It's Just Us

Writers: Chelle, Eimi
Date Posted: 12th January 2012

Characters: Parale, Ioven
Description: The two of them have a rare night alone and they take advantage of it.
Location: Sunstone Seahold
Date: month 5, day 13 of Turn 6

In their quarters, alone, she set the table. The girls were spending the
night with their friends and she had it in her mind that it would be
good to spend a little time with her husband. Putting down a bowl of
stew, she turned to get some bread and the butter. Taking off her apron
and hanging it on the hook, she started pulling out the glasses. Once
they were in their places, Parale bent over to search for the right
colored napkins she wanted.

The smith had been released somewhat on time that evening. They were
all taking turns watching the kiln, and he had been granted the morning
to evening shift. As he was opening the door, he was already making
plans to grab clothes and make for the communal bathing pools to wash
the stink of the smoke off of him, but stopped when he saw the table all
laid out. "What's all this?"

"Dinner," she said as she brought herself up, almost knocking her head
on the countertop where it hung over. "The girls are spending the night
with their friends so..it's just us." Her face was so hopeful as she
looked at him. She wanted him to be pleased. He worked hard for his
family and she appreciated that. Parale helped when she could, but that
wasn't much.

His eyebrows lifted slightly, rather surprised, and quite pleased, that
she had taken the trouble to arrange something special. And the idea of
it being just the two of them... Well, he knew what that meant, and he
certainly liked _that_ idea. "It's... great... Thank you. But I really
stink, I really should..." He pointed a thumb back towards the bathing
pools. It made him feel a little self-conscious, and yet he didn't
want to make her wait.

"It'll keep for a little while." Indeed, she'd just gotten it out of the
oven almost so it needed time to cool before it would be ready to eat.
"Your clothes and things are on the bed." She'd anticipated his need to
shower and had readied for it. Parale had been planning this since she'd
made the agreement with the girls' friends' mothers.

"Thank you," he said, moving towards their bedroom. Just as she had
said, his things were carefully laid out at the foot of the bed in
anticipation of his coming. Ioven stood over them a moment in thought.
Dinner... the girls were gone... everything set out for him... Had he
missed something? His birthingday was past... Hers was as well...
He'd think about it in the bath. Picking up the clothes and towel, he
headed for the door of their quarters. "I'll hurry," he assured her,
though his hand paused on the door, about to ask a question. Ioven
thought better of it and pushed it open. He'd think about it in the
bath.

While she waited, she went ahead and poured herself a glass of the
quikal she'd managed to get. Wine was only for very special things so
this would have to do. Sipping it, she nodded her head. **Not bad**

As Ioven rubbed sweetsand into his hair and over his body, his mind
wandered back... **We met in month 8, so that's... ten months ago...
We got engaged in month 10 so that's... 8 months... We were married in
the same month... We arrived here... month 11, so that's seven months.
Hmmm...** None of them sounded like important anniversaries to him.
Was he missing something? Well, he couldn't waste any more time trying
to figure it out. He picked up a large bowl of warm water and dumped it
over his head to start washing the sand away.

Sitting down to take a load off her feet, Parale continued to sip. It
was different than what they brewed at Garnet Valley, with something
more fruity in it. **Decent, though** she decided as she listened for
the footsteps she knew would come eventually.

"Sorry to make you wait," Ioven said apologetically as he opened the
door once more, this time fresh and clean. "I'll just toss these in the
laundry hamper." He found the basket in the bedroom closet and dumped
his smoky clothes in. After a moment's thought he called, "I'll be
right there, just a moment," as he walked over to his dressing table.
Opening the drawer, he found the scented oil he usually reserved for
special occasions, which this seemed to fit. After dabbing a bit on and
wiping the excess on his clean trousers, he walked back out into the
main area. "Right. So, let's eat then."

"What do you want to drink? We have quikal, juice, water, milk?" Parale
got up again, prepared to pour his glass. A glance at him gave her the
offhand thought that soon he would need a haircut.

"Whatever you're having," he said, taking his seat at the table.

She poured him some of the quikal and set it in front of him before she
took her own seat across the table. Parale served the food to both of
their plates before she settled back in her seat and started to put a
bit of spice on some of her foodstuffs. "It should be cool enough now.
So how was your day at work?"

"Long. We have the kiln up and firing the last of the bowls, but we're
still behind on cups and plates." The Lord Holder had ordered enough
place settings for not only the Hold, but all the guests that would be
coming plus extras for any broken dishes during the festival, all with
the new Hold's crest painted into them. "It's the glass smiths I really
feel sorry for. They have to make commemorative etched wine glasses for
regular use, and then even more intricate ones for each dignitary to
take back as a souvenir. I think they're probably _all_ working round
the clock."

