"What's in Store"
Chapter Four- Captive of Love
"Del, stop fidgeting around," Leranna said sternly as she stood in front of her, hands on her hips and foot tapping lightly on the carpeted floor as she watched the women struggled to take measurements for dresses while Delmina shifted uncomfortably under their touch. "I can't help it Lee, I'm not used to this kind of treatment." "Well get used to it and stop moving about or they'll get the size all wrong!" Delmina sighed and resigned to Leranna's command, standing still as the clothes makers finished their work.
They had been released a few days after she had met with her new friend and during that short time, they had indeed become very close friends, telling each other of their past and their plans for the future, telling each other things that they would have not told another soul and this caught her attention and made her think, for it was strange. So when Leranna's father had ordered her to be let out, she had refused, much to Delmina's surprise, and had said she wanted to talk to her father in person. He had come, unwillingly, but he had come and Delmina thought she was going to die for never had she stood in the presence of royalty before besides Leranna, but she and Lee had already assessed that the princess wanted no one to grovel before her, especially her friends, she found it disgusting.
Delmina had just stood there, straight and emotionless as the king had entered, stared at her in puzzlement then looked to his rascal of a daughter questionly. "Leranna, what is going on, why did you refuse to emerge from the dungeons, this is no place for a princess such as yourself." Smiling faintly, Leranna had only replied by moving to the side to let her father have a better view of Delmina, saying in a crisp clear voice," Father, this is my friend Delmina, release her and put her in my charge." And the king did just that, so quickly, so easily without hassle, he had given back the possession her armor, her sword, everything she had arrived to the palace with and it confused her and unnerved her and made her wonder what on earth she had gotten herself into.
But it had turned out ok, Leranna had refused to see Delmina wander around in her armor and had forced her into the sewing room where she was now being fitted for dresses made with such soft, sleek, and beautifully colored fabric that it made her almost sick. She had submitted only after she and Lee had made an agreement. First, that Del would be aloud to wear her armor anytime she wanted and practice her swordplay whenever she chose to but on one condition, she in return would teach the princess how to sword fight. "You can never be too careful when you're the daughter of a king." She had said.
After they had finished measuring Delmina for the dresses, they walked along the palace corridors, chatting on and on about everything, their voices, and sometimes an occasional laugh giggle from Leranna or a soft laugh from Delmina, echoing off the marble walls around them, sun light drifting in from the sun roof above, giving them a radiant glow.
This is how they stayed happily together in each others company for a long long while...
A Year Later…
'She seems happy enough...,' Leranna thought absent mindedly as she watched her friend work below her, twisting and turning to avoid blows from the other. Sighing, she rested her chin on her in her hands and her elbows on her knees. Delmina had settled into comfortable rooms a year and a half ago and had everything she could possibly want here, but sometimes, when Delmina wasn't paying attention, like when she was peeling her practice leathers off after a days lesson, Leranna would watch out of the corner of her eye as her friend paused to look wistfully at the palace walls and she would know what Del was thinking, what she secretly wished for but had never told Lee, worrying that it would offend her, but deep inside, she yearned to be free, to hunt down and avenge her slaughtered people, only to roam where she wished afterwards.
Sighing again she sat up. 'I'm sorry Del, I love you too much to let you go and get yourself killed, and you barely lived through your run ins with them the last few times...what if...' Refusing to finish that sentence, she shook her head to dismiss the thought and began coming up with an idea to keep her beloved friend here.
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Delmina wiped the sweat from her brow as she and her jousting buddy, Findle, stopped their sword play for a rest. Findle was a sandy haired man about middle aged and was a few inches taller then her that she had met after a couple weeks of staying at the palace. They had shared an interest in sword play and had become fast friends. He had come to serve as one of the palace guards when he had been in his teens and had served his king faithfully to this very day. She half way admired his loyalty but thought it odd that one would commit almost their entire lives to protecting someone who could probably care a rat's ass about them, though, he had assured her otherwise at one point, telling her that the king must have been one of the kindest, most caring person he knew of, only sometimes, he just got the wrong impression upon first sight. They had laughed then and then they had jousted.
