#JUST THE SLOW TURN WITH TEARS IN HIS EYES AND RHEN

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today is a beautiful day to animate jalph to “i wish you were a girl”

[queenrhenpendragon]

Getting A Place (In Pieces 9)

Getting A Place

This piece happens at Lord Gavin's summer ball in Sedona. A lot of other writers assume only Rhen goes to the ball because only Rhen buys clothes for it. I think this is reasonable, but I decided to have them all go because of this line from Lord Pemberlin: "I am trying to sell my manor. Would you young nobles be interested?" (And also for plot purposes)

She wanted a manor because it would be cheaper than staying at inns all the time (she just wanted a place to call home, a place that fit this new Rhen she was getting to know). They needed a place to store all the stuff they were collecting (somewhere old memories wouldn't feel so heavy, somewhere new memories could be made without tying that strange guilty knot in her stomach). And— and she wanted to have pets.

So that's why she was at Lord Gavin's summer ball in a stiff, itchy green dress that clashed horribly with her hair, trying to find a noble name Pemberlin who, for all she could tell, had dropped off the face of Aia sometime that morning. The rest of her party was supposed to be helping her, but Elini was busy convincing a group of single noblemen that they weren't her type. Lars and Dameon had left to find some stupid truffles for the chef. And Te'ijal was somewhere, hopefully not terrorizing any children or anything, but Rhen really didn't know, honestly.

She glanced around the ballroom for a man who looked like he was trying to sell something, but all she could find were frenzied maids and nobles dressed in ridiculously bright colors swirling about to the tempo of a minuet. She was going to have to ask someone. She caught sight of a woman who looked unoccupied, and approached her.

"Hello," Rhen said.

The woman smiled. "Hello! Isn't the ball wonderful?"

"Er— I suppose so," Rhen said reluctantly. "Have you seen—"

"Have you seen the two young men who just entered? Nobody knows who they are! They must be from some far away kingdom!"

"Er—"

"You should come with me to welcome them!"

"Well, actually I was wondering if you knew—"

"Oh, don't be shy! Come, come!"

"Oh!" Rhen said as the woman took her arm and dragged her towards the dining room, where Elini was still talking to those same noblemen. Why did these things always happen to her? Well, maybe one of the young men would know Pemberlin. It was possible.

"Welcome to the ball!" the lady said, stopping in front of...

Lars and Dameon. "I am Lady Lomone! And this is—" she turned to Rhen expectantly.

"Hi guys," Rhen said, turning red. Lars snickered, but Dameon took her hand and kissed it.

"It is a pleasure to meet you," he said, smiling and making her cheeks feel hot.

Lady Lomone took a moment to look surprised and confused, but she quickly grinned and offered her own hand to Lars. "It seems Lady Higuys and your friend are already getting along very well. Perhaps we could do the same?"

Lars stopped laughing and stared at her. "What— I— perhaps," he said, drawing himself up. "But you are to understand that I will not be teased, flattered, or cajoled into anything— hey!"

The lady had taken his arm and was dragging him to the ballroom, laughing and smiling and most definitely teasing and flattering and cajoling.

"That was... interesting," Dameon said as they disappeared into the crowd of dancing nobles. "Where did you meet her?"

Rhen grunted and pressed her face into his sleeve. He patted her back consolingly.

"Did you find Lord Pemberlin?"

"No!" she said, looking up at him now. "I can't find anyone at this stinking ball! And this dress is so scratchy and hot!"

"I'm sorry," he said, frowning. "Would you like to go outside for a moment?"

"No," she said, and pouted. "I want to buy a manor."

He smiled gently. "I have never met anyone as determined as you."

She looked down again. "Well— thanks."

He held out his hand. "Come on, we'll find Pemberlin together."

And they did. It turned out Pemberlin was walking around near the back of the ballroom, talking about his manor to anyone who would listen— and Rhen and Dameon were very willing to listen. He sold the house to them for 5000 gold, which used to seem an unfathomable price to Rhen, highway robbery, she would have called it before. But now she agreed to the price without even attempting to haggle. If Elini had been there, they might have spent a bit less, but it was worth it to Rhen. She had a manor now, she had a place!

"I'm just so excited!" she was telling Dameon as they went back towards the dining room to try the truffles that were now being offered. And he was nodding and smiling at her, and the lights in the ballroom seemed brighter than before and the music was like an enchantment—

And then suddenly he wasn't beside her anymore, he had stopped cold, staring straight ahead with wide brown eyes.

"Are... are you all right?" Rhen asked, turning her head half-looking to find the cause of his distress.

He hesitated. "I— I know this waltz," he said slowly. "My... parents... used to— used to—" he shook his head. "I'd rather... It's not important."

His eyes were shining and his voice was shaking, just slightly. Rhen touched his elbow. "Hey," she said. "I'm your friend. You can talk to me."

He looked at her and then at the ground. "It's just— they— my parents— used to dance to this. In the Tear Shrine. And they seemed... so... happy. We used to be... happy. We used to— it—" He seemed to choke and he hid his face in his hands.

"Hey," she soothed, rubbing his arm, "hey. It's okay. I understand. My family used to be— happy— too."

She was surprised to hear herself say it. Her family was still happy... wasn't it? Mostly? Except for her, perhaps. She didn't fit exactly where she used to. Everything was different now, and— and—

"Dameon," she said, moving his hands and taking hold of his face. "Dameon, let's find a way to be happy now. Why don't we make new memories? Why— why don't you dance with me?"

He looked at her with his brown eyes— still shining— and nodded once. "Okay."

He put his hand on her waist, and she rested hers on his shoulder, and slowly they began to move across the floor.

"I— haven't waltzed much before," he said shyly, watching their feet.

"Me neither," she said. "But I think it goes— two, three— three— or one— Well," she smiled up at him, "you just move your feet and I'll follow."

And that's what they did. She took a moment to hear the music. It was slow and sweet, not at all familiar to her, but it sounded like it came from some little town somewhere in the world. There was something magical about it, like maybe a fairy or an elf had played it once. Like maybe it was as old as the trees. Like maybe—

But Dameon was smiling down at her, and his dark eyes were sparkling with something that wasn't tears this time, and she didn't care where the music came from as long as it kept coming. She didn't care, for a moment, about how everything used to be, because it had all brought her here and this was something she was going to remember. She didn't feel guilty or out of place. She didn't have a sword on her back or a shield on her arm, but Dameon's hand rested lightly at her side and her feet moved with his and she was safe.

And she was happy.