Private Tales A Cage That Moves With You

[Rhory Grimmere]

Rhory didn't really need any excuse to sit back during their off time from duty to get a meal and drink, especially when she had the company of a fast friend with her. She had been chuckling lightly at something Everett Ebersol had said, earning their small table many glances.

"I know it's not that funny but... gods I think the wine is getting to me." And the peal of giggles started again. The wine was much sweeter than she tasted in Vel Cirak, which meant she drank more of it here. The guard knew she would chance waking up with a sore head in the morning, but she had no morning duties scheduled and figured she'd work it off eventually. Everett, too, had an evening and morning free.

"I'm just glad I do not have to suffer through Owain's complaints as we do the dishes after dinner  or breakfast." Rho lifted her wine and held it up in toast. "To small blessings." She grinned.

 

[Everett Ebersol]

It really wasn’t that funny. The image of uptight Sergeant Saccharine being able to uncork a wine bottle with his butt cheeks because of how much of an asshole he was today would normally get him nothing more than a hint of upturned lips. The wine was most definitely getting to her. He wondered if he would need to slow down so he could walk her back to camp. He rarely trusted her sense of direction even when she was sober.

“Cheers.” Everett said with a grin of his own, clinking his tankard gently against the cheaply made wine glass. He was certain that even a smidge harder and the glass would have cracked. He took a large sip of his warm ale, the bitterness and sourness reminding him that he really didn’t like beer. He had a sweet tooth, one that easily gotten him teased.

He wasn’t in the company with the other young men, why had he even ordered this in the first place?

“Hey. Can I try some of your wine?”

Rhory Grimmere

 

[Rhory Grimmere]

Rhory handed him the half full glass, grinning. "It's better than what we used to get at home. Sweet, but pleasant." And did a good job at getting her slightly tipsy for cheap.

"I was thinking of getting another bottle to enjoy. We can sit outside and people watch? Make it a drinking game?"

Her meal was done, a fine roast chicken and vegetables, the half eaten bread roll still waiting for her to get back to it like she said she would. Rhory waved down a bar maid and placed her order, only smiling when the lady gave her a look of doubt. Even with her unusual silver hair and special occasion makeup, she still had the face of a young child... and large doll-like eyes. "And an extra glass. Please... and thank you!"

Everett Ebersol

 

[Everett Ebersol]

When he took the glass from her, there was a swift gray glance to the left and right of them. No one was really watching them, at least not how Everett thought people were watching him. No one else cared about him taking some of Rhory’s wine, only he cared about it.

The stem was dainty between his thick fingers, hardly mirroring the elegance of Rhory’s long digits. He took a drink, glad for the change of taste. It was flavorful, layers of plum or maybe cherry, some dark red stone fruit that Everett didn’t have the knowledge, or tastebuds, to decipher. All he knew was that he liked it more than his beer, and that he wasn’t going to object when Rhory ordered them a bottle to share.

As they settled in at their new spot outside, Everett had the sense to hand Rhory back her wineglass with a small smile of gratitude. He helped the server uncork the new bottle of wine and filled up both their wineglasses pass the halfway mark. When he set the bottle down on the table, it was less than half full. They should have ordered two.

“I’m not very good with coming up with games,” Everett said. He had played a card game with his sister and lost every single time. Losing wasn’t what hurt his pride, it was the fact that she had looked bored. “But let’s play Spy Eye.” Every child in Vel Anir knew the game, ‘I spy with my eye, someone… big!’ “But less simple. More… specific… like…. I spy with my eye….” He trailed off and to gain him some time he sipped from his glass, gray eyes searching about.

“Someone old with… daughter or mistress?”

Rhory Grimmere

 

[Rhory Grimmere]

Rhory lounged in her seat, casting her brown eyes to the not too busy street before them. She tried to gather where Ev looked when describing his mark, but Rhory figured he was well versed in the game to make such a rookie mistake like that. She blew up her cheeks and scanned the crowd. After a minute, she was about to give up before seeing what possibly may be the mark.

"Oh..." Rhory grimaced. "No, that surely..." She was too scared to give him an answer. "I am betting daughter. If I am fucking wrong, I will drink. If I am right, you drink. Agreed?"

Everett Ebersol

 

[Everett Ebersol]

“What if I wanted to bet daughter?” His eyes didn’t leave the duo in sight, moving along the street, both with heads held high. Neither the middle-aged man or the woman around the guardsmen age seemed to be ashamed of walking side by side, or for the fact that the man had his hand against her upper back to guide her. It was hard to see if there was more to the touch, especially with the man being a gentleman and kept the woman away from the inside of the road where all the traffic was.

