Episode 120 Go Before I Singe Your Eyebrows
Go Before I Singe Your Eyebrows
It’s a touching scene Tharios finds when he steps inside Elowyn’s chamber again after speaking to the hotel manager on Father’s behalf, along with Gerault.
He’d feel guilty for arranging for the future upkeep of the suite without even consulting Father first, but Father won’t mind. He’s been sending Tharios to represent him in all sorts of capacities since before Tharios even came into his full magic.
Father has never come out and said it, but Tharios has overheard his parents speaking about ensuring Tharios is ready to ascend to the throne of Lostariel even now, in case the unthinkable happens.
As it did when Father’s father passed from the light unexpectedly when Father was the same age Tharios is now.
Only Father wasn’t prepared to take his place as king, and he nearly lost his throne.
And he did things differently with his own son.
No, Father won’t mind. He trusts Tharios to stand in his place whenever the need arises.
And now everything has been arranged with the hotel manager, who immediately sent for the owner when the Nunian king approached him.
And Mr. Gorming loved the room and the idea when Gerault explained everything and showed the man what Cerian had done.
Thank the fates the man holds no malice toward elves.
And now Tharios stands in Elowyn’s room as Grandmera reads Elowyn’s beloved fables aloud.
Elowyn looks like she’s fighting sleep again as she curls up at Rominy’s side on the bed.
Arisanna leans against Cerian’s shoulder in the corner where they kissed the previous evening, though Cerian merely plays with a lock of her hair this time.
And they all listen as Grandmera reads slowly in Elvish.
Whistling wind. He gave Rominy an Elvish book to read. Rominy was probably too polite to say anything.
Well, it seems to have worked out all right.
Tharios approaches Elowyn, and Grandmera pauses her reading to look up at him.
“Don’t stop,” he whispers. “I just need to examine Elowyn.”
With a nod, Grandmera returns to reading, and Elowyn sighs as she lets Tharios probe her again.
Soon, the fable ends, and Grandmera closes the book. “That’s enough for now. Perhaps we can continue later.”
“How are you feeling?” Tharios asks Elowyn.
“Tired, though my arm is better. I can move it again.”
“Good.”
“Rominy refuses to get me more coffee until you permit it, and I’m not sure I like him anymore.”
“She says that to you, but every time she tries to say it to me, she can’t, so I’m pretty sure that’s a lie.” Rominy grins as he brushes Elowyn’s hair back from her forehead.
Judging by the way Elowyn is curled up against Rominy, it’s a lie of epic proportions, and Tharios smiles.
“I’m certain it’s a lie. And I already asked for coffee to be included with your lunch tray, which should be delivered soon. So you can stop giving Rominy the evil eye. He’s doing better following my instructions than you ever do.”
Elowyn makes a face at Tharios, and he crosses his arms.
“I can drink the coffee myself if you’re going to be a goose about it,” he tells her.
Her eyes grow wide, and she shakes her head. “I’m being good. I promise.”
“Tell it to Rominy.”
When Elowyn hesitates, Tharios grins.
“That’s exactly what I thought,” he says.
But she’s trying. He knows she’s trying. She’s endured a lot, and she’s permitted a bit of frustration in response.
Their food is soon delivered and consumed, including Elowyn’s coffee, which she happily drowns in more cream and sugar before sipping.
Eventually, even the natural rush brought on by the coffee beans isn’t enough to keep her eyes open.
As she droops beside Rominy, he gently pries the half-full mug from her hand, and she doesn’t protest. Hopefully, when she wakes, she’ll remember it was Rominy rather than Tharios who took it from her.
The afternoon turns to evening as Gerault lingers near his wife and children, and Rominy leaves the bed to sit with his family at the table across the room.
They talk and laugh through dinner and beyond, and when Elowyn wakes again, Rominy carries her to the table to join them as she curls up in his lap with a blanket wrapped around her to keep her warm.
You’d almost think he had a bit of Lothlesi blood running through his veins with how little he seems to care about his mother’s shock at his actions.
Even Arisanna almost knocks over her tea as Rominy wraps his arms around Elowyn right in front of them.
Clearly, Rominy’s priorities shifted when he almost lost Elowyn. When he almost died alongside her.
“You are not needed here tonight,” Grandmera says softly near Tharios’s ear as he watches Cerian sit at Arisanna’s side.
