GillianTeaAndGhostsGillian Tea and GhostsSeabhac had a firm, yet gentle grip as he led Gillian over to his lab. A flutter of restless wings echoed from the shadows far above them; Yo-yo following the pair with keen attentiveness. Gillian barely noticed the familiar, so intent she was on the set-up in front of her. "This lab...this lab rivals most labs at the university..." she commented with awe. Seabhac blushed, “It’s not half as big as my aunt’s. King Eric was very generous to her. Maybe I can convince her to let you visit the castle. And see the Grand Library. Nah. On second thought, you probably wouldn’t be interested in something like that.” Gillian's hands flew to her mouth again as she stifled a squeal. She turned to look at Seabhac and a brief moment later her shoulders relaxed. "You're kidding, of course," she said as she lowered her hands. As she continued to looked at him she started to tense again. "Great Unicorn, you're not kidding," she second-guessed herself. "I can't go to the castle," Gillian added immediately and without thought, like a reflex. Seabhac gave her an amused look, “Why not? Can’t climb stairs?” The question caught Gillian off-guard. Why not indeed? Of course there was the gap in social status--chasm, really--between a servant girl and the royals. But she tried to judge others on merit rather than pedigree, and here apparently Seabhac was trying to do the same. Why couldn't she judge herself accordingly? Flustered, she forced a smile and waved the question away, hoping Seabhac wouldn't pursue it. The young prince ignored their unwelcome chaperone and led her over to a huge cast-iron cauldron. Smokeless flames crackled beneath it, rising from a runic symbol on the floor. A strong smell rose from the bubbling clear liquor within. “I’ve been working on a batch of Bacchus’s Tears for the Church of the Unicorn. This should be ready for bottling soon,” he explained. “They use it in many of their rituals. The priestesses, I mean.” He gave her a shy smile, letting her examine the cauldron and his nearby workbench. Gillian noticed a bowl of crushed, dried Bacchus leaves sitting out. She knew that while the plant's roots were used to make Bacchus’s Tears, the addition of the leaves transformed the liquor into Neverstray, a local ‘marital aid’ for assuring fidelity. Gillian picked up a pinch of the crushed leaves and rolled them between forefinger and thumb. She raised an eyebrow in Seabhac's direction. "Making Neverstray?" she inquired. Seabhac laughed, “Indeed. You’d be surprised how profitable the Neverstray business is. Sad really. I mean, if you have love. . . why look elsewhere?” His eyes met hers, only to turn his head away when a voice interrupted them. "You can see if we need anything else in order to complete our project." Joao urged Gillian. He made no motion to rise, continuing to nurse the cup of tea in front of him. She nodded to Joao and turned to regard Seabhac. As much as she wanted to look down or away, Gillian forced herself to look at Seabhac's face. "You told us earlier that you had some fresh Skartarian blade-wyrm scales in your lab. What would you like for them?" she inquired. “What would I like?” Seabhac said, blinking. “Uh. Nothing. They’re yours for the taking, Gilly. Can I call you Gilly?" A shadow passed over Gillian's face, and was gone. "In fact, I wrapped them up for you. Over here.” He approached another bench, upon which sat a burlap bag tied with butcher’s string. “You’re my friends now. And friends help friends. Right?” Gillian accepted the package with a shy smile. "Um...sure. Thank you. You've been very generous, Seabhac. With the fur Raina has on her clothing, we now have the rare components we needed. Zeppel will be most surprised, wondering where we got them. Whatever shall we tell him?" “Don’t tell him anything,” Seabhac smirked. “It’ll drive him crazy trying to figure it out. But he’ll know you didn’t cheat, so he’ll have to give you the extra credit. That’s all that matters really.” That and the lab Zeppel promised, Gillian added to herself. He put his hands in his pockets, “And please, enough with the gratitude. For a few scales and a cool trip into Shadow I get something that’s truly priceless. . .” He paused, looking down at her bashfully. “A date with you.” A look of panic suddenly clouded his features. “You. You do still want to go have noodles, right?” Gillian looked at Seabhac askance. "Why me?" she asked, barely above a whisper. "I'm nobody in your world. Your relatives would doubtless have something strong to say about my lack of assurance and social status--your familiar certainly does. Is this a...show of rebellion? A dare from your peers?" A shadow passed over Seabhac’s features, clouding his eyes. He dismissed it and took Gillian’s hands in his, stepping close to her, his quiet voice for her and her alone. “Alright. Because I think I know you, I’ll let that slide this time. But never accuse me of that again, okay?” He looked at her seriously. She tried to meet his eyes, and actually managed it for a brief second, but he was too close and the situation was too intense. She bit her lip and looked away. “I’ve spent the last fortnight summoning the courage to ask you out, Gilly. I lucked out today. Otherwise, who knows how long I’d have held off? I've been terrified of screwing this up. You are *someone.* Someone beautiful. And I like you. I just want the chance for you to like me too.” Gillian forced to herself to look up and made it as far as his mouth. "Seabhac..." she breathed, squeezing his hands. "I...I don't know what to say. I feel completely overwhelmed." “’Yes’ would be a good place to start,” Seabhac replied. “To noodles, I mean. And I promise we’ll tour a few spiritual locations as well. You can call it a ‘research trip.’” A vulpine grin warmed his features, “We can buy a new katana for Uncle Benedict while we’re there. If you we win him over, the rest of the family will be too scared to say anything. Not that I’d let them anyway.” He realized that they were still holding hands and blushed. “So. . .” he said, not sure how to continue. Gillian let go of his hands and wiped her own self-consciously on her skirts. "Um...yes, then. Noodles and a research trip sound...nice. Thank you." She smiled fleetingly and picked up the scales again. "Shall we return to the others?" she asked. He offered her his arm, “Yes. Let’s.” His smile grew larger as they walked back to the other two. |
