Ah, yes. This had to be a test. Only Riven wasn’t provided the answers ahead of time. Just another day of saving lives. Riven’s dreams continued to haunt her reality each day, and despite her parents’ reservations about her using her powers to save lives, she pressed on. It was hard to ignore situations that seemed so preventable. Some were as simple as a instructor misspelling a word on a board and helping remind them about the spelling before class while others were more severe like Milo’s choking or today’s endeavor; finding d**k Dickson.
Today was the day she had dreamt about. The poor prince was getting lost and stuck in a hole somewhere. The trap felt like it had to be rather easy to find, but nothing was ever that easy when it came to Utopia. The halls seemed to have a mind of their own, and new buildings popped up each day. From her vision, she had sworn he was somewhere outside, but the gardens and fields were so vast. There was even a hedge maze, which Riven now found herself stuck in.
Hedge mazes were supposed to be fun, but when the duchess couldn’t find her way out, it felt like more of a pain than anything else. Panic started to reach her brain as she feared she might never get to the man she was attempting to save. Or worse, he would end up rescuing her instead, much to her embarrassment. " Another wall? I swore I just hit one just like this a few moments ago… Unless I'm going in circles? This is impossible!" She called out in frustration. This was supposed to be simple for someone like her! How had she forgotten to track the path ahead of time?
The quest itself had distracted her as she was so focused on the panicked man in the hole. She wanted to be the hero. Having never been to war herself, she wanted to show her family she could take care of people if given the chance. Her chances so far had been squashed as she had failed the history class her first day due to her unreadiness, but she had saved Milo. Sort of. He just never ate the food she had seen him choke on. But that had to count for something!
Scorned by another wall, Riven readied another method. " Mr. Dickson, are you there?" the duchess called out, hoping a reply would give her some direction on how to escape from here. " I am here to save you! Just say the word!" She called out once again, not hearing any reply. In turn, she opted to continue walking around the maze in search of an exit. Instead, her eyes found another body, unknown to her. His longer black hair was something rather intriguing to her, and his ears had jewelry, which was uncommon.
Despite him being a stranger he was her only chance of her finding d**k and escaping the horrid maze. " Excuse me, sir, you wouldn’t have happened to have seen a large hole around these parts, have you?" Riven called out to the stranger, hoping he wouldn’t harm her for such an odd question. Almost forgetting herself, she offered a quick curtsy, ” I apologize. I am Riven. It is a blessing to meet you.” Looking up at the stranger, she attempted to read the man if he was of any sort of danger to herself, " And you?"
Everyday he woke up was a great day, even if by the end of it he was feeling a little less enthusiastic about it, even if his stupid debilitating migraines put him out of order. Today was no different. The sun was shining, the holiday season was around the corner, and the lunch room actually had some pineapple. It was fresh too! He practiced restraint and did not eat it all and knew that if he did, he’d be robbing others of such a small but delicious pleasure.
But now he was bored, and for Remi boredom was the first step to mischief, which was just the word the grown-ups used to make other words like ‘fun’ or ‘adventure’ sound bad. So he was on the prowl for something. If he were still in Stilicidium his go to would have been one of the beaches or the nearby towns before a tutor could drag him away to talk about things like foreign trade or infrastructure. They were important things for a King to know and he knew that, and he wanted to be a good king that Calypso would be proud of but he didn’t want to read up on them like, right that moment.
And like a father putting their bored child to work cleaning the garage, the water around him heard his internal groans for entertainment. Remi did his best to not look at water, but most of the time he simply forgot. So when his eyes gazed into a growing puddle of water on the pavement, his feet stopped in their tracks. Tunnel vision hit and his head filled with images and sounds of scenes, one after another.
A very tall lady covered in diamonds ballroom dancing. His new acquaintance Draco indulging in a glass of wine. A woman with substantial scarring being screamed at by another woman whose family was killed. A man stuck in a hole around some shrubs. A short woman with short hair hanging out with a really tall brunette man in the portrait hall.
Once the water pulled its intrusive claws out of him, Remi made a pouty face and rubbed the side of his head in annoyance. That was an awful lot of talk from a small puddle. He only recognized one person out of all of those visions, one of the males from the art project. As for the rest, outside of two of them, they did not seem too important or urgent for him. Sometimes it was like that.
