Danielle wiped a bead of sweat from her brow. It figured that the one week she chose to do her traveling also happened to be the hottest week of the year. More than anything she wanted another rest, and another sip of water from her cantine, but she couldn't allow herself that. She had been traveling six days, and her supplies were diminishing.
She reviewed everything she'd been told by the vagrant she had just passed. Silently, she sent up a prayer of thanksgiving for the man. He had sold her a loaf of bread in turn for sixpence (care of Paulette) and also provided her with directions to the next town, Lounveir. Almost immediately, she began to set up her plans for the town. Of course, she would have to find work. She had no idea if she was to settle there for good, but work was definitely a need. For a few nights, she might be able to live at a small inn with the rest of the money Paulette had given her, but she hated the thought of spending it too quickly.
The money Paulette had stashed into her knapsack had caught her by surprise when she saw it: 20 gold francs. She would have marched right back to Paulette and given it to her if she hadn't been days away and the venture too risky. Paulette must have known that too, because she had rolled the money up in a cloth many times over so that she couldn't hear the jingle, and probably figured Danielle would be a far way off before she stopped to explore her bag. Danielle felt a sad misgiving; Paulette must have worked so hard to earn that much money, but she promised that as soon as she settled herself and started to earn her way, she would reimburse her dear friend.
Horse hooves thumped against the dirt road, coming from behind her. Danielle glanced up in surprise; she had been walking that road for two days and hadn't seen a person, besides the vagrant, since.
"Wooooa, Lily." The rider tugged on the mare's reins and glanced curiously at Danielle. He wore a maroon tunic over dark, ebony leggings. Dirty blonde hair spilled over his head in tendrils, and his bright green eyes sparkled with interest. "Where are you headed?" he asked; his voice was light and brisk, giving evidence that he frequently used it to make jokes.
Danielle rose her eyes at the man and straightened her shoulders; she knew she was covered in dirt and her dress was not in the best condition, but she would show at least some dignity. "I am on my way to a nearby town," Danielle retorted, starting to walk away from the buggy.
The boy snorted and made his mare take a few steps forward, keeping pace with Danielle. "Well, I kind of figured that," a grin spread playfully across his lips. "But what nearby town are you headed to?"
Danielle stopped and gazed up at him, "Why do you ask?" She wasn't stupid; she wasn't going to give out any information to a complete stranger.
"Well, I thought I might offer you a ride. I'm on my way to Lounveir to visit my family. If you're going anywhere near there, I'd be happy to give you a lift. You look awful tired." He looked sympathetic, not dangerous. Danielle inspected his face, not altogether hating the occupation. He didn't look like he was lying, or meaning to hurt her.
Danielle glanced bidingly down the road in front of her; she saw no end to it. The vagrant had told her it would be 30 miles to the town, possibly a day and a half's walk. With a buggy she might be able to reach it by nightfall. She lifted her hand to shield her eyes from the sun, now scrutinizing the mare. She was beautiful; her coat a deep cinnamon brown, her eyes dark and forward. Her ears laid back as if she was aware of being under inspection.
"I accept. Thank you for your offer." She tossed her bags into the back of the buggy and climbed expertly in, ignoring the man's offered hand to help lift her up. He grinned at her and held out his hand again.
"I'm Albert Dumonde de Lorraine." His infectious grin broadened as he waited patiently for her to settle herself in her seat.
Danielle glanced down at his hand and couldn't help but smile back, "I'm-" she paused briefly, "Julie DeLoin." She clasped his callused hand firmly and shook it. "It's nice to meet you."
"Pleasure's all mine." Albert tipped his cap toward her and faced front, "And off we go," he uttered a command to Lily, and they took off down the road.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Captain Lerant patted Henry comfortingly on the shoulder. "Don't worry, he'll get over it."
"I highly doubt that," Henry replied. Having just returned from a summons from his father, Henry had been given the worst tongue-lashing of his life. His father had called him an incompetent fool, a whimsical blockhead, a disgraceful man, and a good for nothing son- all in that order. Most likely he deserved it. When his father had found out he had ended his engagement to Marguerite, he was livid.
The summons had resulted with an hours lecture containing the phrases 'What the devil is wrong with you?', 'This is how you repay me for letting you choose your own wife?', and his favorite, 'You will never be King of France!'. It was as if he was seven years old again and in trouble for commanding his dog, Barnabas, to viciously attack Monsieur LePieu- except ten times worse.
