Episode 99
Oh Mighty Arisanna
Arisanna stabs the apples through the cores with the sticks Cerian grew, and he lifts his brows. “I’m slightly disturbed by the gusto with which you impaled that fruit.”
“All hail Arisanna, Impaler of Fruit. I hear the Westarian women are a force to be reckoned with.” She grins up at him, and a burst of laughter fills his chest. It feels good to be silly with him in the midst of everything happening with Elowyn. He needs to laugh more. They both do.
“Now what, oh mighty Arisanna?”
“Hmm. I like that. Would you think me bold to beg a kiss?”
It certainly feels bold when she says it. Stars above.
“You need only ask.” He smiles as he sits back against the table and draws her close between his knees.
He clearly doesn’t mind. The freedom and the smiles and laughter that flow so easily from him when they’re alone together in this room warm her heart.
There are so many facets to this elf of hers.
So many layers. But here, he’s just himself. And it’s perfect.
When their lips part, he rests his forehead against hers. “My Arisanna.”
“You forgot the ‘mighty.’”
He pokes her, and she laughs.
“We’re supposed to be making caramel apples,” she says. “You keep distracting me.”
“I believe it was the mighty Arisanna who begged for a kiss.”
“As if you minded.”
His lips twitch into a smile. “No. I didn’t mind. At all.”
“Shall we continue?”
“The kiss or the apples?”
“The apples,” she says with a laugh.
“If we must.” He steals another kiss before letting her go.
They already sorted enough caramels from the candy stash to fill the bowl.
“Do I just warm it until it melts?” he asks.
“I think so. I’ve never done this.”
“I doubt we want it to boil. I’ll just warm it to start.”
As Arisanna watches, he hovers his hand over the bowl, and the caramel squares slowly melt into a puddle.
“That’s probably good.” She lifts one of the apples and dips it in the melted caramel, swirling it around to coat the entire apple. It’s not pretty like the ones the cook at Levina makes, but it looks close enough. “Here.”
She hands the apple to Cerian, and he eyes it uncertainly. “This doesn’t look appetizing. I believe you just ruined a perfectly good apple.”
“You haven’t even tried it.”
“My eyes have tried it. And it’s drippy.” He holds it over the bowl, and she frowns. Perhaps it needs to cool.
“Maybe you should take off your shirt.”
He swings his eyes toward her. “Maybe I should take off my shirt?”
“So you don’t drip caramel on it?” She shrugs.
“I don’t want caramel on me, either!”
“You’re easier to clean.”
They stare at each other for a few moments.
Then he looks down at her gown, and a flush creeps up her neck.
“Oh, it stopped dripping. I think it just needed to cool a bit.” She reaches for the other apple to dip, willing her cheeks to return to their usual color.
Why is she even blushing? Because he was thinking about her getting caramel on her gown? Or not getting caramel on her gown?
Because he was thinking about her without her gown?
She’s still blushing. She needs to stop doing that. She definitely wasn’t wearing her shimmeron dress this morning. Stars above.
“You must love caramel,” Cerian says.
“What?” She snaps her gaze to her apple, which is now drenched in caramel and dripping all over the bowl. Good heavens.
“Perhaps you should take off your gown.” He whispers the words near her ear, and her lips twitch as she tries not to smile. Or turn beet red.
“It just needs to cool.”
“I could warm it up again.”
She swings her eyes toward him. “Cerian!”
His smile falters a little. He’s as unsure of himself as she is in this new part of their relationship they’re exploring. Perhaps they just need to relax. Both of them.
She pokes him in the ribs, and his smile returns.
“You started this, oh mighty Arisanna,” he says.
“Hush and eat your apple. I think you’re stalling.”
“I can’t deny it because that would be a lie.”
“Maybe just lick it?”
He gawks at her. “Lick it?”
“You know. With your tongue.” She mimics licking a lollipop since her own apple is still dripping over the bowl.
Thank goodness Mother isn’t here to witness this conversation.
“That seems very undignified.”
She can’t really argue with that.
“Well, we had a deal,” she says. “You may eat a plain apple if you’d prefer. I don’t mean to pressure you if you really don’t want to try it.”
