By the Smell of Salt Air

[Nav]

"That little boy? The one who…?"

Again, Eric looked back to the now empty forest and frowned. The boy looked happy, but would he be stuck dancing behind a ghost forever? Was that really a life worth living? The boy wasn't even really alive. Eric frowned, pushing his still slightly-damp curls away from his face and huffing, slushing through the stream to the banks. He was absolutely soaked from the waist down. His boots squashed with moisture and he sighed, feeling a shiver river up his spine. The sun was generous and warming, though it didn't help dry him out as much as he would have liked.

"Yea, we should head back," he agreed, noting the hostility from her voice was gone, but he couldn't feel so cheerful about it. Instead, he couldn't pull the image of the boy from his head. It kept taunting him, the image of the dancing child playing repeatedly in his head like one of those dancing music boxes that spun in circles and played a small tune. When Rani extended her hand out to him, he smiled at the offer and instead slipped her hand up through the crook of his arm and offered a tender smile, strolling alongside of her. It felt nice and helped put his mind at ease for the time being.

The gate patched through the forest until it emerged entirely and Eric slowed down, enjoying the last few strolling steps in the sunshine. The memory of the boy and the Yanna were mostly gone now, at least for the second, and he seemed much more at ease than he had been just a few minutes prior. "I'm a bit hungry," he admitted suddenly when they reached the cellar door, noting that he hadn't really eaten anything from the basket while they were by the stream—between the brief argument and the Yanna, there hadn't really been any chance for him to eat.

"Though, admittedly, I'm a little afraid to go near the dining room again," he ended up laughing, "I fear another maid will drop all of her dishes and send a cook with a knife in after me. This island is making very difficult to appreciate knives, mind you."

Politely reaching for the cellar door, he pulled it open and into the little tunnelway, waving Rani in first. "How often do demons come about, anyways? I feel like we've had so many of them in the last two days. Is this normal?" he frowned suddenly, "Or am I just bringing about bad luck?"

 

[Ethys]

Rani blinked in surprise at Eric's positioning. She had never seen somebody hold an arm this way before. Her first instinct was to think it was not as intimate as holding one's hand, but she quickly changed her mind when she realized how close they were now. It was different, but she found she rather liked it. She smiled a bit, swinging the basket in her other hand as they walked. This was nice! The sun was shining, birds were singing, and nobody was trying to kill them. Beautiful.

"Don't worry, we won't be scaring any more servants today if we can help it," she assured him with a laugh. She smiled more as he opened the door for her. Such a lovely gesture! It wasn't something she usually saw. Though, if she paid attention, Li had people opening doors for her all the time. Most people just assumed Rani wouldn't care for it, as she was the more 'fierce' and 'independent' of the pair. "The kitchens will be empty by now. We can just stop in and grab something on our way up."

As he asked about the demons, she immediately shook her head.

"It isn't you. Demons here are.. Just think of them as people. There are us, and there are them. They're different and often try to kill us, but we try to kill them to," she said, sighing. "A good friend of mine tells me all the time that the demons aren't as bad as we make them out to be. I think she's insane, but who knows? Either way, it's not your fault. They just live here too. It's something we all have to deal with."

 

[Nav]

When it came to the matter of demons, it was hard not to be skeptical, but Rani brought up a point of consideration he hadn't thought about before: maybe demons aren't as bad as we make them out to be. Perhaps they weren't demons at all, but just got wrapped up in unfortunate lore. He frowned at the thought, letting those thoughts marinate in his brain for a short while. It seemed strange and unlikely, but he looked and acted nothing like the people of the island, yet he wasn't evil. Had his thoughts been visible, they would have been an inverse explosion crazy chaotic twists and turns of light all coming together to just one idea.

Maybe not. After what he had seen them do to Rani's back, he couldn't be sure. Maybe they were just misunderstood and were attacking because they felt Rani's people were endaring their way of life, though he doubted it.