“Although mistress isn’t bad,” Everett mused before nodding his head in agreement. He didn’t need to wait to see if he was wrong in his assessment to take a drink, and so while the quiet seconds passed by, he idly drank from his glass.

The couple stopped in front of a storefront window.

“What shop is that?” Everett couldn’t read, could Rhory?

Rhory Grimmere

 

[Rhory Grimmere]

She squinted her eyes and made a face.

"Oh..." Rhory lifted her glass to her lips. "I would die if my own father took me to shop for wedding night wear." She had been past the store before, peering in to see corsets in variations of white and hosiery in the same shades. Rhory was curious once too, popping her head in and being overwhelmed by the questions she was asked about her upcoming wedding night.

"Intimate wear. Meant for the enjoyment of a dear husband."

Rhory drank, thinking that was confirmation enough that the young woman was certainly not a daughter.

 

[Everett Ebersol]

Everett’s upturned eyes widened for a moment. Intimacy laced in sensual sheer patterns of blooms brought upon by a man and a woman together? A dark brow was raised as the couple went into the store together and the young man stared at the window display across the street. It was nothing more than a series of different colored silk robes from the far off reaches of Aetochi, all tied at the waist of the mannequins so only a glimpse of the corsets could be seen.

He desperately wanted to go into the store but figured if he did on his own he’d be shooed out. He was much too young and much too poor in his guard uniform to be a serious customer.

“I’ll take a drink with you this time.” Everett said, raising his glass to his lips. He knew he was staring at the storefront too long and so averted his gaze elsewhere.

Rhory Grimmere

 

[Rhory Grimmere]

Rhory snickered into her glass, lightly nudging Everett before taking her turn for the game. Her eyes lit up with the liquid courage, amused and content to spend their down time not running drills. Or doing the dishes.

"I spy... a young woman looking at you." Rhory snickered again when the woman down the street leaned into her table outside some tea shop, trying to get a better look at Everett. "I think she is waiting to see if we are a couple."

The woman could be staring at Rhory, really, seeing as she was sat before Everett. "Very cute. If you don't want her, maybe I can persuade her to stare at me instead." She grinned.

"Shall we drink to it?"

Everett Ebersol

 

[Everett Ebersol]

Gray eyes widened just as Everett began to give quick, little glances towards any impressionable woman, hoping to catch a pair of eyes directed his way. He even began looking at other women who didn’t fit the description. When he turned back to Rhory, he was met with a grin.

Wait. Was Rhory talking about herself? Or did she make up the young woman so he would turn towards her? His gaze dipped downward, to the lips spread into a grin. He looked inside his wine glass before taking another drink.

“You know… in some cultures, taking a drink together at the same time is a sort of sign from fate that the couple will end up together.”

Rhory Grimmere

 

[Rhory Grimmere]

Rhory snorted into her wine glass, unable to keep it in hand without spilling the precious beverage. She set it down, leaned over towards Everett and gripped his jaw with her hand. "Well, I didn't know that, Ev. Maybe you and your soulmate can figure that one out yourselves."

And Rhory turned his face enough, directing his gaze by pointing the extremely pretty lady she had spied earlier. She had light brown hair that seemed to be like golden caramel, or whatever fancy dessert existed in these parts. The young woman caught them both looking, and immediately turned her head away.

"Drink up, you jester. I won this round." She said, patting his cheek and returning to her seat, smug.

Everett Ebersol

 

[Everett Ebersol]

She didn’t get it. He wondered if she’d equate the red of his cheeks to the Dornoch glow or from disappointment, but Rhory turned his inward gaze outward to the pretty brunette. How had he missed her? He must have been looking elsewhere. Everett shrugged, it was hard to feel like he was missing out when he hadn’t realized the stranger’s glances from before.

“Every woman likes a man in uniform.” The glass was raised but a pause was had. “They might also like women in uniform, too.” He added before taking a swig of defeat. He doubted out in the field defeat would ever taste as good as this. With his turn once more, Everett was quiet as he had to find their next subject to gawk at.

“I got a tricky one for you.” It was only fair, after all. “Mother and daughter or sisters?” He set his glass down, feeling rather smug with this choice. “They’re both blonde.”

Rhory Grimmere

 

[Rhory Grimmere]

“Every woman likes a man in uniform.”

"You're not wrong." She grinned at Everett.

“They might also like women in uniform, too.”

