A growing thrill was traveling along the hairs on Zello's arm. It was built from warmth and excitement, born of the hand that rested upon it. The world about him continued to move, though it was darkened by the blinding light that was Alliette. He desired his mouth to move and for brilliant thoughts to emerge that would impress her. Instead, every thought was a fleeting cloud of swill that dissipated before it could solidify.

"My life before yours?" Alliette asked in a way that made it sound foolish.

"Aye," Zello replied. "It sounded it better in my mind." He was pleased he didn't stutter. Her closeness was both welcome and disturbing.

"Do you think I need protection?"

"Aye...Nay." The stuttering indecision was infuriating. "Mayhap, I wish to protect you, and you do not need it." Glenda had once told him things to say to a woman. Those instructions were jumbled with the rest of his thoughts and didn't want to come to the surface.

"And what if I desire to protect you?"

"I...I...I do not know how to answer that," Zello admitted. He turned her down the hall toward the door that opened to the grounds.

"Do you think women are weak?"

It was not the conversation Zello was expecting to have. He tried to figure out how it started. His attempt at sounding noble had failed, and now Alliette demanded clarification. If she weren't so beautiful, his tongue would work better. He looked away as a possible solution emerged. An image of Kelton's scar moved to her face in his mind. Some of his father's extra weight onto her hips. He'd have to keep his eyes straight ahead not to break the image.

"Nay," Zello replied. "It is more my desire not to be seen as weak that makes me say such things. Though spoken true, the words were meant to impress." He smiled inside at his coherency. Some of Glenda's words came back to him. "It is a lovely dress you wear, and it would be a shame if you were to soil it protecting me."

Alliette laughed. It was a warm, sharing laugh that attracted Zello's eyes. Muddled thoughts returned as the vision of a scarred Alliette was replaced by the truth. She let go of his arm and stepped back and displayed her gown.

"Do you like the color?"

The color was stolen from the sunset and made more beautiful. The dress was enticing, hiding Alliette's form in a provocative yet tasteful way. It enhanced everything about her. Zello's lips could no longer form complex ideas. "Aye," he said at last, weakly. He ignored all the things he should have spoken for fear of sounding like a bumbling fool. He looked away and tried to re-grasp the marred image of Alliette.

"Aye?" Alliette asked as if he were dull. On the edges of his vision, he could see her hands finding hips. He looked back into a friendly smile. "Do you fear me, Zello Tarvakian?" There was some snickering down the hall. Alliette's smile disappeared, and a glare directed at her guards replaced it. "50 paces!" The guards moved away with sudden haste.

"Aye...nay," Zello floundered. He visibly sighed, and all strength left his frame. "I have never met anyone like you. I fear proving myself a fool, as I am now."

Alliette smiled and indicated the door they had yet to walk through. Zello opened it and escorted her into the sunlight. It was a soft day, mild temperature, and large pillowed clouds floating in the heavens.

"Is it my position that bothers you?" Alliette asked. She had moved close to Zello and demanded his arm again.

"Mayhap, part of it," Zello said, looking straight ahead. "I have seen you from afar, at the All-Father's Day celebration and such. I have desired to speak to you, and here you are, and I have become a fumbling example of my house."

"It is a good fumble," Alliette said. Zello caught her grinning. "I too have my weakness in first meetings. I tease, as I have you. It is good cover for a princess and makes me feel in control when I am not."

"Then you were not bothered by my words?" Zello asked. He steered through the garden, toward a tree-lined walk that led to the working side of the house's property.

"They were well received and manly spoken, though I doubt the Nagada will be storming your walls." Alliette gave half a laugh. "Did you see Lacian's face when I placed his sword about you?"

"It was humorous, I must admit."

"You caught on quick enough. Kelton is not wrong about you," Alliette said.

"Kelton?"

"Aye. He holds you in high regard. Which is strong praise considering how he feels about the kingdom's laws and such."

"He did not tell me..."

"I bade him not too," Alliette interrupted. "What do you think of my dress now?"

"Its...ah, it was what Kelton was fishing for. I thought he'd gone daft as he pushed to know everyone's favorite color." Zello stopped and turned toward the smiling princess. "You had a dress made for me?"