"How is your back feeling, anyways?" When she had been swimming, he had been so entranced by her tattoo, he hadn't bothered to take another peek at the stitch job he had done on her the night prior. Though he figured he would have noticed had the stitches busted completely open again, he was curious as to how Rani thought they were holding up. She hadn't seemed particularly sore, anyways, and hadn't seemed dizzy or woozy like he had expected her to. She had lost a considerable amount of blood, enough that most people would have struggled for a few days thereafter. She seemed to perk right up though, just like a flower under spring sun.

They made their way through the stone passage, across the cellar, and back into the main part of the house, all the while, Eric left a trail of water behind him. Though the sun had done a good job of starting to dry his clothes out, his boots seemed a little more resistant to the drying process, and remained soggy and damp. As she had promised, the dining hall appeared empty, though Eric kept glancing around and listening for any signs of anyone else present. Suddenly, his wet boots didn't seem so bothersome anymore… not when he was listening for another knife-wielding cook. Regardless of Rani's promise that they wouldn't run into anyone else, Eric was starting to doubt his luck with such matters. Just whenever he thought he caught a break, someone would show up and stare at him like he was, well… a demon.

He doubted he could have been more convincing to some of the people had he cloven hooves and
horns protruding from the sides of his head.

"The entire village just closes up at night, does it? Do the gates keep demons away? Or out?"

 

[Ethys]

"Hm? Oh, it feels great. Not even sore. You must have done an amazing job," Rani said with a smile. She had expected to at least be aching all day long, but it was honestly gone. He must have done something that she didn't know about. She wasn't about to complain about it, either.

She took him back up the stairs, going through the dining room before stopping in to the kitchens. They were also empty, as promised. She looked around, examining the food put away for dinner that evening. There was always a ton left over, it wouldn't hurt to nick some now to add to their fruit basket. She hummed to herself, grabbing a few small meat pies and some small fried bananas dipped in chocolate. Perfect. She put them in the basket and took his arm again.

"When we first built the wall and gate, it seemed to antagonize the demons. They kept trying to find a way over or around it. A few succeeded in climbing over, but we had many guards waiting, so none of them survived. They learned pretty quickly to just avoid it. Most of them couldn't make it over it even if they wanted to. So the closed gate just makes sure none of them wander in. We still have guards out at night, just in case, but a demon hasn't tried to come in for decades," she explained as they went back up to her bedroom.

 

[Nav]

Eric had to seriously consider what the wall meant. Did they truly find no way to get around it? Back home, they had things like mortar fire or cannons that could easily smash through a wall. Don't get him wrong, the wall was well built, but did they really have no such inventions? He supposed there had probably never been any need for them, as Rani had explained earlier war had never truly been an option. Without war, he supposed many inventions would have never come to be. They had guns and cannons, they had mortars and bayonets, but they were all objects meant for violent attacks… one certainly would be very ineffective at hunting if trying to use a cannon.

Scratching his free hand through his hair as he always seemed to do when in contemplation, Eric tried to reason with his inner-most thoughts. It was with this mulling he realized quickly that it was best Europe had never discovered this island. They'd annihilate it with heavy fire, leaving its people—Rani's people—unable to defend themselves. The demons would be tricky at first, but for how long? Europeans were crafty against those and that which stood between them and their wants, so eventually, a solution to the demons would be surmised. Eventually, if the island was discovered, Europeans would claim it for all its worth. The women would be prosecuted for their exhibits of skin and the men would be forced into slavery. Children would be raised like good Christians, ripped from their families and placed in indentured servitude or with families.

It was novel thinking for his time, but it sent alarm bells off in Eric's head.

They stepped into the kitchen and still his thoughts were weighing heavily on him as Rani selected some things to bring back with them. "I wonder what demons do most of the day, then," he hummed, letting his previous thoughts go. No, if Europeans hadn't found the island yet… they wouldn't. "Do they just nest? Hide out? What do they do, I wonder?" It was a reasonable thought to have. He didn't even know if they lived like normal creatures—did they burrow in holes and caves? Did they have their own primitive villages deep within the wounds? Did they live in hell, as the Bible recited?

