Breaking the Rules

[GoblinFae]

Primrose watched in pleased amusement as Harkness wolfed down his food and got up for more. "Oh men!" she cried ripping the bowl away from the pouting elf. "You know," she began, standing to fill his bowl,"my father used to say that there is no point in waiting on ceremony for food when there are hungry bellies waiting to be filled. Eat as much as you like. The food will go to waste otherwise," she invited him, handing him back his bowl and sitting down. "Just don't expect me to get it for you next time," she teased him.

"You cheat!" Primrose laughed, leaning over and punching Harkness in the arm. "You yourself said I knew everything you told me. Why should I tell you anything you do not know? Although I admit you never told me your last name until now. So I suppose fair is fair. Hmm, something about me?"

'What do I tell him? Nothing depressing, Kia knows we've had enough of that tonight. Nothing too personal either, he is a stranger after all. Food. Food is always a safe topic.'

"My mother never approved of me learning to cook. I think she was jealous of me. When we lived in Serendipity I used to help the servants with the meals. It was my escape from my responsibilities, that is when I wasn't busy pranking. Mother would always sneak into the kitchen at night and try making things of her own." Primrose smiled fondly at the memory before laughing. "The only reason I know is because I caught her when I was sneaking back in after a night out playing pranks with my friend. It was the one time I was actually caught and got away with it. From that time on, I found my mother protesting my time in the kitchen a lot less vocally."

[Haze]

Hark grinned sheepishly as she got up and refilled his bowl, some what amused by her motherly ways. "Sounds like something my father would say," he returned as she handed him his seconds, "and my mother. She always cooked for an army."

He slowed down his eating this time, actually taking time to enjoy it as he listened to her story. By the time she'd finished though, he was already ready for a third helping, and he got himself up and wandered back to the pot.

"I remember the time my mother taught Elody to cook. It was a disaster." He chortled to himself, and sat back down, leaning back in the chair and sitting with his ankles crossed lightly. "Elody's a funny thing. Likes to try and be independent, so when Mother was giving her instructions, Elody would just scowl, and pretend she knew what she was doing already... mm... this is so good! Any how, she nearly burned down the house because she was too stubborn to check on the food when Mother told her to." He grinned and shook his head at the memory. "I don't think she's been allowed in the kitchen since.

"So your father was a dragon rider?" he guessed, raising a quizzical eyebrow, remembering the dragon statue in the garden. "Did you ever get to see it? I'd love to, you know, see a dragon. For a long time I didn't even believe they were real. They're rare now though, right?"

[GoblinFae]

"Yes he was, a very respected one too, from what I can remember. Although, Ustskel had so much of a personality of your own you would think she did all the work. Ustskel was my father's dragon. He let me ride with him once, always promised that when I grew up she would be mine. He died defending her from poachers. I think I still have some of her scales around the house. People believe they make good luck charms," she told him shrugging.

"They are rare and so beautiful. They are fierce and proud creatures. Knowing one is truly a gift, being allowed to ride one is an even greater one. I consider myself very fortunate for being given such an honor."

Primrose smiled tearing some more bread for herself. "Your sister sounds like a fun person. What else did you two do when you were younger?"

[Haze]

"Elody? Yeah..." A brief shadow passed over his face, but he carried on speaking in a friendly tone. "Yeah, Elody is a hoot. She's the closest sister I have in age, I guess that's why we got along so well as children. I have lots of other brothers and sisters, though. Don't know half their names... that's the problem with living a long time. I bet half the elves you meet are probably related in some way shape or form."

He shrugged and put the bowl down on the table, letting his hands come to rest on his satiated stomach. "Elody though, she was - is - one of a kind. I told you about the weed monster, right? Well, I remember this other time, when she was really small, I still towered over her, and one night just before she went to bed, I told her that there was Tree Man who came into her room at night. It was mean, really, but I was a pain. Anyway, she wouldn't go to sleep that night, because of what I'd told her, and so I snuck into her room, and stood in the shadows, and started hissing at her.

"Boy, did she scream. She ran to Mother, and yessir... I got another hiding for that, too." He grinned wryly, shaking his head. "But still, I loved her within an inch of her life. She was - is - cute, and steadfast, and fiercely loyal. She's actually the reason I became a bodyguard." The memory hit him like a hurricane, and he took in a sharp breath, before shaking it off and asking another question of Primrose.

