Private Tales From Root to Petal

[Faye Valimir]

A union between two was a celebration many looked forward to, no more than those of the intended couple.

For Faye, it was infuriating to plan a wedding. She used to dream of this day, to bask in everything there was to it, but each day of their engagement felt like an eternity of time and indecision. She had a constant hunger for Talorgan, often seeking his company and conversation whenever she needed time away from her workshop and medical work. They insisted on getting to know one another, and perhaps that is what made this engagement much easier to bear. They rushed into this relationship, carried by the current of passion and need, but at the end of the river came the drop. A waterfall misted with elation, of companionship, and most of all, trust.

She had lamented to him how torn she was over planning it all. Had even met with his mother and father over tea and cakes, where her only surviving relative, her Aunt, was fashionably late to. Suggestions had been made, and only one thing Faye had settled on.

Talorgan's family had offered to host the wedding at their family's country seat. They told her of a time when Talorgan learned to climb every tree in their fruit grove, and how the area always saw a freer version of the man she was going to marry. Even Talorgan had told her of childhoods spent up in those trees.

It was two days from now, and she rose from her bed to cross the room. His mother insisted they sleep away from each other, and Faye only obliged to keep her happy.

There was a party today, where the wedding guests would arrive over the next two days before the wedding was to begin. Faye had a small guest list, for she kept a small circle of true friends. It was a deeply woven mix of them, for they all knew one another. Not uncommon since Faye served in the Thunder of Thanasis as a medic and was very well experienced in her field. Her specialisation in dragon health meant she met a great many of dragon riders.

A knock at her door sounded as she sat up in bed. Her dark hair braided down her spine, smoothing over the silk night dress she wore. After a moment, the doors opened and a maid pushed in a trolley filled with fruits, small cakes, and tea. Breakfast was to be served early to ensure there was enough time to dress, in which Talorgan's mother insisted a maid help her ready. She was no fan of the fussing, but appreciative to have the opinion of another to help her prepare herself for the day.

"Good morning." She smiled. "Do you know if Talorgan has awoken yet?"

 

[Talorgan]

Talorgan had been awake long before the sun finished clearing the horizon. Sleep had come in pieces without Faye beside him. It was something he had become accustomed to far too easily. He had spent most of his time sleeping in the wilds near Beirsys.

He knew his mother meant well, insisting upon tradition, but it felt wrong to open his eyes to a quiet bed when every instinct urged him toward her. His mother had taken the news well. An artisan was an excellent match for an errant third son, as far as she was concerned.

So he’d dressed early and ignored the hovering attendants who tried to press him into more formal clothes than the simple linen shirt and trousers he preferred this morning.





"Yes, my lady. Lord Talorgan asked that I inform you he would meet you in the quiet room after breakfast for a walk."

 

[Faye Valimir]

She was dressed and headed out to find the quiet room. Faye often stuck to dark colours in her daily attire, but Talorgan's mother had seen to her stay to be filled with dresses of rich silks and vibrant colours. And so, Faye was dressed in a deep blue today. It made her grey eyes look blue too, and her hair had been braided down her back. The staff all stared as she passed, and the maid that saw to help Faye dress and prepare herself lifted her head high.

As if it truly were an honour to tend to a most beautiful woman.

"This door, to the left." Her maid piped up, and as Faye put a hand to the door to push it open, she smiled at the maid. "I will see you later, mistress, as the Lady Vulcarys has put together a family luncheon. You will meet the other young sirs of your intended's siblings, too."

"Thank you, Phee." Faye smiled and waited a moment before opening the door.

Inside that room, Talorgan stood by the window and looked out to the quiet gardens he had shown her nearly every day so far. He was not dressed in clothing his mother put aside, but even if she felt overdressed, Faye knew he would eat her up once he saw her. After all, she saw herself in the mirror this morning and knew she looked unfair.

"I think your mother may convince me yet to embrace the nobility life if I get to wear fine things like this each day." She grinned, pausing in the middle of the room filled with bookshelves, couches, and a single desk empty of any work. It looked like a small library to her, but in this house, it was called the quiet room. "What do you think, Tal?"

 

[Talorgan]

Talorgan turned at the sound of her voice. The shift in his expression was immediate.

Whatever thoughts he’d had while staring into the gardens fell away the moment he saw her standing there in that deep, impossible blue.

His gaze swept her slowly, reverently, as though trying to decide whether to close the distance at once or simply stand there and marvel.

“You look…” His voice trailed off. He was reminded that he had a wedding speech to write. He had never been one woth words.

“You look like you are going to steal all the attention at the wedding.”

He crossed the room to her. The sight of her made his heart feel too big for his chest.

He lifted a hand but stopped just shy of touching her waist, waiting for her to close the last inch if she wished it.

“I think,” he said, voice low as his eyes stayed locked on hers, “that nobility looks damn good on you. But Biersys is restless and we need to get out of the se stuffy walls once before the wedding.”

 

[Faye Valimir]

Faye brightened.