His father had constantly asked for, begged for, an explanation. Somehow he didn't honestly believe that Henry was foolish enough to end the engagement for aboslutely no reason whatsoever. To every inquiry of his father's, Henry had replied calmly, "It would not have made a good match. I discovered some things about their family that were quite impossible to condone." Of course, his father had asked what 'things' he meant, but all Henry divulged was that it was a family problem.
Enraged with Henry's secrecy, he had temporarily discharged all but two of his servants, and drew strict limitations on what his son could and could not do. Henry had been tempted to ask which category breathing would be under.
His lack of servants, however difficult it made daily living, pleased him. It reminded him of the time he had met Comtesse-- Danielle swimming in the lake unattended, and when asked where they were she had replied curtly, "I gave them the day off." The memory of her wet face drawn with dignity and superiority (though she still had soaked undergarments and her hair dripped with water) challenging him to question her decision, almost made him smile.
"What are you going to do now?" Lerant broke through his thoughts, and absentmidedly patted his horse, Melondrop, between his ears. He was 'escorting' Henry for a ride. The King had issued a command that Henry was to go nowhere without supervision.
Henry sighed and stared dully at the road. "Do? I suppose I shall have to do whatever my father tells me to for the next three thousand years."
Lerant chuckled, his double chins shaking lightly, and glanced at his companion, "It's not going to be that bad, is it?"
"It's going to be a nightmare." Henry retorted. "I am no better than a slave now, and my father is the master with the largest whip. My life is no longer my own."
"Yes, but what about Spain? Is the marriage treaty still in tow?"
"No," Suddenly Henry grinned ironically, "It just so happens that the Spanish princess ran away just two nights away and has eloped."
"Eloped?!" Lerant's eyes widened with shock as he whistled. "Isn't that something," he murmered. "Well, I bet you're relieved and all, but wouldn't they just have another daughter fill in for her place and marry you?"
Henry's smile broadened, and he winked at his friend, "She was their only daughter."
Lerant's guffaw echoed through the woods. Wiping away a few laughing tears he said, "Luck is on your side, Henry."
Henry's eyes darkened and a shadow fell across his face, "Is it really?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My note: More to come! Please R & R... And thank you to everyone else to posted before. ~bows~
She reviewed everything she'd been told by the vagrant she had just passed. Silently, she sent up a prayer of thanksgiving for the man. He had sold her a loaf of bread in turn for sixpence (care of Paulette) and also provided her with directions to the next town, Lounveir. Almost immediately, she began to set up her plans for the town. Of course, she would have to find work. She had no idea if she was to settle there for good, but work was definitely a need. For a few nights, she might be able to live at a small inn with the rest of the money Paulette had given her, but she hated the thought of spending it too quickly.
The money Paulette had stashed into her knapsack had caught her by surprise when she saw it: 20 gold francs. She would have marched right back to Paulette and given it to her if she hadn't been days away and the venture too risky. Paulette must have known that too, because she had rolled the money up in a cloth many times over so that she couldn't hear the jingle, and probably figured Danielle would be a far way off before she stopped to explore her bag. Danielle felt a sad misgiving; Paulette must have worked so hard to earn that much money, but she promised that as soon as she settled herself and started to earn her way, she would reimburse her dear friend.
Horse hooves thumped against the dirt road, coming from behind her. Danielle glanced up in surprise; she had been walking that road for two days and hadn't seen a person, besides the vagrant, since.
"Wooooa, Lily." The rider tugged on the mare's reins and glanced curiously at Danielle. He wore a maroon tunic over dark, ebony leggings. Dirty blonde hair spilled over his head in tendrils, and his bright green eyes sparkled with interest. "Where are you headed?" he asked; his voice was light and brisk, giving evidence that he frequently used it to make jokes.
Danielle rose her eyes at the man and straightened her shoulders; she knew she was covered in dirt and her dress was not in the best condition, but she would show at least some dignity. "I am on my way to a nearby town," Danielle retorted, starting to walk away from the buggy.
The boy snorted and made his mare take a few steps forward, keeping pace with Danielle. "Well, I kind of figured that," a grin spread playfully across his lips. "But what nearby town are you headed to?"
Danielle stopped and gazed up at him, "Why do you ask?" She wasn't stupid; she wasn't going to give out any information to a complete stranger.
