June 18th - Mating Event - Afternoon - Picnic with Kane

That afternoon's Mating Event was another picnic. This time it was in the shadow of King's Woods. I once more saw the Lord Alecai and Lady Vivian standing next to each other in a knot of participants. I turned to Kane who was standing beside me.

When I'd gotten back from my tea, I'd found him anxiously waiting in my sitting room. So we'd come together.

"Are they participants now?" I asked pointing to Lord Alecia and Lady Vivian. Kane frowned.

"That is Earl Seixas and Marchioness Demion or rather I will be a Marchioness once she is mated. He is her cousin and guardian and is currently holding onto her estate for her." He said in a tone of confusion. "Don't you remember when they were introduced at the ball?" I frowned.

As a matter of fact, I did remember them being introduced, but that was on Tuesday. I was certain of that. I told Kane this.

He frowned, "You too?"

Prince Pharon began calling out the pairings. I listened and counted the number of partners that Prince Pharon announced.

"And finally, Earl Seixas and Lady Donaci." He said. I stared at my hands in silence for a long moment.

"Is there something wrong with your hands, Kylara?" Kane asked. I looked up at him.

"That was twenty-six pairs of participants." I told him. He looked at me blankly. "That means there are now fifty-two of us." Kane grimaced.

"Now fifty-two?" He repeated. "There has always been that many participants." He put his hand over his face and flinched. I stared at him in shock.

Shaking his head, he straightened, "Are you feeling alright?" He asked, looking pale and worried. He smiled and it didn't reach his eyes.

"Let's just find a spot and sit." I said, taking his hand. I towed him over to a blanket that had been set up in a sunny spot. Sitting, I pulled him down and released his hand. His face was now no longer pale but flushed.

I immediately looked around for Earl Seixas and Lady Vivian. I saw them at a nearby blanket with a dark-haired female who was smiling delightedly and a male participant who looked on the edge of salivating over Lady Vivian.

As if they could sense her gaze both the Earl and Lady Vivian turned their heads and looked at her. The Earl said something to the Marchioness, who laughed. Then he smiled rakishly at me, before returning his attention to the female.

I stared at the ground and tried to figure out what was going on. I felt Kane watching me. He put a hand on my arm, and I jumped.

"Kylara, you are behaving oddly even for you." He said gently. I turned to him with a frown.

"Kane, would you take me seriously if I said that I think everyone here has had their memories modified?" I asked. Kane blinked at me in surprise. Then grimaced.

"You're serious?" He asked. I bit my lip and nodded. Kane frowned. "If we've all had our memories modified how would you know?"

"When we were much younger, my friend Thomas and I began casting protection enchantments on one another to prevent anyone from using light magic to see into or modify our minds. We renew them annually." I replied evenly. Kane stared at me.

"You're really not joking?" He pressed. I shook my head.

"Last week there were only fifty participants. There have only ever been fifty participants." I said.

"Ishmael is agreeing with you." Kane said with a wince as he clutched his head.

"Well a memory modifying spell would only work on the one of you who was in possession of your body at the time it was cast." I explained. Kane nodded. "I can't do anything about fixing your memories, but I can place the enchantment on you so that this doesn't happen again. If you truly don't believe me- well, for my piece of mind, I'd like to place the enchantment on you anyway." Kane stared at me. Then, slowly, he nodded.

"Fine, but I'll hold you responsible for my actions if you cast a love enchantment on me." Kane said with a dark look. I smiled condescendingly at him.

"I wouldn't do that." I said.

Kane blushed as his jaw tightened.

I took his hand, "You will feel a little warmth. Ready?" He nodded again. I closed my eyes and concentrated on Kane's body. I envisioned him being wrapped in impenetrable, black shadows that would simply absorb and Light Magic aimed at him. I tied the ends of the magic together to create one solid barrier. Then I set it to activate only when confronted with Light Magic.

Reopening my eyes, I smiled tentatively at him. "Well, are you in love with me now?" I teased. He grinned.

"Of course." He replied. "I find you so ravishing, I'm having a hard time not ripping your dress off right here."

My eyes widened in surprise. Then I laughed and it was not a giggle as most highborn ladies would give. It was throaty and full bodied.

Kane stared at me in shock as he realized it was the first time he'd heard me laugh since that day.

My amusement faded as I looked over at the Earl and Marchioness again. They were watching me. I looked around; so was everyone else. I sighed and wished for my book.

Bored, I flopped to my back and started watching the clouds. I felt Kane watching me for a few minutes. Then he too sighed and rolled to his back.

"That one looks like a cat." I said finally, pointing up at one of the fluffy white shapes. I looked at Kane. He was frowning at it. "That bit on the end could be its tail." I added when he remained silent. He looked at me.

