They had arrived early—a day ahead, to be exact—even with the detour around Malroren. However, to Silva, he arrived at Taye at the proper time. Since he expected punctuality from his subordinates, he practiced it as well. The only inconvenience of being too early was dealing with the time before the actual event, which, in that case, was the wedding of the heir to the House of Marlas. Silva’s sudden impulse to leave his room at the inn and take a walk was not just done to pass the time, however. Rather, it was out of desperation.

He could not, by Lelahiah’s Light, stand another minute in the same building with his sister, the way she pranced excitedly around him, telling him of what to do at the wedding and what he should ask the tailor to do with that new suit he should request made—which, by the way, he did not agree to do yet. Silva simply had no patience for her incessant female ramblings, and more so that it was about a wedding he should never have agreed to attend in the first place. It was impractical and uncomfortable. He could not understand what made him agree. Or perhaps he did, and the question was ‘who?’

After throwing on a light cloak over his plainest of garbs—a silk shirt and velvet, white coat and trousers—the blonde noble walked briskly out the door with a bark for his sister not to follow him. She probably would, still, but a nod to his guard assured that she would not.

The streets around the inn he stayed at—it was conveniently near the manor of venue—were busy, apparently because of the wedding. Carts were rushed here and there carrying baskets of fruits or bundles of flowers. The scent of perfumes and spices and sweet fruits wafted thinly through the air, and the High Seat of Calandae took but a moment to enjoy them as he stood in the middle of all the activity before he went on his way. He wanted a walk, but perhaps one away from the wedding arrangements and, more importantly, his sister. Once he was past a few corners, the streets became less dense, and people glanced at him longer. No matter how much he stood out, people who were truly busy wouldn’t even spend a second looking at him. However, away from the urgent business of the wedding, with everyday activities such as peddling and buying, a noble walking among the peasants was worth a glance. Silva did not realize that yet, though, and strode looking ahead, until he noticed a familiar symbol on a sign.

Can that be…? He sped up towards the sign hanging over a shop at a corner, seeing nothing but that symbol. In a few seconds, he was under it, and then something bumped into him.

“Careless.” the blonde hissed, turning towards the offender.

'Chores again. Always running errands for the wedding. I would so rather be outside than standing in this oven of a shop, placing cake orders. Cake! Vanilla with vanilla frosting, tough to the picky eaters. No, apparently there are millions of cake combination and I have to look at them all. To the gods. In my hot armor no less. It had to be metal from now on. Apparently, Father wants to make a good impression. Wasn't pleasantry enough?'

'I miss my leather armor. It is already good enough to wear in public. Why does it need to be embossed? It is completely absurd. I have to wear this until the wedding is over. I am going to die. After this I am going for a swim. No matter what father says.'

***

'Finally done with the cakes. What do I have next? Pick up armor. Thank god. That will be quick.'

"Careless."

"Oh, dreadfully sorry. Are you all right? Name's Enderron. What's yours?"

'What odd garb. Definately not from here. Not common either, those are definately not working clothes. Could this be the first guest for the wedding? He was an idiot, walking through this part of town. He looked smart enough though. He looked weary, as if he had rarely slept. Perhaps he had just arrived.'

Golden eyes narrowed as they studied the man. The stranger was in armor embossed grandly that it suggested the rank of nobility, and that name…Enderron? He’d read of that somewhere. Of course, the invitation for the wedding. So this was Tsuko Theras’ son.

Silva was a bit annoyed at being bumped into, but Enderron did apologize at once. He also seemed mildly interested in who the blonde was. The hint of annoyance faded away quickly, and he answered without interest. “I am called Silva.”

Ignoring him, as he did not have any further business with the other man, Silva returned his gaze to the shop. It was a patisserie—completely different from what he was expecting. Briefly, he glanced at the scabbard at his side. The same symbol was on that sign. Wait… He glanced at the sign again, and then back to the scabbard. Although the symbols were both of a hare in a thorn bush, the flowers on the bush were different. Feh. He should not have made such an obvious mistake.

“This shop...as far as you know, how long has it been here?” he asked curiously, turning to Enderron suddenly. His scabbard, as well as his saber, once belonged to an old friend of Mathias. Silva was sure his old mentor would like to see that friend again, and the small possibility of him bringing about a reunion to please the old man was enough motivation for him to start a conversation.

'His eyes are creepy. They seemed to know just a little more than what they had been told. Silva keeps glancing toward that shop sign. Is he looking for something?'

"I don't know about the shop, but the symbol you are interested is awfully old. I think there is a book on it somewhere in my library. I don't know there. I don't get as much time as I would like to read. My father makes sure of that. Always doing things for the House. Learning how to be a noble. Oh well, I guess its okay most of the time. Not many sixteen-year-olds have their own libraries. If you are interested in the symbol, I'm sure you could come to the estate."

"How long are you in town for? If you would like, I could give you a tour of Taye. Perhaps I could help you find what you are looking for. It seems to be very important. Oh, I forgot, Father will probably want you to stay for dinner. He is always so happy to welcome guests."

'Silva is a bit preoccupied. He's stopped listening to me. Perhaps I should take him to the training grounds if he wants to use his sword. I'm sure he probably won't get a chance, what with the wedding and his quarters, and all.'

"If you would like, later we could go to the training grounds. A sword that beautiful should not always lie in its scabbard. Or we could go swimming at a crystal clear lake I know of. Its on the estate's property so no one will bother us there."

Well, well. The young man was more informative--and observing--than Silva had imagined. If this book indeed contained what he was looking for, then his visit to Taye would be more fruitful than he would have expected. Enderron was indeed too busy if he could ignore a library holding a book Silva had never read.

The...boy...went on asking him how long he was staying, and invited him to his estate. It was convenient of him.

"I will remain here until after the wedding. It is yours, yes? Then I may come for dinner." He had no intention of exchanging pleasantries with Enderron's father, but it wold be a good excuse to come to the estate and have his way with the library.

Silva looked away for a moment, wondering if he should waste a few hours of sunlight spending time with the young man. Knowing more of the city could be useful someday...Enderron spoke again, perhaps noticing his sudden silence.

"A tour through the city, yes" Silva answered finally. Now that the other noble mentioned it, it had been quite some time since he drew his sword. "And perhaps a spar as well, if there is time after. It would be better to get back before the last sun sets."

((I'll do a tour if I can god mod a tad to get your character around.))

"Happy to help you on your way. I'm disappointed that you wont come and see the book. It's really very interesting. It's tales date back to ancient Olencia and the book itself is over 100 years old. It's written oddly, in a red colored ink. It looks exactly like dried blood now that I think of it. Creepy. Well, suit yourself. We will tour the marvelous city of Taye. Afterward, we can have a drink at the Coin and Cloak. It's my favorite tavern in the city. Of course, I can only attend when my father allows me to associate with the middle class."

"He hates them you know. Ever since he repudiated the debts from the war between our House and Calandae, the merchants have given him trouble. Now that I think about it, perhaps it's better that you didn't stay at the manor. I could bring you the book. I would have to sneak it out of course since Father won't let me take anything that rare out of my library."

"Sometimes, Father makes me so mad. He's always getting into things that don't regard him at all. His heart's in the right place, but his head needs a little work."