walking into the stable. Auron gently tugs on Zali's hair.
"Ow! What was that for, Aurie?" She looks up and over to where Braska is standing. "Braskie, how long have you been here? Why didn't you say anything?"
Braska chuckles, "Not very long, sis, I only just came in. I didn't want to startle you, you looked so comfortable." A grin breaks out on his face. "You're never going to live this down, Auron. You'll never guess who told me where you were." His eyes twinkle mischievously, "or should I make a direct quote? 'Yo! Braska, guess who's kissing your sister in the stables!'"
Auron gives Braska a death glare. "Jecht is going to die. I will make sure it is a very slow and painful death, too."
"That's only if you get to him before I do." I say. My face is bright red. It's bad enough for Braska to walk in on Aurie and I hugging, but if Jecht saw us kissing, the whole household will know by lunch.
- - -
The rain let up fifteen minutes after lunch. A soaking chocobo came in, riding it was a messenger. He looked as if he was a monk.
He dismounts. "I carry a message for Novitiate Auron from Maester Mika." He says.
Auron steps forward. "I am Auron, please relay the message. "He holds out his hand. The messenger hands over the message.
Zali steps forward, "excuse me sir, is there anything you need? If you wish I can have a room prepared for you."
The messenger nods, "thank you miss." I run inside, he follows me.
I run into one of the servants in the corridor. "Milady, your mother wishes to see you and your brother."
"I'll tell Braska, can you get this man a room? He just rode in from the temple."
"Yes milady, follow me sir." The servant leads him to a room.
I run back to the courtyard. Braska and Auron are nowhere in sighs. "Braska, where are you? I yell. On impulse, I run to the stables and sure enough, Braska is there. What he's doing startles me. "Braska, why are you saddling Blessed, and where is Auron?"
"Auron is getting his bag from his room. He is needed back at the temple," Braska says.
Tears spring up in my eyes, "Mother wants to talk to us." Auron walks into the stable. "Aurie, I'm going to miss you!" I run up to him, kiss him lightly, and run out of the stable, a tear trickling down my cheek. I hastily wipe it off and wave a cheerful goodbye to Auron as he rides Blessed onto the dirt path. He blows a kiss to me as he rides off.
We walk silently up the stairs, side-by-side and enter the cool interior of the house. We pause outside my mother's sitting room. I run a hand through my hair before pushing the door open. We enter the room together and are met by a pair of bright green eyes.
- -
Ok, that was a mushy chapter and it was fun to write. I love mush. Ok, just a warning, there will not be much mush for a while yet. Darn. It shouldn't take me that long to get the next chapter up, I've written it out, and now all I have to do is type it.
[i]Arcander[/i]
ok, that was just a test, but yeah... I hope it works.
- -
Chapter 9
~~~Rain and Stables~~~
I'm standing on my balcony, leaning on the black metal railing. It is about seven in the morning. I have been standing here for the past hour. The sun rose no more than fifteen minutes ago. In between the pale gray clouds the sky has a pinkish tint.
Although the scenery is beautiful it is not why I am up so early. I flick my hair out of my eyes with my left hand. My hair is getting too long, I haven't cut in a year, over a year; not since the ball held in honor of my twelfth birthday.
The wind blows my hair back into my eyes, so I untie my light blue ribbon from my wrist and tie it around my hair. It does not secure my front hair, it is still too short. What the ribbon does not hold back blows freely in the wind. Perhaps I wear too much blue, but lately it seems to fit my mood.
The sound of approaching people brings me out of my reverie. I look out to the road, trying to see if it is him. It's not him, just some of the townspeople going to their morning work.
A light drizzle begins, but I pay no attention to it. That sounds like a chocobo, maybe... I run downstairs and into the courtyard. My skirt gets caught in the closing front door and I take precious moments to open the door, free my skirt, and re-close the door.
I make it down the few steps and onto the stone floor of the courtyard as he is dismounting from his chocobo, Blessed. I fling my arms around him in a hug. "Aurie, I've missed you so much!" I say to the startled sixteen yr. old.
He laughs and returns the hug. "I've missed you too, Zali. Aren't you up earlier than you usually are? Last I heard from Braska you never rousted yourself out of bed before ten."
I smile, "Braska said you were coming home today. I've been awake for over an hour, waiting for you to get here. And it's nine, not ten." I lead Blessed into the stables, and put her in her stall, which is next to my own chocobo's stall. My dad gave Fortune to me before he died. I was eight at the time.
I was about to sit on one of the benches that we have in the stable when a hand closed around my arm and stopped me. I look up and am confronted by Auron's twinkling brown eyes. He sits down on the bench and pulls me onto his lap. I sit there willingly, my head leaning against his chest.
"I didn't want you to catch a chill from sitting on the cold hard bench," he whispers into my ear. "So tell me, how have you been?"
I giggle at his joke. "Bored and lonely, is anything else new?" I smile slightly. "Mother hasn't made me take any more etiquette lessons. She's too busy screaming at brother. She doesn't approve of his girlfriend. I'm not too sure if I do either."
"Oh, why's that?" he asks, running his fingers through my hair. He only pauses to take the ribbon out of my hair.
I sigh contentedly, "I don't know, she's really nice. I just can't help but think..." I trail off. Auron continues stroking my hair, aware that I'll continue when I'm ready to continue. I finally whisper, "She's an Al Bhed. The Al Bhed's comings and going from the house are un-remarked on now. I don't think that she would kidnap me; she's far to sweet to do that, but what if one of the other Al Bhed come back and try to kidnap me again. With the access they have to the house, it would not be difficult."
