In the Garden

Writers: Eimi, Yvonne
Date Posted: 24th July 2006

Characters: Thalia, Penryn
Description: Thalia's been out in the sun too long.
Location: Garnet Valley Hold
Date: month 13, day 1 of Turn 3

It was hot today, and the air shimmered above the scars she'd cut into the ground. Most of the flower beds were turned, half of those were lined with small white rocks, and most of those already planted with fragrant plants ripped from other areas of the Hold, or from the caravan of cuttings that her mother sent from Eastern Point Hold.
Thalia sat beneath a sapling of a tree, half ways reading her book.
Insects made the air hum and she closed her eyes for just a moment...

A small scrape made her open them again. The sky was impossibly blue and shifted eerily behind the swaying of the leaves above her. Thalia propped herself up on an elbow - a decadent indulgence, as a Lady should never lie on the grass (or a blanket) like a common woman - to watch Penryn work. He was placing small stones upon her wall, securing them tightly with mortar and an expertly handled trowel. His skin glistened with sweat and he'd pushed up the sleeves of his shirt while he worked. Thalia caught herself staring as the muscles beneath that dark skin slid and flexed, then reached again for her book. But instead of reading, she peered at him from over the top and hoped he wouldn't notice.

Penryn placed the stone on the wet mortar and used the end of the flat bladed shovel tap it into place before dropping it in the bucket. Standing up to his full height he wiped the sweat from his forehead on the sleeve of his work shirt. Shards, but it was hot. He pulled off his gloves one by one and unbuttoned the collar of his shirt, and then a couple more, allowing the slight spring breeze to cool him. Faranth, but the breeze felt good. It would feel much better all over his body. Turning slightly, his fingers still clutching that next button he said, "Excuse me, Lady Thalia. But would you be terribly offended if I took off my shirt? It's so hot today."

Her eyes went as wide as saucers. "N-no. Not at all."

"Thank you," he said with a slight smile. That would feel much better. His fingers worked slowly, pulling first one button, then the next, until finally it hung loosely around him, the breeze catching it and exposing the muscles along his stomach ever so slightly. Though it had been turns since he had worked in the fields, it was obvious he had not lost any of the tone he had developed. He turned and walked towards the tree the Lady was sitting under, casually shrugging out of the fabric as he walked. The Stewards dark blue eyes briefly met Thalia's over the pages of the book before he reached up to hang the shirt on a branch.

Penryn had lovely blue eyes... Thalia resolutely kept her attention on her book. Or tried to. She glanced up as Penryn took a step back toward the half-finished wall and cleared her throat. "You- don't have to work all afternoon, you know. It _is_ very hot out today."

"I just want to get a few more done," Penryn said as he bent down to pick up more mortar on the trowel. He slapped it onto top of the stones, smoothed it out with a practiced, fluid movement and leaned down to pick up a rather large rock. A grunt escaped his lips as he lifted it into place.

The muscles in his back rippled most entrancingly. Thalia licked her lips. "Are you.. sure you don't need a break?"

"I can take a break, if you think I should take a break," he nodded, turning to face her once more. "After all. I'm only doing this for _you_."

"I know." She lowered her eyes, feeling unsure and incredibly pleased with her self all at the same time. "And I thank you for it.
Won't- won't you come sit in the shade with me, for a while?"

"If you wish, Lady," he nodded, searching her face as he walked towards her. There was no hint of the injury that had been done to his knee in his youth, no trace of a limp as he walked slowly towards her. He was long enough that he could stretch out beside her and still thoughtfully managed to keep his muddy boots from soiling the blanket. Propping his head up on his hand he gave her a grateful smile. "I think you're right. I needed to get out of the sun for a while."

"It's too bad I left my gitar in my apartments, otherwise I'd be able to play for you." She glanced shyly at him as he lay beside her. He smelled pleasantly musky, and the muscles in his torso and arms were lightly sheened with sweat. He was much more... masculine than she'd ever suspected, and she wondered what it would be like if...

