บท 20: Breaking the Ice (2)

"I'm special?" Trinity can't help but show an expression doubt. "Surely you're joking again?"

"I don't often joke Trinity, earlier was a rare exception to break the tension. I very much mean what I'm saying now. You're special, and I will explain to you how momentarily. I know you've had many questions on your mind since your arrival here, and I will answer them, as promised."

"I'm sorry Miss Amlith, but I think you'll need to be quite convincing to make me believe that."

Amlith smiles. "I apologize if this might come off as offensive Trinity, but I find your lack of confidence quite refreshing. I deal with conceited, selfish, arrogant cretins most days; enough to ruin my mood terribly. So to experience how genuine and honest you are is a breath of fresh air."

"You think so?" Trinity's expression shifts to one of slight guilt. "I wouldn't say I'm genuine or honest at all though…." She ends her statement there, though it seems she has much more to say.

Amlith stares at her with mild concern and a feeling of discontent. She wants her to open up to her freely and feel comfortable. She's aware she's not often such a gracious host, but things are different with Trinity. It's a feeling she herself doesn't understand, but she wants to explore it.

She gets to her feet. With only a glance at the stage, performers quickly spawn. They pick up their instruments and begin to play a pleasant ballad. They all look uniformly unremarkable and indistinguishable, their faces obscured in shadow, as though they're just soulless apparitions.

Amlith offers her hand to the somber girl. "Please would you join me for a quick dance Trinity?"

Trinity looks at her with surprise, unsure as to why she'd have any interest in a dance with her. However, she doesn't want to refuse her well-meaning intention, so she accepts it gracefully. She places her hand in hers and allows her to lead her to her feet and over to the shiny dance floor.

Amlith pulls her in and positions her appropriately once they've stepped on the dance floor, not missing a single beat as she begins to lead them effortlessly. Despite clearly having no skill in dancing, Trinity is able to follow her lead and compliment her with little difficulty. "Very good."

Trinity's cheeks fill with light color in response to her compliment. "Thank you Miss Amlith." She allows her to guide her movements, doing her best to keep in step with her smooth moves.

"Someday I'll get you to call me just Amlith." She says this with a lighthearted sigh but doesn't expect a response from Trinity. Instead, she decides to try getting her to open up about herself. "So tell me Trinity, what do you like doing as a pastime? Do you have any particular interests?"

"You mean like hobbies?" She nods. "No, I never really had time. I was busy with my studies, helping Shi with hers, cleaning the house, preparing our meals, and tending to him every night."

"I see…, I imagine that would be the case. However, I can't imagine you had no time to do something for yourself? Maybe you enjoyed reading, writing, or some other casual activity?"

"No, I didn't. He kept me very busy with many things, and even if I did have free time, I found something to do. I worked really hard to avoid being alone with my thoughts, because if I had time to think, I had time to reflect on my life. I had to think about anything else, because if I didn't, I could only think about how much I hated my life and wanted to die. That's how it was."

Hearing her talk of such depressing things so casually bothers Amlith, despite already knowing her history. She wanted to lighten the mood, but this discussion is becoming counterintuitive. "Let's not focus on that then. How about, what are your dreams? What would you like to do?"

Trinity seems to hesitate, but with a gentle smile from Amlith she opens up. "Well, I don't know if I had a dream as far as a career or goal. As I said, I never really had time or desire to pursue a proper skill, but I did want one thing." She pauses for a moment, then says, "I wanted to be a mother." She looks at Amlith, waiting for her to judge her or laugh, but only finds her smiling.

"You looks like you're expecting judgment, but that's not a dream to judge. While I personally have no desire to bear children myself, I don't dislike children. I may even say I like prefer their company to adults because they are often genuine and unbiased to this world's nature. That's why I got a bit cross with you earlier when you insinuated I was similar to that man. I do crave beautiful young women such as yourself, but I'd never make advances on you if you were truly a child. That'd go against my morals. I do have them believe it or not. Please trust me on that."

Trinity pauses. "Wait, what do you mean if I was truly a-." Before she can finish, Agora returns.

"Dinner is served Mistress." She directs a servant in placing the plates. "Please do enjoy ladies."

"Oh, wonderful, I'm famished! Let's enjoy our meal now, and then we can chat all you'd like." She guides them back to the table and they return to their seats. As they eat, Trinity feels uneasy.