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A knock on the door shook me from my peaceful reading, bringing me back to the present. I was in my study, the shelves around me filled to bursting with all manner of books, texts, tomes, and what have you. The midafternoon sunlight was shining through the windows, giving the room a soft glow about it. The small desk before me was covered in papers and scrolls but they weren't a disorganized mess, they were stacked neatly together and put in piles distinguishing them from one another; mail, research reports, purchasing receipts, and various other notes and scrolls and texts and whatnot. Placed on one end of the desk was a small candle, the pleasant aroma of lavender drifting out from its burning wick. The scent had by now floated about the entire room, engulfing all things in its soothing odor. Sitting in the middle of the desk was a nice warm cup of tea, the steam still lazily drifting out from the top of the liquid.

To my left was the fireplace, the soft crackles and pops of the wood burning providing a slight bit of noise to the otherwise silent room. Heat from the little fire kept the room nice and cozy, a relaxing amount of warmth to while away the time here in the study. With my books, my tea, and the fire, today was supposed to be a nice calm day.

Outside the window, snowflakes fluttered about, along with the occasional lump of hail. Even from where I sat at my desk, I could feel the cold wind outside trying to fight its way through the glass and sink its icy claws deep into the warmth within the room. Winter was always my most hated of seasons. Too cold to do much but stay indoors, which granted, I did spend a lot of time indoors as it was, but that was by choice. With all the snow and ice during the winter months, I was forced to remain inside, even during those times when I was struck with the idea of venturing out and enjoying myself in other ways.

A second knock came, a bit louder this time. Whoever was out there would have to wait their sweet time, however, as my body had no intention of rising from the comfortable chair. After all, I had only sat down less than ten minutes ago, the seat hadn't even reached peak warmth yet. More and more often, random people had decided it was their duty to bother me in my peaceful moments, so I wished to keep those moments to myself for as long as possible. My unwelcome visitor could stand out there for as long as I desired.

But then came a third knock, followed by a familiar and wonderful voice.

"Brandth, open up. I have lunch."

At the sound of that voice, I instantly rose and moved to the door. Twisting the knob and swinging the door open, I was greeted to the sight of a blue-scaled kobold looking up at me, her neck craned so high to make eye contact, causing her twin horns to be pointed towards the floor. One shining purple eye met my gaze, the other obscured by an eyepatch. With sunken in cheeks along the sides of her snout, her face had an angular look to it. Adorned on her neck was a thin leather choker with an amber pendant hanging from it. The dark red bodice and skirt she had chosen to wear that day really complemented the light color of her scales, making her seem to glow in a sense.

In one hand, she gripped a bag, the contents within making themselves very noticeable as the sweet, delectable scent of cooked meat wafted out from within. It wasn't just meat I could smell, either; trapped within the odor of savory cooked flesh was the unmistakable aroma of roasted potatoes and fresh baked bread. An absolute mouthwatering combination of scents and flavors.

In her other hand was held a bottle of wine, the perfect additive to the lovely meal she'd brought for us to enjoy. I recognized the bottle, too. It was one of those aged wines; old, but not too old, of course. Don't wanna go spending your entire quarter's earnings on a single bottle, after all.

"You didn't have to go and get lunch," I said, though I was sure my pretending didn't fool her any, especially not when my stomach let out a large call at the scent of the foods.

The ridge of scales above Serisi's one good eye raised in judgement as she exclaimed, "You don't want to share this lovely meal with the most beautiful kobold this side of the Entin Valley, that's fine by me. More for me to enjoy."

A little smile found its way onto my lips as I responded, "Well fine, if you're going to twist my arm, then I suppose I may as well eat with you."

A similar little upturning along her thin lips came, even as she exaggerated a loud annoyed sigh. "Oh," she said, unable to hide the growing grin, "I didn't realize it was such a chore to spend time with me." Even as she said this, she began setting up our meal on the desk, pushing aside my books and papers to make proper room for the food. "Perhaps you'd enjoy our time more if I was some lithe elven trollop, faking a laugh at every other word, trying desperately to steal your attention long enough to steal your money?"