The dripping from her apple has slowed, and she leans over the bowl to take a bite.
“Why do you get the bowl?” he asks.
“Mine has more caramel?”
“I should have made two bowls.”
That wouldn’t have been a bad idea.
“Here. You use the bowl. I’ll just try to be careful.” She steps away from the table, holding her hand beneath her apple to catch any stray drips.
When she looks up, the tiniest bite imaginable has been taken from Cerian’s apple. She resists the urge to laugh or cheer him on. He probably wouldn’t appreciate either response from her.
“I’m already sticky,” he says once he swallows.
“But was it worth it?”
“The caramel is like glue, and the apple is crunchy. I don’t know about this combination—”
“You don’t have to eat it, Cerian. I won’t be hurt.”
“I was going to say I don’t know about this combination, but the taste is pleasing.”
Well. That’s something, at least.
He keeps nibbling at the apple, eyeing it with a similar expression to what he wore while drinking the fizzy lemonade what feels like a lifetime ago. As if he’s not sure whether he loves it or hates it.
Meanwhile, she’s dripping caramel everywhere. Maybe she should have taken off her dress.
Cerian glances her way and frowns.
“Yes, I know. I’m a disaster.” She rubs her forehead with the back of her hand. Hopefully, she didn’t ruin her gown with the two big drips of caramel she missed until it was too late. There’s not much she can do about it now.
“Are you all right?” Cerian’s soft voice nearly undoes her.
“No? I think I ruined my dress.”
“It’s shimmeron, Arisanna. Here, watch.” He takes her half-eaten apple and sets it beside his in the bowl, making only the slightest face at the caramel running down her stick. Then he blows on one of the caramel drips on her bodice as she tries not to turn red again.
To her shock, the stain dries and hardens, lifting away from the fabric.
“May I?” he asks quietly, and she nods.
He carefully peels the dried caramel away, setting it on the table before doing the same with the drip on her skirt. When he’s done, she looks up at his beautiful green eyes. “Thank you.”
“If you drip more, I’ll be glad to help again.” He presses his lips to hers before she can react to his words, and she melts against him, doing her best to keep her sticky hands from touching him.
When he pulls away, he licks his lips and chuckles. “You’re sticky everywhere. Do you wish to wash up in the tub?”
“Alone?”
“I thought perhaps you might appreciate a few minutes to relax with no expectations from anyone.”
She bites her lip and nods.
“Shall I tie your hair up so it doesn’t get wet?” He doesn’t even wait for her to respond before he’s behind her, twisting her hair into a knot and securing it with what feels like more of his vines threading through her hair.
He seems awfully eager for her to take this bath, which makes her smile even as heat threatens to creep up her neck again.
Relax. She needs to relax. Stop thinking so much.
“I don’t know how to get my gown off without getting it sticky,” she says quietly. “Perhaps I should wash my hands first.”
“While you do that, I will run the water for you. And perhaps eat an apple without caramel dripping from it.”
“I’m sorry. I thought the caramel apples would be fun.”
He turns her to face him. “It was fun, and I believe I enjoyed it. But I’m hungry still, and my wife will force-feed me if I don’t eat.”
She sucks in her cheeks to hold back a grin, and he kisses her forehead before frowning. “How did you get caramel up there?”
“I don’t know,” she groans. “You really liked it?”
“Yes. Now go wash.”
By the time she’s scrubbed most of the caramel from her hands, the tub is filling with water, and Cerian has polished off another apple.
“Do you need help getting in, or may I go wash my own hands?” He frowns down at what look like perfectly clean fingers.
“I’ll be fine,” she says softly. “Thank you.”
He offers her one of his beautiful smiles before disappearing into the water closet, and when he returns, she’s already lying back as the warm water unknots her muscles.
He lowers himself to the floor and leans back against the side of the tub. Then he laughs. “Go get candy, indeed. This really was a trap. I thought we’d be gone for a few minutes.”
They have been here for quite a while.
“You needed a distraction, my elven prince. And food.”
He looks at her over his shoulder, his eyes warm. “Thank you.”
“Always, Cerian.”
Before she can say anything else, a knock sounds at the door, and they both freeze.
Stars above.