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Post by Chris Strongheart on Dec 11, 2006 9:30:35 GMT -5
OOC: because Christine did spend the winters with her father and her father did do trade agreements with Eraklyon. Takes place anywhere from a year to a few years after Summer Magic
~
Christine tucked her long dark hair behind her ear, her blue eyes bright. She snuggled close to her father as they sat in the carriage, leading up to the Eraklyon castle. She was quite eager to meet the crown prince - mainly since she was going to be dealing with him when she was an adult - hopefully he wasn't a spoiled brat like most kids her age. But then again - he was a boy. And boys were stupid. Except for Daddy. Daddy wasn't stupid.
Okay, make that not too eager. But still - it got her out of Lovelylocks and away from those tutors. "Papa?" she asked softly, looking up at him with large blue eyes. "What's the prince like?" she asked, playing with one of the pixietails that had accompanied them.
Strongheart was quiet for a moment. "I've never met him, little one. I've only dealt with his parents. But, dear heart, try to behave," he said, lightly chucking her under the chin. "I know it will be hard but just try."
Christine crossed her arms over her chest and sulked. "I'll behave," she pouted. "But he better not be stupid," she added. She made no promises to behave if he was stupid. That was just open season for her - she had no patience for stupid, spoiled princes.
Strongheart groaned. This was going to be a long "business trip". Now, did Riannon say she had the good vodka? Or was that Aldrich that said it? Because, he thought, the trio of adults were definitely going to need it if those two children could not get along. Or worse, if the pair did get along and decided to prank the adults. Somehow, he had a feeling he was going to regret introducing the twins to his daughter.
~
"M'lord Aldrich," Strongheart said, bowing deeply. "M'lady Riannon." He stood up slowly, glancing down at his daughter who had dipped into a deep curtsy, and was currently keeping her gaze fixed on the floor, almost terrified of Aldrich. "It's an honor to be allowed to bring my child with me to these trade agreements. If I may be so bold to ask, how is your son?"
Christine was trying very hard not to fidget as she stood there, next to her father. Her father would let her leave soon so she could go explore, right? Her blue eyes slowly raised up, glancing up at the couple in front of her. Seeing Aldrich, she gave a tiny squeak and scooted behind her father, poking her head out from behind him. The man looked vaguely familiar - but she couldn't quite place where she had seen him before.
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Post by Sky on Dec 11, 2006 23:45:42 GMT -5
 At Strongheart's inquiry about Sky, Aldrich gave a hearty laugh, his broad shoulders shaking with ill-concealed mirth, as he remarked, "He is quite well, thank you. Although, my queen here may tell a different story." Smiling, he added, "Boys will be boys and to my wife's delicate female countenance, he may be doing too well for he is quite lively and causes a great deal of noise where ever he goes." Pausing to glance about the vast hall, Aldrich then said with a mild frown, "I would prove this fact to you myself, but I fear that he is in the midst of his studies at the moment and cannot be disturbed. It takes a great effort to make him sit in a room and pay attention to his tutor when he, in his own words, claims that he would much rather learn about the world by experiencing it himelf. That's all and well, of course, but the boy has to learn sometime that there is a time for exploring and a time for books." |
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Post by Chris Strongheart on Dec 11, 2006 23:52:04 GMT -5
"That is quite all right, M'lord Aldrich," Strongheart said. "The tutors back home were fit to be tied when I suggested that my little one come with me and get some practical experience." He leaned down and gently coaxed his daughter out from behind him. "Say hello, dear heart."
"H-hello, M-M'lord Aldrich, M'lady R-Riannon," Christine stammered shyly, her gaze fixed on the floor before her. PixieBeauty sat silently on her shoulder, watching the two adult royals.