"You said your mother is buried in Serendipity? Do you go there often?"

[GoblinFae]

Primrose saw the shadow move across his face as well as the way he switched tenses when talking of his sister. 'Poor choice of subject, Prim. Something is not right between him and his sister. Let it go.'

"Serendipity? I have not returned there since I was fourteen. When my father died my mother and I went to live her brother. When she died I returned here. I did not like being under my uncle's influence. That dislike was only strengthened upon my last return. As long as he still lives, I will not be returning to Serendipity. I like my life away from him where I can do as I please. He'd rather see me married and being the perfect little nobleman's wife than be a teacher and a fighter." As she spoke, she had been tearing into the loaf of bread a lot more anger than was completely necessary. Crumbs covered the table-top surface and she scowled when she saw the mess she had made.

"Now I believe it is your turn. Where are you from and do you ever go back?" she asked him beginning to clean up her mess.

[Haze]

"I'm Adelan," Harkness returned, keeping his voice neutral as he watched Primrose. She really did have a great dislike for her uncle, and he was interested by the fact that she seemed to abhor the idea of being a nobleman's wife. Couldn't she be both? He wondered, but deciding that it wasn't his place to make the suggestion. Not yet, anway, when they were just getting to know each other.

He stood and reached for her bowl, and took both the vessels to wash them up. He spoke as he did this, glancing over his shoulder once or twice to keep the small lady engaged in the conversation. "My family lives deep Draconi Forest, but I don't go there as often as I should, or when I do, it's never for very long. They take a lot of getting used to, especially after so many years away. My mother and father are elders of the small community out there, purely Elvish. Gets on my nerves sometimes - they're quite opposed to the influences of other races, and tend to keep very much to themselves. Traditionalists, I'd call them. I've probably seen more of our world in my three hundred years, than they have in their combined lifetimes.

"I suppose it's something I take for granted though," he said as he turned back to her, wiping his wet hands on his trousers and going back to sit down. "Long life, I mean. It's not like we're in any rush to tell each other the important things, and so not much gets said." He gave a shrug, and then fired off another question.

"Do you remember your childhood friends? Do you still keep in contact with any?"

[GoblinFae]

"You should see them while you are here," she told him. "No matter how bold it is of me to say so, I am right, and you know it. At the end of the day they are still your family. You have been gifted with long life and your family's good health. But, that will not last forever. It is best to live our lives with no regrets for today is certain, but tomorrow not so. I am sure your family misses you. Them getting on your nerves is their way of telling you they love you. That is what family is for," she chuckled.

"Tea?" Primrose bustled about stoking the fire and putting a kettle of water on it. She refused to look at Harkness after her small chiding. "Friends? I only ever had one and we don't really talk to each other anymore," she told him as she climbed up to stand on the table. Standing on her tip-toes she allowed herself to fall forward until she was bracing her hands against the very cupboard Janus had dumped flour from on top of. "Ryuu and I grew distant when I moved back here. In the end our letters just seemed to taper off. There really wasn't much left to say anymore, we had grown up differently and no longer seemed to know each other."

Primrose strained forward trying to reach the box of tea leaves on top of the cupboard. No matter how much she tried though she could not seem to reach it. She moved to the very edge of the table, precariously balancing as she one more lunged for the tea box.

[Haze]

Harkness nodded once to the tea, his face blank after her telling him off. Should have known better than to say they annoy you. Poor girl has no family. And there I spouting off about how I don't need mine. Idiot. He also considered what she'd said about her friend, and found it to be true for himself also. He lived in relative solidarity, had never really sought out companionship until this encounter, and even then he hadn't sought after it - it had found him.

He watched with a raised eyebrow though as she perched herself precariously on the edge of the table, reaching for the box of tea she was looking for. "Would you like me to get-" he didn't finished his sentance though, seeing her lunge and seeing the most unfortunate of events play out in his minds eye. With split second reflexes he'd jumped up, putting his arm around her wait to steady her before she fell. "Be careful!" he scowled at her, using his other hand to reach for the box, and grasping it easily.

Deftly, he lifted her from the table, and set her back on the ground, shaking his head. "You want to knock yourself out?" he chuckled lightly, handing her the tea.