…but then he spotted the short woman with short hair from one vision heading to the hedge maze. And the lush, green walls of the hedge maze looked to have the same foliage as the shrubs in another vision. He believed them to be separate events, but it felt like a bad idea to ignore the fact that two details from two different visions were in front of him simultaneously. Remi just found himself something to satisfy that boredom. He’d never been in a hedgemaze before, and it was always a delight to meet new people.
He practiced patience with each corner he turned because the temptation to just start scaling the hedge maze walls was growing. The woman so far was no where to be found, and outside of the shape of the leaves, nothing else matched what the waters showed him. ‘Roa my man, where are you taking me?’ Rem drew in a breath then pushed it out, wondering what he was supposed to be learning from this or if he mistakenly took this as a sign from them and was on a wild goose chase. His chin flicked in the direction of the sound of a feminine voice calling out from nearby. The sound of footsteps came became louder and louder until the woman from earlier was in front of him.
She sounded to be in some degree of distress as she spoke about men and holes, but still seemed to remember the nicety of a curtsy. Not wanting to show disrespect he gave a slight bow in her direction and his lips spread into a smile. Whoever she was, she wore a cute and modest ensemble and the straight horizontal cut of her hair was a little distracting. ”Finally, another person. I’m Remi. Blessings to meet you too, friend.”
Remi only knew about the hole from his premonition. Had a search party formed for the man? She knew something about it, unless she was looking for an entirely different hole but that made no sense. It had to be the same hole. ”I haven’t seen any no but I can help you look for it. It has a man named d**k in there yeah?”
”I came in here to look for him too. Just how big is this place?” Remi held off on saying about looking for her too. He was taller and had probably had half her weight extra on him, and he wasn’t looking to kick off his first few days getting the reputation of being a creeper. That wasn’t how you made friends.
OOC: Possible missed title opportunity: “d**k in a Hole” LOL Also it got a little away from me but he’s also still a new dude for me soooooooo
Friend? Riven blinked a few times, trying to fully process the informality of his introduction. This “Remi” had not shown up in her dream, so Riven wasn’t sure how much she could trust him. As she started to question whether or not she should just turn around and try and find her own way out of the maze, he gave her a smile that left her trying to find her words. ' Perhaps I can stay a few more minutes, it’s not like Sir Dickson is going anywhere.' She explained to herself as she attempted to hide her stares.
Had she heard correctly? Was it possible he was looking for the same person as her? Maybe this man was a prince after all! Addie had told her it was just a rumor, but if a search party had already started, the man had to be of some political importance. Riven knew it would take some time for anyone to discover she was trapped in a hole. Thankfully, her best friend would never let that happen; there would be many repeats of the day before Addie would ever let her fail to that extreme.
" Um yes! I heard he was missing and figured I could help. I just didn’t realize how tricky this maze was!" Riven laughed a bit, thinking about if she had just stayed asleep a bit longer, she could have mapped the area better, but those were the restraints of her ability. " I must admit, I was a bit lost before I found you. So I am completely sure how big it is. I am almost a hundred percent sure I have been going in a circle, if that’s even possible?" Her question was meant for the void, not expecting Remi to have an answer, but thankful she wasn’t alone in the maze anymore.
Looking over her companion, she began to grow curious. His knitted jacket was rather low cut, causing Riven to stare a bit longer than she intended to at the man. The styles of other countries were something she was still getting used to, and some of the more revealing ones, Riven wasn’t sure if she would ever get accustomed to them. The jacket itself wasn’t enough to cause alarm, but she found herself wondering what country he might hail from. The only Remi she had heard of was one from the royal family in Stilicidium, but Riven couldn’t imagine a prince troubling himself looking for a hole in the middle of a maze.
It would be easier to ask, but that was against the rules, and Riven wasn’t one for breaking things. Instead, she would be the model for Chronos as her parents and Addie had taught her. " So do you search for missing people often, or was today a special occasion?" As soon as Riven had completed the sentence, she immediately regretted it, knowing how stupid it sounded. " I apologize. I just meant, do you often find yourself saving maidens from getting lost in mazes, or am I just lucky?" Nope. That wasn’t any better. The words started fumbling out of her like a stampede of elephants trying to get out of a door. Riven’s face just reddened as she prayed they would stop soon, " Can we pretend I didn’t do that and just start moving?"
Tricky. Lost. Big. Going in a circle. Normally descriptions like these didn’t get in his way but since she was describing the hedge maze, he was beginning to wonder if this adventure was going to be worth continuing. It was already long and confusing. Why couldn’t they make hedgemazes with one straight line from start to center? Remi had already found one of the two people he set out to find and she sounded just as over it as he felt.
