Crystal and Ondolemar went to the garden in his manor. Crystal was wearing a elegant sky blue strapless gown with white elven sleeves that were bordered with sapphire blue ribbon. On her head was a simple gold headband adorned with a single sapphire. On her neck was a gold torc with a sapphire in the front. Her feet had simple blue slippers on them.
Ondolemar simply wore a pair of silky black trousers, a black mandarin-collared shirt with gold borders, and a pair of black, flat slippers. This was one of the few outfits he could wear that didn't put undue pressure on his wounds.
Crystal admired the beauty of the garden's flora and fauna, while Ondolemar was fixated on the beauty beside him in human form. Crystal was smaller than most Nord women, but not as small as a Bosmer. Her long, curly ginger blond hair shimmered in the sunlight.
Then there was her stronger form, the one that came from some bizarre elven ancestry... The very thing that Elenwen was after with the intent to use. Ondolemar seethed at the thought of what that woman tried to do to the young princess. He himself saw that form as an extension of the human woman's soul.
'Crystal is a human, not a tool...' He thought as he had a morose expression on his face.
Suddenly, he felt a tiny hand on his sculpted cheekbone. He looked up to find Crystal with an expression of concern on her face.
"Ondolemar, are you okay?" She asked.
"I-I'm quite all right..." Ondolemar replied, his cheeks coated with a natural blush.
Crystal put her hand on Ondolemar's forehead, like a mother checking a child for a fever.
"You feel warm..." She said. She then asked, "Are you sure you don't have an infection?"
"You sound like my mother asking me that..." Ondolemar sighed.
Crystal sat down beside Ondolemar, playing with a butterfly that landed on her shoulder. Ondolemar observed her, fascinated with the girl's gentleness, no doubt passed down to her by her mother.
"You realise you're the first Nord I've met who isn't a savage...?" He asked.
"How is my kind usually savage?" Crystal said with a stern expression on her face, folding her arms.
"Well for one thing..." Ondolemar started in his matter-of-fact tone. He continued, "You bathe daily... Most Nords usually don't do that... And you dress better as well... You don't really flaunt your high-born status like most nobles... and surprisingly, your ancestors' rather unselective breeding has caused you to have a prettier appearance... Unlike a lot of adult Nord women, you have nary a sharp facial feature, but the facial features of a young child... And you're rather intelligent..."
Crystal blushed as she heard that. It was very rare for her to receive a compliment from someone of a high rank. She was usually on the receiving end of an insult by many nobles such as Maven Black-Briar or Erikur.
"Oh, thank you..." She said, bashful.
She felt a hand tilt her face towards Ondolemar, her sapphire blue eyes meeting his vivid emerald ones.
"And you're also compassionate..." He said as he lowered his head closer to her.
Crystal's blush grew stronger as she felt how physically close Ondolemar was to her.
"You're really kind too..." Was all she could say.
Ondolemar gently pulled her into a hug. This was what he really wanted,... love, affection... These were the things he was deprived of growing up. He closed his eyes and tilted his head back a little.