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Post by Tim on May 19, 2019 16:12:41 GMT -5
I see some sexual tension here!
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Post by ladyfiaran22 on May 26, 2019 6:50:07 GMT -5
Chapter 8
"This is the best curry place in Newcastle, this used to be a rubbish sandwich shop", said Constantine as he led them inside.
"I think we've had more vegetables in the last few days than in the last few months", joked Andrew.
"We've been busy, my publisher has been on my case for writing the last chapter", said Ben.
"And I've been getting a lot of commissions for remixes", said Andrew.
"It is the summer festival season after, last year's hits won't do", teased Valeria.
"That's why I wish he had cooler festivals in the US, the last good one was Warped Tour back in the day", said Andrew.
"Maybe the ALT 92.3 festival will have cool bands", Ben suggested.
"Yeah, we haven't had a rock station in the area for years", said Valeria.
"At least you have stations in different areas, it's all BBC here. Why we're the biggest Spotify users in the world", Philip quipped.
The group sat down at a table and the waiter handed them menus. "One bottle of Pinot Grigio for the table", said Constantine.
"Let's go for the chef's surprise, it's several courses where the chef surprises you. Is there anything you're allergic too?", asked Philip.
"No", said Andrew as Ben shook his head.
"All right", said Constantine.
The waiter came back with a bottle of Pinot Grigio and poured them each a glass. "The Chef's Surprise for the table", said Philip.
"Us Bris developed a real taste for Indian food, since most of our food is rubbish", joked Constantine.
"Not all of it, just anything served with a load of chips", said Philip.
"Fries, you mean? We make those in the microwave", said Andrew.
"Oh dear, oven chips are awful. At least you're not having those here, a lot of frozen food can't be good for you", said Constantine.
"That's what Mommy Val says", teased Andrew as she playfully pinched his arm.
Ben took a hasty sip of wine as he tried to control the flash of jealousy which sprang into him. He calmed down when Andrew winked at him, realizing what his friend was doing. "Did they have keyboards and guitars back then?", asked Andrew.
"They did have stringed instruments but guitars were originally from Spain. And keyboards hadn't been invented yet", said Philip.
"I play guitar and keyboards, I use keyboards when I'm remixing stuff but the guitar is just for fun. I can play some 70's stuff on it, mostly acoustic. Hopefully it'll come in handy", said Andrew.
"I suck at playing music, at one point I thought about learning saxophone like Coltrane. But I totally sucked at it and ended up selling the sax on Ebay", said Ben ruefully.
"Yeah bro, you were driving me and the neighbors crazy. You sounded like a quacking duck", teased Andrew.
"I know, I am a writer, not a musician", laughed Ben.
"The Lady Tamsyn plays the harp and Lady Merryn sings", said Valeria.
"Cool. So Constantine, how did you get engaged to a king's daughter?", teased Andrew.
"The king allowed me to propose since the Lady Tamsyn is illegitimate and she cannot inherit the throne. He felt it was important to have an alliance between us and Tamsyn is a lovely girl. After we come bac, we will marry", he said proudly.
"Awesome, congratulations. Is she hot?", joked Andrew.
"I wouldn't say hot since she is a lady, but she is beautiful. She's tall and slim, she resembles her mother the Lady Karenza. She has wavy black hair and blue eyes, very Celtic-looking like her mother's people", he said.
"And the Lady Merryn?", asked Andrew.
"She is also tall but a redhead with green eyes, like the King. The king won't force her to marry since she is strong-willed, such a shame she was born in that time, she would fight in right here", said Constantine.
"This is going to be interesting", Andrew mused aloud.
Ben nodded in agreement as he scooped up the last of his sauce with the naan bread. Part of him hoped that Andrew hit it off with the Lady Merryn, the girl sounding more interesting than his ex-girlfriend. The other wondered if Andrew was even appropriate for a king's daughter, since a producer didn't sound like a normal job to most people. He just hoped for the best and thought about approaching the whole trip with an open mind, a much-needed break.
Everyone was feeling pretty good after dinner as they split the bill and chipped in for the tip. "Now we are going to have a very good time", said Philip with a grin.
The World Headquarters from the outside appeared to be a warehouse with its plane brick façade and rows of windows, except for the sign over the entrance and the line of people waiting to get in. After paying the entrance fee, Philip led the group towards the main dance floor where they could hear and feel the bass coming from the corridor. The music hit them full blast when they entered, a DJ in a booth spinning vintage Northern Soul from the 60's and 70's. Most of the dancers wore simple loose clothes as they performed elaborate, athletic moves akin to breakdancing.
