Over a vast city dotted with trees and cobblestone roads and wood and stone houses.The dirt roads bustle with commotion and laughter. There was little distinction between whether this could be considered standard fare or a party for all the denizens. The courtyard of the castle teems with life as flowers fill the view, though amongst them are herbs and even vegetable patches. All of which are carefully tended to, with many gardeners pruning, watering, and laying in new soil.

Though high in the castle on the balcony, an elvish princess peers over the land. Indifferent to the sights and sounds. Indifferent to the calamity in town, indifferent to the glowing garden below or even the sweeping landscape beyond the city limits. Rolling lush green hills that over a great distance give way to a shimmering ocean.

“This arrangement is a farce” she says coldly at the sounds of exchanging footsteps. Her opal colored eyes are swelling, fighting back the sting of tears. Shutting herself away as if she’s quickly shutting a great big book. Her long blonde hair is ceremoniously adorned with cascading curls that fall into the back of her dress. A gorgeous emerald sheen graces the dress and its many starlight fastenings. The wine glass in her hand now cradling a meager drop, a nearly black bead that marks a trail of bloody violet as she delicately rolls the stem this way and that between her thumb and her fingers. Expectations prevent her from indulging.

As the man behind her comes onto the balcony, a woman in a white toga is hastily exiting. He looks down at the entryway to the outside world to see green glass shards mired in a pool of nearly onyx-purple. He takes a seat at the small table beside her. She snatches her hand away from the banister. Whether he was attempting any physical contact or not, she was quick to deny anything of the sort.

He leans over the table and drinks in the sight of the city and landscape. Feeling the wind and hearing the rustling of the trees in the forest at the northern and southern wings of the perimeter of the city, a dense forest with a canopy that lends the forest floor stark chutes of sunlight. Drawing in a deep breath and from it, a content smile.

His soft light brown hair, bound tightly in a ponytail in order to control the waves that roll down to his shoulders on a given day. His short dark beard frames his jawline. His black crushed velvet cape lends to the illusion of a galaxy, swirling and milky with its ample star designs. His black vest starkly contrasted by the white blouse underneath with black trousers and boots to complement the ensemble.

“I know it wasn’t particularly our idea, but you know, Serinus” he settles back in his seat before he continues “believe it or not, you actually stand to gain the most out of this ‘arrangement’.” He looks at her for a moment, just before he looks back over the view again. Her loud screams project the wine glass careening through the air just past his shoulder, exploding into shards behind him.

“Do NOT…make fun of me Lucius! I am your wife in TITLE. Do not misconstrue that to mean there will be anything that will make this prison sentence more palatable! My responsibility is to my people, my family, and my country.” She gestures wildly at the castle and the city “THIS! Is a means to an end, an end to the conflict and an opening of trade!”

He holds his palm up as if to stop her from charging “I’m acutely aware of the circumstances that have brought us to this moment.” Lucius begins to stand, a somewhat imposing figure given his height and his build. Yet, all of the haunting might is betrayed by his soft smile. “I have something to show you.”

Serinus takes a moment to collect herself and follows behind reluctantly “Have I the choice, or is this His Highness’s decree?”

He slows to meet her pace so they can walk sidelong one another “There is no greater gift than the gift of choice is there?”

“Certainly” she responds flatly. Her tone again, cold and devoid of any hope.

After navigating through the castle, they finally arrive at the threshold and the doors swing open. The dimness of the castle makes the sunlight seem much brighter than it is. As their eyes adjust to the luminosity once again, they see that many of the gardeners have been watching the door and smile brightly at the young couple as they proceed outside.

Lucius and Serinus carry on into the garden towards the castle gate, a gardener whose toga does little to cover her body, more draped than actually worn, approaches them from the side of their path. “Lucius, you simply must try these cherry tomatoes”

Serinus watches her, appalled by her scantily clad attire before what is now this woman’s king. Her train of thought was disrupted by Lucius’s eagerness.

“May I?” he requests softly. The gardener laughs and nods her head, gingerly she takes one between her finger and thumb and places it in his waiting mouth. Lucius closes his eyes and takes a moment to relish in the flavor. “Mm, that is very good, Liandas. Thank you for that.”

Liandas softly touches his face after he finishes chewing and swallowing the morsel he sampled. “May I?” She asks. Lucius places a hand over hers and nods, for a brief moment they enter into an intimate kiss.

Serinus suddenly bursts out “Alright Lucius, I’ve seen quite enough! If this is your idea of some kind of sick joke…and as for you! He is ‘Your Highness’ or ‘Your Grace’ who ARE you to think you can so casually-”

Lucius takes a moment to come away from Liandas and addresses Serinus, “All the pageantry is not required” he turns and nods to Liandas mouthing the words ‘thank you’ and she takes that as a cue to continue back to her work.

“We are friends, her and I,” he explains finally.

“Friends!?” Serinus barks, “Never in all my life have I engaged with ‘friends’ of mine quite like that! You are a Villain Lucius. Clearly a womanizer. Here you are parading around your freedom in front of me while I remain trapped in a gilded cage like some song bird with no hope of flight, ever! Knowing full well you have freedom enough to do as you please as Ruler of his Castle!”

“I make it a point to connect with the people. I have for a long time. Wondering about titles and deeds drives a wedge between those who are, and those who are not. When in the vastness of our expanding world, we are never not connected. Shall we continue?” He starts again down the path trying to remember the sauntering pace she preferred.

“Well I suppose draping myself over the balcony like an ornament can wait. I’ve yet to find a rope in my size.” she responds as she absentmindedly rubs the front of her neck.

“Have you gotten to know your people?” Lucius asks plainly. Still a content smile on his face unfazed by the macabre humor or the outburst she had had.

Serinus looks at him expectantly, perhaps granting her an elaboration to his question.

“As an elf, you’ve lived a long time. Hundreds of years even. Perhaps long enough to have learned the entirety of your people” he continues. “Many of us Humans are envious of the long lived races, even I find myself feeling that way sometimes if I’m being honest. However, I’ve come to learn that I need to find what’s important while I have the life I live. It's the people. Who are they? Other than men and women that live near me?”

Her curiosity began to flicker ever so slightly, but was quickly met with scorn “These people, as it were, are your subjects King Lucius. That woman is your subject. Those guards back there that stand outside your castle walls are your subjects. What is it that you don’t understand?” She stops just at the perimeter of the inner wall of the courtyard leading to the dirt roads of the city. Lucius continues a few steps through the gatehouse and realizes Serinus had stopped walking and talking. He turns to look at her.

Without so much as a breath between her last thought and her next, quickly asks “What are you doing?”

“What are you doing?” Lucius laughs, reflecting her question.

“Do you not have an escort? Or would you rather not burden your subjects King Lucius?” she quipped, rolling her eyes. Lucius lets out another laugh, much more audible this time “That’s a good one,” he reaches out a hand, beckoning her to continue on with him. “Come, we’ll be just fine.”

With a heavy sigh, she continues down the path but not without brushing his hand away like crumbs on a dining table.

Their foot falls abruptly change from the clopping sound of stone to the hush of the dirt of the city. People and vendors sprawling as far as the eye can see. Serinus surveys the T-shaped section of the road that greets them. From the height of the balcony, the view was not unlike reviewing a map. Important details making themselves known with big shapes, and colors. Clear and concise landmarks and destinations were straight forward. Now she found herself not very well being able to determine what leads where, apart from the castle behind them. This road looks like that one, and many of these people she had never met before. The structures around her offer little variation in design and color, not exactly drab but not like the garden either. A part of her now missed the garden. At least it was pretty.

While trying to make sense of the environment she has found herself in, she only just realizes that she had lost her bearing of where Lucius was. But only for a moment. Leaning against the wall, one foot is already bare on the ground and holding his weight as he briefly struggles to remove his boot from his other foot.

Serinus lamely claps her hands together “Oh good, the circus continues..”

He approaches her again, his smile never fading “Not to worry, you’re not required to-”

She quickly cuts him off. “Please Lucius. Let's not be insane shall we?” to which Lucius laughs loudly and shrugs.

Again down the path they go. She sneers at the sight of his feet as they meander down the road. Clearly hardened and calloused many times over from walking barefoot so often. Now covered in dirt and new dirt with every bit of distance gained. Out of the corner of her eye she sees a different person's set of feet, and another. Her eyes dart around a bit, trying to find a pair of shoes on anyone. Then she looks at the faces with the same level of urgency. Their smiles. They were just like Lucius’. Content. Peaceful. Welcoming.

