That Morning Feeling
Chapter Seven
Joren's POV
Joren woke up and gulped. The face staring above gave him weird look but since he was feeling on the kind side he let the fact that his son was half naked in the bushes in a very public courtyard in the palace.
"Son! I have good news! You are getting married!" apparently Lord Burchard liked explanation marks.
Joren was shock. He didn't think this was a good idea was the ONLY thought going through his depleted brain cells (apparently they hadn't the idea of marrying and so had abandoned him). His brain was mush all functions he might previously had were gone all was left was the body of a teenager and the mind of an infant.
"Uh. . . mw? Hwibn!" came Joren's muffled reply.
His father gave him another weird look but he was in a good mood (the reason he was in a good mood was rather obscure, he was glad that his son was in the hands of someone else. Of course there was the downside of having to support another person but the dowry should cover that), "Yes isn't this a glorious occasion?" he sighed and smiled into the distance, his eyes growing soft with contentment, lines of age and worries disappearing for a moment, a very short moment.
"But Marriellis is older than me! She should be married before me! And she's a girl!" Joren had finally got his voice back and let loose a protest.
"Yes well that would be case if it wasn't your sister. She's scaring them away," Lord Burchard sadly explained shaking his head slightly a downcast expression his face.
"Well that seems likely, she is scary," both males shudder slightly, "But I'm not getting married! I'm too young!" he shouted. Joren really was dreading getting married. He would do anything to stop it.
"You are old enough my son! It is time you took up you responsibilities. You are coming to age," Lord Burchard admonished, when he was really shirking his duties,
Joren though desperately. There had to be a way to stop his Father from marrying him off to some snotty nosed wrench. There had to be.
"I can't get married. I'm already engaged to someone else and it would be improper to break my word it would shame our family!"
"Wah? That can't be possible I would have heard of it! And anyway I'm your Father and you won't be getting married without my permission!" his father shouted at Joren, very close to his ear making him deaf for a moment.
"I don't care! I'm marrying her and that's final!" Joren shouted rather hysterically, waving his hands about to demonstrate his point, but sadly just looked insane.
"Fine, whatever you want milord, but may this poor humble servant ask who this girl is?" his father muttered rather sarcastically.
Joren stopped thinking for a moment. Then mentally screamed. He hadn't thought that far! What was he to do? And so he said the first name to come to mind.
"Marriellis," luckily for Joren's ego he didn't hear how stupid that sounded, very lucky.
Lord Burchard sighed putting his face in his large hands his hair shaking as he softly wept.
"Why Mithos have you forsaken me! What have I done to deserve him!" he pointed at Joren his eyes crazed with grief. He stood there for a time staring at the ground his expression unreadable. But (somehow) he managed to overcome the sadness and he swallowed roughly and held back some tears, "Joren, as beautiful as she may be. You are not getting married to your SISTER!"
"Fine! I'll. . . I'll get married to Keladry of Mindelan!"
"The page girl? Girl page? The squire girl? The Lady Squire?" the words came out hard and fast.
"Would you still be angry if I said, um, yes?" Joren tentatively asked, his expression hopeful.
"Aaarrrgggggg!" he father yelled/gurgled.
"I'm going to take that as a yes," Joren murmured nearly under his breath, "So. I'll be going now!" Joren said in a lighthearted manner. He turned to leave, but found he couldn't. His father had latched onto his arm.
"You're not going any where, my boy," his father growled, "Take me to her, I want to meet your. . . fiancee," judging from his tone his father did not like that word when used toward Kel, Joren wasn't really surprised.
Shit. Joren had not bargained on this. What to do? Should he tell his father he was lying? Or should he introduce Kel to him? The choice was so hard. What to do?
He had decided.
"Very well Father you shall meet my bride to be. Now if you be so kind, unhand me!" Joren said this in a most assuring way, his cool eyes meeting his Father's eyes calmly but with a hint of resistance there.
"Yes. Let us go meet your bride," Lord Burchard smirked.
Kel's POV
He really was an idiot.
Kel was lying on her bed staring at the ceiling. Her legs and arms were spread out and her lay in a mess around her head, the brown strands knotting them selves gleefully. Kel however was unaware of this.
She was however aware of the approaching footsteps. One pair was stomping the ground harshly and the other was either doing a weird dance or was hop- walking along. It was a strange walk anyway.
The footsteps halted. Outside her door.
Knock knock. Came a sharp noise from her door.
Kel stared at the door, wondering, who could it be?
And her other self answered, only one way to find out.
Walking over to the door she noticed that the knocks seemed to become more insistent. She walked slower.
