“Alright, I’ll stay,” I nod affirmatively, knowing I was only just earlier planning to abandon the estate altogether.
“But, Serenity,” I address in my turn towards her, “Do you think you could stay a while during my recovery?” Beside me I can feel Nik’s gaze steadied on my profile, likely let on to my enduring distrust of him.
“Of course, I can, Ava,” Serenity coaxes in her rush towards me, before turning to Nik. “If that’s alright with His Grace, of course,” she acknowledges, nudging him to honor my appeal.
“Certainly, Serenity,” he agrees considerately, nodding as though it went without question, “You’re allowed to stay as long as you like.” His words draw out a jolly grin along Serenity’s lips as her hands wrap eagerly around mine.
“Then perhaps we must prepare ourselves for a sleepover, Ava!” she beams.
“We most certainly will!” I cheer along with her, for once giddy to be a resident of the estate.
Serenity spent the next eight nights sprawled across a sofa Nik escorted into my room. In the manner they became acquainted with each other, it seemed as though neither were none the wiser about the other, but only by a slim margin. Judging by the way in which Nik accommodated Serenity with her preferred crumpets, perhaps I had let him on to some things regarding her. In our time together, it was primarily just the two of us ladies, dallying with platters of sweet confections and pound cake, reveling in playful gossips and whispers, and chasing after each other in our mischievous games of hide and seek. Nik mostly kept to himself within the crook of a book, but I’d occasionally spot his gaze peering up from the pages at our amusement.
Upon our notice, we would often tease him for his reserved disposition, to which he confessed he didn’t know if he was allowed beyond a glimpse of us. Eventually, Serenity and I exchanged a devilish grin and took him by his arms, insisting he’d join us in our merriment. We led him through the estate back to my room where we had him sit beside my vanity. He watched in bewilderment as Serenity and I shoveled through my stash of makeup for a palette best suited to his tone. His expression fell flat in realization of my recommendation to have him hold still whilst my hand lifted his chin gingerly. I went about the task of applying the rose pigment decidedly, careful not to overly embellish the outline of his lips. He was most patient with us as we deliberated over the addition of a blush, until I realized a better alternative. Cradling his head within my hands, I gave either side of his face a peck on the cheek, adding a complementary red hue to his complexion. With his eyes drifting into mine, I noticed his lashes might benefit from a coat to lengthen them and asked if he would consider obliging to the mascara, to which he replied with a simple ‘yes.’ As I brushed the mascara against his lashes, I think he took a soothing comfort in my fingertips’ angling of his face towards me. After having finished his makeup, Serenity and I eagerly encouraged him to peer into the mirror and admire our proud handiwork. He flinched at his reflection and turned his head slowly back at us, remarking that although he was fond of the application’s process, he could do without the final product. Serenity and I feigned disappointment and let out a dramatic sigh whilst the three of us headed to the washroom. Although he became self-conscious of the lingering gaze of several staff members in our pass by them, I assured Nik they were probably just enamored with his beauty. He looked at me with a deadpan expression. Seeing his face so bitter yet adorned in makeup, I could no longer stifle my laughter at our unintentional parading of Nik around the halls of the estate. For us two amateurs to have painted his face and swiftly put him on display for all to see, it was such an endearing moment for our friendship. It made my mind consider that perhaps there was more to our romance than merely kisses and fleeting moments that made my heart swoon. Perhaps my heart did have a good reason for loving him, and perhaps I meant more to him.
From then on, it was the three of us that would frequent the pantry for candies and chocolates, bringing Nik up to date on the rich banter of us ladies, and play tag whilst sneaking past him. Soon, one day arrived that was particularly hot for the summer and left us idle in the living room longing for the refreshing chill of winter. Serenity remarked that the heat may have been bearable if only she could request some ice for her drink, to which Nik hatched an idea. He then began inquiring us if we had ever heard of ‘cream ice’ and if we would be interested in trying. In exchanging a puzzled glance between Serenity and I, he described it as a frozen splurge of a treat that I, for one, felt promising. After disappearing into the kitchen for a while, he came back with a silver tray that carried three glasses, each one filled with a serving of custard. Handing us our share, the cup was briskly cool to the touch. As the three of us sat huddled around the coffee table, we clinked a cheer to our indulge and tried it all at once. Spooning a cold heapful into my mouth, the cream ice tasted as though flavored with honey, giving it a subtle sweetness that I enjoyed. Peering up from the dessert to thank him for thinking of us, our eyes met.
“Thank you, Nik,” I commended, “I truly appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome, Ava,” he nodded, “It’s my pleasure.”
On the night nearing the end of our sleepover, Serenity confessed to me her thoughts regarding Nik. She noted that although his accommodating demeanor was a surprise, he appeared to be a gentleman and strangely, nothing more than that. She also acknowledged that with my headache seeming to have resolved itself whilst my affections for Nik lingered, she began to believe that perhaps my memory had been indeed misplaced. Although I could tell she remained uncertain about the circumstances surrounding my behavior, it was reassuring to know a person other than Nik believed me and for that, I thanked her.
The morning she left, we wound our arms around each other in a tight embrace and promised to keep in touch. With it being just Nik and I again, save for the servants scurrying around us at our beck and call, we discussed plans to head out to the lake soon. He recalled that the walk wasn’t a very far distance, but that we should bring lunch with us, anyways. As we were nearly finished with packing our lunch, I noticed Nik furrowing his brows as though he was forgetting something for the basket. He then suddenly excused himself back to the kitchen and returned with a bundle of pound cake. I began to tease him for always making such a fuss over his insistence of the treat for every picnic.
