Surprise! Just decided at last moment to write this short chapter real quick to give you some idea what will be happening in the next few chapters and just to throw one last laugh or two.
Warning: mentions of abuse
The Favor
Alasha's body is slammed hard on the ground complete with a loud thump. She couldn't breathe for a few moments before starting to gasp heavily, still lying on her back as she stares up at the bright sky.
Soon Guisha's face enters her field of vision and stares down at the Keep Lord's daughter for a while before speaking.
"That was terrible," the young female states, "even for you," she finishes by holding out her hand for Alasha to take.
Alasha continues to pant for a while longer before taking Guisha hand and allows herself to be helped up.
"Guisha," she gasps as she haunches over a little, "must I continuously remind you not to kill me when we spar?"
Guisha smirks a little, "Sorry oh future Keep mistress," she bows her head lowly, "how could I be so careless when it comes to your own well-being."
This causes Alasha to smile as well, more at the irony that Guisha called her a Keep mistress when in reality odds are high that she will be of equal rank as well when her heritage is revealed…that is if any male is capable of seeing past her rather blunt and brutish personality.
The two Sangheilis have been sparing (or rather Guisha has been while Alasha is her moving target) in an attempt to take a break from their usually dull schedules.
Guisha is still studying in the ward that houses all the younglings of the Keep, just one cycle away from becoming an adult and she is ready for it. She wouldn't be accomplishing much when she matures since most females either becomes children bearers or guards to the fiefdom, but she had confided in Alasha that when she is deemed a warrior she is going to leave and join the Swords of Sanghelios. This has been her plan ever since they both have heard rumors that the Arbiter is willing to accept females within the ranks. Guisha has been ecstatic ever since.
Alasha on the other hand…she isn't sure how to feel. She is happy that Guisha seems to have a goal in her life, an objective, but will it clash with her new responsibilities upon learning she is also a daughter of the Keep Lord? Alasha supposes it should be alright, after all daughters weren't as important as sons, but she could still be used as a bargaining tool, a promise to one man in order to assure peace or alliances between fiefs. Alasha shudders and prays such a fate doesn't befall her, but still it's not like her life would improve even if such a thing did not occur, either way no male would ever respect her.
Unlike him…
"Again."
Alasha blinks and looks at Guisha as she asks, "pardon?"
Guisha only grins mischievously, "You're smiling again for no reason. You have been acting like this all day." She crosses her arms and leans forward a little in anticipation, "care to share?"
Alasha for her part feels her cheeks flush upon realizing how obvious her emotions are that morning.
Guisha silently chuckles, "It must have been good then, what happened? Did you punch him? Kick him? Maybe embarrassed him?"
These comments catches Alasha off guard and wipes away her moment of fluster as she looks at Guisha in confusion.
"What do you mean?" she asks in a baffled tone.
Now its Guisha turn to look surprise as she leans away, she looks around to make sure they are alone in the courtyard before saying, "the courtship, with the human."
Alasha still didn't understand before it dawns on her that Guisha believes she had simply abused Derek throughout the whole evening.
True he was frightened of her but in all honesty she didn't really mean to scare him so much. Besides, from the very beginning when he retrieved her to the end when he returned her to the Keep, she was treated as nobly as any Sangheili could be. She doubts even her mother had received such care when she and her father were beginning to court.
"Guisha," she says gently, "the courtship went well, he was good to me so I was good to him."
Silence falls between them as Guisha stares at Alasha for a long time. Finally she leans forward a bit and asks, "Then why are you happy?"
Alasha suddenly feels flustered again as she looks away and says, "Well it was fun and he-"
"Fun?" Guisha asks as if she didn't know the meaning of the word, looking extremely baffled at this moment.
"Yes," Alasha nods in confirmation, "we danced and-"
"You danced!?" Alasha steps back in surprise at the sudden rage Guisha lets loose, "how could you have disgraced yourself by dancing for a -"
Alasha steps forward quickly grab's Guisha's four mandibles with one hand and pushes them together tightly, preventing her from saying another word.
"Guisha be quiet," Alasha hisses as she glances around again to ensure they are alone, "it isn't what you think."
Guisha's eyes burn with murderous intent but doesn't struggle to free herself. Taking this as a good sign, Alasha releases her sister and steps away before whispering to her.
"Derek was respectful," she reveals, "far more behaved then every male I have ever courted combined."
