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“I’d no idea you were so good with children. I should have guessed it was among your many talents.”
Mauve glanced over as she took a seat on the low stone wall, surprised to see Thancred observing her with a casual poise that suggested he’d been there for some time. Looking back at the group of Doman urchins as they took off down the main street of Mor Dhona, laughing and hollering, she only wondered, “You aren’t?”
“I don’t have the most experience, no.”
“Mm, and I’m to believe you don’t have any of your own out there somewhere?”
He hesitated with a thoughtful look on his face, and then appeared to rethink what he was about to say and instead only smiled. “You do have experience, then?”
“None of my own,” she said with a nod, “but I’ve spent a fair amount of time with them. Where I come from, it’s common for the townspeople to take turns watching the children between work shifts. I did my fair share of it through the years.” Purposely, she looked away as she spoke, reflexively self-conscious upon bringing up the past. She felt Thancred watching her, although whether it was genuine curiosity or just politeness, she didn’t care to look over and confirm.
“And you were good at it, I see,” he complimented after a moment. She shrugged.
“It isn’t difficult. Well, it isn’t always easy, but once you know how they think, you figure out how best to get along with them. Usually.” But adults were always the villains when it came to enforcing bedtime and healthy eating, and sometimes there was simply no winning over the particularly stubborn children in those instances. Overall, however, Mauve liked them, enough to have mused a handful of times on how her own children might turn out, should she ever escape the Empire’s iron fist. There was no point in having any otherwise, she always thought, for why intentionally bring another innocent life into bitter servitude, to be abused and exploited? And that was assuming she ever disregarded her anxiety towards becoming that close to another person--a fear she still struggled with, perhaps.
Of course, even free as she was now, there was no telling whether she would find anyone she wanted to start that sort of life with, nor when she would want to. She would be very picky in that regard, she was certain.
Thancred sat down beside her, stirring her from her thoughts. “That sounds like your approach to people in general,” he pointed out.
“It works with you,” she mused, “so I suppose you’re right.” She glanced over as he gave a wry huff of amusement. “Did you need something?”
“Naught more than a word with my favorite lovely lady, to see how she fares.”
It was her turn to laugh under her breath. “Favorite,” she repeated in mock awe. She’d seen how many favorites he had. “Let me rephrase that: did you want something?”
Despite his easygoing smile, she detected a spark of heat in the glance he threw her. “A word,” he repeated, “and perhaps a little more besides, if milady feels generous.”
“I’m afraid all my generosity is used up for the day,” she said in half-jest, having spent much of said day running errands and favors for the town at large. “But if you’re suggesting a fair trade of some sort, well, that’s another matter entirely.”
“Naturally. When do I ever leave you wanting for fairness?” He stood up, the movement of his hand so subtle that she didn’t notice him brushing his fingertips along the inside of her knee until it was over. “But business before pleasure, I’m afraid. Meet me in the solar when you have a moment.”
Mauve only offered a nod to that, watching him go for a few beats before turning back to the town square before her, and her thoughts from before. Considering how much had changed in the last few moons alone, to say nothing of the present compared to three years ago, it was difficult to guess where her life might eventually lead, what opportunities she might have. Of course, she needn’t be in any rush to figure it out. She was young. Perhaps she would be content to wander forever, or perhaps she would choose a path more like her father’s, with no thoughts of settling with a family somewhere until she was well past her hundredth year.
After a few more minutes of idle meditation, she stood up and turned her feet towards the recently named Rising Stones. The path through the town already felt familiar, like she’d walked it hundreds of times; or perhaps it was the people waiting for her at the end of it that felt familiar, with their smiles and greetings that never failed to make her feel like she belonged among them. People she cared for, fought for. People, she unconsciously decided somewhere along the way, whom she couldn’t imagine being without.
While she wouldn’t call it settling, nor dare to think of anything as permanent even now…she supposed she did already have a family of sorts here.