"Oh gods, I hope so." Rhory stared at the woman a moment longer, wondering how long she would be sitting there and if it was even worth approaching her to talk sweetly with. Flirting was, and always will be, her favourite part to romance.

It was not hard for Rhory to find the two in question, but the older woman looked well for her assumed age. The two blonde women seemed to look quite close in age just by appearance and fashion alone. "Hm..." She pretended to look as if this truly were a puzzle for her to put together, when in reality she was a shit read with mother daughter dynamics when her own mother was in the Guard, grown up like a son, and that was how her mother and father would parent her.

She had five brothers, and none of them smooth enough to keep a girl long enough for Rhory to bond with. Determining sisters was something she was probably going to fail in. "They could be cousins for all we know." But of course, they will never truly know until a tell gave it all away.

She watched them for eight minutes, really studying them with her brown eyes before scrunching her face in a grouchy pout. "Sisters."

 

[Everett Ebersol]

“Oh, cousins, yeah.” Everett had never met any of his cousins, wasn’t sure he had any to begin with. His mother didn’t share much from her past, not that he could blame her when she wasn’t Anirian and had wanted to fit in to reduce the scrutiny sent her way. His father was an only child. Everett hadn’t even met his grandparents, both of them passing at different times for different reasons before he was born. The thought of cousins, or other family members had never really occurred to him.

“Well, there’s only one way to check.” Everett said, leaving his glass behind on the small round table as he stood up. He grinned at Rhory before loping off to the pair of young women. When he approached them, the tallest one shrunk away. Now seeing both their faces up close, the shorter woman had small, nearly imperceptible creases at the corner of her eyes. “No need to be alarmed,” Everett said, hunching over so his shoulders would appear less broad. Trying to make himself smaller usually never worked, but with a sheepish smile and a boyish gleam in his gray eyes, the women relaxed regardless.

“Your sister looks like a childhood friend of mine,” he said, speaking to the taller one. She blanched, eyes widening and glanced down to the other woman. “Your name is Abigail, right?” The woman laughed, shaking her head.

“Sister? Oh my, how kind.” She tittered, nudging the other with her elbow. “You hear that? He thinks we’re sisters.” She teased. With some seriousness now, she addressed Everett with a polite smile. She hadn’t even blushed at the compliment, clearly having been used to them for awhile now. “I’m her mother, and no, my name isn’t Abigail.”

“Oh, sorry for disturbing you then. I shouldn’t have assumed….” A chuckle and a hand to rub the back of his neck, it wasn’t long until Everett was coming back to Rhory’s side. “Mother and daughter.” He said, sitting back down. “Both like a man in uniform,” he lied. Neither one of them had given him any inclination that they were interested but he hoped Rhory wouldn’t question it.

Rhory Grimmere

 

[Rhory Grimmere]

There had been a slight shift in her as Everett went above and beyond and approach the ladies to ask them. Her eyes never left him, watching him give them that sheepish smile. Rhory sat up straighter.

One of the women laughed and smiled, seemingly teasing the guard, but she did not frown until she watched as Everett chuckle and rub his neck. The words were waiting to be spoken as soon as he returned to his seat, turning to face him and watch him with dangerous curiosity.

"Was that the mother or the daughter that seemed interested in you?" She knew what a uniform could do on anyone, especially when they kept to the cleanliness and orderly appearance expected of the guard.

Everett, she knew, looked great in uniform.

"You know what? Never mind." She sniffed, lifting her glass and bringing the rim to her lips. "I am not a sore loser. I will admit defeat." And she downed her glass. After her careful considerations in determining the relation between the two blondes, she had been wrong either way.

Rhory poured herself a new glass, casting her gaze out wide to find the next target, but soon found herself wanting to ask Everett a question. "Ev... are you interested in anyone? A girl back home?"

 

[Everett Ebersol]

If only he could be witty when he wanted it. He always seemed to say the right thing when he didn't care, but whenever he did care? His words were rudimentary, an inadequate representation of his cleverness and ability to banter. He had to use the wine once more as an excuse in hopes it loosened him and his tongue in such a way that he wouldn't keep blundering through his time with her.

"No," Everett said. "I traveled with my father. We were only home for two months of the year. A family friend would keep our home decent, use our chickens and gardens, and when we returned, we paid her in dried beef." The wine they drank was more purple than red, but even if it had been sanguine, it wouldn't have bothered Everett. He grew up watching his father butcher animals all his life. He liked to use the tree in their backyard to tie up goats by their hooves, giving him ample access to their necks.

