Candy-Coated Heart of Darkness! [Aeyt!] [M]

[Rhindeer]

With her second tart finished off and her fingers licked clean, Einin took a seat in the carriage and carefully arranged her skirts so they didn't get all bunched up. When she looked back up again, Ryk was offering her the tarts.

Gods, her weakness, revealed!

"Didn't I tell you to hide these?" she laughed as she selected a third tart, trying the one she hadn't tried yet--the simple one sprinkled with powered sugar. His comment about exercise earned him an odd look, head tilted and brow furrowed.

"Huh, really? Because I can't think of any," Einin said as she took a bite of tart, his comment flying over her head. "Your drills always leave me sore and bruised. They're useful, yes. And I do enjoy them! But I wouldn't exactly call it pleasurable. Though, on second thought, I suppose they are..." She took another large bite to finish it off, and swallowed before speaking again. "In an abstract way. The pleasure is in the progress!"

[Aeytrious]

Ryk was finishing his éclair as Einin ate her third tart. Powdered sugar dusted across her lips, and he languidly reached across, lifting the sugar away with his finger. He put the finger in his mouth, sucking away the sweet white dust, and gave Einin a crooked grin.

"I was thinking of other exercise," he said with humor in his voice, "something with equal vigor and less clothing. One of my favorite activities, that I hope to share with you soon." He finished by popping an entire tart in his mouth, and licking the syrup that had dripped onto his lower lip.

[Rhindeer]

Einin couldn't help but watch, transfixed, as Ryk sucked away the sugar, and she licked her lips where he'd touched--an unconscious action--as she felt her blood growing hotter. Oh dear. That was...not right. Not right at all.

His comment was even worse, and it soon had her staring at him, mouth dropping open though no sound came out. What did you even say to something like that?!

"Oh." Einin's voice came out small and breathless, her eyes wide and skin flushed. Then, as though remembering herself, she kicked his shin. "You're going to have to keep hoping, Handelaar!" she snapped, and scooted toward the window, folding her arms and turning her body so she could look out it. "Because that is never happening. Our engagement is to be fake, remember?"

But window or not, she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, and couldn't help but wonder how he made such a simple gesture look so alluring, or why his words made her heart race.

[Aeytrious]

"Ouch," Ryk rubbed his shin, and feigned ignorance expertly. "I don't understand why swimming, is so forbidden," he said to Einin, with a confused expression. "Or what it has to do with our future engagement." He picked up a cherry tart with chocolate and bit the thing in half. Swallowing the mix of sweet cherry and chocolate, Ryk continued his well performed charade.

"I have a small pond on my property, and I was hoping you'd join me for a swim in a few days," he said kindly, with a warm smile. "How does that sound to you m'lady?" He popped the other half of the tart in his mouth and began to chew as he waited for the magic of his performance to melt her ice away.

[Rhindeer]

"...Sw...swimming...?" Einin repeated, turning slowly to stare at Ryk in horror. "You were talking about...about swimming?"

With a groan, she sank her face into her hands as though if she couldn't see Ryk, she was invisible to him, too. Sweet mother of Kia, where was her mind?! When the hell had it started drifting there?! And why? It was all his fault, clearly, but she didn't know how to blame him for this one--looking back, nothing he said was dirty.

It was all her, and that was the horrifying part.

"I think that could be arranged," she mumbled into her hands, massaging her temples. "Though I'm not much good at it."

[Aeytrious]

Ryk smiled wide at Einin, "Well then Lady Beirne, it would be my pleasure to help you improve," he placed a hand on her chin, coaxing her to look at him. "It will be good for Owl to be a strong swimmer. You never know what sort of situations you'll end up in." He released her chin placing his fingertips higher on her cheek, only just lightly. "I imagine you look most fetching in swimming attire," he flashed her a sweet smile as he slowly brought his hand back to his lap. His attention returned to the tray of tarts, and he nudged it in her direction.

"Enjoy another, but save room. There will be many things to eat and drink at the festival."

[Rhindeer]

Coaxed to look up at Ryk, Einin lowered her hands and smiled sheepishly. He had a good point. So the swimming would be more training then, really. That made sense. Very practical! It would be pretty horrible if a situation required a speedy escape across a river and she drowned or something, which would be her luck, because she hadn't gotten to swim much at all. In fact, she couldn't think of the last time she'd been in a body of water deeper than her bath tub.

"I'll have to buy swimming attire," Einin said, aware of his fingers on her cheek but trying hard not to respond. It was easier to think when he withdrew his hand--but also not really, because in mentioning swimming attire, she had realized that meant he would be in swimming attire, too--and if the cut of his clothes were anything to go by...

Einin grabbed another tart and took a bite, needing a distraction now. "Last one! Take them away!" she said, and waved her hand at the tray with a laugh. "I hope you're not opposed to carrying me again, because at this rate I may end up eating until I'm sick. Tomorrow's lesson better be extra strenuous to make up for the damage I plan on doing today!"

[Aeytrious]

Ryk gave Einin another charming smile.