Guisha quirks an eye ridge at such claim before she replies, "it could have been a ruse."
Alasha is already shaking her head, "I thought so as well, but everything he did and said was genuine Guisha, most of which didn't even make sense. He had a meal made special just for me, he never once boasted about himself, in fact I had to all but pry such information from him. He never tried to touch me intentionally nor did he force me to perform acts I didn't want to and…and…"
"And what?" Guisha questions, looking curious to what happened next.
Alasha knew she wouldn't understand but says it anyway, "We danced Guisha, together."
Guisha blinks in sudden amazement, "males can dance?"
"Not like us, no," she says with a shake of her head, "humans don't dance to attract…mates, they do it just to have fun."
"How could it be fun?" Guisha demands, "I was humiliated for cycles on end when we were being taught how to perform it."
Alasha shivers upon remembering taking such lessons as well. She was still a youngling then and was being taught how to produce children, details that traumatized her for the rest of her young life.
"I can't explain it," Alasha says after pushing the memories away, "but it was splendid. We didn't dance for one another's entertainment, we performed together, dancing to autistic and memorable rhythms."
"You danced to the music?" Guisha scowls lightly, "last time I was at their base a group of humans were listening to ghastly wails emitting from a box, I was shocked to hear it was their form of music."
Alasha nods, "Indeed, but we danced to their old music, it was slower, much easier to understand…even if the lyrics were a bit much."
"Much?" Guisha asks.
Alasha once again feels hot as she remembers what was being sung. She knew Derek didn't mean to play such songs but would Guisha be just as understanding or would she want to impale the human for what his music device was implying?
"Alasha."
The two females turn upon hearing the deep rumbling of Rhral as he steps outside. The massive bodyguard is dressed in his fine armor and armed with an energy spear that he easily holds in his one hand. The other hand was a misshapen mess, a reminder of a fight between him and a Jiralhanae, though he won the battle it cost him greatly. Despite his injury and him being posted as a guard in the Quas Keep he is still a formidable advisory even if he is one handed. He is currently serving as Alasha's bodyguard during her father's absence to keep her safe from any form of assassinations or attacks.
"Yes Rhral?" she asks, wondering what it is that her guard could need.
"There is a visitor here from the Yalrom fief," he informs her, "the heir Busras Yalrom."
Alasha visibly flinches while Guisha hisses in disdain. The last time Busras was here…it wasn't a pleasant experience for Alasha. She dearly prays his purpose here is to discuss trade, troop movement, anything that doesn't have to do with…relationships. If it could even be called that.
Alasha gulps heavily before nodding, "Very well, let's not keep him waiting."
The three Sangheilis of the Quas Keep has assembled in the visitation room, where most meetings are usually held. Alasha has been its sole occupant for a while now, doing nothing but going through daily reports of the fief's economy, the business with the council and the occasional request of an audience with a visitor. The said female is seated just behind a desk full of paperwork while Guisha and Rhral stands on either side of her.
Though she is a female with a noble heritage and she has been doing much of the Keep's business for a while now, she isn't treated with as much homage as her father would have. So it is often rare should anyone wish to have an audience with her…unless they are young males which she usually dreads.
With that still in her mind she steels herself for whatever is to come before looking at Rhral and speaking.
"You may let him in now."
The guard nods at this before walking across the room to the door and opens it. Not long after, a male walks in, head held high, stance proper and a very arrogant look on his face. He is dressed in full combat armor same as Alasha if not more advanced and battle suited. She spies a couple of dents on the suit and briefly wonders if he has been in combat or if it was from sparring (as was often the case whenever she trained with Guisha) The fact that he came well dressed and clearly full of confidence isn't a welcoming sight.
Now Alasha's fears has been confirmed. No one ever smiles at doing business with a female which means there is only one other purpose for his being here.
Guisha guesses as much as well and is struggling to keep herself from snarling at the approaching Sangheili. Though Alasha is willing to look past any "acts of transgression" her sister would cause she does not wish to make an enemy of the Yalrom Fiefdom, especially when Busras is a direct blood kin to that region's Kaidon.
"Alasha," she is pulled from her wondering as Busras comes to a stop before her with a wide smile, "you look lovely today."
Per courtesy she must at least act civil, which she does with obvious forcefulness, "Busras," she says with a firm voice, not in any mood to please his ego, "what is your business here in our lands?"
