It wasn't as bad as he'd thought. The street was clean enough and the houses were at least not falling apart. If Frey had to compare it to anything, he'd say the standard was actually just slightly below how his mother and sisters were currently living.

They all looked pretty much the same though, so the description Marius had given him turned out to be useless. Not that it had been great to begin with, seeing how Marius couldn't write and Frey had to interpret the directions for him. Still, it wasn't that big of a street.

A couple of children in large mufflers ran by, giving him wide eyed stares as they spotted him. He doubted they knew who he was but his appearance did stand out in a place like this, not that he minded.

He wasn't dressed enough for the unexpected and unfortunate kind of cold though. The kind where the temperature hadn't quite dropped to a freezing rate and the raw humidity crept in underneath the clothes. The snow falling down from the sky was heavy and wet, and the entire town's population would end up with solid ice under their feet should things freeze soon after.

Finally Frey spotted Marius, who'd thankfully walked outside to wait for him. He was crouching down next to the door of one of the many houses further down the street, fully occupied with petting a cat.

He did look different in this environment. His hair looked even curlier when newly washed, and his face had a different glow around it. His clothes were actually of decent quality with deep colours that matched his complexion. Maybe he really did know his way around appropriate attire.

His seemingly everlasting smile was of a gentler kind at the moment while stroking the cat's fur, and as always Frey found it hard to stop staring.

This turned out to be a horrible inconvenience as his inattention soon caused him to walk right into one of the streetlights.

He cursed under his breath as he raised a hand to his nose. Somehow, the awkwardness seemed about right on schedule when it concerned his and Marius' encounters.

"Are you all right?" Marius' voice soon asked, not too surprisingly, and Frey looked over at him with a scrunched up face. "Your nose isn't bleeding, is it?"

"I don't think so." He still grimaced as he dropped his arm, but aside from a light sting he'd managed just fine.

"Well thank Sihlea for that." Marius nodded as he scanned Frey's face, more specifically his nose, just to be sure and then turned to face him again. "Would've been a poor start to the evening."

"Especially if it had gotten on my coat." Frey looked down at the pale green, blood unfriendly colour, and then arched an eyebrow as he looked up at Marius again. "... Sihlean, huh?"

Marius blinked. It seemed reasonable that he didn't pay attention to uttering his deity's name in regular conversation.

"Yes," he replied, a concerned wrinkle showing up on his forehead. "Why? Does that bother you?"

"No, not at all." Frey shook his head with a shrug. "It's just not very common here, I believe?"

"Definitely not as common as the Archonic faith, but we're around."

"And you're still excited about Dyris' day?"

"The decorations are pretty, and I like the atmosphere," Marius said as they began walking. "And I did want to convince you to go. You're of that faith, aren't you?"

Frey scrunched up his nose.

"It's... Complicated. Born into it, but haven't really thought too much about it until recently."

He noticed an inquisitive stare from Marius in the corner of his eye, and he knew what he was thinking.

"My father was a religious man," he therefore continued. He didn't want to get into how his specific interest in the faith and its connection to his father was the result of the Scourge-pact the aforementioned had made. It seemed ridiculous sometimes but Frey couldn't help but think about it, wondering if he could still do something to ease the suffering his father would be in by praying to the Archons. If not for his sake, given his reluctance to worship something he couldn't see, then for his father. He'd still worshipped the Archon Ilara for as long as Frey could remember, so wasn't there a chance he could still watch over him wherever he was?

Marius had turned his head forward again, and Frey realised he must have looked troubled, so he hurriedly continued.

"Not sure if it counts as faith, but at least I feel a bit closer to him the more I learn about it."

"You know, if you want to talk about it—"

"I don't." The topic had already overstayed its welcome. "Where are we headed, anyway?"

"Well, what do you want to do first?" Marius turned to meet his gaze. "For firelights, I was thinking we'll just find a stand somewhere, or Wynne's if you want to play it safe."

"Either is fine," Frey said, and Marius gave him a sceptical look.

"It's not like you to have no opinion." He then let out an 'oh' as he recalled something. "Oh, wait... You don't like sweet things."

"Not usually, but I haven't tried firelights. I also hear there's chocolate in them and I like to eat it out of spite."

Marius let out a snort before breaking into laughter.

"You eat chocolate out of spite?"

"Once when I was younger Lady Cromwell decided to mess with me by telling the kitchen staff that I'm not allowed to eat chocolate, and to this day they never serve it to me."

