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The market was alive. A bubbling chatter filled the air as patrons perused and merchants advertised their wares. The sweet and savoury smell of cooking food filled the air in combination with the bright colours of fabrics and produce lining stalls. It was the sort of thing no song or painting could do justice. You had to be there. Bathed in warm light and surrounded by the music of street performers.
The hustle and bustle put Guinevere at ease. They believed there were few places that truly captured Treviso and the market was one of them. It thrived, even under occupation. Guinevere was convinced that if there was a day the market wasn’t alive with activity, then the city was lost.
Here, she wound through the crowds with Lucanis. They’d met him once, in passing. Really, it wasn’t even a proper introduction. Teia had saved them and Viago from a meeting gone wrong, bringing the Dellamorte cousins along to act as backup. Guinevere still had no idea how Teia had convinced the First Talon or her grandsons to accompany her to save their asses, but she wouldn’t complain. In truth, she never expected to be within five feet of the Demon of Vyrantium after that day. Now, he was less than an arm’s length away.
And he was grocery shopping.
“So...what exactly is the spearmint for? If you don’t mind my asking,” Guinevere asked, peering over Lucanis’ shoulder as he handed over his money to the merchant. He looked over at her, eyebrow raised.
“It’s for Harding’s garden. It helps with bad dreams and it’s good in desserts,” he said, inclining his head to the merchant as they stepped away from the stall. Guinevere cast a wave over their shoulder as they hurried to match Lucanis’ pace.
“So, is it entirely altruism? Or are you hoping for some spearmint-based desserts?”
“If I wanted a dessert with spearmint in it, I would just buy it for myself.”
“I suppose that’s true,” she conceded as she squeezed around a family. “So, what’s next on our list?”
“Fish, Bellara mentioned a Dalish seafood recipe she wants to make.”
“I’ve been looking forward to that! She makes it sound so good,” Guinevere said, hand over their stomach as they approached the stall. She fell quiet as Lucanis ordered the fish, smiling politely at the merchant as they took the order. “Did Bellara ask you to pick up fish for her?”
“No,” Lucanis said. Guinevere gave a soft oh, blinking at him. Sometimes Viago would buy them something they mentioned wanting in passing, sometimes he would observe something might help them and get them it. Usually he got them gloves, but even then it wasn’t common. He was far from open about it. They’d also never seen someone go out of their way to do that sort of thing for people they’d just met. The pair thanked the merchant as they handed over the fish and continued deeper into the market.
“Anything else?” she asked, trailing behind Lucanis.
“A couple. Fruit is next.”
“Fruit? What for?”
“Have you seen Neve’s diet? She only eats fried fish. You think the detective would have discovered scurvy by now,” Lucanis said as they reached the stall and Guinevere snorted. He started examining the fruit, and she took the spearmint and fish from him, peering over his shoulder as he picked what to get.
“Are you trying to seduce the women of the Lighthouse, Mister Dellamorte?” she teased. Lucanis dropped the apple he was holding back onto the pile, ears turning red, as they giggled. “I mean, you’re getting everyone gifts. A lady can’t help but wonder.”
“No,” he cleared his throat, picking up the apple again. “No, I’m not trying to seduce anyone.”
“I’ll take your word for it then,” she giggled before perking up. “Oh! Pomegranates! You should get Neve some of those. They’d make an excellent snack while she works. At least I think so, but I love pomegranates.”
Lucanis picked some up, inspecting them before adding them to his growing collection. He waved the merchant over, buying the fruit that the merchant dumped into a bag for them. Lucanis took the wrapped fish from Guinevere, setting it in the bag as well. The pair thanked the fruit seller, continuing their shopping trip.
They wound through the crowd, heading toward Café Pietra for their meeting with Illario. The Crows moved through the crowd like a dance, one they were well accustomed to. Each squeezed between bodies, steps quick and light. Once out of the larger crush, Lucanis stopped.
“I have one more thing to get before we meet with Illario, if that’s alright with you,” he said, looking down to Guinevere. She smiled up at him, pushing a strand of hair from her eyes. “I actually wanted to look around here, anyway. No rush.”
Lucanis nodded, disappearing into the crowd. Guinevere, meanwhile, strolled around the edge of the market. She wanted to get something for Lucanis, something to thank him for looking out for the team. She worried she didn’t know him well enough, that anything she’d get for him would be hollow. Guinevere stepped onto a raised platform where the stalls continued when she saw it.
Resting on a table, surrounded by other blades, was a beautiful dagger of a wyvern’s tooth. She picked it up, testing the weight and balance. Its craftsmanship was excellent, and it felt good in her hand. She spun the dagger between her fingers before knocking on the table.
“How much for this dagger?” she asked.
The merchant handed over the dagger in its sheath as she paid him. She moved back down into the market, pausing at the edge where the street led to Café Pietra. She watched the crowd slip past. Families and friends moving between stalls, arms laden with their goods.