He made a tilt of his head and watched her watching him before looking down to his own sweater. It didn’t have any crumbs or stains from breakfast and it was just a thick cardigan. Was it the tattoos then? The turtle and dolphin were poking out from one side and he pulled the wool back to reveal the rest of the design for both him and her to see. “They’re tribute to my sisters. I have a brother now so I gotta get fresh ink for him before I come back in the spring! Do you have any tats, Lady Riven?” Remi leaned and looked her over but already guessed she didn’t. She looked and dressed like what ‘very demure, very mindful, very cutesy’ actually meant and he was respectfully digging it. As he remembered the man named Dickson he shifted his glance away and to the path behind her. No need to go that way if she hadn’t seen the man.
What she asked about searching for missing people was, to him, a good one. Did he? He couldn’t really say. People, most likely. He couldn’t remember the last time he had a premonition about a missing person. There was the intention to answer it but then the questioning took a rather interesting turn for him.
“I apologize, I just meant, do you find yourself saving maidens from getting lost in mazes, or am I just lucky?”
Remi watched as his new maze friend started to blush and wipe out over her own words. Blessed ‘Roa below, did this girl just say what he thought she said? Remi grinned like a seagull with a piece of bread and chuckled heartily. “Lady Riven, you think you got a likin’ for me?” This girl was already as cute as a betta fish but with her polite demeanor he would have never guessed she was so flirty to boot!
“Sure, we can make pretend.” But where was the fun in that? He’d pretend a little.
”Eh, but back to what you were askin’, most times people come lookin’ for me so this time ‘round it’s special. I’d even call it my lucky day.” He shot the maiden of the hedge maze a playful wink. Remi was more than happy to indulge her and get her out of there. They could even pretend they were fleeing from some ferocious dragon, or… this evil Dickson figure that held her captive before she made her daring escape! Remi turned to the wall to one side of them and looked up to the top.
“Aye-aye. Lemee jus’ see which direction to go, kay?” He reached inside the wall and started to give the combination of branches and internal structure some good pulls and wiggles before he started scaling it. “You know anything about this Dickson guy? Is he your boyfriend? Never heard of ‘em myself.” Some might have called it cheating, he thought of it as thinking outside of the boxy hedge maze. Besides, he had more important matters at hand: getting Maid Riven outta there and making the most of this little impromptu date she so coyly and indirectly asked him on!
Once he had a better idea of which direction to go, he climbed down part way only to jump and land back on the ground. “Okay Maid Riven, the way out in that direction.” He pointed that way with his thumb then turned to start walking in that direction. It was likely they could get turned around again, but it wouldn’t be anything to just climb back up to check their progress. “That’s a cool name by the way, Riven. Reminds me of rivers. Is that what it means?”
“So, once I get you out of here, where do you want me to take you next?”
Riven often wondered if she would be able to have visions of her own death, but no longer did she need to, as she was sure it was going to happen in just a few short moments. Before she could even start to defend herself for staring, the man kindly lifted his shirt to offer her a closer look. ' Is it improper to look? But it’s rude not to! What do I do?' Her head was ringing as she thought about what to do, ultimately deciding it would be worse to be rude than for the man to think she was being improper. Hopefully, Adelaide would forgive her this time around.
She smiled at the sight of the sea creatures, having only read about them in books. Her face was still red at the thought of him thinking she was undressing him with her eyes, but she tried her best to remain calm. No matter how difficult that task proved to be. " A tattoo? Me? Um- no." Shutting the idea down immediately. Some royals had tattoos and piercings in her kingdom, but Stefan was hardly a person to aspire to be. Still, she didn’t want her prejudices to be assumed as unkind, " But I like your dolphin! I have always wanted to see one in real life. That's nice of you to do for your sisters." She offered, attempting to seem just the tiniest bit cool.
Looking at the overeager grin on his face as she was starting to melt into a puddle, Riven was sure she was going to die of embarrassment if this conversation lasted any longer. " W-wait I said- I mean what I wanted to say was-" She sighed, still not sure what exactly she was trying to say. Was she trying to flirt? Would it be wrong of her to do so? Her parents had told her she was responsible enough to come here; maybe that meant she was capable of finding a suitor all on her own.
“Sure, we can make pretend.”
