The Grey Tower

Her heart leapt, she was in the crow’s nest on open seas. Jaren hadn’t sent her away. Instead he wanted to walk her back to… Where did she need to go? Away from here. Trying to settle herself and control her breathing she said, “I need to go to the library.” There, that was somewhere public. She wouldn’t be tempted to make such a fool of herself there.

She offered her hand as they headed for the door, then snatched it back. Fool girl, if they catch you holding hands with a Soldier, they’ll do more than stripe your hide. Instead she patted the Soldier’s cheek and said, “Come on, the Library won’t be there all day.” She winked and turned towards the door. Maybe she should try kissing him again. No, she’d pushed her luck enough today.

Jaren lead the way out of the Soldier’s quarters, keeping an eye out for any Dedicated or worse. Nas simply crept along in silence. When they were finally in the Tower proper where their presence together wouldn’t draw too much suspicion, Nasrin decided to get to know her rescuer a little better. “You’re a wine merchant right? Can you teach me about wine? I like reds, but admittedly, I haven’t had to much opportunity,” her voice, which had been rather chipper before trailed off. She didn’t like to be reminded of her youth, especially around people like Jaren.

“The library it shall be, then,” Jaren replied with a smile.

They got out of the Soldiers’ quarters without a hassle — thankfully — and without a sign of Marten returning, and when Nasrin asked about wines, Jaren was happy talk though he suspected the purpose of the question was more just to make conversation. “There are a few main ways to categorise wines,” he began. “The most obvious ones are the distinction between whites and reds, or sweet and dry wines, but they’re also categorised by region. For example there’s a difference between an Altaran red and a Tairen one…”

And on and on all the way to the library. Outside the library, they stopped. “Well, looks like we caught the library just in time,” Jaren said, flashing a grin. “So this is where I shall leave you. It’s been a pleasure, Nasrin, and I hope we’ll meet again, perhaps without anybody having to dive out of the window…”

The farewells said, he made a courtly bow and turned to leave.