 

[Ethys]

Rani pondered the questions. To be honest, she had never given much thought to where the demons were if they weren't right in front of her face. Yet, it was a good point. They had to go somewhere, right? Since most of them avoided the sun, it stood to reason that they either hated it for no reason or could not walk in it. That would make her think they hid underground somewhere, but that was just a guess. She thought on it for a minute longer, then shrugged and looked over at Eric.

"I really don't know. Nobody has found a hiding place for them as far as I know," she admitted. They were back in her room now, so she occupied herself with setting up lunch for the pair of them. Now they had spiced meats, fruit, and leftover wine from earlier. It would be a good meal. "Maybe if you're curious, you can go poking around in the woods," she teased, filling his wineglass. It was a joke, of course. She would never let him do such a thing, at least not alone.

With all this talk of demons, Rani was half tempted to invite her friend over for a visit. It was sometimes impossible to pin the girl down long enough to come see her, but it may be worth the hassle. She was always going on and on about how she suspected the demons were all misunderstood creatures. Personally, Rani was inclined to disagree, as she had never met one who didn't instantly try to kill her except for Yanna. All of the others were vicious, conniving bastards. Her friend, however, pointed out that demons were reacting the same way a person would if they were cornered with a weapon. She wasn't sure if that was a good point or not. It seemed silly. If it were true that demons weren't all bad, wouldn't somebody have realized it before now?

Still, whether or not they agreed, it was always an interesting conversation. One that she could see Eric getting interested in, especially now with him wondering about demonic hiding habits. He certainly was strange, coming up with questions that Rani never would have considered in her life.

 

[Nav]

The spread before him was a welcoming one and included familiar foods from home, though Rani probably hadn't known. There was something comforting about spiced meats and when he took his first bite of one of them, he hummed with contentment because it reminded him of home. The food was earnest and delicious; they were entirely unlike the meals he had been served aboard the ship. The fruit still was a little uneasy on his stomach, with how sweet and acidic it was, but it didn't seem to stop him from enjoying it all the same, especially when he had wine to swallow it all down with.

It didn't take him long to fill his belly and it brought new life to his face. He seemed genuinely content, perhaps for the first time since he had arrived on the island. "Oh, is that so? I should go poking about in the forest, should I? I haven't even a weapon!" he reminded her, joining in on her jest as he looked down to himself. He didn't have a sword to his name, as he hadn't time to grab any of his belongings before being chased overboard the ship he had been traveling on. It had truly been a long few days.

"Plus, it isn't that important. I'm just curious about them, I suppose. Not sure I ought to be, considering what they nearly did to you," he motioned towards her back, where one of them had done some serious damage. "Sorry for all the questions, but thank you for entertaining them. It's just all very--- overwhelming." And he imagined it would continue to be so for quite some time. Hell, he wasn't entirely sure the island would ever be completely normal to him. "Life here is certainly much more exciting than back home." Though he wasn't sure exciting was the right word for it, after all, coming toe to toe with demons wasn't exactly his definition of a bucking good time.

"It's a shame though," He thought aloud, "Star gazing was one of my favourite things to do back home. Hard to do it out here with fear of demons and all of that."

 

[Ethys]

"A weapon? Oh! That's a good point!"

Rani got up and went over to her closet, pulling out a chest that she carried over to him. It was crafted of wood with metal inlaid along the top in a swirling pattern that resembled a dragon. Though it had a lock on it, it wasn't fastened. She opened it up and gestured to the inside before moving back into her seat and resuming her munching.

"Help yourself."

