Hello again! Thanks to FutureFamousMovieDirector for reviewing- I might not have written this without any reviews. This chapter is written from Orien's PoV, and takes place on the same night as the previous two chapters, just so I don't confuse anyone. Please Review!
Orien laughed, his bluebell eyes sparkling merrily as he and his brother trotted into the stables from their day-long hawking trip into the woods surrounding the stately manor in which they lived. It was the first true day off that he had had in a while… Orien hadn't managed to feel so completely carefree since… well; now that he thought of it, he probably hadn't felt like this since before she had left. For just the smallest moment, the thought of her saddened him, but then it passed as though he hadn't thought of her at all. He jumped down from the rather large stallion he had been riding, giving the furry nose a pat as he did so.
The brothers then handed their reins to the grooms waiting for them, and continued on to enter the manor. They had barely eaten all day, as they hadn't wished to carry too much with them, and so were unsurprised to find that the cooks had prepared a grand meal for their dinner; practically a feast. The two, along with the guards and others of the court who had gone with them, then proceeded to have a very merry dinner eating the rich beef and drinking the fine wines laid out for them by the servants while discussing, in sometimes exaggerated detail, the events of the day.
By the time they had finished, it had long since grown dark outside and everyone was exhausted. They bade each other goodnight, and left. Orien returned to his rooms, and changed into his fine silk pajamas as he slowly prepared for sleep and climbed into bed.
Despite the active and exhausting day he had had, Orien couldn't sleep. He rarely managed to get to sleep easily. When he was alone, in bed, he always began to think of her, the beautiful Birle who had changed his life and his perception in so many ways… he knew would never forget her. He sometimes couldn't help but think that maybe... he could have done something different, something, anything... how could she have left? How could he have let her! The last few days he had seen her before she'd left were burned into his memory forever, and now he thought he could see what he had so stupidly missed during those few days. All the small little signs that she wasn't happy with the life he gave her... how could he have missed them? He hadn't seen her nearly as much as he should have, he recognized that now. He had only seen her sporadically in the halls while on his way to speak with important people... had only had time to say quickly, "You are content?" before he rushed off again. He couldn't recall ever actually hearing her answer that question; he supposed he had always left too quickly to give her a chance. But he could remember her looking as if she were going to answer... as if she had something to say beyond a simple 'yes.' Sometimes, even, as though she planned to go as far as to answer with a 'no.' But he had never given her that chance. Now, it was too late... she was gone. And after fifteen years, he very much doubted she would ever be coming back.
He thought of that dark day when he had returned home and asked his brother where she was. He had given him a quick, almost guilty look, and then told him to sit down; he had something he needed to tell him...
Orien hadn't been able to accept the fact that she had vanished from his life, probably forever, for a very long time. For a while, he had thought; maybe she just wished to go home and see her family, let them know she's all right... she'll be back soon, just a few days...
But a month had gone by, and then another. Eventually, Orien had realized that his Birle truly wasn't coming back. That was when he had decided to search for her himself.
His first thought had been the inn he knew she had grown up in. That was the most likely lace he could think of for her to go... but, somehow, no matter how much he strained his memory, he hadn't been able to remember the name of that inn. Nor had he been able to remember how he had arrived there in the first place.
When he had run away, he had just been a young lord who had no idea what he was doing or where he was going. He had never been anywhere truly far away before, and the only times he had left the manor he had been happily holed away in some grand carriage. He had never paid any attention to directions or distances- he'd had servants to do that type of thing for him. Basically, he'd had no sense of direction, and no idea how he had gotten where he was or how to get back. He could now tell where he was going, but that didn't change his non-memory.
Orien had gone through lists of all the inns in the Kingdom, but no name on those long lists had rung any bells. As Orien was sure he would remember the name if he were to see it, he had come up with an explanation for this.
The lists he had looked at had been made up for lords and ladies who were traveling and might need a place to stay. Whoever had made them up had known this, and hadn't wanted to get in trouble if a lord or lady ended up staying at an inn they might consider less than adequate for someone of their standing. They had therefore only listed large, expensive inns with lots of room and money; places where a lord or lady could spend a night in no less luxury than they might in their own manors; places where they would not have to put up with 'peasants' who did not have the money to stay in such a place.
From what he could remember, the inn his Birle had grown up in did not fit this criteria.
He had tried many other ways of finding her as well, but never with any more results. He had finally stopped trying one day, no longer able to face the sorrow he felt when one plan or another yielded nothing.
Then he decided to do the only things he could do for her anymore, the only things he could do to make her life, wherever she was, a little easier. The first thing was to do the very best job he could as Earl, since she was under his rule somewhere. The second thing was to be happy, which he was sure she wanted for him. The third thing helped her a bit more directly... he could remember, when he was sick and she had nursed him back to health, a large man by the name of Yul who had been with them for a short time. And he also remembered what had happened to him, how Birle had been obliged to leave him behind so they could continue on and Orien could heal. And he remembered Birle telling Yul that she would come back for him, someday, and take him away. So Orien had gathered up a group of his men and gone back across the sea to find the man that they had left him with. He had found him, too, and had gotten Yul away from him without much trouble once the man had seen the men he had with him. Yul now lived in his own small cottage on the edge on the manor with a few people to take care of him.
Though the pain of her absence had lessened to a point over the years, Orien knew it would never leave him completely. He missed her so much; he'd once thought his heart would surely break of it. Yet, despite that, Orien was happy with his life. He had friends, he had his brother, and he had his people. Both his father and grandfather had passed away several years ago, which made him the Earl today. Yes, Orien was happy. Not as happy as he might have been with Birle by his side, but he was happy.
With a final sigh, he managed to slip into sleep, and to dream of her. There was a traders' day coming up in a week or so... Orien would hear the people's problems, watch them celebrate another year gone by... in a week or so... but, for now, Orien slept.
Thanks for reading! I'll get the next chapter up as soon as I can- school's been getting in my way lately. I sometimes have this thing where I don't want to continue a story if I don't think anybody's reading it... soplease Review!