Disclaimer: (I figured it was as good a time as any, since I keep forgetting) I own none of the characters from Court Duel, only the plot line. You guys all know what this is supposed to say, and anyways I claim no such skill as to ever have been able to come up with the original idea of Court Duel, so I won't even flatter myself by saying I wish I owned these characters...I only wish that Vidanric was real and that I knew him....::drool:: Wow, Igot way off topic in this, but I think I got my point across, don't you?
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The trip to Tlanth was a relatively sedate trip, not major setbacks and simple fun between Vidanric and I. We made a number of bets and raced from inn to inn through out the entire trip, for both our competitive sides could not let the opportunity pass. I won some of the races; he won some of the others (I won the race to Lumm this time), but we did not keep score and each race was ended with a kiss.
We arrived at Tlanth in a mere five days, which was exceptionally quick for a trip that long, but work on paving the roads around Tlanth had been carried forward in my absence and everywhere on the mountain it seemed had pavement, especially the major roadways. I was pleased at the strides my home seemed to be making towards prosperity.
I was greeted many times once we entered the county by former rebels, childhood friends, or simply citizens who had questions and recognized me as their Lady. As much as I wished to help all these people, I bade them write to the castle, and subsequently to the capital, where Bran and I would take care of their concerns as soon as time permitted, which never seemed to take very long and, in general, people seemed to have to problem about the two of us governing from far away. Everyone knew we were dedicated to our citizens and lands. So even though my strict sense of duty chastised me, Vidanric forced me put aside all matters of government unless they were extreme and required immediate attention, such as one event I discovered upon my arrival at the castle.
It seemed that, in Bran and my absence, the cost of schooling had begun to rise, for more and more people suddenly found themselves with enough money to hire teachers or even erect schoolhouses to tutor their children. With the increase in demand, tutors and teachers had begun to raise their prices to excessive amounts, which I knew, as someone who had her own education neglected, I had to change immediately. I sat down at my desk in the library and penned a letter to the teachers' guild, asking for a explanation for the price rise and ordering them to appear before me a fortnight hence to discuss the matter at hand. When this was done, I turned to more pleasant matters, such as reuniting with Oria, who I hadn't even greeted yet, for the petitioners had met me outside my gate and I got myself caught up in that matter and not even noticing anything else, since I was on the war path about the problem. I always knew I had a one-track mind when it came to government.
So when I had finished my letter, I left it on my desk, resolving to send it when I had greeted all my friends, and left the room to find Vidanric standing outside the tapestry, about to knock. I jumped back, startled, and he followed me back into the library.
"I was wondering what had happened to you? I was sitting in the parlor thinking you got lost in your own house and couldn't find your way back out." He smiled, for he knew exactly what I had been doing.
"Well, you see, I had to…Education is important to me, and this issue came up about it, and I had to deal with it, it took a little longer than I had expected, but I just finished it, so lets go find everyone and say hello." I stammered, trying to explain myself.
"Yes, sure, lets. Remember though, my sweet, this trip is not just for me to ignore work on, you are to ignore it to. I know that you are very loyal to your people, it is a trait that will make you and excellent queen, but even your people would understand why you must rest before your health is effected, as mine was." He began to grin, "Besides, it wouldn't be fair if I allowed you to work your head off and ignore me this entire trip, while you and your people watched me like a hawks ensuring I ignore crown affairs."
I laughed at this plain use of logic, logic specific to my fiancé, and nodded, grabbing his hand and leading him out of the library.
It seemed to be the day for walking into people just outside the library, for as soon as I lifted the tapestry, I discovered a startled Oria standing in much the same position as Danric was just moments before. I immediately dropped Danric's hand and flung myself at Oria, embracing her tightly, trying to convey exactly how much I had missed her into one gigantic hug. I pulled away when I realized she could barely breathe and I heard Danric laughing softly behind me.