"Hmmm going to be a grand event for certain." Parale had always had
a Lord to deal with so she really wasn't sure about this, but she
supposed there were going to be lot of people coming. That meant keeping
track of the girls in huge crowds, which made her nervous. "Did he ever
say anything about what you're going to do with all the things you studied?"
She knew he'd come to Garnet Valley to study their system, but didn't
know how they'd apply it here.

He shrugged his shoulders as he finished chewing a bite of stew. "I
think nothing will be decided for a while," he finally said after
swallowing. "Everything's on hold until after the festival. Then there
are a couple different possibilities for generating electricity. They
might put a dam upstream, the geothermal generator I studied is still a
possibility, or they may find a neighboring Hold with electricity they
can sell us for cheap. We just don't know yet. They have to weigh the
options still."

"Hm," was all she said as she focused on eating for awhile. It was odd
not having noise going on as she ate and Parale savored it. It wasn't
that she didn't like the girls around, but it was good to have some peace
sometimes. When they finished with their entrée, she got up and brought
out dessert. It was a bubbly pie she'd managed from some of the red
berries she used to make dye. They were rather sweet and she enjoyed
them. "A slice?" she offered.

"Please," nodded, pushing his empty bowl away. He also was enjoying the
quiet, without the girls arguing over which of them had gotten the
bigger piece, or who would tell their story first. Ioven also usually
didn't mind it. They actually were a funny pair. But it was a nice
change for an evening, though he still wasn't sure what had brought it
about.

Using the pie server, she cut them both pieces and set them them on the
dessert plates. Setting the bubbly between them, she took her seat
again. Parale took a drink, waiting for him to try it first.

Ioven lifted his fork to his mouth and took a bite. His eyebrows lifted
slightly as he nodded approvingly. "It's very good," he said simply.

"Wish I had some whipping cream to top it with, but oh well." She took
her own bite and enjoyed it. Then she took a few more. **This is a good
recipe. I need to teach Venrys how to make this** "Maybe someday when
we're grandsires, we can have a cothold with a bovine and I can have
plenty of cream, butter, milk..."

"If you need something, you know you only have to ask." Did she really
think _they_ needed to keep a bovine? That was what herders were for!
But he was starting to get accustomed to the fact that his wife
entertained some silly ideas in her own fantasies, and as long as they
stayed there they did no harm.

"Have you ever had fresh whipping cream?" Parale asked as she ate more
of the pie.

"I've had whipping cream," he said with a shrug, not really knowing the
freshness of it. Ioven had just eaten that which was put in front of
him and never had a complaint.

"Not fresh then." **Maybe someday** She finished her pie and when it
was done with, she gathered that up and set it on the counter. Beginning
her nightly chore of washing, she hurried to get the dishes done with.
Why she was hurrying, she didn't know really.

As she washed, Ioven helped by clearing the table, a chore that the
girls usually performed. But he was no stranger to it either, as it had
once been his job to cook and clean for their family. Parale had taken
on those responsibilities since they had moved back from Garnet Valley,
which had allowed him to devote more time to his craft. Sometimes Ioven
resented the time away from his family, but it had lifted a burden off
his shoulders, as well.

After giving the table a quick wipe, he turned and leaned against it,
watching Parale as she finished the last of the dishes. He wondered if
she regretted her decision to move so far away from her home. She
seemed happy enough, but the truth was he really didn't know. Ioven was
grateful to her, though, for sacrificing so much for his girls. And for
her need to be someone's wife. Perhaps that was what this night had
been all about. To remind him that she was not just here to cook and to
clean, but to be a _wife_ as well. Maybe he had been too busy, too
tired as of late. Perhaps he had been neglecting to show her his
gratitude.

As she finished her last dish, he slid his arms around her waist and
murmured a soft, "Thank you for all this," in her ear before touching
his lips to her neck.

When he made contact with her, she smiled. It had run through her mind
that she could have been like so many others-unhappy with a husband who
didn't treat her well. Despite the time she had to wait, Parale had chosen
well. They had disagreements from time to time, but when it came down
to it, they worked it out usually. "You are very welcome. You deserve to
be pampered every now and again, but don't go getting ideas." Her tone
was playful and there was a certain glint in her eye.

His fingers began pulling at a tie on her dress. "You always seem to
like it when I get ideas."

"A girl has to play hard to get sometimes or it'd be the same old
thing." She wasn't doing a very good job of it though. Turning around to
face him she smelled his nice clean scent. "You're a good husband you
know. And good husbands deserve rewards." Smiling, a side of her that
the girls never saw started to come out. Her hands went to his tunic and
beneath it.

"And you're a good wife to me. And a good mother to my children." He
obliged her by lifting his shirt over his head and dropping it in a
careless pile on the floor. What need was there for restraint when
little eyes were not about? "What shall be your reward?"

"Well to start a kiss would be nice," she answered helpfully.

Last updated on the January 15th 2012

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It's Just Us