Macha's Journey

The workday was almost done and Macha glanced at Tyr. He sat at his desk signing a form. He rested his head on his hand. Macha noticed how he tapped the beauty mark below his eye when he was bored.

Tyr was aware of Macha peering at him. He continually admired her in his peripheral vision and was curious about what she wanted to say. He thought about asking but knew Macha would say something soon. As if on queue, Macha got up and made her way to his desk.

Macha smiled sweetly, "Tyr, could I get off early today? I want to run an errand in town." She had her arms behind her back and swung her shoulders from side to side.

Tyr admired how her b.r.e.a.s.t.s pushed out when she had her hands behind her. He looked up and narrowed his eyes. Macha wore a velvet wine-colored dress that had gold thread embroidered into little stars throughout the fabric. It would look innocent if the neckline had not been cut so low and the swell of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s did not press against the fabric. He liked that the stars seemed to twinkle as the light reflected off them with her movements. "Let me finish reading this first."

Macha"s eyes widened. She knew Tyr meant to go with her, but if he came with her, she could not get his gift. "I can go by myself," she insisted.

Macha rarely acted this way, so Tyr surmised something was going on. He would not let her go into town alone, especially after the incident with Ivan the day before. "I have an errand to attend to as well. We can go together," He said firmly. Tyr decided he would pick up a special wine for Boreas"s Day and order some flowers to be delivered.

Macha made a small pout but said nothing. If she refused, she thought it would be too suspicious.

****

Macha and Tyr confirmed they would meet in front of the chocolate shop and went their separate ways. Tyr followed Macha from a distance and saw her go into the jewelry store he visited the day before. He knew they had good security, so he did not worry about her safety. Tyr turned to continue his errands.

Macha entered the jewelry store, and the employees greeted her warmly. At the counter stood a lamia, who had beautiful metallic green scales. "Good afternoon. How can I help you?" the woman asked with a smile.

"I would like to get a charm made. I need it in time for Boreas"s Day, is that possible?" Macha hoped she was not too late for the piece she had in mind to be crafted. If she had to she would be willing to pay a rush fee.

The woman offered Macha a seat and rea.s.sured her they would be able to produce her piece in time. Many last-minute customers came in every year, so the shop took precautions for situations like this.

Macha spent an hour in the store. She explained that she wanted a small wyvern cham made. Macha wanted it so Tyr could use it as a light pull on his desk lamp.

"We can do that, but are you sure you don"t want something more romantic? Many people are ordering matching rings or necklaces right now." This was one of the few gifts in recent orders that seemed like it could be for a father or a friend.

Macha just smiled. "No, I want to get this for him. We don"t need matching rings." In her mind, Macha laughed at the idea of matching rings. That gift would embarra.s.s her if Tyr did not have feelings for her. She felt the lamp pull was a safe gift that would not seem odd, no matter what their relationship was.

After Macha paid for her order, she made her way to the chocolate store. She ordered the special box of chocolate the day before, so she came in to pick it up today. Many people were there picking up their special orders, and the crowd elbowed her in the face a few times. She was growing annoyed when a hand touched the small of her back. Macha whipped her head around. The shop was crowded, and she worried someone was beginning to molest her. She looked up and saw Tyr move to block her face from the other patrons.

Tyr pushed a man away from Macha, who almost elbowed her a second time. He narrowed his eyes and eyed the man. Tyr changed the look on his face when he turned back to Macha, "Pa.s.s me the order ticket. I"ll pick it up. Just wait outside." Macha told him about the chocolates yesterday, so he knew she was picking it up today. She handed him the small jade disk that had a number on it and left to wait outside.

While Tyr picked up the special Boreas"s Day chocolates, he put in an order to be delivered to their apartment. He had them make a box that contained two of everything, so they could sample the whole store together. Tyr recognized this as a selfish gift, but he still liked it and thought it would be fun to experience with Macha.