Busras merely smiles stupidly before answering, "I came to request a courtship with you."
Alasha curses her luck.
"I see," she says trying to keep her voice from straining, "however my father isn't here to approve of any courtships, he's probably already thinking of other suitors who can have my hand."
She really hopes that's not what her father is doing behind her back, but just as long as it can get rid of Busras she doesn't care.
Busras snorts a bit at this, "what male can ever best me in a duel? I slayed a good number of Sangheilis during duels, enough to make me a Field Marshal." He chuckles at his own comment, but no one else joins him.
"If I remember correctly," Alasha says, "most of those duels were unofficial and often ended with you using an illegal weapon or having help from a friend."
Busras suddenly frowns before lowly stating, "Mind your tongue."
Alasha curses yet again, but this time at her own stupidity. This isn't Derek, unlike with him she isn't allowed to speak her mind.
"Furthermore," he resumes, though not as jubilant as before Alasha's remark, "I am connected to a Kaidon, my uncle you see," he then dares to reach out and takes Alasha's hand, squeezing it until she flinches a little, sure that his talons are piercing her skin.
"Can you imagine it Alasha?" he questions, "your father will no longer have to travel far to speak his mind to this territory's foolish Kaidon by scampering at his feet. He will have direct access to my uncle who can surely bring everything your father has to say before the council themselves, a great boon."
His grip tightens on her and now she knows for sure blood is being drawn, she wills any tears from welling in her eyes. It isn't the pain that is causing it but more of the emotional strain that is threatening to overtake her.
She doesn't want to admit it but Busras is scaring her. The way he is talking is almost like…like he is planning on asking her to marry him. She wants to deny it, to scream no but he is making many valid points. Her father might just agree, though he cares for his daughter he also cares for the fief and having direct access to a Kaidon would be a great benefit.
By all means Busras is attractive, close to her age and is a capable warrior. But she doesn't want him, not when he is like this. Tough hide, sharp nails and strength which he can easily let loose on her. She doesn't want to evoke such wraith which can easily be riled by his ever increasing pride. She won't be able to say anything meaningful, he'll strip her of any sense of dignity or pride. Even if she becomes a Keep mistress she doubts he'll let her sphere of influence be too wide.
She wishes she can have Rhral escort him out or even have Guisha maimed him, but he is a guest and such action could spark a war between them and the Yalrom Keep, a fight that will be costly and all because of one man's ego.
"What say you Alasha," he asks in a disgusting voice and that ever infuriating smile returning, "It'll be like old times."
Old times? He was the reason she was always exhausted every day and couldn't sleep at night. If anything, he is the worse male she has ever met. Everything about him is wrong, his ego, his brutish nature, his disrespectfulness. The way he is holding her hand is wrong.
I don't want this, she cries inwardly, I want someone who is gentle, kind, isn't arrogant and respectful and…and…
Suddenly one face fills her mind, a certain male, a certain alien.
Derek…
Can she use that? Is it possible? Right now she is desperate and decides to act upon it.
"No."
The entire room stills. Both Rhral and Guisha swung their heads around and gawks at what Alasha has said. Even Busras seems stun, causing his hand to lessen its grip on Alasha's thankfully.
"No?" he asks as if he has never heard the word before.
"No," Alasha repeats as she yanks her hand away, she rubs it sooth the stinging pain as she looks him in the eye, "I am already being courted."
Rhral maintained his confused look as he tries to think of the last male Alasha was with, as far as he knew nobody has come and asked for courtship.
Guisha on the other hand knew who Alasha is talking about and it left her mandibles open wide like a full bloomed flower as she stares at shock in Alasha's direction.
Slowly Busras's anger starts to flare up as he stands tall and finally speaks.
This is an outrage!" he shouts, "Who could possibly be better than me!"
"It doesn't matter if he is better than you Busras," Alasha works hard to keep the smirk off her face, "but the fact being is that he asked me first before you did. The only reason why I have yet inform you of this is because your atrocious acts appalled my mind."
Her insulting isn't helping Busras to calm down but she doesn't care. As far as he knew she is some other male's "prize", and that male might be from a powerful Keep who might be willing to declare war on them simply because Busras disrespected this person's female.
"What is his name," he finally growls out.
Alasha is at a lost for a moment before deciding to be truthful, or as truthful as can be.
"His name is Derek," she says as she sits up straight as if respecting his name, "he is of the…Heath Keep."
