I don't own any of the Tamora Pierce characters
By the way people, at the end of this chapter, I'll be asking all of you who have read both versions a question, I'd advise reviewing once ;) then once more to answer the question. Just so that you can go in to lots of detail without making my eyes go funny with so much text lol! Anyway, I'm going to stop teasing and get on with the next chapter cause I know you all love cliffies as much as I do and need to read more ;)
"Wrong room!" Matthew said instantly. "Hang on!"Ivy stared at him, then grabbed her clothes and moved to run to her own rooms. Matthew darted to the door and waited until she had shut the door, before opening it and opening his mouth to speak. He was caught off guard by a large ham-sized fist darting out of nowhere to send him flying backwards towards the wall. At the last second, Matthew managed to get his feet on the wall and flipped himself away from what could have been a very painful injury.
"What the hell is going on?" Matthew gasped, rubbing his shoulder.
"Thats exactly what I'd like to know!" Raoul roared.
"I was just in bed!" Matthew said, flabbergasted.
"Who with I wonder?" Raoul growled. Matthew forced a frown.
"Myself. . ."
"Oh really? So why did I have to hang on before you let me in?" Raoul slammed the door behind him and moved to the middle of the room.
"Would you really have liked to see your daughters knight-master naked?" Matthew asked. Raoul opened his mouth, then closed it. Matthew continued,"Right then . . . what was it you wanted?"
"I heard something . . . never mind, it doesn't matter . . ." Raoul looked away from Matthew and his eyes fell on the corner of the room. A sudden look of anger crossed his face. Matthew looked at where his eyes were staring and almost swore. "Whos is that?" Raoul growled.
"Nobody you know . . . just a girl I had round last night . . ." Matthew tried to explain, but his discomfort was obvious. In less than a second Raoul had both hands on Matthews shoulders and had shoved him roughly against the wall.
"Oh really? Well, I seem to recall Buri ordering Ivy a brown breastband just like that only two months ago." His grip tightened. "Do you remember that you swore to me you wouldn't sleep with your Squire before you even met Ivy?"
"Yes,I remember saying I wouldn't sleep with them, and I haven't so if you don't mind taking your hands off me . . ." his hand flashed from his side to grab Raouls wrist, twisting it and forcing him to release him. Using his foot, Matthew pushed him away, not hard enough to hurt him, but it worked.
"Why is Ivys breastband on the floor in your room you paedophile?" Raoul roared.
"What makes you think its Ivy, other than that Ivy had a brown breastband ordered from one of the palace maids. Hundreds of people have them!" Matthew carefully walked away from the wall, wanting to avoid being slammed into it fora second time.
"Not the same size they don't!" Raoul growled.
"You know you're daughters breastband size? And you're calling me a paedophile?" It slipped out before he knew what he was saying. Raoul gritted his teeth.
"If you're ever in a relationship long enough to consider and have children, then you'll understand the parental reasons for knowing chest measurements!"
Matthew hesitated, then decided that if Raoul knew about him and Ivy, Matthew could use it to anger him. Sending a silent apology to Ivy in the next room he said, "Maybe I'll have children with Ivy someday, but I think if we have a girl, I'll let Ivy take care of the measurements, especially in this area . . . " he waved his hand at his chest. Raoul went red with rage, then ran forward, his hand darting to his waist and unsheathing his sword. When Raoul was a metre away, Matthew flipped over the bed, letting Raoul run forwards into the wall. Matthew grabbed his own sword and unsheathed it, waiting for Raoul to recover and attack again. Finally, he turned to face Matthew and jumped over the bed between them. Matthew brought his sword up to block the blow dealt to him, then ducked and rolled away, letting Raoul fall forward after the sudden loss of resistance. Raoul attacked again in earnest, delivering blow after blow to the younger knight. Matthew waited until Raoul was beginning to tire, then jumped backwards, instead of letting Raoul run at him, he sprinted forwards and jumped into the air, clear over the crouching, older mans back. Matthew let his sword slice a shallow line down Raouls back as he jumped, then landed on his feet again. Raoul groaned and turned round with madness in his eyes. Matthew prepared to fight him again.
Ivy listened at the door of her room after hurriedly pulling on her shirt, cursing herself for leaving her breastband in the room. She had pulled on a new one, and listened intently to her father and knight-master fighting. There were several times when she was tempted to go in, but somehow she didn't think it was a good idea, especially when her father was in such a foul mood. When she heard Matthews comment about having children she gulped, hoping that he was not being serious, she was far too young to think about children. She was wondering about the seriousness of Matthews words when there was a clash of swords. Ivy gulped and waited, hating herself for staying where she was, but not wanting to fuel the argument further. Only when she heard her fathers groan of pain did Ivy open the door. Matthew stared instantly at her and dropped his sword. Raoul growled, "Ivy wait outside!" then turned back to Matthew. Ivy shook her head and ran over to her father, prising his hands away from his sword with much difficulty. After leading him to the bed, she looked at his cut. It was shallow. Looking at Matthew, she realised that he hadn't meant anything more than a shallow cut as a warning. She gave him a small smile, then looked back at the cut. She tried to peel the shirt fabric away from her fathers wound, but her fingers shook. Two hands found hers andmoved them from Raouls back. Ivy looked up at Matthew and gave a smile of thanks before letting him take over.
