Heirot

"I really can't say," Knight mused. "I suppose I've never technically tried." The smile dropped. His eyes studied her. As if deciding something, he leaned over his knees and stood up. "Tenele Dracul," he extended a warm hand down to her. "May I take you on a date?"

Tenele chuckled, smiling up at him. She lifted her hand to his, placing it in his grasp. "I don't think Vlad even took me on a date, come to think of it. Yes, you may take me on a date." She was curious to know what he had in mind for a date. It had been a very long time since someone tried to take her on one. In fact, Adrian was the last person she ever dated and that ended very, very badly.

He wrapped his fingers lightly over hers. "Take a walk with me?" he led her toward the deck and out onto the sands. His mismatched eyes took in the landscape around them, the rocky cliffs and the sandy shores, the shady spot where she and Vlad had made love. The stone area where Vlad and Atul had made love. The deck by the house where all three had been together the night before. He studied it all with an unreadable expression as they walked.

Tenele walked with him across the sands. It was night, and the full moon made the white quartz glow. It was easy to see by, and the wind was cool and pleasant against her skin. She took up the gown she wore, along with the robe, with her free hand so it wouldn't trail through the sand and held it as they walked.

She eyed him quietly, the way the moon made his handsome face seem more mysterious, and the way his gaze attentively took in everything.

"When I was a little girl my brother and I would sneak off from our watchers to play by the shore in Lowight. He would try to teach me to swim. I got very good at swimming, but one day I swam too far out. The current took me. Talon tried to swim out but he couldn't get to me. I'm not sure what happened... The waves just seemed to swallow me whole. When I woke up, I'd washed up near the cliffs. It was dark and cold and I was frightened. But, the moon was so bright. I sat huddled next to the rocks and watched it until my eyes grew heavy. I tried to see a face, because my watchers always told me that there was a man in the moon. So I talked to him, though it seems silly. I was comforted. I think that's why the full moons are my favorite nights." Her fingers tightened around his.

Knight followed her gaze to the moon. "I believe they will come to be my favorites as well," he grinned. "Do you miss Lowight?"

Tenele thought about it. "I don't know," she sighed. "I've been here for a little over a month or more and I enjoy it here. I think it was time to put some distance between the political arena there and our relationship. We were just about to get a house and settle down... But, I miss the food, the deserts, and maybe I miss the trees. There are very few trees here. Everything is sand. I guess I miss the forest, maybe that's the elf in me talking."

Knight's keen eyes met hers as she spoke of her homeland. He took a faster stride and came round in front of her, stopping her progress through the sand and putting them chest to chest.

Tenele blinked at him, nearly stumbling back when he moved quickly and brushed her chest to his. It startled her, and she wondered what she'd said to make him move so fast. Her green eyes fluttered up to him. "Did I say something wrong?"

For a moment, he seemed out of sorts as well. He blinked. "Sorry..." he glanced away. "I meant to ask you to hold on to me for a moment."

"Oh," Tenele mused, shaking the confused look from her face. She took her hand from his, hesitating only for a second before she slipped her arms around his waist and rested her cheek to the soft fabric covering his chest. "Like this?"

"Yes," he said very quietly. His hands touched her arms with a light grip, holding her steady against him. "Please trust me." A moment later, they were riding the wind. That was the only real word for it. The ocean skimmed under them and dropped away until their surroundings were black. The next light they saw was the lantern-filled streets of the downtown market in Lowight. Evening peddlers and cartmongers festively lined the streets, and a crowd that was neither sparse nor packed milled amongst the shops. The smells of grilled fish and bananas and of different pastries mingled in the air, while sitar music drifted from the windows of a busy pub down the road. Knight's arms dropped respectfully from Tenele's shoulders and gave her a moment to take in their surroundings.

Tenele shivered at the sudden change in temperature, and though Knight had removed his hands from her she slinked up next to his side and stayed under his arm. It was still winter in Lowight, and she'd forgotten that given all the time in the warmth of Hajar. She didn't think he would mind it if she pressed in against him for warmth.

She giggled at the sight of the familiar streets and businesses. "I'm home," she mused, looking down the path to the lights of the palace.

"For tonight, anyway," he grinned. "It would be a rather nasty prank if I left you here across the ocean from them." He studied the area around him with that same calculating gaze. "I am curious to see these desserts you speak of," he returned his focus to her.

Tenele smiled. "This way," she told him, taking his hand and leading him down the path towards a little bakery. "The owner knows me. Just give me one second and I'll be right back."

Tenele opened the door, the bell jingling on a hook. Tenele could be seen through the shop window speaking to a woman who seemed overjoyed by her presence. The lady went about busily gathering pastries into a little box before handing it to Tenele. Tenele thanked the woman and stepped back out into the cold.

"She asked me why I was out in my nightclothes," Tenele chuckled as she handed the box to Knight and tugged the thin robe around her equally thin silk gown. "I told her I had a craving." Tenele took the box and opened the lid. Inside were small round fluffy cakes drizzled in chocolate, and some with cream cheese. "These are my favorite. Try one."

Knight peered into the box and drew out a chocolate-drizzled cake with his long fingers. He smelled it, seemed to approve, and then.....it was gone. He inhaled the cake in one bite. One might have thought he didn't take time to taste it properly, but the bemused grin on his face said otherwise. "Worth going out in your nightclothes," he decreed, swiping another one.