"Bah," I barked, a hand waving her words away. "As if any elf could hold a candle to the allure of one of such innate stunning beauty as you, my dear." I reached for a small piece of that delicious smelling beef, the flesh so tender it easily ripped off the bone without me even pulling hard at all.

That lone purple orb of hers rolled in its socket. "Flattery will get you everywhere, love," she sighed out before taking a bite of the roasted potatoes.

"I know," I said with another smile. When she looked back my way, I snuck a quick kiss on the tip of her snout. She didn't seem to mind any, if a grin becoming so wide I saw her sharp little teeth was anything to signify. "So, anyway," I switched the conversation, "what's the word on that cockatrice out in Lin the other day? Some of the folks on the Council were talking about it, but I never got a chance to ask anything."

"Oh, that." Serisi clicked her tongue and took a small bite from the bread. With her mouth half-full, she told me, "Little thing was causing issues with some traveling merchants and such, so we got called in to take care of things." With her free hand, she mimed slashing a sword, while using the other to pick apart some chunks of meat to throw into her mouth. "Nearly lost Vand to its petrification, but luckily, one of those dragonforged were with us, and used some magic to stop him from becoming a statue."

With a roll of my eyes, I commented, "So they forced one of them onto your group? For a simple monster slaying?"

Thin shoulders rose up when she answered, "Must be a slow week." Another handful of food disappeared into her mouth and then she mumbled, "Can't imagine why they'd bother send one with us when there's the goblins to deal with."

"Could be he's new, and they wanted him to get his feet wet with something relatively easy before casting him out into the thick of things?" I didn't really believe it when I said it, honestly. It was one of those moments where you just say the first thought that pops in your head, even if you know it's stupid.

Serisi didn't give a response to that, opting instead to just take a swig from the wine bottle. After swallowing a good mouthful of the sweet drink, she let out a breath before resuming the meal. For a time, we enjoyed our lunch in relative silence, the only sounds that of our own chewing, the winds outside, and the fireplace's crackling. As we ate, I took some time to watch my love. The small movements of her thin scaled fingers, the pointed teeth that almost gleamed in the firelight whenever she opened her mouth, the rare brief moment when she missed a potato by an inch and how she swiftly stabbed at with her fork hoping I hadn't noticed the earlier mistake. The smooth blue scales along her body shone a brilliant blue in this soft light, but I knew once the sun set, and the only light available would be the dim light of candles in our bedroom, her scales would shine in a different, more enticing manner.

While distracted in the land of thought, a faint noise from outside stirred the two of us from our pleasant meal. A soft rapping on the front door to the house. Wonderful, I thought, someone has come to ruin a nice day. If my luck was particularly bad that day, I assumed it must be some business with the Council. The sound of knuckles striking wood sounded out a few more times, followed by the voice of a young man.

"Wizard Brandth!" he called out. "You have a letter from the Council!"

"I hate when I'm right," I mumbled under my breath.

"Right about what?" Serisi questioned, her eye tracking my movement as I stood up from the desk and reached for my heavy blue cloak.

After I explained my thoughts when I heard the knocking, I then told her with a sigh, "I'll be back as soon as I can, love. Hopefully it isn't anything too bothersome." My feet then carried me to the door of my study, but right when my hand touched the handle, Serisi stopped me.

The sound of the chair's legs scrapping against the hardwood floor alerted me to her getting up as she spoke, "Oh what? No goodbye kiss?" I could hear the laugh hiding deep below the surface of her words. I gave in, though. Not even begrudgingly, but happily. When I turned back to face her, she was already standing on the tips of her clawed toes (shoes just weren't a thing she bothered with at home), arms outstretched, waiting with her eye closed and head tilted slightly upward. She already knew she would get what she wanted.

A fuzzy, warm feeling flowed up from my stomach as I reached out and pulled my love to me, pressing her against my body, feeling the way she smoothly molded herself into me. When her arms wrapped around me, I pulled her up, lifting her off the ground as I brought my lips to hers in a soft kiss full of love and promise. I could have kept her there in my arms for the rest of the night if I could. But that damn courier at the door just had to go and knock and announce his business again, forcing me to pull away from Serisi with a small noise of discomfort from both of us.

