She kissed flushed cheeks of the giggling toddler in her arms and then nuzzled the side of her head. “Hi, Fifi! Have you made yourself at home?”
“Hmm...yes! I like it here!” Fiona beamed and tightened her hold around Tori’s neck, giving her a sloppy kiss on the cheek. “But I still missed you.”
“Aww...I missed you, too.”
“Fifi!” Ilyana appeared beside her and extended her arms.
“Auntie Ilyana!” Fiona raised her arms towards her and Tori passed her along. Her friends crowded to greet her and Robert. Tori stepped aside to give them room as she ruffled Robert’s head.
As she turned, she caught sight of a familiar little girl with wild, curly hair seemingly frozen in place. Tori cocked her head to the side.
“Ava? Baby, are you all right?” She moved closer and Ava seemed to snap out of her daze. Her big eyes looked at Tori, almost looking accusing and hurt. She jutted out her lower lip and lifted her arms.
“Hug me.”
Tori chuckled and bent down to pick her up. She brought her against her and Ava buried her face in her neck as her arms tightened around Tori. Tori gently bounced her and stroked her back. “Baby, are you all right?”
“You took so long. I was waiting for hours,” a muffled little voice came from her side and Tori grinned.
“I’m sorry for taking too long, but we came as fast as we could. We even skipped lunch on the road to come directly here,” Tori told her.
Ava gasped and pulled her head back. “Then, you have to eat!” She wiggled in Tori’s arms, indicating that she wanted to be let down. Tori put her down and Ava grabbed her hand. “Come with me! I’ll feed you!”
Tori cracked a smile and looked over at the others. “Let’s go inside and eat. I heard Henrik’s stomach grumbling in the carriage.”
“That wasn’t me!”
“Tch, yes it was.” Sonia rolled her eyes. As they got to the top of the stairs, Tori greeted her family with hugs. To Ava’s credit, she waited until Tori had hugged her parents and siblings before pulling her deeper into the Fortress.
“Everyone stay together!” Ava told Ilyana and the others. “This place is big. You’ll get lost!”
“Just because you got lost doesn’t mean everyone will,” Maeve said.
“I wasn’t lost! I was exploring!” Ava huffed and Tori stroked her head.
“Yes, yes, our Ava loves to explore.” She placated the child as they were led to the dining room. Tori beamed as she saw her grandparents and went to hug them. Servants came to pull out the chairs for the teenagers. Tori sat at one end and just as Piers was going to take a seat next to her, Ava hopped on the chair. She looked up at Piers with a serious expression.
“I’m sorry, this seat is taken.”
Piers looked to Tori’s other side and found that Ilyana had already sat down. A booster chair was put between them for Fiona.
“Just sit at the head of the table. You’re the highest ranked person here,” Tori told him in a soft voice.
He gave her a small nod and took the seat that was usually Marquis Guevera’s. Tori was served a plate and all around her, people were chattering. Eventually, the older members of the family went to attend to their businesses, leaving the energetic children with the teenagers.
Several conversations were happening at once, but Tori felt Fiona tug at her sleeve.
“After this, I will take you to see my pets,” Fiona said, as if promising something good. Tori tried not to laugh and responded with the same level of seriousness.
“Of course, we’ll all go with you.”
“What kind of pets do you have?” Ilyana asked.
Fiona puffed out her chest and looked proud. “You’ll see.”
“Are they chickens?” Ewan asked from across the table. Fiona immediately deflated and her face fell.
“It’s supposed to be a surprise!” She pouted and everyone seemed to nod and not question her further. Her pets were definitely chickens.
No one was surprised when they made it to one of the small courtyards and a henhouse and a wooden fence had been put around the back quarter of the courtyard. Tori could hear the clucking as they approached.
She continued to hold Ava’s hand as Fiona led them proudly to her chicken enclosure. Kasen followed behind the group, keeping an eye on his daughter as Robert had gone off with the cousins closer to his age. Tori had discussed it with her brother and Nanny Rey and asked that Nanny Rey become Fiona and Robert’s nanny, as Kasen was often away from home and their parents were busy.