Oh. He was good. Was this what flirting was? Was her heart supposed to stop pounding at some point, or did it just continue to pound away until it gave out? ” Th-thank you," Riven had managed to get out without turning into a babbling mess again, but she was trying to refrain from eye contact in case he might try and siren her again. That had to be what his ability was, making girls fall at his feet with a simple smile. Or was it just that he was so easy-going and kind-hearted? Riven had no idea what to believe.
Just as she worked up the courage to test her theory, he had shot her in the heart with a wink. Riven had almost missed the words he had said because of it. ' People are normally looking for him? Why? Oh no! Is he… A criminal?' It couldn’t be. Remi had been so kind to her. It would be wrong of her to assume just because he was suspiciously charming and had tattoos that he was some hooligan. Utopia had top-of-the-line security to keep them all safe. But then again, she was currently searching for a missing student, so who was to say how top-of-the-line the security truly was?
Well, his climbing the side of the hedge maze certainly wasn’t a good sign. " I think the groundskeeper will get mad if we ruin his maze." Riven was sure that sounded as lame in her head as it was aloud. Maybe he was onto something; she had been trapped in there for some time. It was probably for the best that he had tried to find an exit of some sort. All of her scrambled thoughts had almost made her miss him asking if she had a boyfriend. " Sir Dickson? My boyfriend? Absolutely not!" Shaking her head violently in response, " I doubt the man even knows my name."
As the man looked ready to jump, Riven was shocked at how valiant he was, " Please be care-oh." Her warning had proven unnecessary as the man landed safely without her guidance. It was nice not having to worry about someone’s well-being for a change, even if they were supposed to be looking for a prince. " That was quite dangerous, Sir Remi. Weren’t you worried about getting hurt?" It wasn’t her job to be worried, but she couldn’t help it. She was just a duchess, but still, she would never put herself in such danger. It was kind of hot? Was she allowed to say that? Without thinking, she bowed her head to Remi, " But thank you for finding a way out, that was very, um, brave." Yes, brave was the word she had wanted to say.
" My name? Thank you. Silly as it may sound, it means divided. Which is how my parents felt about naming me." She smiled at the simple question, " I like yours as well. Is there a story behind it?" Wondering if it was a nickname or the fellow’s actual name. They had started walking towards the direction the man had so kindly pointed out when his boldness surprised her once again.
" Take me next?" What exactly was he asking her? Was he proposing that the two continue their conversation? " Like a date?" Riven had been on very few of those. Limited to one from the first month of her arrival, but the duke had then gotten engaged to another duchess and moved back to his country. ' Play it cool, Riven, you can do this.' Allowing herself to breathe for a moment, still unsure if this was some ruffian that had snuck their way onto the property but enjoying his company either way.
"Maybe you could teach me," She pointed at herself then at the hedge, " To climb?" Her parents would ship her back if they knew what she had just asked for, the mere thought of it. But the idea of getting her hands dirty was sort of exciting. " Ladies don’t normally go climbing, but maybe we can just keep it a secret between the two of us." She spoke, giving the man a wink. " If there is something you wish for in exchange, I would happily oblige." She wasn’t sure what exactly she was saying, but was just happy the words were making sense this time around.
Riven was looking noticeably flushed and it had Remi double checking the temperature with his own body. It didn’t feel hot. It was cold but not that cold. Then again, he ran hot more than half the time because of his size. She didn’t look like she was suffering from the cold or a fever either; her sentences were too full and proper sounding! Nothing like his when he got migraines. Poor Lady Riven would probably lose all her color and respect for him if she ever heard how well he could imitate a sailor when that happened. ‘Should I check her forehead?’ He decided against it.
Only to reach out and press the back of his fingers against Riven’s forehead anyways just as she was finishing her compliments about his tattoos. No, there was no fever there. But while Remi had her, he looked her face over. Then he made a grin as dark eyes trailed to one of her ears. “Not your thing, no? You could put a lil’ one right ‘ere, right behind your ear, you know. Where your hair can hide it.” Remi hovered a finger in the space just behind her earlobe but didn’t touch.
He had more tattoos and he started to lift the bottom of his knitted jacket so that she could see them only to stop. The mix of the ravenette speaking up about seeing dolphins and his own reminder to not to like an untoward creep had his hands dropping to his sides. It gave him an idea. “Eh, if you like, I know where to see ‘em. Even in the chill months.” Remi flashed a grin. With the summer came the promise of more sea life but there was always something in the water where he was from, even dolphins. “If you like.”
