Destroying A Legacy

Chapter Twenty One: Lafew

One day, Parizad interrupted the Horsemanship lesson to talk to Lafew and Ralph, leaving alone for a moment the students who trained falcons.

As of lately, Tranio Fair had stopped riding horses and rumors said he would receive a falcon sometime the following week from someone who took care of his father's estates. Now Art rode Alastriona, Tranio's white mare.

Before Parizad had stopped him, Lafew had had half a mind to gallop a few feet away from the rest of the class and eat just a small piece of the chocolate bar Peretti had given him. Mouldy's words about his family had moved a certain curiosity that he'd been tried to keep buried.

"I have something to tell you," Parizad told the students. Alongside him, there was Viola, with her falcon Chips comfortably sitting on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, but I won't be around that much as of late. The wifey... I mean, Eri, accepted my marriage proposal."

"But we never see you that much anymore," Lafew protested weakly. Viola was almost sobbing, to Lafew's surprise, she seemed sincere in her disappointment.

Parizad lowered his eyes. "I'm sorry if this seems like a bad thing, in the midst of a war, but this was exactly why we wanted to do it soon. We want to elope together, take my boat and go before things get rough," he said.

"Parizad! This is... amazing!" Lafew replied. For you, anyway, he wanted to add. Lafew didn't think he would run even if he had the chance, but it was an impossible thought to contemplate, even in theory.

Viola looked out of words, so she offered her congratulations once again. Lafew knew she wondering how could Parizad take it so well, to go away in the midst of an upcoming war and not being able to stay behind to help the kids.

In fact, the look on his face made Lafew think there was something he wasn't telling them, but he didn't pry. Perhaps it was only that Lafew didn't understand grown ups and their relationships much.

Besides, as a boy who liked boys, Lafew knew a thing or two about unconventional marriages, and he could tell Parizad's was not the most conventional type. Firstly, he and Eri belonged to different ethnic backgrounds and he was a privateer, and secondly, Nerissa was from a branch of the Fair family. Of course they would take it badly, that she was marrying a tattooed pirate with a big heart underneath the rough exterior.

When the lesson ended, Viola followed the boys to the stables. "What if there's a reason why Parizad cannot stay?"

"What do you mean?" Ralph asked. "You're not very romantic, you know. Of course there's a reason, and she's called Nerissa Sorolla, also known as Eri, daughter of Caliban Fair and Tessa Sorolla."

"You're well informed," Viola replied, a bit shocked.

"Well... it's nothing of the sort... I just have a good memory," Ralph said, and Lafew did not doubt him since he'd never shown interest in attractive bodyguards in their twenties before. He couldn't help but snicker at the stupidity of Ralph and Viola's couple problems.

If only he had less to do, he could have played match-maker between the two of them, because he was sick of his heterosexual friends taking years to sort out that they had a crush on each other.

"Well," Viola added hastily. "Driscoll started to taunt Lafew last year. And Parizad all of a sudden stopped hanging around us. This year, everyone likes Lafew as the True King, which makes Driscoll in the position of striking again, and Parizad says he can't stay here. Isn't it a bit suspicious?"

"It is," Ralph said. "But I don't think Parizad is a coward, so if you do..."

"It is suspicious," Lafew confirmed their words. "It's true, Parizad had to go away to get married. But today, he looked guilty and sad. Do you think that maybe Parizad has... you know?"