Cerian rarely joins the laughter, but he doesn’t scowl, either.
Occasionally, Arisanna’s smiles draw out Cerian’s, and Tharios just shakes his head.
Who would have guessed a human princess could have such a profound effect on Cerian?
“Are you ignoring me, Tharios Westaria?” Grandmera asks, and that gets his attention. Is she planning to strangle him with his own vines if he doesn’t rest again?
“I would never ignore you, Grandmera.”
“Indeed. You value your life too much.”
He grins at that. “My thoughts exactly.”
“Which is why I know you will listen when I instruct you to go exist apart from all this for a night.”
He definitely walked into that trap.
“How long has it been since you spoke to your binding partner?” Grandmera asks, and his smile fades. He hasn’t seen Viala in hours. Not since they showed Mr. Gorming the honeymoon suite.
He tugs at the cord connecting them, but it feels normal. Not like it did this morning.
Perhaps she wished to spend the evening alone.
That’s not very like Viala, though. She doesn’t delight in solitude the way Cerian does. Not usually.
“Go be with Viala, Tharios. Your presence is not required here tonight. I recommend the chocolates with the light drizzle on top, but you may have to fight Cerian for them.”
“Are you telling me to romance my binding partner tonight?”
“I am telling you she needs you. Her heart is fragile right now. Have an evening together that isn’t about magic. Hers or yours.”
Grandmera shoves the candy against his chest, and he fumbles for it. Then he glances back at Elowyn.
“Elowyn has everything she needs in that young man wrapping his arms around her,” Grandmera says. “Go. Before I singe your eyebrows this time.”
Tharios fights back a grin and shakes his head. “You have made your point. I am going.”
“Good.”
With the candy in his hands, he offers his goodnights before slipping from the room and attempting to push thoughts of Elowyn aside. He resists the urge to spy on Mother first. She’s been following his orders every time he’s looked with his life magic. He probably doesn’t need to check again.
Viala is where his focus needs to be. Taking a deep breath, he stops outside their door. She’s inside, which is a relief. Not that she could have gone far without him noticing. The magic connecting them would have dragged him along with her.
So...romance her?
Perhaps Grandmera is right. Perhaps Viala needs to be distracted from all their talk of magic and growing old and dying.
Tharios sends threads of his air magic under the door, feeling the room as his wind currents search for her within, and he finally finds her curled up in a chair near the window again. Staring at the mountains, probably. He toys with her hair and flutters the hem of her gown until she looks up.
“Tharios?”
Her voice carries to him on his wind, and he smiles before reaching for the door. He slips through and closes it behind him. “I believe there’s a faerie hiding in my chamber. I’m hoping if I offer her chocolate, she might stay forever.”
A faint smile graces Viala’s face. “Did you come to check on me? Forgive me. I feared I would be in the way tonight.”
That’s unlikely to be the whole truth, but he lets it go.
“I thought I might romance you tonight,” he says softly. “They don’t need me in there.”
She looks uncertain about how to respond to that.
He sets the candy on the table and kneels in front of her. “You are amazing, you know that?”
“Go on.” Her eyes twinkle, and he smiles. There’s his Viala.
“Come with me. Let’s get out of here.”
“And where will we go?”
“We’ll get Stardust, and we’ll just ride. Let your hair fly free in the wind.” He pulls off the tie on her braid, threading his fingers through the strands until her golden hair hangs loose once more.
“And then what?”
“And then we’ll find a quiet meadow and dance under the stars. Forget everything else and just be us.”
She runs a knuckle along his cheek. “Just dance?”
“What do you think, faerie? Do we ever just dance, you and I?”
“Never.” Her smile grows, stealing his breath away. “Let’s sleep under the stars tonight, Tharios. Curl up together to stay warm. Wake with the dawn.”
“Sounds absolutely perfect, my love.”
“Really? You mean it? We’re not just dreaming out loud?” Her eyes light up to match her smile, and he nods.
“I’m completely serious. I’ve heard faeries glow in the moonlight, so I devised a plan to lure one into my trap. Make passionate love to her beneath the night sky and find out if it’s true.” He grins at her, and she drops her head back and laughs.
“Have you ever seen me glow in the moonlight, elf prince?”
“You shine always, my love. Shine for me tonight?”
She pulls him into an eager kiss, which is answer enough, and soon, they sneak out of the hotel to find Stardust.