[GoblinFae]

Primrose squeaked as her feet left the table. Harkness' scolding just sent her into a fit of giggles, forcing her to lean into him as she fought to catch her breath. 'He's warm.' her mind supplied. 'And he's tall.'

"You could come in handy after all. My human ladder," she teased, taking the tea box. "Thank you." Primrose added the dried leaves to two cups and poured the hot water into them. "Come sit. The night is young and I am sure we can find something to talk about. What about you? Did you have many friends? A sweetheart perhaps?" She giggled some more, blowing gently on her tea.

[Haze]

He shook his slightly in bewilderment at her teasing, and how she flitted from one thing to another. Definitely like a little bird. Can't sit still. Taking his cup, he sat as he was instructed, stretching his legs out under the table, and running a hand through his hair before answering.

"Friends? Sure, I had a few. Never really anything close though, it was more the other boys my age. We used to just mess around, tease the girls and pull their hair. That kind of thing." He grinned, before carrying on, quite obviously avoiding the subject of having a sweetheart.

"There was one though, Onrad... we used to spend a lot of time together. He was an aspiring wood carver, and he used to make us little swords to beat each other with. Except most of the time, one of us ended up with splinters, which would turn into a blaming match, which would start a wrestling match. That I always lost." He shook his head and sighed ruefully, taking a sip of the tea, and letting his eyes rest on Primrose's face.

"How'd you become a teacher?" He asked lightly, hoping that she in turn wouldn't ask for the details concerning his own profession, "and how do you know what needs to be taught?"

[GoblinFae]

"A teacher? Well, I didn't want to become a politician or a trophy wife, both were things I was being set up for. So, after my mother died, I came home to Adela and hid in my library with nothing to do. I felt useless. I told you before, it is believed this place is haunted. No one comes here. I would watch the children play in the forest. One day I saw a little boy confuse a harmless mushroom with a deadly one. He poisoned himself, unknowingly. I was able to save him. But, I knew without an understanding it would happen again. That is when I became the town's teacher. I work without price and teach the children how to survive, how to read and write, some arithmetic. I teach the basic things. If certain children show desires for more, then I am more than willing to provide. Most however, go into the trades. But, at least this way they will not be cheated or naive in their dealings," Primrose told him shrugging.

"If you weren't good at wrestling as a child then why did you become a bodyguard? Did you eventually get better?" She had noticed his evasion of the sweetheart question and had moved on in stride. 'We all have our secrets. As long as he respects my boundaries, so shall I with his.'

[Haze]

It was hard for him not to be in awe of her as she spoke. They was she articulated herself, and her motivations for being a teacher, her passion for making sure that children could look after themselves, and know the basics of reading and writing - he wished he had had a teacher with that much fire. And the selflessness in which she delivered it too, not charging anything, that bewildered him.

Still, he carried on answering her, again avoiding the subject of how he became a bodyguard. "Of course I got better," he snorted, raising a comical eyebrow to her, "I also got taller, and stronger, until one day, Onrad tried to tackle me, and I thumped him. had a black eye for a week. it was amazing." He grinned, relishing the memory.

"Where'd you learn to fight though? I mean, my skills are rudimentary. I can hit someone, and inflict damage, but your footwork is a whole lot better than mine. Maybe you can give me some hints, in exchange for you taking advantage of my height?"

[GoblinFae]

Primrose mock-glared at him. "Taking advantage of your height indeed! The day I took my first step, I received my first sword. It was a little wooden one, but I learned with that first. My father taught me. He believed that if I was taught to fight then I would be strong, and would then not be required to fight." She smiled at the memory. "He was an idealist, my father. You could never tell with him whether he was spouting wisdom or silliness. He was a large influence on my life, still is really. By the time he died I had an excellent foundation in sword-fighting. I just taught myself from there. I never stopped practicing either. I guess it was my way of trying to do him proud."

Primrose looked at him for a moment, trying to decide what to ask him. "What is your favorite childhood memory?" She finally asked watching him intently.

[Haze]

"My favourite?" He repeated, scratching his leg in an almost nervous fashion. He hadn't thought about his childhood for a long time, but now that they had been talking, he'd been forced to come up with stories, some easier than others, to appease her questioning. He was doing the same of her, he knew, but it still didn't make it any easier.

