We Solemn Few

Chapter Five : Sleepless Nights and Hollow Eyes

He is bound.

Veyha shook the faint voice from her head as she shut the door behind her with a faint click, discarding her shoes with a sigh. It was late and she was exhausted but the common room before her still flickered with a warm meld of yellows and oranges. Taking slow steps - I shouldn't be this tired - she made her way into the living room, greeting her mother with a quick, small wave and a beaming smile that was returned with a quiet thud as her mom shut her book, setting it down on a nearby side table as she silent rose, taking confident steps towards her daughter. She inhaled. She isn't mad, is she?

Delicate hands found themselves upon her shoulders, hands as pale as moonlight and just as delicately beautiful. She was a proper woman, standing tall and straight with an elegance Veyha could hardly hope to match, but her thin lips curled into a small smile that touched the edges of her freckleless cheeks. Taking her eyes off her own feet - Veyha had not realized she was avoiding her mother's gaze - she looked up and exhaled. Deep, verdant eyes met her emerald ones, and Veyha matched her soft smile. Not mad, worried as usual. Gently she brushed the hands from her shoulders, speaking soothingly.

"You shouldn't have stayed up, mom. I always come home, don't I?"

There was a pause as her mother took a step back and straightened her nightgown of fine green silk, brushing stray curls of gold hair behind her as made an effort to hide her tiredness behind her elvish elegance. Pointed ears twitched, silver-ring piercings - two to each ear - glinting in the warm light, and her smooth-like-glass voice curled through the air as if on the verge of sterness and kindness at once. "You do, yes. But that does not quell my worries. Besides, the night is not so bad. Silence is rare in the bakery, and even then I hardly have time to read. There are too many books, I say, and not enough time for me to read them. Hmph.

"Regardless, I'm glad you made it home safely, my dear. Did you enjoy your time with that Teshor boy, as usual? It seems he is all you talk about these days. Perhaps I shall arrange your marriage with Maverick someday. Indeed, I think I-"

"Mom-" Veyha cut in, her less-pointed ears blazing with deep red hues, her freckled cheeks blazing even moreso, "You don't, just-" a sigh, "please don't, that's just too embarrassing..."

"Embarrassing?" the elven woman raised her eyebrow, taking steps towards the kitchen and dining room - those rooms were connected, and even then they were only separated from the common room by a shift in the flooring - "So I'm embarrassing, now, am I? Relax, honey, I won't go running to any man trying to arrange your marriage. Not anytime soon, at least. And certainly with that over-the-top, posh boy. What was his name, again? Som?"

Veyha giggled slightly; her mother never forgot a name, or really anything, for that matter. But she had a knack for washing away Veyha's negativity, if you could even call embarrassment negative. Regardless, "No, no- Samson, mom. His name is Samson."

The smile grew wider on her mom's face as she strode into the kitchen. Veyha followed unconsciously. "Ah, yes. Samson. He's an oddity, though this town has many. Nothing gets much more odd than Il'ric, at least." Il'ric Mjunik. Maybe he can help me understand what I saw. "Not to offend you, honey. If you enjoy his tellings, I won't make slights against them. And I will not dwell on your obvious attraction to Zenrin, either, if you'd prefer."

"Thank you..." Veyha muttered.

"Well, while I'm still up, let's talk," her mother continued, lifting a white dish off the counter, the fine plate covered by a porcelain dome. She sat it upon the table, turning to a nearby drawer to retrieve forks before setting on at each of the two seats. She drew the first out and motioned for Veyha to sit before drawing out her own. She stood straight until Veyha half-threw herself into the chair, her eyelids feeling heavy for a moment before she forced them wide open. Her mother sat herself a moment either as if she hadn't stayed awake far past she should. The half-elf reached out for the dome-lid, but her mother shook her head and her hand retreated.