Title: Forever Yours
Author: rooster dawn
Pairing: see below
Alternative Universe
Disclaimer: JAG is property of Belisarius productions, no copyright infringement intended. Ever After is the property of Twentieth Century Productions, no copyright infringement intended.
Summary: This story is loosely based on the movie "Ever After"
Good feedback is good for one's soul and everyone's happiness.
Author's note: In the movie the time period covers five days between the time Prince Henry meets Danielle and the Masque Ball. I have tried to stretch out the story to almost two weeks to give them more time to get to know each other better. Besides I think it would be hard for two people from different stations of life to see each other every day and fall in love.
part 8 Where Are They
2000 hours
de Ghent manor
Renee was standing in the window. She was worried about Sarah. True, Sarah wasn't her favorite child, but she had promised her father when she married him that she would always take care of her if something were to happen to him.
She didn't understand what was wrong with the girl. She should be happy. Tom was back. She had told Sarah that she could go to the ball even though she really didn't want her to go.
But for some reason or another over the last week Sarah had become quite distant. She was always running off somewhere. She was usually late getting back. It was so unlike her. It was like her mind was in another place or on something else.
Could it be she was involved with someone? It couldn't be Michael. He was a nitwit. Sarah wasn't interested in him in that manner. But who was there for her to be interested in. She hadn't seen Sarah with anyone.
Well, that dirty old man Pierre le Peu was interested in Sarah, but she wouldn't have anything to do with him, would she? No, Sarah wasn't a deceitful girl. And the girls hadn't said anything to her. Surely they would know if Sarah was seeing someone. They would tell her, wouldn't they?
Where was she? Why wasn't she home? It was getting quite late. What if something happened to her? There wouldn't be a buffer between her and the twit sisters. Even though she didn't show it often she did care about her.
In the Royal forest
The gypsy leader decided to invite Nicole and Henry to supper with them. It wasn't much, but it was the hospitality that was important. They ate a hearty meal and drank ale all night long.
Nicole and Henry were having a lot of fun. They were beginning to get a little silly playing a child's game of Rock, Paper, and Scissors. During the process their minds were getting fuzzy and their emotions for each other were bubbling to the surface.
"You are reading my thoughts Sire." smiled Nicole.
"Then, they must be as fuzzy as my own Nicole." smiled Henry. He was feeling pretty good about now. He felt happy, happier than he had ever been before.
"Does France concede?" she asked with glee. She loved being here with Henry. She felt so free and alive. She loved the feelings he stirred in her. She loved the effect she was having on him.
"Never!" he exclaimed defiantly.
"It is your turn Sire and it better be good." she demanded. She wanted to know more about her prince and what made him tick.
"I have no desire to be king." he confessed. He wanted to be free to be himself. To be free to go anywhere he wanted anytime he wanted. He didn't want to be responsible to anyone. He didn't want to cater to the whim of others.
"Think of all the good you could do for your people, your country, the world." she pleaded.
"Yeah, but to be define by your position and not by who you are. You don't understand." he moaned. Did anyone really care?
"You might be surprised." she sighed. She knew more than anyone what status really meant.
"Really?" he asked a bit surprised. But then again she always seemed to have an answer for everything.
"A gypsy for an example is rarely painted as anything but. They are defined by their status as you are defined by yours, but it's not who they are. You have been born to privilege and with that come specific responsibilities." she explained to him as he listened to her intently.
"I'm sorry Sire, but my mouth seems to have run away from me." finished Sarah as she felt embarrassed as she rambled on.
"No me lady, it's your mouth that has me hypnotized." Henry replied hoping to allay her fears. He loved the way she thought and expressed herself.
Again Sarah was feeling the heat of realization that the prince had feelings for her. He had a rather unique way of expressing it. She was beginning to see their relationship was changing more and more. She was beginning to feel more for the prince too.
He leaned in for a kiss. It was tentative at first. They began kissing. Slowly at first as they made sure the other felt the same way they did. It wasn't long before the kissing became more passionate. The gypsies saw them and expressed their sound approval.
They were embarrassed at being caught, but it didn't stop them from continuing. They weren't going to acknowledge the magical spell cast by the gypsies.
2100 hours
de Ghent's manor
Paulette was busy getting the Baroness bedroom ready for the night. She had put a couple logs on the fire and had turned down the bed. She was worried about Sarah. It was getting late and she wasn't home. It was very unusual of her.
She also wondered what the Baroness would do to Sarah when she did get home. The Baroness had been in a foul mood already today. Apparently the prince wasn't available today to court Jordan. No one knew where he was.
Well she and Louise knew where the prince was or should they say whom he was with. He was with Sarah. They had ridden away in the royal carriage. She had never seen Sarah looking so beautiful and so happy.
It surprised her that Sarah was so happy. It was only the other day she was complaining about how arrogant and condescending the prince was. Sarah thought the prince and Jordan were perfect for each other.
She wondered what had happened to cause such a change in her. Sarah was if anything pretty stubborn. Once she set her mind about a position she rarely changed it.
She looked over to see the Baroness standing in the window. She did look worried, but she had also been quite angry when Sarah wasn't home to serve dinner. She could never tell how the Baroness really felt about Sarah.
"I want to see her the minute she gets home." commanded Renee. She was getting very angry with Sarah for making her worry. She hated worrying. It gave her wrinkles.
"Yes Ma'am." she replied before leaving the room. She hoped Sarah was okay. She hoped the prince was taking good care of her and not taking advantage of her.