"Sorry my Lord, but I'm going to have to fix that wound." Matthew rolled up his sleeve, grinning slightly at the growl that rumbled in Raouls throat. He placed his hand on the older mans back and let blue fire leave his fingers. Ivy stared, unaware that he was still able to use his Gift now that he had discovered that he was a Pyro. Almost as soon as the flesh had melded together once more, Raoul jumped and twisted round, grabbing Matthews arms and pinning him to the wall. Ivy moved to stop him, but Matthew shook his head. Staring at him, she realised that he had expected Raoul to do just that. Looking at his arms, Ivy noticed that they were relaxed. Resisting the urge to grin, Ivy looked on.
"You and me, right now, in the practice courts!" Raoul growled, a small speck of saliva leaving his mouth to land on Matthews face.
"Whatever you say my Lord, but would you mind wiping your spit off my face, I'd rather not have a line of saliva on my face to remind me of this lovely morning, no matter how lovely its been." Matthew drawled.
Raoul looked as though he was resisting the urge to slam the younger man into the wall. "You're not helping yourself Tirragen!"
Matthew smiled, "well, that all depends on your view doesn't it. You might think I'm doing you a favour, whilst I might think -well actually I know- that I'm doing myself a favour."
Raoul frowned. Matthew used his confusion to his advantage, as soon as Raoul concentrated on working out how Matthew was doing himself a favour, his grip had loosened on his arms. Matthew tensed his muscles, and Raoul was caught off guard, feeling the sudden bulging of muscle that had not been there before, and feeling his grip slacken even more. Matthew spun free of Raoul and darted over to the bed beside Ivy. "Practice courts? Now? How about we make it tomorrow just so we're both fresh, after all, you'll be weakened by your healing, and we wouldn't want that to make our fight unfair now would we?" Matthew smiled sweetly and put an arm round Ivys shoulder. "Run along and get your rest like a good little patient, I need to talk to my dear Squire!"
"Tomorrow, I swear I'll knock you out of the saddle, and by the Gods I'll make sure you don't come near my daughter again!" Raoul roared.
Matthew smiled. "Jousting it is then!" Raoul nodded and left the room, fists clenched. "And make sure to drink lots of water!" Matthew called after his retreating back. Judging by the tensed shoulders and arms, Raoul was resisting the urge to slice Matthew to pieces.
Ivy looked up at Matthew and hugged him. "He's going to beat you." she said knowingly. Matthew heard the sadness in her voice and wrapped his arms around her.
"Maybe. . ." Matthew whispered. "But I wouldn't count your chickens just yet, I've got an idea." Ivy frowned.
"What is it?" She asked, slipping onto Matthews knee. He shook his head and kissed her cheek.
"You'll see . . . tomorrow. . . "he murmured, his lips trailing down to her neck. "But I don't recall telling you to leave the bed, you owe me for that you know?" his lips gently carressed her collarbone. Ivy giggled and let him lay her down on her back.
"I know!" she giggled. "Spank me!"
Matthew raised an eyebrow. "I thought I was supposed to be giving you the orders?" he said playfully.
Ivy smiled. "I'm sorry. What would you like me to do?"
Matthew chuckled, "What do you think I'll enjoy?" he enquired, playing with a lock of her hair.
"I don't know. What will you enjoy?"
He smiled at her. "What were we doing earlier again?"
Buri came to Matthew and Ivys rooms just after dinner, a strangely satisfied look on her face.Luckily,Ivy thought to herself, Matthew isn't here, so she can'tblowhis head off hisshoulders. When she had seen her mother,Ivyhadthought about saying she didn't feel well, but something told her that Buri was not here to argue, so she let her in.
"Are you mad?" Ivy asked, as she closed the door. To her surprise, Buri shook her head.
"I always knew that you'd find someone your father wouldn't approve of. It's no surprise actually, and it'll be good for your father to get over his anger now while you're still young than later when you bring home a man who you're considering marrying." Buri smiled at her daughter. Ivy looked down. "What is it Ivy?" Buri asked, concerned by her daughters quiet.
"I think its Matthew." Ivy said quietly.
