[Ridge]
"It wasn't condescending. I think he genuinely appreciates her input." I argue, throwing my bag over my shoulder into the carriage. Raforn struggles not to let me fall over.
"No! He belittles her!" He snaps back. Kadeeth pushes off of his place leaning lazily against the gate.
"You weren't even there, how would you know?" He adds, unhelpfully riling up Raforn even more.
"I don't have to be there to know that the Marquess was not complimenting his fiance." He bites back, adamant on his position.
"No, it really seemed like-" I try to explain.
Raforn waves a finger at us, "Ugh! Neither of you know a thing! You can't recognize it because you're just like him." He puts a hand on his hip, dumping his weight to one side, "Did he give her any credit for her contribution to the deal?" He asks insistently.
"Well-" He cuts me off, his face burning a familiar passionate red.
"Did he tell her what the deal was about?"
"Um,"
He subconsciously helps me into the carriage, "Did she get to inform the servants of the things to buy? She's going to be the Lady of the house, she manages the employees, right?"
"Actually-"
"Discuss budgeting? Include her in the drafting process? Let her speak without first asking a question?" He drones on.
"FORN!" I groan, pinching the bridge of my nose, "I get it, man. Maybe I misjudged their relationship." I put my hand down on his shoulder as he looks up at me from the first step, "I'll try harder, okay?"
He pouts, slightly upset that I caved and he doesn't get to argue his case anymore. Kadeeth chuckles but breathes a sigh of relief. It's an important topic, but I already admitted I was wrong. What more can I do right now? The only women I grew up with were the Riddotha women and Kadeeth's fiance, Drina.
All of them were uptight Noblewomen who didn't depict the progression of society or real human standards at all. Of course, that's no excuse for not changing my way of thinking and speaking now, but it's hard. I'm just starting to see real depictions of women. Like the girls from the arena, and Sileena, who heads the second freaking division of the Grey Wanderers.
I'm willing to learn... just not right now. My head hurts.
They both climb into the carriage, sitting opposite of me since I placed myself in the middle of my seat. When they realize they're sitting next to each other, matching looks of pure disgust warp their pretty faces.
Sileena comes sauntering up to the open door, placing one foot on the step to get closer. Tellur appears behind her. He agreed to ride in another carriage, since he's much larger and Raforn said he was a safety hazard to jostling my leg.
He surprisingly didn't take offense to that. He just smiled and said he'd rather practice his Nymourian writing away from Kadeeth's judgemental eyes anyway. I applaud him for that. I'd love to be away from Kadeeth, but he's just gotten over me yelling at him in the green house, so he needs a lot of attention right now.
"All ready to go?" Sileena checks in.
"Actually I'm just gonna sit over-" Kadeeth starts.
"Great!" Sileena says, her eyes smiling with happy disregard for everything Kadeeth has to say.
"The Marquess is making rounds through all the wagons and carriages. He's personally checking all of them." Tellur informs us.
"Quite the dedicated young fellow, isn't he." Kadeeth says, unimpressed. Why does he have to be so spiteful to everyone? I kick him in the shin with my good foot. He goes to retaliate but Raforn stomps on his foot, pinning it to the floor if the carriage.
"Stop that, he's injured." Doc scolds. Sileena smirks, nodding at me and walking away with an amused pat to the door.
"Ow! Well now I am too, that evens it our right." Kadeeth glares at me, "Besides he still has one good leg. A little kick won't kill him." He reasons.
"You kick him and I'll kill you." Raforn threatened. If only he was capable of looking as threatening as he sounds. Poor little harmless kitten.
"I see you're all as lively as usual." Mr. Diligent himself appears in the spot Sileena and Tellur were standing just a minute ago. The circles under his eyes are even darker than before. His skin sinks further onto his bones every time I see him.
"I wish I could same the same for you, Marquess Heidi." He face twitches in the slightest. I didn't mean to say that out loud. I hear the sharp hiss of Raforn nervously sucking in a breath.
The Marquess tightens his tie, "How bold." He responds.
"I apologize if you were offended." I amend quickly. He raises his hand.
"No, no. It's alright. I do find evenings difficult, as that's when the work comes piling in." He admits. It's not like a Noble to let something like blatant disrespect go. They would usually at least demand an apology, but the punishment for offending Nobility can become pretty severe.
"I'm afraid we've only added to your workload." I try to push it a little further. It would be nice if I can use his forgiving mood to get even slightly closer to him. One because building powerful relationships is the whole purpose of our visits to Noble estates, and two, he's just a kid. He looks like he could use some friends.
Someone to talk to, and it doesn't seem like he's gonna let Last Glissa be that person for a while.
"At least you've given me something exciting to work on." So he does feel emotion.
"Anything to shake up the routine, right?" I smile. I didn't expect to bond over our desire for excitement. Has he been waiting for something major to happen and pull him out of his daily struggle? How often has he hoped for everything to fall apart just to stop the grind?
I see a semblance of a smile ghost his plump face. He has abnormally long eyelashes, they give him a delicate look. He seems more like a kid when his features are softer like this. I sincerely hope that the dynamic this kid has with his fiance improves. He deserves to find meaningful relationships and just have fun. It's depressing to see someone so young already so worn down.
"How old are you, Marquess Heidi?" I ask curiously. He seems to have caught on to my pity now, but he still doesn't appear offended.
"I'll be 19 within the season." He shares. Ah, so just around where I thought. He's only a few years younger than me, but he has such a heavier burden.
"Then I'll wish you a grand birthday when we next see each other. So, don't work yourself to death while I'm away." I offer politely, and probably a bit too informally.
"I think I would like that, Sir Ridge. It seems I enjoy your company above most." I nod and he waves to the Coachman. He closes the carriage door without another word.
"You really can do both," Raforn whispers, "like a Noble with commoner's blood."