Inside was a good sized collection of weapons. On top was an arm-mounted crossbow that collapsed for stealth purposes. Handy in the forest, but Rani wasn't a very good shot, so she didn't use it often. Beneath that was an assortment of daggers ranging in length from a mere five inches to a foot long blade. The metal was all polished and sharpened, with a variety of handles all made with different finishes and materials. At the bottom of the chest was a pair of sais made of polished platinum, with small emeralds embedded in the pommel.

As he spoke of stargazing, she automatically glanced at the window. It was about two hours until dinner now, and three hours until dark. Though she could easily see the sky from her bedroom, she knew what he meant. Sitting under the stars was one of her absolute favorite things to do as well. She decided that she would show him something later, but for now, she addressed something else he had said, acting like his stars comment had gone unnoticed.

"Life here is exciting," she agreed. "But it can be dangerous. You will feel better once you are armed, I think. Nobody will look at you oddly for having a weapon. The only place that people around here don't take weapons with them is to bed. It's more of a habit than anything, but it can save your life," she explained, then she smiled. "But that isn't all that life here is about. There is more to it, more that's open to you. I hope you find something that brings you joy."

 

[Nav]

"You just have a chest of weapons…?" The woman never ceased to amaze him.

Most women he had met had chests of pearls and jewelry, or perfumes, or accessories, but weapons? Well, most women considered them fiendish and unrefined. Pulling himself out of his chair, Eric went to inspect what she had inside. He thumbed through the selection, considering each one carefully—they were daggers and knives of different lengths, thicknesses, and purposes. Some were quite ornate, as well, but the one that appealed to him most was small and somewhat unassuming with its plain wooden handle. Indeed, for all of its bland looks, Eric could tell it was one of the sharpest in the trunk. He quickly shooed the crossbow aside, as he had very limited experience with such weapons.

Picking up the dagger and straightening to his full heigh, he flipped the handle portion around in his palm a few times, though he knew he had already settled on it. "I'll return it once I'm able to," he said, deciding she had already been overly generous with everything she had extended to him, "In as good of condition as you lent it to me in." He hoped, anyways.

His eyes flicked up to her though his chin stayed a little more tucked downward, making it so he was looking at her through a beam of thick lashes. "Now that is something you and I can agree upon. We also take weapons with us everywhere," though he didn't mention guns or rifles for fear of having to try and explain them, "Many people even keep small knives tucked below their pillows while asleep in case anyone tries to rob them." It was common practice and thievery had been more common than he cared to admit. One thing he could agree on was the fact that he did feel better when warmed. The heavy wooden handle felt good in his hand and the idea of meeting a demon, while he had no intentions of doing so, seemed a little less terrifying.

"What would really bring me joy is being able to go out without being accused of being a demon," he admitted, "Though even when people know I'm not a demon, if they ever do, I think I'll always get looked at a little oddly, don't you think?"

 

[Ethys]

Rani watched Eric as he stood with a chosen weapon and tested the balance. Even from her spot, she thought it looked like a good match for him. He seemed comfortable with it. Good. She smiled to herself and finished off her lunch, then settled back with her glass of wine and looked over at him as he swore to return it. Though she didn't bother to argue, she had no intention of accepting the blade back. A gift was a gift. Besides, he needed the help. He had nothing to his name besides the clothes that were too damaged to even repair properly.

"A knife under a pillow? Really?" she asked, astonished at the idea. "Are people in Spain truly so untrustworthy that such a practice is necessary, or do people just enjoy the possibility that they might get stabbed by their own weapon if they roll over too quickly in the middle of the night? There are easier ways to get a thrill.."

She paused, shrugging when he asked again about everybody thinking him a demon. He had brought it up several times already, but she could hardly blame him. Obviously it was a concern. Nobody that he had met so far had been just happy to meet him. It was all suspicion and fear. Still, she was confident. Once she introduced him properly to the city, they would know he was no demon. Sure, some would be wary anyway as he was an outsider, but many would be curious and excited for the novelty of meeting him. As for getting odd looks, there was no escaping that.