"You think what's Matthew?" Buri said, stifling a yawn.
"I think its Matthew." Ivy repeated.
"I really don't understand Ivy, you know how I am with words, I like them simple!"
Ivy sighed. "I think Matthews the one. You know, like Dads the one for you?"
Buri stared. "You don't seriously think he's your soulmate do you?"she said, after a few seconds of silence. Ivy nodded."Whatin Mithros name made you think that?" Ivy went silent."Ivy?" Buri said.
"He's aPyro!"Ivy whispered.Buri stared.
"Excuse me?" Buri said with an eyebrowraised.
"He's a Pyro, you know, those really rare people who can burstinto flame and not feel anything from the heat?"
"I know what a Pyro is!" Buri said impatiently. "But when did you find out? And whats it got to do with you and him being soulmates?"
Ivy took in a deep breath. "I found out when wewent to Meron. He got angry when the Spidren knocked me out and he went pyrotic." she took another breath in. "And it has everythingtodo with me and him being soulmates, because . . ." she stopped.
Buri waved a hand telling her to go on. "Because . . .?"
Ivy gulped. "They onlyfind out they're a Pyro around their soulmate. When their soulmates in danger, they go mad."
Buri stared, then shook her head. "Has your Uncle Numair been feeding you rubbish again? I tell you, one of these dayshe'll learn to keepstumabout things that he'sread about in some little known book!"
"He was right!"Ivy said. She slowly explained everything that had happened since the hunt to Meron, trying to rack her brains for as many details as possible. "You can't tell Dad!" she told her mother when she was through. "He'll go even more nuts than he already is!" Buri nodded.
"You're right, he will, but he'll have to find out sometime." Ivy nodded.
"How did he find out about me and Matthew anyway?" She asked.
Buri sighed. "A serving girl saw the two of you in a corner yesterday and let onto your father this morning. Naturally he went completely bonkers and came running here to do anything he could to Matthew."
The door opened, and Matthew walked in. "Oh. . ." he said, seeing Buri. "I'll wait." he went to leave the room but Buri shook her head.
"No need." she explained. "I'm just leaving, but if you don't mind, I'dlike a word with you outside?" Matthew nodded, andfollowed thesmall woman into the corridor.
"Now,I know everythingabout you and your. . . Pyroticactivity. But that doesn't give you any . . ." she stopped when Matthew heldup a hand.
"I think we have an eavesdropper."he casually leant against the door, then slammed the handle down and thrust the door open. Ivy jumped out of the way of the door and glared at Matthew.He grinned and pointed in the direction of his room. "Any chance you could do my armour for me? I think I'll need it tomorrow." he blew her a small kiss before winking and shutting the door again. He waited until he heard the clanking of metal beforehe nodded. "You were saying?"
Buriwas startled, then nodded. "Oh, yes, well, I know all about you being a Pyro, but it doesn't mean you have any exceptions to rules. If you plan to continue this . . .relationship . . .with my daughter, then you have to treat her with the respect she deserves. Understand?"
Matthewgrinned and tookBuri's hand in his, bringingit to his lips. After gently brushing it with his mouth, he let it go and said. "Buriram Tourikam, I would never dream of harming any daughter of yours and the Giantkiller, and as the mother of my beautiful young Squire. . ."
"Lover!" Buri corrected.
Matthew frowned. "Not as such, but if it pleases you, then yes, as the mother of my beautiful young lover, you are entitled to bestow on me any number of beatings if you think I am taking advantage of,or hurting her in any way."
Buri grinned. "I'll hold you to that." she paused, then said, "if the two of you decide to commit any time soon, make sure she's protected. She's too young to be a mother, and I'm too young to be a grandmother." she winked.
"Oh of course," Matthew said, playing along, "You're far too young and beautiful to be a grandmother, why you must only be 40 at the most. And if I didn't know better I'd say you were only 21."
Buri raised an eyebrow. "You don't have to suck up to me you know." she smiled. "You look after my daughter, or there'll be more than a joust with Raoul to face."
Matthew nodded, and in a much more serious tone, said, "I promise, I would never deliberately let harm come to her." he hesitated, then went on. "She means more to me than anything. I just wanted you to know." he bowed and entered his room, leaving Buri with a small smile on her face.
Nice man, she thought, and I'm pretty sure he meant all that business about her meaning everything to him.
Ivy looked up as Matthew entered. He opened his arms, asking for a hug, but Ivy glared at him and went on with polishing Matthews armour. Matthew frowned and sat down next to her on the bed.
"What's wrong?" He said quietly.
"Nothing, I just wouldn't want you to have dirty armour for tomorrow, and I know what you're like. So if you don't mind leaving me to do this, I'll be done in half an hour." Ivy continued to polish, even though the armour was already sparkling. Matthew grinned and knelt behind her, resting his chin on her shoulder. She froze, feeling his warm breath on her ear, his mouth tantalizingly close.
