Qian dressed herself in a less than revealing, yet modest robe. Her shoulders were a little more visible but her chest was well hidden. She had come out to eat with everyone as Keenan had brought about a dinner from a large hunt for everyone to eat.
The hall was lush with voices as the members of the court, Keenan, his children, Koto and the other children filled the banquet room. Ying was running around, of course, a free spirit that she was.
Qian stood down the hall, scared to join because she had never been to one of the dinners… Though the thought of eating together and having Bao Ma reveal her resent and hatred for her made her stomach churn. She looked down, gripping the pillar she hid behind as she tried to muster up her courage.
Keenan was sitting down with his son next to him. The youngest children were talking joyfully, waiting for the servants to bring out their dinners.
"Was it a good hunt then, today?" Keelan asked his father.
"It was." He told him, looking to Mansa. "We found the burrow and it just happened that a couple dozen of these weasels tried to pop out of the sand. We dug them all up in an instant. They had nowhere to go."
Vy sat quietly. He usually wasn't involved in conversations with his uncle. He wondered if Qian was going to join them. Bao Ma might through a fit about it. He looked towards his father. He seemed to be trying to sooth Bao Ma. She seemed ready to fire all her hatred at the new concubine. Jealousy was a terrible thing.
He looked at Koto, "Speaking of which, is Qian not coming tonight?" He asked him as Siam stepped into the room slowly to come sit down.
Bao Ma grit her teeth and held her tongue as the king spoke.
Koto sighed. "She said she would be here."
"How strange," he looked back at the hallway. "Does she know where the hall is? I thought you would have at least shown her the palace grounds." He looked at Koto then to Bao Ma. It wasn't much of his concern what the woman hated but if she started to step out of line…
Koto sighed. He had intended to but Bao Ma was so… "One of her maids likely told her where the hall is."
Vy closed his eyes. He couldn't show interest in this conversation. He wanted to go and make sure that she knew where to go, but he couldn't.
He looked at him, then sighed. "I suppose we can just start. She's very late." He motioned to the servants to start bringing the food in.
Qian watched them, wincing as she drew back. What was she entirely scared of? She didn't know for certain but she knew… She pulled back when she saw the servant coming back to get food and she stepped back and moved out of sight.
As all servants started to bring all of the food out, they began to place down large golden bowls and trays over the table. It was probably the largest amount of food that they had had in a couple of months. The weasels were plump and freshly skinned of all their fur, making them easy to eat for both the kids and adults. They were uncooked as was customary for their diet.
There was then that a servant noticed her hiding behind the pillar. She alerted Keenan the moment she had crossed paths back through the kitchen, spying her amongst the pillars of the hallway.
He looked away from the table a moment and then his gaze cast his brother. "I believe she is out in the hall," He told Koto quietly. "I am unsure why she is not joining us but maybe it is best that you go talk to her so that she may feel welcome."
Koto sighed. So dramatic. Did she have to make a scene about her entrance? He stood up and felt Bao Ma's hand tug at his. He pulled it free to go see his lovely Qian. He walked out and saw her in the hallway. "Will you not join us?' It was a rhetorical question. There was just a hint of demand in his tone.
Qian watched the large man, Koto, step out into the hallway. She looked up at him slowly, a bit more scared by his presence. "Yes, I just… I wasn't sure if I was too late." She breathed, looking down.
He smiled at her, but it didn't really reach his eyes. "It's fine. Please, go sit down." He motioned for her to precede him.
"Of course," she whispered, turning her head down as she followed him into the room quietly, her robe sweeping the floor as she stepped out from behind the pillar.
Keenan watched this brother bring her into the room and he settled back into his position, keeping his legs crossed as he leaned over the table. "You shouldn't trust the servants to do everything, Koto." He reminded him, looking at the table. "Don't let your affairs become the reason for neglecting her. You brought her here and I expect that she is not something you hide away."
He liked seeing her though even if she didn't talk. His brother had done such a fine job in picking out a beautiful woman, but he wouldn't have her hidden away. It would only draw rumors of her and he thought it was better for her to participate with them as if she was introduced for what she was meant to be. A concubine, meant to serve as a woman to breed heirs.
"Not at all, brother." He loved showing her off, but he hated upsetting Bao Ma more.
Vy looked at Qian when she came in. He couldn't help that it made him happy to see her.