Guinevere, for once, almost felt like she was one of them. Like she had remained the girl she was before she was Guinevere De Riva, before she was “the blonde one” in training. Not that they remembered much of who they were before.
“Sorry to keep you waiting,” Lucanis said as he approached.
“It wasn’t long,” Guinevere said, pausing before they offered him the dagger. “This is for you.”
Lucanis put his new package in his pocket, accepting the dagger. He unsheathed it, blinking in wide-eyed surprised. She worried her lip, watching him.
“A wyvern-tooth dagger?” he asked, voice almost reverent. It soon was quick with excitement. “I loved wyverns as a boy. Caterina would never let me have one of these, though.”
“You like it, then?” they asked, smiling a little.
“I love it, thank you,” he carefully tucked the dagger away before handing over the new package he’d got. “I was going to wait until we were back at the Lighthouse with everyone, but this is for you.”
Guinevere’s mouth formed a small ‘o’ as they accepted the package. She turned it over in her hands, examining the outside before delicately unwrapping it. They pulled the paper away to reveal a small box. They looked up at Lucanis, raising an eyebrow. “Building suspense, are you?”
“I don’t mean to,” he said, smiling a little. She opened the box and gasped softly, removing a delicate gold hairpin. On the end was a sun with a topaz gem in the centre. She lifted it from the box, holding it up to the light.
“It’s beautiful, thank you.”
“Of course, I noticed you wear a lot of white and gold. The usual Crow uniform doesn’t cater to that look and you struggle to keep your hair back. I thought this would be a nice way to balance both.”
Guinevere smiled before setting down the spearmint for Harding and gathering their hair up. She wound the pin through it before spinning around, showing the pin to Lucanis. “What do you think?”
“It’s lovely,” Lucanis said after a moment’s pause. Guinevere turned around to face him, beaming. She gathered the spearmint back up and tucked the box and paper away in the pocket of her skirt.
“Well then, let’s go meet with your cousin.”
The Lighthouse was silent, the rest of the team asleep or in their own rooms. Guinevere sat at the dining table, surrounded by correspondence from their allies. Everyone was making request and trying to get more information and she just didn’t have the answers. Her eyes were heavy with exhaustion, making the words on the page in front of her blur slightly. They jumped when something sounded in the kitchen, only to find Lucanis making something.
“I didn’t mean to distract you,” he said, glancing over at them.
“No, no, it’s fine. I just didn’t see you leave your room,” she said, running a hand through her hair. “Just...trying to sort these out.”
Lucanis hummed, continuing his work. Guinevere turned back to the letters, messaging her temples. After several minutes, they’d made no progress, eyes glazing over as they read. They jolted when Lucanis placed a cup of coffee in front of them. She looked over to see him taking a seat at the table.
“Do you want help? I can also just keep you company if you’d like,” he said, meeting her gaze. Guinevere stared at him for a moment. It could have been the exhaustion, but she couldn’t look away from him. His eyes pulled her in and she felt like she was physically fighting a current, pushing her towards him.
“Uh…” she blinked again. “Help would be great, thank you.”
Lucanis broke their eye contact, pulling some letters towards him. The tugging Guinevere felt snapped, and she turned back to her work, taking a sip of coffee.
The fire burned low in the hearth as Guinevere stepped into the dining room. Lucanis’ back was to the door, his silhouette outlined in the dying orange glow as he sat in front of it. They kept their footsteps light as they moved to the kitchen. Her hands moved deftly and quietly as she worked, brewing coffee.
She watched Lucanis out of the corner of her eye as she worked. They hadn’t been alone since he’d almost kissed her.
Since he left.
Guinevere wouldn’t have even been there if it hadn’t been for the funeral planning Lucanis had to do today. Viago had written to her about it, instructing her to check in on Lucanis when he came back. They’d expected it would hit him hard, and they had been right.
She poured two cups, carrying them over to Lucanis. She pulled a chair out with her foot, turning it so she could sit next to him. Guinevere bumped his shoulder as they sat down, offering him the coffee. He started looking over at her. His eyes had dark circles under them and lacked their usual guard. His grief was obvious in his eyes and posture. Despite it all, Guinevere couldn’t make herself look away when he looked at her.
“Coffee?” they asked, holding it up a little.
“Thank you,” Lucanis said, voice raw as he accepted the cup. They sat in silence, both watching the fire. It cast odd shadows over the Crows and rest of the room, carving out the dips and hollows of their faces. Guinevere sipped her drink, but Lucanis just watched the steam rise off of his.
“You don’t have to stay with me,” he said after a moment. Guinevere sipped her coffee, letting the statement hang in the air a moment.
“I know, but I want to,” they said, keeping their eyes on the flames. Lucanis laughed softly to himself, finally taking a sip of his coffee. They let the silence hang between them again. The sadness lingered, but the chill lessened. Neither spoke for the rest of the night, watching the flames burn out as they drank. Even after the flames had died, neither one wanted to leave right away.