AN: Pink's the theme! Can you guess how it'll be used? :P
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It was three days after they had first met.
Sora was looking at the selection of fruits when she bumped into him. "Pardon me!" she looked up and recognized the pale hair in a short ponytail. "Oh, hello again! Did you find the inn without any trouble?"
Grey eyes slanted over to her. For some reason, the action made a thrill shoot down her spine.
"I did," he quietly said. "My thanks again."
The timbre of his voice made her duck her head a little. "It was no trouble."
He arched a brow. The directions to the inn were no trouble, but he wouldn't say so for standing up to the guards. Her head was tilted back down as she inspected some crab apples. He withheld a smirk upon seeing the lingering pink on her cheeks.
Then, though, the feeling faded away as he continued to look at her.
From what he could tell, she had trouble with the guards before, yet she still came to help. He had not run across a woman as brave as she before and he found the trait to be attractive.
"Do you have plans for tomorrow?" he asked before he could second guess himself.
After the words were said, he inwardly cursed himself for the forward question. He had not even given her his name or had learn of hers and he was already inquiring after some time to spend together. However, he had not heard her reject the question nor did she walk away from him.
He was rewarded with the sight of her cheeks tinting to a rosy color.
"I am Leon."
"Sora," came her soft reply.
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The next afternoon, she waited outside the inn as Leon went to fetch his daughter.
She was still a little flustered with his greeting when he first came down by himself. He had come down in his under-tunic to quickly let her know that they needed a few moments more. She had averted her eyes and stuttered that she didn't mind waiting.
How embarrassing!
She was more than old enough to have a family, much less interactions with the opposite gender. There were girls more than three years younger than her that were married and with their second child. The women of the village often teased her about her unmarried status, some calling her a spinster already.
The spinster comment was unwarranted, but she figured that no matter what she said, people will tease as they will. She puffed at her bangs. It's not like I'm not eligible.
She had been courted twice before but they had both decided to part ways after a while, seeing that they were not suited to one another.
She was simply not willing to settle for the first person to ask her was all.
The door to the inn opened. "I apologize for the wait" he said.
She startled a little, having been lost in thought. "Oh, it was not long; do not worry over it." The little girl came forward and Sora crouched to her eye level. "I'm Sora, by the way."
Her big blue eyes blinked and then she did a little curtsy. "I'm Sophie. Pleasure to meet you."
Sora smiled at the formality. So cute!
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They walked past the booths together, Sophie and Leon hand in hand on one side and Sora next to Leon's other side.
"So did you come for the festival, Leon?"
He turned his head towards her, making the silver hooped earrings on his ear glint in the sun. The earrings gave him a roguish look, but his manner and speech spoke of a calmer personality. She liked the mix, as well as his pale hair that looked similar to water when the sun hit it.
"We are visiting," he murmured.
She was glad for his interruption in her thoughts. What with how little she knew of him, she wasn't certain if he was married or still mourning the loss of his wife. If the former, she shouldn't be thinking of him in such a way as she was. For all I know, he could be on a trip to reunite with his wife. That would not be proper of her.
She settled on seeing him as a friend.
"Well, you chose the right time to travel," she said with a small smile, "the summer festival draws many vendors and performers alike."
Leon nodded at that. "I take it that you live here?"
"I have family here, but I live nearby."
He was beginning to nod again when his eyes widened for a moment as he realized something that he had failed to consider before asking her to accompany him. His eyes returned to normal. She did not notice, but he put a little more space between them.
"So what does Sophie like?" she asked Leon after looking around the place for a bit. "I can guide us there seeing as the setup's the same every year."
"Puppetry!" chimed in the little girl, having caught her name being mentioned.
Sora laughed; he found that he liked the sound.
That does not bode well for me, he berated himself, if she is taken already.
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Sophie sat between them on the bale of hay as she avidly watched the puppet show.
Sora laughed behind her hand at the antics of the ogre and the troll. A fairy swooped down across the scene, showering the puppets with "fairy dust." Sophie "ohed" at the sight and then squealed when the troupe members standing by threw up their baskets of flowers.
The little girl stood up and ran closer in order to try to grab some of the flowers.
She did not go too far, which Leon was grateful for or else he would have to go and retrieve her. He turned to look at Sora when one of the troupe members came up near them and showered the adults with another basket of flowers.
Sora laughed in delight. "I suppose they saw that we need some magic too."
"I suppose so," he wiry said as he shook the flowers off.
She faced him and her laughter renewed upon seeing the little pink flowers that were stuck in his hair. "You missed some," she tittered, scooting over to get them.
Finding it easier to simply untie his ponytail, she warned him beforehand, assuring him that she would put it back once the flowers were out.
"See that you do," he murmured teasingly, "or else there will be consequences."
Her fingers lightly shook his shoulder length hair. "And what would that be?"
He shivered a little as she grazed the top of his ear. She stilled for a moment, realizing that she might be stepping the bounds by running her fingers through his hair. She had done it to smooth the hair over as she tied it back, but she blushed as she noticed how close she was to him and how the gesture could be conveyed as intimate rather than platonic.
Her lips parted to apologize for her forwardness when his hand came up and brushed along her shoulder. She felt his fingers lightly touch her skin a few times and then he brought his hand back down. She had seen the petals falling off to the side, rationalizing that he had only meant to rid her of the flowers.
But his eyes stayed on her, making her wonder if that was the only thing he had been doing.
"Your punishment," he lowly said, the sound making goosebumps form on her skin in a delightful manner, "will be swiftly enacted," his hand drifted to her waist and rested on her hip, "but not necessarily painful."
"Then how is that a punishment?"
The corner of his mouth quirked up. His face wasn't incredibly close to hers, but it was threatening to break the borderline between forward and proper.
"They leave a person to the mercy of the other," his thumb idly rubbed her side.
His tone and wording seemed out of place with the topic; she wasn't sure if he was still referring to the same topic they were discussing.
Her eyes widened a little, recalling some of the poems that she had come across without knowing the content inside. Her cheeks flushed in memory of them, the language describing intimacy and love, hidden passion and a surrendering of one to the other. With his hand still on her hip, she faintly wondered what it would be like to be at his mercy...
Sophie's squeal of laughter broke through her thoughts.
How she wished she hadn't thought of those poems at the moment.
She cleared her throat and slid away from him, having finished tying his hair earlier, but hadn't wanted to move away yet. His hand fell away from her as her movement made him recall himself.
"I hope you are satisfied with my work," she gestured a hand to his hair.
He wasn't concerned about it, but still lifted a hand up to feel for any leftover flowers. "The work is more than satisfactory."
She gave a little nod and then proceeded to get the flowers out of her hair. His hand came up to hers instinctively to stop her. Her brown eyes darted to his, waiting to see what was wrong.
"Keep them," he rumbled out.
Shyly, her eyes looked at her lap. I don't think I'll stop blushing at this rate.
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AN: Sorry if the emotions feel kind of sudden, but seeing as the chapters are short and only seven, I'm trying to make sure they are conveyed.