Lady Riven’s reactions to his teasing made it too fun to stop. How she stumbled over her words and appeared ready to let her soul drift to another plane of existence was nothing short of cute. He grinned, and settled into his agreement to pretend before he actually scared her off by keeping it up or worse: crossing a line. She spoke with such an educated tone, had all that good diction and those mannerly ways his tutors and his mother stressed were important if he was going to rule one day. He wondered what kingdom she was from. Phronese, maybe? She mentioned books, and that Kingdom was uh… super proud of being kinda nerdy. But she didn’t act like that. What an interesting puzzle this cutie was turning out to be.
Remi paused in his climbing and thought about his companion’s worry. He could see that being something that could happen, especially if he bent the branches and ruined the look of the maze walls. “Okay then, I’m gonna be extra careful.” He could at least try, if it would put her fears to rest. “And if Mister Harrow says somethin’ we were lost. There’s no arguin’ with that, right?” If it were just him lost in the maze, he would have been more aggressive with finding a way out and wouldn’t care about how many branches he bent or broke to do it.
Her strong reaction about d**k Dickson being her boyfriend pulled a roar of a laugh out of him. Once he settled down he looked back at her mid-climb. “That means you got no boyfriend, yeah?” He knew it was prying, but he wanted to know now. In the short amount of time they’d been stuck together in the maze he learned her name, that she was probably super smart, and that she was even a little flirty. Maybe she was even shown favor at birth and had an ability or two. Remi continued his climb. “Aere mai, I don’t got one either so you an’ me we’re in the same canoe.” It got him thinking: Did she want to be d**k Dickson’s girlfriend then? He hoped not. Lady Riven could do better than locking in with some dude who got himself stuck in a hole. The thought made him want to look for Dickson even less.
Worried about getting hurt? Remi’s head swayed and he shrugged. “Not really – not until I’m almost about to.” The pain was usually an after thought that came mid-stunt, seconds before he usually landed wrong. He patted the wall with a laugh. “Hopping from this thing? It’s no biggie. I’ve wen’ and jumped from way higher.”
Remi touched his finger to the side of his nose, which was a little crooked after multiple breaks. All of the breaks he took over the years were little badges of honor for him. Thank ‘Roa for the best doctors and healers the crown can afford. “Four times.” Her bow and mention of bravery felt a little out of place but he didn’t want to be rude, so he returned one in kind. “Anything to help a pearl like yourself lost in tha’ hedge maze.” Remi couldn’t help himself. This pretending game was hard.
“That sounds kinda deep. I like how it sounds.” Remi said of her name. Her parents were so divided on naming her they named her after their dilemma almost literally. He liked his idea better, but neither meaning took away how pretty it was. When she turned his question back on him he couldn’t help but to grin. He kept his stride even with hers. “I get my name from the one who carries messages from one of our gods.” Remi paused for a couple of beats, trying to pick his next words carefully. Rules and all that, even if he didn’t always follow the other ones. “My mom thought it was good, bein’ I was supposed to help my sister when she took over.”
“You got any brothers or sisters, Lady Riven?”
Remi stopped at the fork in their path and leaned down to be more at eye level with Riven. “Like a date, yeah.” He repeated with a coy grin and a single wag of his eyebrows. “‘Less you say you’re spoken for.” As disappointing as that would be, he would respectfully stand aside. Unless it were d**k Dickson. What was he going to do, climb out of his stupid hole, hunt him down in this hedge maze, and stop him?
He had to lean back and stand straight at the sudden display of boldness from Riven as she asked about being taught to climb. Even sealed it with a wink and the offer of an exchange. It had Remi’s dark eyes lighting up like seawaves under the sparkle of sunlight. He’d been sold on her request the moment she said ‘teach.’ How could he refuse this bodacious babe when she was winking at him like that? “My lips will stay locked. Nobody’s gonna know.” Remi promised. The world sometimes had the silliest rules based on what was between a person’s legs. Not being allowed to learn to climb – a skill that saved his a** multiple times in his life – was one such silly rule.
But what to exchange for? Remi rubbed the side of his head as he thought about what he’d want that would be suitable to ask for. A thing or three came to mind. “I teach you to climb and after that you can teach me somethin’ back , save me one dance for the New Years party, or…” he paused, then put a finger to his cheek and flashed her another grin. With the way Riven got so flustered during their time together, he saved the final and most daring optional option for last. “Gimmie one kiss.”