"It's too indistinct. Can you fix it so I can see a cat too?" He asked. I frowned.

"Well, maybe, but doing so would attract notice so I'm not going to." I replied. "Have you never done this before? I thought this is what people did at picnics." Kane frowned.

"I don't know. When we were little, my parents took Rhana and I on a picnic once. We played tag and fought with sticks the whole time." He said.

"Do you want to do that?" I asked.

Kane stared at me, then shrugged. I smiled and before he had time to move, I slapped him hard on the stomach.

"You're it." I said, jumping to my feet. I ran a few paces into the meadow and stopped to look at him. He was staring at me in shock. "I said 'you're it'." I repeated.

Suddenly, he smiled and surged to his feet. He took advantage of my surprise to lunge at me. I shrieked and threw myself backwards. I took off.

I knew I was fast, but it had been a long time since I tried to outrun Kane. I'd forgotten how fast he was. My only hope was to keep turning before he could find his stride.

He made another lunge for me. Sensing it coming, I spun to the side and quickly ran the other way back towards the participants. I felt him coming up behind me and shrieked again as I urged my legs to more speed.

Suddenly, Miss Goldleaf was standing in my way.

"You will sto-" Miss Goldleaf began to yell but I swerved around my and pushed her, so she fell straight into Kane. Miss Goldleaf grabbed him as I hurriedly made my escape.

"Oh, Mr. Essenvir." I heard Miss Goldleaf moan. "She's such a beast. I think she bruised me."

I stopped fifteen feet behind my cousin and looked at Kane with a brilliant smile as I caught my breath. Kane smiled back at me, ignoring Miss Goldleaf's moans and teary eyes.

"Excuse, Miss Goldleaf." Kane said prying her off him and pushing her gently to the side.

Then he looked back at me and took off. I shrieked and began running again. Now we were back with the other participants, so we had to dodge around them and their blankets.

Then, Prince Blaize appeared before me looking furious. I quickly spun behind him. Kane stopped just in front of him.

I lunged right; Kane copied me. I stepped left. Once more he was right there in case I tried to run past him.

Laughing, I turned around and headed for the horses. Kane was right behind me. I had nearly gained then when he tackled me from behind.

We hit the ground, him on top of me. My body shook with silent laughter.

Swiftly, Kane turned me over. I looked up at him with another brilliant smile, saw his fearful face, and started laughing again. He smiled warmly down at me and my heart gave a wild beat.

"Are you having fun disgracing yourself, Mr. Essenvir?" Prince Blaize sneered coldly from behind and above Kane.

Kane sat back on his heels and rose to his feet. He bent and offered a hand to me. I took it and he pulled me to my feet as well. Then he turned to face Prince Blaize.

"As a matter of fact, I was, your Highness." Kane said with a smile.

"Do you want to teach me how to fight with a stick now?" I asked brightly. "Or should I try to tag you again?"

"How dare you?!!" Miss Goldleaf screeched coming over. "You put your hands on me?!! When I tell Papa of this, ooh you're going to be so sorry. He will use the belt after this. How could you embarrass me like this? You're selfish and horrid and fat! As soon as this season's over, do you know what he's going to do? Disown you, you stupid whore! That's right your time is up. I hope you liked it on your back because that's how you're going to make your living, Maybe you'll finally lose some weight when you're starving because no one wants you. Then you'll regret your obsceneness." Miss Goldleaf finished triumphantly. Rather than be affronted, apologetic, or cowed in the least, I looked at Kane with a smile.

"She thinks disownment will ruin me." I said with amusement. "Isn't that funny?"

"It is rather amusing." Kane agreed. "She may die of shock when this season ends."

"One can hope, right?" I said my smile becoming more amused. Miss Goldleaf's faced flushed and her mouth popped open again.

"Personally, I think Miss Goldleaf is right. No one and I mean no one is going to pay you for your services. Well, if you advertise yourself as the disgraced daughter of an Earl, who is willing to do anything for a few coppers, maybe you'll be able to get by for a little while, but once the novelty wears off, there's no way. You will certainly lose some weight, but you won't be able to do anything about your face." Prince Blaize said with a sneer. Miss Goldleaf smiled brilliantly at him.

"Yep, still blind and stupid." I said. "Good to know." Prince Blaize snarled as I calmly checked my timekeeper. "Mr. Essenvir, I've got – well, a lot of time left. Do you want to go for a walk in the woods?"

"Are you looking for more rocks like the ones you used to find?" He asked. I nodded. He shrugged. "Sure, sounds interesting." He turned to the fuming Prince Blaize. "Excuse us, your Highness, we're going for a walk." Kane offered his arm to me and I took it. Then they headed into the woods. I looked back over my shoulder at the Earl and Marchioness. They were both watching me and Kane with unreadable expressions.