A thunderous voice garners their attention “Lucius!” a big man hollers and makes his way over to them carrying a large tray of rolls with a woman by his side. The baker and his wife are clad in a similar fashion as the gardener. An older gentleman with some of his hair thinning but a full mustache, his toga worn around his waist exposing his burly upper body with the exception of his left arm that carries the remainder of the material. While her’s appears to drape off of one of her shoulders and fall down one side of her torso before wrapping around her wide hips, exposing her sides and a little less than half her chest.

Serinus immediately draws a comparison that their soft round features resemble the baked goods the man is carrying. Her breath hitches for a moment as she whispers excitedly “Adorable”.

“Congratulations you two!” The baker beams with pride as he shuffles the tray to one hand and grasps Lucius' shoulder with his now free hand. “I’m so proud of you! Both of you!” the baker continues, sniffling a bit. “You two will go on to do great things, I’m sure of it” tears begin welling in his eyes as he takes his hand away simply to use his sleeve to dab away the moisture of his tears.

“May I?” the baker asks weakly, looking at Lucius and Serinus.

Lucius looks to Serinus momentarily before looking back at the baker. “In time. For now, here” Lucius responds as he opens his arms out to the baker. They share a soft hug while the baker’s wife gently touches Lucius’ neck and kisses his cheek.

Lucius responds softly “Thank you both so much.” The baker heaves into his sobbing, crying onto Lucius' shoulder. The baker’s wife joins in the embrace, the three of them holding this moment together. “Of course dear, we love and we trust you.” she says in response.

Serinus, taken aback by the tenderness that these people, strangers to her, are so comfortable with King Lucius. His rule hardly began and yet, they are so gentle and loving with each other. She simply utters a question, her tone wavering between facade of discontent and genuine warmth. “Family… of yours?”

Lucius kisses both their cheeks, and they all part from the warm hug they all just shared. “Something like that,” he smiles lovingly in both of their eyes.

The wife pats the baker on his arm, “Come along dear, before the rolls go stale” she urges, pretending to push the mountainous man down their original path. The couple laughs as he feigns dropping the entire tray.

Lucius laughs watching them make their own way down the path. “I used to enjoy those same buttered rolls when I’d come to market as a child.” He states. He draws in a deep breath and smiles at Serinus.

Her gaze is also beholden to the baker couple as they playfully meander down the road “Perhaps you can order for him to bake for you” her tone much less convincing than what would have been on par with her previously venomous slights. Almost an automatic response more than anything.

Lucius shrugs, “whenever I suppose” he then continues down the path they had started. Serinus comes to and quicks her pace a bit to catch up. “Really, who were those people?”

“Jorgen and Bria” he answers, “They are bakers.”

A bit annoyed, Serinus looks at him incredulously, “Right, apart from the names, I’ve learned little more than what I already knew about them, Lucius. What is their relationship to you? Uncle and Aunt? Godparents?” she presses her fingers off in a list.

“You might call them subjects,” he answers. Serinus feels a wash of cold shivers run down her shoulders and back. Never has the idea of ‘subjects’ felt so dirty as it did now. She draws her face away from his view, a trifling attempt to maintain her rigidity as before.

“To me they are people with hopes, dreams, and desires. Sure, a baker is more qualified to tell me how much flour to use for a recipe, than perhaps a royal advisor, but that doesn’t change the fact that these different skills do not define them. No more that ‘King’ defines me. I’m simply a man with a pretty hat. No more fit to guide a nation than a child with a blanket as a cape.” He can’t help but laugh a little at the imagery, a playful innocence in comparison to reality.

“Your status and your responsibility to the nation is what keeps it going.” Serinus adds. “They need you to lead them and it is your birthright.” Her voice trails with uncertainty, her words are well placed but hardly a bit of conviction in anything she’s saying. She draws a deep breath to regroup her poise and composure.

She finishes her statement at the sight of the city square. Dominating the plaza is a large fountain with intricate designs rich with history and cultural significance. Below in the shallow pool, people in complete undress wade, and splash each other. Some people laugh and the commotion grows louder, while others find intimacy amongst each other and their wet naked bodies.

Serinus’ face immediately feels hot and red with embarrassment, seeing all the different bodies together was overwhelming. She tries to avert her gaze but is thrown off by the loud calling,

“Lucius!” someone shouts from the fountain. “Join us! It feels wonderful!” They laugh. Her embarrassment explores a deeper shade of red as she turns to regard Lucius, hoping with no certainty that perhaps he’ll not indulge them.

When she sees him, her heart stops for a moment. His upper body was certainly exposed, but upon it, a plethora of scars. She had read many stories of scarred men, the scars seeming to bring a rugged quality to their character. The scars themselves often framed the characters with pretty lines for intrigue. Something noteworthy and, if villainous, allowed her to easily identify crucial moments of their appearance.

These scars were different. They mangled his silhouette. Hideously. There was little in the way of symmetry in respects to the lines, the scar tissue, and the total tone of his skin. Hardly a space for even partially softer skin. She quietly gasped as she saw his chest, the pectoral muscle that would have covered his heart, now nothing more than a crater of scar tissue. A horrid site of twisted and mashed skin healed over in messy swirls.

In spite of it all, his smile remains unchanged. As he completely undresses, his legs and thighs too are ravaged with old forgotten wounds.

She places a hand on her chest to compose herself but to little avail. “Oh, Lucius” a shining glass begins to glaze over her eyes as she watches him merrily spring into the pool with the other people. A bead of a tear forming in the corner of her eye as she watches this battered man play so whimsically.

Approaching the fountain, she finds that the structure is a beautiful black marble with a metallic inlay for all its intricate designs. The edge of the elliptic reservoir is nearly searing to the touch, but not so much that it can cause injury, from the dark color absorbing the beating sunlight. She dips her finger in the water, and is surprised to find it's lukewarm. Certainly much cooler than the heat of this day by comparison.

She starts making her way towards Lucius' direction, as she traces the arc of the pool with every step, she comes across a young woman. Her toga, instead, is being used as a pad for her to sit on the hot barrier. Her bronze skin, free of any mismatching tones, soaks in the sunlight and gently paddles her feet in the water. Her long hair straightened and black as the marble she’s sitting on, runs down her back.

The young woman catches Serinus out of her periphery and turns to smile at her, “Hi, I’m Giselle.”

“Serinus,” she starts, “Queen…” she had begun a script rehearsed time and time again for many many performances. Royalty, diplomats, the most common being a mirror. All to show how regal her and her family was and how important her station is. As she trails off in contemplation, her gaze drifts away from Giselle for a moment before she reengages with her again.

“Serinus” she says simply. Perhaps not smiling as Giselle is, but not unhappy to exchange pleasantries with her.

Giselle leans back a bit, using her hands to prop her up and bears her weight on her shoulders. “You’re very lovely Serinus, care to sit?” Serinus agrees hesitantly. “T-thank you Giselle” she replies, taken aback a bit by this stranger’s boldness.

Serinus sits opposite facing Giselle, with her back facing the water. She then turns to see Lucius, who is now grappling a man who is feigning the throes of death, while a woman with short hair jumps on Lucius’s back to rescue the poor man. This causes all three of them to topple over into the water with a big splash followed by a cacophonous laughter.

Serinus laughs quietly at the scene then clears her throat and stares into the water. The reflections on the surface are now wavey and disproportionate to her and Giselle.

“How does he do it?” Serinus asks softly.

Giselle clearly invested in her inquisition as she now watches her eyes. Serinus continues “How is it that he can so easily move about? That he can so easily reach out to people? And they reciprocate? That he bares no walls, no boundaries? That he’s so…he’s…that…so…” Her questions become more and more frantic than the last, spiraling into chaos.

Giselle offers sweetly “Content?”

“Yes!” Serinus desperately shouts her reply, frightening herself simultaneously and quickly she claps a hand over her own mouth. A tear runs down her cheek and her breath stifles a bit. “I-I’m sorry” she says weakly, trying to speak around the lump in her throat.

She begins to hastily stand up to leave, as she does, a loud rip announces itself behind her. Shocked at the tugging on her dress that accompanied it, she looks down and sees that part of the fountain had torn away a forearms width of her skirt from her waistline in a large strip. Giselle watching the scene unfold so quickly, cups her mouth in shock.

“Oh, damn!” Serinus desperately tries to pull it free before shuffling the skirt around to find the culprit was a star-shaped piece of decoration sewn in the material had anchored itself between the seam of the marble and the inlay that resided within it. Mounting embarrassment assaults her senses as she squats down to hide her exposed leg, all the while trying to free the skirt.

“Serinus?” Lucius calls to her anxiously. He tries to move through the knee high water urgently to get to her. He then attempts to examine what it is she has and what she’s trying to accomplish at a glance.

“I’m fine Lucius” she says flatly as her next blink sends off a tear down her cheek. She finagles the piece free and stands, now attempting to somehow fasten the massively torn piece of skirt back to her waistline.