"Maybe it won't be such a bad thing to get attention. As long as people don't think you're going to eat them, I mean. Some attention is a good thing. You're one of a kind around here, in a sea of everybody else being exactly the same," she pointed out, then she laughed. "I would bet you'll soon have women throwing themselves at you for the chance to say they were with the handsome outsider."

 

[Nav]

"Well, yes, I suppose they are. Do you know what a pirate is, Rani?" he asked suddenly, "Pirates are a bunch of rogue sailors that sail together. They attack villages and steal from each other," he explained, his voice dropping an octave as he spoke. "There are lots of very bad people in the world—at least where I come from. You say here all you've known is peace. Well, truthfully, all I've ever known is war." Kingdoms were constantly bickering with one another and even when they weren't, the navy was waging combat against the pirates and vice-versa. It was a nasty universe, he had come to realize. He missed it tenderly, but he hadn't realized how embroiled in sin his continent had become. "People of Spain are genuinely afraid," he explained, "Of being attacked in their own homes."

He shrugged lamely. There wasn't much else to say on the topic.

Thankfully, the conversation spun on and on and he was glad for it. "Mm, perhaps," he agreed with a solemn nod before taking a sip of his wine, "I look quite like everyone else where I come from. Not many people look at me twice." Funny how that worked. Very rarely had anyone paid him any attention in his homeland and while he wasn't a bad looking man, far from it in fact, he wasn't dazzling and sweeping women off their feet both left and right. He had done alright for himself back when he was an honest man, and had been in courtship. The blush that crept up and burned his cheeks when she mentioned that she was certain women would be actively pursuing him was, by and large, painfully obvious.

"Ohh—" he murmured, "I doubt it. I'm sure I'll be more of an entertainment act than anything." Though he quickly noted that she had referred to him as handsome. His very skin tingled at the concept, but he did his best to brush it away. It was only natural, he told himself, to feel some sort of affection for someone who had saved his life and had shown him such kindness. A strong friendship—nothing more, nothing less, he assured himself several times. "I suppose we'll see though. Just one step at a time. First, I'd just like to not be a demon, really." He glanced away, his eyes not look through so much as at the window.

"It's funny though. Here I'm so different. Back home, I'm all the same."

 

[Ethys]

"Afraid?"

It was a concept that Rani could barely grasp, and her imaginings probably didn't do the actual situation any justice. She couldn't understand how somebody could be afraid in their own home. Or, perhaps she could, but Eric had said that Spain did not have demons. Yet she was starting to think that he did. They were just a different sort - humans. Why else would people attack and steal from each other? It was senseless! The only explanation her mind was coming up with was that in Spain, people who were awful turned into demons who did awful things. She frowned at the idea, deeply troubled and very thankful that no more of these people would be coming to her island.

His red cheeks and casual dismissal of how he would be looked at amused her. It was obvious to her that he was extremely attractive. Different than anything she had ever seen, yes, but what did that matter? He was built the same. Strong body, kind eyes. The colors were strange, but so were his actions.. in a good way. He opened doors for her, said nice things, and didn't get annoyed when she copped an attitude. She thought he was very sweet. No doubt he'd be picked up quickly.

Not like that bothered her or anything. Definitely not.

"You won't have the problem of being one in a sea of thousands here," she pointed out with a smile. "That isn't a bad thing, either. You're different, yes, but not just in how you look. The things you know, your customs, your behaviors are all different. You treat people differently," she explained, then she tilted her head and smiled at him more. "I like it."

Rani was about to say something else when Li burst into the room without so much as a knock.

"Father's home, he knows about Eric, dinner is in an hour, and he expects you both there," she said, then she turned and immediately ran away, likely to go start getting ready for dinner herself. Damn it. This was going to complicate things.

 

[Nav]

"I treat people differently?" Eric echoed, though he had never thought about it in such a way before. His customs were different, he supposed, and his manners were exceeding especially for a man who had come off a pirate ship. His mother had raised him right though, and he hadn't always been a pirate. There had been a time when he had once been apart of the middle tier of social society in Spain. Until, well, he mentally shook his head to rid him of the thoughts. It had been done and it was over now, no point in ruminating on it and further than he had to.

