1. Venla Thiel

    Dare Primroses

    Venla watched him with fondness as he spoke, half-bent and busy with his weeds like it was the most natural thing in the world to pull lunch from your boots. She liked that. It reminded her of home. Of morning chats over the garden fence, with the neighbours on warm mornings, before the bread...
  2. Venla Thiel

    Private Steady Hearts, Open Minds

    Venla perked up the moment the door opened, her head lifting from where it had been resting against the edge of a pillow. The tunic hung soft around her knees, sleeves pushed up, collar loose. “Well, look at you, what a handsome tea servant.” she murmured, blinking sleepily at the tray. Her...
  3. Venla Thiel

    Private Steady Hearts, Open Minds

    The room was small, but Venla had made it feel like hers. She hadn't brought much, mostly clothes and practical things. A black polished stone from the river sat on the sill beside a half-melted candle. The rug was forgotten by someone before her, and the tiny bundle of lavender over the bed...
  4. Venla Thiel

    Private Steady Hearts, Open Minds

    Venla paused with her hand still resting on the door, just after unlocking it, and turned to look at him properly. One brow rose. Not unkindly, but with a quiet disbelief. This was the same man who had held her in the pond not moments agoa and before that who had looked her in the eye and asked...
  5. Venla Thiel

    Private Steady Hearts, Open Minds

    “Best be careful, or folk might start thinking we went swimming together on purpose.” She gave him a playful nudge with her shoulder, entirely unconcerned about whether anyone saw them or not. Damp and muddy footprints trailing behind them. Her boots squelched with each step. “Half a nest?”...
  6. Venla Thiel

    Dare Primroses

    „Ginger girl! You've cleaned up nice.“ She gave a small, proper nod like her mother had taught her and a soft huff of a laugh. “Well… thank you. I wondered if you made it. ” Her tone was mild as milk. He looked like the road had tried to chew him up and spit him out. Like he haven’t had a...
  7. Venla Thiel

    Private Steady Hearts, Open Minds

    'I could get used to hearing you call me that, love.' “Mm.” she hummed, squeezing his hand gently as he led her toward the shore, skirts dragging through the shallows. Venla squelched her way up onto the grass, boots and dress heavy as bricks. The wet linen dress clinging to her legs. She...
  8. Venla Thiel

    Private Steady Hearts, Open Minds

    Her eyes went wide, a sharp cry escaping her lips as the unexpected strength of his hold dragged her forward. “Wait...!” she began. SPLASH. Cold water licked her face. Water exploded in a wide arc, lily pads bobbing wildly and ducks fled in panic. She felt the shock of the chill surge through...
  9. Venla Thiel

    Dare Primroses

    The meadow swayed gently around her, a living sea of green and gold. Daisies nodded in the breeze. Above it all the sky stretched wide and blue, the kind of blue that felt too big to name. Kneeling skirts tucked beneath her, hands careful as she reached through the grass. Her fingers brushed...
  10. Venla Thiel

    Private Steady Hearts, Open Minds

    The warmth of him settled around her like the comfort of a heavy quilt on a cold morning. Her hands stayed where they were, one resting lightly between his shoulder blades, one curling into the fabric of his tunic. Something in her softened as she felt the rise and fall of his breath beneath her...
  11. Venla Thiel

    Private Steady Hearts, Open Minds

    She felt the sting of his words, innocent, perhaps, or meant as a joke, but they stung all the same. My eyes… do they give me away so easily, do they? But he didn’t really know the half of it, how often she had bent herself to the needs of others or how easy it was for her to set aside her own...
  12. Venla Thiel

    Private Steady Hearts, Open Minds

    Venla didn’t answer at once. Her eyes followed the ripple of the water where his pacing disturbed the pond’s edge. Her lips pressed into a thin line as she considered him. It was hard looking at him, seeing that half-hope in his eyes that she might say something she couldn’t. What would you have...
  13. Venla Thiel

    Dare Primroses

    Somewhere near Astevale Monastery The sun spilled like honey across the meadow, thick and golden and slow. A breeze stirred the tall grasses, sending ripples through the wildflowers as if the earth itself were breathing. Dragonflies hovered and darted, their wings catching the light in flashes...
  14. Venla Thiel

    Open Under an Old Tree

    Venla had not expected such company on the path. Certainly not a girl with three moon eyes and a voice like wind glancing over still water. Nor a tall woman with star-speckled eyes, her robes flowing like clouds on the midnight sky, arms full of parchment and scrolls. This place wasn’t just full...
  15. Venla Thiel

    Private Steady Hearts, Open Minds

    Venla’s heart tightened at the sight of his tears. She shifted a little closer and rested her hand lightly on his arm, warm and steady. When he rose, her hand fell back down to her lap. “I care for you still.” she murmured. “I… I don’t want to hurt you, Willard. Not in the least.” She took a...
  16. Venla Thiel

    Private Steady Hearts, Open Minds

    Venla looked at his hand. 'You are welcome here, Venla,' “Yes,” she said softly, letting the words drift on the warm night air, “I… know I am welcome." Willard had kept his distance for days. She had expected to see him, to meet those he called family, to see the place he had called home. But...
  17. Venla Thiel

    Private Steady Hearts, Open Minds

    'I am ashamed, but not of you.' Venla would lean a little closer. “But that day… it didn’t change what I know of you." He was still someone she cared for, one she trusted and a man who mattered. That’s what she sees when she looks at him. “The world might be quick to show its anger, but it...
  18. Venla Thiel

    Private Steady Hearts, Open Minds

    “It’s all new, and I’m still finding my footing here." She could hear the distant rustle of leaves, a faint hum of insects, and the occasional croak of a frog hidden among the reeds. This place made her feel unmoored, adrift. Not only because the paths were lined with strangers whose faces she...
  19. Venla Thiel

    Private Steady Hearts, Open Minds

    The hush between them was not uncomfortable, no, not quite, but it was full. Full of the things she had learned in his absence. It wrapped round them like a well-worn shawl, soft and full of things left unsaid. Venla sank down onto the bench. “The first days here? They’ve been…" strange. "...
  20. Venla Thiel

    Private Steady Hearts, Open Minds

    Four days, she had walked these grounds, wondering if she had imagined all of it. Wondering if she had misunderstood. He had said he wanted to see where the road led. Said she could come with him. Slept in her arms like it meant something. And then disappeared like it didn’t. No word. No knock...
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