Iohn chuckled as he cupped her hand with his. “I don't think you could force me to do anything against my will.” He admitted.

Ariel blushed a deeper red as rushing blood flamed her cheeks. “I......think.....that the venison is ready. Would you care to cut some?” She inquired, “Then we can share your bread and cheese.”

“It would be my pleasure.” Iohn murmured as he let go of her hand and moved to one knee and pulled his dagger from his belt. “Haunch, belly, or rib?:” He inquired with a bit of gallantry.

After gathering her wits, Ariel leaned toward him. “Haunch, if you please, kind sir.” This time the blush moved up towards the tips of her ears. Why am I acting like such a chid? He's just another Rugadh de lasair, and a young one at that.

With a kind smile, Iohn cut off a piece of the haunch for her and a small piece of the rib-meat for himself. He offered the haunch to her, along with a slice of bread and cheese. “Your haunch, beautiful lady.”

Ariel covered her mouth with her hand and gasped softly. Me, beautiful? Nobody has ever called me that before. She had never thought of herself as beautiful. In her minds eye, she was plain, her skin too brown from being in the sun, her hair too wild, and her clothes. For the first time in a long, she felt self-conscious. He's not like most Rugadh de lasair, he actually means what he says. She accepted the meat, bread, and cheese and took a speculative look at him. In a way, he's surprisingly honest. “Thank you, I-yohn,” she murmured huskily. What am I thinking? She wondered. He's so young. She thought to herself as she ducked her head.

Iohn noticed the blushes and covertly watched her. She's not used to so much attention. It's making her uncomfortable, but not too much. She noticed the covert glance and ducked her head a little further, causing her hair to flow down over her shoulder, hiding her face from Iohn's gaze. Iohn looked up, his gaze falling on the clouds. Father Creator, what do you have in mind? However, there was no answer from the skies.

“This is tasty. I guess I'm lucky that you are such an accomplished hunter.” Iohn said, trying to break resume the flow of conversation. “Otherwise we'd be eating nothing but bread and cheese.”

The Daoine a bhios a 'siubhal nodded slightly, still lost in her thoughts. “It was nothing really.”

Iohn thought he could see a faint blush on her fingertips as she took a dainty bite of the bread. *Well, that didn't work. In fact, it made her more uncomfortable. *

They spent the rest of the meal eating in silence, each lost in their own thoughts, occassionally glancing up at each other, before returning to their meal.

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Prologue
Chapter One