But as she sat there on the wooden bench, catching her breath, she felt eyes upon her back and turned to see Leranna in a seat higher above the ring, smiling down at them, but it was a fake smile for behind the eyes that watched her, she could see that her friend was in deep thought. After a year and a half of getting to know the princess, there was nothing that could be hidden from her, after all. So rising from her seat, she began to climb the steps to where she sat and knelt down beside her, resting her head in her lap. This seemed to startle Lee out of her thoughtful trance and she felt her shift and sighed as she felt a hand rest on top of her damp hair. "What are you thinking about so seriously, Lee," Delmina asked softly, closing her eyes.
For a moment she thought her friend would not answer, for she was silent and just as she was about to open her mouth to ask again she heard Leranna's voice answer back softly,"Del...Please stay here...please stay here where you will be safe..." Sitting up in surprise, Delmina stared at her friend with a puzzled look on her face, "Lee, why this all of a sudden? Are you feeling alright?" There was another long pause of silence before she received even more of a surprise when Leranna grasped both of her hands in her own and gave her a desperate look. "Please Del, I know you want to be free, but you have to stay here, please!" Shaking her head slowly, Delmina enveloped her friend in a hug and said softly into her ear, "Lee…You know I can't stay forever, I need seek revenge for my people or they will never rest in peace! That's hardly fair, don't you think?"
Tearing away from her arms, Leranna stood above the kneeling Delmina and said in a raised voice, "Why can't we send someone else to do it? Why can't you stay here, safe…with me?" Standing also, Delmina's face took on an emotionless look as she asked in reply, "Lee…why are you trying to keep me here?" She watched as Leranna began to chew on her lower lip, her eyes dropping to look at her feet before she raised her head and said softly, "You wouldn't understand Del…I'm sorry…I won't let you leave…" With that, she brushed passed her friend and left her standing there, staring blankly into nothing…
Chapter Four- Captive of Love
"Del, stop fidgeting around," Leranna said sternly as she stood in front of her, hands on her hips and foot tapping lightly on the carpeted floor as she watched the women struggled to take measurements for dresses while Delmina shifted uncomfortably under their touch. "I can't help it Lee, I'm not used to this kind of treatment." "Well get used to it and stop moving about or they'll get the size all wrong!" Delmina sighed and resigned to Leranna's command, standing still as the clothes makers finished their work.
They had been released a few days after she had met with her new friend and during that short time, they had indeed become very close friends, telling each other of their past and their plans for the future, telling each other things that they would have not told another soul and this caught her attention and made her think, for it was strange. So when Leranna's father had ordered her to be let out, she had refused, much to Delmina's surprise, and had said she wanted to talk to her father in person. He had come, unwillingly, but he had come and Delmina thought she was going to die for never had she stood in the presence of royalty before besides Leranna, but she and Lee had already assessed that the princess wanted no one to grovel before her, especially her friends, she found it disgusting.
Delmina had just stood there, straight and emotionless as the king had entered, stared at her in puzzlement then looked to his rascal of a daughter questionly. "Leranna, what is going on, why did you refuse to emerge from the dungeons, this is no place for a princess such as yourself." Smiling faintly, Leranna had only replied by moving to the side to let her father have a better view of Delmina, saying in a crisp clear voice," Father, this is my friend Delmina, release her and put her in my charge." And the king did just that, so quickly, so easily without hassle, he had given back the possession her armor, her sword, everything she had arrived to the palace with and it confused her and unnerved her and made her wonder what on earth she had gotten herself into.
But it had turned out ok, Leranna had refused to see Delmina wander around in her armor and had forced her into the sewing room where she was now being fitted for dresses made with such soft, sleek, and beautifully colored fabric that it made her almost sick. She had submitted only after she and Lee had made an agreement. First, that Del would be aloud to wear her armor anytime she wanted and practice her swordplay whenever she chose to but on one condition, she in return would teach the princess how to sword fight. "You can never be too careful when you're the daughter of a king." She had said.