Concerned, Lucius carefully climbs over out of the pool, “Here, let's go back” he offers, trying to help her salvage what’s left of the dress. Serinus snaps a look of bewilderment to him. “Well wait,” she begins softly, then as if mentally stacking her poise and pedigree she continues.

“You promised to show me something. You cannot honestly think that we’ve gone this far already for you to back out now?” She attempts to hide the motion of wiping away tears and makes a worse attempt at trying to hide her sniffling.

“Right, we’ll find something else for me to wear for the time being” she states objectively. Giselle offers her the toga she had been sitting on. “Very well, let's get this on then” Giselle guides Serinus and Lucius to a closed off alley space.

“Lucius, can you block the view please?” Giselle asks. Confused at first, but then ventures a guess at Giselle’s intent and complies by standing at the mouth of the tight space with his back to the two women, offering the most amount of privacy given the situation.

Serinus and Giselle begin working the fastenings off the dress, however, Serinus’s pace is nowhere near that of Giselle’s. Having been a princess, it is not uncommon for many hands to make light work with regards to donning or doffing a dress. It was routine for her and she hardly had to participate. Though this was the first instance that she was naked with the people helping her get dressed. She couldn’t help but make comparisons, especially with Giselle who was right in front of her. Then the gardener, or the baker’s wife from before.

Her hands struggle to decide what she needed to hide as Giselle begins unfolding the toga. Giselle at first hadn’t noticed Serinus’ apprehension until she began the first step of dressing her. It was made apparent when Serinus eagerly covered herself with the fabric.

“You’re safe here.” Giselle assured her. Serinus nods and attempts to wrest control of the situation as she responds. “I will ensure this returns to you, as it stands. I am in your debt.”

Giselle smiles at her as if a small child is babbling, confident that their message is coming across, but endearing in their attempt. “You don’t need to do that,” she laughs, then follows by cupping Senrinus’ face in her hands and stepping closer towards her “May I?”.

Serinus cocks her head back a bit trying to create distance “May you what?” She turns her head but maintains eye contact as her face creeps into a look of confusion as if she had just dipped a toe in something viscous and foreign.

Giselle can’t help but laugh. “You’re very funny Serinus,” she says and squeezes her cheek as a send off. She comes behind Lucius and places a hand on the small of his back to get his attention. Once he sees her, he sidles a bit out of her way and heads down the road. Lucius turns to regard Serinus “I presume it’s safe?” he asks. His heart swells at the sight of her.

Her hair is more collected in a braid that hangs off the same shoulder that the retaining strap for the toga resides. The rest of the material wraps around her modestly, stopping short at the middle of her thighs. “More like wearing a towel made of bed sheets, but better than tarnished dresses I suppose.”

“Are you comfortable?” Lucius asks.

“Yes,” she says accompanied by a nod “This thing seems like it’ll fall off any moment though.” she says adjusting the top of her toga and the bit of the fabric over her shoulder.

“Well it's not forever at least” he assures. He looks down at her feet and spots the sores from the heels, especially around the pinky toes and wrapping up from the bottom of the ball of the foot. Now flat in the dirt like his and she hasn’t said anything about it. “Do you want your shoes?” he offers.

She turns and sees them lying upside down in the dirt atop the pile of fabric that is her dress. Considering it only for a moment then turns to regard him again. “I know where they’ll be. What about you?” She starts to turn her gaze down at his feet but diverts her gaze very quickly, off somewhere into the wall, the ground, perhaps a bird up in the sky. Her cheeks flush with a pink rosy hue. Without looking at him she gestures in his direction ambiguously.

Lucius laughs “I know where they’ll be” he echos. Serunis shakes her head, doing little to fight the smile as she rolls her eyes and looks back at him. This time, not finding issue with just seeing him with or without the things left behind.

“Shall we?” he beckons, stepping out the alleyway. She follows alongside him as they continue on their original bearing down the path together.

“So Lucius, tell me, what is this question everyone keeps asking?” she begins recounting the moments on her fingers and stopping at four for a second in quiet indecision. He looks at her, his curiosity cut short as she continues “‘May I?’ it feels like after that the rest of the question is just understood. How do you communicate with just that?”

He blinks rapidly for a moment and lets out a puff cheeked sigh, “I’ll be honest, that’s a hard one to explain”

“You did it just this morning! The gardener?” she retorts. She claps her hands on the beat of her second rhetorical question.

Lucius laughs a bit and looks back to the path, just before he begins, a few musicians travel together carrying their instruments with some urgency passed them in the same direction. “The best way I can put it. It's like when you reach your hand up and ask to get pulled up off the floor. It’s a way for us to reach out to one another, and explore something. Like I said, it's hard to explain. It’s not something we often think about, much like breathing. We just feel it happen.” He chuckles and looks at her, clearly dissatisfied with his flighty answer of a detail she feels she needs to understand, but he can’t help but belly laugh.

“You’re annoying” she says flatly, as she adjusts her toga again.

They reach a large gathering area at an intersection in the road with many vendors outlining the area. The center has a very short wooden stage. Though opposite Serinus and Lucius, something catches Serinus’ curiosity. A woman lays on the side of the road while a man sits in front of her dabbing her with a small stick. Serinus looks to Lucius confused, his only answer being an open hand encouraging her to investigate.

She goes over to the man and woman on the road to explore the scene more. His skin is very dark from years of sun exposure, though his soft eyes belie the leatheryness of his body. His toga is folded in his lap, one knee is bent inward in a typical cross legged position except his other leg is missing from the knee down. Beside him, are many cups with different colors and a big flat plate with various dabs of those same colors, some intermingled with one another to make new colors.

The woman lying in front of him reminded her of the baker's wife, Bria, her body is soft and curvy like a gentle pillow. Her toga lies rolled up by her head, and her state of dress is instead replaced with paintings of intricate and surreal tree designs and motifs from her shoulders down to her ribs. What set her apart from Bria was a gentle curvature around her abdomen that was etched with ghost-like slits that tell the story of life. Serinus kneels down, and simply takes in her image piece by piece.

“Hi Honey” the woman addresses Serinus. “I’m Lyra, and this is Jo’hann. We’re so happy you’re here” Serinus is still star struck by Lyra.

Meanwhile, Lucius quietly asks “May I?” to Jo’hann. Jo’hann nods as he hands two extra paint brushes to Lucius. He then sits behind Serinus, grabs the back of her hand and rotates it to place the paint brush in her palm. Surprised she looks back at Lucius, then Lyra, and finally to Jo’Hann.

“But…but I don’t know how,” she says quietly.

“There’s no wrong way to do it dear” Lyra’s voice is velvety warm to the ears and makes its way straight to the heart. Serinus smiles and dips her paintbrush into the yellow paint, hesitant at first. Finally she lands her first paint stroke, but realizes she has no direction for this piece. A question on her mind distracts her from any cohesive design.

“Lyra?” Serinus again hesitates, “I don’t know how to ask, but…I’d like to though.”

“What is it hon? Whatever you need help with” Lyra replies expectantly.

Serinus takes a quick breath and looks into her eyes “I’d like to know your story.” Serinus breaks her eye contact immediately, under the guise of loading more paint on her brush. Lyra smiles softly and nods. “Of course, get comfy dear”

Serinus nods with a big smile and sits crossing her legs, still painting swirling designs on Lyra’s body. Lucius catches Serinus off guard a bit as he loads paint on a brush and grabs her hand “May I?” she blushes and nods her head softly and then shushes him so she can hear the story.

Lyra goes on to describe her simple home on the hill, she enjoyed her chores on the farm and remembered having many dogs help her control the goats. As she got older she would walk to the shore to find bits and baubles that had washed up and couldn’t make it back out to sea. There she met a boy who would sit in a canoe and everytime she came, he would forget to cast his net in the water. She learned that after the boy told her the first time about it, his father chased him with the net, swinging the weights over his head.

Serinus, Lucius, and Jo’hann all laugh at this detail in the story. They’ve all made a lot of progress in the designs on their canvases, and at different points, change canvases, everyone was painting everyone.

Lyra continues saying she began helping him on his canoe but he had to help her on the farm as that was how trade works. So he agreed and many years went on of this back and forth exchange. On a slow day, she had taught him how to make an arrowhead as she worked well with her hands. He had one day asked her to do some night fishing with him as there was a special fish that came out at night. She had not questioned it since it was part of their agreement.

It was only until they had reached their regular fishing spot that she realized the net was missing from their boat. Lyra’s heart swelled as she revealed that the fisherman had asked her to marry him with two arrowheads he made himself. They were at least shaped slightly like arrows.

Serinus gushed, nearly in tears.