"Aye."

"I had dreamed of our meeting and envisioned of ways to get you to notice me," Zello said, "It never occurred that you would wish the same."

"You do not think a woman should be overt?"

"Nay, I did not think one as beautiful as you would need to be."

"That is your best fumble yet," Alliette said, her smile a feast for Zello's eyes. She turned and bade them forward, allowing Zello to take the lead. "You are different than most owners I have met. They usually lead with such compliments and make them sound hollow."

"Glenda will scold me for not doing so," Zello laughed.

"Glenda?"

"She is the one who cared for me when my mother died," Zello replied.

"Property?"

"Aye, though she rarely sees it that way." Zello's voice dropped to a whisper. "In truth, neither do I. It is difficult to manage one who has managed you."

"Your mother died when you were a babe?"

"Aye. I never knew her," Zello said matter-of-factly. "There is a new image of her just found. It is in the meeting room, near where your brother stood. It is the closest I have come to knowing her."

"Mothers are a mixed blessing," Alliette said. "Mine is loving, as a mother should be, but also an example of what I do not want to be."

"You do not wish to be queen?"

"It is not titles I fear. It is being subservient." Alliette sighed. "My mother is happy enough in her position, though I do not know why. My father, and now my brother, wish me to find the same kind of happiness. I can not."

"Does not the Queen help the King?"

"Not in things that matter," Alliette replied. "It falls on her to care for home and banquets. In matters of state, her voice goes unheard."

"My father speaks of my mother differently," Zello said. "There are stories of her being more cunning them him." He smiled. "He tells me his desire for advantage was only exceeded by hers. It was why he sought the marriage. Two like minds have more power than one."

"And you feel the same?"

Zello waved his free hand about the property. "Ours is a growing house with much to do, and I intend for it blossom. Is not a burden shared a burden halved?"

"You would share all things with a woman?"

"It would be foolish not too," Zello replied. "Or else I deem myself the All-Father and think my visions perfect." He shook his head. "It's better to have a good and trusted mind close to stay on a profitable path."

"And what if this woman argued the path?"

Zello laughed, then blushed. "My father tells me his best nights were born from the best quarrels with my mother. In the end, they worked out the best road to take. He insists he won more than he lost, though I think his meaning two-fold."

Alliete laughed. She tucked her arm into Zello's, pulling him closer.

"This is the finish building," Zello said as they neared a squat structure that held those that sewed. "Most of our trade is in bolts and skins, but some are finished goods. We clothe many of the coppers and silvers in the other houses nearby. It is overseen by Glenda, of who I spoke."

"May I see inside?"

"As you desire, Alliette," Zello said with a flourish of his arm. He was getting more comfortable. Though his eyes were still mesmerized, her beauty weighed less on his thoughts. Talking had made the task easier.

They moved inside, the first room being Glenda's office. Glenda made a show of dropping to her knee and bowing her head. Zello didn't let on that she only acted old when presented with a task that lowered her in another's eyes.

"Please, rise," Alliette said as she separated from Zello and floated into the room and moved directly to Glenda. "I don't wish to disturb your fine work. Zello has been so kind to show me about, and I insisted upon seeing the inside. He tells me you oversee this portion of the house."

"Aye, high Mistress," Glenda said. She added a groan as she rose. To Zello's surprise, the princess moved to help Glenda rise. The over-acting brought more than Glenda expected, and the shock showed on her face.

"You have supple fingers to create such a tight weave with your thread," Alliette said as she examined the work Glenda had on her table.

"Many years of practice, high Mistress," Glenda said. Zello smiled, and Glenda's eyes traveled between him and the Princess. A method of assessment Zello knew all too well.

"You have done gowns and such?"

"Aye, though not since my Mistress passed, high Mistress," Glenda replied.

"I tire of the royal seamstress. She is talented, to be sure, but stuck in the past. I desire something...fresh. A gown that is both beautiful and denotes strength. I have too many that are frilly and sweet."