"It was my pleasure to carry you," he informed her, "but I doubt you lack the self control to keep yourself from getting sick." As he spoke the words the carriage began to slow and the sounds of the festival were nearly upon them. Finally coming to a complete stop, the attendant opened the door for Ryk and Einin.

"After you m'lady," Ryk gestured for her to exit, and upon following her out, found that the faire was in full swing earlier than he expected. The profits would be excellent.

Ryk brought out the tray of tarts and handed it to his attendant. "Share the remainder with the coachman, and then see the festival." He gave the attendant a platinum coin, and then spun one to the coachman as well. "I'll return shortly before sundown. If I need you sooner, someone will find you for me I'm sure."

He turned back to Einin, checking to see if anything had caught her eye yet.

[Rhindeer]

Something had, indeed, caught her eye.

While Ryk was addressing the coachman, Einin looked around at the sights around her--and then gasped, a grin breaking out across her face. "Oh! Ryk, look!"

Without waiting for him, or looking to see if he was following, she lifted her skirts and took off through the crowd.

Her quick sprint ended at a low fenced-in area arranged into a little obstacle course, ending in a corral. A corral containing five young pigs, of different colors, from pink to black-speckled. Leaning her arms on the fence, Einin peered in at them. Pig races! They had pig races! How adorable!

[Aeytrious]

Pig races? Pig races. Ryk walked over to meet Einin at the fence. He looked in at the obstacle course and the penned swine.

"This really appeals to you?" he asked her, "I thought the exploitation of poor helpless creatures such as these would offend your sensibilities." He motioned to the clerk to come over.

"What are the odds?" Ryk asked the scribe. The man looked over his notes and rattled off the numbers to Ryk in quick succession. Ryk placed his bet, handing a few gold coins to the man in exchange for a writ.

"Einin, sweetheart, which porker you wanna bet on?"

[Rhindeer]

Turning to look at Ryk, Einin snorted and rolled her eyes. Leaning in closer to him with her hand up near her mouth, she kept her voice low, as though afraid the pigs might hear.

"Ryk, I save people. I eat pig," she told him flatly, and glanced at the pigs after she had said it, then back at him. "Though these ones are really cute! This seems like it'd be much more fun for them than just laying around in mud all day! And who knows, maybe it keeps them lean enough to skip the butcher. So really, contributing is just helping them!"

Leaning further over the railing, she reached a hand down and laughed when a wet, muddy nose pressed into her hand. "Oh, gross! But aw, you're so cute I don't even care! Ryk, I'll take this one," she said, pointing to the one that had gotten her hand muddy, the black spotted pig.

She hadn't paid attention to the odds, but winning didn't really matter to her.

[Aeytrious]

The clerk and Ryk gave each other a knowing look, and Ryk even laughed a bit. He handed the man a single gold coin, and the writ he gave Ryk, Ryk in turn handed to Einin, along with a purple handkerchief.

"I bet that your pig would place above third," he told her, " that way you have some chance of winning. Even so it'll be a big payout. Your pig has never placed. His odds are a thousand to one that he'll get first, a hundred to one that he'll get above third."

Ryk looked down at the milling pigs. The one he'd bet on stood aside from the others, solid pink. It was the sure win. His four gold coins would turn into twelve when it won. If Einin's pig placed, the one coin would turn into a hundred, a thousand if it somehow managed to win. Too bad the stall wasn't one that belonged to the Soot Wolves. He could have the game, the numbers rigged, so that she'd win. The elation of winning would put her in a good place. A malleable place.

"The race will begin shortly," Ryk offered his arm to Einin, "perhaps we should find a better place to watch from?"

[Rhindeer]

Taking the handkerchief, Einin cleaned off her hand. That done, she placed her hand on Ryk's arm. "He's never placed, but that doesn't mean he won't!" she said with a grin and a dismissive wave of her free hand.

"Odds, schmods. Someone's got to root for the underdog! Or...underpig, as it were. Maybe he's never placed before because no one's believed in him. He just needs a little encouragement, like anyone else."

Looking around the area, she pointed toward the bales of hay that had been set out to serve as seats. "How about there?" she said, and before he could answer, Einin tugged him along, and once there, she let go of his arm. Instead of sitting on  a bale, though, she climbed up and stood on it. It was a better view that way; she could see the whole track without someone's head getting in her way.

"The view's good from here."

[Aeytrious]

Ryk smiled up at Einin as she stood on the hay. Here they were, at pig races, surrounded by people of lower class. There was an area set aside for the highborn, and the rich, but she hadn't even noticed. She just wanted a good view to watch her pig from. He climbed up beside her, supplying her hand should she need it to keep her balance as she craned her neck. The race would begin shortly so he checked his writ one last time. He'd bet on I Win So They Won't Eat Me. The pig had lost very few races, usually placing at least second in those. Einin's porker was Bacon Is Delicious. He hoped that the creature could finally pull off top three. Einin would be walking on air if her hammy won her a purse of gold. Happy girls were less suspicious of a mans motives. He silently sent a prayer to Kia, though he didn't actually believe in that religious mumbo jumbo.

"Keep your eye on Bacon Is Delicious," he told Einin, pointing to her pig. He watched from his perch, as the race announcer called out that the race was about to begin. The pigs were pushed into their starting boxes, and when the starting bell was rung, the pigs were set loose to run through the course.