She sat down slowly, keeping herself poised very rigidly as she turned her head down somewhat. Her black hair spilled over her shoulder as she held her hand to her lap and the other at the edge of the table before she glanced up at Keenan. She didn't look too happy but when she caught sight of Vy she smiled a little then looked back at the table.
"Well, now that everyone is here," he bowed his head. "We may thank the gods and goddesses for our hunt today. It was most well received. Maybe we forever relish in good food and full feasts." He prayed before he reached to pull a weasel from the main tray.
Qian looked at it and she seemed a bit stunned as Keenan started to break it apart and she winced, looking down. She had eaten a diet of mostly fish. She'd never eaten other small animals before.
Koto did the same. "Have you not had weasel?" he asked her, seeing her wince.
"No," she told him honestly. "We eat mostly fish where I am from." She looked at the center of the table and she closed her eyes, breathing in slowly. She wasn't used to such large meals nor had anything she had eaten ever been non-aquatic.
Ying snaked a hand out over the table to grab the small quail eggs first. They were easy to eat and she popped two in her mouth as she eagerly swallowed them. Her face brimmed brightly with pleasure as she gasped, excitedly enjoying the taste before she pulled one of the dress chicks from another plate.
She had it by the leg, eagerly dragging it over to her plate. Keelan hardly seemed to mind it as he and Siam are peacefully from the other side. Everyone but Koto seemed unaware of her plight and just how uncomfortable she was in the company of strangers.
"Better start now. Wouldn't want you to starve." Bao Ma feigned sweetness.
"Try the eggs, they won't be so heavy," Vy told her.
She felt nervous that they even were watching. When she heard Vy and Bao Ma, she looked up, talking one of the tiny eggs between her two fingers and thumb and looked at it. Her hand so a little as she remembered the small pond eggs she would eat and she tilted her head back enough to swallow it.
She hardly tasted it, but it was surprising how easily it went down. "Thank you," she breathed, though her nerves had hardly settled. She rather wished to just eat alone at that point, though the food was hardly as much to her taste as per her customs.
Ying looked at her confused as she looked at Fai and Zuri then to her cousins. "Why don't you like it?" She asked her father, furrowing a brow. "Ferret and weasel are the best."
Qian looked down, not answering. She didn't want to offend anyone.
"Nothing is wrong," Keelan looked at his cousin. "Maybe she isn't used to eating what we do."
"She was poor?!" Ying gasped.
"Ying," Koto chastised with a laugh. "She's young forgive her."
She looked at her father when he scolded her and looked at her mom, confused, but she piped down, turning away from them all. She was no longer interested since her father was scolding her.
Vy looked at his little sister. "More for you then," he told her.
She sneered lightly at Vy before turning back to the plates, setting on the food.
Qian blushed a little, putting her hands up. "It's alright." She breathed, hearing the girl reach over to grab more as she smiled weakly to Koto. "I understand she's only a child." She told him, "I know she doesn't understand." She put her hands back into her lap, "It's alright. I'm just- I've never seen um, food like this."
Fai took a bite of his weasel and looked at her. "What do you eat then?"
Qian looked at Fai and she looked down, "Aquatic animals… from the nearby jungle." She breathed, a little nervous to speak of it. She wasn't sure if they'd make fun of her for it.
"Like what?" Siam asked her, somewhat confused.
"Fish… Frogs-" She rubbed her arm, "Spawn."
Keenan was a bit interested to know, but there were no such places near to find such animals. "Those types of things don't flourish here."
"O-oh," she breathed, looking down. Another thing to miss home for.
Vy wondered how hard it would be to get something like that here. He knew his father wouldn't do it for her.
"Shame," Bao Ma sighed and swallowed an egg.
Vy grit his teeth. She was such a-
"I'm sure it can be imported, can't it?" Keelan asked his father.
"Maybe," Keenan sighed, resting his chin on his palm. He looked at Koto, "It's not my call, though it can be possibly done. Brother?" He asked him.
Koto looked at his brother. "I'll look into it," he said before taking another bite.
Vy knew he'd be the one having to do it then. His father obviously wasn't interested.
Qian kind of went quiet after that, just pulling the eggs from the basket to slowly eat them.
"Speaking of which," Keenan started, sitting up, "I wanted to discuss the Port with you, brother." He started, "I know that we're still reinforcing it with a wall, but the soldiers stationed inside the port have already begun to expand our forces to the neighboring villages. I was wondering if you'd still take it up as the port's Duke." He started, now that he was home.
Koto grinned. "Absolutely." He was eager for his own territory. "How soon until it's reinforced?"
"Should be well within a year," he sighed, not too happy about it. " Supplies are slim and it seems that a sandstorm buried the quarter so they have to dig it out." He shook his head, "Nonetheless, it's almost secure. I thought you might be better suited to expand your family in the port without having to share the palace grounds anymore. I'm sure your son can do more than work the archives."
o looked at Vy. "Are you ready to finally do something other than scry?"
Vy's jaw tightened a little at that. "If I'm needed to," he said calmly.
Siam noticed him react and he looked at his brother but Keelan didn't look up from the table. He only acted uninterested as he continued eating.
"Well, hopefully with a bit of fresh training we can move him from the chamber up to the war room for military tactics." Keenan offered, "Under Mansa's teaching. They are scouting the next set of boys this season at the military camp."
Vy didn't react to that. He knew if he did his father would call him out on it.
"He should be!" Koto exclaimed. That was his eldest! His heir! He should be military trained.
"You can enroll him if you like," Keenan offered him, "Mansa could privately tutor him. Since Baba spoke with me, I have had Keelan training under him with the newest Deadly Five. It seems Keelan is doing better on studies, though-" He made a face about the actual sparing itself. "It's an improvement and far better than what he had prior."
Vy wasn't a fighter. He didn't want to be trained or forced to train under Mansa. He wouldn't argue with his father though. He'd have to no matter what.
Siam stared at Vy, "At least you'd have afternoons to do more." He suggested.
Keelan didn't even bother to partake in that.
"True," Keenan nodded, looking over, "The scribe room can get tiresome. Maybe it'd be time for you to find other activities to harness other than writing. What do you think, brother?"
The boys had been rather consistent in the last two years in this. Maybe they needed a bit of change in training.
"It's about time he learned to fight. He is my heir. If there is any hope in him taking over my line, he'll need at least that mastered." Koto grabbed for a pheasant then.
Vy's appetite was gone now. He waited for them to finish talking about his future like he wasn't there to make that decision himself. Not that he ever really had a choice.
"It'll make it easier for them to fend off attacks. The foxes are growing larger. I always like to keep one hand hidden." He looked to the table, watching them all eat and he was satisfied with what he had. He wanted to see the kids eat more than anything. "Future generations all at this table tonight. I'm impressed. I hope we'll continue this path. You know our father would have wanted to see it if he could."
Koto swallowed. "So sentimental."
Vy stood up then. "Excuse me," he really didn't want to be there anymore.
Koto stopped and looked at Vy. "What's the matter, boy?"
"He looks pale, leave him be," Bao Ma said as she grabbed another egg.
Keenan raised a brow at him as he left and he took a drink of his wine, "He'll get over it." He shrugged it off. As boys his age typically would. He had and he had grown comfortable with what he had been given after succeeding his responsibilities.
Qian looked up when he left and she felt bad for him, really felt bad. Maybe there were parts of this life he didn't like either. She looked at Bao Ma, hardly amused by the woman's lack of tact. She was- unsavory to say the least but she wouldn't ruffle any feathers.
As the night wound down as dinner continued into the late night. The kids were sent off to bed but Qian didn't stay to enjoy the discussion Keenan bantered off into when he got drunk. She slipped away from them after the boys went for bed minutes later.
Decidedly she wandered down the hall for a brief moment, gazing at the architecture before she managed to step out into the main court into the night. She gazed up at it, holding her robe up enough so it didn't drag with each step on the uneven tiles. "It has its quirks," she breathed, talking to the stars.
She laughed a little to herself, "I wonder if you'd have argued with them more than her." She breathed, walking down the steps to the gardens to peer over into them as she walked back to her room.
Vy was so unsettled after dinner that he couldn't just sit in his rooms and relax. He went for a walk in the gardens. He knew Qian was likely still at dinner so there was no chance in them running into each other again. He found a quiet corner and just laid down to stare up at the sky. He hated noticing how little freedom he had.
As she got back down to her room, she slowed down as she stepped down into the area. Qian spied him as she stopped, far back in the garden and she wondered if he had come to talk with her or maybe he was trying to be alone. Her curiosity peaked a little as she slowly walked over to him to stand next to him and she noticed he was staring up at the sky. "It's pretty, isn't it?" She started, trying to catch his attention.