Still, he had trouble getting his thoughts together at her continued compliments. It felt more like a jigsaw puzzle, his thoughts, in a box that had been recently shaken. There was an image in there somewhere, but none of the pieces were making any sense. "Well, I—" and that's the exact moment the door bust open and through it spilled Li, as squirrely and anxious as he had ever seen her (and he had seen her squirrely and anxious just about every time they had encountered one another). Her words were enough to make his heart drop so painfully, he was almost certain there was an audible 'thud' when it smacked the floor between his feet.

"W-what?" he frowned. Scrolling across his brain were a thousand curse words, but none of them seemed adequate. There would come a time when he must meet Rani's father, that much he had expected, he just hadn't been anticipating it to be so soon. "What does that mean?" he immediately turned his eyes to Rani when Li saw herself out in a fluster.

Eric had jumped off of a boat and into the ocean of certain death to escape the Captain of his last ship and he was beginning to consider the option again, albeit not seriously. Though it'd be considerably more difficult to jump into the ocean from an island, he mused that he might rather have that water demon take him than whatever Rani's father had in store for him. He hadn't even met the man, but from what little he heard, he knew he probably didn't want to.

"Is there anything I should know? Like, something I should do or not do? Oh god, do you bow?" Now his mind was beginning to race a million kilometers a minutes and nothing but a brick wall would slow it down.

 

[Ethys]

Rani was on her feet as soon as her sister had left the room. She paused just long enough to finish off the bottle of wine, not bothering with a glass, then she took a deep breath. This was unexpected and not the best news. She had known that her father would find out about Eric, but she had been hoping there would be a little more time before then. He had been out all day, she had expected him to not even make it for dinner. Now she had an hour to prepare Eric.

"Follow me. We need to get you a different outfit. Also, what is a bow?" she asked, confused.

She led him back to the spare room from before, flicking open the closet doors and rummaging through the clothes. He couldn't pick out his own clothing this time. She just couldn't risk it. Instead, she hunted until she found a specific outfit that she knew was in there and about the right size. It had never been worn by anybody, as she had gotten it custom made as a gift and hadn't given it in time.

"Here. Hold this," she said, putting it into Eric's arms and leading him back to her bedroom. He would need to bathe, as would she, before dinner. Time was running against them. Hopefully they could pull this off.

 

[Nav]

It was nothing more than a crazy surge of activity almost immediately. Rani ushered him along with a half-hearted question regarding bowing and Eric just shook his head at her. It was no worth explaining the heat of such a dreadful moment in time. He was much too busy worrying about whether or not his skin will still be attached to his muscle tissues at the end of the meal. Back to the closet they ventured and Rani hastily selected an outfit for him, throwing it into his arms. All he could do was hold on to it, though he didn't bother to look down and take in what it looked like. The colours were bright and the fabric was soft, though that seemed to be traditional for island clothing as a whole.

Again, they were off. Rani was pulling him around like a mule through a market, though there was an anxious spring in every step he took. It seemed like there was an endless number of things that needed to be accomplished in such a short hour and Eric kept finding himself glancing out the windows whenever they passed one, wincing at how quickly the sky grew darker and darker. Time truly was their enemy.

"Where are we off to?" he asked as they returned her room, "What else do we all need to do?" He finally held out the outfit she had extended to him to get a better look at it. It looked like it would fit, mostly. It was unlike anything he'd ever find himself wearing had he had a choice, but he didn't, and he didn't complain. At least it was fresh and clean and would be suitable to meet the father—what was his title again? Eric couldn't quite remember.

 

[Ethys]

"I'm going to sit in the bathroom while you bathe. Don't worry, I won't look. It'll just be easier to talk to you that way," Rani informed him, obviously not looking for his opinion in the matter. "Scrub well. He'll know if you don't."

