The Dance of Eternity ✓

O N E

YEAR DATE: 1658

The air is light inside the large house. I hand the gown which I had just bought to the maid who I nod as to thank her as she takes my gown to take to my bed chambers. Despite its size, the scent of food still lingers heavily in the air when the kitchen is on the other side of the house. I walk around everywhere to find Marianna, but she is nowhere to be found. People greet me as they walk past me. Most of them I do not know as they pass by every so often while some I have come acquainted with but none of us are close. All we have in common is Marianna as she has taken care of all of us.

It is not until I have walked down the guest wing that I hear her voice and I follow it. Leading me into an empty room where she is sitting on the bed. Unto further inspection I notice that she's cleaning blood of an injured man. Slowly knocking on the door which breaks her from the man which she had softly spoken to. The man is sitting up and is bare-chested. His face is hidden for Marianna's. She turns to look at me with a warm smile on her face, a smile that I never see leave.

"I thought it would take longer finding a gown" She says to me and I laugh as I enter the room. The wooden floor creaks under my feet as I walk inside. In her defense I was only at the market for one hour. "When one knows what one wants, choosing is simple" I speak, and she nods her head at me. She goes back to clean the man's chest as blood is covering him. "Spoken with truth and wisdom" A rough yet kind voice speaks. The man that she is cleaning. Just then his face comes to my vision and I have the chance to take a look at him, and he at me.

His tree bark brown hair make his bright pale blue eyes stand out. His cheekbones are high and his jawline is sharper than I have ever seen. His skin is flawless, yet I can see a faint white line on his forehead, yet it is so faint that one would miss it. Saying that this man does not bring blood to my cheeks is a lie, yet I am able to hide it. The man's pale blue eyes stare at me and our eyes meet for a moment and it is clear that he is stunned. It is not unusual for me to get a greeting such as this at first glance, and I am used to this.

He stands up from the bed despite Marianna having not finished cleaning him. I can see clearer where the source of the blood comes from and a large gash on his shoulder can make one empty their stomach. He walks over to me and for a moment stands in front of me. He's a head taller than I am yet it does not come as a surprise, I am not known for being tall. Looking down at me and I look up at him. Our eyes never straying away from one another as if they do not wish to and perhaps they do. His eyes show me pain. Pain which he tries to hide, yet I can see right through it and through him.

"Mr. Parker, this is my ward, Inanna Ki" Marianna says to him. He takes my hand and lightly kisses it and I give him a small smile. "Pleasure to be your acquaintance, Mr. Parker" I speak, and he gives me a nod. "Believe me, the pleasure is all mine, Lady Ki" He says. His voice is so deep and yet unique. However, that can be said about many things that the word does not describe an object or a being that is one of a kind any longer. "I shall need to attend to the kitchen, would you do me the favor and tending to his wounds?" Marianna asks me as she looks at me with a look that I'm not sure what is telling me.

"Of course" I tell her, and she nods and walks out of the room with a small nod to Mr. Parker as well. "Please, sit. This might take time" I calmly speak to him. For a small second he stands there before he hesitates and sits down on the bed, much to like he was before. I pick up the small bowl with fresh water that she had a maid fetch I would suspect earlier and then a clean cloth and dip it into the water before lifting the cloth up and twisting it to bring the access water falling down back into the bowl.

In pure silence I clean the blood around the injury to see it better and once my eyes are able to take a closer inspection, it starts to become clearer to me. "You have become lucky, Mr. Parker. It seems you have not managed to damage any important artery nor despite your injury being close to your heart, it neither seems like your bones have been struck. A flesh wound" I tell him. Yet, my eyes do not look at him as I can only have my attention at the injury.