In order to strengthen the father-child bond, Kasen would relieve Nanny Rey of her duties as much as possible whenever he was home. Considering how close the children had grown to him, his hands-on approach to trying to raise his kids as a single father was rather successful.
“Oh...you have a small family of chickens,” Ilyana said as they stopped just outside the chest high fence and peered inside.
“Yes! Grandpa Gregorio got them for me when I came here,” Fiona reported. “That is the mommy hen. Her name is Hemmy. It’s short for ‘Hen Mommy’.”
“Did you teach her how to name things?” JP asked Ilyana. She shot him an annoyed look.
“No, but she has a gift.”
Tori ignored them. “What about the rooster?”
“That’s a fine-looking rooster. Nice long, shiny feathers. Bright eyes, red comb. It looks healthy,” Sonia said. Fiona looked even prouder.
“That’s Santiago. He didn’t come with Hemmy and her babies. He just appeared one day. I like the colors of his feathers. He’s very beautiful, isn’t he?” Fiona looked at them with eyes expecting them to agree.
Tori and the others did not disappoint and immediately agreed with her. “You’ve taken good care of them, Fifi.”
Fiona blushed and kicked the dirt, suddenly bashful. “Sir Peralta helps me take care of them, but I feed them every day and give them water. Sometimes, I’ll sit inside, and they’ll eat from my hand. Let me introduce you!” She waddled to the gate and tried to reach the latch. She frowned when her little fingers barely brushed it. “Daddy!” She looked for him with distress.
“I’m coming.” Kasen unlocked the enclosure gate for her, and Fiona rushed in. Kasen made sure to close the door behind her so the chicks wouldn’t get out. Fiona stood close to the fence and the little chicks scrambled towards her, chirping like mad. Tori noticed that there was one more chicken, but it seemed content with eating feed dusted in the corner.
“This one is Drumstick. That’s Wings, Cutlet, Dumpling....” Fiona named off of the chicks as she pointed at them, and Tori and the others squinted.
“I’m sensing a theme....” Henrik trailed off.
“And this one,” she said as she lifted up a rather fat chick in her hands. “Is Nugget.”
Tori drew her lips inward and bit them to keep from laughing. Axton craned his neck and knit his brows together. “Nugget is fat.”
“I know, she’s going to be very delicious.” Fiona spoke with a straight face and Tori wasn’t sure she fully comprehended that these chickens were pets and not being farmed to eat.
“What about that one in the corner? Is it all right?” Ilyana asked. “It’s not coming over.”
Fiona let out a heavy sigh and looked at the last chick with some disappointment. “That one is the only boy and he’s not very friendly. He likes to be by himself unless they’re sleeping.”
“Fifi,” Kasen said as he smirked. “Tell them what his name is.”
“Prince Piers.”
Tori heard a muffled snort and looked over her shoulder to see Axton with his lips shut as tight as possible as his shoulders shook. His eyes crinkled up as he turned his head to the side and lifted his fist to his mouth to try to contain himself.
Piers looked into the enclosure with a frown. “Fiona. Are you slandering me?”
Fiona tilted her head to the side and looked confused. “I’m not slanting you, Uncle. I’m not even leaning.”
“Fifi, did you name him Prince Piers after Uncle Piers?” Tori asked in a gentle voice.
Fiona nodded with a deadpan look. “He doesn’t like people.” Axton let out a guffaw and clutched his stomach as he took a few steps to the side to laugh.
“It’s true. He really doesn’t like people....” Axton wheezed and Tori rolled her eyes.
Fiona looked towards Axton, even more confused. “Why are you laughing? Is it because he’s small?” Her face twisted with indignation, and she stuck out her chest to defend her pet. “He’ll get bigger! When he does, he’ll be very delicious, too!”
That only made Axton laugh louder. “She’s going to eat you!”
“I recall ordering you to go train with the Guevera knights,” Piers said in a low voice as his eyes bore into his friend. Axton wiped the corner of his eyes.
“Right, right, I’m going...come on, Ewan. Let them stay here and feed ‘Prince Piers’.” Axton snickered and Ewan bowed and excused himself before following.
