Chapter 10

Dinner in the Woods

To commemorate the special occasion of Tia becoming a myrmidon, Priam gave her a bronze sword with her name inscribed in the ancient language of Altean. She gave him a big hug and ran home to show to her parents, who would be more or less thrilled about their daughter becoming a soldier.

Priam chuckled lightly as he watched the energetic sword-bearer skip down the road. He looked up in the sky to see the sun setting, and realized he still had not gotten dinner for him and Say'ri. He rushed to the local market to inquire where he could find the best of Chon'sin delicacies that his small bag of gold could buy.

He ran into Z'eldryn while there, and he asked for his assistance. Z'eldryn informed him of a former samurai who now chopped fish into sushi for a living, telling him that he was the best choice for dinner in Chon'sin. He showed Priam the direction of the stall, bowed, and left down the road.

Rushing to the stall, he informed the retired samurai of his plight. The aged, white-bearded man smiled and whipped out a raw fish. He was definitely skilled with a sword (not as good as himself, he thought inwardly, but still pretty good). He gave Priam a tray of the chopped fish with seaweed wrapping the small cutlets. Priam gave a grateful nod, handed the old swordsmaster a bag of gold coins, and hurried to the open spot in the forest.

The dinner bell rang while Priam was running to the woods, and to his dismay, she was there first with what looked like a modest bottle of wine. It was an odd color, but he would ask her about it later.

But she was not the only one there. From a distance he could see light-green hair through the shrubbery and long, pointed ears on either side of the person's head.

"... you follow your head too much for your own good, Say'ri." said the Voice of Naga, Tiki. Neither of the women had noticed Priam walking toward them so he stepped into some thickets as to not disturb them. He didn't want to eavesdrop, but he also didn't want to interrupt their conversation.

"I wish to follow mine heart, my lady."

"Then what is stopping you?"

"He is naturally kind. I cannot tell if what he does for me is out of duty, or out of the same emotion that plagues my heart."

"Then find out!" Tiki said, rather exasperated. "He is going to be here any second wanting to speak to you, just as much as you want to speak to him."

"My lady, I am not well equipped when dealing with the matters of the heart like you or lady Cordelia."

"Yes, but neither is he." Tiki said with a laugh. The statement made Priam blush, but he knew it was true.

"Aye, neither is he." she let out a nervous laugh.

"You two are very good together, and I believe it may end in a marriage." Tiki winked to Say'ri, who blushed in response.

You have no idea, Tiki. Priam thought, remembering Yen'fay's future and Raphael.

"I'm glad you have allowed me to be your friend, my lady."

"I'm just glad you view me as a friend now instead of your leader." they hugged and laughed. "Well, I had better return to the Mila Tree to ask Naga to grant your small regiment a safe journey. Enjoy the night with your hero." Say'ri blushed again and waved farewell. When Tiki was no longer visible, she looked around and muttered, "where IS he?"

"Where's who?" Priam asked, stepping out from behind the bush he was hiding in, making it looked like he had just arrived.

She smiled at his joke and returned it with a laugh, "A man promised me a wonderful dinner here to regain his honor, and he is late!"

Priam sat down next to Say'ri, setting the tray of sushi in his lap. "Did you beat him in a spar as well?" he offered her chopsticks. She took them and lifted a piece of sushi to her mouth.

"Nay," she continued the joke, "but it matters not. You arrived first, so you have regained your honor."

"Even if I was a tad late?"

"'Tis better to be late than never, Priam."

He laughed, putting an arm around Say'ri, bringing her closer to him. He let his good friend, Instinct, dictate what to do while he simply spoke. "What did you bring to drink? Wine?"

"The finest wine in all of the Valmese Dynasts. It is called, 'sake', or 'rice wine'. It is made from fermented rice from Chon'sin." She spoke in a prideful tone, showing him the old wine bottle. Without thinking, she poured him a glass and held it in front of his face. He took it gratefully, and drank it slowly.

"Pray tell me, sir, why you were so late." she said, taking her own glass and sipping.

He shrugged, "You can thank your overzealous cousin for that. But she shall be a fine myrmidon, like her lovely cousin." Say'ri blushed lightly at those words and avoided his gaze by occupying her time with eating. He continued, "I had a bronze sword engraved with her name in Altean. I made it special to her so she would not forget it. This was a very important day for her."

"Aye, that it was. I remember well when I first started to learn the art of Chon'sin fencing. It is my most cherished memory."