The wall of the hedge maze seemed like the perfect place to start, and he knew it was stable and had strong branches from climbing it earlier. Lady Riven had the advantage of being lighter and therefore easier for the branches to support, but her shorter stature could maybe make reaching more difficult. Not that it should stop her from trying, in his mind. Her start was perfect and Remi expressed as much as he spotted her from behind. She wasn’t going to hit the ground, not on his watch.
Her ascent continued… until it didn’t. Next thing he knew Riven was falling away from the wall of the hedgemaze and toward him. “Lady Riven!” Remi’s eyes widened and without hesitation he extended his arms to catch her mid-fall.
“I got you…” he said, his shoulders falling as he exhaled the breath he’d found himself holding. Riven was cradled against him, held to his chest by the arm under her shoulders while the other supported her legs. He looked her over. “Are you hurt?”
A small giggle escaped her body as the man’s fingers found their way to her forehead. Her limited experience with courting left her with little to say about the matter as he questioned her getting a tattoo of her own. It wasn’t like she couldn’t get a tattoo, but the idea of staining her body permanently wasn’t something she was sure she could commit to. Given the poor influences in her life that had tattoos, she wasn’t sure if it was the most proper thing either. " I’m not sure what I would even get," A poor excuse but a truthful one escaped her as she wondered if he would continue to play with her hair before he pulled his hand away.
Before she could be too disappointed, the man mentioned the idea of dolphins once more, " Really? You know where they are here? That’s amazing!" Her eyes filled with stars. The idea of seeing the creatures alive in front of her was one she had never considered before this moment. Moving her hair back in front of her ear lobe, " I’d like that." She spoke softly with a small smile on her face. Would that be him asking her on a date? Surely not, the man was certainly making her wish it was, though.
Riven hadn’t expected much of a response to her trying to coax the man from the top of the maze. Her attempting at trying to convince him it was a bad idea was so poor; if she had focused more heavily on how he could have gotten hurt, would he have even cared? Remi appeared to be relaxed even in the most stressful of moments. It was kind of him to at least entertain the idea of being careful for her sake, but even she knew it wasn’t needed. " Thank you." She bowed her head, feeling embarrassed.
His explanation made perfect sense. Would a staff member be mad at them if they were just trying to help each other to escape? She hoped not. " No, I suppose not. Hopefully it doesn’t come to that, though." She smiled a bit, thinking about how red the man’s face had gotten in her dreams when he had discovered a broken hole in the wall. " Sir Harrow has other matters to attend to, I’m sure." Not bothering to elaborate on her reasons as to why. It was always hard for her to explain them.
Her lack of a love life was humorous, but Riven had never brought someone to tears over it before. " Yes, I mean no, I mean yes. I don’t have a boyfriend." The question having originally confused her. ' Why does he want to know?' She wondered, curious if it was appropriate to ask him the same. It was a bit hard to hear him as he climbed down, but had he read her mind? " Same canoe?" She giggled, " I don’t think I have ever heard of that one before. But sounds like a nice place to be in. A canoe is a tiny boat, yes?" Riven had never been in one herself; rowing was not a job for a lady, but she had seen others riding them around the lakes that surrounded Utopia.
Her fears of the man being a criminal started to subside as she watched him drop from the side of the wall. Given his skills, it was very possible he was a soldier. A quite talented one at that. " Four times? What happened?" It was hard for her to hide her concern. Despite just meeting, Riven found herself growing fond of his presence. The idea of someone strong like him at her side made her start to feel fuzzy. Especially when he called her a pearl, not something she had ever been called before, but had to assume it was a compliment. " ThankyousirRemi." The words were quick to come out of her mouth, but she wasn’t sure if she could get them to come out any slower, given how fast her heart was racing.
Riven hadn’t heard of the name Remi before, implying he wasn’t from anywhere near her. The rules made it difficult to ask, but it didn’t seem like the man cared too much for the rules. Something that normally scared her, but the girl found Remi to be rather charming. " It must be challenging to have that kind of pressure, especially since birth." Riven spoke without thinking, just considering how she always was looking after her younger sibling back home, " I apologize. I misspoke. Please forgive me."
" I am the first of five siblings. I miss them terribly, but it is nice to have some time alone for a change." The duchess hoped Remi didn’t think less of her for saying it. " I am grateful for my family, but I haven’t had the chance to be alone ever." She explained, hoping he would allow her some grace. " How about you? Is it just you and your sisters?" She asked, knowing he had mentioned his sisters but curious to see if he would share further.