Busras snarls, "I never heard of him."
"He came from far away," she informs him, "a warrior with an army at his beck and call."
She is certain if Derek gets attack then the entire human base would rally and fight back, after all in order to attack Derek the attackers must assault the base in order to get him. She very much doubts the humans would allow such a thing to occur without extracting blood for blood.
She knew she is treading on dangerous grounds, but at the moment all she wanted was Busras to be gone.
"Did you have anything else to request?" she questions the male.
Busras just stands there and scowls at her before replying, "No."
She nods before looking at Rhral, "Please escort Busras out." She didn't want to leave Busras unsupervised should he choose to take his anger out on one of their Keep's displayed heirlooms.
The guard nods and came up just behind Busras, waiting on the male. Finally he gives one last growl before turning and stalking out of the room, with Rhral closely watching his every move.
All is silent until the door closes. Guisha, still stunned by what she had just witnessed, turns to face Alasha, "Did you just-"
She is caught off guard as Alasha slams her hands on the desk and stood up quickly before turning to look at Guisha with a look of absolute panic on her face.
"I need to find Derek!"
Derek's POV
"Did you have a good time? Who did you take? Did you give her flowers? What about pictures? You have to send me pictures!"
"Mom!" Derek cries a she runs a hand over his face in mild embarrassment, "it wasn't a high school dance, it was strictly professional."
"Ha!" he hears his father's voice somewhere off the screen, "I doubt that was the case son."
Derek is quiet for a moment before shrugging in defeat, "guilty."
Today the officers have offered the Marines another treat: free fifteen minutes to call home. The small communications building has been swarmed by Marines ever since as they called their relatives, friends or sweethearts. Derek was one of the last to get his turn to call home, but it was worth it since now there is no one standing in line outside the door. The room he is in is cramped with two chairs positioned in front of a monitor, aside from the light the single bulb above him is providing the interior is dark. He's been speaking for eight minutes now with seven to go before an officer cuts the connection.
Even though the war is over, calls home isn't frequent due to the security measures. This rare opportunity was met with enthusiasm, especially when the Marines were allowed to use the military's quality made communication's phone which also have the feature for people to chat via video camera.
So now here is Derek as he speaks with his mother who is taking the call back home on Mars.
Luckily today is Sunday and both his parents are off. Mostly on Saturdays they'll travel to big cities hours away from home to get supplies, food, and water. It has become more and more difficult to do so ever since the refugees from glassed worlds started filling in. With the war over now though more food is being delivered, not as much as before but at least it's a start, his family always had a hard time getting enough food to last the week in their isolated homestead.
His mother is talking from the living room, she is seated on their old couch while he can just see out the widow positioned behind her, revealing a clear sunny day with orange dust flying by every so often. From the sounds of it his dad has just walked in and is taking his shoes off by the door; mom's rules for a clean house always holds out.
He doesn't look much like his mother Sophia Heath who is short with brown hair and dark eyes and darken skin, but she was always his mom, as well as everyone else's. She just had enough love to pass around whether it's at home, or work or abroad. If anything it's her very presence that makes him believe that love is powerful.
There is a small commotion before she scoots a little to the side, making room for his dad to come and sit next to her.
Rodrick "Rudi" Heath isn't a muscular man but neither is he skinny. He is able to fill up a big coat jacket and some big boots, he has a bit of a belly growing but it's not too bad. It is obvious to see that he is Derek's father, blond hair, pale skin and blue eyes, if it wasn't for the wrinkles on his brow and him being a few inches taller and the rotund stomach he and Derek could have been mistaken for twins. Seeing his dirty shirt Derek guesses he was outside again, whether it's fixing the car or simply doing yard work, Rudi Heath keeps himself busy; he'd go crazy otherwise if there was nothing to do.
Rudi looks his son up and down for a moment before saying, "you got something on your shoulder."
Derek looks and sure enough there is a bit of a stain on his armor, possible grease from the brief time he and his squad were hanging around the carpool area.
"I'll fix it," Derek says as he nonchalantly brushes his hand over the indicated spot before saying, "how's everything back home?"
His dad shrugs before leaning back a bit, "Season is almost here, I was thinking about asking Tanner's boys if they would like to help, get them doing some work instead of being inside that house all day."
Derek winces slightly at this before saying, "Sorry for not being there to help."
