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Mentions: [@Tae] Saiya

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Perhaps Sjan-dehk needn’t have spoken so much. Eloquent and with a graceful sort of force, Saiya was clearly more than capable of holding her own against the women. Granted, Sjan-dehk understood roughly half of what she was saying, but the reaction from the crowd before the two of them told him all that he needed to know. He stood back with a hand on his sword and lips upturned in a roguish grin. Bark-brown eyes filled with mischief peered from beneath his hat at the crowd. Watching the proud and haughty be humbled was almost as enjoyable as doing the deed himself.

And Saiya was clearly adept at the craft. Even the lone woman who had gathered enough courage to attempt a rebuttal was quickly cowed into silence. He had no idea what a ‘Sultan’ or ‘Grand Vizier’ was, or what had happened the night before, but whatever it was, it worked. Hiding the wide, smug smirk that came over his face with a hand, Sjan-dehk watched the woman’s confidence shatter and the colour quickly drain from her face. So taken was he by the scene that he didn’t even notice Saiya’s arm looped around his until she started leading them both to the exit. 

Sjan-dehk followed. As they passed beneath the lintel, he looked back over his shoulder at the gathered women with a cheeky grin. [color=1E90FF][i]“Be more polite to the princes, yes?”[/i][/color] He pulled his hat ever-so-slightly lower over his eyes and turned back around before he could see their reactions. 

No one could say Wasun Sjan-dehk of Jafi was [i]entirely[/i] without manners. 

The sound of melodic laughter from the lady beside him pulled some chuckles from his throat. He looked back at Saiya as she thanked him, and whatever worries and concerns he had about subtly threatening an entire group of well-to-do women vanished the moment he saw the radiant smile upon her pretty face. If it made someone that happy, whatever he did couldn’t have been too bad. At least, he would be able to live with the consequences. Hopefully the rest of the trade delegation aboard the [i]Sudah[/i] would agree.

If it even came to it. There was no point worrying over a possibility.

For now, he was quickly becoming very aware of Saiya. The heat washing over his cheeks was becoming a little too hard to ignore. The sea may have stolen his heart, but it hadn’t taken much else. It surely hadn’t taken his body’s natural reactions. Besides, it had been such a long time since he had been this close to a woman who wasn’t either of his sisters. An understandable, albeit embarrassing, response. 

Sjan-dehk gently pulled his arm free and turned to face her fully, then bowed. [color=1E90FF][i]“No need to thank me. It was nothing. Was…”[/i][/color] He racked his mind for a good way to phrase his words. To say that he had helped Saiya out of the goodness of his heart would be a half-truth at best, but to say that he had done it solely out of obligation would also be wrong. There was a moral aspect to it all, and it was an aspect that Sjan-dehk felt sorely ill-equipped to properly describe. [color=1E90FF][i]“Was the Way,”[/i][/color] was the best he could manage. [color=1E90FF][i]“Is what should be done. So no need to ah…Repay. You owe nothing.”[/i][/color]

The flush was just about gone from his face when he stood up, replaced by a grin tugging at his lips. [color=1E90FF][i]“You helped too, no? Strong words. Your father–”[/i][/color] He held up a fist in front of him and clenched it. [color=1E90FF][i]“– must be very strong too. The women, their faces were white. Like rice not cooked.”[/i][/color] A quiet, close-lipped chuckle rumbled in his throat at that memory. [color=1E90FF][i]“Very ah…Funny to see.”[/i][/color]

He looked towards the castle gates, momentarily distracted by the cacophony of a myriad pairs of shoes against cobblestone. Throngs of people were still coming through in clumps and trickles, no doubt hopeful suitors seeking a chance for a prince’s heart. Sjan-dehk furrowed his brow. Much as he wanted to return to his Sada Kurau in haste, leaving Saiya here just felt wrong. As if he had just saved a person from a shark only to leave them to fend for themselves in the same infested waters. A job half-done, and as his father liked to say, that may as well be a job not done. 

That simply would not do. Sjan-dehk started this, so he’d be damned if he didn’t finish it properly. Turning back to Saiya, he bowed his head briefly. [color=1E90FF][i]“I must return to [/i]Sada Kurau[i],”[/i][/color]  he said, tone almost apologetic. It wouldn’t do to be dishonest, either. [color=1E90FF][i]"But I can ah...Walk with you to where you will go. If you want. Would be my pleasure.”[/i][/color]