Tori sighed and entered the enclosure to feed the chickens. Surprisingly, Ava didn’t want to come and instead stood outside the enclosure, playing with some of the decorative rocks. Despite Tori’s invitation to feed the chickens with her, Ava shook her head and ignored them until they came out.
The more Tori observed her through the afternoon and evening, it seemed that Ava was not only more clingy than usual, but ignored Fiona. Her face didn’t light up again until they were in her room and Tori was tying the corner of bedsheets on the four posts of her bed to create a ‘tent’ within the canopy bed.
Ava was jumping up and down around the perimeter of the bed, rambling on about what new game they were going to play. Her things had been moved from her room with Maeve to Tori’s room. She grabbed a bunch of papers and some crayons and carried them over to the bed.
“I drew my character, but Aiden says it looks weird and that I can only have one class. I want to be a berserker, but I also want to be a mermaid. Maeve says that’s not a class, but a fantasy race. Cousin, can mermaids be berserkers?”
“I think anyone can be anything if they have a good enough backstory,” Tori said. She stepped back to admire her work. “There. I think it’s fine. We can ‘camp’ here tonight.”
Ava beamed, her smile reaching wide across her face. “Cousin, sit down and I’ll show you my berserker mermaid!”
Tori smiled and prepared to climb into the large bed. Just as she removed one slipper, a small knock came from the door. She looked over her shoulder and gave Ava a look to excuse herself before going to answer the door.
She opened it and first saw her brother and then the small figure at his feet. “Goodnight, Auntie Tori!” Fiona was in her night dress and a robe, with soft, matching slippers. She smiled and looked inside. Her eyes widened. “Auntie, are you playing? I want to play!” She prepared to rush in, only to be picked up by her father before she could take so much as a step inside.
“Did we not agree for you to come and say good night to your Auntie Tori? Only to say good night?” Kasen asked with a raised brow.
Fiona slumped forward. “But it looks fun.”
Tori chuckled. “Sorry, Fifi, but it’s time for you to go to bed.”
“Cousin Ava gets to stay….” Fiona gave Tori a pleading look.
“She’s sharing my room.”
Fiona’s eyes went wide. “I want to stay in your room, too!”
“You have your own room,” Kasen told her. He gave his sister a small nod. “Goodnight, Tori.”
“Goodnight, Kasey.” Tori reached forward and gently squeezed Fiona’s cheeks. “And goodnight, Fifi.”
Fiona puffed out her cheeks, but seemed resigned to her fate. “Goodnight, Auntie Tori....” Kasen carried her away and Tori heard Fiona’s sigh as they disappeared into the hall. “Daddy, I am very disa...dis...sad.”
Tori shook her head and turned back around. She saw Ava on the bed, her head down with a forlorn look on her face. “Ava, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
Tori raised a brow. She softened her voice as she approached. “Are you sure? Did you want Fifi to stay the night?”
“No!” Ava cried out and her face turned red. “It’s my time with you now!”
Tori took a deep breath. It looked like she wasn’t seeing things. “Ava,” she said in a gentle voice as she climbed into the bed. “Are you unhappy because I played with Fiona?”
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Ava shook her head, paused, and then looked down, ashamed. “I waited so long to see you and play with you, but now there is someone else. Mommy told me that you’d be busy and that I can’t always bother you, but I thought that I could play with you when you’re not busy. But now, there is Fifi, and you’ll play with her instead!”
Her aggrieved voice broke Tori’s heart. The child’s eyes were red, and she sniffled. Tori carried Ava on to her lap. Ava had been the youngest, so Tori always gave her a lot of attention. It must’ve been shocking to realize that there was now another little girl who would want Tori’s attention, too.
“Baby.” Tori nuzzled the top of her head. “It’s okay to be sad and disappointed that you don’t get as much time with me. I’m very happy that you want to play with me often and are excited to see me, but we only have so much time in a day. Even so, it’s not a competition or a race. You don’t have to fight for my attention. It is up to me to make time for both of you, and I will. I will make plans with you both and stick to them, like how I went with Fiona to look at her chickens this afternoon and tonight, we’re going to draw and play a game. Just you and me. Okay?”
Ava’s head was still lowered, and she nodded. Her wounded voice was soft. “Okay....”