“You must certainly enjoy pound cake, Nik,” I say, with a smile, to which he peers up at me with a bewildered glance.
“No, Ava, you do,” he affirms gently. Huh?
“What?”
“The pound cake,” he refers, “It’s your favorite, is it not?”
“Well, yes but I thought you always brought it since you liked it, Nik,” I insist, recalling how he had packed it in our previous picnic together.
“Well,” he pauses, busying himself with the task of packing it neatly, “While I will occasionally indulge, I prefer the richness of chocolate.”
“So then, the pound cake you brought in our last outing was for me?” I ask curiously.
“Of course,” he replies, his attention still fixed on preparing the basket.
“Alright,” I allude, considering it odd he remembered the pound cake but not the wine. “But it would appear you forgot my affinity for wine?” I ask coyly.
“No,” he says lightly, “It’s just that you seemed hesitant to drink the wine I had brought for our first dinner and considered perhaps your taste had changed.” So when he saw me drink the champagne… he assumed that was my new taste. My face contorts in a slight shame.
“You know,” I interject, swiftly making my way towards the kitchen, “Allow me to go procure some chocolate for you - it wouldn’t rightly be fair that I got to indulge if you did not.” His gaze follows my sudden movement.
“Alright,” he replies coolly, seeming not to have taken notice of my reasoning for such behavior. I return back with a variety of chocolates as my way of compensating for the fact I couldn’t recall which exactly was his favorite. He looks down at the pile as I set them down and back at the dwindling space within the basket. “Uh,” he smiles, “I don’t think these will all fit, Ava.”
“Right,” I nod egregiously, motioning awkwardly to put them back when I feel his hand cover mine.
“No, no, Ava,” he says warmly, “We don’t have to get rid of them all.” I watch as he withdraws the foil wrapping of a chocolate milk bar. “We can just share this one,” he says reassuringly, holding it out between us, “plus, I’m certain the staff will find our mess soon enough and tend to it, themselves.”
“Hmmph,” I retort playfully, “Alright, Nik.”
Nik carried the basket whilst I matched his stride in our stroll towards the lake. As we approached the forest’s edge, the faint sound of rushing water could be heard, which Nik informed me was from a river we would eventually run into following the dirt path. In our venture through the trees, I began to feel curious regarding the specifics of our parting.
“So, Nik,” I start, turning to him, “Why did you have to leave?”
“Ah, well,” he answers, “my father insisted that I was to live with him and my uncle for the next few years, residing in a remote cabin away from the estate.” Huh?
“Just you, your father and your uncle?” I prod, furrowing my brows, “What about your mother?” His gaze suddenly falls flat at me before softening in realization.
“Oh right, Ava,” he recalls awkwardly, with a crooked smile, “You don’t remember.” “Uh, she died, Ava,” he pauses, before continuing, “It was her passing that triggered the leave. He wanted to get away from it all and decided to take me with him.”
“What?” I press, “Why would he do that?”
“Hmm…” he shrugs, pouting his lips, “He always remarked it would build character, but I think he just wanted me to be more assertive.”
“Well, why did he think you needed to be more assertive?”
“Probably for several reasons,” he sighs, “but the one I remember most vividly was the time I refused to eat at dinner.” “If you recall our time in the garden, rabbits kept as pets are mostly just a fail safe in the event of a scarce harvest. I hadn’t yet realized that truth,” he confesses, gesturing to himself, “and became quite fond of one in particular - Petunia, it’s what I called her anyways.” “She had the daintiest of white markings over her chestnut coat,” he recounts fondly, before his expression sours, “It was uh… rather devastating when I had realized that she… along with all the others… had been served at supper.” I find it difficult to keep my lips from remaining parted.
“A-And what happened following that revelation?” I ask unassuredly.
“There was an argument, “ he says meekly, “my father insisted I eat lest I’d be ungrateful, whilst my mother held me at her side, promising I could help myself to her stash of chocolates if I was still hungry.” He breathes a long exhale before continuing. “It was… really hard having to move after her passing.”
“I-I’m sorry, Nik,” I say, placing a hand to his shoulder. “So uh,” I ask, hoping to deter the subject, “how was your time in the cabin? What do you do there?”
“Chopped wood, cooked for ourselves - we did a lot of hunting.”
“What did you hunt?”
“Rabbit,” he says soberly, “It was often… the only thing we’d hunt.”
“Oh,” I reply in almost a whisper, “So, you had to-?”
“Well,” he interjects, “if we were lucky we’d on occasion eat veal, but… yes, Ava, mostly rabbit.” “Hmmph,” he retorts, “he insisted it would help build a tolerance for it.”
“Did it help?”
“No,” he sighs, “no, it did not.” “I guess I could never quite stomach it,” he adds, with a crooked smile as though trying to make light of the gruesome fact. Looking down at me, the curve of his lips shift downward in reaction to my involuntary grimace.
“I’m sorry, it’s not you, Nik,” I coax, raising my palms, “I just… It’s as though I’m hearing this for the first time and I…” “I’m sorry,” I quickly assert, interrupting myself, not knowing quite the right words to say.
“Ava, it’s alright, you have nothing to be sorry for,” he says, consoling me in his need for someone to console him.
“Uh, did you at least get to take anything from home with you?”
“No,” he says definitively, “nothing besides the bare necessities - he didn’t allow me a quill and paper, much less my diary.”
“Did you get to keep anything of your mother’s?”
“Well, he mostly got rid of everything that reminded him of her… but she did leave me her brooch.” Hmm, so the concealment stone was his mother’s then… wait.
Fun Fact! Ava's star sign is Scorpio and Nik's is Pisces!
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