With the shopping trip finished, Samuel finally takes Sereina to the Black Tower.
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Samuel glances back at Sereina once, a curious expression on his face as he looks at her new dress. Then he shakes his head and adjusts the bundles under his arms. The door opens as if of its own accord and he leads the way into the room.
Sereina fidgetted with the waistline of the skirt, totally unused to being dressed like a woman for once. She pursed her lips at the way that Samuel glanced back but said nothing, following him into the room. 'Are we finally going to this farm of yours?'
Samuel nods slightly and the door closes of its own accord. Then he turns to face the open area of the room. A slash of light appears opening into a hole in the air through which can be seen a small browned clearing. 'Yes, dear, we are going home now.' There is an odd tone, almost of resignation, to the way he says "dear". With a gesture towards the gateway, he adds,'After you, my wife.'
Sereina pursed her lips and folded her hands together. 'Thank you, my husband,' she nearly muttered, carefully stepping through the strange opening.
Samuel follows her through the gateway which dwindles to nothing behind him. Suddenly the sense of struggle within him ceases. He lets out a remorseful sigh, then begins leading deeper into the farm. He mutters over his shoulder,'I forgot to warn you, but you should be careful around gateways. The edges are very, very sharp.' Immediately the subject changes and he begins to ramble, perhaps babble is a better word, as if nervous,'This is the farm, or the Black Tower as we call it. I'll have to talk to someone and see about getting us a small cabin. All the married men here have a cabin for their families, so that shouldn't be a problem. I'll make sure you get to go into town to shop fairly often.' Suddenly he seems to realize he is babbling and shuts up.
Sereina frowned and followed behind, listening carefully to his blather and trips over her skirt after he finishes talking. 'Oh blood and bloody...' she sighs and stands up again, brushes her knees off. 'Well, tell me more. What should I expect?' she looked around and talked low. 'How do you want me to act?'
Samuel stops and looks at her again, arms a bit occupied with the packages he carries for her. He cocks his head to one side in thought for a moment, then says,'It's a strange place, I suppose. Expect lots of noise during the day and to see a lot of men channeling.' He doesn't even flinch as a distant explosion punctuates his statement,'And I guess we should just act like newlyweds. In public anyway. I wouldn't ask that in private.' For some reason his face goes crimsom all the way to his collar.
Sereina jumped at the sound of the explosion, not even noticing how red Samuel had turned until she straightened out her skirt again. When she noticed she frowned, raising an eyebrow skeptically. 'I would hope not. Especially since according to you I don't have a choice in the matter.' she shrugged and took a few of the smaller bundles from him.
Samuel turns slightly pale at the accusation, then turns on his heel and leads the way down the path to the center of the farm, saying nothing as he walks.
Sereina sighs to herself and followed closely behind you, lifting up her skirt a little to make it easier to walk.
Samuel stops at the well and sits on the lip of it, turning to face Sereina. He lets out a sigh and puts the bundles across his lap. Then he looks up at her and cocks his head to the side as he looks her up and down. With a slight frown,'Light, Sereina, no wonder the first thing I felt when I bonded you was your empty stomach. How long since you got to eat on a regular basis?'
Sereina looks down at herself and then back up at him. 'Ever since I arrived at Caemlyn.' she said, using the bundles in her free hand to cover her torso. 'I'm not -that' skinny.'
Samuel shakes his head slightly, causing his bells to ring very softly,'I was looking at your face, mostly. You'll get all you want to eat here, at least.' He grins suddenly and adds,'And if you eat so much your clothes won't fit, I promise to carry another bundle of dresses from town for you.'
Sereina fights down a glare that wants to come out. 'Thank you dearest, I'll keep that in mind' she says coolly before sitting next to him at the well.
Samuel shakes his head again and mutters,'No need to get mad, dear.' Then he leans in close and asks softly,'How did you end up like that, anyway?'
Sereina sighs and lowers her head. 'I ran away.' she says simply, shrugging. She changes the subject quickly. 'Well, if they have so much food why don't we go grab a bite to eat. I could use some fattening up, I guess.'
Samuel nods slowly and stands up, slipping the packages beneath his arms again,'I won't press. You do not have to talk about it.' Then he shrugs and adds,'Should be something in the mess hall.'
Sereina stands up and sighs gratefully. 'It's just...too soon,' she mutters irritably. 'How many women are there here, anyway?'
Samuel rolls his shoulders in another shrug and starts walking towards the mess hall,'I'm not really sure. I'd say about a hundred, maybe. Been too busy to really count them. You'd be amazed how quickly you lose interest in a woman when she's the wife or daughter of a man that can throw lightning bolts.'
Sereina smirks and chuckles. 'Well, I wouldn't know. Never hit on a woman to find out.' she quickens her steps to walk beside him, eyes looking at everything all at once. 'This...farm...is a lot bigger than the one I lived at.'
Samuel nods slowly and looks down at you. With a quick wink, he says,'I guess it isn't really just a farm anymore. Black Tower is becoming more fitting a name every day. I'm thinking there are 300 of us or so that can channel. But that is just a rough guess. I could be off by several hundred.'
Sereina's jaw drops. 'Three hundred men like ...' she forces herself not to say "you." 'Um, who does the cooking?'
Samuel shrugs and says,'We do.. sort of. There are women in the kitchens that direct it, but all the actual fire and such is provided by us. We channel for most everything. The newcomers eat after the rest finish. Their food is let get cold and they don't get a hot meal til they can heat it on their own.' He lets out a shiver that causes him to jingle and adds,'Cold stew makes you learn in a hurry.'
Sereina chuckles. 'I trust I won't have to have my food heated?' she raises her eyebrows at some of the men wandering around. 'Everything seems so....busy right now.'
Samuel stops suddenly at an open door and pokes his head inside. He grins suddenly and looks back to her,'This one is unoccupied. I'll put your things in here, then we'll get you some food. And you can cook for yourself using real fire if you like, or I can heat your food for you. Aren't a lot of rules for wives, really.'
Sereina peeks into the room herself and looks up at him. 'So I can just dump my stuff off in the room?' she asks, hugging the bundles in her arms. 'What about your things?'
Samuel steps into the room and begins looking around for a chest or shelf or something. After a moment her question registers and he says,'Yeah, you can put the stuff here. And I'll get my things from the barracks after we eat.'
Sereina follows closely behind and puts her things on the bed. 'Well, I guess....' she says, looking around the room with interest.
A trunk at the foot of the bed pops open and Samuel dumps the bundles into it unceremoniously. Then he looks around and says,'Just put those anywhere and we'll go get some food. I'll ward the door so no one will mess with your stuff while we're gone, ok?'
Sereina drops her things on the bed and nods. 'Do what you have to do, I guess,' she says with a shrug and steps out of the room, waiting.
Samuel closes the door behind him as he steps out, then turns to face it again. Through the bond can be felt a rush of exhilaration mixed with disgust, then deep concentration for a moment. Just as suddenly, the feeling is gone. He turns and offers her his arm and says,'Shall we, dear?'
Sereina takes his arm and puts on her most radiant smile. 'Yes, darling.' By this time she is almost used to the fluctuating feels he has when he channels.
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