Wizard's Price

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Part of Rune was worried that Lucia wouldn't appear the next morning. Again. What had traumatized her last night was considerably worse than a rejected proposal. So he was rather confident about it this time. He didn't even both to hope that she would arise and got to work without once looking at his door in anticipation.

So when he heard the familiar knock at his door, he was completely surprised. And when he waved a hand to open it, he was absolutely shocked to see a smile on her face.

"Good morning," she beamed, holding up the morning fruit tray. She hadn't picked flowers today, but she had steamed a fillet of fish. "I hope you're hungry. I know I am. It was definitely a bad idea to skip supper yesterday."

"Yeah..." Rune said softly, watching her.

She moved normally. She smiled normally. She set the tray down next to him and began unloading his plate and mug so he could work and eat as usual. She was acting like she was perfectly okay. Again. Like the night and sleep had been all she needed to recover.

"Lucia?"

"Hm?"

"Are you...all right?"

She paused. Her smile slid a bit. Then perked up again as she faced him. "Of course I'm all right. Why would I not be?"

"You saw something rather terrifying yesterday. Most people wouldn't be."

She bit her lip nervously. "True. I'm not saying I'm not scared. I just...It's foolish to dwell on things you can't change, right? Mourn, grieve, and let anger take its hold for a short time. But when the sun comes up again, it's a new day. The river water has completely changed. So should you. Right?"

He grinned. "Yes, that's right."

She smiled at him brightly. Far stronger than he would have given her credit for being. She was wearing one of the more common, plain kalasiris he had slipped into her wardrobe yesterday. The plain white fabric suited her much better than the vibrant colors. Not that she was plain. She had still accentuated the kalasiris with a pink sash tying the cloth on at her waist and adorned herself in bright gold jewelry. She already looked so much more mature, more capable, than she had last night.

"Besides," she continued serenely, "you're here. You protect us. You look out for us. Obviously you're good at your job or more people would know about those things. I trust you."

He grinned at her. "I do it for you."

Her smile widened.

"I-I mean, for you as in plural. I didn't mean that as a singular...I do it for everyone. I protect...I mean, I don't do it just for-...Not that you're not one of them, but I-"

Laughing, Lucia cut him off by placing a finger over his lips. "I understand. Enjoy your breakfast. I'm going to be working over here."

"Yeah..." He watched as she pulled back her finger. Had he just kissed it?

Lucia walked over to her section of the workbench where her cup was still waiting. Rune watched as she set down her food, slid the tray under the workbench, then took a seat. She lifted the cup in her hands and squished it back down into a formless ball of clay. He continued watching as she very calmly started re-shaping it while taking a few intermittent bites of her breakfast.

Interesting. She wasn't just cute this morning.

She was beautiful.

The strength. The fortitude. The newborn determination.

Absolutely beautiful.

Rune grinned to himself as he turned back to his workbench and began weaving a spell to repair any damage the preta might have done to the barrier yesterday. He doubted it had, but it was just standard practice to do this after a preta attack.