A Woman's Perogotive

Narisa nearly laughed out loud when Theodred told her what he was planning for Elisa's birthday. Elisa was not really an overly feminine woman. Having been raised by her father and having worked by his side in the shop for years had made her much more of a tom boy. Although she had heard her brother commenting about how stunning she had looked in the green dress she had bought. Elisa was not going to like being stuck at the seamstresses all day.

"Well, I certainly hope you have something else to give her in addition or else she won't be happy," she said with a little grin.

As Eagan walked in with the food Narisa could smell it and it made her stomach start to grumble. She knew Eagan and she knew that he had probably brought her everything she wanted...and everything her mother didn't want her to have. She was thankful when her mother agreed to let him stay and she couldn't help but smile at him a little when her mother wasn't looking.

After her mother and brother left she was anxious to see what he had brought her and he certainly hadn't disappointed. She came very close to grabbing the piece of blackberry cobbler right then and there. Eagan would know that Narisa had quite the appetite and could eat quite a bit, although she never seemed to gain any weight. Having not eaten in four days she was particularly hungry, though she knew she needed to be somewhat careful. She didn't want to eat too much and become sick. However, she did want some of everything.

"I'm very hungry, but don't let me over eat and become sick. Mother would not be happy."

As she realized he was planning on feeding her she wanted to object and tell him she could feed herself, but one look from him told her that wasn't going to happen...plus he was the one with the food. Her mouth started to water when she watched him start to slather a biscuit with butter. She was about to answer 'honey' to his question until she saw he had brought her raspberry jam...which was her favorite.

"Jam."

Eagan covered the biscuit with the jam then broke that up into bite sized pieces for her. The stew had had a little time to cool so he started with that first. He put a bit of honey in the tea as well and when she seemed to be able to keep down the first few bites he visibly relaxed.

“I...thought about what you said earlier,” he began as he gave her a piece of the biscuit. “I will not press you Narisa. I will behave myself as a gentleman should though I will not just stop caring about you,” he continued with the stew next though she knew by now that the word ‘caring’ meant ‘loving’ her. He had had some earlier and it was very good. “I can not promise to be...sufficiently jealous if another man catches your fancy. But I may not be able to remain here indefinitely. I do have duties in Gondor that may keep me there for some time,” he went on as he went back to the biscuits again and a little more tea. He wanted to explain to her more of what he had thought about but she had made her feelings plain enough. He doubted she’d go with him anyway.

Narisa was glad that he had broken up the biscuit into bite sized pieces, otherwise she probably would have shoved the entire thing into her mouth. She ate some of the soup, which was cool enough now to eat without burning her mouth. It was one of her favorites and tasted wonderful. She took small spoonfuls at first, and was glad when she was able to keep it down. Eagan had prepared her tea exactly the way she liked it and she took a few sips of it as well.

There was silence between them for a few minutes before Eagan began to speak about the discussion they had been having earlier. She looked at him a little as he spoke and continued to feed her. She sighed a little after a moment.

"Eagan, I'm not going to be actively looking for someone else. As I told you earlier, I'm not really looking for a courtship right now. However, that also doesn't mean that I want to shut the door on the possibility of a relationship with you again. I just don't want the pressure. We're both young still...can't we just have fun and see if anything happens naturally?

He didn’t say anything after that. He only smiled and continued to feed her. She seemed to slow down when they got to the cobbler. He poured her one more cup of tea. “I think you were smart not to try and eat it all. With a full belly I think you’ll sleep well. If not though, there’s a bucket on the floor on your left. He had not judged the passage of time and indeed it had taken quite a long time to feed her. What else could he really say? He was ready to be in a relationship where she was not. There really wasn’t any more to discuss with that. She had a right to her feelings, he never thought she didn’t but it hurt that she did not feel for him as he felt for her. He was actually grateful that the queen strode in. He stood and bowed to her.

“She ate well, my queen, I think she will sleep well tonight,” he said stiffly. He collected the tray and dome. “Sleep well Narisa...my queen,” he bowed again and then backed out then turned and exited the room.

Lindariel felt the chill in the air and had an inkling as to its cause. “That one seems to wear his emotions upon his sleeve, either the room just got suddenly colder or you said something he did not like,” she said though she did not elaborate or pry. “Are you in the mood for a story or shall we talk or We can just sit for a while if you prefer...well, I will at least,” she amended.

Nauriel wasn't sure what to say to Eagan. She wanted to be able to promise him everything that he wanted, but she knew she couldn't. She didn't want to force another relationship between them and then possibly lose her friend forever. She just couldn't do that. However, if it happened naturally over time then it happened. As she wasn't going to force it, she also wasn't going to try and stop it either. She just hoped that if it did happen that this time things would turn out differently.

She ate until she was full and then didn't eat anymore. A short time later her mother came in with a book in her hand as she had promised. She was grateful for everything Eagan had done, but she could not discuss that topic any more. They had both said what they needed to say and now they would just wait and see what happened.

"Thank you Eagan...for everything," she told him before he left. She knew he was upset, but there was nothing more she could do. She could only hope that he would come to understand her side of things. Narisa glanced at her mother and knew that she suspected that the two of them had had a rather serious conversation. However, she did not feel like discussing the matter with her...at least not now. At the moment she was tired and just wanted to rest.

"I would like it if you would read to me for a while Mother."

ooc: new Thread