"Oh?" Her smile widened. "Do you mean that I perhaps overdressed as you intend to take me and Cathán with you?"

She had no problem closing the distance between them. To have privacy, even for a moment in this house, Faye took any opportunity to be near Talorgan. Her arms lifted to wrap around his neck, pulling her in and letting her smile turn to a smirk as she felt his hands rest on her waist.

"Surely we will not be missed for the day. A hike, perhaps. We could pick some wild flowers, the ones not found here in the country but deeper into the borderlands... just as an excuse." More likely a story to explain why they needed to take the entire day away. Good thoughts and ill intentions, Faye wanted true time alone, just the two of them, and that was even hard to procure in this home. "Of course, I have to let your sisters to think the idea os abhorrent and they would grow bored if they came with us."

The youngest had such fascination for the medicinal arts that Faye was happy to impart some wisdom. "I... am glad to be joining your fanily. Never had brothers or sisters, rather..."

 

[Talorgan]

Talorgan smiled as she closed the distance, his hands settling at her waist as though they had always belonged there. The quiet room faded around them, replaced by the familiar pull of her presence.

He felt like it could belong with her, when before he had only felt as if he belonged far from people beneath the stars.

“A hike,” he echoed.

“That would suit me well enough. Cathán too, I imagine.”

His thumbs shifted absently at her sides. The idea of leaving the house behind, trading silk and flowers and schedules for wind and earth was exactly what he needed.

“They’ll survive a day without us.” A faint smile touched his mouth. “My sisters will pretend scandal, then forget the moment something shinier distracts them.”

He lingered there a moment longer before pulling back just enough to meet her eyes again.

“If you want wildflowers from the borderlands,” he added, quieter, “I know a good spot.”

 

[Faye Valimir]

Faye could not help but lean closer into him and slowly steal a kiss. Her own feelings for him blossomed into something to admire, for it took great lengths of her own seeds put to soil to grow something this wonderous. She smiled against his lips, breathing a deep inhale. "Wildflowers are more my style than the gardenias your mother has been eyeing. I am glad she agreed on a garden wedding, something out in the open..."

Faye never could imagine Talorgan exchanging vows in a small chapel. Nor being comfortable indoors for long hours, unless they were up to mischief that would make everyone else blush.

She pulled her head back to look at him, smiling. "Let me guess, this spot is somewhere I have not seen yet?" Where she thought she had seen it all before, Talorgan still found ways to show her places she has never seen in the wilds. They were always in front of her, but she never truly saw it for what it was until Talorgan showed her through his gaze. The beauty in which he saw the world, now included her in it.

The urge to kiss him again was strong, but Faye was eager to get going as soon as they could.

 

[Talorgan]

Talorgan let the kiss linger just long enough to feel it settle. When she drew back, his hands stayed at her waist, steady and warm, grounding them both before he eased his grip.

"Definitely more your style," he agreed. He had first crossed her exploring the wilds with a blind dragon, looking for materials. They had lived very different lives, but their love of exploration was common ground.

The mention of the garden wedding drew a faint, genuine smile from him. The thought of open air, of vows spoken beneath sky instead of stone, felt right in a way few formalities ever had. He still couldn't believe that the day was almost upon them.

He knew that every time she caught his expression of surprise, some of her past trauma rose to the surface. She knew he wouldn't turn his back on her, but she still took a big risk after what she had been through.

“Aye,” he said at last. “You've not seen this one yet.”

"Unless you follow this stream it's hidden by trees. I thought you might like that."

Reluctantly, he loosened his hold and took a step back, offering her his hand instead.

"Come on, then. Before someone finds something for us to do."

 

[Faye Valimir]

In the past, she might have hated to hear someone assume they know what she liked, but Talorgan had made it his mission to find out nearly everything about her. She had thought nothing of it, thought it harmless to speak about deep loves and preferences... until one day he gave her a ribbon the exact colour she mentioned she loved.

He had brought it to her because it reminded him of her.

And he did this many times after, finding ways to brighten her day. It made admitting her love for him that much easier.

Faye smiled at him, letting him pull her towards the door. She could not wait to spend this time with him after being surrounded by his family since they had arrived.

---

"It does not seem you know where you are going." Came the light amusement of her voice.

The path they look seemed to appear as if it were repeating, the rock formations look the same as the last they strode past, and every tree seemed to grow their branches in mimicry of one another.

Cathàn made a sound that sounded like a bristle, a sound he made as he played in the shallow banks of the stream.

"Are you sure it was down stream, and not up?"

 

[Talorgan]

"I am quite certain!" Talorgan replied in his gruff manner.

Biersys actually pranced downstream. She leapt and extended her wings. She glided for a short while before landing in the water, which only came to her ankles.

"If we did not find flowers, would the walk still be worth it?" he asked. The sun came straight down upon them. Talorgan removed his shirt, throwing it over one broad shoulder.

He didn't admit that he couldn't remember how far they had to the clearing if wildflowers. It was anywhere from a hundred yards to another hour of walking.