"Just join in, it's totally freeform", he said.
Ben and Andrew looked at each other dubiously. "I haven't danced in public since high school", said Andrew.
"Same here, and we were both drunk", said Ben.
"Guys, no one is going to see us here again. So let's go and dance and have fun", Valeria declared.
The guys saw that Philip and Constantine were already up on the dance floor. The music was loud and lively and bass-heavy as the DJ seamlessly spun one song after another and the punters did some wild moves. "When you got nothin', you got nothin' to lose", said Andrew.
"Bob Dylan, of course", teased Ben.
"He's a cool old dude", said Andrew.
Andrew got out onto the dance floor and started moving to the beat. His tall, skinny pale frame blended in with the others out on the dance floor packed with pale northern English people, the Ravenclaw hat perched proudly atop his black thatch of hair.
Ben took a deep breath and had Valeria lead him out on the dance floor. Andrew gave him a thumbs up as he danced to his own beat, his skinny arms flailing about which made it look as though he was dancing. "There's no rules, just dance to the beat", she said.
At first Ben was awkward and did a little shuffle from side to side, his face pink with embarrassment. Valeria gave him an encouraging smile as she showed him some more fluid moves, his own movements becoming less stiff and more fluid. Valeria gave him a thumbs up and he shadowed her moves, and she challenged him by doing more elaborate moves. Ben lagged behind at first but caught up as he felt more comfortable dancing, a silly grin plastered to his face. Valeria laughed and did a quick little spin as her skirt whirled around her legs. She urged him to try to spin around in a circle, feeling momentarily dizzy but also pleasantly light-headed.
Ben was vaguely disappointed when it was time to leave as this was the most fun he'd had in a long time. "We have to catch the coach to Bamburgh", said Philip.
"I suppose", he replied.
"Don't worry, we can come back", said Valeria.
"Thanks, Val", he said with a smile.
Back at the hotel Ben felt buoyant as he changed into his pajamas and brushed his teeth. He felt as though Valeria might like him back if her behavior tonight at the club was an indication, the smile still plastered to his face as he went to bed.
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Post by Tim on May 26, 2019 12:17:31 GMT -5
They have no rock stations in their part of New Jersey?
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Post by ladyfiaran22 on May 26, 2019 12:25:54 GMT -5
They have no rock stations in their part of New Jersey? We only recently got a new rock station here, ALT 92.3. Our old station K-rock went off the air over ten years ago, otherwise all we have are rap, Spanish dance and more rap😠
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Post by Tim on May 26, 2019 17:05:24 GMT -5
Well, you're luckier than your Sol Duga lot here.
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Post by ladyfiaran22 on May 26, 2019 17:36:13 GMT -5
Well, you're luckier than your Sol Duga lot here. They live in Bayonne near where I live and ALT 92.3 is our only rock station, it is a real station. Unfortunately they repeat the same few songs and our classic rock station sucks too, they play the same songs over and over again. Damn Clear Channel, that's why I stream music on IHeartradio and have an enormous CD collection.
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Post by Tim on May 26, 2019 23:10:04 GMT -5
Yeah, I have a big CD collection too.
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Post by ladyfiaran22 on Jun 2, 2019 7:21:02 GMT -5
Chapter 9
The group watched as their bus pulled up to the gate at the bus station. "It's only like two hours, right?", asked Andrew.
"Yes, depending on the weather and traffic", replied Philip.
The group of people waiting in line perked up and then carefully made their way on board. The bus looked similar to a Greyhound with its dark blue-gray upholstered seats, overhead compartments for bags and little TV screens every few rows, the bathroom all the way in the back. The other passengers seemed to be mostly older people headed north to see relatives since many of them wore painfully clean outfits in old-fashioned styles like they had never left the city before, the men in gray wool flat caps and the women either with floral print kerchiefs or straw hats adorned with fake flowers on their heads.
The driver waited a few minutes to make sure everyone boarded before leaving the gate. Soon they had crossed over the Tyne on one of the seven bridges and were headed north outside of the city. The suburbs around Newcastle seemed gray and grim and depressing, identical prefab houses on tiny plots and big ugly Brutalist tower blocks lined with cheap cladding which looked out forlornly onto the motorway.