"Don't be sorry Derek," comforts his mother with a warm gentle smile, "there'll be more seasons, and what you're doing is just as important."
"Uh yeah," Derek says with a nod. He doesn't want his father to know that he and his team has pretty much been slacking off whenever they were off duty nor did he want his mother to worry that they are doing anything dangerous.
Which brought about the question about Alasha. Should he tell them about her? Where would he begin? There's no way they would buy any of it except for the beginning when he tells them he was drunk (a matter of state which they have yet to see him in.) Furthermore he has no idea what they would think, they met the refugees, saw the footages of the war and heard of their destructive powers, what would they think should they learn their son had dated one of them?
"So how was this dance?" His father asks, "And who was the girl for that matter?"
Great, so much for avoiding that part.
"Yeah…umm…" he wonders what to say, be truthful or make something up? Maybe lie then tell the about Alasha later when he's back home, face to face. He's sure the explaining will take a lot more than his given fifteen minutes.
"Well…you…see…err…"
Finally his father says, "You didn't have a date did you?"
His mother quickly punches his father's side, "Rudi!" she scolds, "What a thing to say to your son!"
Derek couldn't help but chuckle at this, his relationship with dad may not be seen as a fatherly one but more like a bond between brothers. His dad had a bad experience as a kid, with his own father being abusive Rudi was quite unsure how to be a dad for Derek when he was born. Despite that though he raised Derek well in most opinions, such quirks he would say was always done in a teasing manner which became even funnier when his mother would swat, hit or kick Rudi's shins for. It wasn't an abusive relationship, his dad just takes it and laughs it off which steams his mother even more that he is more amused then hurt from her attacks.
Sophia turns back to her son and says, "Ignore your father son, how was the dance?"
Derek shrugs, "It was fine, the food was terrible, the music was worse, my friends were too busy with their own dates, the only time I had fun was…when…"
When he was dancing with Alasha. When they were alone and she put his worries and fears to rest when she told him she enjoyed herself. The night even got better despite all the odds and even he had a great time. He wonders where Alasha is now and if she remembers last night.
"I take it back," his father suddenly says, "he did have a girl."
This is followed by another smack and a brief chuckle. Honestly it has been years and not once has his mother left so much as a mark on his father, maybe this is her idea of fun.
"Oh come on Derek," her mother says with a smile, "who was the lucky lady?"
Derek laughs nervously, "Well mom…uh…you see she was…"
He trails off again but this time for a different reason. Outside he can hear a commotion. It isn't unusually to hear someone shouting, it was all part of the routine of being a Marine, but something about it sounds urgent and it seems to be coming closer to the building.
"Derek?" his mother ask as both she and his father leans forward, apparently hearing the disturbances as well, "What is-"
The doors right behind Derek slides open and to Derek's surprise in comes running Alasha or rather it looked like Alasha in a rather dishevel state.
He is sure it's her because of her mesmerizing shape, but the suit of armor threw him off when he sees how it is hap hazardously placed over her body, her helmet barely hanging onto her head as if she was in a hurry to put her gear on. She is hunched over a bit as she breathes heavily, did she run here all the way from the Keep? In summary, far from the usually cool and organized female he had come to know her as he has never seen her looking this troubled.
"Derek," she finally gasps and begins to straighten up, "I need to speak to-"
She stops talking when she sees Derek in front of the monitor with other humans watching her closely with wide eyes as they continue to look her up and down. It then occurs to Derek that his parents have never seen a Sangheili, or rather they never been in a situation where they could interact with one before.
His parents looks absolutely shell-shocked at Alasha's brash and unexpected arrival while Alasha for her part just looks lost, as if she didn't know what to do next.
Finally Derek clears his throat and soon feels all eyes on him. He decides to deal with the alien in the room since she was closest.
"Alasha," he says calmly before gesturing to the screen, "these are my parents."
He then looks back at the monitor and says, "mom, dad, this is Alasha," he points at the indicated Sangheili, "and she is my-"
"Courtship partner," Alasha suddenly inject.
"Courtship partner and we..." Derek suddenly stops dead as he realized what was said and felt his own jaw starting to drop open. That's nothing compared to his parents, his father eyebrows rose high at the proclamation while his mother's mouth pops open fully in a silent gasp.
He looks back at Alasha, about to ask what she meant when she got closer to him and puts a hand on his shoulder.
