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"Only if you wanted to," I assured him. "Just know that I will never say no."
It was enough to make him smile at me. The four of us were in a good mood, but the grumble of someone's stomach proved that the food options hadn't exactly been filling. I couldn't tell if that had been Wraythe or Talin, though. Still, I asked if anyone was opposed to heading for dinner as soon as we changed, and all three guys immediately agreed that it was a great idea.
We'd just turned onto our hall when I noticed a person standing dejected before a door. It looked like it might even be our rooms. We made it a few doors further down the hall, and the guy turned away, all but shuffling his feet as he gave up. Something about the motion pulled at my memories. I wasn't close enough to make him out, but I recognized those hunched shoulders and the way he moved.
"Anver?" I called out.
His head snapped up and he turned to face us. "Nari?"
"Hey." I walked a little faster, hauling Eladehl with me. "What are you doing here?"
"Where have you been?" he countered.
We reached our door as he asked that, so I tilted my head, making it clear he was welcome to come in. "Lady Ranndor asked if a few of us would go to an event with her. We've been out since just before lunch. Gonna stay for a minute?"
"Um, sure," Anver agreed. "I don't really want to get in your way, though."
"Just need to change," Wraythe assured him. "You eaten yet? Because I'm starving. We can have something brought to the room if you want. No need for Tishlie to even hear about it."
"Fuck Tishlie," Anver said. "I don't care if she knows where I am."
Ela didn't bother asking why. He simply unlocked our room and opened the door. I went in first, knowing that none of these men would accept anything else, but Wraythe steered Anver in right after me. Ela and Talin followed him.
"Ok," I said, "are you trying to pick a fight with her, Anver, or do you need more time? I'm asking because we can have dinner here or in the dining hall. I don't care which, but I'm starving, and I amnotchasing you out." I moved close enough to catch his hand with mine. "I'm honestly glad you came over."
He glanced over and a tentative smile appeared. "I'm pretty sure Tish is busy, but I'm done worrying about her. Go change. All of you. We can eat in the dining hall. Less wait to get you fed." He paused, almost like he was done, and then added, "Besides, it would be nice to have a little backup if she decides to be crazy again."
"Bad?" Wraythe asked.
"Change," Anver told him. "And someone help Nari out of that dress. It doesn't look like the sort of thing she can do on her own."
"On it," Ela said, guiding me toward the bedroom.
Talin and Wraythe followed, but I could hear Anver in the other room. It sounded like he was milling around our kitchen. The four of us didn't waste any time. We didn't need to talk about whether he was welcome or not. That conversation had been had too many times. Instead, we focused on assisting each other. Talin helped Wraythe get his cravat off. Wraythe helped Ela with his coat and hat. Ela helped me with the laces at my back.
Then we all chose the most comfortable and least impressive clothes possible. I ended up with an oversized shirt that fell nearly to my knees. One of Wraythe's old ones, but it was soft and perfect. The hardest part was removing all of the pins and clips keeping my hair in place, but with all three men helping, it went pretty fast. One ponytail later, and we were ready to go.
"Shall we?" I asked, reaching for Anver's arm.
He hesitated only for a split second, and then lifted it against his chest, allowing me to walk with him like we used to. Wraythe got the door, and the herd of us headed out. At Anver's insistence, we used our regular table, pulling up an extra chair so he could sit at the end between me and Talin. Ela was to my right, and Wraythe was beside Talin. We all had heaping plates of food, an entire pot of tea, and no shame about talking while we ate.
"So, how bad has it been over there?" I asked.
"Honestly," Anver said, "it's been quiet. She tried to be her usual self the first day, but I made it clear I was done playing this game, and she's basically ignored me since."
"Good," Talin grumbled. "You deserve so much more than her."
"My bond broke," Anver said, dropping that out there to no one in particular.
But it made all of us look over. "What?" Wraythe asked. "You still have match-marks?"
"They're small," he admitted. "But yeah, they're still there. Haven't faded, and I got the impression Zeal isn't going to remove them yet, so I'm still her guardian - technically."
"But not emotionally," Talin said, sounding like he approved.
"Where is Zeal, anyway?" I asked.
Anver chuckled at that. "Um, he made a comment about how he doesn't want to be in the middle of this decision."
