Doves and Peacocks
Second Window Visit
Ruthenia eventually made another visit to Aleigh’s room in the royal palace tower, entering via the window as she had on the first occasion.
What she did not know was that on her first visit, Levatio had, indeed, heard her voice, and had informed Aligon of a possible intruder in the Arcane Prince’s room.
The second visit took place on a Sunday afternoon. Ruthenia, none the wiser, pushed Aleigh’s window open and clambered in without awaiting his permission.
She froze in surprise when she found his room devoid of his presence.
The curtain fluttered in the wind as she walked quietly across the room, taking it in more slowly now that she had the chance. She breathed deeply; the room smelled familiar, a trace of her dear partner in it: lavender (not again!), paper, lots of paper, fabric.
Everything was unnecessarily ornate in the gentle light glowing off the pale carpets, knobs and frames glittering. She was only beginning to recognise the ways in which living half his life here had shaped Aleigh, the ways the crystal and gold of this room and this palace had seeped into his being. He had almost definitely grown up believing everyone’s bedrooms were just as spacious and well-decorated as his own.
Staring across the carpets, Ruthenia tried to imagine him as a child—like the Arcane children she had heard stories about—being groomed before the dressing mirror. She smiled. Had he ever been a child?
She strolled over to the bed beside the bookcases, the velvet cushions and satin quilts, the curtains rolled up to the top of the canopy. Who needed a bed that extravagant?
Curiosity and indulgence won Ruthenia over. She dropped onto the edge of the mattress and took her shoes off, flopping over the silken quilt with her arms and sighing when she discovered it was the most comfortable surface she had ever lain upon.
“Ihir, they spoilt you rotten,” she whispered.
She crawled along the sheets and slipped under the quilt, plucking pillows and cushions from the neat stack at the head of the bed. By the time she had arranged a comfortable nest of cushions for herself, not one thing lay where it previously had.
Ruthenia hugged a cushion close and breathed its scent in, coughing at the lungful of herbs she came away with.
Did he have them washed daily? Well, of course he did, the spoilt little cupcake. Did he like it? She supposed that didn’t quite matter, if he had no say in whether or not it happened.
She pulled the quilt around herself (it smelled a little like him, too), and let her eyes close in the comfort of its warmth, falling asleep.
Or at least, that was what she almost succeeded in doing—but she was prevented by the sound of the door opening, right then.
“There is nothing to worry about,” came Aleigh’s voice in tight syllables. “Have a nice day.”
Heart racing, Ruthenia opened a single eye.
“Why is your window open?” said Aligon then. She stiffened, lifting her head quietly to peer at the door.
“What? Ihir! She did not—”
The door swung wide open. There stood Aleigh, his brother Aligon peering over his shoulder. At once both gazes turned to the bed, and as soon as the younger brother saw Ruthenia, he began to gape, turning red. “Ruthenia!”
“No one, indeed,” muttered Aligon.
Aleigh immediately looked away and drew his arms around himself, seeming to brace himself for a reprimand.
But Aligon only broke into a wry smile. “Blessed Lady, how good to see you!” He dipped his head in greeting, and she quickly returned one. “Why didn’t you tell me you were interested in visiting? If a person of such importance as yourself had desired a written exception, I would have offered one gladly!”
“Oh, well, I didn’t think you would!” she answered, doing her best to sound bright. “Is it customary to let important guests enter your living quarters?”
“With guests of a particular ilk, it is,” he replied with a smile, and she didn’t think he was referring to clergy members. “I shall have the document drawn up, if you so desire.”
She grinned. “I do so desire.”
“Say no more. And with a little convincing, I may even pay off future expenses.” With this line, he cast a pointed glance at Aleigh, who had only just brought his gaze back. He looked away again, dodging his brother’s extended hand.
“So...may I stay?” Ruthenia asked meanwhile.
“Of course! Please enjoy yourself in whatever manner you find most to your liking.” Aligon dipped his head. “Forgive me for intruding; you must have important business to attend to.” With that, Aligon waved and departed, leaving Aleigh to stare across the room at various things as he regained his composure.
He finally glanced out into the corridor, entering and shutting the door behind him. “Ruthenia!”
“I’m sorry,” Ruthenia said, hiding half her face behind one of his cushions. “I didn’t think you’d be out of the room. You’re right, I should probably have stopped visiting like this.”
“No, don’t be sorry,” he answered in a sigh, walking towards the bed. “I was merely—frightened. He might have reacted to your presence in the opposite manner. I...well, I enjoy your visits, but was afraid one incursion too many might have put you on the blacklist.”
“I know, that wasn’t wise of me. At least we know that’s not happening now!”
“I’m surprised the agreement was so amicable—but then again, he has been urging me to have you publicise your support for my family.”
Ruthenia’s eyebrows rose. “I could do that, you know.”
“I wouldn’t have you do it,” Aleigh replied, “not unless you’re certain you like the idea of being publicly affiliated with us, and being held to your affiliations in your future clerical decisions.”
“I don’t think I can avoid being affiliated with you forever,” she laughed.
To that, he smiled drily. “You’re never going to stop terrifying me to death with your surprises, now, are you?”
“I’ll never terrify you more than I did the day I was sentenced to death,” she answered with a grin.
