A Time of Tigers - From Peasant to Emperor

But nevertheless, under her mother's stern gaze, and with robotic movements, she went about getting herself ready.

…

…

"You've got a target then, Greeves?" Oliver said.

"I've got a target," Greeves said. "The first of many. This one will be an attempt at feeling out, I'd say. Don't you be putting all your wants on the line straight away now, boy. If he declines, then that's to be expected – the goal here is to get as much out of him as we can before he does decline."

"And this man is meant to be arriving this afternoon?" Verdant confirmed.

"This afternoon, indeed, Lord Idris," Greeves said, quickly switching his speech to polite force, after realizing he'd slipped up and called Oliver 'boy' again in his excitement.

"And you're only just telling us this now?" Verdant pressed. "It would have been prudent to allow us the time to make preparations."

"Would that I knew myself," Greeves said. "But the man isn't likely to move just for our sake. He's heading to a village further west than ours. The only reason he agreed to come at all is due to it only being a slight detour. Besides, didn't I get the news to you at dawn?"

"It's fine, Verdant," Oliver said. "We don't bear the burden of preparation anyway. Greeves is going to host him in his house. And he'll be conducting the meeting. We're just going to watch."

"I'll hold you to that, Ser Patrick," Greeves said. "I've a plan for dealing with him, but even then, it might be difficult. So I'd appreciate you just watching, for now. Still, I thought it better to invite you than leave you in the dark and tell you after the fact."

"You could have done no differently, when all that pass through the village are reported to my Lord," Verdant said.

Greeves' smile twitched. He always found it to be difficult to deal with Verdant, given how earnest the nobleman was. "Quite right…" He said.

It was Nila that relieved him of that awkward staring match. She slipped in through the front door, and greeted the maids without knocking. Oliver had told her to do as much in the past. Excessive formality between those that he considered to be close had grown increasingly stifling.

As stifling as it might have been in the past, now the fact of her easy entry provided instead more stiffness. He felt his shoulders tighten, knowing without seeing her that those footsteps were hers. Ingolsol's vision made that abundantly clear for him. He recalled the fear that she had seen for them the last that they had met, and once more, he expected the same.

"Wow, you're already all so excited," Nila said, practically skipping into the room. She had a wooden box tucked under her arm, and her cheeks were flushed, as if she'd just run all the way there. It was entirely the opposite appearance to what Oliver had expected from her.

"Yer late," Greeves told her, saving the bite that he wished he could have delivered to Verdant and giving it to Nila instead.

Nila shrugged. "I don't see any visitor here, so it doesn't look like I'm that late. Besides, matters needed attending to."

"Like brushing your hair?" Greeves said accusingly.

"W-what? No!" Nila stammered.

"I can see the strands still on your shoulders, girl," Greeves said. "Aren't you meant to brush your hair before getting dressed? If you're going to do it the other way around, at least dust them off."

With frantic movements, Nila found those strands of long red hair, and hurriedly brushed them from the top of her short cloak. She was dressed even more finely then than usual. They weren't clothes for work, but more for appearances. Rather than the trousers that she normally wore for her hunting, she had a knee-length green skirt in its place. The boots, however, remained the same.

And even that short green cloak she had draped over her shoulders seemed like the sort of thing that she would have hunted in.

"There," she said. "All gone."

"Well, I suppose they are," Greeves agreed. "And all dressed up to boot. I wouldn't suppose that lunchbox there is for me? And by those crumbs around your mouth, you've already eaten."

"I don't have crumbs—" Nila said, her fingers tracing her mouth to check, but sure enough, she found those crumbs there. All the evidences of a woman that had gotten dressed in a hurry, and Greeves had picked up on each of them. She shot him a look that could have killed any other man, but Greeves shrugged, and did his best to hide the grin that was growing.

She coughed, in an attempt to alter the flow of conversation, and forcefully attempted a topic change. "A-anyway," she said.

"Anyway what?" Greeves quickly overruled her. She'd known Nila too long by now, and anyone could tell that he delighted in teasing her.

It was a sight that Oliver had to smile at as well. It was the Nila that he knew best. She was awkward at times, loud at other times, and clumsy at other times, but her fiery spirit lit up whatever room she was in, no matter how tired she might have been. He could not deny the beauty of the woman either.

She'd made an effort, it was plain to see, in order to not look out of place for their meeting with the invited craftsman. Her clothes gave her a more feminine edge than what she usually wore, but they didn't stray too far from the essence of what she was.

Nila looked his way, as if for support, as her arguments with Greeves intensified. Their gazes met. She saw the smile on Oliver's face, and stared at it for a little too long. It was enough to make even a General slayer self conscious. But before he thought to hide the expression, she returned his smile with three times the strength. It was like the sun peaking down over a foggy valley.

It lit up the girl's entire face, and the enthusiasm that she'd forced herself to show transformed into something more genuine.