Chapter 15: Budding Attraction

Lumenovus and Lavender each reflect on their conversation. Lavender gets a surprise visitor.

 I don’t know how Lavender did it.  I started out in the blackest mood I’d ever been in.  Part of it was Pinvey’s stunt, bringing an entire army against me.  Part of it was that at an hour a day, defeating the soldiers at a good pace might get me out in four and a half years.  That was if I survived.  Worse, Lavender would be leaving in the spring, and I would be friendless.

 Worst of all was what she’d revealed about how terrible her life really was.  That was what my mind kept cycling through as I fought through my first full day of combat with uncharacteristic viciousness.  She came to see me after the fights, and by the time she left I felt better just from talking to her.

 She came to see me after dinner, and by the time she produced a bottle of mead and agreed to stay and share it with me, I was far past feeling better.  I felt like I was living a dream come true.  Perhaps ‘fairy tale’ would be a better choice of words...

 I couldn’t think of the last time I had been so happy about anything.  Strange to think being shrunk and imprisoned could be one of the best things to ever happen to me.

 She stayed several hours, and had a conversation that meant a lot to me.  That I think meant a lot to both of us.  There was something pure and open about it, unrelated to the alcohol.  Not that the mead didn’t help.

 I have always believed in the importance of dreams.  I told her a bit about them, and promised to tell her more.  That I could do for sure.  It was one of my favorite things to speak about as I traveled, and it also got me fed more reliably.  People much preferred it to my deepest topic, death.

 “Alright then, you promised.  I’ll come back as often as I can,” she said.

 She meant it, and I was speechless.  “I’m grateful,” I said stupidly.

 “Goodnight, then...” she said.

 “Goodnight.”

 Just before she was out of sight, she turned and asked, “Lumenovus?”

 “Yes?”

 “Would I...  Make a pretty human?”

 You’d make a pretty anything.  “Exceptionally pretty...  But I like you, so my opinion’s biased.”

 I wanted to tell her more.  I wanted to tell her I’d thought she was pretty since the moment I saw her.  That each time I had seen her since, she looked more beautiful than the last.  That the very sight of her was beginning to light me up more than anything else ever had.  Most of all I wanted to tell her I could have only wished to meet a human girl like her.  She not only seemed to grow more gorgeous by the day, she was the most pleasant and considerate I’d ever met.  But as hard as she was on herself, I didn’t think she wanted to hear any of it.

 At least what I said made her smile.  “Goodnight,” she said with a blush, and disappeared.

 No, I don’t know how she did it...  This whole situation should have been a nightmare, but I fell asleep smiling, and slept well.

----

 I got back to my room wanting nothing more than to lay down and think back over my conversation with Lumenovus.  I couldn’t believe some of the questions I’d asked him, but I was glad I did.  I knew so much more about him.  He had told me to never give up on my dreams.  I decided my dream was to meet a man like him one day, whether it could happen or not.

 I took off my dress and slipped into bed.  With a happy sigh I grabbed a pillow and held it, pretending it was a man.  But I didn’t get to dream anything.

 “I knew it,” Pinvey said, stepping out from the shadows.  My door hadn’t opened.  She’d been there the whole time, watching me.

 “Pinvey!”  She’d startled me.  I caught my breath.  “What?”

 “I knew it, I said.  I knew you wanted to f**k him.”

 I rolled my eyes and laid back in bed.  “Damn it, Pinvey, will you shut up and get out of my room?”

 She came over and sat on the edge of my bed.  “Would I...  Make a pretty human?” she said, mimicking me.

 Since I was drunk, there was a split second where those words were only hauntingly familiar.  My mind didn’t want to draw the only conclusion.  “Wait, were you...”

 “Right around the corner.  The whole time.”

 “What?  Why?  What are you trying to do?”

 She laughed.  “Lavender, you are so oblivious sometimes!  Don’t worry, I was just curious to see if I was right.  What am I supposed to think?  You’ve been going to the briars constantly.  Right after dinner you go nab a bottle of Father’s best mead, not paying the least bit of attention to anything.  I was watching you openly, I wasn’t hiding.  Oh, do you know how hard it was not to laugh when you started asking about human women?  I can’t think of any way to be more transparent, other than to start flashing your wings and tits at him.”

 Didn’t you flash your wings at him?  I knew anything I tried to say would be twisted against me, so I just gathered more blanket to my chest and waited for her to get to the point.

 “I’d say you have a pretty good chance with him.  You know what I told you about human males.  Give him a few weeks, or even days.  He’ll get to where he’d put his dick in anything.  Even you.”

 I wanted to leap at her.  She knew it.  She smirked, and I could tell she’d waited until I was undressed on purpose.  “Pinvey...  What do you want?”

 “You know how much I hate it when people lie, Lavender.  Right now, you’re lying to yourself.  You want him, it’s plain to see.  So just go for it.  Might have to get him drunk again...”

 “Are you done?”

 “Bribe the guard to look the other way, sneak him up here.  It’d be easy.”

 “Pinvey, you’ve put so much thought into this it sounds like you want to do it yourself.  I was just talking to him, okay?”

 “Whatever you say, Lavender,” she said, standing.  She was grinning.  She’d said what she wanted to say.  She left, leaving me wondering what she was really after.  As far as I could tell, she actually wanted that to happen...  What in the world for?

 I went to sleep wondering, however, what exactly I was after.  Why had I asked him all those things?  Why had his parting words to me almost forced my legs to give out?