Stay with Mika

Winlay gazed at the closed door for several second without even realizing how clear her feelings for Adam were. Mika moved to her side and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Go talk to him, Winlay." Mika told her with a gentle push towards the door. "Believe me, he is as intrigued by you as you are by him." Any thoughts Winlay might have had of denial were washed away by a surge of hope.

"Really? I thought he and you..." Mika laughed. "No, not that way. In fact until now, Adam took his vows seriously. Far more seriously than most Templars, but he hasn't taken his eyes off of you since you met." She gently pushed Winlay again "All I'm saying is that you too are going to have to talk about your feelings, because I for one can't take the tension when the two of you are together."

"I can't Mika" Winlay answered, "Not now, not trapped like we are down here." The two pretty initiates sat silently side by side on the couch, not quite touching each other for nearly a minute, it was not an awkward silence, but one of relaxed companionship. Winlay didn't really want to break the peaceful mood, but she had so many questions that she couldn't hold back any longer. Reaching out her hand she touched Mika gently on her leg to get her attention.

"About the kiss earlier..." She started hesitantly, but before she could frame her question she was interrupted by Mika who smiled at her and wrapped her arms around Winlay in a spontaneous hug.

"Don't worry about it Winlay, it was nothing. Probably more from the relief of being safe than anything else." Winlay wasn't buying her friend's attempts to discount the embrace, she wasn't sure just how she felt about it, but she knew that it hadn't been nothing.

"It was nice." She started again. "You surprised me, but it was a nice kiss." The glow on Mika's face as her words registered rewarded Winlay more than any words Mika could have spoken.

"You are the best!" The slender blonde gave her a little wink before continuing. "Next time I'll be sure to let you know well ahead of time, so you can prepare." Once again Winlay sat in silence on the couch, but this time her hand rested comfortably in Mika's. As she sat her brain had a chance to go over the information she had been exposed to in the past few hours.

"What's a Chevalier? And how do you know all the things that you do?" She could tell by the way Mika stiffened that the question was going to be difficult to answer, if not exactly unexpected. "I guess you're not just a simple village girl like me from the highlands, are you?"

"No." Mika turned to Winlay as she spoke. "I'm sorry I lied to you Win, really I am." Her eyes searched Winlay's for any hint of anger that she might have, but found none. "I still can't tell you everything, but you deserve to know at least a little about what you've become involved with." The room was quiet for a while Mika contemplated what she could tell her friend.

"Should you talk to Adam first?" suggested Winlay, but Mika immediately shook her head.

"No. I think he really wants you to know a little about what we do, but he would never tell you himself. Adam cares so much about the secrecy involved that he sometimes is afraid to involve anyone at all. Frankly I was surprised he agreed to let Sister Margaret help." Mika took a deep breath before she continued. "It surprised him too I think. Now that he realizes how crazy he is about you, he won't trust any decision that he makes that involves you."

"Really?" Winlay interrupted involuntarily. "I thought he was mad at me."

"Silly girl!" Chided Mika "How could anyone be mad at you? You are good and trusting and honest. The world needs more people like you, but because of what we did your life is going to be very different." She paused before adding "If Adam seems mad, it is because of a combination of guilt at how he ruined your life, and desire for you that is making him question his own vows." Winlay could not believe her ears, Adam was interested in her!

"Are you sure?" She asked, and Mika just laughed in response.

"I've known Adam since he was eight and I was four. He always looked after me, and as we grew older we had so many midnight talks about so many different topics that I sometimes think I know him better than he knows himself." Mika got up and walked to the sink to refill her glass of water, but Winlay sensed it was more to buy time than because she was thirsty.

"OK, Winlay - here's what I can tell you."