[Rhindeer]

"Bacon Is Delicious? That's his name?" Einin said, making a face. "That's just wrong. A pig, named Bacon Is Delicious. Isn't that like cannibalism?"

But she turned to watch, keeping her eyes on her chosen hog, and raised up onto her toes to get a better look. Without even thinking about it, she grabbed onto Ryk's forearm for balance. "I've never actually done this before," she said, and laughed. "I know they're just pigs, but this is oddly exciting! My mother would never go for this. Gambling and all that. Not to mention the smell. I've been to the faire so many times, but I never really got to do the...ah...the common things, I guess you could say."

Her smile turned sheepish. "I kind of always wanted to do this."

And then the bell rung, and the pigs were off, running as fast as their short little legs would take them.

"Ah! Look at them go! I never knew they were so fast!" Einin exclaimed, and bounced in place, cupping her free hand to her mouth. "Go Bacon! You can do it! Go, go, go! Faster, so you don't become bacon!"

Two of the five fell back, apparently finding something edible on the track, leaving I Win So They Won't Eat Me, What A Ham, and Bacon Is Delicious in the running. Though Bacon was last, he was certainly giving it his best effort, and soon he started to catch up to What A Ham.

"Look at him! What did I tell you? Always go with the underdog! Hurry, Bacon! You're almost there!"

[Aeytrious]

Pigs are pretty intelligent creatures, and as they ran along through the course, their intelligence was apparent. The course was cleaned before each race to ensure that the pigs wouldn't get distracted. Pigs weren't just smart though, they were better at sniffing things out than a bloodhound. The two pigs stopped and started sniffing about, and when they found something they started to shove at each other to get at it. The thing they'd found was a rat, a live rat. That rat, when getting attacked by pigs, decided to abandon its hiding place and run.

Lucky for Bacon is Delicious, the rat ran the wrong way, thus drawing those two pigs away. Pigs were weird. Why they wanted to eat a live rat was anybodies guess. Fact was that now Bacon is Delicious was going to get at least third place. That was a hundred coin purse. He smiled inwardly at that. Einin would be thrilled. I Win So They Won't Eat Me was so far out in front, it didn't matter to him that Bacon is delicious was over taking What A Ham. He watched in silence as Einin's under dog sped past the other pig. His pig crossed the finish, most of the crowd cheering at the win that everyone knew was coming. A few people were distraught at their loses, but when Bacon is Delicious crossed second, Ryk looked over to watch Einin's reaction.

[Rhindeer]

"YES!"

Einin threw both fists in the air and did a little hop--and just about lost her footing on the bale. With a gasp, she grabbed onto Ryk's arm again and laughed, delighted, and bounced in place while squeezing him tightly. Turning to look up at him, she positively glowed with excitement.

"A hundred to one and he got not only third, but second! What did I tell you? He just needed encouragement! Didn't I say that? Hey, I should do this more often! I'm not half bad at this gambling thing, even if I'm using your money to do it! We should find something else to bet on! Wait. I won. I get money for that, don't I?"

She blinked at that, looking oddly surprised, even though it seemed obvious. And it was obvious, sure! It was just, with odds of a hundred to one, that would have to be a fat amount of coin.

And while Einin was wealthy, her parents controlled the money.

[Aeytrious]

Ryk smiled at her excitement. It seemed Einin belonged among the common people. She expressed herself without holding back. His goal may be to seduce her and trick her into loving him, but he found it very likely that he would care deeply for her. It was too bad that right now it was just business, though bedding her would definitely be a pleasure. He stepped off the bail and turned, offering her a hand down.

"Indeed, you've won," he smiled up at her, "come now and we'll get your winnings. I will only take the one coin I fronted you, but I still insist on paying for the date. The ninety-nine gold coins are yours for another day. I won twelve gold when my pig crossed first. Not as fine as your winnings, but I tend to make the safest bets."

[Rhindeer]

Still smiling, Einin took Ryk's hand and hopped down. "Oh, you can take more than that! Since it was your money that won me that, and since you are paying for..."

She trailed off, something clicking in her mind then.

"Back up. Did you just call this a date?"

[Aeytrious]

Ryk smiled that smile that you give a child that's just figured out something simple they'd been struggling with. He hadn't realized she didn't know this was a date. When a handsome, wealthy man, asks a young woman to accompany him to a local event, without chaperone, everyone is going to think he's courting her. Of course it was a date. Though she was supposed to be engaged, the engagement hadn't been made public yet. One would expect a young noble lady's parents to gossip and tell all their friends about their daughters secret engagement, but Ryk had attacked that problem quickly. He planted the seed of doubt, and with his frequent visits along with her training, he was sure the Beirne's were secretly hoping that their daughter would break off her engagement, and marry Arca's most eligible bachelor, Ryk Handelaar.

"Darling girl," he said to Einin, "the pleasure of escorting you at the faire will be viewed by all as a date. I feel it only appropriate that we not disappoint your adoring public." He brushed his lips across the back of her hand with a bow as she stood there before him. "Now I think we ought to collect our winnings my dear."