"Don't stop working, I'm just making sure you don't miss anywhere, and that you can work without being distracted." He suppressed a chuckle as he felt her shoulders slump.
"I can!" she insisted, and shifted slightly so that she could no longer feel his breath.
"If you say so." Matthew said, wrapping an arm round her waist and pressing his lips to her neck. "Don't mind me, keep working hard, just act as if I'm not here." There was a silence, then the sound of a cloth rubbing hard on a polished surface. Matthew gently ran his tongue over her neck, then moved to her ear, taking its lobe into his mouth. Ivy stopped and gently lowered the armour to the floor. Matthew, whose eyes were closed, didn't notice, and continued his teasing. Ivy waited, then twisted away from him.Matthews eyes flew open and he looked at her with a mischevious glint in his eyes. "Want to play chase now do we?" he asked in a low voice. Ivy giggled, then darted into her room. Matthew smiled and jumped up, running after her. He saw her stick her tongue out at him before leaving the room and shutting the door. Still smiling, Matthew gave chase, despite thelooks that he recieved for chasing hisSquire,tailing her to the stables where she tried to hide behind a haystack. Matthew walked slowly past, pretending not to notice her, then suddenly he darted over and grabbed her by the waist, chuckling as he leant to kiss her cheek. Ivy wrapped her arms round his back, moving to kiss him on the neck. He pulled back and shook his head, a grin on his face. Ivy pouted, but Matthew only smiled, pulling out of her reach. She went to grab him but he dodged away. "My turn to run now, your turn to chase!" he winked and sprinted back to his rooms, laughing at her complaints. He hid behind the door, and when she came in, jumped and grabbed her waist, flying through the air to his bed. He landed on top of her and grinned. "I win, both times." he went to move off her but she grabbed the back of his head and pulled him to her for a kiss. He rolled his eyes, then rolled on to his side, feeling her move closer to him and press herself to his body. After several minutes, he eased his mouth away from hers. She smiled at him.
"Night Matthew." she said, then lay her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes and going to sleep. Matthew sighed and kissed her cheek.
"Night Ivy." he whispered. After several minutes, when her breathing was normal again and he thought she was asleep he said, "I love you." He was about to slip out of the bed when he heard her say something.
"I love you too." she murmured. Something overflowed in Matthews chest. Instead of leaving, he pulled her closer and breathed in her scent.
"You smell so good," he said unconsciously. Ivy giggled.
"I'ddaydadameboutdubumymouthscoveredinshirt," she mumbled. Matthew pulled back.
"Excuse me?" he said.
"Exactly!" Ivy giggled and lay her head on his shoulder. She sniffed and smiled. "I suppose you don't smell that bad, once you get over the smell of . . . " she sniffed again. "Polish."
Matthew laughed. "Shouldn't it be you that smells of polish and not me? After all, you were supposed to be doing my armour!"
"Well, you just like the smell of polish obviously, unlike me. I prefer the smell of soap." she put her hands on the buttons of his shirt. "Its only the shirt that smells . . ." she stated carefully. Matthew grinned.
"I suppose if you're a good girl I could take it off . . . " he faked hesitation, then helped her to unbutton his shirt. Ivy eased it away from his shoulders, then dropped it over the side of the bed, pushing him down onto his back and resting her head on his muscled chest, listening to his heart beat.
"What are you thinking?" Matthew asked after several minutes of comfortable silence.
Ivy hesitated, then honestlysaid, "I'm wishing that you'll be mine forever."
Matthew looked down at her, then smiled. "You don't need to wish, I always will be." It didn't occur to either of them that they had only known each other for a few months, or that they had only begun this type of relationship the day before, it felt as though they had known each other for years. Matthew slipped his hand onto Ivys waist and kissed the top of her head.
"What are you thinking?" Ivy asked quietly.
Matthew smiled, and shifted her so that her face was level with his. His grip tightened slightly on her waist and he looked her deep in the eyes. "That I love you too much to let you go." he kissed her lightly then nuzzled her nose with his. "You're beautiful!" he whispered. Ivy smiled and kissed his neck.
"You're gorgeous." she whispered into his ear, her breath sending shivers down his spine. Ivy closed her eyes and smiled. "Good night." she said.
"Good night angel." Matthew replied.
Now for the question. . . .
which version, this one or the last one, is better on what you have read so far? I won't be offended if you think it was the last one, but if loads of you prefer that one, I might have to make two versions of the story, and then what kind of a mess will I be in? Anyways, hope you enjoyed . . . sorry bout the delay, hope it was worth it!
Mage of the Heart
