Hao was already awake and dressed when Gregory woke the next morning. Gregory yawned and stretched, “Morning, sir.”
“Morning, Gregory. Did you sleep well?”
“I don’t recall any dreams and I feel better, so, yes.”
“Good. You should work on your card playing. I’ve heard magi tend to favor it over other games of chance. You should also spend some time on bones, if you are to command troops. It would be a good idea to have something in common with them.”
“Yes, sir. I didn’t expect to play cards with you and Lin last night after dinner.”
“It is easier to pass the time and glean information from someone if they are focused on other things,” Hao chuckled. “It seems my daughter chose well. Any lingering doubts have been put to rest now.”
“I’m glad that your doubts are fading… Father,” Gregory said with a smirk.
“Not yet, but in six months, that will be accurate,” Hao nodded as he capped the ink he had been using. “You can work on this,” he handed over a Magi Square. “I just finished mine,” he added, putting a parchment away.
“Thank you. I’d like to go check on Yuki before I do anything else, sir.” Gregory said, getting out of bed and putting his clothes on.
“I’ll go see if they’re awake,” Hao said.
Hao returned as Gregory finished putting his boots on. “She’s awake and asking for you.”
Gregory followed him to the next room, where Yoo-jin and Yukiko were sitting and sipping tea. “Morning, Yuki.”
“Greg, will you help remove the bandage?” Yukiko asked with a hesitant smile.
“Of course,” Gregory knelt beside her. “I’ll go slowly. Let me know if I need to stop.”
Yukiko nodded, her hands clenched on her knees. “I will.”
His hands trembled slightly as he found the edge of the bandage and began to gently and slowly peel it away from her forehead. The sound of breathing was the only sound in the room.
Gregory was glad to see unblemished skin as he worked. He went even slower as he pulled it away from her eye. A pad of clean cloth remained covering her eye as the bandage was removed. “Can you hold that while I finish the bandage?”
Yukiko reached up and lightly touched the cloth, clearly afraid of moving it.
When he was finished pulling the bandage away, the skin revealed was unmarred and healthy. “Done, Yuki. It’s time.”
Yukiko’s hand trembled as she took the edge of the cloth in her fingers. With a shaky breath, she pulled the cloth away from her eye. A clear film coated her eyelid, still sealing the eye closed.
“Water, please,” Gregory asked. “I’ll clean it, Yuki. Just try to relax. They said everything would be fine.”
“I’m trying, dear one,” Yukiko whispered. “But if it isn’t—”
“Then we’ll find a way to fix it or we’ll work around it. We’ll be together the whole time,” Gregory told her gently. Hao handed him a basin with a cloth in it.
“I’ll believe in you,” Yukiko said as her hands stilled.
Gregory swallowed hard, feeling the weight of her trust. Taking a deep breath, he wrung out the cloth. With infinite care, he began to clean the ointment from her eye. It melted away with hardly any effort.
“Okay, Yuki.”
Her eye opened and she inhaled sharply. “I can see, but everything is a little blurry in that eye.” She blinked rapidly and shook her head, “They did say it would improve. We’ll have to wait and see.”
Gregory’s lips twitched at her inadvertent pun. “Better?”
Yukiko smiled at him, “Yes. Thank you.” Leaning over, she kissed him lightly. “I just wanted you here, in case…”
“It’s done now,” Gregory said, not letting the other option linger. “We have all day before the ceremony and our dinner.”
“Indeed, we do,” Hao said. “You’ll need to change into newer robes for the ceremony and change again into your best outfit for dinner. I sent Lin to speak with Keeper Dia about retrieving some of your clothing. He should be back soon.”
“Thank you, Father,” Yukiko said, still staring at Gregory. “Will you bring me some scissors, please?”
“We’ll get them and give you some time,” Yoo-jin said, rising to her feet. “Come, dear. They normally train for hours. We can let them have some time to meditate and talk. Yu, we’ll be back at high sun.”
“Thank you, Mother.”
Hao looked like he wanted to object, but sighed and let himself be led from the room. Gregory watched them go before looking back at Yukiko, who was still staring at him.
“Yuki?”
She shook her head, placing a finger on his lips, “Wait, please, dear one.”
His brow furrowed, but he kissed her finger and did as she asked. A minute later, there was a knock. Nessa was there with the requested scissors. Yukiko accepted them, thanked the young woman, then handed them to Gregory.
Once Nessa was gone, Yukiko turned her back to Gregory. “Please even my hair for me.”
A little confused, Gregory gave the scissors an experimental snip, feeling them move easily. Looking at Yukiko’s hair, he understood why she asked. More than half of her hair was little more than stubble from the fire. The rest was raggedly uneven.