"She wasn't young. I mean, she's not old, but anyhow, she wouldn't be my type." He chuckled. What was his type? He turned to look at Rhory. "You?"

Rhory Grimmere

 

[Rhory Grimmere]

She was unsure what sort of answer she waited on, as if she knew him so well she could anticipate an answer of him. But, truthfully, she did not know anything more about Everett than she did of Arn, or Owain. Anyone in their unit, Rhory realised she had not asked more questions of them. She was too used to knowing her brothers, who often were not all too hard to read. Rhory hadn't even asked Skyler of her home in the Savannah, nor asked to hear stories from Tariq. Hells, she didn't even ask Hellen where she came from or why she was always so moody.

Exhaling a breath she did not realise she kept in her chest, Rhory smiled at Everett's answer.

"Me? Well, growing up, no one wanted to bother with the me because of the number of brothers I had." Rhory took a slow sip of her wine, contemplating another swig before she just let the rim of the glass rest at her bottom lip. "But, I did kiss a lot of boys and girls." Her natural beauty drew them in like moths to a flame, even if her brothers had made sure no one was to get too close to their only sister. She recalled many times some of them declaring it too weird to imagine their sister be a wife. To them, it was the guard and only the guard.

Rhory could only hope her mother courage and patience while trying to steer her sons into marrying.

"Funnily enough, kissed no one since Vel Cirak. Maybe my brothers really got in my head and made me concentrate on guard duties."

Everett Ebersol

 

[Everett Ebersol]

"Do you want to kiss anyone?" He wanted to ask, but when Everett opened his mouth to speak, his tongue felt clumsy and slow.

"I think I might be getting drunk," he said instead, grinning as if being inebriated was an achievement of sorts. He supposed it was. His sister had told him that she couldn't get drunk even if she tried. "But you haven't had enough if you're thinking about guard duties right now. Let the others worry about that right now." When Rhory's glass was back on the table, he would fill it up, managing not to spill the wine outside her glass even if he held the bottle precariously.

"A little more for me, too." He gave himself another half glass, set the wine bottle back on the table, and decided he needed another gulp to loosen his lips. The wine was getting to his head, making him feel warm and comfortable.

"I wonder what it's like, having such a big family. How many brothers did you have again?"

Rhory Grimmere

 

[Rhory Grimmere]

"Six." She answered, still wondering if his question made her blush or the wine was warming her cheeks. Never had she been asked outright if she wished to kiss someone, as if it were a terrible little secret to admit. And for Rhory, it felt like it was, especially when she had to stare into his grey eyes and found herself averting her gaze. "Six too many if you ask me."

And yet, she was even more relieved that Everett took to filling her glass.

She lifted her lips into a small smile, unable to help the chuckle as she grabbed the glass to drink from once again. "Here, I'll finish off the bottle." Rhory cleared most of her glass in one sitting before emptying the last contents of wine into her glass, setting the bottle down a final time.

"You know, we actually shouldn't drink anymore than this. We have to walk back to the barracks, and you're much too big for me to drag behind me without giving up."

Everett Ebersol

 

[Everett Ebersol]

“Your poor mum.” Everett murmured, wondering how any woman had more than one kid. He had never gotten pregnant, and of course, he couldn’t get pregnant— or could he? By some god’s beard, the wine was getting to him now, wasn’t it?— but he had heard many times the moans of a cow birthing that surely wished she was a heifer once more. Those compared nothing to the howls of a woman, cursing the world and her husband for inflicting such cruelty upon her small and soft body.

His dark brows raised, hand momentarily reaching towards the wine bottle as if he were to object, but of course, Everett didn’t. He settled back into his seat, nursing his last glass. A soft scoff at her words and his gray eyes were back on her.

“Carry me? You mean, I’d carry you? Since I know the way back to barracks like the back of my hand. I have the best sense of direction.” He leaned towards her, mischievous. “Let’s order another. And let’s play another game. Not with people watching. We could play would you rather.”

Rhory Grimmere

 

[Rhory Grimmere]

Rhory could not help but rise to his challenge. It must of been something in his grey eyes, seeing them close as he leaned in to propose a new game. "I would rather play a new game than go back to the barracks now." Not when she was having too much fun with her friend.

It was after all, a special occasion to be able to spend time outside of their duties.

"Alright then. Order a second bottle, but first... would you rather white or red?" She grinned, looking proud that she started off the new game off strong. "I can leave that decision up to you, Ev."

Everett Ebersol