One Day More - a Sartorias-deles fanfic

Chapter 8

Days passed.  Alaraec thought they felt more like years.  His feet were still sore from the ball.  He could see it now—red, nasty bunions that disfigured the appendages enough to make his future heiress cringe.  That would be a good way to keep the predator-like females away, right?  Would they treat him like a spider with her mate?  Breed, kill, eat?  Raec shuddered just thinking about it.

He also could not get Iris out of his mind.  He had only spent a few minutes with the woman, but she intrigued him.  Quiet but playful, she responded to his capers in a way no one else had but Enda and Bren.  Raec was comfortable with her, and he wanted to know more.  Unlike many of the other eligible ladies at the night's festivities, she did not bend over backward to spend time with him.  She did not twist her hands in anxious anticipation.  Instead, Iris had remained cool and collected, yet Alaraec thought he could see a sparkle of mischief in those blue eyes of hers.  Maybe she was so alluring because she did not chase him.  With Iris, he would have to be the pursuer.  She was uninterested in his position or his wealth.  She seemed to see him, in a way that few had—Enda, Bren, and his parents, specifically.  She had managed to place herself among the highest of ranks in his relationships, and Iris did not even intend to do so. If anything, it almost seemed she wanted the opposite.

He paced outside the courtyard, too jittery to sit down.  The sun bore down on him, causing sweat to roll down his back and soak his clothing.  Raec did not mind; the servants probably would, but he needed to think, and he did that best out of doors.  Maybe some of his nervous energy, too, would evaporate like water on a hot day.  Raec wanted to relax but could not because he felt like an animal caged for someone's entertainment.  All he had to do was look up to see someone staring at him.  He hated this feeling.

"Tell me again what happened with Iris?"

Enda was sitting atop a short wall that encircled a planted tree.  She swung her good leg back and forth beneath her pale-yellow dress, thumping her heel against the brick. "I've already told you.  Four times," she said.

"I know, but—"

"I tripped and spilled my drink on her dress.  Bren escorted her away, and I assume the servants took care of her."

"Why didn't she return?"

"Would you have done so with a wet shirt if someone had poured punch on your crisp dress clothes?"

Enda had a point.  Raec ran a hand through his hair. "I just wish she would have said something.  Anything.  Instead of simply...disappearing."

"You like her." Enda grinned.  Had he been sitting beside her, she probably would have nudged him with her elbow.

"Possibly." Raec shifted uncomfortably.

"Look at you, you who scoffed at your own name day celebration, because there was no way in all the earth a woman was going to catch your attention."

"She's different."

Enda smiled. "Because she wasn't impressed by your crown or your title?"

"In part," he said, finally coming to lean beside her. "She treated me like a real person; like the royalty aspect did not matter."

"Probably because it didn't.  You may be a prince, but you'll always first be the man who brought her a book at an inn." Enda put a hand on his arm and squeezed lightly. "Find her, then."

"I can't. I have no idea where she is.  I invited her for a tour of Remalna-city, but she was not at the gates the other morning as I asked.  And I waited for her, just to ensure she had not gotten the time incorrect."  He had waited for two hours before finally giving up. "She didn't show up."