He looked at her. Of course she would find him. "It is," he agreed. He couldn't deny he was excited to see her.
"Does the garden outside my room just happen to be your favorite?" She asked, giggling softly as she slowly came down to sit next to him.
"It is," he told her. He sat up when she sat next to him.
She looked away from the sky to see him, "Thanks for- trying to help." It was the best way she could think about dinner, as awkward and nerve-wracking as it was to be the center of attention.
"You're welcome," he told her. "I will try and get something more to your appetite here." His father wouldn't and it was the least he could do.
She wrapped her arms around her knees before she shifted again and tucked her arms in between her legs and her stomach, leaning forward to brush her hair out of the way right before she rested her cheek on her knee. "You don't have to do that," she told him, blushing a little. "I'll have to get used to it eventually. Besides, I think Bao Ma might hate me more and think I'm a pampered brat if I ask for anything more."
An image she really didn't want to take on. It was one thing to only be seen for her beauty, it was another thing to have that paired with the image of a fat, selfish little village girl who thought she had won it all. She looked away a moment, the image of it burning into her head. "I can learn to… eat some of the other things you eat here. It- It just might take some time."
He looked at her. "Bao Ma will be mad no matter what you do, unfortunately. She's jealous." He sighed. "But trying new things might not be too terrible. I think we might actually like fish." He was interested in at least trying it.
"Really?" She asked, laughing a little. "Where are you going to bring in fresh fish? There are no rivers here, no oasis. Only these small gardens in a desolate desert not too far West of the lake."
"I'll figure it out," he told her.
She smiled a little more, looking at him. "Secrets?" She asked, nudging him lightly with her hand. "Oh come now, Vy, I thought you'd let me in or am I too dainty to understand the process?" She joked, trying to cheer him up. She liked it better when he smiled. His warmth was beginning to feel a lot more genuine and she was enjoying it.
He smiled a little before breathing a low laugh. "It's not a secret. I'll just have to brush up on trading routes and," he sighed. "It won't be easy, but I'll try.""
"And what? Village girl culture?" She snickered, covering her mouth, remembering Ying. It was kind of funny the more she loosened up. The girl was only a child. What did she know?
"How to get fish across the desert." He grinned. "Could I not just ask you about the culture?"
"It's still brushing up," she told him, "I don't see why not." She gazed down at the grass under them. "Honestly, I- I kind of miss it." She kicked her feet out a little before looking out at the pond. "It's nothing like here."
"I imagine not." He watched her. "What do you miss most?"
"Mm," she liked that he asked, "well, it's got a lot more foliage."
He let out a small laugh. "Of course, with the jungle and all."
"Right, right." She nodded, enjoying his laughter. "Ah, yes. There is also the fact that everyone's clothes are all unique. We often patch what is worn instead of getting new garments." She looked at him then and pointed to his shoes, "And often we don't have nice slippers. They ruin easily." She looked down at the grass, remembering playing with the kids in her neighborhood as a young child.
"Kids run in the neighborhoods, playing with sticks and leather balls. We often would swim down in the oasis. The girls would all go together and then the boys would go to the other side because they'd tear up all the branches, hanging down from them." She started to laugh louder, enjoying her memories more.
"I remember Jun Lee telling me about it because he fell from one of the tall branches and broke his arm. He was quite mad when I made fun of him for it." She lowered her voice, snickering. She missed her friends… She missed her brother. Her smile faded a little and she realized when she opened her eyes to look at Vy she had started to cry. She sniffed, turning her head down to wipe her face quickly in an attempt to hide it.
He liked how happy she got recounting the memories. It was honestly nice to hear about fun times and laughter. He watched her go from happy to sad in just a few seconds and he frowned.
"Those are good memories. I wish I could tell you that there will be kids running around and playing. There really isn't. We're taught young to be quiet and that it's respectful." He sighed. "It's boring here. The only time it's really lively is if Siam gets in trouble or Keelan skips out on training. Then we usually just end up at Baba's playing tiles." Where again they were quiet and still learning.
She sniffed, turning her head up to look at him. "Siam?" She asked softly, "Isn't Keelan the emperor's son?" She asked him quietly, trying to dry her eyes quickly. She was sure Baba was an indication towards someone older… Probably a nickname they had given their grandparent.
"They both are. Twins," he told her. "Keelan is next in line though."
