In the morning Tansy cheerfully knocked on her cabin door. She had slept in her old children's bed in the former nursery in the big house. She was fairly positive her neck had a crink in it but it didn't matter. She hoped that Xer'tal and her father came to an agreement about rates so he could accompany her to Berget. She really didn't want to say goodbye to him. If there was a way she could keep him around for a bit longer she would it take.
When Xer'tal opened the door, dressed in the same tunic and pants as last night. She had to keep her eyes from roving over his broad form. She beamed up at him. "My papa has formally requested for you to come to the big house for breakfast. My mama is making a big spread." She leaned in a little bit with a conspiratorial smile. "A guest is an excuse for my mama to go all out, especially one who has never been here before. Us Wildes need to put our best foot forward, always. So you are going to be spoiled a little bit." She almost giggled as he looked down at her in slight bemusement.
His deep voice rumbled like the sound of mountain stones rolling. All gravel and rumble. "A formal breakfast, hmm? Yer family does know how to put on a show." A lopsided smirk teased at the corner of his mouth and it drew Tansy's eyes to those very interesting tusks he had. Ones that she absolutely had not dreamed about being pressed against her skin, at all, ever. "I'm not usually one for fancy spreads." He grumbled, scratching at his jaw with one large hand, "But I've never been one to say no to a hearty meal." His garnet eyes seemed to glimmer with anticipation as they darted down to Tansy. "Lead the way, Tansy of the Wilds."
It took all Tansy could to not shiver under the quiet intensity of his gaze as she turned and led him to the big house. The morning air was fresh and he seemed to be content at her slower pace. She didn't really want to share him with everyone. She liked having him all to herself but she knew she couldn't be selfish, especially not if he would escort her to Berget. She would tamp it all down if it meant she got to spend more time with him.
The moment she opened the door they were assailed with the scent of fresh coffee, warm pastries, and cooking food in the air. "Good morning, Xer'tal!" Tansy's mother called out brightly. "We've been looking forward to meeting you since Tansy told us about you last night." She was bustling around a large table laden with hearty foods, eggs, salted pork, pastries, sausages, and pancakes.
Tansy's father nodded in greeting, a serious expression on his face. "Good morning, Xer'tal." He was a fairly large man himself, a lumberjack by trade and he gestured to an empty chair. "Sit, sit." Tansy watched as Xer'tal sat where offered as she started helping her mother finish putting out the breakfast dishes. She gave Xer'tal a smile as she set an empty plate in front of him.
"I thank you for taking care of Tansy on her trip. I know she can be a bit...much." Ricktus looked at Tansy as he said it and her cheeks flushed. "So please take this as a token of my appreciation for bringing her home safe." Her father set three silver coins in front of Xer'tal. Tansy didn't miss how he stiffened slightly, nor did she miss how he ignored them, as if the coins had given him offense of some kind.
"Isn't that the truth?" Her oldest brother, Briar, laughed and he was joined by the other two, Cedar and Basil. "She talk your ear off the whole way to Kelpfar?" Tansy almost winced at the words but this was the usual banter that happened when she was home. She glanced over at Xer'tal in embarrassment but she noticed how he tensed even more as he glanced at her brothers. His shoulders were stiff with tension.
"Enough, boys." Her father's voice was stern as he threw a look at the three of them. Tansy sat down and stared at the table, her cheeks red with a flush of shame. "It's just a touch of harmless teasing. We love our Tansy, she is as she's named after, resilient." Her father gave her a fond smile and Tansy gave him a small one in return, feeling a bit better.
YOU ARE READING
Tansy of the Wilds
FantasyXer'Tal the Bloodthirsty had spent years as a warrior and now works as personal guard. With a world at war, his skills are in high demand however being an orc meant he was jaded to the world. People treated him poorly, gave him no trust, and he didn...