Stepping out of my study brought me into the den of the home. There wasn't much in the room, save for a few basic furniture items; a dining table with a few chairs, a decently soft sofa, two little side tables with some prizes of Serisi's past jobs, and a large closet that was full of different items belonging to both of us. Along the walls of the den were situated a few odd paintings and other art stuff I didn't care about. Those were Serisi's ideas to, as she put it, 'make the place look nice.' To the opposite of the study was the kitchen, which stretched out from the den, and within was the typical stuff one would find in a kitchen; pots and pans hanging along the wall, cupboards housing spices and various ingredients, an icebox, a stove and oven, and of course a fine selection of knives.

To the left of the door to the study was the one to our bedroom, which was still in shambles from the previous night. Though I had been home all day, I didn't have the patience nor desire to clean up when I knew it would just end up the same mess by the next morning. And I don't mean anything sexual in nature. Serisi likes to just toss her clothes all over the room once night rolls around, and when she sleeps, she tosses and turns, causing the bedsheets to go with her. Honestly, the only thing she didn't make a mess of on a regular basis was the window curtains, and I was convinced the only reason was for privacy's concern.

The courier outside announced himself yet again, sounding annoyed this time.

"Wizard Brandth," he urged after his third time calling for me, "I have other things to do today, if you'd please hurry this along."

Snippy little thing, I thought.

But still, I made my way to the entrance, stepping over Serisi's boots in the process (if she wasn't the love of my life, I swear I'd throw them at her next time she forgot to pick them up), and pulled open the door to be met with the bite of winter's cruel hand. Even with my heavy cloak on, the icy touch of the wind still made me shiver. By the gods did I had this season.

Just beyond the threshold of the house was the young man who'd had the privilege of delivering my mail for the better part of ten years. Despite having been working for so long, he still retained a youthful look about him, which I was sure made his romantic life a bit easier for him. Fair blonde hair that fell into his eyes was his most defining trait, at least to me. A routine outfit of white and red trimmed tunic and trousers marked his job, which admittedly did make him stand out in a crowd most days, but it was mostly hidden underneath what must have been half his body weight in a thickly padded jacket and pants. Atop his mop of wheat hair was stationed a fur knit cap with elongated sides to cover his ears. Slung at his side was his bag of mail, envelopes, letters, scrolls, and all sorts of paper what needed delivering.

"Finally," he mouthed off. A hand was brought up to show me a letter with the seal of the Council on it. When I took it from him, he swiftly turned tail and marched off to his next destination, but not before letting out an aggravating, "Maybe next time, you can move a bit faster."

I was tempted to throw a rock at his head.

Out on such a cold day, there weren't too many people about. And who could blame them? I certainly didn't want to be out there, and for the few seconds I was, I hated it. I did catch sight of a few stragglers who looked quite hurried steps as they flew by, huddled together for warmth in their big coats. Not even the usual stray animal was bothering to come out of their hidey holes in this chill, likely smart enough to stick to their warm little hovels or nests or what have you. Frost coated the rooftops of nearby homes, the freezing winds left fog on the windows, and the snowstorm itself was keeping what would have been a nice sunny day a now dreary and bleak cloud-covered bore. Even the stone pathways were slicked with chilled water, meaning any brave or foolish enough to be out in this weather would need to watch their step carefully or risk falling face-first into the rocks and dirt.

Just as quickly as the courier boy had departed, I threw the door closed, eager to once again feel the gentle and soothing touch of warmth. Serisi poked her head out of the study, a piece of bread in hand, and gave a questioning look. She stepped out and moved herself over to me, producing a small knife for me to open the letter.

"You really should keep one of these on you, you know," she advised when I took the little blade from her.

"Darling," I mockingly chastised, "wizards don't need knives."

She raised her brow at that and mumbled out, "Mhm." When I was about to prick the side of the envelope, she snatched the knife from me and said with a little sing-song lilt to her voice, "Then I suppose you won't be needing this." Taunting me, she dangled the knife in front of her, waving it about in some childish gesture. But I would not give in to her little game.

Instead, I took out a knife from my own pocket and sliced open the letter.

