Beka Cooper

"Hello, love"

Beka turned at the sound of Rosto's voice. "Rosto! Where were you?"

In the doorway of her rooms was Rosto the Piper. She ran and threw her arms around him.

"Beka, please don't do that. You know it winds me."

Secretly, he was glad to be so close to her without interference from her betrothed, Holborn. "Where's your fiancé?" He said, resting his chin on her head.

At this, Beka started crying. "He's, he's dead!" She said in between sobs. Rosto had mixed feelings about this.

He had liked Holborn, but he had always viewed him as a rival. "It's okay, Beka" he said. There was no reply. She just kept crying."Beka?" He tilted her head up. She had cried herself to sleep in his arms. He laid her on her bed, and went to find Aniki or Kora. One of them would know what had happened. Aniki was shopping, but Kora told him what had happened while he had been gone.

"It's like this: Beka and Holborn were on a stakeout and he rushed into a nest of slave guards, trying to upstage Beka."

"Thanks Kora" he said

He went back to Beka's rooms. She had moved since he left, and was lying on her back with her hair in a halo around her head. She was so beautiful. He couldn't resist and lent over and kissed her once, softly on her lips.

"Rosto! Her fiancé just died, and here I find you kissing her as if nothing has happened."

"Hello Aniki."

Aniki walked away to her rooms, her arms full with shopping.

"It's getting late, Rosto. Let her sleep, and talk in the morning."

"Fine."

Rosto went across the street to his rooms in the Dancing Dove. He was still thinking about Holborn as he went to sleep.

Beka woke up in the morning to the sounds of yelling.

"I said, wait 'til she wakes up!"

" And I said, I want to speak to her!"

Aniki and Rosto.

Beka was getting up as she heard someone else yell.

"STOP YELLING! WE'RE TRYING TO SLEEP!"

Kora, Beka thought.

She stood up and realised she was still clothed. She walked over to the door and threw it open.

"Please stop yelling!" she yelled

"Beka. You're up" said Rosto

"Of course I am. No-one could sleep through that yelling match."

"Sorry, love" said Rosto "we'll let you sleep."

Beka went back to bed and slept without dreams.