LILY hadn't stopped teasing Arianna about the kiss. She hadn't revealed that she had seen it, but she had made certain comments about how 'close' the two seemed to be, resulting in Arianna's face staining red for the majority of the morning.
She had only let off when she had to go to training, something that Arianna had seemed very thankful about. This time, she was early, and she could see the others filing in.
Out of her group, Brennon appeared first. She waved, and he spotted her quickly, walking over. "Hi, Lily. The others haven't come yet?" She shook her head silently, leaning against a nearby tree.
Brennon began flipping his sword in his hands, and Lily pursed her lips, "That's dangerous."
He grinned boyishly, holding the sword by its blade, "I know." Lily shook her head, turning away, but watching him from the corner of her eyes just in case he managed to hurt himself.
She saw the twins coming in next, and they joined the two of them. Venix began comparing his sword with Brennon's, and Vena rolled her eyes, "Boys."
Lily laughed, sharing a glance with Vena.
"Last night was cool, right?" Venix asked.
"He wouldn't know, he started feeling queasy when he ate too much and had to go home right when we started roasting our food," Vena added, grinning.
Venix's smile dropped, and he glared at his sister, "I was asking Lily, not you."
Vena only tipped her head to the side smugly, and Brennon chuckled. "I didn't see you last night," Vena said, looking at him.
"I was sick too, so I was in bed the whole time," He said, sharing a glance with Venix.
"I'm not the only one!" Venix proclaimed.
"You missed out on a lot," Vena said, but Brennon only shrugged.
"There'll be more bonfires."
They were interrupted when Ada and Iressa came in just as Colonel Ulima called for training to begin.
After the beginning exercises, Lily was paired with Vena. Vena was a talented fighter, so Lily didn't foresee many wins that day.
Sure enough, she lost most of them, and she was about to win one when her hair flew into her face and blocked her vision.
"You should cut your hair," Vena said, after she had pinned her sword to Lily's throat, Lily's momentary distraction being enough to let her win.
Lily eyed Vena's chin-length brown hair doubtfully. In Tsuchengko, you could never see a woman with short hair. Long hair was a symbol of beauty, of grace.
Besides, Lily loved her long, dark hair. She'd had it her whole life, cutting it short would feel strange.
"No, I'd rather not," Lily said, and Vena shrugged. They were about to start again when a loud shout interrupted them.
Lily looked to the side, her eyes widened when she saw Brennon on the floor, clutching his arm, face screwed up in pain. She gasped when she saw the blood leaking out from between his fingers.
She rushed to him, kneeling beside him and gently prying his arm out. The others gasped from beside her. There was a long gash in his forearm, and blood was running out of it without stopping.
"I'm so sorry, Brenn," Venix said. "He needs to go to the infirmary!" He shouted, and Lily could hear other people running up to them.
"Come on, let them carry him," Ada tugged at her sleeve gently, and Lily rose to her feet, backing away as Venix and another man lifted Brennon to his feet, supporting him.
Brennon looked at them, a pained smile coming onto his face, "Well, I'll have a nice battle scar now, won't I?" None of them could laugh, however, and he was led away.
"Get back to work!" Colonel Ulima's shout startled everyone into resuming their duels.
"That was scary," Ada breathed, and even Vena looked pale.
"But this is war, isn't it? We all might get hurt," Iressa said, her voice unapologetically frank. They fell silent, and Lily felt the words sinking around them, muffling the rest of the noise.
It was true. They could get hurt, some of them could die. That cut Brennon had received would probably be nothing compared to what would happen, if there ever was an attack. The man she had killed- Lily thought of his blood, splattering onto her. They'd have to kill, too, if they wanted to survive.
"What are you doing? You aren't here to laze around and gossip!" Colonel Ulima's harsh voice and glaring eyes jerked them out of their stupor, and Lily paired herself with Vena again.
It was Lily's turn with Ada, and she was thankful that after that duel, she'd be able to rest for a while. It was almost time for their lunch break.
Ada's fighting was gentle, almost like she was afraid of hurting her opponent. Lily took advantage of this, and had pinned her to the ground easily.
She backed away, panting, "You need to be on the offense. Don't be afraid of hurting me." Ada nodded, accepting Lily's hand to pull herself up. Her gaze lipped past Lily and turned concerned.
Lily turned to see Venix walking towards them, half of his shirt still stained with blood, but his arms were clean, like he's washed Brennon's blood off.
"How's Brennon?" Iressa asked, stopping her duel with Vena.
"Better," Venix said tiredly, running a hand through his hair, "They tied his hand up, and I think he'll be missing training for a couple days, but it's better than we thought."
"How did it happen?" Vena asked, tipping hr head to the side.
Venix sighed, "We were just fighting, and I don't know, he just- bloody leaves, he just didn't see me or something, but his arm came in the way of my sword."
"It was an accident, don't blame yourself," Ada said, giving him a sympathetic smile.
Lily nodded, "She's right, it could have happened to anyone."
Venix gave them a rueful smile, "Thanks. Brennon said the same thing. I still feel guilty, though."
"Fight with me. At least you know you can't hurt me, because I'll always beat you," Vena said, giving him a challenging smile.
Venix snorted, shifting his sword in his hands, "That's what you think."
***
They sat in their usual spot for lunch, but their circle was smaller without Brennon.
"I won more duels," Vena said, folding her arms. The others watched in amusement as the twins carried out their daily quarrel about who was more victorious.
"You won one more than me," Venix said, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, but I still won," Vena said.