0500 hours, day 7
de Ghent manor
Early the next morning they arrived back at her home. The gypsy leader had allowed Henry to take a horse. He was a romantic who believed in young love. It was very special and should be nurtured.
It took awhile as they slowly rode home. At this point neither one of them was in a hurry to get back. They wanted their time together to last as long as it could. They stopped short of the entrance to the manor. They both exchanged looks of affection for the other.
"Please, stop here. I don't want to wake anyone." whispered Sarah.
Henry dismounted from the horse before slowly lowering her to the ground. He gave her a kiss. He didn't want to let her go, but he knew he must. He didn't want to get Nicole in trouble.
"You saved my life back there." smiled Henry. He was tired, but happy. He was beginning to sober up a little.
"A girl does what she can Sire." Nicole offered as she looked up into his eyes adoringly.
"Henry, called me Henry. It's my name." he told her.
"Henry." she purred his name as she raised her head for another kiss. She had never kissed a man before, but she like kissing Henry. She didn't want to stop. She didn't want the night to end.
They spent a few moments together kissing and just holding each other. Henry wanted to get together later in the day, but Nicole was tired and was sure she would sleep most of the day away. Also she felt the need to spend some time with the baroness.
She was after all visiting the Baroness and her daughters. She needed to spend some time with them. Henry reluctantly agreed to her request. He kissed her one more time before leaving.
0800 hours
de Ghent's manor
When Renee awoke the next day she went looking for Louise. She wanted to know if Sarah had returned home yet. Even though she would never admit it to anyone, there were times when she did worry about Sarah.
Even though Sarah wasn't her daughter by birth, she was the daughter of the man she had married and loved. She had promised him that she would care for his daughter and love her as best as she could.
Sarah hadn't really been a hard person to love. She was for the most part a happy girl who did what she was told. On occasion she would get into mischief with her nerdy little friend Michael.
She was a hard worker and didn't mind doing chores, something that her Jordan would never do. Sometime she wished Jordan had some of Sarah's intestinal fortitude. It gave Sarah a quiet strength and a sense of decorum, something Jordan seemed to lack.
But she couldn't show the love out of fear her own two girls would suffer any indignation from the thought of favoritism. She would deal with Sarah's indiscretion more punitively than required.
"Is she home yet?" Renee asked Louise.
"Yes Ma'am, I heard her come in around five o'clock this morning as I was getting up to feed the animals." Louise replied hoping that the Baroness wouldn't be too harsh with Sarah.
"Where is she now?" Renee asked in a tone that demanded no lies.
"I believe she's in her room Ma'am." replied Louise.
Renee went to Sarah's room with Jordan following closely behind. She hoped to give her opinion on the matter. Renee, with a broom in hand, opened the door and prodded Sarah with the broom until she woke up.
Sarah was still drunk from the night before. She hadn't known what she had been drinking, but it had left her dizzy and feeling quite silly. It had been a wonderful night, but right now she was so sleep deprived.
She was in no mood to deal with the Baroness and especially Jordan. She wished that they would just go away and let her sleep.
"Get up Sarah or are you ill?" ordered Renee.
Sarah started to rise, but fell back down. "I'm feeling ill mother." she replied.
"Who's going to make our breakfast?" shrilled Jordan at an octave high enough to hurt even a dog's ears.
"Why don't you make it yourself." Sarah replied. She felt like saying you lazy cow, but she held her tongue, which was quite difficult to do considering she couldn't stop a few hours ago.
Jordan was about to yell again when Renee told her "Not now."
They were soon gone and Sarah was back asleep. Renee wondered what could have happened that Sarah couldn't get out of bed in the morning. It was so unlike her. Rain or shine she was usually up and out the door by six o'clock.
1700 hours
Sarah came into the house after doing some chores. She was feeling better, but was still feeling the effects of drinking too much rum. It made thinking a little difficult. Her coordination was a bit off too.
"Where were you yesterday Sarah? Why didn't you come home last night? Who were you with? Were you drinking?" asked Renee.
Sarah looked at her stepmother trying to figure out where she was coming from. Was it concerned from a mother? Did she really want to know? Or was she getting ready to lower the boom on her?
"I got lost." she replied softly. She hoped her stepmother wouldn't push the issue.
She really didn't want to lie, but yesterday was too special to share with the baroness. Besides if she knew the truth, she would really be mad.
"You're lying Sarah, you're not telling me everything." Renee replied.
"I did get lost." Sarah argued.
"Where were you last night?" demanded Renee.
"About ten miles north of town in the woods." she replied. She wondered why this was so important to her stepmother. She never seemed to care where she was before.
"What were you doing there? You know there're hooligans and gypsies ready to cut your throat in those woods. You could have been hurt or killed. That's no place for a young woman. Who were you with Sarah? I know you wouldn't have gone there by yourself, you're not that foolish." she exclaimed.
"I was in town yesterday morning. I met a man who said he was going to the monastery. He knew I like to read so he asked me if I wanted to go with him. I can't tell you his name. On the way back the carriage broke down and we had to walk back.
We got lost in the woods and it took awhile to figure out which way to go. It's why I got home so late." explained Sarah hoping Renee wouldn't push the issue any further.
"You should have told me where you were going Sarah. You shouldn't have gone off anywhere with a man you don't know. If I had know where you were I could have sent someone to find you when you didn't return by suppertime.
I promised your father I would look after you Sarah. I was worried sick that something might have happened to you. I do care Sarah even though I don't show it as well as I should." scolded Renee.
"I want you to stay away from town for the next few days. There are too many scoundrels lurking there waiting for naive vulnerable young women to come along. Stay on the estate until further notice." ordered Renee.