Disclaimers:As stated in Chapter 1.
Author's Notes:In which tempers are kept firmly in control, but just barely...
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Shavra forced her breathing to even itself out as she wedged herself into the fork of the tree, feeling its rough bark against her back through the light cotton of her dress. Her pounding heart slowed as she felt the current of Souma flowing through the ancient tree enter her troubled soul, soothing it with warm reassurance.
The bell-like sound of Lady Ravella's laughter returned her to awareness of her surroundings, and from her vantage point, Shavra could see that the other girl's generously-cut gown offered Crimson an enviable view of Lady Ravella's bosom.
"I had never thought to enjoy myself so much in Kuruda," she was saying, as Crimson gently pushed the swing with one hand. "The way Father described it, I thought the royal court would be like a barracks...all full of soldiers."
Crimson chuckled softly, blue eyes twinkling. "Quite different from your home in Ashlianna, to be sure. I am glad that your stay has proven pleasant so far."
"More than pleasant!" exclaimed Lady Ravella, her dark eyes flashing merrily into Crimson's blue gaze. "Due in no small part to your kind attention, my lord sevalle."
In the upper branches, Shavra wrinkled her nose at the false honey in Lady Ravella's voice, and mentally began to bespeak the tree, for lack of anyone human to listen to her opinions.
//Indeed. So kind and gallant is my lord sevalle that he has added no new exercise patterns to my training; nor has he come to measure my progress in the fortnight he has been escorting you about the country.//
"The pleasure is mine, my lady. You are delightful company in this martial atmosphere we keep here in the kingdom."
//Ha! If you've said that once, you've said that any number of times, and always to a different woman.//
Despite her rebellious exasperation, Shavra had to smile at the memory of her swordmaster's various romantic escapades; indeed, some of the more enterprising women had sought to gain the young Lady Holder's goodwill in furthering their cause with one of Kuruda's most eligible bachelors. In vain did Shavra protest that Crimson was very much his own man, and hardly likely to listen to his student, a girl barely into her teens! Amethyst eyes twinkled at the thought, and she sighed softly, the sound mingling with the sudden rustle of the leaves surrounding her.
Lady Ravella's delighted laugh at Crimson's gallant answer brought Shavra's attention back to ground level. The young heiress was saying, "It is well-known that you do not lack for delightful company in Kuruda, my lord sevalle. Or elsewhere, for that matter. Your reputation has reached as far as the Holy City of Juliannes."
//*That* I can believe.//
"Indeed?"
"You need not bother to deny it, my lord," said Lady Ravella boldly. "Kuruda's Raze Reme is spoken of with utmost respect as a master of the power of Souma...and...much more."
Shavra closed her eyes and pressed herself back even more against the welcome support of the tree and its branches. Her cheeks were hot with embarrassment. If only she could melt into the tree and become deaf to what was going on! Young though she was, Shavra knew the meaning of the sudden huskiness in Lady Ravella's voice. It was a tone employed by certain Court ladies when addressing the sevalles; one that subtly offered the promise of physical delights to the man in question.
"Do not be quick to give credence to all that you hear, my lady," murmured Crimson, his voice full of humor. Shavra heard Lady Ravella make a sound of disbelief, then felt her blood run cold at the older girl's next sentence.
"I have also heard that Shavra Ly'valle occupies much of your waking hours, my lord sevalle."
A small pause ensued after that statement, and it was well for the Lady Ravella that her head was turned in the direction of the magnificent bed of roses. Crimson's cobalt blue eyes suddenly assumed a bland expression that Shavra, had *her* own eyes been open, would have recognized instantly as a polite warning.
"The Lady Holder," replied Crimson softly, laying an imperceptible emphasis on Shavra's title, "is my student in swordcraft. An art that demands a great deal of skill and patience, both on the part of student and teacher. Of necessity, we do indeed spend much time together."
If the Lady Ravella heard the warning note in Crimson's voice, she chose to disregard it. Her next question made Shavra's eyes fly open in furious indignation, and it was all the young Lady Holder could do to keep her temper - and her voice - in check.
"Of course," purred Ravella sweetly. "But naturally you are aware that there are those who believe there is more to your relationship than that. It is said you are waiting for little Shavra to grow up, before giving her lessons in a very different subject altogether."
Shavra's amethyst eyes sparkled fiercely in outrage, and it was all she could do to keep the roiling emotions inside her under control. She could feel the rough bark of the tree biting into her skin as her slender fingers held onto the branches with a death grip, knuckles turned white in rising fury.
"Remember your training," she chastised herself, as her glittering gaze focused on the branch that supported the swing on which Lady Ravella sat. "This is not the time to wish for the throwing knives Kai-sama gave you on your first birthday at the palace royal..."
"You should take more care in choosing whom to listen to in Court, my Lady," Crimson's voice was laced with steel beneath the warm velvet tones as he made his reply, his eyes dark sapphire flames as he swept Lady Ravella with distaste evident on his handsome features. "Lord Avedon Ly'valle and Lady Kyra Solaris were numbered among my friends; do not think I would seek to disgrace their memory or their daughter's reputation in the way you seem to imply."
Lady Ravella blanched at her first glimpse of the cold fury that Crimson Kai Sinks was capable of unleashing - the death-dealing capability of a trained sevalle that lay hidden beneath the polish of a seasoned courtier. She opened her pretty mouth to speak, but the words were stopped by a lazy, drawling voice filled with teasing laughter.
end part five