"Couldn't you just tell them she's wrong?" Marius still couldn't keep a straight face, and Frey shrugged.

"I don't want it anyway, and I don't need servants to think there's bad blood between me and Lady Cromwell. It's also an amusing challenge I suppose, since I don't move outside of the mansion much."

"So you do enjoy silly things." Marius grinned. "I was beginning to wonder if you had a sense of humour at all."

Frey wrinkled his nose at the comment. He found humiliating other people immensely funny on occasion but it occurred to him that Marius might not agree, so he returned to the previous topic.

"So is Wynne's as good as they say?" He'd heard of the shop before, mostly because Noah had a fondness of the place, but he hadn't tried it himself of course.

Marius cocked an eyebrow.

"You haven't even been there? I know you're not fond of sweet things but I thought that was one of the best places in this town."

"Yes, well, this town can't compare to West Kerilia when it comes to anything sweet."

"Says the one who doesn't like it."

"It's just a fact." Frey stuck his nose up. "Confections and baked goods are naturally better in West Kerilia."

"So... Even with baked stuff you have them send it from there whenever you want something?" Marius looked half concerned and half amused. "And you buy clothes from Wyrmdon, so how much do you buy here in town?"

"I like fish."

"Would've been a bummer if you didn't."

Frey considered his options for a moment, but finally settled on safety.

"Let's go to Wynne's anyway. If nothing else I'll know if I can tease young Lord Hargreaves about his taste."

"There's the Frey I'm used to." Marius' grin widened and fortunately faced forward before Frey could gawk.

"... Frey?"

Marius looked back at him.

"No, I'm Marius."

Frey wanted to whack him over the head.

"No, you called me Frey."

"That's your name, isn't it?"

"But you... Used it."

"You call me Marius."

"Because you told me to."

Marius frowned lightly but didn't let go of his smile.

"I like your first name, but I'll stop if it makes you uncomfortable."

"No, it's fine," Frey replied a little too quickly. Perhaps he shouldn't have said that, but he liked people using it too. Even after a year he wasn't fond of being called the same name and title as his late father, especially since people apparently refused to separate the two. "It's... Only fair. Just takes some time getting used to."

"Not a whole lot of people calling you by your first name?" Marius looked genuinely confused as Frey shook his head. Had he forgotten that there were few people close enough to Frey to look past his title?

He fortunately didn't pry.

"See, isn't this nice?" Marius instead switched subjects as they got to the town square, where an overabundance of candles and sparkling decorations had been put up. "The atmosphere here is quite something."

Even Frey had to admit it was. The lights were a welcome contrast against the darkening sky. A large horse made of straw had been raised in the middle of the town square and Frey shook his head at it. To think they'd make such a wonderful creation only to burn it days after.

Letting his gaze wander further, he noticed people were staring. Of course they did. He rarely walked around town even for business, and while many had certainly heard rumours there were few who'd gotten a proper look at the recent changes to his face.

He turned away, hoping no one would realise he was walking around with a servant to boot.

"We could pass through here and get to Wynne's quicker, right?" He vaguely pointed down a narrow alley, and Marius pursed his lips.

"Looks a little dark and sketchy for someone like you though, doesn't it?" His usual smile was accompanied by a small wrinkle between his eyebrows. "And I don't think it would be that much quicker so we might as well stay on the well-lit roads."

"We're so close to the square, no shady people would try anything—" Frey began but quickly closed his mouth, eyes widening as he spotted familiar faces further away.

"Carrigan," he whispered under his breath and Marius looked around at the appearance of Lord Carrigan and Lord Felek further away, the latter being yet another lord Frey was acquainted with to an undressed degree.

"Oh... Isn't that the lord who—"

Before he could finish his sentence Frey had grabbed a hold of his jacket and pulled him into the narrow alleyway. It was an awkward solution to not being spotted, and a moment passed as Frey stood paralyzed by Marius' face being so close to his.

He'd really pulled him close.

Marius looked sufficiently shocked and possibly a bit flustered as he stared into his eyes. Frey cursed his inability to let him go. He just had to release the grip of his jacket, or push him away.

In the end it was Marius who cleared his throat and gestured down the alley.

"Well... If you insist."

To Frey's dismay it seemed as though the cheerfulness had faded if only a little, and he frowned. Perhaps it would be better to call the whole thing off. He had no desire to be spotted by Carrigan or Felek in his current situation.