"Oria, I missed you so much! Danric, I do believe you have already been acquainted with Oria, my steward." I added, remembering my court etiquette, which had now become second nature. Oria curtsied and Danric bowed before I interrupted, asking about what had happened during my hiatus. Oria and I talked happily with Danric trailing along behind us as we strolled through the castle so I could see all the changes that Oria had done to the castle. I imagine I felt exactly the same way Bran did when he first came from court to see the house as it was then, for much had been done in my absence. We talked for quite a while, before I realized that Oria had other matters to attend to and that I was neglecting my guest. I bid her goodbye and watched her as slipped into one of the servant's doors, heading to the kitchen, I guessed.
I showed Vidanric to his suite of rooms, the same ones he occupied when he was there before, and left him to prepare for dinner, which would be in only and hour or so. I went to my rooms and surprised to find them altered. They had been redecorated in a similar pattern to the rooms I had used at Athanarel, the lovely soft greens and blues with embroidered ivy on the pillows. I guessed I had written about my rooms to Oria and she decided to redo my own rooms in the same pattern to make me feel comfortable in my rooms again. She had done a wonderful job, managing to preserve every aspect that had made it seem like my room in the castle, the one I spent most of my life in, instead of a borrowed room, such as the one I occupied at Court. I nearly ran out of the room to find Oria and thank her, but I turned to find her standing at the doorway.
"Life, I think today must be the day I am destined to have everyone startle me right outside any door I pass through!" I exclaimed.
"Do you like the room, my lady?" Oria asked, obviously not sure as to whether she had made the right decision to change my rooms. It was odd, but to me she seemed more reserved around me, but I could not tell why.
"I love them, Oria. I had completely forgotten I described my Court room to you. A different type of lifestyle, a different type of room; I think it fits winderfully. But tell me," I said, sitting on the bed, "something is bothering you. Can you tell me what it is? You seem reserved today."
Oria laughed a little, but it sounded strained, even to my generally oblivious ears. "You have changed, Countess. Before you left for Court, you never would have been so upfront with me." I could tell she was trying to sidestep my question, but after dealing with Flauvic's expert diversions, Oria was no longer a match for me. And her words had given me and idea about what changed between us.
"'Ria, even though I am engaged to Danric, even though I have finally become a semi-proper courtier, despite everything that has happened, I am, and will always be, the same Meliara that you grew up with. It doesn't matter whether I end up being some unknown and obscure noble with no title, or the Queen at Sartor, I will always be your friend, and you should know that," I said softly.
Oria came to sit on the bed with me. "I know that Mel, somewhere deep inside, but when you showed up here, with your magnificent gown and servants everywhere, I could tell you had become a courtier, and courtiers do no associate with their servants. Besides, you are the future queen, and I did not know how I should act." Oria looked down at her hands, which she was wringing together.
"Oria, despite everything, do not think for one second that anything has changed between us. And besides, you're not just any servant, you're my steward, and from my experience, a vast number of courtiers that have already inherited their titles, such as Vidanric and Savona, are close friends with their stewards, or else they would not have had the trust to name them as such. Think of it the same way between us is you must, but I would prefer that you ignore titles and birthrights completely when you consider our friendship."
Oria looked up, and relief was written plainly across her face. She fell on top of me in a big hug, overjoyed at having me home finally. When she was done, I excused myself to go to the baths and prepare for dinner, but not before I asked my friend's advice in picking a gown, for I had given Mora the day off to accustom herself to the castle and surrounding town. She seemed delighted to rifle through the many gowns that had been hung in my wardrobe and selected a wonderful dinner gown that was light blue with dark blue embroidery of flowers along the low neckline and down the floor-length sleeves, and had sapphires scattered over the entire dress, making me flash blue when in the right light. It was one of my favorite gowns, and I told Oria so before she left to attend to matters of running the castle. I quickly prepared and met Vidanric for dinner, informing him of what had happened between Oria and I.
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Author's note: Well, this particular chapter is rather deviod of Mel/Danric fluff, but I promise I will try to put more into the next chapter. Once again, I am typing this chapter up at 1 in the morning...this is starting to create a disturbing pattern...You guys better hope I get this fic finished before I start school again, or I might not finish it, even though I really want to. Anyway, keep reviewing, I love getting them and knowing people actually read my stories. I already have another idea for a Court Duel fic banging around inside my head, maybe I will plan it out before I forget it, but I won't start writing it till I am done this one. I've dug myself into that hole before when I tried to write 4 fics at once. I already have an original story posted on Fictionpress.net that is ongoing...go read it! My user name there is Dara Faeon, and the story title is...Transplanted..yeh thats it. Anyway, go read that too!