Shaking his head in resignation, Aleigh lowered one knee onto the edge of the bed and pointed at the cushion Ruthenia was hugging. She threw it at him. “Thank you, this is my favourite cushion now,” he said, pressing his face into it and taking in a breath. Tucking it under one arm, he left to examine his bookcases for a minute, before choosing a book and placing it on the sheets. “It’s about time I read this one.”
He pulled his shoes off and climbed onto the bed too, no longer seeming to mind that Ruthenia had just made her intrusion on the royal tower known to King Aligon. Ruthenia stared for a minute. “Should I leave?” she asked.
He glanced at her. “Not if you don’t want to,” he said with an earnest smile. “Aligon let you stay, so I see no reason you’d have to leave, unless you wish to.”
“Oh, yes, I’d better. I can’t stand being in the same room as you!”
He frowned playfully, crawling to where she lay while attempting to keep the book in his hand. She spent another while enjoying the cosiness of the pillows and mattress, which only increased when her companion arrived beside her. “All that aside, I’m glad to see you.”
“You really don’t mind?”
“What reasons have I to? Other than you giving me the scare of my life ten minutes ago, that is.”Both sitting there among the pillows, Aleigh turned to her and nuzzled her cheek. She laughed and leaned towards him, resting her chin on his shoulder. “Please stay,” he said. “Since you’re already here. I want you here. I could always use some company.”
She rubbed her cheek against his shoulder. “Gladly,” Ruthenia replied. Together they curled up under the quilt, reclining on cushions, heads leaning together. Between them she felt him weave his fingers with hers.“I’m in bed with you,” she chortled, gathering more of the quilt towards herself.
“So you are,” he replied. “And you’re quite enjoying it, I see.”
“I know ways this could become more enjoyable.” Ruthenia offered her best attempt at a suggestive look.
Aleigh laughed. “Add those to our repository of ideas,” he replied. “We have yet to do half the things in it.”
“Oh, you and your idea collection,” Ruthenia muttered, lifting his hand to touch it to her lips. “What do you want to do next?”
He lifted looked up briefly, seeming to consider his answer, before shaking his head. “We shall decide the next time I am able to confirm a vacancy.”
She pressed his knuckles against her cheek. “I wish you didn't have so much to do.”
“Nothing has made me dislike my routines more than knowing they prevent me from seeing you.” To this day, Aleigh still managed to say things that made her shiver with delight.
“Someday, that will no longer be a problem.”
Laughing softly herself, she slid back down under the quilt, letting her head sink into a cushion. She saw Aleigh open the book and begin reading. Closing her eyes, she once again began to fall asleep in the soporific warmth.
Ruthenia awakened a long while later to discover that the windows were dim with clouds, rain pattering outside—and that Aleigh was still reading. The air was noticeably colder, and the quilt had been pulled up to her shoulders.
She lay there, listening to the interlock of their breathing for a while, before propping herself up on an elbow. This drew her companion’s gaze immediately.
“Hello,” she said.
“Had a good rest?” he asked. She saw the care in his eyes, and nodded.
“Never had a better one. How’s your reading going?”
“I’m about a third of the way through this novel.”
“Is it good?”
“It’s decent.” He riffled through the pages. “The language is...simplistic, but the plot is engaging enough.”
“Simplistic language? Maybe I’ll enjoy this one,” Ruthenia laughed, crawling from under the quilt to his side.
By now, Aleigh had abandoned the book on the shimmering quilt and had turned all attention to her. Amid the soft patter of the downpour, he tilted his head and studied her face, smiling when she made a noise of questioning. She, too, took him in: the glimmer of his eyes, the cascade of golden ringlets about his face.
She remembered how he had once disgusted her, the way the hatred had needled at her every time she had seen his face.
Ruthenia would have liked to claim she needed no family—as if it proved her strength, as if refusing to settle down were a personal act of rebellion. But she had to admit, she liked having someone to trust without reservation. She liked him, entirely too much.
“What are you thinking about?” Aleigh asked.
“What do you think I’m thinking about?” she answered, wriggling towards him until there was no space between them. “So, when should I leave?”
“Not soon, I hope.” She knew he would reach for her; he did, both arms about her waist, pulling her against himself with a laugh and tumbling backwards. They were face-to-face again, bodies pressed together.
If they’d been heard from outside, she barely cared; she loved seeing him so happy and she was glad she could be a source of that happiness. She twisted and kicked, laughing as his arms gathered her even closer and he began kissing her collarbones and neck.
When he pulled back to breathe and to laugh, she brushed hair from his eyes so their gazes could lock. She lunged forward; their lips met again and again, the kisses deepening each time. They rolled to the edge of the bed, mouths meeting every now and then between exclamations and laughter.
Ruthenia paused, rising to kneel over him. He stared up at her, hair and clothes dishevelled from the effort. She was momentarily led to the realisation that this was the least she’d ever seen him wearing.
“Ihir, you tempt me,” she said, staring at the exposed skin—perhaps with too much eagerness, because he seemed to know her thoughts instantly.
“Not right now,” he replied with a smile, tapping her nose with a finger. She blinked and laughed, fingers trailing to his arms, and he reached out to grip her wrists in response. “However, I can, and I shall, offer you tea and desserts, if you would like some.”