53rd Ymiden 717
There was no doubting it, they were busy. They were, Faith knew, too busy and things were reaching boiling point for them both. Not with each other, but just with things generally. The restaurant was booming and it occurred to her that they were both working in the same two places. She gave a slight smile as she considered that poor Padraig must feel like he had nowhere to run to.
A squeal of laughter from some children playing on the beach caught her attention and Faith turned to look. There, playing in the sand, were a group of children. Their laughter pealed around the place and Faith felt a strange sense at the noise. It wasn't sadness, she recognized, it was something else. She was used to feeling a strange sort of melancholy at the sight and sound of children, but it was fleeting and held at bay, however this was different. Faith couldn't quite work out what it was that she was feeling but it was gone as quickly as her usual emotions did so that was what it was. The pragmatic young woman decided to think about it later and then did a double take as she recognised someone on the beach.
It couldn't be, Faith thought to herself. The last time she had seen him had been in the Eastern Settlements during Malcolm's campaign. After she'd been thrown from the horse, she'd been more or less confined to her tent, not least by Padraig, although the headaches and nausea had been somewhat debilitating.
Still, not quite believing her eyes and with all other considerations of her emotions firmly ignored now, Faith made her way down onto the beach. The closer she got, the more obvious it became that yes, indeed, that very tall (but weren't they all) man on the beach just outside Scalvoris Town was someone she knew from so much more than a lifetime ago.
As she came into his sight, as she spoke his name, Faith did not even consider how much she had changed since he saw her last. In a strappy vest top with no brands to be seen, the young woman had more confidence than she had ever had, she walked and moved and talked differently and as she approached what she now knew to be her nineteenth birthday, Faith had changed in her body shape too. She'd moved from really scrawny to just a tiny person. But a tiny person who looked utterly delighted to see him.
"Kylar?" Faith asked, her pleasure evident in her voice, too. "Is that really you?"
A squeal of laughter from some children playing on the beach caught her attention and Faith turned to look. There, playing in the sand, were a group of children. Their laughter pealed around the place and Faith felt a strange sense at the noise. It wasn't sadness, she recognized, it was something else. She was used to feeling a strange sort of melancholy at the sight and sound of children, but it was fleeting and held at bay, however this was different. Faith couldn't quite work out what it was that she was feeling but it was gone as quickly as her usual emotions did so that was what it was. The pragmatic young woman decided to think about it later and then did a double take as she recognised someone on the beach.
It couldn't be, Faith thought to herself. The last time she had seen him had been in the Eastern Settlements during Malcolm's campaign. After she'd been thrown from the horse, she'd been more or less confined to her tent, not least by Padraig, although the headaches and nausea had been somewhat debilitating.
Still, not quite believing her eyes and with all other considerations of her emotions firmly ignored now, Faith made her way down onto the beach. The closer she got, the more obvious it became that yes, indeed, that very tall (but weren't they all) man on the beach just outside Scalvoris Town was someone she knew from so much more than a lifetime ago.
As she came into his sight, as she spoke his name, Faith did not even consider how much she had changed since he saw her last. In a strappy vest top with no brands to be seen, the young woman had more confidence than she had ever had, she walked and moved and talked differently and as she approached what she now knew to be her nineteenth birthday, Faith had changed in her body shape too. She'd moved from really scrawny to just a tiny person. But a tiny person who looked utterly delighted to see him.
"Kylar?" Faith asked, her pleasure evident in her voice, too. "Is that really you?"