When her scaled jaw dropped, I returned my blade and told her, in much the same sing-song tone she used, "Doesn't mean I can't have one, anyway."

"Sly devil," she said when she recovered.

With a wink, I explained, "Learned from the best."

After rolling her eye, she nodded at the paper in my hand. "What's the news?"

A quick scan was all I needed to ruin my day. The note had the one thing in it I dreaded more than anything in the world on such a fine relaxing day with my wife.

With a heavy heart, I revealed what I'd read. "It's a summons. Some kind of meeting."

Her tone changed, and I could see the slight sadness on her face as she shrank a bit. "Oh."

"Yea..."

"Is it something bad?" she wondered aloud.

"Oh, gods no," I claimed. "If it was, they wouldn't just send a letter. They'd also send a Gray." The mere thought of one of those stone-faced guards of theirs was enough to thank my lucky stars it was only a summons.

Taking a quick glance at the text towards the bottom of the letter gave me pause. It made special mention of this meeting being called not by order of the Council itself, but on the behest of Lady Ghalestris. This was rather odd, as the dear lady herself usually made it a point not to bother with the Council's affairs. Last time she got involved was well before I had even joined, and it wasn't even over anything truly of note. I could recall being told it was due to some old records of hers needing to be looked over for historical documentation. It was possible this summons of mine would end up being of equal value. Likely some grunt work she needed done, and I was just the lucky bastard chosen for the task.

Joy of joys.

When I relayed this to Serisi, she let out a low whistle. "Wow, Lady Ghalestris herself? If it's that important, maybe you'll get something special from it all. Who knows? Could even," her voice got soft and she leaned in closer, bringing her words out in a whisper as she said, "make you a dragonforged." The evil grin now painting her face showed just how much delight she got out of saying that.

My face contorted into one of disgust. "That's a sick joke." She then burst out into a full laugh, which only made me repeat my line, only louder and more over the top.

Shaking my head at the unbelievability that this was the person whom I intended to spend the rest of my life with, I calmly stretched out my hand and flicked her on the tip of her snout. It certainly got her attention.

Rubbing at the slightly sore spot, the little lizard fake whined, "Oh come on, I was only teasing. You know I didn't mean nothing by it."

"Yeah, yeah," I waved her off. Turning around, I prepared myself to once again brave winter's frozen bite, my cloak pulled tightly around me. And once again, Serisi interrupted.

"Goodbye kiss," she demanded, with an honest to gods stomping of her foot. Like last time, when I looked back at her, she was waiting for me.

"Again? Really?" I questioned sarcastically.

Her eyelid peeped open a tiny bit so she could look at me. "Pft. As if you're actually gonna say no."

Fair enough, I thought to myself.

After repeating our earlier embrace and kiss, she reached up and gently stroked my cheek. The scales on her palm were much softer than one might think at first glance. Also, a slight bit cool to the touch, as well. Placing one final kiss on her forehead, I whispered that I loved her, which she repeated as she sunk her face into my chest, causing her words to be muffled. As enjoyable as the embrace was, I motioned for her to pull off, and gave her one last smile before departing.

I was not ready for the cold wind. The moment I stepped out the door, a sudden rush of chilled air blasted me hard enough to almost make me lose my balance, the breeze searching for any hint of exposed skin to rake its frigid claws into. Instantly, my face felt stung by the ice in the air, and I pulled my cloak up to cover as much flesh as I could manage while still being able to see. As I walked away from the comfort and heat of my cozy little home, I was met by only more snow and frost. My cloak would end up soaked from all of it before long, I just knew it, especially because the walk I was to make wasn't a short trip. To be fair, it also wasn't overly long, either, but bad weather had a habit of making time stretch when you were caught up in it.

The residential district of the city was quiet, if you could ignore the howl of the wind. Not exactly a surprise, to be sure. The stone and wood buildings traveled all the way down the streets. All around me, every home was shut tight, smoke billowing out of chimneys, windows depicting scenes from within of people and families enjoying mostly peaceful afternoons doing simple tasks; cleaning, cooking, writing, reading, playing with pets, so on and so forth. It was enviable. Why did Lady Ghalestris have to pick today to call some kind of meeting? Couldn't it wait until the snows passed and the sun's glow could actually be felt?

