Post by Rafael Sandoval on May 15, 2015 22:39:35 GMT -5
Theirs had been an elegant dance. Ever since their arrival in the capital, Kattalin Ibarra and Rafael Sandoval had managed to remain in contact. Oh, they had met a few times since they had parted company just inside the city walls but these were but fleeting moments that were hobbled by the formality forced by the circumstances or the number of people present prevented them from reverting to the easy and comfortable familiarity they had established. They had sent messages back and forth, simple notes inquiring as to one's health and comfort and trying to establish a mutually agreeable time to meet, away from official business and prying eyes and actually talk.
The late summer sun was hot and bright and the air about the lake was humid and thick. Though the days had begun to shorten, there was little hint of the fall and winter to come for it seemed as though summer itself refused to relinquish its grasp. And it was in a small copse of trees, carefully tended to create a shaded and intimate area where one might retreat for some time outdoors that Rafael Sandoval had set himself up. Despite his rank and wealth, he had not brought a servant with him, nor had he taken his sword with him as was his custom. After all, he did not foresee a need for it and this was hardly a meeting in which he needed to represent himself as a soldier.
Spread across the grass was a simple thin blanket, and on it was a simple basket containing a few simple libations and there he sat. Kattalin's note said she would meet him there, but then again he had arrived early. Quite early at that. Normally, he would not have arrived with enough time to fret as to exactly how and where he would lay out blanket and basket. Up until recently, he had been and inveterate and unrepentant womanizer. But there was something about Kattalin Ibarra that tied his normally composed guts into knots, that defied his typical ease with getting what he wanted from a woman.
And he knew what it was. He had arrived in Gilboa with the sole goal of securing a bride from the Ibarras. At first, Kattalin had been little but a political prize to be sought out and brought home. But before long, he had come to enjoy her company. Then, he had come to like her. And now, he refused to go carousing in brothels with his brother as had been his habit; he did not try to woo staff at the castle or the inn. No, he saved his affections for her.
And now, there he waited for Kattalin to join him. And he wondered, was she affected by him in any way that resembled the effects she had upon him?
Kattalin Ibarra
The late summer sun was hot and bright and the air about the lake was humid and thick. Though the days had begun to shorten, there was little hint of the fall and winter to come for it seemed as though summer itself refused to relinquish its grasp. And it was in a small copse of trees, carefully tended to create a shaded and intimate area where one might retreat for some time outdoors that Rafael Sandoval had set himself up. Despite his rank and wealth, he had not brought a servant with him, nor had he taken his sword with him as was his custom. After all, he did not foresee a need for it and this was hardly a meeting in which he needed to represent himself as a soldier.
Spread across the grass was a simple thin blanket, and on it was a simple basket containing a few simple libations and there he sat. Kattalin's note said she would meet him there, but then again he had arrived early. Quite early at that. Normally, he would not have arrived with enough time to fret as to exactly how and where he would lay out blanket and basket. Up until recently, he had been and inveterate and unrepentant womanizer. But there was something about Kattalin Ibarra that tied his normally composed guts into knots, that defied his typical ease with getting what he wanted from a woman.
And he knew what it was. He had arrived in Gilboa with the sole goal of securing a bride from the Ibarras. At first, Kattalin had been little but a political prize to be sought out and brought home. But before long, he had come to enjoy her company. Then, he had come to like her. And now, he refused to go carousing in brothels with his brother as had been his habit; he did not try to woo staff at the castle or the inn. No, he saved his affections for her.
And now, there he waited for Kattalin to join him. And he wondered, was she affected by him in any way that resembled the effects she had upon him?
Kattalin Ibarra