Vincent watched Zoe as she sat at her desk, a quill in her hand moving slowly across the paper. She was upside down, because his head was dangling off her bed. Her red hair bobbed amusingly up and down as she tilted her head sideways, gave him an unreadable glance, and went back to her writing. It was the most attention she'd paid to him since she let him into her room with an injunction to let her finish her work before bothering her.

Her room was decorated with black silk, with mirrors, with golden cabling and white velvet. He'd heard some of Zoe's stories about the mirrors, and the velvet and he grinned to himself, imagining them. There was a chair on one side of the room, almost as large as a small couch, and more comfortable, but it amused him to lay across the bed like this.

"What are you writing, anyhow?" It amused him to lay across her bed like this, but it would be far more fun if she were on it with him. She was wearing a skirt low around her hips, and a stiffly-boned top that nonetheless left some skin between it and the skirt bare, and he knew if she squirmed the top would ride higher and the skirt lower, and he knew exactly where things would go from there. He rolled over, rustling the silken coverlets, in an attempt to lure her over.

Absently, she answered him. "A letter. Why don't you go down to the bar? I'll be down later."

She usually preferred to say things face-to-face; they all left the writing to Sana. Still, she'd been even more intense than usual lately. So he considered it, and let his eyes rove around the room. In one corner was a large vanity, and he hopped up from the bed to go sprawl in the chair there, peering at his reflection and tugging down his eyes to make faces at himself. Zoe had enormous amounts of gaudy costume jewelry, but more than a few pieces of expensive antiques, including a rather nice barrette set with opals and sapphires. He untied his hair and picked up her hairbrush and began to brush out his own hair, admiring the river of dark locks reflected in the mirror. Then he picked up the hair clip and began to weave it into his own hair. "Can I borrow this, Zoe?"

Zoe scarcely glanced at him. "It doesn't really suit you, Vincent. Try the golden comb." That, of course, was one of the costume jewelry pieces. He pouted at the mirror and then spun around on the chair, leaving the clip woven among his locks.

"You don't trust me." He pouted some more.

Zoe sighed and turned in her chair, finally, to face him. "Where's Keiji?" she demanded.

His pout turned into a frown. "I don't know. Off composing love sonnets to the brittleness of Lorien's sword, probably." He snickered at the image.

Zoe raised her eyebrow. "Oh?" She tapped the pen on her desk and he noticed the ink blots staining her hand. She really wasn't good at this.

He scowled at her. "I've been getting tired of him, anyhow. You should come out with me and we can go have fun."

She was amused. "You would have left him years ago if he wasn't the best way to taunt Lorien. Good for him if he's finally dumped you for good."

Vincent stood up. "Some friend you are!" but his heart wasn't really into picking a fight with Zoe tonight. Instead, he turned, looking up at the vaulted ceiling and the billows of draped silk there. "There's this other boy, anyhow. Very cute. And a duelist I met lately, Liessa Sone. Sana would like her. She's so serious. You should throw another party." Behind him, Zoe shifted her position, turning in her chair to follow him as he paced around her room. "Hurry up and finish your letter so we can go out. I'll win you enough for a new necklace." Her attention remained on him, and he was pleased.

"So who's the boy? I've met Liessa; she's not for you. You know her cousin is the Regent, don't you?"

Vincent twitched. "Of course I knew that. She's not my type, of course. I just thought I'd mention her, since Lorien seems to be so /busy/ lately." He turned in a circle and then flopped on the bed again. There was a long silence and he closed his eyes and considered his luck at the tile games. It was about as good as his luck getting Zoe to go out with him tonight. Maybe if he'd brought up a flask...

"Vincent, are you jealous of Lorien having Keiji, or of Keiji having Lorien? I've resisted asking all these years, but-"

He sat up abruptly. "You're mad. I'm not jealous of either of them. Lorien is just a pretentious little annoyance." He glared at her for a moment, and noticed the way her red hair curled against her face, the smoothness of her skin, and the light in the back of her eyes. The skirt had slid down a fingerspan, and he could see the curve of her belly. He sighed. "Zoe, why haven't we ever-"

She stood up, rolling her eyes. "We did, Vincent. Remember? Then you decided I was too curvy." She wiggled her hips demonstratively. "That was a long time ago."

"Oh yes..." he trailed off. He supposed things were better this way, without any silliness or jealousy.

She sat on the bed beside him and ruffled his hair.

"Why so glum? Why are you up here lurking in my room like lost dog?"

"I'm not!" He scowled again. "Anyhow, you're the one hiding up here writing letters." He jumped to his feet. "I'm going to read it."