"I didn't realize it," she blinked, looking at him. "They look nearly the same though if that was them at the dinner table." She looked at him slowly, putting a little bit together. "It's odd though, you're the only one out of the rest with hair like mine." She wondered why.
"Yeah," He looked at his hair. "My mother. She was from a similar village to yours."
She smirked, "I supposed we're probably the odd ones out compared to the rest." She told him, hoping he didn't mind it. "I guess they'd call it commoner's hair." She only was joking, though she knew it came in various colors depending on where they were from.
She looked up at the night sky, "I would have liked to meet your mother if I could." She paid close attention to how he addressed her. "Maybe she would have told me about how to make this palace life a lot more palatable." Though she was having trouble digesting the thought the more she realized she was going to spend time alone in that room. She didn't have any complaints about Koto not coming to bother her. It was the lack of interaction that was slowly eating her alive.
He leaned back and looked up at the sky. "Probably, but I don't remember her." He didn't seem upset about it though.
"I remember my parents, vaguely." She tried to think about it. "My grandmother told me a lot about them. I like to think that they watch over me."
"You were raised by your grandparents?" He asked, looking at her again.
"At first but then it was just my grandmother, my brother and I." She told him. She remembered how angry he was with the village when they announced their proposal.
"Your brother? Is he younger?" She seemed to have the patience of an older sibling.
"No," she shook her head. "He's my older brother."
Vy nodded and laid back again to look at the sky. "Are you two close?"
"Yeah," she winced, frowning. "He taught me a lot. I miss seeing him." She drew her head into her lap, breathing in as she bunched in a ball then relaxed a bit better and picked her head up.
Vy wanted to change the subject. This was obviously a painful topic. "Do you play tiles?"
She was trying to relax. "I… I don't know much about games." She told him quietly, not sure where he was going with this.
"Maybe you can come watch us play with Baba. If you want to. It beats being cooped up here alone." He offered.
"Is that okay?" She asked him, quietly. She didn't want to impose.
"Yes," he told her. He didn't see it being a problem.
"You don't have to do all this stuff for me." She relayed quietly, smiling a bit. "You seem to always be helping me at every corner and opportunity and despite the fact that you don't have to and you have other things to worry about as well." She looked at him again, curious. "If you're not stalking me…" she laughed, "then you must be one of the kindest people I've met here so far."
"I know I don't. You're our family now. The least I could do is make you comfortable." He didn't comment on the last. He was just doing what he thought was right.
"I'll go with you to see Baba then." She started, but she smirked. She stood up to go walk over to the pond and look in it. This wouldn't be so bad… Her smile wavered a bit but she knew it was probably the best she was going to be able to get here. Nothing would be more satisfying than being at home. "Are we still going to the city tomorrow night?" She asked him, bending down slowly to crouch next to the edge of the pond.
He sat up to watch her. "Yes." He was actually kind of excited about it.
"What is the first place you have in mind for us to see?" She asked him, putting her finger over the water to watch the fish gather under it and she laughed to herself as she drew them from one end of the pond to another easily. Someone must have been feeding them.
He thought about it. "Well, there's the different shops." Maybe he could ask Siam, but that would just bring up questions and Siam might not tell him a reputable place.
"Shops?" She asked, raising a brow. "You wanted to walk down to the market first?" She asked him. She had heard of it before. "What about the neighborhoods? Can we visit with the people there?" She wanted to know what type of people lived here.
"We can," He told her. "I figured the shops would be a good introduction to the people. Their livelihood stems from there."
"Is that so?" She asked, looking up at him to catch his expression. "Do you go there often?"
"Often enough. I'm one of the only royals they're comfortable talking to," he explained.
She sort of understood where he was when he spoke of it in that context. Imaging Koto getting down to a commoner's level? Preposterous. He treated her more like a pretty tapestry than a person, well, if that's what his idea of a woman was but then again… Bao Ma hardly had been treated as such.
"Funny how that works," she mentioned, blinking a bit when she realized she was staring off. "It's just us then? No guards?" She asked quietly. Should she cover her hair?
"It'll be just us," he assured her. "They don't like accompanying me to the quarter. Too boring for them I guess."
"What's so boring about that?" She snickered. "The kids always have good games to play." She stood up, covering her mouth with her sleeve. "Better yet, they're the most honest." Maybe they feared the criticism.
"I agree," he told her. He liked that they shared similar views.