"Well, I thought I might offer you a ride. I'm on my way to Lounveir to visit my family. If you're going anywhere near there, I'd be happy to give you a lift. You look awful tired." He looked sympathetic, not dangerous. Danielle inspected his face, not altogether hating the occupation. He didn't look like he was lying, or meaning to hurt her.
Danielle glanced bidingly down the road in front of her; she saw no end to it. The vagrant had told her it would be 30 miles to the town, possibly a day and a half's walk. With a buggy she might be able to reach it by nightfall. She lifted her hand to shield her eyes from the sun, now scrutinizing the mare. She was beautiful; her coat a deep cinnamon brown, her eyes dark and forward. Her ears laid back as if she was aware of being under inspection.
"I accept. Thank you for your offer." She tossed her bags into the back of the buggy and climbed expertly in, ignoring the man's offered hand to help lift her up. He grinned at her and held out his hand again.
"I'm Albert Dumonde de Lorraine." His infectious grin broadened as he waited patiently for her to settle herself in her seat.
Danielle glanced down at his hand and couldn't help but smile back, "I'm-" she paused briefly, "Julie DeLoin." She clasped his callused hand firmly and shook it. "It's nice to meet you."
"Pleasure's all mine." Albert tipped his cap toward her and faced front, "And off we go," he uttered a command to Lily, and they took off down the road.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Captain Lerant patted Henry comfortingly on the shoulder. "Don't worry, he'll get over it."
"I highly doubt that," Henry replied. Having just returned from a summons from his father, Henry had been given the worst tongue-lashing of his life. His father had called him an incompetent fool, a whimsical blockhead, a disgraceful man, and a good for nothing son- all in that order. Most likely he deserved it. When his father had found out he had ended his engagement to Marguerite, he was livid.
The summons had resulted with an hours lecture containing the phrases 'What the devil is wrong with you?', 'This is how you repay me for letting you choose your own wife?', and his favorite, 'You will never be King of France!'. It was as if he was seven years old again and in trouble for commanding his dog, Barnabas, to viciously attack Monsieur LePieu- except ten times worse.
His father had constantly asked for, begged for, an explanation. Somehow he didn't honestly believe that Henry was foolish enough to end the engagement for aboslutely no reason whatsoever. To every inquiry of his father's, Henry had replied calmly, "It would not have made a good match. I discovered some things about their family that were quite impossible to condone." Of course, his father had asked what 'things' he meant, but all Henry divulged was that it was a family problem.
Enraged with Henry's secrecy, he had temporarily discharged all but two of his servants, and drew strict limitations on what his son could and could not do. Henry had been tempted to ask which category breathing would be under.
His lack of servants, however difficult it made daily living, pleased him. It reminded him of the time he had met Comtesse-- Danielle swimming in the lake unattended, and when asked where they were she had replied curtly, "I gave them the day off." The memory of her wet face drawn with dignity and superiority (though she still had soaked undergarments and her hair dripped with water) challenging him to question her decision, almost made him smile.
"What are you going to do now?" Lerant broke through his thoughts, and absentmidedly patted his horse, Melondrop, between his ears. He was 'escorting' Henry for a ride. The King had issued a command that Henry was to go nowhere without supervision.
Henry sighed and stared dully at the road. "Do? I suppose I shall have to do whatever my father tells me to for the next three thousand years."
Lerant chuckled, his double chins shaking lightly, and glanced at his companion, "It's not going to be that bad, is it?"
"It's going to be a nightmare." Henry retorted. "I am no better than a slave now, and my father is the master with the largest whip. My life is no longer my own."
"Yes, but what about Spain? Is the marriage treaty still in tow?"
"No," Suddenly Henry grinned ironically, "It just so happens that the Spanish princess ran away just two nights away and has eloped."
"Eloped?!" Lerant's eyes widened with shock as he whistled. "Isn't that something," he murmered. "Well, I bet you're relieved and all, but wouldn't they just have another daughter fill in for her place and marry you?"
Henry's smile broadened, and he winked at his friend, "She was their only daughter."
Lerant's guffaw echoed through the woods. Wiping away a few laughing tears he said, "Luck is on your side, Henry."
Henry's eyes darkened and a shadow fell across his face, "Is it really?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My note: More to come! Please R & R... And thank you to everyone else to posted before. ~bows~