She raised her voice. "Stop, Vincent, it's none of your business," and she dodged past him. She'd always been fast, but he caught the letter and had only a chance to look at the curved letters before she tugged it from his hand. "I swear, Vincent, you are such an ass sometimes. If you're not careful, my brother and his new lover will find you here, and you might end up in trouble."

He stared down at the carpet, his mouth tight, and remained silent. Then he moved back to the bed and flopped on it again. "I'll just wait for you here. Go on, write your precious little letter, if it's so important to you."

She sighed and tucked the letter on the desk again. "Well, tell me about this new boy. Who is he?"

Vincent laid back, folding his hands beneath his head casually, but secretly pleased. "I shouldn't say. His family definitely wouldn't approve of his association with me."

Zoe smirked at him, recognizing his game for what it was. "That young? I should send my spies out to find out!" She sat on the bed again.

Recognizing his game for what it was, and willing to play along. That was why he loved her. "No, no, don't do that. I want him to discover all my faults on his own. If you find him, his entire family will know. I've had enough duels already to last me a lifetime!"

She put her hand to her heart. "I'll protect-aha! This is where the brave Liessa Sone comes in, isn't it." She smiled at him again. "She is..." she tapped her finger against her chin. "She is a more reputable lover than you, I suspect, and a worthy duelist as well. Have you employed her to help you in your little romance?"

He was grinning now; her light was contagious. "I shan't say."

Zoe tugged on his hair. "I'll simply find her and ask her. Vincent, you always get in trouble with Sone."

"I know!" He gnawed on his lip. "They're so much /fun/, though." A thought occurred to him. "Who are you writing, anyhow?"

Two could play the game. She waved a hand languidly, still playing with his hair. "A man. Charming man. Well, I lie. Not charming at all. Rough, uncouth." She grinned wickedly. "Fun!" And she snatched the clip from his hair, where her wandering fingers had untangled it, and tumbled backwards off the bed to roll to a crouch, a few feet away.

"Hey!" She ignored him, looking down at the clip.

"I told you, the gold is really much better for you. I swear, nobody listens to me any more." She stood up and went to her vanity, where she picked up the piece of costume jewelry. She sat down beside him and began arranging the piece in a braid among his hair, and he submitted sulkily to her ministrations.

"Are you going to get married, Vincent, in this flurry of engagements?"

"Are you?"

"Lissende is. Some Bellatrix, I think. I won't, but-" she trailed off.

He shrugged lightly, careful of her hands in his hair. "Maybe. Maybe I should court a Yuasa." The thought tickled him. "Wouldn't that annoy Lorien?"

She shook her head. "You never rest. Court a Minamet instead. Court one who will put up with your bad habits." She chuckled. "If such exists." She sighed. "I suppose a Touraine is a better match for you. Shall I see if I can find one for you, before the elders match you up with a true leash?"

He made a face down at his hands. "It might help. A wedding, I mean. A nice Touraine viscountess. I could introduce her to the scandalous side." He made a face at a memory. "Of course, there are other people who should get such an introduction before their marriage. Himiko and Kuro - both such children. Can you imagine their wedding night?" He watched Zoe's face as she flushed faintly at the image, and then he said thoughtfully, "Perhaps they'd like some help... I could offer to join them. They're both such lovely children... innocent... Wouldn't you like to join them, too?"

She yanked on his hair, then. "Vincent!" All the same, she was quiet for a minute. Then she said, "Well. At least Maria has had a proper education, and I've heard her fiance ran off with the Gitany when he was young. So there's the other side." They were both silent for a minute, although this time Zoe's expression was distant, and not pink at all.

Vincent tried to remember all of Zoe's most recent lovers. She always fell so hard for every single one of them. Even him, way back when, he supposed. He wondered if she still loved them all. He couldn't remember if any of them were up for weddings this year. He smirked to himself, though. They'd all be the better for their affairs with Zoe; their wives should probably write her thank you notes.

Then she pushed him away from her. "There, now you're stunning. Please go down to the bar, and wait for me? I promise I'll be down when I'm done, but if you stick around in this mood, you're likely to steal my perfume and dump it over my head. Go harass Malena or Tristam or something."

He looked at her with huge eyes, and she sighed and rummaged on her vanity desk. "Here, take this." It wasn't jewelry at all-it was a silver ball, hollow and etched with abstract designs, decorated with tiny jewels. She tossed it to him and he grinned at her. "Go throw it at Malena's head or something. She'll come after you with her sword, and you'll have hours of entertainment."

He blew her a kiss and rose from the bed and bowed his way from the room. Then he called over his shoulder, "I'll be back if you're not down soon," and tossed the ball up and caught it in his hand, feeling her eyes on his back as he walked down the stairs.