Lyra told her they had built a house exactly the same distance in between his and her parents' houses and he was confident in this because it was measured by harpoon lengths end over end and that’s a sure measurement! All so they could remain nearby. They had five children together, all who’ve grown at this point.

Before the birth of their fifth child, he was called away for training before the upcoming war. Many months passed and he came back. He was only given a week's time before the regiment would be off to fight. He begged the baby to come and say goodbye.

“But nature hardly works that way” Lyra said, her lip quivering. Senirus stops all together, captivated by her emotions. Her husband left the morning of the last day, and her baby was born that same night. Her eldest son ordered his next younger brother to go find their father at the garrison and with haste he did. The garrison however was nearly empty, save for a few lame horses and rats.

Lyra had waited years, everyday at the sun’s peak at the top of the hill to watch for the regiment to return. Her youngest daughter accompanied her one morning on the hill, now able to walk and make up nonsense games on her own. That day a man did arrive at the foot of the hill, a different man with a crutch and a heavily bandaged leg. Her daughter was scared of the stranger but Lyra ran down to greet him, they said nothing to each other. Which raised Lyra’s anxiety tremendously, she wasn’t sure who this man was but he knew her. His face was aged by the war. He grabbed her hand, opened her palm and placed something within it. An arrowhead, it wasn’t very sharp but there was no mistaking its shape. She fell to her knees and her daughter came to her crying mother.

“I’m so sorry” Serinus shudders horribly. Lyra reaches out to hold Serinus’ hand and wipes her own tears away. “It's okay sweetheart. I’ve still got my friend to help me through it all, and Lucius is so sweet to us” Serinus nods, words halted by a lump in her throat. Lyra sits on her knees and holds her arms out to her. “May I?” Serinus nods harder and accepts Lyra’s warm hug. Serinus gasps softly at how much the hug seemed to put an end to the tears, almost as if by a spell.

After composing herself she smiles to Lyra, then to Jo’hann, then to Lucius. She sees that the caved-in scar on his chest is void of any paint and so, she takes it upon herself to paint a bright yellow sun with carefully crafted rays that swirl almost infinitely onto themselves. Which matches the ocean and forest motifs on the rest of his body.

She looks down and sees that much of her designs are based on starlights, twinkling in all different colors across her shoulders, upper back, arms, and legs. Even her cheeks. “I like these better,” she remarks, adjusting her loose fitting toga once again. The group exchanges pleasant goodbyes and they split off in their original pairs.

Outside of their story, a crowd had gathered for the musicians and begun applauding. Serinus and Lucius integrate with the crowd to hear the musicians play a jaunty tune. Many of the people spread and open a large circular space in the middle for those that want to dance. Lucius is quick to be among the many first. His dancing is less poised and proper and more instinctual in its random movements. Serinus laughs and claps in rhythm with the tune.

A tap to the shoulder draws Serinus’ attention behind her, where she finds Liandas smiling and mouthing the words ‘May I?’. Serinus blushes for a moment, staring at the ground. She contemplates how nasty she was earlier that day. Meanwhile, Liandas had shown nothing but kindness, not unlike the people that surround her now. In her wallowing, she sees all the stomping and jumping, the dirt and the dust, and the rushing energy of the crowd and the moment. In a brief fit of labored breathing, she nods her head vigorously. In order to keep her nerve, she quickly pecks Liandas on the cheek and flushes with a bright red.

Liandas laughs and shakes her head no endearingly, she grabs Serinus’ hands and begins pulling her into the circle. She begins to jump up and down, over and over, pulling Serinus around in circles in her wake. Serinus, recovering from her bewilderment, does not immediately realize they are dancing until she looks around and discovers all the smiling faces. All the people clapping. She looks to Liandas, then Lucius and begins laughing. She joins Liandas in a bout of dance jumping, at first wary, but soon completely enthralled, closing her eyes for just a moment to consume the music.

As the song hums to the end, Serinus nearly falls down, drenched in sweat. Lucius and Liandas gently help her to her feet and assist her out of the circle to a nice open spot on the ground away from the crowd. Serinus immediately lays flat on her back without a second thought. Liandas, realizing they were safe, blows them a kiss and returns to the music.

Serinus’ breath is finally catching up to her and she immediately uses it to let out a hysterical laughter. Lucius laughs with her as she rolls onto her stomach, running her hands in the dirt. Watching the small grains ebb and flow between her fingers and under her nails, she shifts around great dramatic circles before pushing up off the ground and climbing to her feet. Lucius scrambles up to follow along and again he beckons her down the road. Nearly skipping, she follows.

Down the path they find Jorgen and Bria, their pan empty. Great wide eyed astonishment stamps their faces as they look upon their Queen. Bria asks the words with warm open arms. Serinus nods and almost jumps into Bria while Jorgen cries out and drops the pan, joining in the embrace. Bria and Serinus laugh as Jorgen weeps heavily. Serinus smiles lovingly into their eyes and gives them both a small peck on the cheek.

Lucius and Serinus find their way back on their path once again, this time taking them out of city limits. The sky begins to take on a golden orange quality as they near the rolling hills that nearly dominated the landscape preceding the ocean backdrop up in the balcony of the castle. When they reach the crest of a very tall hill, they see the sun fading under the whim of the horizon. The light of the sun is almost a reflection of the art piece Serinus left on Lucius' heart.

Lucius almost instinctively begins to gather twigs and branches, snapping them into smaller pieces. Serinus, unsure of what she should be doing, follows Lucius’ example and gathers twigs and a few flowers. Lucius chuckles at the sight of the flowers and decorates her braids and her hair with the flowers, tying the stems into weaves. Lucius then manages to piece together a friction solution for starting a fire with all the branches they collected.

Serinus claps as a flame explodes from seemingly nothing into a life giving fire. They sit next to the fire and watch as the sun continues to descend into the horizon to give way to the creeping purple that acts as the harbinger for night. Already dots of white begin to litter the sky above as the deep red gives way to nightfall so quickly.

Lucius explains to Serinus that a phenomenon happens that once the sun is truly gone for the night, a gust of wind sweeps once over the land. He details the anomaly, with his hands and big sweeping motions to pantomime its impact. Serinus, meanwhile, is enraptured with Lucius’ storytelling clapping and laughing with excitement. Anticipation mounting as this event may take place soon.

She stands up and spots a boat just before the horizon and shows Lucius. When he spots it, he monitors the sunset. They stand together watching as the last slivers of light, bit by bit, begin to descend and surrender to night. The stars are more prevalent now than ever as their domain beholdens the sky to an inky black. The last chute of light finally dims from some distance away in the sea.

A single wave out at sea crests, it only affects the boat they saw but heralds the wind that Lucius mentioned. It moves quietly but makes its way over the tall grass over the hill and blows directly into them. In one harsh gust, the wind blows out their fire. Simultaneously, this gust blows Serinus’ toga off her frame completely and whips it into the wind.

Unwavering in her stance, her shuddered gasps come as a mix of shock and joy, as if she had plunged into cold water at that moment. After the wind subsides, she takes a few quick breaths, her lips curling into an irresistible smile. She pauses for a moment and sees that the landscape and seascape are weakly lit by a nearly imperceptible glow of white, purple, and dark blue that nearly matches the paint that dots her body.

She looks up to find the source and is met with a swirling cluster of bright pin holes in the sky, cutting a swath through the open expanse of dark blue and bathing them in starlight. The lights reflect deeply in her eyes as she is overtaken by the sight. Tears stream down her face unabated and continue down her body before touching down on the earth. First her crying is soft and a touch lonesome, but as the connection to the galaxy grows within her, she shudders again just like for Lyra. She begins sobbing loudly and unabashedly, the tears coming in waves like an uncontrollable force.

Serinus falls to her knees crying loudly and Lucius comes to his knees with her. He touches her shoulder and is immediately met with a warm needing embrace from her, their skin meeting wholly. Her shuddering shaking him and his indomitable size as she cries loudly into his chest.

Lucius pets her hair and with that she heaves a big sigh. She finally looks up at him, some tears remaining with only a blink to send them down her cheek. Her face now smeared with paint from the heaving and crying.

Serinus places her hands on his cheeks and brushes his lips with both of her thumbs. Her eyes, drawn to them like they held the gravity of her world now. She blinks out more tears and as she looks directly into his eyes. Her eyelids slowly fall as her face steadily approaches his, her wanting lips pursed together as she softly whispers to him.

“May I?”

Title: May I

Genre: Literary

Word Count: 7342

Author: William

I believe my short story is a good fit because it encapsulates growth, healing, connection, and the human condition.

The hook is that it's a fantasy setting of an elf learning the human world instead of the other way around.

