Luna left to go home a few days after she received the telegram. She wanted to make herself presentable and even hired out of guild medical help. She knew that showing up looking hurt would hinder her efforts of coming back to the guild.While Luna was at home, Tyr and Macha had extra work to do. They had to work into the late evenings to catch up. Luna handled most of the business side for the guild, so Tyr had to read all the paperwork now. It was easy, but the number of papers he had to read was substantial.
One night, a noise woke Tyr up. He opened his door without a sound and made his way to the living room. The lights were on and Macha moved the furniture about. Tyr hid in the shadows of the hallway to watch.
Macha took off her silk robe and tossed it on the table. Under it, she had on a low v-neck chemise. It was made of silk and had velvet ribbons on it. He had never seen this top before and figured she bought for herself. Tyr"s heart raced. The dress looked too mature, and he was not used to seeing her like that.
Macha picked up two daggers and practiced a stance. She had her eyes closed as she tried to remember how her body was supposed to be positioned. Tyr could see a few flaws in her movements so he silently walked behind her and wrapped his hands around her small body. He pushed her waist lower to the floor and whispered in her ear, "Lower. You need to bend your knees more or you"ll lose your balance," his voice came out softer and deeper than he expected.
Macha"s eyes flew open, and she stared at Tyr. His warm hands around her waist caused her heart to race. His hands were large compared to her small frame, so they wrapped around her with ease. When she looked into his eyes her breath caught in her throat. She grabbed her robe off the table and put it back on. While tying it she looked flushed, "Did I wake you?" She did not expect Tyr to be in the room and his touch made her feel warm.
"Yeah. What are you doing?" Tyr"s pupils dilated. His voice was rougher than usual.
Macha fiddled with her robe, "I wanted to train a bit. I have been practicing at night after you go to sleep. Sorry for waking you up." Her face was flushed, and she tucked a stray hair behind her ear.
Tyr remembered that he promised to be her instructor. The image of her in the chemise flashed in his mind again. "It was my fault. We"ll start training before dinner every night. It slipped my mind with everything that"s been going on." He turned around and went to his room. Tyr closed the door and washed his face with cold water.
Macha rearranged the furniture and turned off the lights. She got back into bed but had a hard time falling asleep. She still remembered the warmth of Tyr"s hands on her waist.
****
Luna sent Tyr a letter a few weeks after she left. Tyr read Luna"s note with no emotion on his face. He put it back in the envelope and flicked it into the fire. Macha watched him and waited with antic.i.p.ation for news concerning Luna. He stayed silent and watched the flames lick the envelope.
Macha couldn"t contain her curiosity any longer. "So? What is going on with Luna?" she asked as she made her way to his desk.
After Tyr had seen her in the chemise weeks ago, he bought her more clothes. He didn"t want her distracting his clients in the office. Today Macha wore a knitted turtle-neck top that had frills around the front. Her brown skirt flared out from the petticoat underneath. Initially, Macha refused the autumn wardrobe, but Tyr had insisted that it was appropriate office attire.
Tyr didn"t look at Macha and said, "I have to go home. Luna is allowed to come back, but only after my parents 1,000-year anniversary party. Part of the deal is that I go to meet and greet prospective wives while behaving myself at the party." Tyr felt apprehensive confessing the last part to Macha. He gave a sideways glance to a.s.sess her reaction.
"Oh. That"s great! Luna can come back soon then!" Macha clapped her hands with joy. The workload and training were draining her. She also missed having a female companion to chat with. As wonderful as Tyr was, she wanted Luna to convince Tyr that children"s clothes were not suitable for office attire.
Tyr didn"t like Macha"s reaction. He turned his head to her in order to explain, "It isn"t that great. You don"t know how boring these parties are. All people do is gossip and talk in circles." He hated meeting women. They always complimented him and said what they thought he wanted to hear.
Macha hopped up on the edge of his desk. She picked up a paperweight and tossed it in her hands. "I"m sure it isn"t that bad. You tend to over-exaggerate how negative social gatherings are. Just do things you enjoy while at the party." She was aware that Tyr could be charming if he wanted to, so she was not worried about Luna coming back.
Tyr took the paperweight from Macha"s hands. He grinned, "Fine, you come with me then. We have to continue your training, anyway. You"ll see what I mean." He put the weight down on his desk as if he was a judge that a delivered a sentence. He thought about how if he had to suffer, he would bring Macha along as well.