She ushered him into the bathroom, then sat on the sink with her back to him, as promised. Crossing her legs as she settled in, she let out a slow breath and mentally organized a list of everything that he should know going into this. Unfortunately, there wasn't time to go over everything, but hopefully dinner would be a brief affair and he would get through just fine.

"Do not speak to him unless he asks you a question. If he does ask you anything, try to keep your answers fairly short. You can call him 'sir' or 'Kyn'. Since you're not actually one of his people, I think 'sir' would be just fine. Don't mention my brother, or my mother, or Li's current boyfriend. She'll talk about him enough on her own. This will be a sit-down meal of seven courses. Try not to get full. It's considered rude if you don't at least sample a dish, preferably eating half or more."

Rani paused, rubbing her face with one hand.

"Also, don't mention the fact that we were attacked by demons. He'd just get annoyed that I was out later than I should have been. Oh, probably shouldn't mention Yanna either.." she added, trailing off as she resisted the urge to turn to him just to give him a reassuring smile. It was hard to just stare at the wall. "I'm sure you'll be fine."

Eric's outfit

 

[Nav]

Oh no, no, no, she was going to what?

Eric flushed violently throughout his cheeks and the colour tint shined through even below the tanned skin on his cheeks. He didn't have room to argue because she had already shooed him into the bathroom. He was walking numbly, his legs still as he struggled to come to terms with the fact that he was going to be naked… in front of a woman… who wasn't his wife. He didn't even have a wife! It hadn't been so bad when they were swimming, at least he had his undergarments on then, but bathing? Oh, he colours in his cheeks did deepen a shade.

"Seven courses?" he squeaked, beginning to hesitantly pull his shirt over his head. They had only just eaten lunch a short while ago and he didn't feel any pinch of hunger whatsoever. "Half or more?" he was getting dizzy at the thought. It had been a long time since he had eaten much more than salty sea crackers and dried meats aboard the vessel, and he knew eating such rich foods in such high quantities was abound to upset his stomach. He swallowed down the bubble of nausea rolling up through his chest and simply acknowledged the rest of what she was saying. "So, just… don't mention anything unless he asks me a question? I got it. I think I can manage."

But god, he'd manage better with alcohol—something more potent than just wine.

When Rani wasn't looking, Eric quickly shimmied out of the rest of his clothing and stepped into the bath. The water was luke-warm and fragrance with what he imagined to be some kind of oils or flowers, but he didn't have time to relish. He quickly worked to scrub the dirt from himself, including below his fingernails. His hands worked down his face, feeling the familiar sensation of facial hair stubble coming in. It had been a few days since he had last shaven, he realized… he wondered if men here shaved. He hadn't really seen any male members of Rani's society. There wasn't much time to ask, so Eric hoped it would be suitable as it would just have to do.

Again, he gave her an expectant glance and when she looked away, he saw himself from the water. Hastily, he dried off and threw the robes she had given him on. It felt silly, really. The crisp cream of the tunic fell well below his waist and hung off his shoulders, but was just tight enough to reveal the soft curves and planes of the muscles in his back. His hair hung in loose damp curls around the side of his face, still dripping water.

"Will this do?"

 

[Ethys]

Rani waited patiently, tapping her fingers on her knees. Don't look, she chided herself. It was a childish urge, just to make him squeal. She had to admit that the blush on his cheeks was charming. Wait, no. Don't think like that. She sighed, about to ask him if he needed help with anything when he asked if he would do. Curious, she turned to finally get a look, and immediately froze. She felt like somebody had just forced the breath out of her lungs and tossed her in the sea.

It shouldn't have been this shocking. He had been wearing clothes from the island earlier. How was this different? She didn't know. More formal, more.. fitted. She felt like her pulse could be heard all the way across the room, but she forced herself to give him a smile as she nodded.

