Hidden Talents

Writers: AL, Ames
Date Posted: 13th May 2011

Characters: Wirnan, Kaya
Description: Wirnan comes hom to ask Kaya to lunch and finds out about something she's been keeping hidden.
Location: Amber Hills Hold
Date: month 1, day 26 of Turn 6

Wirnan

The face wasn't right. Maybe it was the chin. Or the brow. The eyes were
too small. The smile certainly wasn't right, though that might be because
she hadn't seen him smile much as of late. The charcoal skipped over the
parchment, but no matter what Kaya changed, her image that she had created
didn't match the truth that she saw every day. Why couldn't she get Wirnan
down? Probably because she wasn't able to do this when she could sit and
look at him. She didn't dare!

Having decided to pop in and invite Kaya to join him for mid-day meal,
Wirnan now found himself standing in the doorway, staring at her back and
what he saw before him. She seemed to intent on her work that she must not
have heard the door open. Sitting his small bag down, he gently closed the
door and stood quietly, watching her for longest time. The way her fingers
danced across the paper, the way her body shifted ever so slightly as she
worked. His eyes finally moved to the parchment she'd been working on and he
gasped.

"No." The word was spoken to herself, even as she rubbed off some of the
charcoal. It wasn't right. It wasn't...Kaya jerked at the sound, so soft,
but so close, and swiftly rose to her feet. Her haste, she dropped her
charcoal, and then did her best to fold the parchment so that it wouldn't be
visible. "W...Wirnan...I...I...I wasn't expecting you." Down she bent,
hand reaching out and frantically searching for that charcoal.

"That was me, wasn't it?" He asked, moving forward quickly across the room.
He reached down and picked up the small piece of black charcoal and held it
out to her. "I was going to invite you to join me for midday meal. Why
didn't you tell me you drew?"

"No. It wasn't. I don't!" Kaya lied quickly, finally finding that bit of
charcoal and doing her best to wrangle her items behind her back. Fear was
palpable on her face as she backed away from the man. They'd had so many
arguments, so many fights. There had been times she had been afraid he
would strike her. He had alluded to men changing. Would this set him over
the edge? It had with her father. "It was nothing!"

He watched her reactions with confusion written all over his face. "Here,
this piece must have broken off when it fell." He held out the small piece
of charcoal to her. "I'd hardly say what I saw was nothing," he said
quietly, realizing this was a side of Kaya he hadn't yet seen.

Kaya swallowed. Would he grab her? Like her father had? Had she pushed
him too far? Would this be the end of the gentleness that he had shown,
gentleness that had kept him from raising a hand to her even when they were
yelling at the top of their lungs? It had been the worst beating. She had
been bedded for days. Would it repeat? Kaya started to reach out, pulled
back, then quickly snatched the piece so that he wouldn't have time to grab
her. Her eyes darted to the door. Could she make it?

She looked like a cornered animal. Wirnan was confused, until realization
began to dawn on him. Her father. Had this been... He shook the thought off.
Raising his hands as a sign that he meant her no harm, he backed away a bit.
"Kaya, it's okay. Really it is." He needed her to calm down, so while every
instinct in his body drove him to wanting to wrap his arms around her, he
instead continued to back away, to give her space. He wanted nothing more
than to slam his fist into her father in that moment, to show the man the
same kind of fear he'd instilled in his daughter. Wirnan wished he could.

He was...leaving. Stepping away? Was it a trick? He hadn't hit her yet,
why would he hit her now? Because she was doing something that was
forbidden. And yet Wirnan was putting space between them. He wasn't
snatching the parchments away, crushing the charcoal to dust, throwing her
on the floor, hands against her over and over...no. He wasn't _him_. Not
her father. Not the man he originally intended her to marry for surely
Favinar would have done the very same thing had he found out.
"You...aren't...mad?"

"Mad?" He paused where he was, looking at her questioningly. "No, I'm not
mad. Why would I be mad over what is clearly a gift you have?"

"It's...its...forbidden." That was what her father had pounded into her
when he had caught her doing it. It hadn't stopped her, but it had made her
extremely careful when she practised her art. "It's...crafter work. I'm
not supposed to do it." Kaya relaxed a little. He wasn't mad and she
slipped the items from behind her to cradle them to her chest, still hiding
the picture from view.

He contemplated what she said and heard the truth in her statements. "Aye, I
can see how some would consider it work of the crafters. The harpers and
archivists perhaps, but it can also be a way to pass the time." He looked at
her, his head tilting sideways. "You have a gift, Kaya, and while I can't
encourage you to pursue that gift in a craft for _that_ is not allowed, I
cannot fault you for the talents you've been given." He moved over towards
the side table and poured himself a drink of fresh water, looking back at
her, he added, "If your special gift does not get in the way of your duties
as a woman and a wife, I see no problem with it. Though perhaps it should
remain here between us. I would not want others to treat you unfairly
because of it."

For a few long outstretched moments, Kaya couldn't do anything but stare at
Wirnan. He was going to let her continue? And she wouldn't have to hide it
from him? From others in the hold, yes, she could certainly understand
that, but she was free to do it within their own quarters? It was more, far
more, than even her father had offered. Her mouth opened, then closed and
it was another moment before she could find words. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." He wanted to ask her to show him the sketch once more, but
decided not to press the matter. "Would you like to join me for midday meal
or shall I just leave you to your own tasks then?"

Kaya's fingers played at the parchment a bit, but she finally nodded. "I'll
join you." She acquiesced, but first she needed to put away her things,
rather than leave them about. She turned to head to the bedroom to tuck
them back into the trunk where she kept her treasures.

Last updated on the May 20th 2011

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