Synopsis: Serinus is an elf princess recently married off into a political agreement with a human: Lucius. Lucius shows her that life isn't just waiting to die.

Target audience: Older teen and above.

Bio:

Education: Working towards associates in computer science.

Married with 3 children.

Experience: 13 years active duty military service on networking systems.

Writing style, fantasy mostly.

Home town: Poulsbo, WA

Over a vast city dotted with trees and cobblestone roads and wood and stone houses.The dirt roads bustle with commotion and laughter. There was little distinction between whether this could be considered standard fare or a party for all the denizens. The courtyard of the castle teems with life as flowers fill the view, though amongst them are herbs and even vegetable patches. All of which are carefully tended to, with many gardeners pruning, watering, and laying in new soil.

Though high in the castle on the balcony, an elvish princess peers over the land. Indifferent to the sights and sounds. Indifferent to the calamity in town, indifferent to the glowing garden below or even the sweeping landscape beyond the city limits. Rolling lush green hills that over a great distance give way to a shimmering ocean.

“This arrangement is a farce” she says coldly at the sounds of exchanging footsteps. Her opal colored eyes are swelling, fighting back the sting of tears. Shutting herself away as if she’s quickly shutting a great big book. Her long blonde hair is ceremoniously adorned with cascading curls that fall into the back of her dress. A gorgeous emerald sheen graces the dress and its many starlight fastenings. The wine glass in her hand now cradling a meager drop, a nearly black bead that marks a trail of bloody violet as she delicately rolls the stem this way and that between her thumb and her fingers. Expectations prevent her from indulging.

As the man behind her comes onto the balcony, a woman in a white toga is hastily exiting. He looks down at the entryway to the outside world to see green glass shards mired in a pool of nearly onyx-purple. He takes a seat at the small table beside her. She snatches her hand away from the banister. Whether he was attempting any physical contact or not, she was quick to deny anything of the sort.

He leans over the table and drinks in the sight of the city and landscape. Feeling the wind and hearing the rustling of the trees in the forest at the northern and southern wings of the perimeter of the city, a dense forest with a canopy that lends the forest floor stark chutes of sunlight. Drawing in a deep breath and from it, a content smile.

His soft light brown hair, bound tightly in a ponytail in order to control the waves that roll down to his shoulders on a given day. His short dark beard frames his jawline. His black crushed velvet cape lends to the illusion of a galaxy, swirling and milky with its ample star designs. His black vest starkly contrasted by the white blouse underneath with black trousers and boots to complement the ensemble.

“I know it wasn’t particularly our idea, but you know, Serinus” he settles back in his seat before he continues “believe it or not, you actually stand to gain the most out of this ‘arrangement’.” He looks at her for a moment, just before he looks back over the view again. Her loud screams project the wine glass careening through the air just past his shoulder, exploding into shards behind him.

“Do NOT…make fun of me Lucius! I am your wife in TITLE. Do not misconstrue that to mean there will be anything that will make this prison sentence more palatable! My responsibility is to my people, my family, and my country.” She gestures wildly at the castle and the city “THIS! Is a means to an end, an end to the conflict and an opening of trade!”

He holds his palm up as if to stop her from charging “I’m acutely aware of the circumstances that have brought us to this moment.” Lucius begins to stand, a somewhat imposing figure given his height and his build. Yet, all of the haunting might is betrayed by his soft smile. “I have something to show you.”

Serinus takes a moment to collect herself and follows behind reluctantly “Have I the choice, or is this His Highness’s decree?”

He slows to meet her pace so they can walk sidelong one another “There is no greater gift than the gift of choice is there?”

“Certainly” she responds flatly. Her tone again, cold and devoid of any hope.

After navigating through the castle, they finally arrive at the threshold and the doors swing open. The dimness of the castle makes the sunlight seem much brighter than it is. As their eyes adjust to the luminosity once again, they see that many of the gardeners have been watching the door and smile brightly at the young couple as they proceed outside.

Lucius and Serinus carry on into the garden towards the castle gate, a gardener whose toga does little to cover her body, more draped than actually worn, approaches them from the side of their path. “Lucius, you simply must try these cherry tomatoes”

Serinus watches her, appalled by her scantily clad attire before what is now this woman’s king. Her train of thought was disrupted by Lucius’s eagerness.

“May I?” he requests softly. The gardener laughs and nods her head, gingerly she takes one between her finger and thumb and places it in his waiting mouth. Lucius closes his eyes and takes a moment to relish in the flavor. “Mm, that is very good, Liandas. Thank you for that.”

Liandas softly touches his face after he finishes chewing and swallowing the morsel he sampled. “May I?” She asks. Lucius places a hand over hers and nods, for a brief moment they enter into an intimate kiss.

Serinus suddenly bursts out “Alright Lucius, I’ve seen quite enough! If this is your idea of some kind of sick joke…and as for you! He is ‘Your Highness’ or ‘Your Grace’ who ARE you to think you can so casually-”

Lucius takes a moment to come away from Liandas and addresses Serinus, “All the pageantry is not required” he turns and nods to Liandas mouthing the words ‘thank you’ and she takes that as a cue to continue back to her work.

“We are friends, her and I,” he explains finally.

“Friends!?” Serinus barks, “Never in all my life have I engaged with ‘friends’ of mine quite like that! You are a Villain Lucius. Clearly a womanizer. Here you are parading around your freedom in front of me while I remain trapped in a gilded cage like some song bird with no hope of flight, ever! Knowing full well you have freedom enough to do as you please as Ruler of his Castle!”

“I make it a point to connect with the people. I have for a long time. Wondering about titles and deeds drives a wedge between those who are, and those who are not. When in the vastness of our expanding world, we are never not connected. Shall we continue?” He starts again down the path trying to remember the sauntering pace she preferred.

“Well I suppose draping myself over the balcony like an ornament can wait. I’ve yet to find a rope in my size.” she responds as she absentmindedly rubs the front of her neck.

“Have you gotten to know your people?” Lucius asks plainly. Still a content smile on his face unfazed by the macabre humor or the outburst she had had.

Serinus looks at him expectantly, perhaps granting her an elaboration to his question.

“As an elf, you’ve lived a long time. Hundreds of years even. Perhaps long enough to have learned the entirety of your people” he continues. “Many of us Humans are envious of the long lived races, even I find myself feeling that way sometimes if I’m being honest. However, I’ve come to learn that I need to find what’s important while I have the life I live. It's the people. Who are they? Other than men and women that live near me?”

Her curiosity began to flicker ever so slightly, but was quickly met with scorn “These people, as it were, are your subjects King Lucius. That woman is your subject. Those guards back there that stand outside your castle walls are your subjects. What is it that you don’t understand?” She stops just at the perimeter of the inner wall of the courtyard leading to the dirt roads of the city. Lucius continues a few steps through the gatehouse and realizes Serinus had stopped walking and talking. He turns to look at her.

Without so much as a breath between her last thought and her next, quickly asks “What are you doing?”

“What are you doing?” Lucius laughs, reflecting her question.

“Do you not have an escort? Or would you rather not burden your subjects King Lucius?” she quipped, rolling her eyes. Lucius lets out another laugh, much more audible this time “That’s a good one,” he reaches out a hand, beckoning her to continue on with him. “Come, we’ll be just fine.”

With a heavy sigh, she continues down the path but not without brushing his hand away like crumbs on a dining table.

Their foot falls abruptly change from the clopping sound of stone to the hush of the dirt of the city. People and vendors sprawling as far as the eye can see. Serinus surveys the T-shaped section of the road that greets them. From the height of the balcony, the view was not unlike reviewing a map. Important details making themselves known with big shapes, and colors. Clear and concise landmarks and destinations were straight forward. Now she found herself not very well being able to determine what leads where, apart from the castle behind them. This road looks like that one, and many of these people she had never met before. The structures around her offer little variation in design and color, not exactly drab but not like the garden either. A part of her now missed the garden. At least it was pretty.

While trying to make sense of the environment she has found herself in, she only just realizes that she had lost her bearing of where Lucius was. But only for a moment. Leaning against the wall, one foot is already bare on the ground and holding his weight as he briefly struggles to remove his boot from his other foot.

Serinus lamely claps her hands together “Oh good, the circus continues..”

He approaches her again, his smile never fading “Not to worry, you’re not required to-”

She quickly cuts him off. “Please Lucius. Let's not be insane shall we?” to which Lucius laughs loudly and shrugs.

Again down the path they go. She sneers at the sight of his feet as they meander down the road. Clearly hardened and calloused many times over from walking barefoot so often. Now covered in dirt and new dirt with every bit of distance gained. Out of the corner of her eye she sees a different person's set of feet, and another. Her eyes dart around a bit, trying to find a pair of shoes on anyone. Then she looks at the faces with the same level of urgency. Their smiles. They were just like Lucius’. Content. Peaceful. Welcoming.

