Doves and Peacocks

Readying her window grille for flight at her landing deck, Evona was momentarily distracted by the sound of beating wings, ascending from just beyond the neighbouring house.

Evona, thirty and a homekeeper, was the sort person who kept up to date with her neighbours’ affairs with more fervency than she did her own. The Calied household, of course, gave her much to work with. The two-person engineering partnership was perhaps the oddest family she had ever seen, without even taking into consideration their habit of getting entangled in very high-profile business.

Knowing their identities, she also knew what the cause of the racket might be. The last couple of times she had been content with watching the white equine descend from the air until it was obscured by Titanio Calied’s house. Today, however, she had an errand to run with the farmer below, and she decided she might make a little detour.

Making off with a push, she manoeuvred out of her own home around the back of Titanio’s house so that, peering between the house and the neighbouring shed, she had a good view of the young mechanic’s patio.

The source of the noise was, as guessed, a very large and majestic equine--the same sort that heralded the arrival of nobles at any public function. It stood tall on the wood, fur shimmering in the sun. From atop the grand creature dismounted a young man who wore his blond hair in a very recognizable ponytail. If that did not give his identity away then his attiring--too many layers for this part of autumn, and pressed to perfection--did.

Not that she needed any further indications, beyond the identity of her neighbor. She had had a hunch she would begin seeing Prince Aleigh Luzerno in the neighbourhood.

Evona had only just become aware of the thumping of footsteps when, in that moment, Ruthenia flung herself through the door, pouncing on the Arcane Prince with a hug that first drew an exclamation of surprise, and then a smile. A surprising smile, more eager and genuine than any he’d ever displayed in photographs of him. Murmuring something to her, he cupped her face in his palms and kissed her forehead.

“Adorable,” whispered Evona. Oh, she knew Ruthenia: Ruthenia had always vehemently denounced the very idea of romantic affection, and it had always been Evona’s theory that her young neighbour simply had extremely high standards.

Evona allowed the two a couple of minutes of uninterrupted conversation (and herself a couple of minutes of innocuous voyeurism). As their gestures became increasingly intimate, however, she finally decided it was time for her to make her presence known.

She announced her presence with a powerful shout of “Ruthenia!” grinning as she hovered into sight. Ruthenia leaped out of their embrace in startlement, whirling around to face the newcomer.

Now, Evona respected the diarchy as much as the next Astran, but she didn’t think they were beyond reproach, nor that they deserved the treatment of deities. So she did as she did with all her young neighbours’ partners whenever they showed their faces in the neighbourhood: she looked the boy appraisingly up and down, squinting and stroking her chin in feigned thought.

This allowed her to ascertain two things: that he was the very same person she occasionally saw in the news, and that he was several times prettier in person. “Who might this fetching young man be?” she said at last, smiling up at Ruthenia.

The girl laughed with a little more sheepishness than usual. “Well...this is Aleigh,” she said. “We’re in the same class in school. You...might know him.”

“Yes, I do know him,” Evona barked a laugh, turning to him. “Your Highness, welcome to the neighbourhood.” She dipped her head. “I did not expect to see you here.”

“Thank you; I like your neighbourhood very much.”

“And the women living in it?” Evona ventured.

A somewhat abashed look came over him. “Ruthenia is the very best thing about the place.”

“Of course,” Ruthenia replied, turning to let her chin rest on his shoulder, all embarrassment evaporating. “There aren't a lot of people like me, even here.”

“I know that better than any other,” he answered, tilting his head so it rested against hers.

They exchanged murmurs that Evona could not make out, and only seemed to remember that she was there half a minute later. Every word they exchanged made her smile wider.

“Well, we’ll be going now!” Ruthenia cut in, relinquishing her partner. She tapped his shoulder. “Why don’t you head inside first? Don’t knock the pipes over.” Aleigh offered them both a nod, which she returned with a grin. Then he vanished into Ruthenia’s shed, leaving the girl to turn to her. “What are you doing here?”

She shrugged. “I saw him arrive, so I thought I’d come over to congratulate you.”

“Oh.” Ruthenia laughed heartily. “Congratulate me? There’s nothing to it.”

“Nothing to gaining the affections of a royal like him?”

She rolled her eyes, flushed with what might have been pleasure or pride nevertheless. “He’s still a person, you know. If I’d met him in the New Town we might still have gone the same route.”

Evona chortled. “Well, he seems like a good enough person, title or no.”

“Of course. If he weren't, we’d still be enemies.”

“My, my, that’s a story you’ll have to save for another day,” she said. “I must be on my way to the farmer’s now.”

“Good day to you!”

When Evona returned with a sack of wheat later in the morning, she found Tanio sitting in a chair on his porch, seeming not to be occupied with much other than enjoyment of the sun’s warmth. She called out a greeting, and he waved her over.

“I heard you talking to Ruth earlier,” he said, crossing one leg over the other. “Is he in there?”

She sat up. “He? Oh! Well, I would assume so, he was there half an hour ago.”

With a shake of his head, Tanio smiled. “The things she does when she thinks I’m not looking...if I have to watch them kiss on her patio one more time, Ihir, I might just have to invent a device that will ensure I never have to see them again.”

“I think that already exists, Tanio; it’s called a curtain.”

“Ah, true. I suppose I have only myself to blame. I should look the other way.”

“Aren’t you happy for her?”

“Yes, I’m glad she’s met someone whose love she accepts.” Evona noticed the sorrowful dip of his tone. “I'm pleasantly surprised that he is so modest. Royals aren’t all like that.”

“Modest, is he? He seems reserved for certain, but I cannot tell that he is modest.”

Tanio gazed past her at the shed. “How proud can he be if he visits my assistant in her own shed every week?” he sighed dramatically. “I’m afraid I am a little annoyed. I have tried for years to make Ruth feel comfortable, to no avail, and here he comes, with his title and his pompous equine, and suddenly she says he makes her life more bearable.”

“More bearable! That’s not much of a compliment.”

Tanio laughed, almost bitterly. “Ha! Coming from Ruthenia, it is the highest praise.” He sniffed. “Not that I mean any of that with any seriousness, of course. I know why she’s like this. It’s just been a thorn in my side for a while.”

Evona shook her head. “Let the kids be,” she said. “I’m sure she appreciates it all, she just needs...to learn how to show it.”

He heaved a sigh. “I suppose you’d know better, Evie,” he muttered, closing his eyes once more. “She’s not even a child. Never was, from the day she entered my care.”

Letting a breath out through puckered lips, she nodded. “Well, I’ll leave you to deal with your family matters in peace,” she said with as bright a beam as always. “But I’m glad your...daughter...assistant...is happy.”

“So am I.”