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The trip to Tlanth was a relatively sedate trip, not major setbacks and simple fun between Vidanric and I. We made a number of bets and raced from inn to inn through out the entire trip, for both our competitive sides could not let the opportunity pass. I won some of the races; he won some of the others (I won the race to Lumm this time), but we did not keep score and each race was ended with a kiss.
We arrived at Tlanth in a mere five days, which was exceptionally quick for a trip that long, but work on paving the roads around Tlanth had been carried forward in my absence and everywhere on the mountain it seemed had pavement, especially the major roadways. I was pleased at the strides my home seemed to be making towards prosperity.
I was greeted many times once we entered the county by former rebels, childhood friends, or simply citizens who had questions and recognized me as their Lady. As much as I wished to help all these people, I bade them write to the castle, and subsequently to the capital, where Bran and I would take care of their concerns as soon as time permitted, which never seemed to take very long and, in general, people seemed to have to problem about the two of us governing from far away. Everyone knew we were dedicated to our citizens and lands. So even though my strict sense of duty chastised me, Vidanric forced me put aside all matters of government unless they were extreme and required immediate attention, such as one event I discovered upon my arrival at the castle.
It seemed that, in Bran and my absence, the cost of schooling had begun to rise, for more and more people suddenly found themselves with enough money to hire teachers or even erect schoolhouses to tutor their children. With the increase in demand, tutors and teachers had begun to raise their prices to excessive amounts, which I knew, as someone who had her own education neglected, I had to change immediately. I sat down at my desk in the library and penned a letter to the teachers' guild, asking for a explanation for the price rise and ordering them to appear before me a fortnight hence to discuss the matter at hand. When this was done, I turned to more pleasant matters, such as reuniting with Oria, who I hadn't even greeted yet, for the petitioners had met me outside my gate and I got myself caught up in that matter and not even noticing anything else, since I was on the war path about the problem. I always knew I had a one-track mind when it came to government.
So when I had finished my letter, I left it on my desk, resolving to send it when I had greeted all my friends, and left the room to find Vidanric standing outside the tapestry, about to knock. I jumped back, startled, and he followed me back into the library.
"I was wondering what had happened to you? I was sitting in the parlor thinking you got lost in your own house and couldn't find your way back out." He smiled, for he knew exactly what I had been doing.
"Well, you see, I had to…Education is important to me, and this issue came up about it, and I had to deal with it, it took a little longer than I had expected, but I just finished it, so lets go find everyone and say hello." I stammered, trying to explain myself.
"Yes, sure, lets. Remember though, my sweet, this trip is not just for me to ignore work on, you are to ignore it to. I know that you are very loyal to your people, it is a trait that will make you and excellent queen, but even your people would understand why you must rest before your health is effected, as mine was." He began to grin, "Besides, it wouldn't be fair if I allowed you to work your head off and ignore me this entire trip, while you and your people watched me like a hawks ensuring I ignore crown affairs."
I laughed at this plain use of logic, logic specific to my fiancé, and nodded, grabbing his hand and leading him out of the library.
It seemed to be the day for walking into people just outside the library, for as soon as I lifted the tapestry, I discovered a startled Oria standing in much the same position as Danric was just moments before. I immediately dropped Danric's hand and flung myself at Oria, embracing her tightly, trying to convey exactly how much I had missed her into one gigantic hug. I pulled away when I realized she could barely breathe and I heard Danric laughing softly behind me.
"Oria, I missed you so much! Danric, I do believe you have already been acquainted with Oria, my steward." I added, remembering my court etiquette, which had now become second nature. Oria curtsied and Danric bowed before I interrupted, asking about what had happened during my hiatus. Oria and I talked happily with Danric trailing along behind us as we strolled through the castle so I could see all the changes that Oria had done to the castle. I imagine I felt exactly the same way Bran did when he first came from court to see the house as it was then, for much had been done in my absence. We talked for quite a while, before I realized that Oria had other matters to attend to and that I was neglecting my guest. I bid her goodbye and watched her as slipped into one of the servant's doors, heading to the kitchen, I guessed.