A thunderous voice garners their attention “Lucius!” a big man hollers and makes his way over to them carrying a large tray of rolls with a woman by his side. The baker and his wife are clad in a similar fashion as the gardener. An older gentleman with some of his hair thinning but a full mustache, his toga worn around his waist exposing his burly upper body with the exception of his left arm that carries the remainder of the material. While her’s appears to drape off of one of her shoulders and fall down one side of her torso before wrapping around her wide hips, exposing her sides and a little less than half her chest.

Serinus immediately draws a comparison that their soft round features resemble the baked goods the man is carrying. Her breath hitches for a moment as she whispers excitedly “Adorable”.

“Congratulations you two!” The baker beams with pride as he shuffles the tray to one hand and grasps Lucius' shoulder with his now free hand. “I’m so proud of you! Both of you!” the baker continues, sniffling a bit. “You two will go on to do great things, I’m sure of it” tears begin welling in his eyes as he takes his hand away simply to use his sleeve to dab away the moisture of his tears.

“May I?” the baker asks weakly, looking at Lucius and Serinus.

Lucius looks to Serinus momentarily before looking back at the baker. “In time. For now, here” Lucius responds as he opens his arms out to the baker. They share a soft hug while the baker’s wife gently touches Lucius’ neck and kisses his cheek.

Lucius responds softly “Thank you both so much.” The baker heaves into his sobbing, crying onto Lucius' shoulder. The baker’s wife joins in the embrace, the three of them holding this moment together. “Of course dear, we love and we trust you.” she says in response.

Serinus, taken aback by the tenderness that these people, strangers to her, are so comfortable with King Lucius. His rule hardly began and yet, they are so gentle and loving with each other. She simply utters a question, her tone wavering between facade of discontent and genuine warmth. “Family… of yours?”

Lucius kisses both their cheeks, and they all part from the warm hug they all just shared. “Something like that,” he smiles lovingly in both of their eyes.

The wife pats the baker on his arm, “Come along dear, before the rolls go stale” she urges, pretending to push the mountainous man down their original path. The couple laughs as he feigns dropping the entire tray.

Lucius laughs watching them make their own way down the path. “I used to enjoy those same buttered rolls when I’d come to market as a child.” He states. He draws in a deep breath and smiles at Serinus.

Her gaze is also beholden to the baker couple as they playfully meander down the road “Perhaps you can order for him to bake for you” her tone much less convincing than what would have been on par with her previously venomous slights. Almost an automatic response more than anything.

Lucius shrugs, “whenever I suppose” he then continues down the path they had started. Serinus comes to and quicks her pace a bit to catch up. “Really, who were those people?”

“Jorgen and Bria” he answers, “They are bakers.”

A bit annoyed, Serinus looks at him incredulously, “Right, apart from the names, I’ve learned little more than what I already knew about them, Lucius. What is their relationship to you? Uncle and Aunt? Godparents?” she presses her fingers off in a list.

“You might call them subjects,” he answers. Serinus feels a wash of cold shivers run down her shoulders and back. Never has the idea of ‘subjects’ felt so dirty as it did now. She draws her face away from his view, a trifling attempt to maintain her rigidity as before.

“To me they are people with hopes, dreams, and desires. Sure, a baker is more qualified to tell me how much flour to use for a recipe, than perhaps a royal advisor, but that doesn’t change the fact that these different skills do not define them. No more that ‘King’ defines me. I’m simply a man with a pretty hat. No more fit to guide a nation than a child with a blanket as a cape.” He can’t help but laugh a little at the imagery, a playful innocence in comparison to reality.

“Your status and your responsibility to the nation is what keeps it going.” Serinus adds. “They need you to lead them and it is your birthright.” Her voice trails with uncertainty, her words are well placed but hardly a bit of conviction in anything she’s saying. She draws a deep breath to regroup her poise and composure.

She finishes her statement at the sight of the city square. Dominating the plaza is a large fountain with intricate designs rich with history and cultural significance. Below in the shallow pool, people in complete undress wade, and splash each other. Some people laugh and the commotion grows louder, while others find intimacy amongst each other and their wet naked bodies.

Serinus’ face immediately feels hot and red with embarrassment, seeing all the different bodies together was overwhelming. She tries to avert her gaze but is thrown off by the loud calling,

“Lucius!” someone shouts from the fountain. “Join us! It feels wonderful!” They laugh. Her embarrassment explores a deeper shade of red as she turns to regard Lucius, hoping with no certainty that perhaps he’ll not indulge them.

When she sees him, her heart stops for a moment. His upper body was certainly exposed, but upon it, a plethora of scars. She had read many stories of scarred men, the scars seeming to bring a rugged quality to their character. The scars themselves often framed the characters with pretty lines for intrigue. Something noteworthy and, if villainous, allowed her to easily identify crucial moments of their appearance.

These scars were different. They mangled his silhouette. Hideously. There was little in the way of symmetry in respects to the lines, the scar tissue, and the total tone of his skin. Hardly a space for even partially softer skin. She quietly gasped as she saw his chest, the pectoral muscle that would have covered his heart, now nothing more than a crater of scar tissue. A horrid site of twisted and mashed skin healed over in messy swirls.

In spite of it all, his smile remains unchanged. As he completely undresses, his legs and thighs too are ravaged with old forgotten wounds.

She places a hand on her chest to compose herself but to little avail. “Oh, Lucius” a shining glass begins to glaze over her eyes as she watches him merrily spring into the pool with the other people. A bead of a tear forming in the corner of her eye as she watches this battered man play so whimsically.

Approaching the fountain, she finds that the structure is a beautiful black marble with a metallic inlay for all its intricate designs. The edge of the elliptic reservoir is nearly searing to the touch, but not so much that it can cause injury, from the dark color absorbing the beating sunlight. She dips her finger in the water, and is surprised to find it's lukewarm. Certainly much cooler than the heat of this day by comparison.

She starts making her way towards Lucius' direction, as she traces the arc of the pool with every step, she comes across a young woman. Her toga, instead, is being used as a pad for her to sit on the hot barrier. Her bronze skin, free of any mismatching tones, soaks in the sunlight and gently paddles her feet in the water. Her long hair straightened and black as the marble she’s sitting on, runs down her back.

The young woman catches Serinus out of her periphery and turns to smile at her, “Hi, I’m Giselle.”

“Serinus,” she starts, “Queen…” she had begun a script rehearsed time and time again for many many performances. Royalty, diplomats, the most common being a mirror. All to show how regal her and her family was and how important her station is. As she trails off in contemplation, her gaze drifts away from Giselle for a moment before she reengages with her again.

“Serinus” she says simply. Perhaps not smiling as Giselle is, but not unhappy to exchange pleasantries with her.

Giselle leans back a bit, using her hands to prop her up and bears her weight on her shoulders. “You’re very lovely Serinus, care to sit?” Serinus agrees hesitantly. “T-thank you Giselle” she replies, taken aback a bit by this stranger’s boldness.

Serinus sits opposite facing Giselle, with her back facing the water. She then turns to see Lucius, who is now grappling a man who is feigning the throes of death, while a woman with short hair jumps on Lucius’s back to rescue the poor man. This causes all three of them to topple over into the water with a big splash followed by a cacophonous laughter.

Serinus laughs quietly at the scene then clears her throat and stares into the water. The reflections on the surface are now wavey and disproportionate to her and Giselle.

“How does he do it?” Serinus asks softly.

Giselle clearly invested in her inquisition as she now watches her eyes. Serinus continues “How is it that he can so easily move about? That he can so easily reach out to people? And they reciprocate? That he bares no walls, no boundaries? That he’s so…he’s…that…so…” Her questions become more and more frantic than the last, spiraling into chaos.

Giselle offers sweetly “Content?”

“Yes!” Serinus desperately shouts her reply, frightening herself simultaneously and quickly she claps a hand over her own mouth. A tear runs down her cheek and her breath stifles a bit. “I-I’m sorry” she says weakly, trying to speak around the lump in her throat.

She begins to hastily stand up to leave, as she does, a loud rip announces itself behind her. Shocked at the tugging on her dress that accompanied it, she looks down and sees that part of the fountain had torn away a forearms width of her skirt from her waistline in a large strip. Giselle watching the scene unfold so quickly, cups her mouth in shock.

“Oh, damn!” Serinus desperately tries to pull it free before shuffling the skirt around to find the culprit was a star-shaped piece of decoration sewn in the material had anchored itself between the seam of the marble and the inlay that resided within it. Mounting embarrassment assaults her senses as she squats down to hide her exposed leg, all the while trying to free the skirt.

