Lavender & Fire

14. Feeling Vulnerable

"Lord Othen." Lady Biechta was surprised when she opened her door.

"I hope I'm not intruding on your time, Lady Biechta."

"No, not at all."

"I came to ask if you would perhaps like to accompany me to the theater? The orchestra will be there today to run through some scenes with the actors with the live music. I thought perhaps you would enjoy watching?"

"Oh. That does sound... Enjoyable. If it would not be too much trouble? I do not wish to be in the way."

"Not at all. Shall we?"

Othen sat them in a seat at an upper balcony, where they could see the entire stage. Biechta noticed there were people walking around the stage, as if they were scrambling to get ready. Musicians were down below the front of the stage, fiddling with their instruments.

"There are so many of them." She commented quietly about the musicians.

"Yes. An orchestra is typically made up of many musicians. With all varieties of instruments. String instruments, percussion, wind. All working together to perform the pieces."

"But the music I heard..." She stopped and lowered her eyes.

"It is fine, I welcome your questions."

"I do not wish to be a burden. Or an annoyance." She said quietly in response.

"As I have assured you, you are neither." He sat there, studying her as she looked down at her hands on her lap. His next words were spoken softly, gentle as if she would break. "Biechta. Will you look at me?

She slowly and timidly looked up until their eyes met.

"Do not ever think of yourself as a burden. Or an annoyance. Especially when trying to learn. How else do we acquire new information and broaden our knowledge? And furthermore, I thoroughly enjoy sharing my knowledge and experience with music and arts with others. It is why I do what I do. Do not hesitate to ask me questions or share any comments you have or wishes. Can you promise me that?"

Slowly, she nodded. "I promise." She whispered.

He nodded. "We are friends, yes? Friends must be comfortable sharing with each other and helping each other."

She nodded again. He thought she looked like she might say something, but the music started playing from down below and her eyes immediately latched onto the stage. "It's starting." She whispered.

Othen watched her as the excitement rippled through her entire being, a smile pulling at his lips as he turned to watch as well.

~~~~~~~~~~~

"I told him we were lovers." Rahn told the quiet, masked male across from her as she updated him in her living room.

Dom stared for a moment before nodding. "It is a logical cover," he admitted.

"Speaking of physical relationships, how about you spar with me?" She stood and bounced on her toes.

He crossed his arms, not willing to comply with her request.

"Come on, I can't go to the training grounds like I'm used to, I don't have any sparring partners. I can go for a run, because that would be something a normal civilian would do. But I can't train outside of this dwelling and there's only so much I can do on my own."

When he didn't move, she added, "I can't go weeks without training, I need it to keep me safe out there should something happen. You want this mission to be a success, right?"