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Post by Sky on Dec 31, 2005 16:02:23 GMT -5
Opening his mouth, Sky began to reply 'Prince Sky' as he normally would introduce himself, but at the last moment changed his mind and instead said, "Lyon. You can call me Lyon."
For once in his life, he didn't want to be acknowledged as a prince; he wanted to have a regular life. He wanted to be free from stupid rules and he didn't want to think about whether his behavior was suitable for "royalty." Summer was the time to kick back, relax, and to escape the stifling burdens of being a prince. Sure, the girl probably already knew he was a prince, but if he allowed her to address him in a way that didn't emphasize that fact, pretty soon she'd come to think of him as just another person.
Smiling slightly, Sky felt very pleased with his plan. This summer just might not be a loss after all.
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Post by Chris Strongheart on Dec 31, 2005 16:09:01 GMT -5
"Lyon," she repeated, wanting to get a feel for the name. She nodded once to herself. It was a nice name and it did look like it fit him. "It's an honor to meet you," she said, smiling. "Mama has dinner on the oven. We'd be honored if you joined us..." She looked demurely at the ground.
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Post by Sky on Dec 31, 2005 16:23:10 GMT -5
Sky nodded, "Sounds great-" Suddenly, a sharp pain shot up his leg and he winced, almost doubling over onto the ground. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he tried to walk, to ignore the pain, but he knew that it was going to be impossible.
Quietly, Sky lowered himself to the ground and gave the people standing around him a wry smile, "I think I'm going to need a moment."
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Post by Chris Strongheart on Dec 31, 2005 16:27:14 GMT -5
Christine settled down on the ground opposite him. She'd wait for him to be able to walk again before showing him the path back to the cottage. "So.. asides from the wolves, what do you think of this realm?" she asked, attempting to make polite conversation.
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Post by Sky on Dec 31, 2005 16:34:57 GMT -5
Sky smiled despite the pain in his leg. "No offense, but this is a pretty strange place. I mean, is the whole realm like this? Where are all the people? You see, in my home realm, there are people everywhere. We've got huge cities and the like - well, we also have small towns and countryside . . . but nothing like this. At least not from what I've seen."
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Post by Chris Strongheart on Dec 31, 2005 16:39:48 GMT -5
"It's a forgotten realm," Christine said. "There are people here, but not that many. I know my grandfathers live here and my aunt, uncle and cousin do as well. But if there's anything this realm would be known for is the sheer number of dragons here." She grinned. "Wait til we get back to the cottage and I introduce you to my uncle." She couldn't wipe the smile off her face. "He's cool. His name is Gorbash. Uncle Orin said that he named him that because the battle where he save Gorbash was rather gory and he was bashed around." She giggled.
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Post by Sky on Dec 31, 2005 16:46:26 GMT -5
Sky's face lit up, "Dragons, you say? That's awesome - you know, one of these days I'm going to be a dragon wrestler. I'll be famous; just wait and see . . . well, maybe not. That's not exactly a profession suitable for-" Sky quickly cut himself off. He had been about to say 'a job suitable for a prince,' but he had stopped in time. "Anyhow, so what you're saying is that your realm is pretty much deserted?" Curiously he asked, "Isn't that lonely?"
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Post by Chris Strongheart on Dec 31, 2005 16:50:08 GMT -5
She nodded and then lowered her eyes. "Normally my cousin's here but he's a knight in training so he's not here this summer." She bit her lower lip. "I spend my summers here, then I go home for school, then I have to visit my father's family during the winter, but I might be able to escape having to visit them since Papa's not here." She never looked up at "Lyon" when she said that. "Mama says that Papa has this curse so he can't be with us but he'll be back someday..."
She fell silent and after a long silence, looked up at him.
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Post by Sky on Dec 31, 2005 17:29:56 GMT -5
Sky shook his head and laughed. "Dragons, knights, curses . . . why you live right in a fairytale!" Realizing that perhaps his statement wasn't all that appropriate, given that Christine's family situation seemed . . . less than normal, he sobered and then quickly added, "But it must be hard on you to always have to move around."
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Post by Chris Strongheart on Dec 31, 2005 17:34:00 GMT -5
She nodded. "I like being here more then I like being home or with my father's family. At least here I can be whatever I want. If I'm home, I can't do anything out of the ordinary since no-one uses magic or anything like that. And I have to be this prim and proper little princess when I'm at my father's."
She sighed quietly before changing the subject. "So... how did your family find out about this realm?"
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Post by Sky on Dec 31, 2005 17:41:40 GMT -5
"I think it was my father who found this realm and thought that it would be the perfect place to have our annual vacation because it's deserted, which means that we'll have lots of "quality family time." A few years ago he went off on a big tirade about how we aren't close enough - the result of that was that now we leave our home realm during the summer and go to some random place so that we can bond. We never do though because my father always ends up traveling home on business and so it's just my mother and me. Of course, my mother has no use for me, so last year we started taking along Brandon," Sky smiled wryly, "who was basically hired by father to befriend me."
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Post by Chris Strongheart on Dec 31, 2005 17:44:52 GMT -5
"At least you have friends," she said quietly. "I really don't have any." She bit her lower lip and bowed her head. "Not many people care about half breeds," she said in a softer voice.
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Post by Sky on Dec 31, 2005 17:49:14 GMT -5
Sky shrugged, "I don't have that many friends. Really, it's just Brandon . . . most of the time at home I'm not allowed to leave the palace - I mean, my house - because my parents don't want me to run off all over the city and embarrass them. I would too, so I suppose their logic isn't erroneous or anything. But on summer vacation, they don't care what I do, which is nice. I like freedom, you know?"
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Post by Chris Strongheart on Dec 31, 2005 17:51:46 GMT -5
Christine was grateful he didn't comment or say anything nasty when she had quietly revealed she was a half-breed. "I'll be your friend, if you'll let me. I'll understand if you say no..."
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Post by Sky on Dec 31, 2005 17:59:38 GMT -5
Bowing his head exaggeratedly, Sky replied, clutching his heart, "I would honored to be your friend, princess."
Sky laughed and then added, "But in all seriousness, you're not anything like I expected you to be . . . you're actually," he paused and then gave a half-smile, "nice."
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