When I arrived at the office, I noticed that there were several stacks of paper on the table, and that Pytor and Zahkar were each scrutinizing a page of a report that Arseny had written awhile back. I knocked on the doorframe, and the two of them waved me in, their eyes never leaving the paper.
"Zahkar, is that a '2' or a 'Q'? I can't tell…" Zahkar shrugged.
"His handwriting's about as decipherable as Demmis's is…"
---
After about an hour of sorting through papers, and trying to decipher Arseny's handwriting, Pytor leaned back in his chair, threw his arms up in frustration, and said, "I quit! There's no way in hell that Arseny could write any neater…and this is giving me a headache!" Zahkar and I just chuckled at his outburst.
Pytor sighed, and as I watched, stretched, before getting up and wandering over to the window. "I have a confession to make…" I noticed Zahkar tensed at that.
"Pytor, it can wait…" Pytor shook his head.
"No, Zahkar. It can't. Vato…don't get terribly offended when I ask this of you…but please…stop seeing Denika…and move out of her house…she's getting too attached to you…and we don't know how long you'll be here…" Zahkar shook his head a little.
"Pytor-" I couldn't help but interrupt, as the discussion did concern me Denika meant a lot to me. I had never before, not even with my last girlfriend, felt the way I did about Denika. I knew, at least in my heart, that what I was feeling was more than just a schoolboy crush…it was Love…
"I understand why you're concerned…but you have no right…to be telling me who I can or cannot fall in love with. Denika means so much to me…if it came down to it, I would rather disobey orders, and remain here with her-" A loud crash startled all three of us, and I could hear footsteps running down the hall. Zahkar and Pytor nearly ran me over, as the three of us scrambled for the door. I caught a glimpse of platinum blonde hair, just before Denika vanished from sight.
---
After wandering about the town for a good hour or so, Zahkar and I ran into a pair of red-headed women, both of whom bore a resemblance to Zahkar. The shorter of the two didn't appear to have much interest in Zahkar and myself, but the taller, and apparently older, walked over to us, and began talking with Zahkar in Drachmaen.
Suddenly, the tones of their conversation began to get heated. Finally, the young lady threw her arms up in the air and stormed off. The shorter redhead shook her head and calmly walked over to Zahkar. "Nice going, Zakie. You have no right to be doing Papa's job!" With that, she jumped off the ground and smacked Zahkar across the back of his head.
"Come on…we've gotta catch Katse…chances are good that she'll find Deni…" Before I could get a word in, I was being dragged away by a young woman who couldn't have been much taller than 5'4".
As I stumbled along after the girl, I realized that I had no clue who she was, or if she was even referring to Denika. "Excuse me…" No response from the redhead. "Miss?" Still no response, or so I thought, until the girl slowed, causing me to nearly run into her.
"Jamika."
I was a bit surprised at that. "Pardon?"
"My name is Jamika." She turned around and sat down on a nearby bench. "What's botherin' ya?" I noticed that her accent was almost non-existent, at least compared to Denika's.
"Ah….Is this 'Deni' you referred to Denika perchance?" That warranted a smile from Jamika.
"Yeah…Katse and I call her 'Deni' though…Deni's Katse's godmother. As for me, she's my favorite cousin. She's almost like an older sister, even with Katse as my real sister…" Jamika smiled more, and I noticed how similar she and Denika looked, despite the shock of red hair that Jamika possessed.
"Since you apparently know Denika so well…where should we go to find her?" Jamika stood up and looked around briefly before pointing in the direction of the gardens in the center of town.
"Deni likes the flowers…and so does Katse, so we'll probably run into…wait…why are you looking for Denika anyways?" Jamika gave me a quizzical look.
"I…er….that is to say..."
Jamika simply shook her head at that. "Never mind…it's not important right now…let's go find Deni and Katse…once Deni finds out what Zakie said, she's gonna wanna kick his ass."
I couldn't help but chuckle at that, but something about Jamika's manner made me wonder…
"Jamika?"
"Huh?"
"Just how old are you anyways?"
"Fourteen…why?"
"…never mind…"
---
"Shhh…I see Deni and Katse both!" Jamika whispered excitedly. "Let's hear what they're talking about…" With that, I was forcibly removed from my current hiding place near the duck pond, behind a clump of bushes.
As we moved closer, I began to pick up snippets of Denika's and Katse's conversation.
"Katse… /He likes me…maybe even loves me…I'm so confused…I thought that he was just taking me out to dinner to be nice…/" Katse shook her head a little.
"Denika/What happened to the fearless girl who scared the crap out of Papa's dog? The girl who ran Matvei off the property and up into a tree? This isn't like you at all…Why are you so worried?" Denika sighed, fidgeting slightly.
"/What if…what if he is of the same mindset as Vladimir? I couldn't handle it when Vladimir…what if Vato turns out like that? What am I supposed to do? I can't just turn off my feelings for him as though they were a light…/" Katse smiled a little at that.
"Deni… /Does this mean you like him? When's the wedding?" Denika blushed almost as deeply red as Katse's hair.
"Katerina/you should not ask such things! You should be concerned with your own wedding to Victor! Who I like…is not your concern/." Katerina could only smirk. Jamika and I ducked down into the bushes and nodded to one another. We both had gotten the same idea…now to implement it…
---
I hurried to Matvei's store, to pick up the wine I had purchased the day before, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jamika duck into the produce vendor's. I couldn't help but smile at that. Denika would be thrilled.
---
I heard the front door open just as I was adding the finishing touches to the table. Jamika and I had made quick work of preparing Denika's favorite Drachmaen dishes, as well as a few other minor details that added to the overall effect. I heard Denika pause in the front entryway and Katerina asked her why she stopped.
"Could it be…?" Denika dashed into the dining room, with Katerina hot on her heels. Jamika took the opportunity while Denika stared at the table to usher Katerina out of the room.
"You two lovebirds talk. We'll be back later!" I could hear Katerina protest just before the door slammed closed behind the two sisters.
"Ack! Jamika/Let me go and tell me what's going on!"
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Okay! Thanks to Magnet Rose, my Beta! I'm posting this tonight, since I'll be at Acen starting tomorrow, and won't get back till o-dark-thirty on Monday morning...
Reader Reviews:
SnakeCharmerFoxx - Yus, He will get love! Falman doesn't get nearly enough love!
To my readers, I'll be posting two versions of one chapter after I get it written...the friendly version will be uploaded here, the "Fun" version will be on my fic journal, which is linked as my homepage on my profile.