Sadly, I had to press on. Best to get this over with and then head home once it was over. Hopefully, whatever the fair Lady wanted wouldn't take too long to deal with. I was already missing the calm of my study, the subtle softness of Serisi's form against my own, that delectable meal she'd braved the wintery wind to get for the two of us to share. My stomach grumbled at the reminder of the food I hadn't finished eating. Mentally cursing this fate, I continued on.

Along my walk, I ventured near the district's fountain. A double decked bowl design, with a statue on top that was supposed to be spewing out water, but currently was doing nothing of the sort. The statue itself was a snake, or so I'd been told. From every angle I'd seen it from, it was too fat and wide to be any snake I knew of. Perhaps the fountain's designer had gotten lazy towards the tail end of the work. Either way, since the water was no longer pumping for the season, the bowls were empty, allowing one to see the various coins and other trinkets people had tossed in over time. Well...what was possible to see through the piling snow, that is. A few odd shines and twinkles poking out through the powder, a handful of sticks and twigs, even the upper portion of a discarded doll. Poor thing, that doll. Looked tattered, almost like a dog had chewed it up. No wonder it had been thrown out.

Beyond the fountain lie a canal that ran through town. A nicely made stone bridge, slightly curving upwards like a hill, spanned the small gap. Just after the bridge was the cutoff point, as it were, for the residential district, and then started the businesses and shops. Most of them were still open, as I found after crossing the bridge, though an odd few had closed down early. Of note of the closed businesses was one of the tailors I frequented. Makes sense, I told myself. Who would be stupid enough to buy clothes at a time like this? You'd just end up getting them wet and cold, after all. However, none of these shops were my destination, so I moved on.

The muffled sound of my boots on the cold stones could barely be heard over the wind, which continued to bite into what little of my face wasn't covered. Mainly, this was my eyes and above, so I was forced to squint my eyes damn near shut just to avoid the tiny shards of ice raining down. Thank the gods I knew my town so well, or else this little handicap would have made it impossible to move as quickly and as surely as I was. Also, the lack of people was a big help in that department. Without having to avoid bumping into someone, I was free to parade down the street had I desired.

Soon enough, though, I was coming up on the Council's location. I could see the wide domed roof through the haze of sleet, the circular design of which helped keep snow from piling on top, and quickly the rest of the building came into view. Large, towering marble columns sprang from the ground before the building, holding up a diminutive viewing platform near the roof. Windows as large as a man dotted the outside, providing the interior with plenty of natural light, though on a day like today there wasn't much to account for. Sleek chiseled stone made up the outer walls of the place, which stretched out far to all sides, taking up almost an entire city block. This made more sense when one recalls this building, the home of the Council, was also the city archives. A library, in essence. Why the Council made this their base of operations, I never understood. Someone tried explaining it to me once, but it was a long and boring lecture, and I did not have the patience to sit there and listen to something so long-winded and dull.

There I stood before the archives, the large twin wooden doors the last remaining hurdle in my way to this meeting. As tall as if there were two of me standing atop one another, the doors were a relatively new addition to the otherwise ancient building. They were made of dark iron oak, and had small square cuts in the wood, stylized with a little flare towards the tops of the squares. Such engravings served no real purpose, I knew, but it still gave the doors a sort of regal appearance, as if one was about to step forth into some nobleman's home.

Speaking of stepping forth, I hurriedly pushed my way inside, wanting to free myself of this semi-blizzard as soon as I could. As I imagined, my cloak was positively drenched from the snow, as when I removed it, it was as if I had just shed an entire summer's worth of sweet fruits and desserts. It made an ugly sloshing noise when it landed on the tiled floor, and even caused a tiny puddle to dribble out from it. I had half a mind to just leave it there, but the better part of me convinced that other side that it was best to at least hang the saturated garment on the coat rack. All the good that would do, I thought, as it wouldn't get dry enough by the time I had to leave again. Taking a moment to prepare myself for whatever might await me at this meeting, I took a deep breath before setting off further into the archives.