Ch.4
( I'll never understand how this story is as popular as it is. Truth be told that out of all of them this was the one I thought out the least to begin with. So, the fact that it has so many fallows and favorites befuddles me to no end. Thank you all for everything and being as patient as you are. For at this rate I fear I'll finish these stories around the same time George R.R. Martin finishes his next book. Without further delay, here we are.)
The table was set, the plates piled high as hills with roasted chicken, plated Herbs seasoned with garlic and fine spices from all over the continent. Various smells wafted in and out of the room, ranging from tantalizing and savory to appetizingly sweet. The lights of the room dim, almost as if to imitate candle light. Various maids and servents moved about the room placing plates before us quickly, and taking them away just the same. Leaving us scarce room to consume a morsel of each dish. The room was silent, as it had been for some time. As my father, who currently sat at the head of a long polished wooden table, looked both pensive and disgruntled upon both me and my chosen bride. Though I understood well that he looked not at us, but rather was attempting to look through us as if attempting to sear our souls with his gaze alone.
To my right sat Akko, looking equally just as if not more so pensive, staring at the floor boards as if the most interesting thing in her existence. The night had started off well and good when we arrived to the dining hall at the behest of my father. We had met outside the door moments before seven, as my father's works allowed only for later meals, where upon I first took notice of her dress. She took it upon herself to wear a teal dress with a three-layered hoop skirt. This was dressed with black floral accents that stood out strikingly from the dress itself. What's more, I must remark that she, rather than wearing her hair as she commonly would in her traditional high ponytail, now wore her hair loose and free which ultimately betrayed its true length to be touching her mid back. Her face was framed on each side by two locks of hair that reached and rested upon her shoulders before they naturally curled. I thanked every god I could think of that I could see this and drank in the image as if I were a man lost in a desert, and she a lonely oasis.
Having committed such a thing to my memory I took her hand in my own and bent down to kiss the soft pale skin as a gentleman should when courting his bride to be. "I must admit Andrew, I'm very frightened to actually be talking to your father. I've only ever seen the man from afar and It wasn't under the most flattering of circumstances." To which I found myself most easily to reply "With any luck he won't even speak to either of us tonight. Wither I said this to calm her nerves or my own I do not know. Then for a moment she struggled in her dress as if attempting to get more comfortable with something. My guess would be the corset which, to my knowledge, was uncomfortably tight for one who had never wore one. "However women of high class deal with such dress is beyond me. Though I see why so many of them faint in those old novels. I'm honestly finding it rather hard to breath".
To this I replied in a haughty manner "me thinkist the lady doth protest to much". This throwing us both into a fit of uncontrollable giggles. I hadn't laughed that hard in quite some time, and it was a great relief in that moment from the many stresses of the situations going on at the present. Though begrudgingly I let it end as I took her hand. Then with a gentle squeeze or reassurance lead her through the doors to the dining hall.
Afterwards when we had sat down and exchanged our formal greetings with my father, it was then time to eat. First came a bowl of steaming water, which I had to inform Akko was something we were to wash our hands in after each dish and not as she called it "fancy soup" to be eaten. Next came the soup, which was a beef broth filled with freshly picked carrots from our own privately-owned gardens, and potatoes seasoned with fresh garlic from the midlands. This is where the first mistake was made, for Akko had forgotten to lay her napkin across her lap and thus many small dark stains dotted the skirt of her dress. Maybe I should've given her lessons beforehand, though this thought was swept away with the coming of the next course. This was a salad with freshly picked Lettuce again from our own farms. This was our effective pallet cleanser after the spice of the soup served previous. Here again Akko's own lack of knowledge on such subjects showed when, instead of using the salad fork, she proceeded to eat her salad with her dessert fork. Shifting my gaze to him briefly I noticed that with each mistake my father's mood soured. I didn't blame Akko for this though, as I had forced her into this position without any prior knowledge or consent. Therefor I had no room to judge her at present as I assume I would be much the same should our roles have been reversed.
Finally, when the entrée came I found within me the courage to speak. "Father, I'd like to ask you for a favor as a gift to my bride". At this he raised his brown and in acknowledging me spoke "speak, then will you?" prompting my immediate reply. "I should like to Allow Akko to continue her studies at the academy. Provided that she will leave each morning and return here each evening". All this gaining me a nearly instant look of praise and gratitude from the woman next to me. A look which I allowed myself to revel in for mere moments before and uneasy silence settled in.
Which now leads me to the present moment, where I find my own gaze lowering to the legs of the finely carved wooden table. On them were displayed hand carved images of cherubs either at play, or playing some sort of instrument wither it be the harp or the flute. Finally, after such a long and agonizing silence, my father spoke. "Your request is granted, with the parameters set as requested. However, she will also be required to be guarded so ill be sending her off with a personal guard each morning". For once I finally felt I could have a half way decent relationship with my father.