After they had finished measuring Delmina for the dresses, they walked along the palace corridors, chatting on and on about everything, their voices, and sometimes an occasional laugh giggle from Leranna or a soft laugh from Delmina, echoing off the marble walls around them, sun light drifting in from the sun roof above, giving them a radiant glow.
This is how they stayed happily together in each others company for a long long while...
A Year Later…
'She seems happy enough...,' Leranna thought absent mindedly as she watched her friend work below her, twisting and turning to avoid blows from the other. Sighing, she rested her chin on her in her hands and her elbows on her knees. Delmina had settled into comfortable rooms a year and a half ago and had everything she could possibly want here, but sometimes, when Delmina wasn't paying attention, like when she was peeling her practice leathers off after a days lesson, Leranna would watch out of the corner of her eye as her friend paused to look wistfully at the palace walls and she would know what Del was thinking, what she secretly wished for but had never told Lee, worrying that it would offend her, but deep inside, she yearned to be free, to hunt down and avenge her slaughtered people, only to roam where she wished afterwards.
Sighing again she sat up. 'I'm sorry Del, I love you too much to let you go and get yourself killed, and you barely lived through your run ins with them the last few times...what if...' Refusing to finish that sentence, she shook her head to dismiss the thought and began coming up with an idea to keep her beloved friend here.
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Delmina wiped the sweat from her brow as she and her jousting buddy, Findle, stopped their sword play for a rest. Findle was a sandy haired man about middle aged and was a few inches taller then her that she had met after a couple weeks of staying at the palace. They had shared an interest in sword play and had become fast friends. He had come to serve as one of the palace guards when he had been in his teens and had served his king faithfully to this very day. She half way admired his loyalty but thought it odd that one would commit almost their entire lives to protecting someone who could probably care a rat's ass about them, though, he had assured her otherwise at one point, telling her that the king must have been one of the kindest, most caring person he knew of, only sometimes, he just got the wrong impression upon first sight. They had laughed then and then they had jousted.
But as she sat there on the wooden bench, catching her breath, she felt eyes upon her back and turned to see Leranna in a seat higher above the ring, smiling down at them, but it was a fake smile for behind the eyes that watched her, she could see that her friend was in deep thought. After a year and a half of getting to know the princess, there was nothing that could be hidden from her, after all. So rising from her seat, she began to climb the steps to where she sat and knelt down beside her, resting her head in her lap. This seemed to startle Lee out of her thoughtful trance and she felt her shift and sighed as she felt a hand rest on top of her damp hair. "What are you thinking about so seriously, Lee," Delmina asked softly, closing her eyes.
For a moment she thought her friend would not answer, for she was silent and just as she was about to open her mouth to ask again she heard Leranna's voice answer back softly,"Del...Please stay here...please stay here where you will be safe..." Sitting up in surprise, Delmina stared at her friend with a puzzled look on her face, "Lee, why this all of a sudden? Are you feeling alright?" There was another long pause of silence before she received even more of a surprise when Leranna grasped both of her hands in her own and gave her a desperate look. "Please Del, I know you want to be free, but you have to stay here, please!" Shaking her head slowly, Delmina enveloped her friend in a hug and said softly into her ear, "Lee…You know I can't stay forever, I need seek revenge for my people or they will never rest in peace! That's hardly fair, don't you think?"
Tearing away from her arms, Leranna stood above the kneeling Delmina and said in a raised voice, "Why can't we send someone else to do it? Why can't you stay here, safe…with me?" Standing also, Delmina's face took on an emotionless look as she asked in reply, "Lee…why are you trying to keep me here?" She watched as Leranna began to chew on her lower lip, her eyes dropping to look at her feet before she raised her head and said softly, "You wouldn't understand Del…I'm sorry…I won't let you leave…" With that, she brushed passed her friend and left her standing there, staring blankly into nothing…