"Oh for Mithos's sake! Open the door! ...dear." Came a familiar voice, but dear?
Something must be wrong with him she decided. Or, she thought pensively tilting her head to the right, he could want something. That is very likely.
She opened the door. There in front of her was Joren and... Joren's Father? Her eyes widened, what was happening?
"Um, darling, my dear sweet bride to be. I would like you to meet my Father," Joren gestured to his Father.
Joren's Father stared at her, his face twisted slightly in disgust.
"Mmn," came her startled reply.
Joren smiled nervously and swung his arm around her shoulders gently but swiftly, he dragged her back into her room.
"If would just excuse us Father, I need to have a word with my betrothed."
The door slammed.
Kel pulled herself away from Joren, shaking his arm off.
"What do you think you are doing? Betrothed? Us? Are you insan– "
"Sshhh!" Joren hushed bring a finger to her lips, "My father is outside!"
She was angry very angry.
"Oh and whose fault is that?"
"Look my father wants me to get married to some ugly blonde idiot. I panicked and said I was betrothed to you. So could you just pretend to be my betrothed. It's not a very big favor really," Joren pleaded smiling winningly.
"A little favor? Getting married to you is a little is a little favor?"
"Well not married. I suppose. We can wait until you have become a knight then split up and I can claim to be heart broken if my Father wants me to marry. So everything works out fine!"
"Only for you!"
"Well not really. You have the luck to be betrothed to me!"
He was really pushing it.
She arched an eyebrow.
"Luck?"
"Um. Yes! Who wouldn't want to marry me?" Joren was obviously anxious.
"Hmm. What about me?"
"Oh come on, it's just for pretend and" here Joren's face began to turn red, he seemed to struggle with what he wanted to say, as he opened his mouth repeatedly. But finally Joren came through, "AndI'llbeforeverinyourdebt," he very very quickly said.
"What did you say?" Kel asked suspiciously, surely he hadn't...?
"I'll. Be. Forever. In. Your. Debt." He muttered slowly but clearly his face bowed deeply into his chest to hide, what Kel assumed, his embarrassed face.
"Really?" oh this was too good, the inner bad Kel giggled and gleefully rubbed her hands together, mentally of course, she didn't want to seem crazy.
"Yes," he rubbed his foot on the ground.
"My answer is... "
End Chapter
Thanks to all the people who reviewed.
R/R
Chapter Seven
Joren's POV
Joren woke up and gulped. The face staring above gave him weird look but since he was feeling on the kind side he let the fact that his son was half naked in the bushes in a very public courtyard in the palace.
"Son! I have good news! You are getting married!" apparently Lord Burchard liked explanation marks.
Joren was shock. He didn't think this was a good idea was the ONLY thought going through his depleted brain cells (apparently they hadn't the idea of marrying and so had abandoned him). His brain was mush all functions he might previously had were gone all was left was the body of a teenager and the mind of an infant.
"Uh. . . mw? Hwibn!" came Joren's muffled reply.
His father gave him another weird look but he was in a good mood (the reason he was in a good mood was rather obscure, he was glad that his son was in the hands of someone else. Of course there was the downside of having to support another person but the dowry should cover that), "Yes isn't this a glorious occasion?" he sighed and smiled into the distance, his eyes growing soft with contentment, lines of age and worries disappearing for a moment, a very short moment.
"But Marriellis is older than me! She should be married before me! And she's a girl!" Joren had finally got his voice back and let loose a protest.
"Yes well that would be case if it wasn't your sister. She's scaring them away," Lord Burchard sadly explained shaking his head slightly a downcast expression his face.
"Well that seems likely, she is scary," both males shudder slightly, "But I'm not getting married! I'm too young!" he shouted. Joren really was dreading getting married. He would do anything to stop it.
"You are old enough my son! It is time you took up you responsibilities. You are coming to age," Lord Burchard admonished, when he was really shirking his duties,
Joren though desperately. There had to be a way to stop his Father from marrying him off to some snotty nosed wrench. There had to be.
"I can't get married. I'm already engaged to someone else and it would be improper to break my word it would shame our family!"
"Wah? That can't be possible I would have heard of it! And anyway I'm your Father and you won't be getting married without my permission!" his father shouted at Joren, very close to his ear making him deaf for a moment.
"I don't care! I'm marrying her and that's final!" Joren shouted rather hysterically, waving his hands about to demonstrate his point, but sadly just looked insane.
"Fine, whatever you want milord, but may this poor humble servant ask who this girl is?" his father muttered rather sarcastically.
Joren stopped thinking for a moment. Then mentally screamed. He hadn't thought that far! What was he to do? And so he said the first name to come to mind.