"Derek," she says in a breathless tone, "I need to speak with you, urgently."
Derek didn't want to cut his visit with his parents short, but if this situation was big enough to get Alasha worried then by all means he should be worried too.
He looks back at his still stun parents and says, "Mom, dad, I'll be right back ok?"
Before they could respond he stood up from his chair and turns to find Alasha already hurrying out the door, he sprints after her to stay close.
Once outside she steps to the side of the door and is looking around nervously, like a criminal on the run or something. This whole thing is starting to freak Derek out, but he keeps calm as he steps up right next to her and speaks.
"Alasha" she turns at the sound of her name, "what is going on? Why are you so out of breath? And why did you just tell my parents that you're my courtship partner?"
She doesn't speak for a whole minute as she stares at the ground as if complementing what to say before finally she looks up and talks.
"Derek, I am sorry," she says, "I really am, truly sorry but I just couldn't…I needed…"
"What?" Derek demands, "You needed what?"
She hisses but not at him, probably in frustration if nothing else.
"There was a male from the Yalrom Keep that arrived today" she informs him, "and he was, he is…" she snaps her mandibles together before saying, "he is just everything I hate even before we began courting and-"
"You courted him?" Derek asks, feeling surprised for some reason at the interruption.
"Unfortunately," she growls as she looks away, "but even then nothing changed he was just…horrible."
Her voice is still hard but he thought he heard a bit of sorrow mixed in. One didn't need to be a genius to know how bad things were for her on this "courtship," it was probably even worse considering her role and position in society.
"I'm sorry," Derek says, which earns a look from Alasha, "nobody should go through that."
She turns away but he is sure he saw a small smile form.
"Regardless," she continues, "as you know females cannot turn away suitors as you have learned not too long ago."
Derek nods in understanding, so far he's getting it but he's sure he's missing the main point.
"The only reason for a female to turn away suitors is if she is sick or unable to produce off-springs or…"
"Or what?" Derek questions.
Finally Alasha sighs as she glances at him and he is stun to see her eyes are wet, "or if they're already being courted."
Already being…slowly the realization dawns on him and he feels himself becoming shock once more.
"I'm sorry Derek," she says as she stares at the ground, "I just panicked and…I just didn't want to go through the pain again so I…I…" Derek breath gets stuck in his throat when he saw the last thing he ever expected to see; tears streaming down her cheeks before falling to the floor.
He is speechless for a full minute. He never thought he would see a Sangheili cry and Alasha proved that she was just as strong and tolerant as the males of her race. Yet here she is reduced to tears, all because of one guy.
He knew some lousy people from Mars who were so full of themselves that they didn't care if they hurt other people, but this is different. He thinks about his dad, so tall and so tough, but he remembers seeing a scar on his hip once and Derek asked about it. His dad didn't say a thing, he just clamed up. Later his mom told him about his abusive grandfather and that the scar was from one of his tantrums which his dad suffered from. Even after all these years his dad was still sensitive about the past though he doesn't say it.
Slowly Derek looks back at Alasha who has crossed her arms and is looking away from him. His eyes widen when he sees her hand, it was holding her arm but he can plainly see three long scratches running along their length, recently clean from the looks of it but he is sure he can just see a hint of blue blood.
Did that guy…
Derek suddenly feels anger and rage build within him. After last night he can believe without fault that Alasha has done nothing to warrant such treatment, she would never put so much as a foot out of line and yet this is what she gets for it in the end?
He isn't exactly thrilled to hear that he is back to courting her, but then again he remembers last night. Right before he dropped her off and he didn't want her to leave, not yet anyway. He asked if they could be friends and she agreed. They're friends now, they need to look out for one another.
He sadly smiles as he remembers that he did owe her one for going on a date with her in the first place.
Alasha POV
She couldn't believe she just started crying, but after all that has happened could she really be blamed?
Last night was an incredible experience for her, being cared for and treated gently by an alien, a species that she thought was below her. Followed by the male she had always despised and who wanted to court her once more and make life miserable just so that he could have one ounce more of pleasure in the world.
Out of foolishness she had lied and sought out Derek for help. But now that she has told him and realizing what she is placing on him she realizes he probably sees her as cowardly weakling. For some reason she couldn't bear the thought of Derek seeing her like this and against her will the tears came and she couldn't hide them, they were hidden for so long the circumstances of her life had finally manage to break them free.
