30 Afternoon Company

Macha knocked on the door and entered. She and Tyr rarely knocked when entering each other's rooms, but she thought she should in this house. As she entered, she heard his cold voice snarl, "I'm sleeping! Go away."

Tyr's voice startled her because he had never spoken to her like that. "Sorry, Luna told me to keep you company," she explained and began to close the door. She figured he was tired and Luna was trying to trick her into bothering him.

Tyr recognized Macha's voice and rushed to the door. His hand lashed out and stopped it from closing. "I didn't know it was you," he peeked his head into the hall. He wanted to make sure no one saw her enter his room. After looking around, he saw that no one else was in the hall, so he pulled her into his room. "Luna told you to keep me company?"

"Yeah. She said you're pretending to sleep." Macha looked around his bedroom. It differed from the one in Marseille. He had decorated this room in browns and blues with a lot of leather accents. She wondered why he chose such a depressing color scheme in Marseille.

Tyr gave a boyish grin. He silently thanked Luna for having Macha visit him. He turned to open the curtains and hide the look on his face.

With the curtains pulled back the sunlight shined down on Macha and he noticed her dress. "Where did you get that dress from?" After the words left his mouth, he already figured out the answer to his question. She probably got it from Luna, who would have gotten it from Mama Ocllo.

"Luna had Mama Ocllo make it for me. Isn't it beautiful?" She finished taking off her sandals and gave a small twirl to show off her dress. She lifted the skirt slightly and walked over to him. "Feel the fabric. It's so soft."

Tyr swallowed. He was aware that the dress was beautiful. What bothered him was how attractive she looked dressed like that. He stepped back, afraid of reaching out to her. "It's beautiful, but not for work," he cleared his throat.

"No, Mama Ocllo said I can't wear what I was wearing before to work. She said she's going to fix my wardrobe." Macha smiled a huge smile when she told him that news.

"What? No!" Tyr realized what he said sounded wrong, so he quickly added, "That would be so much work for her. She doesn't have to do that." He knew Mama Ocllo was a busy woman. Whenever he came home, she sent back new clothes for him to wear. He felt that his excuse was a good cover for his momentary lapse.

Macha's smile faded. "She did seem busy. But when Luna said I was wearing those clothes to work the seamstress became upset. You should have seen her. Her eyes bulged, and she looked like she would faint." She made a serious face and raised an eyebrow, "She was very dramatic."

Tyr knew Macha would get a new wardrobe and he could not stop it. He had tried so hard to cover her up and hide her alluring features. Now he hoped she would not distract his clients or himself.

Macha sat on a settee and asked Tyr if they would continue their training while they were here. Tyr looked at Macha's bubbly toes. He liked her habit of taking her shoes off when she entered the apartment.

He thought she had cute feet, and he agreed with her reasoning. She had explained to him that it is cleaner than walking around the apartment with dirty shoes. He had started taking his shoes off in the apartment as well.

"I'm fine with continuing the training. Do you remember the lake we passed on the way to the house?" Tyr asked. He moved to clean his armor. He needed something to distract him from the way she looked.

Macha wiggled her feet, tapping them together. "Yes. You said it's for fishing." Aži came and sat on her lap so she stroked his back.

Tyr nodded. "Meet me there around midnight. The guests should be winding down by then." Tyr was glad that she wanted to continue training. It gave him something to look forward to every night.

The two talked about various things for a few hours. Eventually, Tyr told Macha she should go socialize with the rest of the guests and have fun. She tried to convince him to come, but he insisted that he wanted his one day of peace before his mother threw him to the sirens.

****

Macha made her way to the front of the house, but as she passed through the family suites, she heard beautiful music being played. She came to an opened door, and she looked in. She spotted Freyr plucking a stringed instrument that sat in his lap. He had his eyes closed and moved his hands gracefully across the instrument.

As he moved his hands, wisps of blue light flew from his fingers and created images that moved with the music. Freyr's head moved to the music and his body swayed as he played. As Macha watched, she realized the images depicted a story.

Blue wisps of light showed a silhouette of a man holding a woman in a tender embrace. The two figures became one and turn into a dragon. The dragon bore a sun and the rays tumbled onto the land. Animals and people sprouted up from the areas where the rays hit. At first, the people revered and praised the dragon, but their feelings changed and they killed it. From the blood of the dragon, many dangerous creatures sprung up and terrorized the people of the land until the people were no more.

Freyr ended the song on an eerie note and placed his hands on the strings. He then turned to a piece of paper and scratched out a few lines. He bit the end of the pencil before jotting down a few notes.

Macha stood in the doorway bewitched by the beautiful song. After Freyr put down his pencil, he turned towards her. "It is still a work in progress. Pardon the choppy beginning." His eyes reflected the soft lights in the room and he gave her a lazy smile.

Macha shook her head and stepped into the room. "No! It was beautiful. That instrument is amazing. This is the first time I've seen anyone play music since I arrived in Marseille." His talent amazed her.

Freyr chuckled and put the instrument on top of a table. "I am a novice and dabble in it to pass the time. I am trying to compose a song, but I did not experience love until recently. That is why the beginning is lacking soul."

"I think the beginning sounded beautiful. The tenderness between the man and the woman warmed my heart." Macha did not understand why he would consider the beginning to be lacking. When she listened to the melody, her heart yearned to have a love as beautiful as what the two lovers shared.

Freyr shook his head. "I lack experience and cannot depict the passion and love that a kiss can give. One day I shall figure it out." He noticed that darkness had fallen. "Are you headed to dinner?" he asked.

Macha turned around and looked out the windows. She did not realize that it had gotten dark. "I guess I am. I didn't realize the time passed by so quickly."

Freyr took her hand and gave it a light kiss before he nestled it in the crook of his arm. "I would be my honor to accompany you." Freyr felt lucky that his practicing was the first live music Macha had heard since she arrived in this world. He mused that she would always remember him no matter what happened.

As they walked to the dining room, Hrod spotted Macha and Freyr walking arm in arm. A satisfied look touched her eyes. She was pleased that Freyr took a liking to Macha. She wanted the small woman out of Tyr's life, so she had tried to peak her nephew's interest in Macha when he visited her this morning.

Hrod recognized her son was not ugly and came from a good family, but he paled in comparison to her nephew who was King of Marseille. She could not think of a single woman who would choose Tyr over Freyr. She hoped her son would have a better chance of attracting the girls she invited to the party now that his cousin was preoccupied.