The Arishok couldn't believe what he was thinking. Why am I thinking about her in that way? This is maddening! No. Stop. She means nothing. Throughout the night, it was all he could think about. The way her hair fell across her face, how her tunic pressed against her curves when the wind blew, the way her bottom lip would quiver ever so slightly when she was angry, and especially the way she looked at him with those light golden eyes all seemed oddly erotic to him. He hated to admit it, but he was attracted to her.
"So, what's new?" Gwen was still awake when Sicilia returned to their room. She was lying in her bed waiting impatiently for an answer. "Did you see the Arishok?"
She smiled as she turned to the wash basin. "Nothing much. What about you?"
"Sicilia…" she sang in no particular tune. Sitting up, she asked, "I know you better. You were with him, weren't you? What happened? Did you tell him?"
"Gwen," she laughed. "Yes, I saw him. Nothing happened."
"Then why do you have a huge grin on your face?"
Sicilia glanced up towards the mirror. She was grinning. It wasn't unusual for her to be happy, but to not be able to stop wasn't normal for her. Admittedly, she said, "Ok, so it was nice. I still didn't tell him anything."
"Oh, come on, you mean to tell me you haven't kissed him, called him a cute pet name, or at least something?" Gwen was fishing for the "goods," as she called it.
"No," she laughed turning to Gwen. "I called him 'Kadan,' but that's it."
Her eyes widened slightly. "So, you are planning on telling him. What was his reaction to that?"
"I don't know that I plan on telling him anything, if there is anything at all to tell! His reaction was…indifferent, but he's pretty much always like that." She was lying a bit. Sicilia knew that there were some feelings for the Arishok lying within her, but she didn't know exactly what they were yet. She also knew he wasn't always indifferent; he only pretended to be, which made her wonder what he actually thought about her comment.
"Sis, you had a dream about the man. Admit it, you want his horny body! Pun intended!"
"Gwen, shhhh!" Sicilia blushed only slightly. "Yes, ok? I had a dream about him. That doesn't mean I should just tell him that! Besides, Qunari do not have sex with…well, anything but a Qunari. There's got to be a reason for that."
"Alright, you have a point. I have heard that Qunari sex is rough to put it lightly, but I also think you like him, more than just physically." Gwen laid back down against her pillow and pulled the covers up underneath her arm. "And there are some Qunari who sleep with humans…there's gotta be a reason for that, too."
Gwen had been right. Sicilia was attracted to the Arishok. All the things that made him Qunari was what really took her in. Though, other Qunari didn't do the same thing. These things were quite simple to her, but yet so beautiful. The deep red paint contrasting against his skin, his pure white hair, and the architecture of his horns were all so very hypnotizing to her. It wasn't just the physical being that attracted her the most. It was the person he was. He was so irritating, but at the same time she loved that about him. Love? No, it's not love. Correction. Respect.
"Do you think she'll like it?" Haiden asked timidly as he sat across from Markl. The floor creaked as Markl shifted in the seat in his living room.
"She seemed to like it at the time so I'm sure she'll like it now," he answered handing the trinket back to him.
Haiden had an earring made from the pearl that Sicilia had shown so much interest in. After Markl had told him yesterday that the Arishok would be seeing Sicilia on the coast, he had wanted to keep an eye on her. Markl had assured him that it wouldn't be necessary. Haiden had been anticipating the next time they would meet so that he could give it to her. He held the earring up in front of him; the pearl dangled freely from the golden ring. "I'm worried about the Arishok."
He knew that Sicilia liked the Arishok, now. He would've told Haiden, but he wasn't sure about the Arishok's feelings. "Do you think Sicilia is interested in him or the other way around?"
Haiden took in the question carefully. He hadn't really thought about Sicilia liking the Arishok until that moment. It was entirely possible. "Both," he said questioningly.
Sicilia woke to a chilling breeze. She shivered as she rose to close the window. Well, looks like I can't leave it open anymore. It was a grey morning. The sun barely showed it's rays through the clouds that had blew in that night.
The day went by fairly quickly. Sicilia had received a large request for potions and a few poisons. Luckily, she had plenty of elfroot, deep mushroom, and distillation agent to mix everything. She did, however, have to buy flasks. She gathered her tools and decided to work while she was on the coast with her friends.
Grinding deep mushroom wasn't a difficult task; making sure the dust of the dried fungus didn't get into your system was the hardest part. She faced away from the breeze and moved her pestle back and forth across the powder, her gloves restricting the movement. Once she was satisfied with the texture, she took a small spatula and began distributing the mix into the distillation agent, which was already measured out into flasks.
"Decided to work tonight?" Haiden's voiced sounded next to her. He didn't startle her as he usually did. She had become accustomed to his stealthy nature.
"Yeah, don't get too close. I don't want you breathing it in." She dropped the powder into a flask and watched the liquid turn from a murky yellow to a muddy purple. After she placed the cork in, she shook it lightly and blew away any remaining dust from the outside.
"Need any help?"
"Sure. You can get the elfroot and go wash it for me," she said placing the last cork in. She washed her mortar and placed it in a leather sack away from the other mortar and pestle she used for potions. Once she removed her gloves and gathered her knife, she was ready. Haiden handed the ball of roots to her and returned the cleaning brush to her pack. "I always found it funny that some of the ugliest herbs are the best for you, but the beautiful ones are the most deadly," she noted staring at the brown, lumpy root ball. "Where's Mark?" she asked scraping the brown from the roots.
"He said that he had some small job to do tonight." He watched as she made quick work of the elfroot, cutting it into small pieces and beginning to grind it in the mortar. The once ugly root had quickly become a light green pulp. "I have something for you." He dug through his pocket. He pulled out the earring and handed it to her.
"Haiden, you shouldn't have. That pearl could've been valuable! I can't take this," she said stunned.
"I want you to have it. No returns," he laughed.
"Thank you." She put her work aside and unhinged the loop at the top of her left ear, replacing it with the new one. "How does it look?"
"Beautiful." He helped her put the pulp into their flasks and waiting until she finished putting her things away before he asked, "Could I ask you a question?"
She laughed taking her seat next to him. "That was a question, but sure, go ahead."
"Do you…like the Arishok?" He had finally gotten the nerve to start this conversation. Now, he just needed to end it well.
Sicilia sighed and looked up from her work, wiping away a strand of hair with the back of her hand. "Sure, I like him. I see him as a friend, now, but I do like him. If you're asking if I'm in love with him, the answer is no. Why do you ask?"
"Well, I've become a little jealous, I guess." His fingers moved along the metal of his gauntlet while he stared into the water. "I like you Sicilia. A lot. I…have for a while now. I was just scared to say anything because I didn't want to cause you more problems. I know everything that has been going on is stressful. Adding something else on top of all that isn't something I wanted to do, but I can't keep it in anymore."
She allowed the statement to settle in. They were silent for a while, the air becoming tense. She was hesitant to answer; she didn't want to hurt him. "Haiden, I've become really good friends with both you and Markl. You two have been there for me when I needed you and I appreciate that. I've been finding it hard dealing with the tome and then suddenly having a friendship with the Arishok. I don't know what will become of it all. I can't say that I feel the same way; I've never really thought about it." She found herself seeing Haiden in a new light. The shorter strands of hair fell into his face at the gentle breeze. He was handsome in a completely different way than the Arishok. This changes things.