"I...I should be going," Nita said, standing suddenly and further breaking the spell of the silence. "My Da's probably already mad at me for staying out so late... and staying out with you."
Izulen grabbed her hand as she started to leave. "Wait. Why does it matter if you stay out with me?"
Nita chuckled. "You're a man. And a harper. That makes you a danger to my sweet, innocent self. Actually, it makes me more of a danger to you. If my Da knew you so much as touched me, he'd kill you."
"But you're still here," Izulen pointed out. "And you don't seem all that eager to leave."
"Well I'm not," Nita sighed, sitting back down. "I want him to sharding notice me! And the only way he ever seems to do that is if I do something wrong. You wouldn't know the feeling. Your mother loves you so much."
"I do know, actually," Izulen said with a sad half-smile. "Before my Da left, he stopped noticing me. Sometimes he'd just sit and cry, and I... I'd crawl into his lap and try to make him feel better. On his worst days, he'd push me away." He paused to get his composure back. "I don't know why I'm telling you this."
Nita smiled and shrugged. "Why does anyone tell anybody anything? There's no one here to talk to, I can't believe it's the same way at the Hall though."
"You'd think so," Izulen chuckled sadly. "But there still isn't. No one seems to understand."
Nita started to say something but stopped herself as a gold flit appeared, scolding even as she came out of Between. "Shardit, does he always have to check up on me?" Nita snapped at the gold, who continued to scold her.
"I'm sorry for keeping you out," Izulen apologized. "I'll see you tommorow, I guess."
Nita planted a kiss on his forehead, causing the gold to scold even louder. "You'll see whatever's left of me after my father finishes," she teased and then ran off, followed through by the impatient gold.
Izulen lay back on the ground for a moment, gathering his thoughts and composure before picking up the gitar and the music and putting them in the case. With a last look at the pool, he climbed to his feet and started back towards the Hold after Nita.
____________________
Nita arrived back at her quarters to find her father standing in the doorway, arms crossed, glaring daggers at her. "Where have you been?" he asked, his anger barely concealed by his quiet tone.
"Ranna, Aizra, Halani and I were just down at the l-" Nita began but was silenced by her father.
"Don't even bother lying to me, Nita," Shanol thundered. "Ranna, Aizra, and Halani came looking for you an hour ago."
"So you had to send Sierna to check up on me since you didn't know exactly where your little darling was," Nita snarled.
"We worry about you when you don't tell us where you are," her mother added quietly, joining her husband in the doorway. Niassa's face was streaked with tears and her eyes were red as she looked pleadingly at her daughter. "How are we to know you're not sick or hurt?"
"Stop making excuses for her Niassa!" Shanol snapped suddenly, whirling on his wife. "She needs to start answering for her actions!"
"I am not making excuses!" Niassa snapped back, eyes flashing. "You don't have to be so harsh with her, Shanol!"
"Look at her Niassa!" Shanol roared and grabbed his daughter by the shoulder. "Look at her! She's been out all night, fooling around with Faranth knows who! Do you
want the same thing that happened to Anisol to happen to her?"
Nita wrenched her shoulder from her father's grip. "Maybe if you'd been a better father you'd still have a son!" she snarled.
The fact that her father slapped her hurt more than the sting of the back of his hand on her cheek. Niassa started to go to her but Nita brushed past her into her room and slammed the door.
Nita could hear her parents fighting outside even as she flung herself down onto her bed. She didn't cry; she was too shocked for that.
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