Kushiel grinned broadly, and looked sidelong at his companion. Truly, she was delightful, for all her insistence on honor and loyalty. Kushiel was beginning to think he had her wrong, or rather, he had been right and all her stoicism and serenity was just for show. He was starting to think that, between the two of them, she may very well feel things more deeply.
He was not unaware that people got like this. That they were patriotic and the like. Hell, his own mother was as bad as any. She could get all up in arms over her precious Valley. On his worse day Kushiel found it rather tedious, on his best he thought it was a little endearing, cute, if you will.
Kushiel could admit that Elysteria may be the latter. His broad grin turned on her again, his dark eyes blazing with amusement, a bit of triumph, and a large need to heckle.
“Sure, Ellie, whatever you say.” He considered holding his tongue for a moment, bit the inside of his cheek, than continued with a gleeful abandon.
“But, to quote a man much smarter than I, ‘methinks the lady doth protest too much.” Perhaps it was a good thing she was a diplomat, for all that they were rather dull. He’d been attacked more than once, and for being a lot more polite than he was now. Not that he’d never been attacked by a diplomat, it just happened less often, and was less harmful when it did.
Still, it seemed like Elysteria was determined to keep her cool, or else she was simply a lot more tolerant than most, for she didn’t seem about ready to attack him. Kushiel wouldn’t blame her of course, and in truth it wouldn’t do much to dampen his regard. He rarely held the actions of others against them, perhaps in some vain hope that they would extend him the same courtesy.
Kushiel had to stop walking when she stepped in front of him. Of course, he didn’t stop walking until he had made an exaggerated show of bumping into her. With all the bluster and well choreographed clumsiness of a king’s fool, he regained his footing but didn’t step back, preferring to be inappropriately close to her slightly flared nostrils and animated eyes. He answered her with a shrug, very casually, as if he had not just done his best to whip her into a frenzy.
“How would I know? I’ve never tried it.” He considered for a minute, then continued.
“Though I’ve loved my Ma well enough, and she’s never complained. Though don’t tell anyone, I’d never admit to it.” This was not true either. Gallows complained about him all the time, but not about his love for her, in that they seemed to be in unspoken agreement.
Kushiel
some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall