Not-so-secrets

"I hope you are right, my friend." Delilah rested her hand on Carleen's shoulder. Then she got up. "You were never lucky with men. I really want this one to be different", she said as she opened her wardrobe with one of the keys she had on her table. She reached in to open an inner, hidden part, pulling out a bottle.

Serah rolled her eyes, smiling. "Please. She really doesn't strike me as the type to joke about what she says. I've seen her punch a soldier straight on the jaw when he didn't listen to what she said. She had told him, 'Keep being a shithead and I will punch you in the face'. Well, she wasn't joking." She shrugged. "I am ninety-nine percent sure she is very interested."

Carleen sighed. "Yes. But at least Horknath is different," she whispered. "Hold on a second, are you going to pick some up from your personal stock?"

"... Hey. Thanks for the tip," Yvan said, smiling to himself. Somewhat, that piece of news made him really, really happy. And a tad bit shy.

Delilah arched a brow. "Sure. I don't have any on the side for now. We will split my personal part. I'll use my free time to go to town today, and get more." She gave Carleen two bottles. "This is all I can give you for now."

Serah grinned at him. "Heh. That's ok. I mean, you've been taking in all of my frustrations lately. That's the least a friend can do, to set you up with a pretty girl~", she bumped him playfully

"That's more than enough," Carleen sighed as she hid the bottles under her clothes. "Thank you, Delilah. Really."

Yvan held back another smile. "Now come on, you're not exactly setting me up with Delilah. As far as I know, I'm doing most of the work!"

Delilah smiled at her. "It's no problem, Carleen. You know you are my friend. I do this just to see you happy."

Serah snorted. "Yeah, sure. By not even noticing she's all over you, right?", she poked his arm, laughing. Aah, it felt good to actually forget her own troubles for a while!

Carleen hugged Delilah briefly, still beaming. "You won't have to keep it a secret forever, I promise. I... Just need to wait for a right time to tell it to my father."

"Well at least I had somewhat a clue. Unlike Valdyr," Yvan teased her back. "Honestly, you should just kiss him out of the blue. That'll get his brain into motion."

Delilah smiled a bit hesitantly. "Yeah. I'd wait too. I don't know how much Lord Sakrish is ready to know his only daughter isn't as pure and untouched as he thinks. ... maybe it is better he never knows. You can say you fell in love while sparring or something", she added quickly.

Serah sighed deeply. "I don't know", she said honestly. "I mean, what if he actually understood and he is just ignoring me? Maybe he just doesn't like me in that way. At this point, not even showing him my boobs would help." She wasn't all that convinced.

"Well, we do spar regularly. Maybe he'll buy that," Carleen said, chuckling kindly. "Alright then. Thank you again. And good luck with Yvan," she said to her, winking.

Yvan rolled his eyes. Then looked at Serah. "Do you know what he's been up to these past few days? I mean. Craftwise."

Delilah laughed along with her. Then her face flushed, as she took a stern expression. "I don't know what you are talking about", she said.

Serah tilted her head. "Mmh not really. I know he is building stuff, but I never got to see what. I know Lord Sakrish is inyerested in it though."

Carleen laughed kindly again. "Oooh you /do/ know what I'm talking about. You've spent much time at his side, at least since he's been able to walk around a little," she teased her.

"You should try to enter his office. Ask him what he's working on at the moment," Yvan told her with a smile. "You'll like it."

Delilah flushed harder. And pouted harder too. She crossed her arms on her chest, all huffy. "... well, he's cute, alright", she mumbled, avoiding to look at Carleen.

Serah scratched her head, perplexed. "... well, alright then, I will. All to sate my terrible curiosity", she added with a smile.

Carleen chuckled. "He's cute, yes. And you two would probably look cute together," she said, still smiling. "But I'm surprised. I thought warriors were more your type, weren't they?"

Yvan smiled to her. "Alright. Now what do we buy in town to pretend we didn't just go there to talk?"

"You think?", Delilah asked her, a soft smile in her lips. "Well, I don't really have a type, honestly. Warriors were basically all I could allow myself to have. Not much choice", she added, a bit embarrassed. "He is... different."

Serah thought a bit about it. Then she looked at him, her expression dead serious. "Alcohol. Real one tho, the one they have at the palace is too mild!"

Carleen smiled kindly. "Do you want some time off with him tonight? You two could go into town, now that he can walk a bit."

Yvan laughed, and took her to find a place where to buy alcohol. "So what, you want to drown your tears in it or get Valdyr drunk enough to drag him to your room?"

Delilah sighed happily. "That would be so nice... and well, I have to go into town anyway. You know, to buy that brew that keeps you and your... prince Charming from getting into big, big pre-matrimonial troubles", she laughed.

Serah pouted. "... honestly, at this point both sound good", she grumbled then. She entered a shop and bought three, no, four bottles of the strongest liquor they had. The shopkeeper seemed pretty worried, honestly. But hey, she could pay for it.

Carleen blushed, but stuck her tongue at Delilah. "Thanks. I'll try to spare it a bit from now on," she then said, a bit embarrassed.

Yvan laughed as they exited the shop. "Geesh, you sure are something. That man thought you were going to drink them all tonight in one go!"

Delilah laughed. "You are so taken by him", she observed with a smile. "It's... nice, to see you this happy. Hide those bottles well", she warned her.

Serah laughed with Yvan. Then looked at him. "I know my limits. I am desperate, that's true, but I don't want to get into a comatose state forever, please", she says as she walked with him, the bottles safe in her bag.

Carleen stuck her tongue at Delilah again, then winked. "Sure will. I'll see you later, Delilah," she told her, as she headed out, to go hide her bottles.

"I thought you held your alcohol pretty well? I mean, compared to me," Yvan said with a chuckle.

Delilah chuckled, shaking her head. Lady Carleen was really something else. Then she picked up her sword and headed out, to take a stroll in the gardens by herself.

"Oh, I do. But getting a bit tipsy is nice, once in a while", Serah hummed, winking at him. "But enough talking about my disastrously absent love life. What will you do about your Juliet, huh?", she teased him.

"I think I'm going to confront her about our mutual feelings tonight, and might get lucky," Yvan replied with a grin. How about we jump to a bit later, when they have come back?

Sure! Serah had indeed gotten a tiny bit tipsy before going to meet Valdyr in his study. Alcohol gave her more courage, and did a lot for her otherwise gloomish mood. She knocked on the door.
Delilah was making her usual roundabouts in the palace, to instruct servants on where they were needed and to make sure everything was ok.

"Do come in," Valdyr said. He was focused on his work, and looked a bit funny with the one goggle he wore to work on his clock. He was almost done by the way, merely adjusting the gears on a fine piece of craft.

"Hey. Would you mind a walk when you're done working?" Yvan told her, as he joined up with her.

Serah came right in, closing the door behind her shoulders. "Don't mind if I do~", she said merrily, before walking nearer to him. She peeked behind him. "Hey", she greeted him then, with a smile. "I was wondering what were you doing, stuck in this office all day!"

Delilah instantly threw him a smile. "Hey, hi", she greeted him. "Why not. Someone has to keep you from falling somewhere and breaking your other leg", she kindly joked. Ok, that one was getting kind of old already, but it was still funny.

"Oh, Serah," Valdyr said, holding back a smile. "Well. As you see, I'm crafting a clock. "He said nonchalently, with a smile. He had probably droped at some point the information that he loved clockworks.

"Oh I did fall already since that time, and I haven't been quite as hurt, so I think I'm okay now," Yvan replied with a smile.

Serah got closer to the table, to better look at Valdyr's work. She gaped at it, speechless for a second. "... well, what to say. That's what I'd call a piece of art", she observed, examining carefully the details and the gears he had been working on.

Delilah chuckled. "Good then. Just remember to get your rest. You shouldn't walk too much yet", she lightly reproached him with a smile.