"Have there been any more attempts to kidnap you?" he asks, concern showing on his face. His fingers catch on a snarl and he gently begins to untangle it.
"No, not since the party," I say, "but, I'm getting the distinct feeling that they are only biding there time." I shiver, "I'm cold." I pull my legs up onto his lap and wrap my arms around them.
Auron takes the hint and lets the subject drop. "Maybe you should wear more," he says. "On second thought, don't. I like your outfit the way it is." He stops playing with my hair and wraps his arms around me.
"I'm still cold; it's because my clothes are wet," I say. "I suppose I should go change." I swing my legs down to stand up. Auron's arms tighten around my waist. "Aurie," I whisper, scared, "are you going to let me go?"
Auron pauses as if considering. "No," he finally whispers, "I'm not. Do you really even want me to?"
I shake my head from side to side. "I..." I close my eyes, holding back tears. "Auron, let me go." My voice wavers slightly. A tear trickles down my face and I reach up to brush it away.
Auron sighs and lets me go, "it shall be as the Lady says." He sighs inaudibly as I stand up.
I pause, "I'll be right back," I say and run to the tack room whispering, "I promise." I grab a few blankets from the tack room and change into a knee-length black skirt and a red long-sleeve turtleneck.
I go back into the main part of the stable carrying a pile of blankets. I sit next to him and hand him a blanket before draping one over myself. I lean my head on his shoulder.
He slips his arm around my waist, "thank you, Zali." He uses his free arm to spread his blanket over his lap.
I close my eyes, finally warm and comfortable. My eyes open as I feel a gust of cold air against my shoulder. My eyes slowly begin to focus and I notice Auron standing up. I grab his arm as it goes past me.
"Auron, where are you going?" I ask and pull him back down next to me. He is surprised by my action and loses his balance. He falls on top of me. His face is scant inches from mine.
I giggle, "Sorry Aurie, I didn't mean to make you fall." I look up and meet his eyes. I quickly look away, a faint blush on my cheeks. He stands up slowly and pulls me up next to him.
My head is spinning slightly. I stare at the ground until he finally puts his finger under my chin and lifts it up so I am looking at him. He leans forward slowly and I close my eyes, unsure of what will happen next. My heart is beating fairly fast.
My eyes shoot open as I feel his lips brush against mine. I stumble backwards in surprise and would have fallen had his arm not been around my waist. Once I am steadied he drops his arm and turns to leave, obviously thinking that his advances are unwelcome.
Before he takes more than a step my arms are around his neck and I am once again standing in front of him. I stand on my tiptoes and kiss him gently on the lips. He kisses back passionately.
We finally break off and I lean my head against his chest. I murmur up at him, "I love you, Auron."
"I love you, too, Zali." He whispers, as he stands there, his arms wrapped around me.
We stand there like that for the longest time. My head is resting on his chest; his arms are wrapped protectively around me. A noise alerted Auron to the presence of another.
Auron looks up and sees Braska walking into the stable. Auron gently tugs on Zali's hair.
"Ow! What was that for, Aurie?" She looks up and over to where Braska is standing. "Braskie, how long have you been here? Why didn't you say anything?"
Braska chuckles, "Not very long, sis, I only just came in. I didn't want to startle you, you looked so comfortable." A grin breaks out on his face. "You're never going to live this down, Auron. You'll never guess who told me where you were." His eyes twinkle mischievously, "or should I make a direct quote? 'Yo! Braska, guess who's kissing your sister in the stables!'"
Auron gives Braska a death glare. "Jecht is going to die. I will make sure it is a very slow and painful death, too."
"That's only if you get to him before I do." I say. My face is bright red. It's bad enough for Braska to walk in on Aurie and I hugging, but if Jecht saw us kissing, the whole household will know by lunch.
- - -
The rain let up fifteen minutes after lunch. A soaking chocobo came in, riding it was a messenger. He looked as if he was a monk.
He dismounts. "I carry a message for Novitiate Auron from Maester Mika." He says.
Auron steps forward. "I am Auron, please relay the message. "He holds out his hand. The messenger hands over the message.
Zali steps forward, "excuse me sir, is there anything you need? If you wish I can have a room prepared for you."
The messenger nods, "thank you miss." I run inside, he follows me.
I run into one of the servants in the corridor. "Milady, your mother wishes to see you and your brother."
"I'll tell Braska, can you get this man a room? He just rode in from the temple."
"Yes milady, follow me sir." The servant leads him to a room.
I run back to the courtyard. Braska and Auron are nowhere in sighs. "Braska, where are you? I yell. On impulse, I run to the stables and sure enough, Braska is there. What he's doing startles me. "Braska, why are you saddling Blessed, and where is Auron?"
"Auron is getting his bag from his room. He is needed back at the temple," Braska says.
Tears spring up in my eyes, "Mother wants to talk to us." Auron walks into the stable. "Aurie, I'm going to miss you!" I run up to him, kiss him lightly, and run out of the stable, a tear trickling down my cheek. I hastily wipe it off and wave a cheerful goodbye to Auron as he rides Blessed onto the dirt path. He blows a kiss to me as he rides off.
We walk silently up the stairs, side-by-side and enter the cool interior of the house. We pause outside my mother's sitting room. I run a hand through my hair before pushing the door open. We enter the room together and are met by a pair of bright green eyes.
- -
Ok, that was a mushy chapter and it was fun to write. I love mush. Ok, just a warning, there will not be much mush for a while yet. Darn. It shouldn't take me that long to get the next chapter up, I've written it out, and now all I have to do is type it.
[i]Arcander[/i]
ok, that was just a test, but yeah... I hope it works.