Well, that was true. But it lightened the mood, and Perian waved at them and promised he would be right on time tomorrow in her rooms.
“We can pretend that it’s pouring rain,” Perian suggested.
Renny’s brow puckered. “What?”
“We’re going to be having a picnic inside tomorrow because it’s raining so hard that we can’t possibly sit out here.”
She gestured back to their area. “But we normally just sit off center under the bushes.”
He shook his head emphatically. “Nope. It’s going to be raining so hard that won’t help. The rain is soaking everywhere, bouncing off the ground. It’s going to soak the ground so fast that the grass will be wet, the blankets will be soaked through, and we would be utterly miserable. So we have no choice but to have the picnic indoors.”
She looked at him like he was a bit of an idiot, but then her lips tipped up. “Pouring rain.”
“Torrential downpour,” he agreed solemnly. “I think the ground level of the castle might be in danger of flooding. If we’re not careful, the whole thing is just going to float away.”
Her smile widened. “So it’s a good thing my rooms are on the third floor.”
“Exactly!” Perian exclaimed. “Even by lunchtime, the rain couldn’t have possibly gotten that high yet. I mean, I don’t think so! We might have to perch on the armchairs. We’ll have to see how bad it is tomorrow.”
She was laughing now. “All right, all right, I’ll see you tomorrow. Assuming you can make it to my room.”
He nodded. “Oh, I’ll make it. Even if I have to swim there.”
“I can carry him if he ends up in trouble,” Molun suggested, and this made them laugh.
“See you tomorrow, Perian. Thank you!” Renny bid him a fond farewell.
He nodded, and the Warriors headed on their way, Molun carrying Renny like she was the most precious thing in the world. They’d all waited patiently while Perian made up silly stories to make her feel better, and he liked that about them. They might not go about cheering her the same way that Perian did, but they seemed to see that it worked.
Maybe there would always be picnics in Renny’s room at least some of the time, but there was no reason those couldn’t be filled with joy, too.
Because Perian was Perian, he asked Molun not to carry him the next day but to make sure that it looked like he’d waded through a storm and flood to get there.
“Really?” Molun asked, laughing gleefully.
Perian nodded. “I mean, I’m not going to soak the food or blankets, but come on, I’ve got to get into the spirit of it!”
So Molun had soaked Perian’s trousers to halfway up his calves, and then Perian leaned over, and Molun got his hair properly wet. Perian shook it out, then retied it. Standing upright again, he shook again so that some water dripped down.
“You are the craziest person I know,” Molun told him solemnly. “I love you.”
Perian grinned at him. “Thanks! Love you, too!”
Renny laughed and laughed when he reached her room and told her of the arduous make-believe journey he’d made to get up to her room past the terrible flooding. (The sun was streaming in through the window. It could not have been a nicer day.) Chamis was the Warrior on-duty in Renny’s rooms this afternoon, and even he smiled a little at Perian’s antics. Perian knew Chamis wasn’t super demonstrative in public, so he took this as the equivalent of laughing. The short Mage Warrior with bright pink squarebeads in her blond hair—her name was Simiala, if Perian remembered right—made no effort at all to hide her amusement.
Thankfully, Renny insisted on him using a towel before he got the picnic blanket all wet, which Perian appreciated, because he was kind of damp.
Renny declared that she was feeling perfectly fine after her picnic yesterday, reiterating that she’d actually moved more to get out here to the sitting room than she had being carried down to the quadrangle, but she was still abiding by the doctor’s regulations.
Perian certainly thought she seemed back to her old self and already full of the energy that had been so absent when Perian had first seen her. They didn’t know if or when the next dizzy spell would come, but the quick recovery was clearly helping her optimism.
They had an enjoyable picnic on the sitting room floor despite the sub-optimal location, and once they’d eaten, they settled in the chairs by the fire. Renny periodically queried him on how the weather was outside, and he would jump up, look out the window, and come back to report something completely ludicrous.
And then Chamis surprised him, because he stuck his head out the door, conferred with his colleagues, and then came back in.
“Princess, I have some very grave news to report.”
They all straightened in alarm.
