The sound of his voice made Kiara instantly regret wishing he was around. She'd much rather have stabbed the man and not have had to talk to or see Ostus. She'd taken great pains to avoid him since that day in the stable. It wasn't that she [i]hated[/i] him. In fact, she rather liked him when he wasn't trying to argue with her. It was that Ostus had some opinions about her that she could not take. What if all her people felt the way he did? It was something she did not want to think about.

Each time they'd been attacked, she watched him run out to protect the caravan, waiting behind until she was sure he was no longer paying attention to her. Then, she would grab her bow and quiver and run towards the children. She knew that it was important that she reach Berinike, but if she let her people die here... what kind of leader was she? Kiara was careful: hiding behind carts, horses, and trees. She knew better than to stand out in the open where she could easily be seen and attacked.

The children would tell their parents what they'd seen her do, but they never believed. After all, she was just the wife of a peasant. It was better that way, that they didn't know. If they had, she'd have to interact with them more than she already did. Lately, Kiara just wanted to be alone. She did not have very much longer until she would be constantly surrounded by people until she died. It was almost more than she could stand.

Kiara blinked a few times, coming out of her own thoughts to find the man had run off, probably because of the look in her "husband's" eye. She didn't blame him. It had given her the chills as well. Behind them, she could hear the music, feel the pounding of dancing feet, and smell the smokey air. This was usually the time that Kiara snuck off, climbing into the canopy so she could watch and experience and yet be apart from it. Usually, Ostus was too busy pretending to have fun. Now, though, he was watching her, and she was not sure she could get away.

Her gaze fell on him just as her mind had and her eyes softened just a bit. Perhaps him feeling guilty was not as unbelievable as she had thought moments ago. He certainly did seem to be avoiding her for some reason like that. He'd been looking at her like a kicked puppy dog. Though, she though, perhaps he was only here in this moment because he was being paid to protect her. She wasn't sure that keeping men away from her counted towards that job, however, as she could handle that alone.

Still, she appreciated it, and she was sick of ignoring the only travelling companion she would have soon. It would be a very long journey once they reached the mountains if they could not even look at each other. In a truce of their own, she reached out her hand to him and asked only one question, her tone sincere for the first time since they had met. "Care to dance?"