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“What does your dream house look like, my angel?”
Angelbud didn’t question why M’hilo was asking. “Roses, everywhere.” She spread her arms, imagining the sight. “One of those small houses in the woods that have strong wooden doors. I want it to be dark red.”
“Red? Not pink?” Her hair and ears were pink, after all, and when she didn’t wear white, she wore pink. Her wedding dress had been pink instead of white like their friends had expected.
“Well… pink would be pretty, I’ll admit, but I want the inside to have pink instead. So the outside would be dark red. Or maybe a pale blue?” She pondered it and shrugged. “I want roses growing under the windows and along the path. Oh! And latticed windows, with roses in the quarries.” She could just imagine it. Pink, red, white roses, growing in a sweet explosion of color. Yellow and orange ones too, perhaps even the rare peach color. “We could put a couple chairs by the door, so we can sit and admire the garden.” Swinging chairs were nice, but she didn’t want something that could fall over the years, so stationary chairs they would be, although she wouldn’t say no to rocking chairs.
“That would be lovely.” He fingered a lock of her hair, listening eagerly. “Is there anything else about the outside that you’d want?”
“I think the windowsills ought to be painted green, don’t you? A nice, light green. Oh and the window covers should be green too! Green is such a happy color.”
“As evidenced by the leaves on your face, my love.” He fairly purred as he traced the markings on her cheeks, which were a pale green that made them look like vines.
His wife smiled, pulling him to her chest. Her legs nearly engulfed him on the couch they were reclining. “And what about you, my light? What does your dream house look like?” She wondered if he was asking because they were still living in their apartments, with no home of their own just yet.
He thought about it, even though he wanted to know more about the interior of her dream house. “Well… water. I want it to be near running water. A pond or a lake would be excellent, but I like the sound of rivers, streams, and waterfalls.”
“Oh, I hadn’t even thought of that.” A water wheel might be interesting too, and useful. “What else?”
“I love your rose garden; I think I would like a vegetable patch somewhere. Depending upon where we would get sunlight—I’m not that picky about where to put it.”
“Of course! We should grow as much of our own food as possible.” It would be good to till the soil and work the land.
“As for inside… somewhere I can rest my instruments. A large kitchen, too, and a big table for us and our friends.”
Yes… wouldn’t that be nice? A place away from offices and headquarters, somewhere all their friends could come and eat together. Angelbud could almost see it—could almost see Thancred leaning against a wall, the twins chattering excitedly, M’hilo and G’raha singing together while Y’shtola and Krile listened, Urianger stirring a spoon in his tea… Tataru would be at the stove with her, and Estinien would have to be dragged inside from his wanderings. Perhaps her brother would be there, and some of M’hilo’s sisters. It would be crowded, and noisy, but it would be full of joy.
“We should paint all sorts of things on the walls,” she said. “A sun and stars, flowers with butterflies, ocean waves…” She bit her lip, wondering if that was too much, too silly and juvenile. “If—if that would be okay with you?”
“Spending time painting with you? Absolutely. We could even ask Alphinaud to sketch on the walls, if we’re not confident in our own artistic ability.”
Angelbud sat up at the idea. “A painting party! With the Scions! Everyone can help. Wouldn’t that be fun?”
He sat up as well, excited. “Yes! Although I am certain that there will be paint splatters if we put certain friends in the same room.”
They both giggled, knowing that there was likely to be some amount of silliness and shenanigans. “That’s all right, we can either keep it that way, or paint it over when they’re gone.”
“We ought to have plenty of comfortable furniture, or at least a plush rug so that the floor is comfortable to sit upon.”
“A place for us and all our friends. I suppose that means we ought to have a large enough room for that.” She started counting the rooms they were imagining in her head. A kitchen complete with a dining area, a living room, their bedroom, a bathroom… would they need another bedroom or two?
Perhaps if they had any guests stay over. Any other reason would be lovely but nearly impossible.
“If it’s our dream house, then we’ll have all the space we want!”
“Well, in that case…” But then she giggled and shook her head. “Why do you ask, Hilo?” She could tell it wasn’t just because, but she couldn’t fathom why.
He smiled at her, and it reminded her why she called him a light. He was so bright when he smiled like that, and it made her heart skip beats. “Because I think I may have enough money soon to buy us a plot of land where we can build this house.”
Her jaw dropped and she had a sharp intake of breath. “Oh, Hilo… you didn’t…” When he nodded again, she fairly leapt to hug him. “I’ll help! I have some money, and I could try selling things too.”
He caught hold of her and hugged her tight. “We’ll have a house to live in soon, my angel, I promise. And then we can have roses out front and our friends at our kitchen table.”
“How good you are to me.” She kissed him, first on the cheek and then on the lips. “I can’t wait to build this house with you.”