Times of Fun

by Kimberly Blaire

Eve awakes to find the sun shining brightly through the window, and the morning air is full of the songs of the birds. She slowly crawls out of the bed to stumble to the dressing table. She slowly begins to brush her long curly hair.

Eve is awake by the time her maid appeared with her breakfast. The maid is shocked at her mistress out of bed this early, Eve usually sleeps late, because of the different time periods. The maid, whose name is Sarah, silently hands Eve the message from Adena and waits for further instructions. Eve's face brightens at the sight of Adena's handwriting. She quickly reads the note to discover that it is an invitation for this very afternoon. She instructs Sarah to find a gown appropriate for a formal luncheon. Eve walks gaily into the lavatory and slowly undresses as the bath is being prepared, with bubbles, of course. She slides into the bath, letting the bubbles and the water carress her entire body. As she relaxes, the memories of the last time she went swimming overcomes her mind.

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It was a bright and sunny day and Frederick of Keiserslautern asked her to go swimming, and of course, she assented to go. Eve decided that she was in a teasing mood, and therefore pulled out her bikini. Eve really didn't want the gaurd to come, but rules are rules. Frederick led her to a quiet secluded spot on the border of the kingdom, unaware of the guard travelling at a distance. Eve sits near the edge of the water and spreads out a blanket for the lunch later on. Frederick had by then already jumped into pond and was swimming around in circles, like a shark. Eve stands up after setting up the blanket, and slips off her shorts and shirt to reveal her bikini. In Frederick's eyes Eve looked like a goddess. The bikini was, by no means, modest. The color in the sun appeared to be the color of a rose petal, making Eve's body to/stand out and shimmer. As she dives into the water he begins to get ideas. As she surfaces Frederick catches her around the waist. He begin to carress her back as his head leans forward and he begins to kiss her. At that moment the gaurd jumps into the water and punches Frederick. Eve is shocked at the gaurd's actions and goes into hysterics.

****** ********

Eve jolts back to reality as Sarah touches her shoulder to wake her. Eve climbs out of the bath and rubs baby power on her boby for freshness, and perfume for an intriging affect. Sarah chose a dress in the color of hot pink for the afternoon, stating quietly that the color suited her. Eve slips on the outfit and is astounded at how beautiful the dress makes her look and feel.

****** ********

Eve is escorted into the entrance hall by a butler who she had not met. She was then presented to a handsome man. He begins to talk to her as if they had already met. Eve is standing there trying to place a name to the face, but is unable to. She is becoming totally confused, she decides that maybe she is at the wrong place.

"Excuse me sir, perhaps I am at the wrong place, for I am looking for Adena."

At that moment Adena comes jumping down the stairs. The look that the unknown man observes on Eve's face is that of total relief. It suddenly dawns on him that Adena may have forgotten to mention him to her.

"Allow me to introduce myself, I am Suralio Iffley, and this is my palace. I hope that you forgive Adena for not mentioning me, she is notorious for forgetting."

Adena just glared at Iffley, and then turns to face Eve. Adena walks towards the dining room, talking to Eve, and ignoring Iffley completely. Adena tells Eve all about the war and how many of the ships were destroyed. Eve is fascinated by the stories Adena is telling and begins to ask all sorts of questions. Iffley remains in the background observing the two of them.

Eve forgets about Iffley's presence and tells Adena about all of the memories of the men in her life that have been haunting her for the last few days. She went as far as to describe each of them. Iffley sits there smiling at each of the stories, observing how innocent Eve is. After finishing the lunch, Eve states that she is glad that she has a friend whom she can talk to. At that moment Iffley choses to speak up, causing Eve to blush until she was the hue of her dress.

"Would you care to go for a swim this afternoon?"

"I thought that we would ride the danaes today," Adena replies.

Confused, Eve asked what a danae is. Iffley explained that they were a cross between unicorns and pegasis, and each was a different color. Eve was given Tango, an orange one, Iffley chose Casablanca, a red one, and Adena choses to ride Prism, a white one. The afternoon was spent traveling the countryside, getting to know one another better. Eve was relieved that she didn't have to be alone with Iffley. Adena observed Eve that afternoon and noted how a glint came to Eve's eyes each time she looked in Iffley's direction. She also saw another side of Iffley she had never seen before and was unable to deduce as to what it meant.

At the end of the day, Eve decided to return home, so that she would be there in case of emergency. She arrived just as the late shift of guards were coming on duty.

She fell asleep that night trying to sort out the mixed emotions that she felt because of the day's happenings. She squeezed her teddy bear tight, thinking that she had a friend near again.