Disclaimer: hardly own anything. Except Tristan… ok I'm deluding myself.
CONNECTION"So you're a Greek ambassador?" Shazara asked.
Kyrilla started. He had been thinking careful about the up coming meeting he was orchestrating. He was thinking it was time to expose Emile. It felt right.
"Pandareos, are you listening?"
"I am. I'm just distracted," Kyrilla confessed.
Shazara narrowed her eyes. "Why?"
"Being an ambassador is a terrible job," He confided in a whisper. Shazara smiled before stooping to select a few fresh herbs that Nimue had asked for. Kyrilla breathed a sigh of relief. He constantly had to be on his toes around Shazara. For one thing she was unnaturally suspicious.
It made life a little bit difficult. Everything he said was examined and if it didn't meet expectations well he might as wave a sign saying 'I'm a lying bastard slash god.' Shazara made him doubt he actually had any skills as a liar.
It was a hot day and Kyrilla was boiling. There was a stream bubbling not very far away. Kyrilla could smell it on the air. He got a wonderful idea.
"Come on, let's go swimming!"
Shazara looked at him like he was crazy. "Are you crazy."
"No and I've been meaning to tell you something. You know you don't actually have to ask the question your look says everything. From your expression I gathered you thought I was crazy." Kyrilla breathed.
"I can't go swimming," Shazara protested.
"Name five good reasons why," Kyrilla snapped. "No, too hard. Name one."
"I have to get the herbs to Nimue," Shazara offered.
"Not till tomorrow. I was eavesdropping."
"I don't have anything to swim in." Shazara said.
Kyrilla scoffed. "Go swimming in the dress. It won't damage it."
Shazara was fumbling for reasons. She snapped her fingers suddenly; sure she had a flawless excuse. "I have a lesson with Mistress Qurick."
"Would be oh so valid if it was true. Come on liar. You have to go swimming."
"I'm not going swimming." Shazara crossed her arms and glared at Kyrilla, who shrugged and hauled her over his shoulders.
"You know what your problem is?" Kyrilla asked casually as he walked towards the river.
"I don't listen to crazy men like you?" Shazara replied as she kicked and tried to wiggle free.
"No. You don't do anything spontaneous. You need to kick back and have some fun. Take one of the knight's examples. Or Emile. You're turning out like Alecto."
"How do you know Alecto?" Shazara demanded.
Kyrilla paused. Damn hole in his story. "Dagonet and Emile talked about him. It's beside the point anyway. You need to stop being so uptight."
Shazara huffed, offended. "I'm going to tell my father, Lancelot and he will stab you."
"Why not tell Tristan and Bors as well. If it has a knighthood invite them to the gathering." Kyrilla was completely unphased by her threats because he was a god and couldn't die and because he did not actually think she would follow through.
Shazara continued to squirm and try to break free. Kyrilla was fining it hard to keep his grip on her.
Finally he paused, "ok that is becoming really annoying."
"Well if you weren't carrying me towards a stream I might." Shazara just threw herself about with more zealous.
"Let me put it this way. Keep doing that I'll drop you and since I'm pretty tall that's a long way to fall."
Shazara seemed to consider the logic and relaxed. They made it to the stream and Shazara breathed a sigh of relief, assuming he would put her down, giving her amble opportunity to run away.
It didn't quite happen that way.
He just threw her in the water. She screamed before going under.
"Dear older brother Mithras I hope she can swim!" Kyrilla prayed for a second, remembered he was a god and felt ridiculous.
Shazara came spluttering to the surface. "I hate you, Pandareos"
"And that honestly doesn't hurt me at all." Kyrilla shrugged telling his mind she meant the fictional Greek rogue and not him. Not that some woman hating him would be unusual.
Shazara had been running around bare foot and she was wearing only a plain dress so she did not have to worry about drowning or spoiling her clothes but she was generally angry with Pandareos.
She glared at him furiously. The water felt really nice and it had been a stifling hot day, the type of day where the heat clung to the body. It was a rare day for English weather and she had been sweltering in her clothes.
She had thought swimming had sounded like a good idea but she always refused offers like that. She had forgotten why but it was a habit sprung from those days where she would foolishly follow the advice of Isolde or Korella and ended up in trouble with at least one adult.
The sun reflected on the water creating little sparkles, which made her smile. She looked at Pandareos who was pulling off his shirt and looking at the water as if, now that they were here, he was the one with doubts. His pale blue eyes looked at the darker blue of the water.
Shazara took the moment to cast a quick glance at his body. She had never been that affected by physical beauty, having grown up surrounded by lots of it but Pandareos was just a little too beautiful. He had near perfect abs and each muscle was almost sculpted. She felt herself blush at how he was affecting her.
Kyrilla had originally been darting quick glances around the water. He had gotten on the wrong side of the demigod of rivers one day and did not want to endure his wrath when Shazara could possibly be hurt. He couldn't sense him anywhere and he was about to turn back and dive in when he realised he could sense Shazara's gaze upon him.
She was taking in his body and enjoying the appeal of it. Kyrilla could tell she had never seen a more perfect body, which made absolute sense since he was probably the first god she had ever encountered.
Eventually she blushed and stopped so Kyrilla could stop posing and jump in. He created a huge splash and Shazara squeaked.
"Now tell me this was a bad idea," He challenged, knowing full well she was enjoying the water. She shrugged and continued to swim around.
Unsatisfied with her answer he splashed her.
"Hey!' She retorted and splashed him back. What followed was a splashing war, which Shazara was winning until Kyrilla dived and pulled her down.
They both surfaced, Shazara gasping and Kyrilla giggling. His black hair was plastered to his forehead. He did a victory lap around her.
"That tattoo is enormous," Shazara said.
Kyrilla realised he had forgotten about the tattoo. He hadn't wanted anybody to notice it but there it was, large as life for anybody to see. He swore loud and swam back so all she could see was his chest.
The water was sliding off his shoulders and catching the light. Shazara was distracted by that… for a moment before she remembered the tattoo.
"Is it an eagle?"
Kyrilla blinked. Did this girl not get preoccupied by physical beauty ever? He could almost see her shaking her head in answer to his unasked question.
"Yes. It's an eagle. It's my symbol," He shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant. Kyrilla was good at a lot of things like being annoying and lying but being stoic was more Tristan's area than his.
"Symbol?"
"Yes a personal motif. Some people have them and some people don't." He explained.
"Why did you pick an eagle?" Shazara pressed.
Kyrilla grinned. Oh there were so many reasons why he had selected the Athenian Rouge tattoo.
"The Eagle is hunter that almost always gets what he wants," Kyrilla said slowly with a predatory smile. He had lowered his head so he was looking up at her.
"Can I have a closer look?" Shazara asked.
Kyrilla thought about it before turning around. They were in shallow water so he could stop treading water.
She looked over the eagle, observing how the wings stretched across his back; it's head with eyes so bright.
Kyrilla could feel her eyes slide over his back interested and he wished it were actually his tattoo rather than an illusion. The body may have been almost genuine but that had barely grabbed her attention. Not that he really cared about her attention.
He felt her fingers brush his back as she traced the lines.
His skin felt warm despite the cool water and the black of his tattoo contrasted with the olive of his skin tone.
Shazara didn't know why she reached out and stroked his back but the eagle was just so amazing and he had a really nice back. She wanted to thump her own head as soon as she thought that particular one. This man was turning out to be the bane of her existence.
MD666