She couldn't understand what she is feeling or why, never in her whole life has she even felt this conflicted before.
She suddenly jerks when she feels something…soft, touch her arm. She looks and finds Derek by her side, lightly rubbing her arm. He is eyeing the marks on her hand from where Busras has lightly cut.
"Alasha," he says gently before looking her in the eyes, "I'd be honored to court you again."
Now it's her turn for her eyes to go wide as he continues speaking.
"Look I know this is tough and from the sound of it this isn't probably going to end well for either of us," he pauses as he takes her hand in his, careful not to brush against her raw skin, "but we're friends now and friends look out for each other, right?"
Alasha couldn't speak, but somehow he must have seen the disbelief in her eyes as he smiles and says, "So…if you're willing, can I court you?"
Slowly she nods her head before she finally allows herself to smile. She couldn't believe it, this won't keep her safe from Busras indefinitely, but knowing she isn't alone, that her new friend who she is already thinking highly of is willing to help makes her feel relieved, more so than she would have ever believed.
However her anxiety came back when he asks his next question that initially took her off guard.
"Want to meet my parents?"
"-and so after that I took her straight home before her bedtime," Derek finishes telling his parents about their date in a matter of units.
His parents are speechless, it was clear by the look on their faces that they would never have imagined that their son would be courting her of all people.
She fidgets in her seat a little, becoming self-conscious of how she is dressed and how she no doubt must have presented herself when she first arrived.
Somebody clears their throat and gains her attention as she looks up. It is Derek's mother, Sophia she believes, and for the first time she is looking at Alasha directly, though with a bit of fear in her eyes and hesitation clear in her voice.
"It is…very nice to meet you…Alasha dear," she finally says, clearly worried about what she has said.
Alasha for her part nods and replies with, "It is a honor to meet you as well Sophia, your son has told me much about your family."
This gets a small smile from the female and Alasha feels a bit of relief.
Following his wife's example, Derek's father speaks next.
"So," he says lightly, "what can you tell us about yourself Alasha?"
She suddenly feel pressure building up again and works hard to keep her composure. She is being offered a chance to talk about herself and she wants to give a good impression. For some reason, getting Derek's parent's approval suddenly meant a great deal to her.
"I am the daughter of the Keep Lord Quas," she informs them, "I am skilled in hand to hand combat, traveled over the expanse of Sanghelios on a few occasions and I am now helping in keeping stability within the fief until my father's return."
Both parents nods at this and she suddenly feels hope filtering in, this is good, they are liking what she is telling them.
"Is there anything else dear?" Sophia asks.
Anything else? What can she tell them? What could a parent want their child's courting partner to say? She finally came up with something that could be of help.
"I am also currently twenty seven summers old, "she tells them with a raised head.
Nothing is said and she feels the atmosphere grow heavy for some reason. Derek's parents are once again quiet with their eyes open wide, was it something she said? She glances at Derek but he too look surprise and maybe even a little pale.
"You're…how old?" Sophia asks once more.
A little hesitant, Alasha reluctantly answers, "Twenty seven summers old mistress Heath," she says in respect.
Her mouth opens and closes like she is trying to swallow something while her husband finally speaks.
"Alasha," he falls silent before wetting his lips and continuing, "you are aware that Derek is about nineteen…summers old, right?"
Alasha knows this so she nods, "Yes I know sir," she says, "I believe young males like females with experience."
There is a solid thud and she turns to see that Derek has somehow fallen off his chair is picking himself back up, his face changing different colors at an alarming rate. Concerned she was about to ask if he is alright when the door behind them opens and a man shouts inside.
"Heath!" the man yells, "Times up! Say you're goodbyes!"
Immediately Derek turns to the screen and speaks quickly.
"I got to go now, I love you guys."
"Derek wait," his mother started to say,
"Bye!" Derek shouts before cutting of the transmission.
The room becomes silent as Alasha waits for Derek to move or at least say something, it is obvious her remark has caused a sort of disturbance and she wishes to know what it is.
Finally Derek sucks in some air as he looks at Alasha.
"So," he says lightly, "twenty seven, huh?"
"Yes," Alasha says cautiously, "is that too young?"
In response Derek covers his face and groans.
Apologies if this came out more emotional before and if the characters seems out of prospective. Please let me know how this turned out. This will be the last installment for a while at least until I can finish my Halo UA story.