Macha played with the snow that gathered on the sidewalk. She used the tip of her boots to create a heart. She mulled over Luna"s words of encouragement and how Tyr acted towards her. Macha gave a small sigh.

Tyr saw Macha trace a heart into the snow. "Got it. Did you miss me?" Tyr joked as he took Macha"s hand. Macha looked a little glum, so he wanted to cheer her up. He tucked her hand into his arm and walked down the street. It worried Tyr that she had that look on her face while drawing a heart.

"Macha!" someone called as they were walking along the snowy cobblestones.

Macha turned to look behind her, her hand letting go of Tyr"s arm. She spotted Freyr jogging up to her, his bodyguards ran to catch up. He had a smile on his face and small white clouds puffed out from his mouth from the cold.

"Freyr, how have you been?" Macha smiled at seeing her friend. She thought it was always nice meeting people in town that she knew. These chance meetings made her feel like Ma.r.s.eille was turning into a home for her.

Freyr smiled lovingly, "I"ve been good, but I miss seeing you. Are you free on Boreas"s Day? I meant to stop by yesterday to ask, but I had to do an emergency meeting." He moved in to give Macha a hug and kissed her hand. Freyr had been busy preparing for his upcoming trip. The tensions were high between Ma.r.s.eille and Phocée, so he needed to make sure he thought of different offers and counter offers he could make at their negotiations.

Tyr noted that his cousin ignored him. "Nice to see you Freyr. Macha and I were headed home," he phrased his sentence with care. He wanted to remind Freyr that he lived with Macha.

Macha accepted the hug from Freyr. Now that Luna explained the holiday to her, she understood what Freyr implied when he asked if she was free. "Sorry, Tyr asked to spend the day with me," Macha felt bad for Freyr, but she already told him she did not want to date a flirt.

Freyr looked disappointed. He glanced at Tyr before looking back at Macha. "It"s all right. I can wait." He knew he was losing to his cousin, but he still wanted to remind Macha that he was interested in her. Freyr would not make a scene or force her to be his, because he wanted her to come to him on her own. He wanted to share a mutual love with her, not possess her.

Freyr brought out a box from a bag he carried and handed it to Macha. "It is not much but thought of you when I saw it. I wanted to give it to you on Boreas"s Day but since you are busy I would like to give it to you now." The look of surprise Macha gave was enough to make him happy.

Macha did not expect Freyr to get her anything. She did not have a present for him and worried that it would hurt his feelings. "Freyr, I have nothing for you. Are you sure you want to give me a gift?"

Freyr nodded and closed her hand around the box. "Your smile just now was enough. I did not get it for you because I expected anything in return." Freyr understood Macha did not love him, for now, but he would not give up. "Open it."

Tyr frowned and crossed his arms. He understood it was just a gift, but it still annoyed him that Freyr would do this in front of him.

Macha carefully untied the ribbon and opened the box. Inside the box, he packed two leather-bound books, one red and one blue. Macha talked with Freyr about many books, so she was excited to receive these from him.

"The poem I recited to you the day I met you came from this book. I remembered you told me about a love story from your world. I thought the other book had a lot of similarities in it, so I got it for you to read." Freyr hoped Macha liked the books he chose. He enjoyed both and wanted to share them with her.

Macha blushed. Freyr"s gift warmed her heart. "I can"t believe you remembered that conversation. Thank you! I can"t wait to read them. Your gift was so thoughtful." Macha smiled and turned the books over in her hand. The poetry book had a red ribbon between the pages and she turned to the page. The ribbon marked the poem he had recited to her.

Tyr looked over at the books that Macha held. Tyr enjoyed reading from time to time, but he knew Freyr was an avid reader and patron of the arts. The gift was fitting, and he had to hand it to his cousin, it was thoughtful. Macha"s reaction to the surprise gave him hope that she would like his gift as well.

The people in the street stood to observe their king give Macha a gift. They remembered the tournament and recognized her immediately. Freyr noticed that a crowd began to form. "I have to get going. See you soon." He kissed Macha"s hand and nodded to Tyr before leaving.