"You hardly seem like the rest of the nobles, you know? Don't you think that'd make you pretty unpopular amongst the rest of them?" She asked him.
"I might not be a favorite, but I don't make waves," he told her.
"No?" She asked him, "I'm not sure about that, but then again you could just be really good at hiding it."
He smiled. "Perhaps," he breathed a laugh.
"Teach me your ways, sometime," she told him, turning around to look at him. She started to walk over to the path next to the pond and went down it. "I'd like to be as adept at you. Maybe navigating this place would be a lot easier, especially if no one is looking." She liked that!
He stood up then and brushed off his robe. "It is nice being invisible around here."
"I'd like to try it," she told him, looking back to grin at him. "It'd be nice if I didn't have everyone stare at me for once."
"That might take time though. You're new." He pulled his hair behind him, fixing the tie.
"Take time?" She asked, her voice high as if she could hardly believe it was real. "I don't think there's been a moment in my life that I could disappear. It seems as if my looks betray me every time." She sighed, shaking her head.
He looked at her. That would be hard to hide. He was quiet as he stared at her.
"Sometimes I wonder if I looked more plain if people would see me for how smart I am but it seems being a woman just happens to be the main trick. Ugly or pretty… looks seem to always come first." She blinked a moment before looking down at the pond again.
"If I was my brother, I could be as handsome as him and still revered for my wit. If I was a man like him, I wouldn't be here. I'd be at home, taking care of my family unless I was called to war." She felt a little frustrated by that. "If I wasn't a woman…" she breathed, biting her tongue before she stared at the water. "I might have a little more freedom. I don't think there will ever be a time I would disappear. Not like that… but I can dream of it." She looked away from the water to the small reeds nearby and struggled out a breath.
She had spent a whole week here now and she had been nothing but ignored, but it didn't make her feel any better. She was prisoner to this place like a little songbird in a cage. Vy was the only one who came out to check on her but she was way off the maids, afraid they'd turn on her in a moment.
He walked over and looked at the pond. There was a black and white koi swimming in circles. "I understand the frustration, but sometimes there's little freedom as a male." He thought about reaching down to the fish. "We're forced to mold to customs and traditions. You must learn to fight and take a wife and concubine and everything is already laid out. There's no individuality to it."
He was not an aggressive person. He didn't want to learn the sword. He would probably be a scry if given the choice, but the first born son had a path already laid out.
"Is that so?" She asked, "Isn't that only when you're a boy? As an adult it's different." She sighed, stopping to look up at him. " I'm not afforded the same opportunities… Even if they are assigned, you can work in the libraries, train for the military, choose whoever you want to wed and even pick out the destinies of your next children. Nothing my opinion has matters…" she hugged herself, "at least… from the way I've experienced it. It's not often that I've seen a village put up a man as something to trade… The worst you might go to war but you would still come back after if you lived."
"Fair point," he agreed with her. "Maybe our generation can change that." he hoped anyway. Keelan and Siam were already pushing against the grain as best they could.
"Change that?" She raised a brow. He definitely wasn't the typical sort. She looked back at him, confused. "Just who are you, Vy? You hardly fit the image I was expecting."
He looked at her. "What did you expect?"
"Exactly what my brother told me," she blushed a little. "Greedy men with nothing but gain on their minds." She looked away from him. "Obviously it's more than that but… it isn't always true."
"Always." He laughed. "I thought you would be more like Bao Ma," he confessed.
"What?! How could you?" She laughed. "Do I really give off the impression of having so little empathy?" Bao Ma was certainly a spiteful woman and she felt trouble emanate from her.
"You did at first, but it was my irritation towards the whole concubine business and my father's terrible nature that influenced my opinion." He shook his head. "I am happy to have been proven wrong though."
"How mean." She teased, laughing at him.
He smiled and looked down. How long have they been out here talking? He didn't want to leave really. He liked talking with her. He was nervous though. He wasn't sure exactly why. They were talking.
Qian stepped over to the edge of the garden, peering out into the city below that tumbled out from the bottom of the pyramid. "Well you're going to make up for it tomorrow anyways. I hope you have money. I sure don't." She laughed, starting out at the lights.
"Don't worry about anything," he told her. He started to walk back out of the garden then. "I'll see you tomorrow."
She turned her head quickly, watching him go. So soon? Her chest ached a little, "Sure… see you tomorrow." She told him.