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Post by Sky on Dec 12, 2006 0:09:56 GMT -5
"There now, lass," Aldrich coaxed as he watched Strongheart's daughter cower before him and his wife. "You needn't be afraid of me; I may be big and tall, but I assure you I'm not at all brutish." Glancing out of the corner of his eye at his wife, Riannon, Aldrich sighed when he saw the cool look on her face. If there was someone the girl should fear, it was the queen. Riannon detested children being underfoot; it was as simple as that. Though he had tried on many an occasion to find a way to make her take pleasure in the carefree attitude children, she nevertheless seemed to prefer the dreary, boring company of adults. All she ever spoke of was Eraklyon this and Eraklyon that and though he loved his kingdom with all his heart, sometimes even he desired a break from it all. Although, at this Aldrich mentally sighed, he was afraid that Riannon was finally rubbing off on him for good. Lately, all of his time had been consumed with matters of the state and though he knew he must have given Strongheart the appearance that he and his boy were close, the truth was, Aldrich could not remember the last time he had seen Sky for more than a few minutes at a time. |
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Post by Chris Strongheart on Dec 15, 2006 10:38:34 GMT -5
Christine looked up at him at last, with eyes wide and almost far too old for a small child. A flash of recognition settled in her eyes for a moment before a wave of confusion overtook the recognition. Wasn't this Lyon's father? What was he doing in the castle? She thought Lyon lived in one of the villages they passed. Mentally shaking herself, she clung close to her father's side. Surely, she'd get an explanation later. And maybe.. maybe she could sneak out of the castle and try and find Lyon. She missed him.
"You'll have to forgive her, M'lord Aldrich, my daughter has never left Lovelylocks before to travel with me. Normally we spend our winters together at the castle, but as the trade agreements had to be dealt with, I insisted that Mela let me bring our daughter with me." It was the first time he ever mentioned his wife. Hopefully, Aldrich or Riannon wouldn't ask who Mela was - he wasn't in the mood to do explanations. Bad enough it looked like his daughter was plotting something - where was that headache medicine Shining Glory made for him...?
"It-it's an h-honor to m-meet you, M-M'lord Aldrich," Christine shyly stammered, still painfully shy and almost afraid.
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Post by Sky on Dec 16, 2006 20:08:48 GMT -5
 Staring somewhat disdainfully down at the child, Riannon mentally nodded. From the way the girl cowered and clung to her father it was blatantly obvious that she was the result of poor breeding. Counting off the years in her mind, Riannon surmised that the girl was likely to be close in years to ten and thus, by now she very well ought to have learned how to conduct herself. Though Riannon firmly believed that female children should be timid and introverted, especially around adults of high stature, even she knew that there was a line between being well-mannered and being meek - or rather, being weak in nature and character. She both pitied Strongheart for his burden and thanked the heavens that she had not been so unlucky as to have birthed a daughter. No, she had had a son and a strong one at that. Someday he would grow up to be king and already she could envision his future. He would be a wonderful ruler, one that would have the respect of all his subjects because of the way he ruled: with steadfast love for Eraklyon above everything else. And someday, long after he was gone, the memory of him would remain and he would become a legend. Too practical to linger in her daydream for long, Riannon again turned her attention toward Strongheart. Giving him a reserved smile befitting of a queen, one that even with its slightly pinched look transformed her face into a beautiful sight to behold, Riannon then remarked, "I pray your journey to our kingdom was not excessively wearisome, M'lord Strongheart." |
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Post by Chris Strongheart on Dec 16, 2006 20:17:56 GMT -5
"The journey is never wearisome, M'lady Riannon. Feels good to be away from the craziness going on back in my kingdom," Strongheart said, finally having coaxed Christine out from behind him.
Christine's eyes glanced up at Riannon and her blue eyes widened. Now she knew - now she knew where she had seen them before. Those were Lyon's parents! That meant Lyon had to be around here somewhere, just where she didn't know, but she was determined to find out. But who was this Sky person they kept mentioning? She thought Lyon was an only child and that Brandon had been brought with them to be his playmate. She was tempted to ask if Sky was Lyon's older brother - but held her tongue. It wasn't her place to speak.
"If you don't mind me asking, how old is Sky now? He was just turning five, wasn't it, when I visited last for the trade agreements?" Strongheart asked. "You must forgive my curiosity," he amended. "It's more of I want to know if I should be worried that he might try and hurt my daughter accidentally if the two were to meet and find each other charming playmates." He gave a mental shudder.