"Don't worry, Venix, maybe you'll win tomorrow," Ada laughed, and Venix mock-glared at her.
"At least say it like you believe it." The comment sent Ada into fitful laughter, and Lily let out a chuckle as well as Venix grudgingly grinned. "Alright, that's enough," he said, swatting Ada's arm sharply. Ada pressed her lips together, but her whole body was shaking with suppressed laughter.
"I want to go to Zenda's," Vena said, leaning back on her arms.
"What's that?" Lily asked, looking at the group, who all seemed to know what Vena was talking about.
"Zenda's is a tavern, right between both settlements here. We go there sometimes, and it's fun if you have any friends from the other settlement," Iressa explained.
Lily swallowed. A tavern? No respectable woman would be seen in such a place.
"Are you afraid, Lily?" Venix asked, his eyes twinkling. It sounded like a challenge.
The words were out of her mouth before she could process them herself, "Of course not!"
"Well then, you won't object to coming," Vena said, her grin matching Venix's and making them look utterly alike.
Lily opened her mouth to object, but closed it again. What was the worst that could happen? They would all be with her anyhow. She shrugged finally.
"Then it's settled. We'll go soon," Ada said, eyes sparkling.
"When?" Vena said, sitting up straight.
"How about, when we start learning more complicated moves? As a celebration, for us moving on from the basics," Venix said with a snort and a glance at Colonel Ulima at the far side of the field.
"Perfect," Vena said, her mouth curling up in a mischievous grin.
***
Lily was happy when practice ended that day, as their trainer had said that they were improving. At this rate, they'd be at Zenda's soon.
She walked home alone, through the rows of houses, making her way to Arianna's. She knocked on the door, and her eyes widened when Arianna opened it.
The girl looked frantic. Her eyes were wide and hair disheveled, and she had on one of her fancier dresses. "What's the occasion?" Lily asked, striding inside.
"Arlo asked me to have dinner with him!" Arianna wailed.
Lily froze and turned on the spot, eyebrows furrowing, "What?"
"And I know we've eaten together before, but this is different, this is the first time we'll be eating as-" Arianna stopped abruptly, and Lily raised an eyebrow.
Arianna flushed.
Lily decided to take pity on her, "I know you and Arlo kissed."
Arianna's eyes widened, and her mouth fell open. "I saw you at the bonfire."
Arianna's shoulders slumped as she sighed, "Well, there's nothing to hide then. Arlo said he wants to have a- a relationship with me!"
"Isn't that good?"
"Yes, but what if something goes wrong? I don't want to ruin our friendship!" Arianna said, lips trembling.
Lily strode over to her and grabbed her shoulders firmly, "You are just having dinner with him, not getting married. And all relationships take risks. Otherwise, you'll always wonder what would have happened had you taken the chance. Understand?"
Lily waited until Arianna nodded, wide-eyed, to release her. "Now let's get you ready."
Arianna's grin slowly matched Lily's as she steered the younger girl into the room, sitting her down firmly in front of the mirror. "Do you want your hair up, or down?"
Arianna chewed on her lip before answering, "Down."
Lily nodded and tied the top strands of her hair in two braids, joining them together in the back- a simple style that would keep Arianna's hair out of her eyes while still framing her face.
She applied dark liquid around Arianna's eyes and red juice to her lips before backing away and surveying the girl's face.
Arianna, truly, didn't need any enhancing. She was glowing.
Lily couldn't keep the smile off her face as she helped Arianna up, "He won't be able to say a word when he sees you."
"You really think so?" Arianna giggled.
Lily nodded firmly, "I do. Now, I'll drop you there, just because I want to see the look on his face."
Both laughing, they almost sprinted out of the house, barely remembering to shut the door behind themselves. Lily followed Arianna to Arlo's house, stopping in awe.
His was the largest, most ornate one there, and seemed utterly unsuited to the modest, unassuming Arlo.
"He moved in when he was elected," Arianna explained, catching her look. Lily nodded and smiled again, moving forward to knock on the door.
They waited several moments, Arianna fidgeting with her clothes and hair, until the door opened.
Lily had been right.
Arlo's mouth dropped open, and his eyes were awestruck when he saw Arianna in all her shy glory.
Lily backed away a bit, if only to give them privacy. "Enjoy," she said, drawing Arlo's gaze to her.
He cleared his throat. "Yes. Thank you. Come, Arianna," he said, with a passing smile at Lily, like he couldn't keep his eyes off the younger girl for too long.
Arianna gave Lily a half-excited, half-afraid look as she passed, and Lily returned it with an encouraging one before walking away.
The excitement for Arlo and Arianna's little meeting was slowly fading away, leaving behind only wistful aches.
She could remember the times when she and Hosun were like that, just as afraid, but still sure of each other. They hadn't courted for a very long time, given that their marriage was arranged, but once married, Lily felt like she was blessed with as much good luck as there could be.
The marriage between the General and a high-ranking lady was arranged for convenience, but of course they hand been allowed to meet several times for finally confirming it.
Lily had practically fallen in love with Hosun during those first few meets- with his courteousness, his unwavering sense of duty.
She had known Hosun would treat her right- a mistress was out of the question, as was ever laying a hand on her. Hosun hadn't even raised his voice to her in their years of marriage.
Falling in love with him was a dream. They lived in their own blissful world, but Lily knew now that all dreams had to end.
Hers had ended, but perhaps that dream could become a reality once again.
Some day.
That one went in strange directions, didn't it? Excited about Arlo and Arianna? I know I am! Don't forget to:
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