"My that is a pretty name! Just right for a pretty girl like you." He took her hand gallantly and kissed it.
"It is an honor to meet such a worthy companion of my nephew's. Zarsha I'm sure you must be hungry and tired from your long journey, would you mind if I talked with your guardian while your needs are seen too?"
She nodded hesitantly and then released my hand, which I missed almost instantly.
"You may call me Sebastian little princess. Let me summon someone who will take good care of you." Sebastian rose and pulled a cord on a wall nearby. Within moments I heard the door open and the swishing of silky garments.
"Yes Sebastian, how may I help you?"
The feminine voice made me turn to see its owner, and I received the shock of a lifetime when I did. There not ten feet from me stood a part of my past, only she was all grown up now. I had thought of her on several occasions, but I had figured that she would be dead by now after being worked to death and then thrown into a wayside ditch somewhere to rot among the weeds. But she wasn't dead! She was standing here before me looking more alive and beautiful than I could have ever imagined a woman could.
Krista was somewhat taken aback by the intense stare of the man in the study with Sebastian. She was used to being stared at but this was different. He wasn't giving her the visual go over that said he was imagining her with her clothes off, but instead his intense gaze on her seemed to be grounded out of some deeper meaning.
Many of the people Sebastian dealt with were unsavory, but maybe this one was more descent than some. His silent gaze upon her was unsettling, as was the woodsy masculine smell of him in the safety of her master's study.
Trying not to show how unnerving the stranger's stare on her was she met Sebastian's eyes and asked a silent question as to what was going on. Sebastian looked surprised too by the stranger's reaction to her, but he masked it well.
"Krista, this is Roric my nephew but knowledge of that doesn't leave this room. This beautiful young lady is Zarsha. Could you take care of her and see that she gets plenty to eat?"
Krista noticed the little girl by the tall man's side for the first time. She held out her hand and smiled genuinely down at the girl.
"It's late but I happen to know that the cook is baking doughnuts for tomorrow's breakfast. Want to see if any of them are done?" Krista asked leadingly.