"It is an odd coincidence, high Mistress," Glenda said. "Yanda and I have been discussing just that thing. She is Sorinnian, and they have a bolder style - being their way."

"Yanda works here?"

"Aye, with me, high Mistress."

Alliette turned to Zello. "Would your house be interested in attempting a gown? It would, of course, require I return for a fitting or two."

"It would be our pleasure, Alliette," Zello said, pleased with the turn of events. It was the returning part that excited him the most.

"It will work out well then," Alliette said as she turned back to Glenda. "I intend to talk your master into escorting me to a banquet. You will be able to make sure his jacket matches my gown." Zello's eyes widened. He hadn't seen Glenda smile like she was since he was a child.

"And If I were to say nay?" Zello asked.

"That would be silly, Master," Glenda replied. "There would be no point in matching the jacket to the gown."

"Exactly," Alliette said. They both looked at Zello, their faces turning series as they waited for him.

"I would, of course, like nothing better than to escort the Princess to her banquet," Zello said and added a small bow. He was willingly outmaneuvered.

"I accept," the Princess said, then shared a pleased look with Glenda. "It is two months and a few days out. I'll send a runner to coordinate fitting times."

"You will have my best effort, high Mistress," Glenda said.

"Second best, I think," Alliette said. She moved to Zello and once again took his arm. "I believe your best effort is taking me to the banquet." Zello couldn't control the blood rushing to his face. He stood taller and accepted her arm. It was all moving at high speed as if he were a target and the Princess the arrow. Glenda started to kneel, but a signal from Alliette stalled it. Glenda looked delighted as Zello, and the Princess left.

"I feel as if I am not in control," Zello said as they returned outside. He smiled when he voiced it, not wanting to offend.

"It is true," Alliette said. She tucked Zello's arm closer. "You have many of the attributes I look for in a match. First off, is that you are seeking a true partner. Most suitors are looking for more property, having sampled much in their own house. It is my understanding you have not done so."

"I'm not understanding..."

"You have not bedded your property," Alliette clarified.

"Nay," Zello said, then his eyebrows arched as he thought about the ramifications. "But I know what is to be done. I am not..." Alliette reached up and tenderly put a finger on Zello's lips, stopping his panic.

"It is something I find appealing," Alliette said. "The world demands I save myself. Well, I demand a man who saves himself."

"This is moving faster than I envisioned."

"Do you think we would not be a profitable match?"

"Nay," Zello chuckled as he shook his head. "You outmaneuver with barely a thought. Steering Glenda's support, something you know I cherish. Supporting Kelton's writ, not to mention what a princess wearing a Tarvakian gown would do for the demand for our cloth. It is not profits that concern me."

"You have a keen mind," Alliette said with a smirk that announced she was pleased that he had seen through it all.

"Profits without happiness is a dull way to go through life."

"Do you not find me appealing?" Alliette asked.

"Aye. In my dreams and here as you stand. But is the truth of you, or me, worth a lifetime? If it is not tested, is it not a great risk?"

"Time is a luxury my father wishes to deny me," Alliette said. "He would see me matched to one of his choosing before I see my next born day. I prefer to be matched to someone of character, a son of one of the great houses of our kingdom."

"We are not a great house," Zello said.

"That changed today," Alliette said. "Kelton has tied you to the royal house. I will tie you tighter with political advantage."

"And what of happiness? Should we jump without knowing how deep the water?"

"Ah, aye, your testing." Alliette smiled. "There is the banquet and..." Her hand moved up Zello's arm, graced his neck and pulled his head towards hers. Silken pillows of joy pressed into his lips. Heat spread down his body, mixing with the exaltation that arose from his bones. There had been no warning it would be so pleasurable.

Pounding boots and panicked yells ended the miracle too soon. Fifty paces were not far enough.

"Slow, Lacian," Alliette commanded. Her palm was facing the guard, but her green eyes were deeply connected to Zello's. He was sure she felt as he did. If it were his choice, he'd return to those lips and stay until he died.

"It was my choosing," Alliette said, finally breaking eye contact with Zello. Her frame stiffened as she examined her guard. "When you report this to my father, you will tell him so. And tell him I found it lovely."