Repeat

I'm sorry, could you repeat that?

Lady Allendra always had bad hearing. Not that it was severe enough to deem her deaf or even partially deaf, but it definitely put a damper on the amount of verbal information or general audible stimulus she received. She claimed that her bad hearing was genetic, which was partially true, but it mostly stemmed from her lack of awareness of the environment around her - so much so that it had evolved from her politely requesting a restatement of what was said to her every now and again to her simply not listening the first time anyone ever said anything to her, assuming that the information would be given twice each time someone spoke to her.

Most people who knew her had accepted that part of her, and others learned quickly to adapt to the Lady’s somewhat off-putting manner merely because she was often of higher rank than them and society demanded that sort of respect.

Not that she cared about that sort of thing, really. Even at the age of 18, she still found exploring the town or chatting with her friends who worked in the estate preferable to making niceties with nobles whenever they came to visit.

…Especially now that her parents were inviting many from the esteemed class to meet with Allendra to possibly capture her hand in marriage.

Luckily, Allendra often preempted those meetings by sneaking out before their arrival, causing mischievous glee for her, frustration for her parents, and awkward situations for her suitors.

Lately, on such occasions, she would make her way to the docks, disguised as a young urchin boy. Most of the men there paid her no heed, so she was able to roam relatively freely, so long as she didn’t get in the way of anyone’s work. The area was crowded enough for her to blend in, but peaceful enough if she managed to procure a spot on a pier when the boats weren’t busy.

Today, it seemed particularly crowded, so Allendra sought out her favorite pier to watch the water. She was surprised to find someone there already, the figure of another man sitting in her usual spot. She was about to leave, when the man noticed her out of the corner of his eye and called out, “Sorry, am I in the way?”

He made a move to stand up, but she gestured for him to stay. She hadn’t spoken as her alter ego in awhile and took a moment to conjure up Alen, young fisher’s boy. “Just walking around. ‘S crowded today, so thought I’d come ‘ere for a spell. But go on, continue what you were doing. Best be on my way.”

She turned to walk away, but realized that he had said something to her. “What?” she responded, inclining her head towards him.

“Come, sit awhile with me! I’ve only come into town today and I’m feeling weary, but in need of some company. Let’s chat awhile, if you’re not busy?”

He wore a slight smile accompanied by brown eyes that bore slightly darkened circles beneath, but a glittering of genuineness. She still had plenty of time before she ought to return, so she decided to stay and chat with the young man. She shrugged, and walked forward to sit with him. He moved over to make room for her (she noticed), as well as asked her a question (she didn’t notice).

“Sorry? Bad ‘earing, y’know, what with these gulls yapping all the time.”

The young man chuckled and repeated, “What’s your name?”

“Alen. Of Relais. And you?”

He smiled. Allendra noticed a small dimple on his smiling cheek and got distracted. Realizing the hard-of-hearing part of her was cropping up again, she inwardly shook her head and apologized again for her horrid hearing.

He good-naturedly waved his hand and said, not for the first time (or for the last), “Martrus of Beyla. Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise.”

Author's Note

Another one-word prompted story!

After I wrote it, I thought about potentially continuing it or turning it into an actual story . . . what do y'all think? Please let me know via review/comment/PM! :D