Belatedly he realized he should have warned Neria, but the closer they came to the castle, the more he realized it was self-explanitory, and that he needn't have worried. She could and did hold her own. While he had no illusions over how comfortable she was with being stared at, she could tolerate it well.
Or seemed to, which was what truly mattered in the context of the present.
Kell's boots were loud on the marble flooring of the entrance hall as he strode inside, where a dozen or so servants were busily adding flowers to urns, putting some of the final decorating touches on the already sparkling-clean, highly polished room. It smelled of the cold dew still on the roses, fresh from the gardens.
More distant was the smell of baking bread, hot tea, the faint polish and oil the guards used on their armor and weaponry-
And suddenly, two of those guards were approaching them. Both men wore gleaming armor and carried swords with blades chased in spellwork. One was older, with a severe expression drawn into grave lines. His hair was going to silver.
The other was younger than Kell and Neria both, with bright eyes and softly curling hair. He beamed as soon as he saw Kell -- it wasn't the smile of a sycophant.
"Staff. Hastra." Kell nodded to them both in turn.
"I thought you'd be along soon, sir." the younger man, Hastra, smiled a touch wider, as if he'd argued that point to someone before Kell's arrival. By the stony look on Staff's face, it may have been him.
"I said I would be." Kell sighed, an undercurrent of something like tension in his shoulders if not his voice, and he tilted his head towards Neria.
"Neria, this is Staff and Hastra. My personal guard." Personal guard. As if an Antari needed one.
"This is Neria Surana. She's..." Kell paused, minutely, lips parting as he caught on what to say. "A close friend of mine."
Both Staff and Hastra's eyebrows lifted, but it was Hastra who regarded her with open, warm curiosity, followed by a smile and a bow, which the other guard followed, though not as deep.
"Be welcome," said the boy, a tiny bit breathless. As he came up he looked from Neria to Kell and back again, as if trying to put something together.
no subject
Or seemed to, which was what truly mattered in the context of the present.
Kell's boots were loud on the marble flooring of the entrance hall as he strode inside, where a dozen or so servants were busily adding flowers to urns, putting some of the final decorating touches on the already sparkling-clean, highly polished room. It smelled of the cold dew still on the roses, fresh from the gardens.
More distant was the smell of baking bread, hot tea, the faint polish and oil the guards used on their armor and weaponry-
And suddenly, two of those guards were approaching them. Both men wore gleaming armor and carried swords with blades chased in spellwork. One was older, with a severe expression drawn into grave lines. His hair was going to silver.
The other was younger than Kell and Neria both, with bright eyes and softly curling hair. He beamed as soon as he saw Kell -- it wasn't the smile of a sycophant.
"Staff. Hastra." Kell nodded to them both in turn.
"I thought you'd be along soon, sir." the younger man, Hastra, smiled a touch wider, as if he'd argued that point to someone before Kell's arrival. By the stony look on Staff's face, it may have been him.
"I said I would be." Kell sighed, an undercurrent of something like tension in his shoulders if not his voice, and he tilted his head towards Neria.
"Neria, this is Staff and Hastra. My personal guard." Personal guard. As if an Antari needed one.
"This is Neria Surana. She's..." Kell paused, minutely, lips parting as he caught on what to say. "A close friend of mine."
Both Staff and Hastra's eyebrows lifted, but it was Hastra who regarded her with open, warm curiosity, followed by a smile and a bow, which the other guard followed, though not as deep.
"Be welcome," said the boy, a tiny bit breathless. As he came up he looked from Neria to Kell and back again, as if trying to put something together.