As they walked further down the path, Riven wasn’t prepared for the man to be so bold. Choking on air, Riven wasn’t sure what to say. Offering to have him teach her to climb was the best thing she could think of on a moment’s notice. " You’re too kind." She found herself smiling at him again, looking at his lips he had just locked away, before turning away as he mind started to think about what he might ask of her.
" A k-kiss??" She found herself shocked again, her face turning from red to white. The girl had never been kissed by a boy before; she didn’t even know where to start. Was it possible he was just teasing her on purpose now? Taking a deep breath, she realized that he wasn’t asking her to make her decision just yet. The boy had even mentioned the New Year’s Ball; was it possible he might be a student after all? " I’ll think about it." She smiled at the ground, following the boy’s side as they continued to walk.
When Remi had stopped them at the wall, Riven was admittedly nervous, but his confidence in her gave her hope. Starting to make her way up, she found herself feeling rather skilled at it. " Sir Remi, I think I am getting the hang of this!" She cheerfully called to him. The sandals were proving to be rather tricky, and she continued up the wall. Looking down, she saw the man looking at her brightly, the butterflies never ceasing their jittery motions in the girl’s stomach.
Then a terrible thought crossed her mind. Had she forgotten to wear her bloomers this morning? It had been rather nice out, and she had been in a rush to get out the door this morning. Her attendants hadn’t even had the time to assist her! Her hand reflexively went to cover her backside, leaving just one of her hands to support her. Quickly, her hand gave out, causing her to fall. " Oh no!" She called out, closing her eyes in fear of hitting the ground.
But instead, she found herself being gracefully caught by the man before her. Opening her eyes, she saw the long-haired man who had been her brave knight all day. " You saved me." Her eyes started to fill up, still scared. Wrapping her arms around him, she buried her face between his shoulder and his neck. "I’m okay, I was just scared." Her voice was muffled by the sounds of her crying and the man’s chest she had put her face into.
A few moments of silence passed before she removed her face from the man’s side, " Thank you." She wiped her face, no longer crying but still shaking. Without thinking, she found herself touching the man’s face, " You’re a brave knight, aren’t you?" Looking at him, he was still handsome but less intimidating than he was previously. Pushing her face against his, she felt her lips quickly press against the boy’s lips, pleased by how soft they were. " Thank you." She repeated, burying her face back in Remi’s chest to hide her redness.
To her giggle Remi could not help but grin but also feel relief that she was not put off by him touching her, even if it’d been in the interest of health. “No need to rush those kinds of things, I say go with what feels good inside and what you wouldn’t mind sticking with forever. Even then, you always cover ‘em up if things change.” He hoped to never experience the need himself, and continued to feel love for each inch of ink etched into his skin. His hand lingered a little longer and he resisted the urge to touch anymore of her face. As a compromise, he twirled a lock of Riven's hair around a finger and tucked it behind her ear. What a beauty she was, and he thanked ‘Roa for showing her to him that day. “But only if it feels good to get something in the first place, yeah.” He quickly added and dropped his hand back to his side.
“Alright then, it’s a date, Lady Riven.” He’d seen water and heard mention of shipping channels in the nearby town areas, so he figured all that was needed was a little sleuthing. And if there were none, there was always Stilicidium. Remi could take her there even if it would blow his kingdom identity out of the water. That did not register as a bad thing to him. Breaking the school rules as he knew them, yeah, but he sensed no danger in her knowing where he was from.
Remi’s smile broadened and he was glad he was face deep into the hedgemaze wall he was scaling and not looking in her direction like the crazed maniac he probably looked like. Not only did he not have to compete with the man stuck in the hole for Riven’s attention, but he learned Lady Riven had no boyfriend at all. It was a crime too, really. He laughed a little with her about their talks of canoes. “Eh, you like it? Made it up all by myself.” he said jokingly and put his feet back to the ground. “That’s just what they are. You ever been in one? Would you like to go for a ride?” He was on fire, racking up all the ideas of things he could do with her. ‘Slow down, Remi. You just met the girl. You’ll scare her right off if you keep at it.’ He hated having serious conversations with that third brain cell.