Tori kissed the side of her head. “No matter what, I still love you a lot even if there is someone new to also love.”
Ava turned her face against Tori and sniffled against her shoulder as Tori rocked her gently. After a few minutes, Ava seemed refreshed and pulled away. “Okay, I’m done with crying. I want to draw now.”
Tori smiled and let her wiggle out of her arms. “All right, let’s draw.”
“Just you and me.”
“Right, just you and me-”
Another knock came to the door and before Tori could get off the bed, Ava let out an annoyed grumble. She climbed off the bed and padded across the floor. She opened the door and looked up.
“It’s Ava-Tori time! Don’t bother us!” she said in a firm voice. She prepared to shut the door, but paused and hesitated. She made an annoyed face, but still stepped back and pulled the side of her nightgown to do a curtsy. “Goodnight, Your Highness!”
Tori caught Piers’ faint look of confusion before Ava slammed the door in his face. Ava turned around wearing a triumphant smile, as if she’d just slayed a beast. Tori sighed and picked her up before opening the door again. Ava protested that she’d already sent Piers away, but Tori still opened the door.
“Ava, it is very rude to slam the door in someone’s face. Say you’re sorry.”
Ava looked resistant, but under Tori’s expectant gaze, she gave in. She looked at Piers. “I’m sorry, Your Highness.” She paused. “My hands are small. The door slipped.”
“Ava.”
“It’s fine,” Piers said.
Tori looked back at Piers. “Piers, if it isn’t anything important, it is Ava-Tori time,” she said with a serious look. Ava looked satisfied with her explanation. Piers’ lips were a tight line.
“When are we going to talk tonight?”
Crap, I forgot I was going to make more time to talk to him. Tori grimaced. “We’re going to have to postpone our talk. I promised to spend time with Ava.” His expression didn’t change much, but she knew he was disappointed. She extended her hand and gently grasped his as she balanced Ava on her hip. “I’m going to practice with my costume tomorrow, but everyone else will be out touring the city. If you’re not going, have lunch with me.”
She caught a flicker of joy in his eyes, and he lowered his head a bit and nodded. “We will have lunch.”
“Great!” Tori took her hand back before Piers could hold on to her and smiled. “Get some rest! See you tomorrow!”
Ava grabbed the side of the door, smiled, and slammed it in Piers’ face once more.
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It was heavier than she thought it was. Tori held the bodice of the top part of the gold dance costume in her hand and crinkled her eyes. She had Victoria’s vague memory of how a costume for the Suraelle blessing looked, and while the costume in front of her was similar to the costume in her memory, it was much more embellished.
“Did Armando gold plate metal for this?” She voiced her concern aloud as she played with the decorative metal work. The fabric itself was a thick material with some underwire for support. The back had an overlapping eye and hook straps and then another flap that laced up in order to ensure that the top did not fly off during the dance.
It had puffy, sheer sleeves that flared out. Thin straps that almost matched her skin tone attached part of the sleeves to her middle finger in order to keep the sleeves ‘down’, even when her arms were raised. Her pants went up past her belly button, but also flared down to her ankles. There were ankle straps with bells, beads, and small, round gold and silver-colored pieces.
They were attached with eye and hook latches and were heavy. In fact, the embellished gold costume, with its bells, glass beads, and metal bits weighed more than her school bag with some books inside.
Tori’s eyes turned towards the wooden box layered with velvet over straw and barley husks. Her headpiece weighed more than the costume itself. It was both a headdress and a mask. Once it was on, it had to be laced up securely in the back in order to stay on. It was gilded metal with pavé gemstones around the eye holes, forehead, and temples. The mask portion went over her nose and covered the top of her cheeks, mainly revealing her mouth and jaw.
It was almost a helmet. Luckily, it wasn’t as if she needed to avoid running into someone during her dance, as she’d have the floor alone for her performance. Taking a deep, resigned breath, Tori put the costume down and looked at Sir Pizon and Sir Bazan.
“Let’s get this over with. Please help me change into this,” Tori told them. She lost track of time while in the small room often used to store things. After being tied into the costume, she found herself glad she’d eaten well at breakfast. I must’ve burnt calories just putting this on....