It wasn't that he'd had an unpleasant childhood, not at all. It was that it was so long ago now, and when you were gifted long life, the years passed relatively slowly, and bled into each other, like sunset turning to evening.

Finally and with a shrug he answered. "I don't really have a favourite memory. I guess all the times with Elody are good memories, and Onrad." He pulled a face, trying to think and give her an answer that might satisfy her curiosity. "Okay, I got it. One summer, almost one hundred fifty years ago, Elody and I decided we wanted to camp out under the stars. Mother wouldn't allow us to, and so we snuck out. Packed a bag full of bread that was supposed to be for the next morning's breakfast, and made ourselves a camp site about half an hours walk from home.

"We stayed up until dawn, munching on the bread, talking about anything and everything and memorising the place we'd found. It was magical, so silent, except for the crickets and the occasional frog croaking, and then there were the times the owls would catch us off guard, and swoop down for the bread. We watched as the stars changed and shifted, and as the moon and sun danced around each other. It was the one time where Elody and I really took the time to get to know each other. Before, she had just been my sister. After that, she was my sister whom I dearly love, and a living being worth every ounce of respect I could give her. I never pranked her after that."

With a little sigh, he shook his head. "Okay, what about you? Favourite memory?"

[GoblinFae]

"I envy you. I wish I had had siblings. Someone to blame when things go wrong; someone to confide in, you know? I lost my parents when I was young and I wasn't very good at making friends. I never had that closeness. Or, actually I did but I let it slip away."

Primrose looked at her teacup sadly. Memories of Ryuu seemed to swim in front of her eyes before she could lock them away again. "My favorite memory? It is a tie between the pranks my best friend and I played and the time I rode my father's dragon." She giggled quietly rocking a little in her seat. "My name, Dragoslav, it means Slave of the Dragon. My father always said that she was not his dragon but, that he was her rider. The dragon is the possessor not the human. I never understood that until I flew with her. I did something stupid and she got furious."

She put down her teacup and rolled up her right sleeve. Moving her arm closer to the candlelight, Primrose showed Harkness the inside of her arm. Slightly above where the elbow bends in and below where the shoulder creates the armpit was a huge smooth pink scar in a jagged semi-circular pattern. "She forever marked me as hers. She saved my life but, I have the scar to always remember not to jump into things without thinking first." Primrose laughed, "not that that has been much of a deterrent since though. I still am a bit rash. What about you Harkness? Do you do rash things? Was becoming a bodyguard one of them?"

[Haze]

Harkness hissed at the sight of the scar, though it was faded, and a deep frown settled on his brow. He didn't like the idea of anyone hurting her, let alone a huge and powerful animal like a dragon. There was nothing he could do about it though, and it wasn't worth getting upset over.

Not like her next question was.

His expression darkened considerably, and he looked away from her, turning his hooded eyes to the floor. "No." He replied shortly, refusing to look at her. "No, I don't do anything rash. Not any more. Becoming a bodyguard was far from the most rash decision I've made in my life. It was one of the soundest ones. The rashest thing I ever did, was continue our little treks out into the forest.

"One evening, I realised that we'd forgotten our blankets in our haste to get out without Mother noticing. While I was gone Elody was... attacked." He swallowed heavily, eyes growing distant, and his voice became a hollow shell. "She was brutally abused, and left for dead. When I found her, she was hardly breathing. I... I picked her up and carried her home, but she was bleeding everywhere. Mother called the doctor, Father just cried.  The doctor came, and did all he could for her. And she pulled through.

"But she isn't the same Elody. She can't speak, she can't walk, she just... sits there, and looks at nothing. It's like she had been possessed, and now the sweet, kind, stubborn girl I loved is locked away. Because of me.

"Because... because I wasn't there to protect her. That's why I became a bodyguard. So I could be in control. So that I could stop that kind of thing happening to anyone."

His jaw was clenched, skin pulled tight across his face as he recounted the story.He didn't realise that his hand had clenched around the handle of the tea cup, until it broke, and lukewarm tea spilled all over his lap. Harkness' face went blank then, completely unreadable, and he stood sharply, the legs of the chair almost breaking with the force of his movement.

"Thank you for dinner," he muttered, and headed towards the door, only just remembering to duck as he went through it. He let out an explosive sigh, and kept walking back towards the garden. He needed some time to think.