Gregory took his time, starting with the stubble. Neither spoke as he worked. Time lost meaning for the two of them, both falling into an almost meditative state. The moment he set aside the scissors, Yukiko exhaled.
“Thank you, dear one. I didn’t think you would be that shallow, but I worried that my hair being this short might be a problem,” Yukiko said, not looking at him.
“I didn’t fall in love with your hair,” Gregory said softly, kissing the back of her neck.
Yukiko inhaled sharply, a shiver running down her spine at the kiss. “Dear one, please stop. I want it too much.”
Resting his head against her, he put his arms around her and held her gently. “Sorry, Yuki. I’m not trying to tease you. I just want to kiss you and hold you.”
Leaning back into him, Yukiko sighed, “I understand. I would love for that to be our entire day. The next six months will be difficult.”
“Yes,” Gregory agreed, his voice a little rough. “We’ll manage, though, because we both want the same thing. To make your parents proud and to do the right thing.”
“And your aether promised us dreams, so we can at least experiment there,” Yukiko whispered with a shiver. “I would love that, if you are listening, Gregory’s aether. Please make it happen occasionally, so we can be ready for when we do come together in the flesh. I’ll share him with you. I have a feeling you are responsible for me being able to touch all three paths like him. I don’t believe it’s just because I believe it possible.”
“You think so?” Gregory asked.
“If that was the only thing required, others would have done it before now, Greg. I know we’ve read scrolls where people touch two and then lose connection with one of them, but I don’t believe it’s just a matter of belief. We may be stubborn, but there are magi even more strong-willed, I’m sure.”
“Maybe,” Gregory admitted, considering her statement. “If that’s true, though, what does that mean concerning my aether?”
“We’ll have to ask her when we see her next. You mentioned speaking to her every time you grow in power. Just do your best to ask her when that happens again.”
“Need to ask her for a name, too,” Gregory admitted with chagrin.
“Yes,” Yukiko agreed with humor. “Never asking her name is terrible, dear one.”
Gregory sighed, “Yeah. I’ll ask.”
“Mother gave us time to train,” Yukiko sighed. “We should do so.”
“Yeah,” Gregory agreed with a sigh of his own, but not letting go of her.
“Let me go, dear one.”
Releasing his grip, Gregory started to move away, but Yukiko spun in place and grabbed his head. The kiss was unexpected and more aggressive than any they had exchanged to that point.
He pulled her closer as he returned the passionate kiss in kind. Yukiko shifted until she was in his lap, the kiss continuing as lips parted. Gregory groaned when she sat on him, his pressing need obvious to them both at that point.
Yukiko pulled back an inch, staring into Gregory’s eyes. “That is how I felt when you kissed my neck.” She shuddered and rested her forehead against his, “And when I kiss you like that, too. I think I’ll feel like this whenever you touch me.”
Gregory took a deep breath, trying to resist the urge to kiss her again. Kiss her, lean her back, and then… Shuddering, Gregory cut off the train of thought. “I’ll do my best to stop teasing you, Yuki. Please, I need you to move.” His hands tightened on her for a moment before loosening, “Or we’ll have some explaining to do to your parents.”
Yukiko giggled softly, “That would be awkward.” With hesitation, she slid from his lap, “If you’ll ask your aether for us…”
“I will, Aether, I will,” Gregory agreed fervently.
“Magi Squares or meditation first?” Yukiko asked as she took a few deep breaths herself.
“Squares. I won’t be able to clear my mind for meditation right now.”
“You’re right… I doubt I’d be able to, either.”
~*~*~
They managed to complete a set of Magi Squares each before meditating for a couple of hours. Yoo-jin’s knock brought them out of their meditation, neither having found the cavern.
“Are you ready for some food?” Yoo-jin asked them.
“That would be good, Mother,” Yukiko smiled. “Thank you for our time to train.”
“I was mildly concerned, but it’s nice to know that you have better restraint than I did at your age,” Yoo-jin replied.
“It was close, Mother,” Yukiko admitted, rising to her feet. “Very close.”
“Close is acceptable, as long as it goes no further,” Yoo-jin smiled. “The private room is waiting. I should warn you— the front room is filled with eurtik. Your victories are being celebrated, more so because you faced the novices most favored by the Eternal Flame.”
“Nick, Jason, and Grandmaster Shun are bound to be pissed,” Gregory said.
“I’m sure they are,” Yoo-jin agreed. “Be prepared to deal with them after today.”
“We will,” they said in unison.
“Come now, you won’t have to deal with the crowd unless you want to. The stairs exit into the hallway near the dining room. Your clothes are here as well; we have them in the other room currently.”
“We both need to train the physical path still,” Yukiko said. “After we eat, we’ll use the yard for an hour before we change.”
“I’ll make sure the guards are posted to keep you free,” Yoo-jin nodded.