“Serinus?” Lucius calls to her anxiously. He tries to move through the knee high water urgently to get to her. He then attempts to examine what it is she has and what she’s trying to accomplish at a glance.

“I’m fine Lucius” she says flatly as her next blink sends off a tear down her cheek. She finagles the piece free and stands, now attempting to somehow fasten the massively torn piece of skirt back to her waistline.

Concerned, Lucius carefully climbs over out of the pool, “Here, let's go back” he offers, trying to help her salvage what’s left of the dress. Serinus snaps a look of bewilderment to him. “Well wait,” she begins softly, then as if mentally stacking her poise and pedigree she continues.

“You promised to show me something. You cannot honestly think that we’ve gone this far already for you to back out now?” She attempts to hide the motion of wiping away tears and makes a worse attempt at trying to hide her sniffling.

“Right, we’ll find something else for me to wear for the time being” she states objectively. Giselle offers her the toga she had been sitting on. “Very well, let's get this on then” Giselle guides Serinus and Lucius to a closed off alley space.

“Lucius, can you block the view please?” Giselle asks. Confused at first, but then ventures a guess at Giselle’s intent and complies by standing at the mouth of the tight space with his back to the two women, offering the most amount of privacy given the situation.

Serinus and Giselle begin working the fastenings off the dress, however, Serinus’s pace is nowhere near that of Giselle’s. Having been a princess, it is not uncommon for many hands to make light work with regards to donning or doffing a dress. It was routine for her and she hardly had to participate. Though this was the first instance that she was naked with the people helping her get dressed. She couldn’t help but make comparisons, especially with Giselle who was right in front of her. Then the gardener, or the baker’s wife from before.

Her hands struggle to decide what she needed to hide as Giselle begins unfolding the toga. Giselle at first hadn’t noticed Serinus’ apprehension until she began the first step of dressing her. It was made apparent when Serinus eagerly covered herself with the fabric.

“You’re safe here.” Giselle assured her. Serinus nods and attempts to wrest control of the situation as she responds. “I will ensure this returns to you, as it stands. I am in your debt.”

Giselle smiles at her as if a small child is babbling, confident that their message is coming across, but endearing in their attempt. “You don’t need to do that,” she laughs, then follows by cupping Senrinus’ face in her hands and stepping closer towards her “May I?”.

Serinus cocks her head back a bit trying to create distance “May you what?” She turns her head but maintains eye contact as her face creeps into a look of confusion as if she had just dipped a toe in something viscous and foreign.

Giselle can’t help but laugh. “You’re very funny Serinus,” she says and squeezes her cheek as a send off. She comes behind Lucius and places a hand on the small of his back to get his attention. Once he sees her, he sidles a bit out of her way and heads down the road. Lucius turns to regard Serinus “I presume it’s safe?” he asks. His heart swells at the sight of her.

Her hair is more collected in a braid that hangs off the same shoulder that the retaining strap for the toga resides. The rest of the material wraps around her modestly, stopping short at the middle of her thighs. “More like wearing a towel made of bed sheets, but better than tarnished dresses I suppose.”

“Are you comfortable?” Lucius asks.

“Yes,” she says accompanied by a nod “This thing seems like it’ll fall off any moment though.” she says adjusting the top of her toga and the bit of the fabric over her shoulder.

“Well it's not forever at least” he assures. He looks down at her feet and spots the sores from the heels, especially around the pinky toes and wrapping up from the bottom of the ball of the foot. Now flat in the dirt like his and she hasn’t said anything about it. “Do you want your shoes?” he offers.

She turns and sees them lying upside down in the dirt atop the pile of fabric that is her dress. Considering it only for a moment then turns to regard him again. “I know where they’ll be. What about you?” She starts to turn her gaze down at his feet but diverts her gaze very quickly, off somewhere into the wall, the ground, perhaps a bird up in the sky. Her cheeks flush with a pink rosy hue. Without looking at him she gestures in his direction ambiguously.

Lucius laughs “I know where they’ll be” he echos. Serunis shakes her head, doing little to fight the smile as she rolls her eyes and looks back at him. This time, not finding issue with just seeing him with or without the things left behind.

“Shall we?” he beckons, stepping out the alleyway. She follows alongside him as they continue on their original bearing down the path together.

“So Lucius, tell me, what is this question everyone keeps asking?” she begins recounting the moments on her fingers and stopping at four for a second in quiet indecision. He looks at her, his curiosity cut short as she continues “‘May I?’ it feels like after that the rest of the question is just understood. How do you communicate with just that?”

He blinks rapidly for a moment and lets out a puff cheeked sigh, “I’ll be honest, that’s a hard one to explain”

“You did it just this morning! The gardener?” she retorts. She claps her hands on the beat of her second rhetorical question.

Lucius laughs a bit and looks back to the path, just before he begins, a few musicians travel together carrying their instruments with some urgency passed them in the same direction. “The best way I can put it. It's like when you reach your hand up and ask to get pulled up off the floor. It’s a way for us to reach out to one another, and explore something. Like I said, it's hard to explain. It’s not something we often think about, much like breathing. We just feel it happen.” He chuckles and looks at her, clearly dissatisfied with his flighty answer of a detail she feels she needs to understand, but he can’t help but belly laugh.

“You’re annoying” she says flatly, as she adjusts her toga again.

They reach a large gathering area at an intersection in the road with many vendors outlining the area. The center has a very short wooden stage. Though opposite Serinus and Lucius, something catches Serinus’ curiosity. A woman lays on the side of the road while a man sits in front of her dabbing her with a small stick. Serinus looks to Lucius confused, his only answer being an open hand encouraging her to investigate.

She goes over to the man and woman on the road to explore the scene more. His skin is very dark from years of sun exposure, though his soft eyes belie the leatheryness of his body. His toga is folded in his lap, one knee is bent inward in a typical cross legged position except his other leg is missing from the knee down. Beside him, are many cups with different colors and a big flat plate with various dabs of those same colors, some intermingled with one another to make new colors.

The woman lying in front of him reminded her of the baker's wife, Bria, her body is soft and curvy like a gentle pillow. Her toga lies rolled up by her head, and her state of dress is instead replaced with paintings of intricate and surreal tree designs and motifs from her shoulders down to her ribs. What set her apart from Bria was a gentle curvature around her abdomen that was etched with ghost-like slits that tell the story of life. Serinus kneels down, and simply takes in her image piece by piece.

“Hi Honey” the woman addresses Serinus. “I’m Lyra, and this is Jo’hann. We’re so happy you’re here” Serinus is still star struck by Lyra.

Meanwhile, Lucius quietly asks “May I?” to Jo’hann. Jo’hann nods as he hands two extra paint brushes to Lucius. He then sits behind Serinus, grabs the back of her hand and rotates it to place the paint brush in her palm. Surprised she looks back at Lucius, then Lyra, and finally to Jo’Hann.

“But…but I don’t know how,” she says quietly.

“There’s no wrong way to do it dear” Lyra’s voice is velvety warm to the ears and makes its way straight to the heart. Serinus smiles and dips her paintbrush into the yellow paint, hesitant at first. Finally she lands her first paint stroke, but realizes she has no direction for this piece. A question on her mind distracts her from any cohesive design.

“Lyra?” Serinus again hesitates, “I don’t know how to ask, but…I’d like to though.”

“What is it hon? Whatever you need help with” Lyra replies expectantly.

Serinus takes a quick breath and looks into her eyes “I’d like to know your story.” Serinus breaks her eye contact immediately, under the guise of loading more paint on her brush. Lyra smiles softly and nods. “Of course, get comfy dear”

Serinus nods with a big smile and sits crossing her legs, still painting swirling designs on Lyra’s body. Lucius catches Serinus off guard a bit as he loads paint on a brush and grabs her hand “May I?” she blushes and nods her head softly and then shushes him so she can hear the story.

Lyra goes on to describe her simple home on the hill, she enjoyed her chores on the farm and remembered having many dogs help her control the goats. As she got older she would walk to the shore to find bits and baubles that had washed up and couldn’t make it back out to sea. There she met a boy who would sit in a canoe and everytime she came, he would forget to cast his net in the water. She learned that after the boy told her the first time about it, his father chased him with the net, swinging the weights over his head.

Serinus, Lucius, and Jo’hann all laugh at this detail in the story. They’ve all made a lot of progress in the designs on their canvases, and at different points, change canvases, everyone was painting everyone.

Lyra continues saying she began helping him on his canoe but he had to help her on the farm as that was how trade works. So he agreed and many years went on of this back and forth exchange. On a slow day, she had taught him how to make an arrowhead as she worked well with her hands. He had one day asked her to do some night fishing with him as there was a special fish that came out at night. She had not questioned it since it was part of their agreement.