"Frey?" Marius then asked, giving him a look of concern as he received no reply. It was too much for Frey. Marius' lips being so close, the breath against his skin as his name was uttered, and the reluctance to let go of him.

He knew he wasn't allowed to feel things. He'd gone along with everything so far but had tried to shrug it off as a somewhat friendly indulgence. That's what he'd forced himself to think. Despite any possible desires locked up in the back of his head, friendliness was all he could allow. It was a big step nevertheless for someone like Frey, so shouldn't he be content?

"Are you..." Marius trailed off, taking a step back before opening his mouth again, but Frey was quicker.

"Let's go." He nodded his head in the same direction Marius had, and if he wasn't mistaken a glimpse of light returned to the man's eyes.

"Right!"

The street was busy. People everywhere were looking for gifts, some new decorations for their windows or the usual assortment of confections found during the Dyris themed season. Though it was easier to blend into a crowd, should someone Frey recognized be around, the sheer amount of people had him more or less gasping for air, and he'd unknowingly wrapped his arms around himself.

"This way." Marius raised his voice to be heard over the buzz around them and waved Frey along. It was almost impossible to keep up. People bumped into him everywhere and Frey began feeling nauseous. There were too many strangers touching him, whether they intended to or not.

After almost losing sight of Marius for the third time however, Frey decided it was more than enough and sucked in a breath before making an effort to push through the crowd.

Then he grabbed hold of Marius' hand.

For once, it was Marius' turn to freeze as he slowly glanced back at the two hands joined together, but unlike Frey he soon regained his ability to move and turned to push them through the crowd again. While the man always had a smile on his face, Frey was pretty certain the one he'd spotted before he turned away had been a different, elated kind.

It was an odd experience for Frey as well. He didn't hold hands. The few times he'd let anyone take his hand had been during greetings, but even then it had never been a guarantee. Now he was hanging on to one as if he'd never let go. He stared down at the rough, warm hand in his grasp, unsure if he was holding on too tight.

Marius said something inaudible under the noisy crowd and Frey squinted in an attempt to read his lips, but he'd only spotted half of the sentence anyway.

"Incense horses," Marius repeated as he turned around entirely and pointed at a stand further away with small, blue dyed horses. "They smell really good. Should we buy some?"

Frey wasn't interested, but he couldn't see the harm if Marius wanted to.

"One each?" he asked as they headed over, reaching into his inner pocket to fish out some money.

"Oh, I'm good." Marius held up his hands and Frey had to stop his shoulders from slouching.

"You're the one who wanted to head over."

"I doubt Sihlea would be thrilled if I prayed to an Archon." Marius shook his head in response. "I thought maybe you'd have use of one."

Frey stared down at the little horse with a frown as he paid for it.

"You use them to pray?"

"... Yes?" Marius looked amused. "You've never used one before?"

"I'm... Not very familiar with the traditions."

"It's not the most common one, I think." Marius offered his pocket, which was much larger than the ones on Frey's jacket, and Frey dropped the horse into it. "But I know a couple who do it. I think you light it when you sleep to keep nightmares away."

It was certainly something Frey could use. He'd love to be rid of the frequent, blightish nightmares.

"I swear, everything about this holiday is a fire hazard," he then said, finally unable to remain uninfected by Marius' smile.

"Hey, can't say I haven't suffered during Dumalain." Marius poked at his right arm. "Gotten my fair share of oil burns while cooking, especially when I was younger. My mom almost didn't let me make riots there for a while."

"Riots?" Frey arched an eyebrow.

"Yes! You make a sweet dough with rice flour, and then you shape them into a braid and fry them in coconut oil." Marius looked unusually excited. "And then you pour syrup over them. I'll show you sometime!"

Frey's smile turned a bit awkward, but he wouldn't be so rude as to stay quiet.

"I think we have something similar. Or, I think it's at least fried, but there's anise in it and it's rolled in sugar."

Marius' eyes widened.

"Can you buy them anywhere?" He looked around, much to Frey's amusement. "Do you think Wynne's have them? I don't think I've seen them."

"I guess we'll find—"

"Lord Clausson," a voice said behind Frey and his breath stopped hard in his throat.

"Why, Lord Carrigan," Frey greeted Carrigan as he turned around to face him and Lord Felek, putting on the absolute best act he could muster. "And Lord Felek. What a pleasant surprise."

