Yes, Very Pretty

Writers: Dana, Eimi
Date Posted: 22nd March 2006

Characters: Gleniel, Kiomo
Description: Gleniel and Kiomo both open up and reveal a little bit of their pasts as they share some hot klah
Location: Garnet Valley Hold
Date: month 10, day 13 of Turn 3

"Shards, I've never been so tired in my life," Kiomo groaned as he leaned on the kitchen counter. "Gleniel, right?" he asked the kitchen girl with a tired smile.

He remembered her _name_! That fact alone was enough to render her speechless for a moment - before she got hold of herself and her sharding emotions once again. "Yes, sir. What can I do for you? You look so tired...please, sit down?" Oh shards! She flushed. What if he took her saying that he looked weary as a slight?

"Thanks, I am rather. I think its the time difference." He sat down at the table. "I hope I'm not disrupting you. I just was looking for some klah."

"You're in luck." She nearly breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn't taken offense! "I have a fresh pot ready. Let me get a mug for you..."

"Oh, I can get that," he smiled, hopping up from the seat. "You don't have to wait on me, Gleniel. In fact, I rather hoped you'd keep me company." Kiomo pulled two mugs off the shelf before she could object.

She stared at his back for a moment, surprised. "Oh - oh, of course." When he'd turned around again, she lowered her lashes, trying her hardest not to blush too noticeably, and took a seat across from him.

"So tell me about yourself, Gleniel," the holder as he slipped back into his seat.

"Oh...there's really not much to tell," she murmured, her eyes focusing on the table. Shards - was she feeling _shy_?

He smiled reassuringly as he reached for his mug. "Were you born here at Garnet Valley then?"

She shook her head, glancing up at him. "I was raised at a small cothold far from here. I came to the main Hold a couple Turns ago."

"Any other family? Mother, father, brothers, sisters, husband?"

"My mama died when I was little," she replied softly. "My father remarried and still lives outside the Hold. Most of my brothers are married now too, and they live far away. And no...I don't have a husband." So far, no man had given her a second look. Not that she'd really cared...until now.

"I'm very sorry to hear about your mother," Kiomo said sympathetically. "I lost a parent too. Of course that was a bit later in life."

"I'm sorry...was it your mother?"

"No, my mother is still quite well. It was my father. That was..." he lifted his eyes to the ceiling as he calculated the number in his head, "eight turns ago. Has it really been so long? It doesn't feel like it..."

"I'm sorry," she murmured. "Were you close?"

"Very," he nodded taking a quick sip of his klah. "He fathered several children, but for some reason... I don't know, it just seems he and I were closer than he was with the rest of them. Except perhaps my oldest brother, but that's only natural since he was to inherit the Hold."

She knew it! She knew he was of Blood... "Oh... It must've been such a painful time for you..."

"It was." He looked thoughtfully into his cup a moment before shaking his head, as if to clear it of painful memories. "Are you close to your father and step-mother and brothers?"

A wry smile curved her lips, and she ducked her head. "Not my father. But I'm, or, well...I was, close to a couple of my older brothers."

"I'm very sorry, Gleniel, that you never had a close relationship with either of your parents."

She looked up at him, her eyes meeting his. And she realized that he _meant_ it. His expression, the tone in his voice... Embarrassed, she picked up her mug of klah and took a sip, trying to calm her nerves and the annoying flip-flopping of her heart. "I...I don't really have a lot of regrets about it. The Hold is a big place, and there are a lot of people here who know me well enough that I can call them family."

"Well, that is the most important thing, isn't it," he smiled. "Having people to call family I mean. I'm sure in time I'll find a family here too."

Gleniel smiled politely at him. Of course he would. "I'm sure you will, sir."

"Sir?" he chuckled. "Gleniel, please, just Kiomo. You don't call friends 'sir'. And I need friends."

Her green eyes widened slightly, even more surprised than before. And she felt a faint heat rise in her cheeks. A friend? Why would the late Lord Holder's younger son want a drudge - a drudge! - for a friend? "I...I'd be glad to...help you with anything you need, si- Kiomo," she told him quietly, confused as to why her cheeks felt hotter when she said his name out loud.

Kiomo decided Gleniel was rather pretty when she blushed. "Well, right now, I need a refill," he grinned shaking his empty mug.

She found herself grinning back. His smile was infectious! Gleniel held out her hand as she stood, flushing. "I'll take that for you then."

Yes, very pretty, Kiomo decided as he handed her his mug. He watched her for a moment. "Something about you is different," he said thinking aloud.

Glad that her back was turned so she could get a hold of herself without looking like a fool, she busied herself with the pot of klah. "Oh?"

"Yes from the first time we met..." He snapped his fingers in recognition. "You're hair. Before you had it in a long braid, but today you have it up."

Gleniel blinked and resisted the strong urge to turn around and stare at him. He actually _remembered_ that? Shells - _she_ didn't even remember that! "Oh." Thinking that she had herself under enough control, she turned around and came back the table, handing him his mug. "I can't tell by your tone if that's a good thing or a bad thing." The coy words were out of her mouth before she could stop them.

"I like it this way. You look pretty with it up," he said as he took the mug. "Not that you weren't pretty with your hair in the braid of course... I mean, you were beautiful and still are... I just... What I mean is that I like your hair up like that. It's... very nice. But the braid was very nice too." It was his turn to act flustered.

She gave him a nervous smile. "I think I know what you're trying to say, Kiomo. Um...thank you." She rubbed her reddened neck, embarrassed.

"Well... You're welcome." He hid his small smile behind a sip of klah. Yes, very pretty...

Last updated on the March 22nd 2006

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Yes, Very Pretty