A Widow's Indiscretion - Tales Secret Santa 2017
(Written for tumblr user @wavervelvett)
Rose’s day began abruptly with a sharp knock on her inn room door.
She groaned and buried her face in the pillow. Who on earth could possibly want something with her this early in the morning? She was briefly tempted to roll over and ignore it, but she could feel the embodiments of her seraphim stirring about inside her. It was best to just get up and deal with it. The last thing she wanted right now was to be lectured on skipping her “shepherdly duties” by refusing to answer visitors.
Bleary-eyed and drowsy, Rose padded over to the door in her pajamas. She crept up towards the peephole and spied through: on the other side stood none other than Sergei Strelka, captain of Rolance’s Platinum Knights.
She frowned and crossed her arms. What was he doing here? As far as she could recall, she hadn’t done anything illegal recently, but seeing his stern face behind the door gave her a sliver of doubt, so she took a moment to think about it. All of her business dealings and shepherd duties were completely legal. She hadn’t needed to assassinate anyone recently. She’d gone out drinking with the other Sparrowfeathers last night, but they were nowhere near rowdy enough to get themselves in trouble… What merited his visit, then?
There was only one way to find out.
“Morning, Sergei,” she said, stifling a yawn as she opened the door. “What’s up?”
“Shepherd Rose,” Sergei responded, standing at attention. “My apologies. Did I wake you?”
Rose nodded, then waved it away with her hand. “Yeah, you did. Don’t worry about it, though.”
“Thank you. I must have made an error in my assumption that you would be awake by now,” he said. “I’m sorry. I will not make that assumption again.”
She felt Lailah’s voice resonate through her core, bright and bubbly even as she chastised her. Yes, it’s about time you got out of bed! I thought you never would at this rate…
Yeah, Edna chimed in, as deadpan as ever. It’s almost noon.
Rose scratched her head. “Ugh, crap, is it that late already?” she said, a bit sheepishly. “Sorry about that, Sergei. What can I do for you?”
“Ah, yes. Right,” he said. His eyes shifted one way, then the other, and he pulled on his collar. “Would you mind if we held our discussion in private? It is of a personal matter, and I would like to avoid prying ears.”
Rose blinked. A personal matter? Well, that was considerably nicer than being put under arrest. She didn’t feel like pulling off a cunning escape this morning. “Sure,” she said, beckoning him inside.
You’re going to let him in when it looks like this? Mikleo said, astonishment in his voice. He had a good point – after a few days, Rose had gotten a little too comfortable in this room. The bed was unmade, her clothes were all over her floor, and merchant papers and ruin maps alike were scattered across the table in the corner of the room. Oops.
Rose cringed a little bit, but didn’t hesitate to let him in. Today, Sergei was going to find out that the current Shepherd was more of a slob than her predecessor was. There was no avoiding it now. If he did notice how disorganized his surroundings were, though, he didn’t make it known. He seemed rather preoccupied with something else as he closed the door behind him.
“So, what’s up?” she asked, placing a hand on her hip.
Sergei cleared his throat, taking a moment to collect himself before speaking. “Now, I understand that everyone processes grief differently…” he started. “And it is not my place to determine what is or is not appropriate behavior after losing your husband…”
Rose sighed. “Sorey and I aren’t married, Sergei,” she said.
“Well, no, of course not,” he said. “You’re a widow, now.”
Oh, right. Their marriage was the only part of their bogus tale that he actually still believed. She wasn’t quite sure why, but it was kind of cute. There was no harm in letting him continue to believe it, she supposed. “What, are you insinuating that I shouldn’t travel alone?” she asked, smirking. She leaned forward on the balls of her feet. “Are you suggesting that the world is too dangerous for a sweet little old widow like me?”
“Preposterous,” Sergei said dismissively. “I know full well your capabilities as a shepherd, and with your team of merchants and seraphim companions at your side there is no reason to fear for your safety.”
Sergei tugged at his collar again, his ears going red at the tips. “I saw you and Princess Alisha at the pub last night,” he said, casting his eyes downward. “You were in a rather… intimate embrace.”
Her eyes widened. Oh. Oh crap. When did they get caught? She could have sworn that she and Alisha had kept it under wraps, but after a couple of drinks, maybe they weren’t as subtle as they thought they were. She could feel the seraphim reacting to his statement underneath her skin. Damn it.
Oh my, Lailah said coyly. Is that why you sent us away for a little while before heading to your room?
Edna scoffed. Sneaking off to mack on your squire? Geez. And here I thought you were off on assassin business. Rose could practically see her twirling her umbrella in mock disdain.
Can it! Rose responded internally, her cheeks flushing red.
“Now, I understand that you are under no obligation to remain faithful to the late Shepherd Sorey, but don’t you think it is a bit soon to move on to a new romantic interest?” Sergei asked, concerned.
Rose groaned. Alisha was hardly a new romantic interest, and everyone (except their dear friend Captain Strelka, apparently) knew that Sorey only had eyes for Mikleo. She didn’t have the heart to explain to him that their fake marriage was one of convenience – after all, it would just be too cruel after seeing the way their crappy love story touched the captain’s heart. It would also be rather inconvenient to explain that her pretend husband was not, in fact, dead, but in a stasis that could last for decades, if not centuries. To Sergei’s credit, though, by the time Sorey showed back up they could all be resting in their own graves.
“Sorry, Sergei,” Rose said, grinning sheepishly. “Shepherd or not, I am still human. I’ll admit, I have wavered in my fidelity to my late husband. Like you said: everyone processes grief differently. I pray that one day Sorey will forgive me for my foolishness.” She put a hand over her heart for emphasis.
Sergei nodded in approval. “I understand, Shepherd Rose,” he said. “I pray that one day, your emotional wounds will heal, and that you and Sorey both find the peace and love you seek both in this world and beyond.”
“In the meantime, though, perhaps consider using a little more tact. You and Princess Alisha both have professional reputations to maintain, and rumors can contribute to the generation of malevolence. It is not my place to judge your heart’s desire, so I will not ask you to cease your courtship. However, I highly suggest taking more precautions to keep them private for the time being, for both the Princess’ sake and your own.”
“Uh, yeah. Thanks, Sergei.”
“But of course, Shepherd Rose,” he said, bowing slightly. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I must return to my rounds. Thank you for your time.”
Rose gave a nervous laugh. “Sure thing,” she said, ushering him out into the hallway. She then slumped against the door, letting out a sigh of relief. She was glad that was over with.
Pay up, Meebo, said Edna flatly.
What are you talking about? Mikleo asked.
You don’t remember? Weeks ago, I bet you 100 gald that Rose and Alisha were secretly dating.
Mikleo remained silent for a few moments. Huh. I forgot about that. Yeah, I guess you win this one, he conceded.
Rose could feel Edna’s smug grin from within her psyche. I’ll add it to my tally, Edna said.
Rose wasn’t sure how she felt about having bets placed on her love life. She also didn’t know what kind of gambling operation the two of them had set up, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to know. She flopped on to the bed with an exaggerated sigh, tuning them out as they bantered about their other bets and bickered over who was currently leading the tally.
This was not an ideal way to start a morning.