"Marriellis," luckily for Joren's ego he didn't hear how stupid that sounded, very lucky.
Lord Burchard sighed putting his face in his large hands his hair shaking as he softly wept.
"Why Mithos have you forsaken me! What have I done to deserve him!" he pointed at Joren his eyes crazed with grief. He stood there for a time staring at the ground his expression unreadable. But (somehow) he managed to overcome the sadness and he swallowed roughly and held back some tears, "Joren, as beautiful as she may be. You are not getting married to your SISTER!"
"Fine! I'll. . . I'll get married to Keladry of Mindelan!"
"The page girl? Girl page? The squire girl? The Lady Squire?" the words came out hard and fast.
"Would you still be angry if I said, um, yes?" Joren tentatively asked, his expression hopeful.
"Aaarrrgggggg!" he father yelled/gurgled.
"I'm going to take that as a yes," Joren murmured nearly under his breath, "So. I'll be going now!" Joren said in a lighthearted manner. He turned to leave, but found he couldn't. His father had latched onto his arm.
"You're not going any where, my boy," his father growled, "Take me to her, I want to meet your. . . fiancee," judging from his tone his father did not like that word when used toward Kel, Joren wasn't really surprised.
Shit. Joren had not bargained on this. What to do? Should he tell his father he was lying? Or should he introduce Kel to him? The choice was so hard. What to do?
He had decided.
"Very well Father you shall meet my bride to be. Now if you be so kind, unhand me!" Joren said this in a most assuring way, his cool eyes meeting his Father's eyes calmly but with a hint of resistance there.
"Yes. Let us go meet your bride," Lord Burchard smirked.
Kel's POV
He really was an idiot.
Kel was lying on her bed staring at the ceiling. Her legs and arms were spread out and her lay in a mess around her head, the brown strands knotting them selves gleefully. Kel however was unaware of this.
She was however aware of the approaching footsteps. One pair was stomping the ground harshly and the other was either doing a weird dance or was hop- walking along. It was a strange walk anyway.
The footsteps halted. Outside her door.
Knock knock. Came a sharp noise from her door.
Kel stared at the door, wondering, who could it be?
And her other self answered, only one way to find out.
Walking over to the door she noticed that the knocks seemed to become more insistent. She walked slower.
"Oh for Mithos's sake! Open the door! ...dear." Came a familiar voice, but dear?
Something must be wrong with him she decided. Or, she thought pensively tilting her head to the right, he could want something. That is very likely.
She opened the door. There in front of her was Joren and... Joren's Father? Her eyes widened, what was happening?
"Um, darling, my dear sweet bride to be. I would like you to meet my Father," Joren gestured to his Father.
Joren's Father stared at her, his face twisted slightly in disgust.
"Mmn," came her startled reply.
Joren smiled nervously and swung his arm around her shoulders gently but swiftly, he dragged her back into her room.
"If would just excuse us Father, I need to have a word with my betrothed."
The door slammed.
Kel pulled herself away from Joren, shaking his arm off.
"What do you think you are doing? Betrothed? Us? Are you insan– "
"Sshhh!" Joren hushed bring a finger to her lips, "My father is outside!"
She was angry very angry.
"Oh and whose fault is that?"
"Look my father wants me to get married to some ugly blonde idiot. I panicked and said I was betrothed to you. So could you just pretend to be my betrothed. It's not a very big favor really," Joren pleaded smiling winningly.
"A little favor? Getting married to you is a little is a little favor?"
"Well not married. I suppose. We can wait until you have become a knight then split up and I can claim to be heart broken if my Father wants me to marry. So everything works out fine!"
"Only for you!"
"Well not really. You have the luck to be betrothed to me!"
He was really pushing it.
She arched an eyebrow.
"Luck?"
"Um. Yes! Who wouldn't want to marry me?" Joren was obviously anxious.
"Hmm. What about me?"
"Oh come on, it's just for pretend and" here Joren's face began to turn red, he seemed to struggle with what he wanted to say, as he opened his mouth repeatedly. But finally Joren came through, "AndI'llbeforeverinyourdebt," he very very quickly said.
"What did you say?" Kel asked suspiciously, surely he hadn't...?
"I'll. Be. Forever. In. Your. Debt." He muttered slowly but clearly his face bowed deeply into his chest to hide, what Kel assumed, his embarrassed face.
"Really?" oh this was too good, the inner bad Kel giggled and gleefully rubbed her hands together, mentally of course, she didn't want to seem crazy.
"Yes," he rubbed his foot on the ground.
"My answer is... "
End Chapter
Thanks to all the people who reviewed.
R/R