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Post by Sky on Dec 16, 2006 20:41:21 GMT -5
At this, Aldrich gave another hearty laugh as he interjected before Riannon could respond, "Sky just recently celebrated his tenth birthday, but you needn't worry about that, Strongheart. Sky won't be bothering your lass while you two are visiting; he already has his playmates to be rough and tumble with. But if it is your daughter you think might get bored by being alone while we adults tend to business, I'm sure Riannon and I can scrounge up a suitable companion for her. Perhaps we could send for our son's betrothed, Princess Diaspro of the realm Chalcedony. She's a lovely girl and I imagine she and your daughter would enjoy each other's company very much." Aldrich smiled, very pleased with himself for coming up with this solution. |
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Post by Chris Strongheart on Dec 16, 2006 20:46:41 GMT -5
"Thank you for your kind offer, M'lord Aldrich," Strongheart said, glancing down at Christine. Or where she had been, rather. Gritting his teeth, he knew exactly what happened. "Or my daughter's curiosity will kick in and she'll just go explore."
~
Christine quietly poked her head into one of the rooms and spotted a young boy listening to an old man blather on and on about something. Figuring it might be interesting, she slipped inside and sat down. Now, what was that teacher babbling about? Something about dragons?
Psh. She couldn't wait to pipe up and say that the teacher was full of it - only more politer.
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Post by Sky on Dec 16, 2006 21:03:26 GMT -5
The old, very distinguished looking, tutor rapped firmly on the leather bound book in his hand to enhance his point as he stared down at the Prince Sky, his thick bifocals slipping down the bridge of his nose. And though the old man was practically blind without the use of corrective lenses, he was the farthest thing from deaf. His attention immediately caught by the sound of creaking floorboards, he shifted the direction past Sky's shoulder to the back of the room where, upon returning his glasses to the proper position on his face, caught sight of the girl. His bushy white brows knitting together, the tutor lifted an accusatory finger at her as he said with a dark scowl, having mistaken Christine for the daughter of one of the palace servants, "You there, leave at once! These are private lessons for the Prince - not for commoners." Not waiting for her to reply, the tutor marched over to her and yanked her roughly up by her arm. Though he was old, he was not feeble and his hand tightened around her in increasingly painful increments.
Watching as his tutor manhandled the girl, Sky looked perturbed for a moment before he leapt to his feet and said authoritatively, "Release her at once, Master DuVille." As his tutor glared at him before dropping the girl's arm, Sky approached Christine as he said promptly, but not cruelly, "Whoever you are, you must leave. I am in the middle of my lessons and my father will not stand for them being interrupted. For your sake, you must leave and leave at once."
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Post by Chris Strongheart on Dec 16, 2006 21:10:01 GMT -5
Christine gave him the proudest tilt to her head she could muster at the tender age of nine. "I'm Lady Christine Melisande Strongheart of Lovelylocks and the Magic Realm," she said proudly, wrinkling her nose at how the boy was treating her. Definitely wasn't Lyon. "I came with my father because Father was doing trade agreements with M'lord Aldrich."
She paused for a moment. "And you're wrong," she said bluntly. "Whoever taught you about dragons was wrong. Dragons need limestone and gems in order to breath fire." Her blue eyes glittered with suppressed agitation. "The gems act like the way a bird uses stones to grind seed and limestone is a combustible that when mixed with the fire already in their stomachs causes it to explode in a ball of fire."
Giving the stunned tutor a grin, she laughed quietly. "Did I pass?" Pausing for a moment, she continued. "I could tell you more, I grew up with dragons." She unfastened a locket from around her neck and popped it open, pulling a small folded image out and unfolding it. Blushing for a moment, she pulled a different piece out and handed it to the tutor after checking to make sure it was the right one.
It was of her, her mother the Princess Melisande, her father Prince Strongheart and the dragon Gorbash. Strongheart had one arm wrapped around his wife and the other resting on his daughter's shoulder.
"See."