"Surprise, indeed," Carrigan said as he looked around at the crowd and stalls. "I never thought I'd find you in a place like this. Don't you have servants to buy things for you?"

Carrigan didn't need that mocking smile. Frey knew well enough what his words implied.

"I do," he therefore said, smile unrelenting. "But I had urgent business to attend to and was just passing by this street on my way back."

"How interesting." Carrigan matched his expression. "What kind of business?"

Frey's smile turned ever so discreetly contemptuous, and he leaned forward slightly.

"My sincerest apologies, but that information is for people I actually do business with."

Lord Felek looked thoroughly confused at this. Had Carrigan not told him about what had happened between the two of them?

"Of course." Carrigan's eyes narrowed, but for some reason his smile widened and he glanced to the side. "So, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that one of the stable boys at Lord Hargreaves' stables?"

He nodded in Marius' direction, who seemed clever enough to keep his mouth shut and let Frey talk.

"It is." He couldn't stop his heartbeat from racing, but he'd make absolutely sure not to show it. "I believe people with other occupations celebrate holidays as well."

"I'm just surprised to see you spending time with someone like him." Carrigan threw a glance in Felek's direction for added support and Frey's confidence faltered. How bad would the consequences be if he admitted to them being there together? How would that affect not only his, but his family's reputation?

His mind wanted to shut down, and words retreated from his tongue. He couldn't let that happen. He'd outgrown it. The speech impediments when he was a child, the running from conflicts. His father had trained him to overcome them, and yet they just had to come flooding back at the most inopportune times.

But he wouldn't let them.

"I'm not," he said before he could give it more consideration, clenching his fists enough to strain his arms and neck. He couldn't allow any hint of anxiety to show. "Like I said, I was passing through for business. We met by coincidence and he wanted to know if there was more to be done in preparation for the new horses I bought the other day."

It stung his chest, and he didn't even want to look at Marius to see if his usual expression had changed. It shouldn't come as a surprise to him though, he tried to reason. Everyone knew Frey was a shallow, arrogant lord who didn't associate with anyone he couldn't make use of to further his career. He'd been fine with that reputation before, because it was true and he'd taken pride in it.

That's why it wouldn't work.

It was as though he kept forgetting about it. As though he could escape that part of him and pretend to be someone else. But Lord Frey Clausson didn't work like that. He didn't change. His already crumbling status survived only because of his title and ability to put on a brave face as if nothing had changed.

So nothing could change, and Marius had to realise that. Frey had to realise that.

"Well then, if you're all done with that I assume you won't mind if we keep you company to the square," Carrigan said and then gave Marius a look of contempt. "The sooner we leave this filthy place, the better."

Frey gritted his teeth.

"I'm leaving, but I'm afraid I'm heading in a different direction than you two are."

"How unfortunate." Carrigan's voice was monotonous, clearly not amused by Frey's obvious refusal to be near him. "I suppose we'll be seeing you for the meeting tomorrow evening, unless you're still avoiding them."

Frey gave him a dead smile.

"Of course not."

"Wonderful." Carrigan then leaned in closer and whispered as if he was about to tell Frey a secret. "You know, this weather does allow you to wear a hood or similar to cover your head. I'd use that to my advantage if I were you."

Frey fought the immense urge to place a hand against his torn ear, and he inhaled a breath as quietly as he could, heart all but stopping from the painful tension in his muscles.

"Lord Carrigan, with all due respect—" Marius spoke up but Carrigan shut him down immediately.

"Don't talk to me, filth." His eyes barely landed on Marius before he wrinkled his nose and turned away again. "Honestly, Lord Clausson, aren't there better stable boys around? This one sure likes to butt into conversations a lot."

"He's good at his job," Frey muttered, still not looking at Marius and still resisting his wish to cover his ear. "It's hard to find people I trust enough to take care of my horses."

"Well, isn't he lucky." Carrigan spared one last glance at Marius. "Though I'd advise against being seen together with him like this. People might think there's something... Going on."

"That's ridiculous," Frey replied with a cold laugh, and he was certain an invisible person just stabbed his heart with a knife. "I am leaving now though, so there should be no further worries about that."

He had to look at him now. As cruel as it was, it would seem odd if he suddenly didn't acknowledge Marius' presence.

"We'll discuss the horses further next time I come to the stables." He nodded his head as a farewell. "Stable boy."

Marius nodded back, still wearing a stubborn smile on his face.

"Of course, Lord Clausson."

But the light in his eyes was gone.