Suggested the idea of a date... the words rankled in Ico's mind, for in his mind, that sort of thing was very much linked to marriage, and Ico had no intention of getting married this young in life! Even if he cared about Yorda really deeply, it wasn't something he liked to think too hard about. If something felt good, Ico wasn't going to question it... he was too instinctual for that. And he wasn't going to try changing it, either, not while it lasted.
Nonetheless, he answered her question. "I am unfamiliar with the way you speak of dates, but I think they are like courtships in my village. Is that correct?" He watched the woman intently, his jaw still set as he controlled his frustration at being here. "Courting is a thing that adults do when they are interested in marriage. Do you intend to make us marry each other?" he asked, keeping his voice even, though his gaze belied its intensity.
The boy knew there were women who had an interest in marriage; the village wives used to gather while working and talk about who had an interest in who or what, when they thought no one else was listening. How trivial, Ico had thought, never questioning why it was so fascinating to them. At the time, he had other concerns on his mind, like avoiding the group of children that liked to gang up on him. But could it be that this Urd, for all her beauty, was like one of those old wives, trying to match-make when they saw a girl and a boy together? Would the old wives have gossiped about them if they had known?
The thought made him more than a little uneasy... and not just because of Urd's scrutiny. Yorda was a girl, yes, but she wasn't like any of the other girls he'd known in the village. She wasn't like anyone he had ever met in his entire life. And now this woman was trying to get them together like they were just some ... toys, that she could play dress-up with. At this thought, Ico bleakly turned his gaze away from both Urd and Yorda, choosing instead to focus on two of the blonde citizens, merchants having a business transaction while showing off their wares. An easier thing to think of, he decided, than the thought of love.
no subject
Nonetheless, he answered her question. "I am unfamiliar with the way you speak of dates, but I think they are like courtships in my village. Is that correct?" He watched the woman intently, his jaw still set as he controlled his frustration at being here. "Courting is a thing that adults do when they are interested in marriage. Do you intend to make us marry each other?" he asked, keeping his voice even, though his gaze belied its intensity.
The boy knew there were women who had an interest in marriage; the village wives used to gather while working and talk about who had an interest in who or what, when they thought no one else was listening. How trivial, Ico had thought, never questioning why it was so fascinating to them. At the time, he had other concerns on his mind, like avoiding the group of children that liked to gang up on him. But could it be that this Urd, for all her beauty, was like one of those old wives, trying to match-make when they saw a girl and a boy together? Would the old wives have gossiped about them if they had known?
The thought made him more than a little uneasy... and not just because of Urd's scrutiny. Yorda was a girl, yes, but she wasn't like any of the other girls he'd known in the village. She wasn't like anyone he had ever met in his entire life. And now this woman was trying to get them together like they were just some ... toys, that she could play dress-up with. At this thought, Ico bleakly turned his gaze away from both Urd and Yorda, choosing instead to focus on two of the blonde citizens, merchants having a business transaction while showing off their wares. An easier thing to think of, he decided, than the thought of love.