They continued to eat and drink, in much the same silence as the night they kissed. But this time was different. Priam couldn't put his finger on it, but he knew that deep down, something was just... different. He didn't feel uncomfortable, and neither did she. And neither of them broke the silence between them. Priam soon remembered Cordelia's advice; a relationship is not built on silence, but of honesty.Finishing his dinner, he shifted slightly to get into a comfortable position and spoke, "Say'ri... I'm not a man who expresses his emotions a lot, or even pretends to understand them, but I think..." Priam lost his train of thought as she turned her head to face his. Her eyes made him lose mental consciousness for half of a second.

Seeing him so dumbfounded, she tried helping him, "...You think...?" He still thought of her beauty, outward and inward. She was a woman of beauty beyond compare. He never cared about such things before... before her.

Seeing that he was still not snapped out of his thoughts, she lightly tapped him on the shoulder to regain his attention, "...You think...?" she repeated.

He smiled warmly and braced for what he had to say next, "...I think...that I... I..." Some barrier inside of him kept him from finishing his sentence. He thought himself unworthy of the affection of the Princess (soon-to-be Queen) of Chon'sin. The barrier constantly reminded him of this fact, but he busted down the barrier before he would implode on hidden feelings, "I think that I love you."

Say'ri held a shocked expression, trying to hold in her own feelings. He paused briefly to see her reaction. She didn't move and he continued, "I am not for sure, but I have never felt this way for any woman in my entire life." They made no movement for what seemed like an eternity to Priam.

She didn't know what to say. She didn't know if it were love or not, but what he had said sent a fire through her body. She smiled with the warmth that engulfed her body, "Then we shall see if it really IS love that curses our hearts."

He felt pressure on the back of his head from her hand as it was forced to lock with her lips. He was relieved by her answer because it meant he might have a chance.

They parted after half of a minute. Priam looked shocked, "Whoa, you've done this before, haven't you."

She blushed and backed away from him slightly, "I was just about to say the same of you! But I assure you, no other man has had this opportunity before."

"Same here." But then he thought about what she had truly said, and saying that he was the same... "No, wait! Not the same." but everything he said came out wrong, "I mean, no woman has ever-" she put a hand over his mouth and a hand over her own to stifle a giggle.

"You are easily confused for a man of your stature." She said with a smile.

After a couple of minutes, they returned to the positions they were sitting in, and talked about the journey they would soon make.

"Robin and Cordelia have planned to leave ahead of us off of the boat." Say'ri said, laying her head on his shoulder, "They shall announce our arrival to Ylisstol."

"Good, I was afraid we would have to travel with those love-birds the entire trip." Priam said lightheartedly.

She looked up at him, with a smile on her face, "Is it so wrong to be 'love-birds'?" She wrapped her left arm around his back and brought him closer.

"Heh, I guess not completely." He looked out on the waterscape, watching as the moon set over the pond in front of them. The reflected sunbeams of the moon rained down mercilessly on the lake, making it shimmer and sparkle. "I mean, if it weren't for them, I would never have thought of this."

"You went to Robin and Cordelia as well?" Say'ri asked with a chuckle.

"Yeah I... wait, I thought you just talked to Cordelia?"

"We spoke again at the cherry trees lining the creek south of here. Robin was the one who assisted me with tips on beating you. He is really good at his trade." She winked at him. He simply grimaced

Note to self: Priam thought, kill Robin.

The sun was no longer leaving even the slightest light across the horizon and the pair got up and stretched. Priam pulled out the torch he brought along to see the way back. He lit it and took her by the hand, leading her out of the forest. Once clearing the thicket, they said goodnight to each other, and headed to their respected tents to get rest for their long voyage in the morning.

She really is all those things that I thought and more. What a woman... He reclined on his bedroll, with his head resting in his hands. The temperature was perfect for sleep, his bedroll was inviting, but he could not find rest. He simply stayed up, thinking of her.

HEY!...This was my second attempt at fluff... I feel like a porcupine when writing this stuff, wanting my life to be fluffy, but finding that life is prickly instead :(

On a different, less depressing note, I've decided that Priam and Say'ri won't be the only new couple in this story. One or two of my OCs will also find love...maybe.

Also, I have a poll set up on my account to see which Fanfic I should publish next: (Walhart x Emmeryn or Anna x Gaius.) Fan art for either is also appreciated, as both lack a cover photo. Both will tie in slightly with this story (annaxgaius more than walhartxemmeryn). But seriously, would you rather read a story about Anna or Walhart? I am curious. I have two chapters typed for both, so they might just publish at the same time, but the pool will decide which gets more attention.

Leave a review about what you thought was good, what was bad, and what made you go "wow, you're an idiot..." honest reviews are always appreciated and no one is EVER flagged for what they say on this story. Favorites and follows are also happily received!

Once again, thank you for your time.

~TheSearcherer