"I like it when you play. I've always hoped one of these days you would play just for me," he said with a wistful smile, but he quickly looked away, afraid maybe he had said something a bit too forward.

The Lady smiled. "If you come and work on the wall tomorrow, I promise I'll play for you. I'll play a song that I've never played for anyone, and I won't play it for anyone else ever."

His eyes flicked up to hers. "What kind of song?"

"Whatever kind of song you wish!"

"Then it would have to be a sad love song," Penryn said as he shifted, propping himself up on his elbow. He looked down at his hands - calloused and ink stained. They told the story of his many lives - scarred from his short time being a guard, rough from working out in the field, fine and nimble from turns flipping through pages and sorting through charts, gentle and strong from being a husband. His were the kind of hands that would be at home gripping a knife, grasping the handles of a plow, wielding a hammer, holding a pen, even caressing a woman. The Steward had done all those things in his lifetime. His eyes rose slowly to meet hers, the shadows of all those lives staring back at her. They were honest eyes, filled with sadness and longing and something much deeper. When he finally spoke, his voice was soft and his words heavy. "Why do we keep doing this, Thalia?"

She shook her head, her blonde hair swirling around her shoulders like sea foam, or summer sunshine. "I don't know."

"After Jaika died... my heart stopped. I was sure it would never beat again. And yet, when I'm with you..." He reached out almost tentatively to push a few wayward strands from her cheek his fingers brushing lightly over her soft skin. "How can fate be so cruel? The one woman who could start my heart again is the one woman I'm not supposed to love."

"Penryn..." She leaned into his touch even as her heart lurched within her breast. "I..." Thalia opened her eyes to find his blue ones inches from her own. She could feel him like an electric current against her skin and the air between them seemed to him. In spite of herself, she leaned forward and gently brushed her lips against his.
It was electric, soft and tentative, making her head spin and the world come crashing down around them.

When their lips parted Penryn's eyes met hers once more, and this time he could not mask the building need that was burning with in him, pulling at his heart, and even less appropriate places. His fingers slipped around the back of her neck, boldly caressing her sensitive skin. His voice was low and strained from the overwhelming desire that threatened to spill over them both. "I may not be of the Blood, Thalia. I may never be more than just a steward, and I certainly will never deserve you. But I would love you more than any Lord ever could."

Thalia's heart flipped in her chest. "Penryn, I- never knew. I..."
She leaned in to kiss him once more, but a sudden *crack!* made her jump and look around, blinking blearily in the hot sunlight. She was lounging on her blanket, alone, and her book (a salacious novel carefully rebound in plain leather) rested comfortably on her stomach. She sat up. Penryn was gone - no, Penryn was standing next to the wall, working. She suddenly flushed, understanding what was going on. **Shards, I _dreamt_ that!?** The Steward straightened up and wiped the sweat from his brow that was running into his eyes. Shards but it was hot. He turned slightly to look over his shoulder and caught Thalia's eye. "Oh, you're awake! I was trying to ask you a question earlier, but you had already dozed off."

Shells, but his eyes were so blue! "Oh! I-I do apologize. I'm not sure what came over me..." Her gaze drifted to the book on her lap uneasily, even as her lips tingled, remembering something that never was...

"Probably the sun. You do look a bit pink. It's a hot day today,"
Penryn said as he turned his face, eyes shut, towards the radiant sunshine. "In fact, the question I was trying to ask you was that since its such a hot day..." He opened his eyes and looked back down at the Lady on her blanket. "Would you mind if I took my shirt off?"

Her eyes went as wide as saucers, and she flushed a brilliant scarlet. "N-no. Not at all. It's a hot day out." But she looked discretely away before he could so much as reach for the hem of his tunic. And this time, she made herself promise that she wouldn't look. Dreams brought about by too much sun and too much literary frivolity were one thing, but she was a Lady of the Blood.

Well... **Maybe just a little peek...**

Last updated on the July 26th 2006

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In the Garden