I showed Vidanric to his suite of rooms, the same ones he occupied when he was there before, and left him to prepare for dinner, which would be in only and hour or so. I went to my rooms and surprised to find them altered. They had been redecorated in a similar pattern to the rooms I had used at Athanarel, the lovely soft greens and blues with embroidered ivy on the pillows. I guessed I had written about my rooms to Oria and she decided to redo my own rooms in the same pattern to make me feel comfortable in my rooms again. She had done a wonderful job, managing to preserve every aspect that had made it seem like my room in the castle, the one I spent most of my life in, instead of a borrowed room, such as the one I occupied at Court. I nearly ran out of the room to find Oria and thank her, but I turned to find her standing at the doorway.
"Life, I think today must be the day I am destined to have everyone startle me right outside any door I pass through!" I exclaimed.
"Do you like the room, my lady?" Oria asked, obviously not sure as to whether she had made the right decision to change my rooms. It was odd, but to me she seemed more reserved around me, but I could not tell why.
"I love them, Oria. I had completely forgotten I described my Court room to you. A different type of lifestyle, a different type of room; I think it fits winderfully. But tell me," I said, sitting on the bed, "something is bothering you. Can you tell me what it is? You seem reserved today."
Oria laughed a little, but it sounded strained, even to my generally oblivious ears. "You have changed, Countess. Before you left for Court, you never would have been so upfront with me." I could tell she was trying to sidestep my question, but after dealing with Flauvic's expert diversions, Oria was no longer a match for me. And her words had given me and idea about what changed between us.
"'Ria, even though I am engaged to Danric, even though I have finally become a semi-proper courtier, despite everything that has happened, I am, and will always be, the same Meliara that you grew up with. It doesn't matter whether I end up being some unknown and obscure noble with no title, or the Queen at Sartor, I will always be your friend, and you should know that," I said softly.
Oria came to sit on the bed with me. "I know that Mel, somewhere deep inside, but when you showed up here, with your magnificent gown and servants everywhere, I could tell you had become a courtier, and courtiers do no associate with their servants. Besides, you are the future queen, and I did not know how I should act." Oria looked down at her hands, which she was wringing together.
"Oria, despite everything, do not think for one second that anything has changed between us. And besides, you're not just any servant, you're my steward, and from my experience, a vast number of courtiers that have already inherited their titles, such as Vidanric and Savona, are close friends with their stewards, or else they would not have had the trust to name them as such. Think of it the same way between us is you must, but I would prefer that you ignore titles and birthrights completely when you consider our friendship."
Oria looked up, and relief was written plainly across her face. She fell on top of me in a big hug, overjoyed at having me home finally. When she was done, I excused myself to go to the baths and prepare for dinner, but not before I asked my friend's advice in picking a gown, for I had given Mora the day off to accustom herself to the castle and surrounding town. She seemed delighted to rifle through the many gowns that had been hung in my wardrobe and selected a wonderful dinner gown that was light blue with dark blue embroidery of flowers along the low neckline and down the floor-length sleeves, and had sapphires scattered over the entire dress, making me flash blue when in the right light. It was one of my favorite gowns, and I told Oria so before she left to attend to matters of running the castle. I quickly prepared and met Vidanric for dinner, informing him of what had happened between Oria and I.
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Author's note: Well, this particular chapter is rather deviod of Mel/Danric fluff, but I promise I will try to put more into the next chapter. Once again, I am typing this chapter up at 1 in the morning...this is starting to create a disturbing pattern...You guys better hope I get this fic finished before I start school again, or I might not finish it, even though I really want to. Anyway, keep reviewing, I love getting them and knowing people actually read my stories. I already have another idea for a Court Duel fic banging around inside my head, maybe I will plan it out before I forget it, but I won't start writing it till I am done this one. I've dug myself into that hole before when I tried to write 4 fics at once. I already have an original story posted on Fictionpress.net that is ongoing...go read it! My user name there is Dara Faeon, and the story title is...Transplanted..yeh thats it. Anyway, go read that too!