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Foreign territory; :Renna:
Topic Started: Aug 25 2009, 06:02 AM (1,751 Views)
Renna
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Fairy Princess
[ *  *  * ]
((Sir is so cute. XD He's making me really miss my dog)).

Quiet fell, no sounds but soft breathing breaking the night's stillness until the morning light. Elsewhere in the castle the Brenin waited, brooding away the midnight hours. At long last he moved from the window to the desk, sitting down with a flick of his cloak. The golden-haired man bent, and for some minutes nothing was heard but the scratch of quill on parchment. After some time he rose, handing the letter over to a nearby guard. "See that this is delivered to Ardi Siana in the morning."

The guard bowed and took the letter, blending away into the shadows without a word. The night was left to slowly unwind, mellowing its way into the morning.

*******************

A sunbeam danced its way through the window to kiss Siana's cheek, and the young woman stirred with a sleepy moan. Around her the other girls began stirring, gradually rousing out of dreams. Siana turned in bed, her hand flopping out of the covers to gently thump something soft and furry at her side. Her eyes widened, and she shot out of bed to tumble down next to the Anan. "Sir!" Siana chirped it as happily as a bird, burying her hands in his fur. "Good morning, friend. Did you sleep well?"

A knock on the door interrupted her, and Siana lifted her head to look at the entrance. A man's voice sounded hollow through the wood, punctuated by the "shhk" of sliding paper. "Edict from the Brenin, Lady."

All the girls sat up then, staring curiously at the square of parchment now resting on the floor. It was Achren who finally darted forward to pick it up and read, a pink flush of excitement gradually moving over her cheeks.

"To my love Siana: For six years you and your women have remained in my castle, studying most diligently to become worthy to be my queen. With our wedding soon approaching, I give you permission to leave the grounds. It is pleasing to me that you and your ladies go to the market together, with the express purpose of finding fabric for your wedding gown. Meet your people. Let them see you at you finest and love you as their Queen; I release you from my presence until the sun sets. I care not what manner of cloth you choose, as long as it be pale and very fine. Enjoy your day off, pet. Love---it ends with his seal."

There was a silence, and then a chorus of squeals as the girls burst into celebration. The ladies-in-waiting moved in a flurry to get their mistress ready, and Siana hugged Sir around the neck. "We get to go outside today!"

She tried to explain a little better, cuddling her Anan and letting her thoughts drift away. -We have been here, within big stone walls, for long time. Six years. For learning---is not allowed for Sweet One to talk to males but the Brenin. And now Sir, teehee. Not allowed for males to be close either, could be dead. Not allowed for Sweet One to go out into hills and town with more people. Not safe. Today Brenin is letting us out, because we are grown up and good and Sir is close to keep us safe. Is much fun. I miss Outside.
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Nemaisare
Muse
[ *  *  *  * ]
Sir was lying dazedly on the coverlet. The warmth of the room leaving him stretched out and perfectly content to lie still for a few more hours. His stomach was still full. The girls were still sleeping and the door was closed. He didn’t know how to open the door. So he lay still, his brown eyes closed and his breathing even. He drifted somewhere between asleep and awake as sounds crept through the air and a faint breeze ruffled his fur from the small hole in the wall somewhere nearby. He didn’t want to move. He didn’t want to wake up. It was nice, this dream-drifting. Comfortable.

But it didn’t last as he’d thought it might. The two-legged time of waking had come. The girls were stirring, slowly, stretching their feet against their covers and yawning. He could hear them, but he didn’t open his eyes. He was still sleepy; he still wanted to sleep. The door hadn’t opened yet, and none of them had moved from their beds. It was all right if he kept quiet. They would not leave without him. If they tried, he would follow anyway. They might move with gentle footsteps, but they still held a scent and would leave a trail. He would follow them. He would never let them far away now.

Then something thumped against him and he flinched, startled by the sudden touch. It didn’t stay long though, but Sir had no time to miss its presence because then Sweet one fell down beside him. He sighed happily as he fingers dug through his fur and into the muscle beneath, and then sighed again when he realized if she was up he should be up too. He opened his eyes. One first, then the pair beneath, blinking at Siana in lazy greeting as he agreed with her question. -Slept.- To him the sleeping part was all that mattered; a sleep couldn’t be good or bad if one wasn’t sleeping and if one was sleeping, then the sleep couldn’t be bad either.

He yawned and stiffened his legs to stretch out his muscles as they’d all been doing, then rose and flicked a concerned glance towards the wooden barrier between them all and that male voice. He did not know that voice, or the sound that followed though it came from the strange flat shape that glided underneath the barrier. Shaking out his coat, he eyed the thing cautiously, the girls were silent, but they did not seem frightened. Footsteps behind the door left them alone again and he chuffed a warning at the thing as his ears twitched uncertainly. But then Bird went towards it, utterly unafraid. The thing meant a great deal for being so small. So many words it gave to her. Too many to understand for Sir. He eased himself closer, trying to learn where they came from, curious. It smelt strange, the thin thing did, like dry-wetness and solid-rotten wood. Very strange.

Then he was startled again by the excitement that scattered them all into motion. They had heard something he had not. They understand what he had heard. What had they heard?

He sat down with a weary, dejected thump even as Siana hurried to wrap her arms around him with a happy exclamation. He was still confused. They had been outside when he had found them. And right now, outside was not so exciting as inside to Sir. He had never been inside before and the girls were all excited about going back outside. He did not understand. His head lowered over hers until his chin rested on the crown of her head and his large eyes followed the others disconsolately about the room as he waited for the thoughts Sweet one was giving him. Still, they made no sense. He did not understand why they would stay for so long inside the walls. They were not easy to leave, but they could be gotten over if one wished. And if one could hear her voice, then she was talking and if one was male when one heard her voice then she was talking to a male. There were many males here he knew, he could smell them. Why would they stay if it was dangerous to hear her voice?

He did not understand, but he still snorted his agreement. He would keep her safe. He would keep them all safe. He would keep them close and safe and if she said it was to be fun, then it would be. He trusted her. He did not want her to miss outside. So he wagged his tail and hesitantly lifted his rump a few inches from the floor, ready to leave now, so that she might stop missing outside faster. But the barrier was still there. Dropping his head, he nudged her. -Keep safe. Outside now?- Then he stood fully and wandered over to the door. Once there, he stood with his big nose only just touching its surface and stared at it expectantly. The girls had come and gone through it before they’d slept. He’d watch them. But he did not know how.
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