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Post by Sky on Dec 16, 2006 23:49:44 GMT -5
After the brief shock of the girl's impertinance passed, the tutor adjusted his glasses as he said with an amused smile, "You are correct, of course - but only partially." Rubbing his chin in thought, he then continued warmly as he peered down at the picture Christine had presented to him, "M'dear, have you ever heard the saying that no diamond is the same as any other? This is true of dragons, as well. Clearly, you are referring to dragons from the Magic Realm, eh? What you told me is true enough of them, but I was referencing dragons from this realm - Eraklyon. We pride ourselves on our dragons because they are very unique." Smiling, he then gave Christine a pat on the head, as he said, "They have all the fire they need in their bellies. In fact, they have so much that it just has a way of swelling up out of their stomachs and into the esophagus. Much like acid reflux disease," the tutor chortled before he turned back to Sky. "I believe on that note, we shall end this lesson." Giving the prince a respectful bow of his head, he then adjusted his heavy robes and exited the classroom.
With Master DuVille gone, Sky turned back to the girl as he said, his voice tinged with curiosity, "You grew up with dragons?" Sighing, he added, "We have many dragons here in Eraklyon, but my mother finds them too dangerous and only lets me practice wrangling them under intense supervision." Pausing, Sky then walked back over to his desk and gathered up his books, briefly flipping through his notebook to remind himself of what assignments he would have to complete that night. Groaning at the long list that greeted his eyes, Sky felt like stamping his foot. Another reading assignment? And not even a good reading assignment. Nope. It was one hundred and sixty pages out of some old book on Eraklyon history.
Deciding that he had better not put it off, Sky settled back down in his seat, flipped open the book and began to read, already forgetting Christine's presence. As the tiny print on the page implanted itself into Sky's mind, he couldn't help but smile faintly. Okay, so maybe the reading assignment wasn't so terrible. Because even though this was history, this was dragon history. Well, more like war history, but in the ancient days of Eraklyon, the dragons had been a crucial factor in battle with enemy realms.
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Post by Chris Strongheart on Dec 16, 2006 23:54:27 GMT -5
Christine nodded. "Yeah, I grew up with them." She handed him the picture when he poked his head up after hearing her confirm his question. "That's Gorbash, our house dragon," she said with a merry giggle.
Seeing a look of confusion sweep across his face, she paused. "Is something wrong?" she asked, settling down on a chair opposite him, her blue eyes filled with concern. There was something bothering him - that was clear when he looked at the picture.
And something bothered her too. He looked like Lyon, even sounded like him, but wouldn't Lyon have remembered her? Obviously not. She bit her lower lip, waiting for an answer.
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Post by Sky on Dec 17, 2006 17:26:42 GMT -5
Staring down at the picture the girl had practically shoved in his face, Sky began to swat it away in mild irritation - he really did need to get these lessons done - before he caught sight of something that made him pause. Taking the picture from Christine, Sky held it up closer to his face; the woman in it looked oddly familiar but after a moment, he simply shrugged and handed it back. The woman's face, while pretty, was not exactly unique or distinguished in appearance. He probably only thought he recognized her because she probably looked just like a thousand other blonde ladies he had seen in his young life. No big deal - certainly nothing that could hold interest.
Again turning back to his books, Sky figured that the girl would get the hint sooner or later that he had more pressing matters to attend to than talking to her.
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Post by Chris Strongheart on Dec 22, 2006 10:10:26 GMT -5
Christine grabbed one of his books from the pile, and flipped it open and started to read - or at least attempted to start to read. Of course, she had a feeling that this was the next book he had to read so he'd have to say something in order for her to give it back. Besides, if this was the prince - then she was going to have to learn to deal with him and now was just a good time as any. Of course, it would help if he actually said something and got the conversation started. She wasn't going to make the first move. Boys did. At least, that's what Mama said.
She could only begin to wonder what it would take for him to address her or interact with her. And she hoped he wasn't the prince - he looked spoiled. Of course, Lyon had started out spoiled but mellowed out after the wolf...
Speaking of wolves...
She *knew* that medallion. That was the medallion that her grandfather gave Lyon to contain his curse until he was old enough to deal with it on his own - at least, that's what she could remember her grandfather saying - there was more but she couldn't remember clearly. "Where'd you get that medallion?" she asked abruptly, deciding that if he wasn't going to make the first move, she would.
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