Warrior Priest of Dmon-Li - Brian Pratt [4]
“Alright,” agrees James. “Are you going to need help getting back to your room?”
Nate shakes his head and holds up his walking stick, “I can make it that far on my own.” Getting up, he leans heavily upon his stick as he shuffles toward the door.
James holds it open for him as he passes through, “Thanks,” he says to him as he goes by. Once he’s out, James shuts the door and turns back to Miko, “Relax, you do look nice.”
“So do you,” he replies. “Sorry I laughed.”
Smiling, James says, “Don’t worry about it, I do look somewhat funny in these clothes. I just hope we’re not the only ones to be wearing something like this.”
“Me too,” admits Miko.
“Shall we go?” he asks Miko.
“May as well get this over with,” he tells him.
Holding the door open for him, he says, “After you, Torchy.”
Miko gives him an annoyed look and says, “Would you stop calling me that?”
“Okay, sorry,” he apologizes, not looking the least bit sorry.
They leave the room and head downstairs to the banquet hall where they find the servants still putting up the last bits of decoration. Banners and flowers are everywhere, giving the room a festive and cheerful feel. Over to one side, a dozen musicians are setting up on a stage where they will be performing during the banquet. James is intrigued by the different instruments they have. Shortly, he begins to hear the beginnings of them tuning their instruments, somewhat reminiscent of his own short stint in the school band. He’d played the trumpet.
They see their hostess, decked out in a flowing lavender dress and marshalling her servants like a general on the eve of battle. She continually barks out orders and her ‘soldiers’ snap to obey. Noticing them there in their new clothes, she gives them a nod of approval before returning to the business of getting the hall ready in time.
Miriam walks in through a door on the other side of the hall. A flowing blue dress with intricate embroidery about the chest and bodice, she makes a striking figure. She motions them to follow her as she makes her way to the main entrance. “My, don’t we look fine,” she says when they join her.
“You too, milady,” Miko says as he gives her a slight bow.
“Don’t ‘milady’ me,” she says, flashing him a smile. “This isn’t going to start for a while, why don’t we go outside for a bit? There’s someone that I’d like you to meet, James.”
“Oh?” he asks, intrigued.
“She’s a friend of mine and I’ve been telling her all about your exploits, the ones Jiron has been nice enough to share with me,” she tells him.
Tongue suddenly going dry, his stomach makes with the butterflies as he follows her in trepidation down the hallway to the door leading outside. Meeting new people, especially of the female persuasion, has never been easy for him.
When he passes through the door to the outside, he sees a girl standing off by herself under a nearby tree, watching them as they approach. She’s a year or two younger than he is and very lovely. Brown hair flowing past her shoulders and wearing a beautiful dress of blue with a stylish design stitched about the hem.
As they approach, Miriam whispers to him, “She’s the daughter of one of the shippers on the island, a family of high standing.” When they come close, she makes the introductions. “James,” she says, “this is Meliana. Meliana, this is James, and Miko.”
She gives him a curtsy and says, “Nice to meet you.”
When he stands there tongue-tied for a moment, Miko elbows him in the ribs which snaps him out of it. “Uh,” he says, his voice barely audible due to the dryness of his throat. He swallows and then says, “Pleasure to meet you too, Meliana.”
“Miriam has told me so much about you,” she tells him as she takes his arm. They begin to walk leisurely around the grounds as she continues talking, “You must be very brave.”
“Well…” he starts but then has to clear his throat to try to keep his voice clear. “Well, I suppose