They deserve it all.

Sir Joust

Alistair has a whole thing prepared for our 'date'. It's cute. Usually I would laugh at him, I'm sure I would, but ever since he said that he loved me, I've been looking at his actions with a different perspective.

I was glad this date could find place today and that Alistair was as persistent as it took for me to cancel today's council meeting. I'm glad because it means I don't have to explain everything all over again to all of them, which I've had to do each meeting nowadays.

So watching Alistair get dressed while I sit back and read my book on stand-by, I can't help but prefer this any day over a council meeting.

I watch as he puts his long robe on, the one with black and gold feathers covering each inch that has this standing dog ear collar, over his loose cream colored blouse, one where he refuses to button all of the buttons, instead the first 3 are open and I can practically feel my hand levitating towards his chest. His pointy ears are decorated in golden strings and his fingers hold that jaded ring, again. His hair is perfectly styled, again. Little strands lay loose, the others in place, giving this effortlessly gorgeous look, again. It tempts me to ruffle his hair out to see if he cares about the style, to see if he actually put any effort in it and I might ruin it. But I don't. Instead I look him up and down and watch him struggle to remember something.

"Did you forget how a 'date' goes?" I mock him, I'm just joking, he knows that. Yet he looks annoyed at the comment. So I apologize by holding my hands in the air ever so slightly.

"I remember how it goes." He spits back. "I just forgot about something. They all had something in common in the beginning, but I think I forgot."

"Well, my expectations are as low as could be, so no worries."

He glares at me while I flash a smile.

"I'm just saying, you're not doing half so bad. I mean- this dress you picked out, gorgeous. Though, I would have gone for something more my size."

The dress is cream colored, with a robe similar to his, except it doesn't have all the feathers and instead has this figure that fits the dress just right. He picked out my earrings, and offered to put them in, but only because my ears fascinate him. 'So round', he always says. But the dress, it's too long, even with heels on. And I can't cut the fabric off because he picked it out for me and that'd be such a waste of a memory that could do me so well later on. I could mock him, joke about how he has no sense of proportions. In any situation actually, in front of the people, alone, with our parents, I could undermine him even, though I won't.

"Well, we can go whenever you're ready." He says, holding his arm out for me to take. And I do. I'm not the best at wearing heels, definitely not these expensive, high and pointy heels, the ones with almost no support in the back which only look good. But my skills aren't nonexistent. I can walk in them, for an hour or two at best, then I think I'd be exhausted.

"Lets go."

And we do. Larien had offered to come with us, but Alistair told me to tell him no, that this really wasn't the day and time for that. He said that it needed to just be us. So Larien said he'd agree, only if I told him every single detail of the date afterwards.

We're walking down the Halls, it takes a bit because we have to pass by the kitchen. Apparently Alistair has been baking the food for the date himself, no help whatsoever, so I made sure to have eaten secretly before we got ready. I can't walk in heels with a dress too long and have Alistair by my side the whole night with no one around us, not without having eaten. I simply can't.

While I wait for Alistair, me in a common room, sitting on one of the couches, Sir Joust walks in. I was reading the book I had on stand-by and he was shocked to see me, I suppose.