It was only until they had reached their regular fishing spot that she realized the net was missing from their boat. Lyra’s heart swelled as she revealed that the fisherman had asked her to marry him with two arrowheads he made himself. They were at least shaped slightly like arrows.

Serinus gushed, nearly in tears.

Lyra told her they had built a house exactly the same distance in between his and her parents' houses and he was confident in this because it was measured by harpoon lengths end over end and that’s a sure measurement! All so they could remain nearby. They had five children together, all who’ve grown at this point.

Before the birth of their fifth child, he was called away for training before the upcoming war. Many months passed and he came back. He was only given a week's time before the regiment would be off to fight. He begged the baby to come and say goodbye.

“But nature hardly works that way” Lyra said, her lip quivering. Senirus stops all together, captivated by her emotions. Her husband left the morning of the last day, and her baby was born that same night. Her eldest son ordered his next younger brother to go find their father at the garrison and with haste he did. The garrison however was nearly empty, save for a few lame horses and rats.

Lyra had waited years, everyday at the sun’s peak at the top of the hill to watch for the regiment to return. Her youngest daughter accompanied her one morning on the hill, now able to walk and make up nonsense games on her own. That day a man did arrive at the foot of the hill, a different man with a crutch and a heavily bandaged leg. Her daughter was scared of the stranger but Lyra ran down to greet him, they said nothing to each other. Which raised Lyra’s anxiety tremendously, she wasn’t sure who this man was but he knew her. His face was aged by the war. He grabbed her hand, opened her palm and placed something within it. An arrowhead, it wasn’t very sharp but there was no mistaking its shape. She fell to her knees and her daughter came to her crying mother.

“I’m so sorry” Serinus shudders horribly. Lyra reaches out to hold Serinus’ hand and wipes her own tears away. “It's okay sweetheart. I’ve still got my friend to help me through it all, and Lucius is so sweet to us” Serinus nods, words halted by a lump in her throat. Lyra sits on her knees and holds her arms out to her. “May I?” Serinus nods harder and accepts Lyra’s warm hug. Serinus gasps softly at how much the hug seemed to put an end to the tears, almost as if by a spell.

After composing herself she smiles to Lyra, then to Jo’hann, then to Lucius. She sees that the caved-in scar on his chest is void of any paint and so, she takes it upon herself to paint a bright yellow sun with carefully crafted rays that swirl almost infinitely onto themselves. Which matches the ocean and forest motifs on the rest of his body.

She looks down and sees that much of her designs are based on starlights, twinkling in all different colors across her shoulders, upper back, arms, and legs. Even her cheeks. “I like these better,” she remarks, adjusting her loose fitting toga once again. The group exchanges pleasant goodbyes and they split off in their original pairs.

Outside of their story, a crowd had gathered for the musicians and begun applauding. Serinus and Lucius integrate with the crowd to hear the musicians play a jaunty tune. Many of the people spread and open a large circular space in the middle for those that want to dance. Lucius is quick to be among the many first. His dancing is less poised and proper and more instinctual in its random movements. Serinus laughs and claps in rhythm with the tune.

A tap to the shoulder draws Serinus’ attention behind her, where she finds Liandas smiling and mouthing the words ‘May I?’. Serinus blushes for a moment, staring at the ground. She contemplates how nasty she was earlier that day. Meanwhile, Liandas had shown nothing but kindness, not unlike the people that surround her now. In her wallowing, she sees all the stomping and jumping, the dirt and the dust, and the rushing energy of the crowd and the moment. In a brief fit of labored breathing, she nods her head vigorously. In order to keep her nerve, she quickly pecks Liandas on the cheek and flushes with a bright red.

Liandas laughs and shakes her head no endearingly, she grabs Serinus’ hands and begins pulling her into the circle. She begins to jump up and down, over and over, pulling Serinus around in circles in her wake. Serinus, recovering from her bewilderment, does not immediately realize they are dancing until she looks around and discovers all the smiling faces. All the people clapping. She looks to Liandas, then Lucius and begins laughing. She joins Liandas in a bout of dance jumping, at first wary, but soon completely enthralled, closing her eyes for just a moment to consume the music.

As the song hums to the end, Serinus nearly falls down, drenched in sweat. Lucius and Liandas gently help her to her feet and assist her out of the circle to a nice open spot on the ground away from the crowd. Serinus immediately lays flat on her back without a second thought. Liandas, realizing they were safe, blows them a kiss and returns to the music.

Serinus’ breath is finally catching up to her and she immediately uses it to let out a hysterical laughter. Lucius laughs with her as she rolls onto her stomach, running her hands in the dirt. Watching the small grains ebb and flow between her fingers and under her nails, she shifts around great dramatic circles before pushing up off the ground and climbing to her feet. Lucius scrambles up to follow along and again he beckons her down the road. Nearly skipping, she follows.

Down the path they find Jorgen and Bria, their pan empty. Great wide eyed astonishment stamps their faces as they look upon their Queen. Bria asks the words with warm open arms. Serinus nods and almost jumps into Bria while Jorgen cries out and drops the pan, joining in the embrace. Bria and Serinus laugh as Jorgen weeps heavily. Serinus smiles lovingly into their eyes and gives them both a small peck on the cheek.

Lucius and Serinus find their way back on their path once again, this time taking them out of city limits. The sky begins to take on a golden orange quality as they near the rolling hills that nearly dominated the landscape preceding the ocean backdrop up in the balcony of the castle. When they reach the crest of a very tall hill, they see the sun fading under the whim of the horizon. The light of the sun is almost a reflection of the art piece Serinus left on Lucius' heart.

Lucius almost instinctively begins to gather twigs and branches, snapping them into smaller pieces. Serinus, unsure of what she should be doing, follows Lucius’ example and gathers twigs and a few flowers. Lucius chuckles at the sight of the flowers and decorates her braids and her hair with the flowers, tying the stems into weaves. Lucius then manages to piece together a friction solution for starting a fire with all the branches they collected.

Serinus claps as a flame explodes from seemingly nothing into a life giving fire. They sit next to the fire and watch as the sun continues to descend into the horizon to give way to the creeping purple that acts as the harbinger for night. Already dots of white begin to litter the sky above as the deep red gives way to nightfall so quickly.

Lucius explains to Serinus that a phenomenon happens that once the sun is truly gone for the night, a gust of wind sweeps once over the land. He details the anomaly, with his hands and big sweeping motions to pantomime its impact. Serinus, meanwhile, is enraptured with Lucius’ storytelling clapping and laughing with excitement. Anticipation mounting as this event may take place soon.

She stands up and spots a boat just before the horizon and shows Lucius. When he spots it, he monitors the sunset. They stand together watching as the last slivers of light, bit by bit, begin to descend and surrender to night. The stars are more prevalent now than ever as their domain beholdens the sky to an inky black. The last chute of light finally dims from some distance away in the sea.

A single wave out at sea crests, it only affects the boat they saw but heralds the wind that Lucius mentioned. It moves quietly but makes its way over the tall grass over the hill and blows directly into them. In one harsh gust, the wind blows out their fire. Simultaneously, this gust blows Serinus’ toga off her frame completely and whips it into the wind.

Unwavering in her stance, her shuddered gasps come as a mix of shock and joy, as if she had plunged into cold water at that moment. After the wind subsides, she takes a few quick breaths, her lips curling into an irresistible smile. She pauses for a moment and sees that the landscape and seascape are weakly lit by a nearly imperceptible glow of white, purple, and dark blue that nearly matches the paint that dots her body.

She looks up to find the source and is met with a swirling cluster of bright pin holes in the sky, cutting a swath through the open expanse of dark blue and bathing them in starlight. The lights reflect deeply in her eyes as she is overtaken by the sight. Tears stream down her face unabated and continue down her body before touching down on the earth. First her crying is soft and a touch lonesome, but as the connection to the galaxy grows within her, she shudders again just like for Lyra. She begins sobbing loudly and unabashedly, the tears coming in waves like an uncontrollable force.

Serinus falls to her knees crying loudly and Lucius comes to his knees with her. He touches her shoulder and is immediately met with a warm needing embrace from her, their skin meeting wholly. Her shuddering shaking him and his indomitable size as she cries loudly into his chest.

Lucius pets her hair and with that she heaves a big sigh. She finally looks up at him, some tears remaining with only a blink to send them down her cheek. Her face now smeared with paint from the heaving and crying.

Serinus places her hands on his cheeks and brushes his lips with both of her thumbs. Her eyes, drawn to them like they held the gravity of her world now. She blinks out more tears and as she looks directly into his eyes. Her eyelids slowly fall as her face steadily approaches his, her wanting lips pursed together as she softly whispers to him.

“May I?”