She walked out of a well-hidden door in Fortress’ grand ballroom. The long room had tiled floor and vaulted ceilings, as well as plenty of windows and doors that opened onto one of the large, ornamental courtyards. Compared to the rest of the Fortress, it was a newer addition, a few centuries younger than the rest of the building. The outside blended into the existing structures, but the inside was airier and brighter.
Tori was barefoot as she began to walk around the perimeter of the room to try to get used to the weight of her costume. The headdress clinked as she walked and occasionally, she’d tilt her head to make sure it was secure.
While heavy, the weight was evenly distributed across her body. She still felt the weight, but it didn’t feel as heavy as when carried as the bundle.
“How is it, my lady? Do any alterations need to be made?” Sir Pizon asked. “Mr. Saint John will arrive this evening and will be able to make any alterations, if needed.”
Tori shook her head, ignoring the chime around her. “No, it’s fine. It fits well.” She raised her arms and made circles in the air at her sides. “I can rotate my arms freely.” She kicked her legs up in front of her and to the side. “Same with my legs.” She twisted her body, moving in different ankles to see if anything was too tight, too loose, or caused any discomfort that would make it difficult to dance.
She was satisfied. Though she was wearing the equivalent of three textbooks and a satchel, it was acceptable.
The musicians weren’t going to arrive until the day after Fiona and Robert’s trifecta reblessing. Tori planned to practice for several days when the wedding party and some guests were out.
Until then, she’d practice with counts in her head. She went to the center of the room and got into the first position. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and began to dance to music only she could hear in her head.
After the first full set, Tori’s chest was heaving with labored breaths, and she could feel the sweat trickling down the side of her face.
What the hell? I didn’t get this winded before. Is it the costume? Does all that weight make a difference?
“My lady, are you all right?” Sir Bazan asked with concern. The two knights had been standing by the door to keep out of her way.
“I’m fine...it’s just heavier than I thought,” Tori said. She took a few more breaths to try to even it out. “Can one of you get me a towel? And some water?”
The two knights nodded and headed out. After catching her breath, Tori repeated the dance slowly, then repeated it again at the usual pace. She took a break once to drink, and removed her headdress to wipe her head and face before continuing on.
She lost track of how many times she’d repeated the dance in its entirety; she only knew that after each one, she’d tell herself “one more”, as if to drill the sequence into her bones.
As she performed the final spin and raised her arms, throwing the billowy, flared sleeves into the air, she caught sight of two newcomers to the room.
Tori wheezed to catch her breath and tilted her head to the side.
The silver-haired young man seemed to squint and study her, as if unsure if they knew each other. “Guevera, is that you?”
Tori let out a heavy breath. “Who else would be practicing a blessing dance here?” she asked in an annoyed voice. Sometimes, just seeing Gideon irritated her for no reason. She gave him a nod. “Your Highness.” She turned to Fabian and gave him a polite, but curt nod. “Von Dorn. Did you both just arrive?”
“We did, but everyone seems to be out,” Gideon frowned. “Your grandparents came to greet us and had someone escort us to our rooms to rest. She told us to come down to eat whenever we wanted, but we don’t know where the dining hall is.”
Tori furrowed her brows beneath her mask. The corridors of the Fortress were lined with knights they could ask. “You could’ve asked a knight.”
“We were going to, but then we saw you here. I was 90% certain it was you, so I thought to ask you.”
“The dining room is out the door, to the left, and all the way down. Then make a right-”
“No, not about the dining hall.” Gideon held up his hand to stop her. “I want to ask where my brother is. I know you’d know.”
Tori took a deep breath. Of course, he’d ask where Piers is. What is food compared to his precious big brother? “He was in the library this morning and should still be there. Everyone else, except Axton and Ewan, went on a tour of Presidio’s major sites today.” Tori turned to Fabian once more. “Von Dorn, if you’re interested, the Guevera knights welcome other knights and knights in training to join them during their training. I know you don’t really count any more, but the offer is there if you want something to do.”
Fabian didn’t answer. His eyes were fixed on her, unblinking. After a period of silence, Tori narrowed her eyes and drew her head back. Gideon seemed to notice Fabian’s daze and craned his head forward, furrowing his brows.