He was a little surprised at how concerned she looked about him admitting the poor life his nose lived. He was lucky it was as straight as it was let alone the fact he still had one. Riven asked what happened, and he was willing to oblige her. “Jumped off the palace staircase and smacked the railing, jumped from the dock to the boat then bam! the boat wall, swung from one pole an’ then smacked another one and…” Remi paused, feeling a flicker of nervousness about mentioning his last incident for the first time. Would it completely turn her off to him if he told the truth? He didn’t consider himself to be one of these shiny prince charming types, but he figured girls like her didn’t go after boys that sometimes got a taste for trouble either. It felt wrong to lie about it, so he simply didn’t. “One bar fight six months ago out in Port Tresor. Got me a good headache too.” He sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. It was one port among a cluster of islands out in the more seedier, illicit parts of the sea near Stilicidium.
It stuck in his mind. Pearl. That’s what her little sweet self was, and nothing else fit. Remi weighed her thoughts, and he couldn’t really disagree. The pressure was heavier on him now that Calypso was gone, but he still would have felt some as her right hand of sorts. Not so much from his parents or their people, but from himself. The fear of letting her or Iridessa down, even now, was what fueled that pressure. “Can’t argue with that. Guess I was so used to knowin’ that I never really thought about it like that.” Remi watched her apologize and shook his head. If there was anything out of place with what she said, he missed it entirely. “If you misspoke, it wasn’t with me. You can talk to me this way all you like, Lady Riven. I like it and I know it comes from your heart. But promise me if I go too far myself you’ll pull me back in with a good smack, yeah?” Remi asked with a laugh.
“Four siblings, eh? So you’re the big sister.” He didn’t peg her as the type, but Remi could see her doting on her brothers and sisters and smiled at the thought. Now it was his turn to ask an untoward question. “Ah, you feel pressure from that too, Lady Riven? Being the oldest, then havin’ to stay here instead of with them? Makes sense if you did…” He was prying to be sure, but did wonder how she was fairing. Was she homesick? Was she too alone? Maybe he didn’t ask right. “What I mean was are you okay?”
“Just me and two sisters here. I’m the second oldest, and my younger sisters they stay here too. Good thing too, especially ‘Dessa. But I think I give her more of a hard time than she gives me.” He had half-siblings out in the world due to his father’s licentious ways, but that was the extent of his knowledge about them. It felt wrong to have favorites, but he did in the form of Iridessa, and it showed on the canvas that was his skin. “Your brothers and sisters, are they too young to be here?”
She looked so surprised for him to agree to teach her, but not as surprised as she looked when he suggested giving him a kiss. Was it too big of an ask from someone like Lady Riven? Perhaps, but he was operating on the idea he’d lose each shot he didn’t take. If she chose anything else, Remi wouldn’t object. He wouldn’t have offered them if that weren’t the case. She looked perfectly kissable though. “No worries from me no matter what you choose.”
Lady Riven was off to a good start and Remi said as much as he spotted her from the ground below, but things took a sharp turn just after he saw her hand move to her backside. Instead of her hand being on the hedgemaze wall she was attempting to cover herself up, and it was at that moment he noticed he could see up her skirt. There were no pantaloons there to leave the backs of her legs to his imagination, and he was surprised by her choice not to wear them. Not a choice he entirely minded himself either. Her outcry and eventual plunge took priority and the thought was exchanged for immediate worry for her life. Remi pulled her in tight once she landed in his arms, and rightly more scared than he was for her. “I got you.” He whispered.
Remi looked her over as she took the time to calm down from the fright and thought of places they could do this better. And in better footwear too. That is, if the experience didn’t scare Lady Riven off from learning another time. But feeling the touch of her hand to his face broke up those thoughts and he shifted his glance to look her in the face. She was calling him a knight, which felt nice and he returned it with a smile. Dark eyes widened as she moved in closer, and it wasn’t until he felt her lips against his that he realized she was kissing him. Lady Riven was kissing him. His heart skipped a beat, as if for a second something warm and electrifying pierced it and nestled itself there with the intent of never leaving. Remi kissed her back and looked her in the eyes adoringly when she pulled away.
He spoke softly back, still mindblown by the sudden turn of events. “Anytime… your kiss was sweeter than I imagined.” Remi set her feet gently to the ground, but did not stop Riven from keeping her face buried against him. With one arm around her shoulders, the other stroked the back of her hair. “Would you like to get a drink, Lady Riven? Some coffee or tea?” They had quite a bit of excitement for one afternoon, and he wanted to find something less exciting to comfort her.
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