"It's.. wow.. I mean, it's great, you look great. I'm going to bathe now," she squeaked, nudging him out of the bathroom. As soon as she closed the door behind him, she sagged against it with a sigh.

This wasn't good at all.

Fifteen minutes later, she came out of the bathroom, freshly scrubbed and dressed. There was a small closet in there that she kept a few outfits in, just in case. She had selected one of those and now stood, her hair still damp but pulled up into an elaborate twist that was pinned up and away from her face. The time spent alone in the bath had given her the break she needed to stop acting like a fool in front of Eric, so she gave him a normal smile as she came out.

"Alright, we're both ready. Do you have any more questions before we go? We have a couple minutes."

Rani's Outfit

 

[Nav]

To Eric, Rani wasn't beautiful in the classical way he knew from back home. No flowing golden curls, heavily blushed cheeks, or cinched waist tied impossibly tight in a corset. She was taller than what would have been desirable of a woman in Europe and too muscular to appease the tastes of most Spanish men, but there was an understated beauty, perhaps it was because she was disarmingly unaware of her own prettiness… or perhaps because she did nothing to make herself look pretty. She hadn't worn a drop of makeup from what he had seen, and whether or not it was a natural thing for women of the island, he didn't know. He didn't care. She was all about the simplicity and that was what he had grown to appreciate most from her. When she smiled and laughed, Eric found he couldn't help but smile along, too.

So, his shock was a bit unexpected when she stepped from the bathroom after fifteen long minutes he spent just walking circles anxiously in the room. Her skin resembled marble dusted with light specs of gold and her eyes were a lovely shade of winter sky fading into spring greens. It caught him off guard and he couldn't help but stare for a fleeting moment before he blinked and forced himself to look back to the window for a split second.

He didn't even concern himself with what she had been wearing because it wasn't important. "You look very nice," he smiled unassumingly, letting his eyes slide back in her direction. "No, I don't have any questions right now. I doubt even if I asked a million, I'd be entirely prepared for what we're in for." He was glad for the change in conversation because it shifted his mood from admiration back to worry. Worry was a much more comfortable emotion for him to experience.

"I just hope I can please him, is all." If Eric couldn't even appease Rani's father, he wasn't confident about being able to appease an entire city, like Rani had suggested. Anxiously, he ran his hands down the front of his tunic, straightening out a few crinkles that had formed. "I haven't been to a dinner party in many, many years. When I was younger, I used to go to many."

 

[Ethys]

"Relax. My father likes to act a lot more intimidating than he actually is," Rani said, walking over to him with a smile. "He's not spineless, but he isn't a beast, either. He'll be curious about you. Cautious at first. He knows I'm not an idiot and would have examined you thrice over before allowing you into the city. Still, he'll likely have questions. He's not going to just send you off to the beheading stone just because your skin is dark."

She shifted her hands in front of her, holding them both in front of her where her chest met her belly. Her right hand was twisted with the palm up, while the left was in a fist resting on top of it.

"This is a sign of respect. We use a lot of hand signs," she explained. Her hands moved again, this time with her right hand straight, fingers pointed upward. With her left hand, she had two fingers up and the rest in a fist, keeping both hands pressed together again. "This is.. Kind of hard to explain. It's a sign of respect as well, but also a bit romantic, I suppose. It signals interest. Useful at formal dinners when indicating you plan to dance with them after the meal."

She was going to show him more, but then Li burst in on them. Again. This was becoming a terrible habit. Rani scowled and was about to scold her younger sister about manners, but Li cut her off before she could even begin her tirade.

"I know, I know. I should knock. It's not like you'd ever be doing anything fun in here anyway," she said, giggling at Rani's pink cheeks. "I just wanted to give you a heads up that the wine is on the table. Father isn't down yet. Probably ten minutes or so. We should be down there before then, so the servants can see Eric and will get over it."

"That's a good point," Rani agreed begrudgingly, still glaring at Li before turning to Eric. "Ready?"