“Fabian?” No answer. Gideon stepped closer and raised his hand in front of Fabian. “Fabian!”
His action seemed to shake Fabian out of his stupor. The red-eyed former knight snapped his head back and blinked, his face filling with color as he averted his eyes. Tori frowned. “Is he all right?” She asked Gideon instead of Fabian, as the latter didn’t seem like he would answer if she addressed him.
Gideon frowned a bit. “I don’t know...Fabian, are you all right? It was difficult to sleep on the road. Do you want to return to your room and rest?”
“No, no. I’m all right.” He shook his head and somehow, his eyes fixed on Tori once more.
Or rather, on the pale band of exposed flesh between above her belly button and below the top that covered her chest. Tori’s eyes narrowed as she brought her hand and snapped her fingers in front of Fabian’s face.
“Is there something wrong with my costume, von Dorn?” she asked, annoyed. She shouldn’t have been surprised that Fabian was trying to find something wrong with her. They were civil in their dance class, but she knew he would watch her when he didn’t think she was looking.
Who knew what criticisms he had in his head?
Fabian’s lips pulled into a disapproving frown. “Why are you dressed like this?”
“This is the standard costume for the Suraelle blessing dance. It’s gold to remind us of the light of wisdom shone upon humans to enlighten them,” Tori told him with some defiance.
Fabian’s frown didn’t disappear. “You’ve never worn such a costume before.”
“You’ve only seen me dance at practice, where I’m wearing practice clothes, and at the orphanage.” Tori sneered. “Different dance settings and performances require different clothing.”
Fabian continued to scowl and opened his mouth, but another voice cut him off. “Have you been watching Tori?”
Piers sounded annoyed, too, and it made Tori even more defiant of Fabian’s criticism. Across from her, Fabian gasped and turned around. He immediately bowed his head.
“Good day, Your Highness.”
Piers didn’t acknowledge his bow and continued to frown. “Have you been watching Tori?” he asked once more.
Fabian tensed. “No, Your Highness.”
“You seem to have an opinion on her costume.”
“I do not, Your Highness.”
“Piers! We were just going to look for you.” Gideon, with his idolizing filter, didn’t notice his brother’s irritation.
Piers glanced at him and gave him a nod before looking down. “Did you rest already?”
“Yes, we went to our room and rested for a bit, but now we’re hungry.” Gideon smiled at his brother’s attention.
Piers nodded and looked towards Tori, his face not as annoyed as when he looked at Fabian. “It’s lunch time.”
Tori perked up. No wonder Piers had come. It was time to eat, and she promised to have lunch with him. “Okay! Let me change out of this so I don’t accidentally spill or stain my costume.” She looked past them. “Sir Pizon, Sir Bazan.”
The two knights followed her to help her change. As soon as the headpiece and mask were removed from Tori’s head, sweat that collected began to slide down her head. Sir Pizon managed to get a towel around her neck before the sweat could touch the fabric of the top.
“My lady, it would be best to have a room prepared for you to change and rest in after the blessing dance in the plaza,” Sir Bazan said as she patted Tori’s head with another towel. “It will be hot that day; you should drink well and rest immediately afterwards.”
Tori nodded. “I know. I’ll ask it to be arranged. I didn’t think that this would be so heavy.”
“You are very active while wearing it. It is the same when you put on armor,” Sir Pizon told her.
“Well, this is like a helmet....” Tori placed the headdress on a table and carefully wiped the sweat off the inside as they helped loosen the laces and unlatch her costume. She made sure the helmet wouldn’t roll or tumble off the table while it aired out and changed into a normal dress.
Sir Pizon opened the door for her as she stepped out. She touched her head and frowned. Her hair was damp with sweat. When she danced, her hair had to be down, as the straps needed to go over her head and a messy bun would make it awkward. In addition, a dancer’s hair was loose for this dance.
There were gold and silver strands with crystals on them that dangled around Tori’s head. They were currently individually wrapped in waxed paper to keep from getting tangled in her hair while she practiced. She could deal with them later, but just thinking about how they’d get wrapped around her curls and be a pain to take out gave her a headache.
