Ellory

Written by Susie
When Ellory Peake first kissed her hand it was an awkward affair, both young teens not wanting to be there. In truth, Myria wanted nothing more than to pull her hand out of his clammy grip and slap him about the face, but she suppressed the urge and through gritted teeth welcomed him to her namesday feast.

When she was fifteen he kissed her hand once again, his fingers chanced across the calluses on her palm as he pulled her hand close. He had joked, "you should not train so hard with your needle, my Lady." To which she replied, "my needle is far mightier than you might expect, and certainly requires more finesse than you possess."(edited)

At sixteen he kissed it as a gesture of earnest friendship between their Houses, and with gratitude for her aid and counsel. This time Myria did not recoil, there was no cutting barb given, no scowl from either of them. This time Myria smiled. She would not mind if he did it again, she had thought.

Her sister had returned to Fox Hollow, and everything had come crashing back to Myria; all the anger, the hatred, the grief. He had found her hours later, exhausted and eyes reddened from crying. He asked no questions, expected no answers, he simply raised her knuckles to his lips and smiled. And she smiled in return.