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Chapter 9. The Cape |
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n hour later found Lemony emerging from the tent she shared with Mog after an hour of soothing meditation and prayer. Breakfast was being put away as she trotted toward the communal kitchen. She must have looked pathetic, for one of the cooks took pity on her and gave her a slice of cold toast and a boiled egg which she ate on her way to the sigil pad in the garden. A jolt of glee tickled through her as she realized today the capes she had ordered for Mog, Pendaran and Mabane would finally be ready. In a hurry to see her dearest friends wearing the colors of her guild, she picked up her pace and was soon trotting over the mossy cobbles of Lion's Arch toward the emblemer's shop. The nice gentleman was busy with an argumentative group of warriors and had time only to slide the neatly wrapped bundle into her hands. Clutching it under her arm, she galloped back to the town sigil focus and reappeared moments later at the fortress. She searched among the workers moving stone and wood for the tall mesmer, knowing that he donated a little of his time each day to the renovation of the great hall. When she did not find him there, she darted through the courtyard until she came to a secluded corner near the fragrant rosemary hedge. There she found Mog, Pendaran and Mabane engaged in some kind of game involving pebbles and cobbles. She had no idea what it was, but the three of them were variously pacing around the perimeter of some imaginary board while one was trying to strike the base of one of their crude pebble piles from a distance and unbalance it. Mabane apparently won the round because he danced around ecstatically while the two men playfully accused him of cheating. "Hello, Lem," said Pendaran as he tousled Mabane's raven hair when the boy collided with him in an attempt to begin wrestling. Pendaran offered the boy a half embrace and told him to go clean up for the afternoon meal. Mabane sighed but did not disobey. "Oh no, I have something for everyone, including Mab," Lemony announced. "What is it?" Mabane demanded, still excited over his win, "Can I stay and see, Papa?" "Sure," Pendaran said, a smile turning his lips. There was no trace of the morning's beating on him and she assumed he'd kept his appointment with Xiang Yi. Of course, he would not have returned to Teleri fresh from a scuffle with her brother. Lemony pushed the thought from her mind. It would not do to dwell on such things now. She urged them toward the back steps of the great hall that overlooked the garden, perching on one of the steps as her three guild members variously knelt or stood around her. With the parcel on her lap, she tugged at the cord holding the rough brown paper in place until it released. She unrolled the paper, seeing a glimpse of black cloth. Delighted, she reached for the first and unfolded it dramatically, laughing as it unfurled to reveal the silverly open palm that Uriel had chosen as their emblem. A tag of paper was clipped to it with Pendaran's name and he crouched down beside her so she could draw it around his shoulders and clip it over his chest. He looked so handsome that morning, freshly shaven and wearing his finest leathers and silks, his green eyes bright with merriment. "Thank you," he said, rising and letting it flow smoothly down around his back. Lemony felt a tightening of emotion in her throat but she quickly unfurled the next one, identical to the first but slightly smaller. Mabane's name was on that one and the boy instantly knelt down as his father had, hardly able to keep still in his excitement as she fastened it in place. The minute it was attached he leaped to his feet and ran a few paces, delighting in how it fluttered behind him. Mog and Pendaran chuckled good naturedly as she looked for Mog's cape, horrified to find his name clipped to the tiniest guild cape she had ever seen. "Oh no," she gasped, holding it at arm's length in horror. Mog gazed upon it with a mixture of curiousity and shock. Then he and Pendaran began to laugh uncontrollably. "A guild kerchief, perhaps." "No t'is a scarf." "A new kind of mask." "For yer ugly mug, perhaps. T'were too small for me face." "A posey pouch." "Nay, t'would need t'be much bigger." At which point the men were laughing so hard they could no longer speak. Lemony watched them as she burned with embarassment. She had given the emblemer the wrong units of measure, and instead of a larger than usual cape she now had one better suited for litttle Sabina. "I think it would make a fine bib," Lemony murmured, waiting for Mog and Pendaran to get over their little joke. Pendaran made a bold attempt to keep a straight face as she handed it toward him, "For Sabina, with complements from the guild." "Not a word, Mog," Pendaran snapped as the big mesmer opened his mouth to crack a joke. The two of them snorted and Lemony glared at them. "Honestly, you're like a pair of recalcitrant children," Lemony huffed, rising. Her disappointment, of course, was with her foolish mistake. Could the emblemer have at least have asked her if she wanted a cape fit for a pet monkey before he had charged her one hundred coins? She rose from the step with a sigh and strode past them. Then a wry smile dimpled her features when she thought of the two men joking around. There was hope for Pendaran's healing if he could still laugh. |