“I wasn’t staring at her. I only noticed her costume was different from what I expected.”
Tori raised a brow at Fabian’s voice. He almost sounded defensive and if he were speaking to someone else, he probably would be, but faced with Gideon and Piers, he was much demurer.
“It is a very eye-catching costume. I’ve never seen a blessing dance to Suraelle, but I didn’t expect so much gold.” Gideon’s voice reached her ears and he sounded surprised.
“The costume is very elaborate. It was made by a designer at Daybreak Garden, a friend of Master’s. It is made for Tori’s specifications,” Piers said. “The headpiece is gilded, and the gemstones were purchased with the purpose of being put on the headpiece.”
Tori paused and looked back into the room, at her clothes which were hanging on a rack to air out. Her eyes crinkled up. Now she felt it was not only heavy with physical weight, but with the weight of being expensive. If she didn’t wear the costume again, it would be such a waste.
“I have to admit, it’s a lovely costume. You rarely see such intricate details in most modern blessing dances,” Gideon said. He sighed. “Fabian, I know what you’re thinking.” Fabian didn’t speak, but Tori heard him suck in a sharp breath. “You’re thinking that such a costume is wasted on Guevera.”
Tori immediately frowned. The fuck…. She narrowed her eyes and prepared to walk out.
“I didn’t-”
“But remember where we are. This is her family’s home. You can’t be too critical of her. Besides, Guevera isn’t so ugly that you’d stare at her.”
“But she’s not ugly!”
Tori froze a few paces away from them and her eyes widened. Gideon had a stunned look on his face and Piers’ neutral face began to frown once more. None of them seemed to expect Fabian’s outburst.
“Oh....” Gideon blinked and looked at his brother, as if not knowing what to say and needing guidance. “Uh...well....” His eyes caught Tori’s and he grasped at a chance to change the topic. “Guevera! What’s taking you so long? Take us to the dining room to eat. I’m famished!”
Fabian took in another sharp breath and whirled around. His eyes widened as he saw her approaching. His mouth opened and his jaw moved up and down, but no words came out. His pale face turned redder than she could remember and before she could respond, he turned around and ran.
“Pardon me, Your Highnesses!” His voice echoed behind him as he dashed out of the room.
The corner of Tori’s eye twitched. “Well...for someone who says I’m not ugly, he’s running away as if I’m a monster.”
Gideon grimaced and took a step back. “I’ll talk to him. Piers-”
“Tori and I are going to have our meal elsewhere. When he is settled, go, and eat in the dining hall. A knight will escort you,” Piers said in a firm voice. Gideon appeared to want to protest, but instead drew his head back and nodded obediently.
He shuffled out of the room and Tori shook her head. “You know, I’ve tried to be polite to von Dorn considering what he’s done and said to us in the past. I don’t understand why he’s like this.” Piers lifted his hand and touched her sweaty head. Tori winced and ducked away. “Don’t; it’s all damp with sweat.”
Piers paused, but still put his hand on her head, as if determined. “I don’t mind.”
“Sir Pizon! Please get His Highness a clean towel for his hand.” Tori still turned and told one of the knights, who nodded and went back to get a towel.
“Tori, don’t be sad,” Piers said, his voice a bit softer in an attempt to console her. Tori tried not to laugh; she wasn’t sad at all. “You are not ugly.”
Her lips drew in a tight line, and she looked up at him with dull eyes. “Thank you, Piers....”
He nodded. He took it a step further, as if convinced she didn’t believe him. “You are very beautiful.”
Her eyes widened and she looked at him with surprise. It was unexpected for him to say such a thing. He rarely did, and it was usually when she was dressed up for a ball. Right now, she wasn’t wearing any makeup, her hair was sweaty and all over the place, and she didn’t look at all put together in her simple dress.
She couldn’t help but admit that she was somewhat flattered. Piers rarely complimented people and when he did, it was almost never about their physical appearance. She stood up a bit straighter, not feeling as sweaty and disgusting as she did moments earlier.
Look at this guy...learning to give compliments to try to give people solace. He’s growing.... Her lips began to pull into a smile. “Thank you-”
“As beautiful as Fiona’s rooster.”
Tori’s smile froze. Never mind.