First Forest - Viola Grace Page 0,19
and dried, Abiha straightened the robes precisely and led her sister back to the dais where a much more relaxed Jimon was waiting.
Ledana whispered, “You broke protocol by taking me away.”
“I do that a lot. Now that I am no longer family, my behaviour won’t reflect on you.” She chuckled as she helped Ledana sit, and she fanned the robes out to the best advantage. She glanced at Jimon and then did the same for him. “There. Can’t have you looking sloppy on your big day, and now, you two are good for the rest of the event.”
Abiha returned to socializing and talking to people who stiffened up when she arrived and gradually relaxed as they spoke about agriculture and developmental components in new vine species.
When the sun began to set, music began. Kiloh came to get her, and he waved a hand, bringing a platform up and out of the garden for them. Cushions were made of down, and the steps leading up to it were spaced for her, not him.
“That isn’t what normally happens.”
He looked at her. “Sitting with the others is not something I have ever done. It is a step toward socializing that I am still here at all.”
She blushed as he led her to the platform, and she knelt, sitting only an inch lower than the bride. That part was protocol, so Kiloh was paying attention.
He helped her sit and spread out her robes, sitting next to her a moment later and taking her hand. The crowd looked at them, but a quick glance over at the bride and groom showed broad smiles. Abiha’s mother gave her a dark but confused look.
The musicians took their places and began to play.
Kiloh squeezed her hand, and she felt a feeling of warmth cover her. Her shoulders felt a weight, and she looked at him, seeing the smile in his eyes.
She looked down, and a black robe was over the burnished bronze one, heavily embroidered icons of stags across it.
They listened to the music, and when there was a break, the lute player walked over to the bride and groom and asked for their requests.
Ledana smiled. “I would like my sister to play.”
Abiha paused and stared at her.
Kiloh smiled. “I would like that as well. It has been years since I have heard her play.”
Abiha smiled slightly. “I don’t have an instrument.”
Kiloh held out his hand, and rich green energy took the shape of the bowed lute that she had played since she was a child. “Here you are.”
She gave him a withering look that didn’t wither a thing. “Thank you. You are so thoughtful.”
He smiled. “Play the song about the stars.”
She took the lute from him and the bow that he had produced. She looked to the musician. “Apologies for what I am about to do to the music.”
She checked the tune with plucking fingers, settled the lute on her thigh, and began to play. The crowd shifted to watch her as she played, and she focused entirely on the music and the notes that she could see when she closed her eyes.
Abiha played the song, and then, she paused.
Ledana said, “Play the one about the flower in the meadow.”
There was a murmur of agreement. Abiha focused, and she played again. And again. Songs about stars dancing on the ground, songs about stars breaking stones. All of them had words, but she didn’t sing. She just played.
Finally, she had to stop. “I am sorry, but my fingers can’t. I am out of practice.”
She clenched that hand that she used to finger the lute. Divots had been pressed into her fingertips, and she had played until the moon began its rise.
Kiloh smiled. “You are better than you were when you played on the temple steps.”
She chuckled. “That was the only safe place to learn. It was not a process that came easily to me.”
“Jimon asked to speak privately with me today.” He pitched his voice for her ears alone.
She blinked. “Did he?”
“Yes, he had some questions about the private events later this evening.”
Abiha deliberately didn’t look at her brother-in-law. She looked at Kiloh and asked, “What did you tell him?”
“I will spare the details, but simply that they belonged to each other, and they should work together with care until they knew what the other enjoyed.” He leaned toward her.
An inch away from his lips, she whispered, “That is a good piece of advice. I gave Ledana some similar advice. She belongs to him, he belongs to her,