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The next morning Gwaynn ran stronger and faster than ever before, beating B’dall by a full fifty paces, but he still was not even within sight of Vio’s finish, which was his goal. Krys finished just ahead of him and was now stripping to take a plunge in the water. Vio, hair still wet, was waited for him, standing in the wet sand at the edge of the surf.
“Excellent,” she said with a large smile on her face. “You are getting closer and closer to me,” adding as she walked with him while he cooled down. They turned around in time to see B’dall finish. The scowl on his face foretold his mood, but he said nothing as he passed them.
“Do not mind him,” she said just above a whisper. “It took him nearly a week to get over the fact of losing to me when I first bested him. He doesn’t take it very kindly. It makes him a good fighter but less of a Noble person. He cares little for Philosophy,” she added then shrugged. “His loss, his struggle.”
“I’d give him a wide berth,” Krys said, clamoring out of the surf and aware that they were gazing in B’dall’s direction. “He was the same way when I first beat him. He lost the race but he took it out on me for weeks with the katas and the staff. He’s tough and likes to try to intimidate.”
Gwaynn watched B’dall as he trudged up the sandy slope toward the Mele quarter; his large shoulders hunched a little and both hands clenched in fists.
“I don’t think he ever accepted the idea of my competing in any way with the rest of the students here…even running,” Gwaynn said then began to strip off his sweaty clothes. Vio suddenly turned pink, but said nothing. Gwaynn didn’t notice but Krys did and smiled, then moved up and after B’dall. Nudity, within the family structure was neither flaunted nor shunned, though in public it was naturally tempered. Mele quarter was considered family, so such displays were thought to be reasonable and was common even for those younger, at an age when they developed a natural shyness about their bodies. All of the students cooled down in the sea after the run, though some moved off a distance. Before coming to Noble Island, Gwaynn struggled with his own bashfulness, but after his recent experiences he now gave it little thought.
Vio, on the other hand, was very aware of Gwaynn, and her awareness had been growing stronger the last few weeks. In the past, boys had never interested her, girls either for that matter. She just never paid any of them the slightest attention. She knew others who acted the fool, sometimes for more than one person at a time. Tam, for instance, never seemed to shut up about William, but it didn’t bother Vio, she just didn’t understand it, at least not until a couple of weeks ago.
At first she thought it was the sparring and the fact that Gwaynn was so good at it that kept drawing her mind back to him, but then she had the dream. It was a dream like no other, intensely erotic, just her and him, both nude sitting close and touching, then kissing. She woke, panting hard, the dream still vivid in her mind. Even now, nearly two weeks later when she thought of it she could feel her face flush and her pulse quicken. She watched as Gwaynn swam and waded about in the waves, occasionally giving her brief glimpses of his young body. She knew she should just turn and head up to the quarters, but she found she couldn’t. She wanted to be here to see him, naked or otherwise she didn’t care. She wanted to talk with him and to spar with him. She couldn’t wait for Master Kostek to return.
She lingered on the beach, trying not to seem obvious, urging him with her mind to hurry. He, however, seemed content to take his time. Vio glanced over and spotted Tam and William running in the distance, each pushing the other to greater speeds, though clearly both were near exhaustion. She groaned inwardly. Gwaynn would not be out of the water before they finished. She started to turn and leave, but then stopped again. If she left she would not get to see him again until tomorrow morning. She sat down hard in the sand, suddenly angry, but determined not to leave until she could speak with him. Finally, he swam toward the shore and rode the waves into an easy walk toward the beach. Vio watched him, while trying to appear not to watch. She glanced over as Tam and William finished, William just ahead, both were panting hard and bending at the waist in an attempt to catch their breath. Gwaynn slipped his loose fitting, white cotton trousers back on and was drying his hair with his shirt as he walked toward her.
William and Tam walked by, Tam giving Vio a knowing little smile that only increased her anger.
“I never thought I would enjoy the water again,” Gwaynn said standing over her, his bare chest glistening in the early morning sun.
“Well you took your time,” Vio said, her irritation plain in her tone and smoothly got to her feet.
Gwaynn’s brows furrowed a little, wondering at her anger, but he made no reply as they began to make their way up the sandy hill that led inland toward their quarter.
They walked along the path in silence for a good distance. Vio hoping, praying that he would say something, anything, but he remained silent, which increased her frustration with him.
“I want to spar again,” she finally blurted as they closed on the out buildings, which surrounded the Leek’s family home. She stopped a bit in front of him and turned to face him, forcing him to stop also or walk directly into her.
Gwaynn gave another half frown. “Master Kostek will return…”
“I want to spar tonight,” she cut him off, repeating her request because she couldn’t get herself to say what she truly wanted to do with him, even to herself. “Come on, haven’t you missed it?” she added trying to act nonchalant.
Gwaynn smiled at that, but was still thrown off by her request. It was not like her to flaunt the rules. “Yes,” Gwaynn answered. “But I sparred a bit with Krys the other night…”
“Krys!” She interrupted, angry once more. “So you will spar with him but not with me now.”
Gwaynn took a step backward as if he was afraid she might attack him, but Vio stepped forward and poked a finger at him.
“Master Kostek would not like to hear of it. He does not want anyone to know about your training, your skills,” she argued her voice rising.
“But…” Gwaynn tried to answer, knowing anyone within fifty paces would now know about his training.
“Fine then, you just spar with Krys,” Vio stammered and spun on her heels and marched away leaving a thoroughly bewildered Gwaynn in her wake.
?
Gwaynn’s encounter with Vio was still on his mind that afternoon as he, Lane and the rest of the family worked in the gardens on the eastern part of the main house. Today they were harvesting carrots, and though Gwaynn and Lane worked quietly, Shari and her girls chatted continuously, subjects seemingly changing with every row they finished. Lane stayed on the far side working with Mari, his youngest, while Shari worked with both Karin and Deirdre, and that left Gwaynn and Mille, which was just what Mille wanted. They were both on their knees digging and pulling at the buried vegetables, and Mille was always very close to Gwaynn. She accidentally brushed up against him several times before Gwaynn became aware of his surroundings. He looked up at the girl, who was near the same age as Vio, though she could not look or be any more different.
Mille was thin and fair with long, white blond hair, a trait that ran through her entire family. All the girls had long blond hair, as did their mother Shari, and even Lane, though his was cropped so short it was hard to tell if his hair was blond, or even there at all. Originally they came from the Kotas, the northern lands that eventually came under the control of the Palmerrio family. Blond hair and blue eyes was a common trait of the people of the north. Mille looked up at Gwaynn and smiled shyly and he noticed for the first time just how wonderful she looked. Indeed, all the Leek women were exceedingly attractive. He heard Deirdre snicker and looked over, both she and Karin were watching him closely and again his forehead furrowed in confusion. Deirdre batted her eyes at him until Shari elbowed her, though she was smiling also. Gwaynn looked back at Mille, who was blushing and he wondered just what was going on.
Mille looked as if she was about to say something but instead turned her face down and began working on the carrots once more. Gwaynn studied her profile, her long hair was pulled back and out of her face, he
