|
Nalira and Malta
“You really need to quit teasing him, Na,” said Malta, from where she sat beside the fountain. “One of these days he’s going to stop putting up with it.” “He’ll never stop putting up with it!” scoffed Nalira, settling down beside her friend and running her fingers through her long blonde hair. “He’s too besotted to give up on me.” She grinned at her friend and Malta just shook her head again. “I beg to differ, Na, one of these days Lorik’s going to realize he doesn’t have a chance and stop coming after you.” “So what? By then I’ll be married to some handsome Lord Holder and it won’t make a bit of difference to me!” Nalira smiled sweetly and leaned over to check her reflection in the water. It was unstable, but overall good. She liked the way that sweet smile bunched her cheeks without causing too many wrinkles. She nodded and flashed the smile for Malta who just laughed at her. “Very nice smile, Na,” said Malta, wrinkling up her nose in an imitation of Nalira’s insincere smile, her voice dripping with sarcasm, “just be sure you flash that one at Lorik next time you see him and he’ll be yours forever!” Nalira dropped her hand in the water at just the right angle to lightly splash her friend and Malta laughed, jumping up and splashing her back before running away from the fountain. Nalira just frowned and checked her reflection once more. “Shards,” she said angrily realizing they’d stirred up the water too much to make her reflection worth looking at. “Now we’ll just have to go inside!” Nalira got up, adjusted and smoothed her skirts and motioned to Malta to follow her back inside. Malta rolled her eyes but fell in step behind her friend. On the surface there had never been as odd a pair of friends as Malta and Nalira, though once one truly knew the two the pairing didn’t seem quite as strange. Nalira was beautiful, and boy did she know it. Long blonde hair, pale blue eyes and a dazzling smile. Not only did she realize her own beauty, but she also used it to her own advantage at every turn. She flirted with and teased all the guys, not just their friend Lorik, and was always checking the closest mirror or reflective surface to make sure the look on her face wasn’t unpleasant or causing any unattractive wrinkles. Malta on the other hand was sweet and kind, not the least bit interested in flirting, and quite plain to look at. She had dull, lifeless brown hair and plain brown eyes. Her smile was sweet and her eyes sparkled when she was amused but next to Nalira no one noticed such minor details. She faded quite permanently into the background when her friend was around and to be truthful this suited her just fine. She had no need for young men to be hanging on her every word as her friend did. She found it quite amusing to watch Nalira and how the young men all doted on her when she was at her most flirtatious and how they all got frustrated when she chose to tease them. And Nalira liked Malta first and foremost because she did not put herself forth as competition and secretly because Malta kept her from becoming too full of herself and always reminded her when she was getting out of line. Together they made quite a pair and were very close friends, despite Nalira’s vanity occasionally getting in the way. Nalira led them into her room, sat down before her mirror, and immediately started practicing becoming looks. Malta shook her head and took a seat on the bed, picking up the half-mended shirt and working on repairing it further. She could be quite good with a needle and thread and her parents talked of sending her to the Weavercrafthall. Nalira looked back at her through the mirror and sighed, swiveling around to give her friend an exasperated look. “Why do you always insist on fixing my shirts for me, Malta? I keep telling you I can have them sent back to the Weaverhall for fixing,” the last of this was said as she swiveled back around and started messing with her hair, pulling it up above her head in different positions. Malta just smiled, “You know it gives me something to do when you’re practicing looking beautiful and I can do just as good a job as one of the Weavers could.” Nalira however missed the last part of what Malta said as she dropped her hair and swiveled back around, a very unattractive scowl on her face. “How dare you! I don’t have to practice looking beautiful, I just am!” “Now, now Nali, calm yourself,” said Malta, barely glancing up from her work. “You’ll put wrinkles in your forehead and that really is a very unattractive look you have on your face right now.” “I-” Nalira started but stopped as the prospect of having an unattractive look on her face was too much and she swiveled around once again to face the mirror and gasped instantly smoothing her forehead and trying to make the frown more pleasing to look at. “Oh, shells! Look, I think I have a wrinkle on my brow!” “I’m quite sure you don’t, Na, calm down, you’re getting all flushed,” Malta smiled softly, not once lifting her eyes from her work. “I am getting flushed!” cried Nalira in dismay. “Oh, and it’s almost dinner time. You don’t think I’m coming down with something do you, Malta? That might be an interesting new ploy. If I come down ill all the young men in the hold will feel sorry for me and be waiting on me hand and foot when I deem to feel better!” Malta rolled her eyes and gave her friend a withering look. “You’ll do no such thing, you know very well that if you pretended to be sick I’d go about telling everyone you were only faking it and you’d only end up getting scolded.” “Why would you do such a thing?” cried Nalira. “You’re my best friend, Malta, are you telling me you wouldn’t cover for me just once?” “Certainly not,” replied Malta a sly smile on her lips, “if you pretended to be sick no one would permit me to see you and then what would I do to amuse myself without you? Besides, the boys might all tire of waiting for you to get better and find someone else to fawn over, you wouldn’t want that now would you?” “You’re quite right Malta, I hadn’t thought it through,” stated Nalira once again admiring herself in the glass. “How selfish it would be of me to lock myself in here and leave you with nothing to do. There, you see! I just had to take a few deep breaths and now I’m fine, no longer flushed at all!” Malta just nodded and smiled to herself, amazed at how easily manipulated her friend could be. Continue... |