[GoblinFae]

Primrose watched stoically as Harkness angrily recounted the tale. 'There you are dark stranger. I was wondering when you would show yourself. How all the puzzle pieces fall into place now.'

She let Harkness go, waiting until he was out of her hearing range, before standing and cleaning up the mess. "I deserved that I suppose. I knew better than to pry." She finished cleaning up and made another pot of tea. For a long time she just sat there staring at the candle's flame, revising old ghosts.

Quietly, Primrose poured an extra cup of tea and headed up to the guest room. The door was still open and the room was dark. Harkness had not returned yet. She lit the bedside candle and left the cup of tea beside it. Pulling some stationary from the desk she wished him pleasant dreams and left it under the cup before exiting. Stopping at the door, she whispered to the empty room her apologies.

As she prepared herself for bed she promised herself to apologize to Harkness first thing in the morning. This time it had been she who had gone too far. She needed to right the wrong before she destroyed their blooming friendship. "Forgive me," she whispered once more before falling asleep.

[Haze]

In the morning, if she cared to check, Primrose would see the tea untouched, and the candle burned down to the wick. Harkness had not come back to the room. He spent quite some time out the garden, wandering around with a lost expression, considering all the nights events. Why he'd allowed himself to be so open with a stranger, he didn't know, and silently cursed himself for his foolishness.

But he couldn't deny that it had been nice. That for a while he had been carefree, and had enjoyed the time talking with Primrose, and forging their friendship. What had been done, was done though, and he couldn't take his words back. She'd just have to accept that it wasn't something he was going to talk about anymore.

Dawn was breaking over the horizon when he finally slipped back into the house, the grey haze of early morning enveloping everything in a fog. With a weary sigh he headed to the kitchen, and set about to stoke the fire. The least he could do was apologize for his behaviour when Primrose awoke, and he was set to do that with a cup of tea - seeing how that had been when their camaraderie had truly started. He looked tired, for sure, and he quirked his eyebrow at the reflection he caught in the window.

"Yeah, well, that's what you get for being a moron," He said to himself wryly, before turning back to his task.

[GoblinFae]

She rose early that morning. The night had been long and restless for her, plagued with nightmares and guilt. The sun's rays were just creeping onto the land when she exited her rooms, dark circles under her eyes and a pounding, pulsing headache.

Gathering her courage she went to Harkness' rooms only to find them empty and unused. Sadly she looked at the cup of now cold tea. 'I guess he left. Can't blame him though, you really were very rude Prim. It was none of your business, you knew both were subjects he was avoiding.' She threw the tea and the note into the fireplace, taking the cup with her to the kitchen.

Primrose's steps became more hurried as she heard Cook screaming and shouting in the kitchen. She paused outside the door listening to the commotion inside. "Who do you think you are? What are you doing in my kitchen, you vagabond? Get out of here! I won't have you stealing Missy Prim's good dishes!"

Feeling that she needed to step in, Primrose opened the door in time to witness her robust cook crack her wooden spoon across Harkness' backside. Primrose's eyes widened as she froze in the doorway, her hand clamped over her mouth. The teacup fell from her grasp shattering loudly against the stone floor. 'Oh Kia, can I be anymore embarrassed?'

[Haze]

He hadn't even heard her come in. The cook, that was, and it wasn't a good sign. He'd spun around at the sound of her voice though, as she began accusing him. If it wasn't for the fact that he viewed her as an elder (although yes, he was at least two hundred years older than her, he tended to view age like this - if he was human, she'd be older than him, and therefore, deserved his respect.), he would have roared at her in disapproval.

"But I'm - I'm not - I didn't!" Was all he could get out as she cornered him. Then he saw the big wooden spoon, and with wide panicked eyes he tried to dart away, his usually good sense of direction and nimble feet failed him in a moment of boyish fear, and he sprawled into the table, backside there for the spanking.

"Yeouch!" Harkness yelped, looking more and more flustered as the woman went for him a second time. "Stop stop! I'm not stealing anything I'm- Oww! Stop it! Ma'am!" He scooted as far away from possible, getting his behind up against the cupboard so she couldn't him a third time. "Primrose!" He turned his head to her, his eyes pathetically imploring.

"Can you please tell her I'm not trying to steal anything?! Please!"