“Please, it’s Viv.” Her mouth twitched. “You must be the surprise Rowan told me about.”
“I-I…”
She reached for the chain mail and tested its weight. “This looks historically accurate.”
“It is,” Ben said, falling into familiar rhythm. “As much as possible without sacrificing safety or function. Some compromises for wearability and weight. But the same techniques.”
Charlie’s gaze flicked to him, measuring. He felt it like a hand brushing his cheek.
“Try it on,” Ben told Rowan. “Let’s see if it needs any adjustments.”
Rowan slipped the chain mail over his costume. It was a perfect fit.
“This is excellent,” Viv said, circling Rowan. “What?” she added, smiling at his grin.
“You know what I’m going to say,” Rowan replied. “It hasn’t been made yet.”
Viv’s grin widened. “No. It hasn’t.”
Ben blinked, confused.What hasn’t?
She turned her attention to the knives and swords, then to Charlie. “You know weapons, right?” She looked back at Ben. “By the way, This is Charlie King, my very own Sir Mariel.”
Charlie winced. It was subtle, but Ben caught it.
“We know each other already,” she said, glancing away from Ben.
“Oh,” Viv said, studying Charlie. “Small world, or are you a Ren Faire regular?”
“Small world,” Charlie said. “This is my first Faire.”
“But you do know weapons?”
Charlie nodded. She stepped closer to the table, her interest clearly piqued. She examined a sword then picked it up carefully, respectfully. Not the way some tourists who’d never touched a sword in their life handled one. The way someone who understood them did.
“This is very well-balanced,” she said, testing it.
“Th-thank you.”
“Light, too.” She stepped back to a safe distance and swung the sword. Ben’s heart flipped in his chest.
Rowan looked back and forth between the two, grinning like a cat with a canary. Ben wanted to sock him.
“So you give it your stamp of approval?” Viv asked Charlie.
“Approval? For?”
Rowan shook his head. “Come on, Charlie, you’ve read the books. What’s Sir Aldric’s first quest all about?”
“Finding the lost Ember Sword, of course.” She looked at the sword in her hand. Her eyes widened at the same time Ben realized what Rowan was getting at.
“And you’ve read the books, too?” Viv asked him.
“Yes, ma’am…Viv.”
Her smile widened. “Then you know what the Ember Sword is supposed to look like.”
His heart thudded once, hard.
