It had begun as a day full of such promise. A snatched meeting, a kiss stolen under the gaze of the rising sun. She had never felt so beautiful as on that quiet morning, when Aranto had laughed at the flowers woven into her hair, and then claimed one for himself, pinned inside his tunic. He had grumbled again about their secrecy, and they had finally accepted the inevitable: he would tell his friends, his brothers, after the feast, and then they would go to Maltariel's parents and tell them. It was a bargain sealed with one last kiss before they went their separate ways, and it had left her with a feeling of suppressed joy that she could still recall, all these years later. Until then, what had been slowly blooming between her and the archer had felt fragile, uncertain. She knew his reputation - everyone knew that he would never settle down – never look at one girl longer than another. With this beautiful moment, somehow everything had begun to change.
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“She's doing it again. I don't know why you think we wouldn't notice, Maltariel – all this dreamy-eyed staring into the distance is hardly subtle.” Maltariel looked up, startled, to see her friends nudging one another and giggling at her. Alassien smiled teasingly at her, before she went on, “Now really, all we have left to do is find out who it is that's making you so swoony.”
Maltariel pulled a face, quickly opening her mouth to deflect her friend, but Alassien laughed and cut her off, declaring, “We must, we must! You cannot keep secrets from us! Now, let's see...”
They were sat at the foot of the table for their House, at the feast, surrounded by friends and comrades. Their table was the only one with such noticeable gaps further up the benches – their lord would never forget his duties, even on the day of a festival, and some of his company were held in reserve at the last gate of the city, even now. Maltariel was relieved to see that her parents were still among those away from the table – she had already begun to feel guilty about hiding Aranto from them for so long. All of those gathered at that end of the table were the youngest members of the House, some of whom, like Maltariel, had already sworn themselves to train as members of the defensive guards, while others were still considering other paths. Today they all shone in their youthful finery. Laughter and music rang through the air, and all of them wore garlands or wreaths of bright flowers. Among them, Maltariel sat crowned with a newly acquired wreath of white blossoms, her golden hair spread loose across her shoulders, her cheeks still pink with the blush Alassien had aroused. They were young, and beautiful, and happy, and none of them could conceive of anything better.
“Is it one of us? But surely we'd know... none of our House could be such a knave as to hide such good news...” Alassien continued, looking from face to face intently.
Sitting opposite her, beside Maltariel, Belfaer pulled a sour face and remarked, “None of us! We're not good enough for Maltariel, it seems!” Maltariel laughed, reaching out to push him gently, at which he slipped from his place on the bench entirely and threw himself to his knees before her, playing the part of a begging, scorned lover. Maltariel turned her face away, feigning disinterest, and to much good-natured teasing Belfaer took up his seat again, joining in with Alassien's interrogation.
“I know which House we have to blame, at least!” He exclaimed, throwing one arm around Maltariel's shoulders so that they sat leaning together companionably. “Orien saw you lingering with one of those Swallows the other evening...” There was a loud burst of excitement at this news, and Maltariel hid her face in her hands, realising that she had been caught out. Some of those seated higher at the table even turned to look at the excitable group at the end, smiling fondly as they gestured reproachfully for a more respectable manner at the meal.
“A Swallow!” Alassien exclaimed, smiling approvingly at Belfaer's information. “Well well. Do your parents know? How shocking... their own daughter, fraternising with an archer of all things.” Maltariel made as if to interrupt again, but Alassien spoke over her, refusing to be sidetracked. “Well... who could it be? That Veon, maybe?”
Maltariel shook her head, laughing, and someone else interjected “No, he's married! He has a daughter!”
Alassien nodded, remembering. “Oh yes, of course. Well... what about Thandir?” Maltariel shook her head again, and Belfaer answered for her, “He's about to be married... they are a constant lot over there. What about that friend of Veon's, what's his name...”
“Aranto?” Alassien asked, shaking her head. “Couldn't be. You know what he's like.”
Maltariel blushed harder, as Belfaer remarked, “No, I was thinking of the other one, Belegos. He’d be a likely sort for a clandestine affair, always lurking about - ”
But Alassien had seen Maltariel's blush, and was already gasping, “No! Aranto! Really? How?” Amid the clamour of voices, Maltariel finally surrendered, commenting, “Well, it seems it is a good thing we'd decided not to keep it a secret any longer!” Alassien was shaking her head in admiration, several of the girls in their group following suit. “Well, well. If Maltariel has managed to secure the famous Aranto, perhaps there's hope for some of the rest of us yet!” Maltariel was laughing too hard to respond, but she took up some of the flowers scattered on the table and threw them in Alassien's direction, to general amusement.
“Hope for some of you, perhaps,” Belfaer commented, grabbing Maltariel's wrists as if to restrain her, and feigning a gloomy expression. “How can any of us compete with that?” Everyone laughed again, and Maltariel was suddenly glad that they had found out. It felt wonderful, to be laughing with her friends, having them share her joy and excitement, on this festival day. It was almost like the beginning of a new part of her life – with her friends around her, her commitment to the House and its duties affirmed, and Aranto, ready to take his place by her side. She felt as though no one could ever have been so happy – nothing could dismay her now.