The bus made its way north away from the city and seemed to stop at nearly every itty-bitty town on the way up. Much of the time the bus stopped outside the post office or a gas station to pick up or drop off passengers, the towns themselves seemingly just one main street with a post office, a bar, a few shops and some scattered houses.
Once the bus crossed into Northumberland, even the tiny towns grew further in between and the landscape grew more bleak and rugged than in Yorkshire or Durham to the south. Round hills covered in gray-green grass and scattered wildflowers filled with grazing sheep lined the motorway, other hills containing just patches of grass worn down by sheep teeth and horses. The sky above was gunmetal gray with one continuous gray cloud overhead which contained almost no gaps, no sunlight peeking through but also with no apparent chance of rain. Here and there were the ruins of ancient stone cottages whose walls were crumbling under assault from the damp air and whose original straw-thatched roofs had long since rotted away to leave the ruins open to the elements. The black outstretched wings of kestrel and other birds of prey were silhouetted against the gray sky, adding an eerie note to the melancholy landscape.
Bamburgh was little more than a neat town of stone houses at the foot of a cliff topped by its namesake castle. "It does look like Hogwarts", Andrew exclaimed.
"Dude, Hogwarts is in Scotland. And its not real", Ben chided.
"Us Ravenclaws must stick together", joked Philip.
"Awesome, not many Ravenclaws around", said Andrew.
"And I'm a Slytherin, cunning and ambition are good things", said Constantine with a chuckle.
"Cool, everyone wants to get sorted into Gryffindor", said Andrew.
Ben and Valeria exchanged a look. "We're the Muggles here", Ben joked.
"Don't worry, we won't use any hexes on you", teased Philip.
They got off at the post office on the town's main street, which consisted of several pubs, a few stores, and the post office with the houses off the main street. The streets seemed deserted as the townspeople were either at home, one of the bars or at work as Philip led them away from the town.
They walked out of the town towards the shore. The gray waters of the North Sea pounded the pebbly gray and yellow sand and the waves sent dirty grayish-white foam into the air, a chill breeze coming from the water even though it was June. The beach was deserted and even birds didn't come here, the cold breeze and colder water combined with the rocky, pebbly coast enough to turn away most people. Philip had them walked on the dry part of the sand furthest away from the surf as they made their slow and steady way along the beach. Both Ben and Andrew now regretted not packing hoodies or jackets as they shivered in their t-shirts and jeans, goosebumps prickling their skin. Ben kept pressing his fingertips to the bridge of his glasses to keep them in place and Andrew held on tightly to his hat, his pale skin covered in goosebumps and starting to feel his hands grow cold.
They weren't sure whether to feel dubious or relieved when they entered a cave. The opening of the cave was a thin slit about three feet high and narrow as they had to crawl inside. It was very dark with only the slit of the cave providing light and had a very pungent aroma of damp, seaweed, long-dead fish and stale air as the two friends grimaced. In the shadows of the cave, they could make out Philip, Valeria and Constantine as they reached into their pockets and pulled a ring apiece. "There's three rings and five people, it's enough. We use the rings to travel", said Philip. His ring had a green stone, Valeria's had a blue-green stone and Constantine's had a purple stone as they glowed like sparkling gems in the darkness of the cave.
"Get in a circle and hold hands, bow your heads", ordered Philip.
They followed his instructions and the rings began to glow. "Megi guðinn halda okkur öruggum frá skaða", they chanted as everything faded to black.
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Post by Tim on Jun 2, 2019 12:02:06 GMT -5
Ah, they're in the cave. Almost there now.
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Post by ladyfiaran22 on Jun 9, 2019 7:10:20 GMT -5
Chapter 10
They could feel sunlight on them and slowly opened their eyes, Ben and Andrew surprised to find themselves in a room in what appeared to be a castle which they could recognize by its stone walls and tapestries. The room's walls were of big gray stones caulked with a dark greenish gray substance and the tapestries which hung on the walls were made of blue and green dyed wool, which depicted the nearby sea and a sun in golden thread with wispy clouds in silver thread. The faint scent of lavender and herbs came from the fresh rushes strewn on the floor and t he heavy shuttered windows were open to admit beams of watery sunlight, the roar of the waves pounding the shores softly audible.
A set of heavy dark wooden doors at the opposite end opened up to reveal the king's steward and servants in the king's livery of blue and green, along with a figure in a long gray cloak whose face was hidden by a hood. The steward nodded in recognition when he saw Philip, Constantine and Valeria but looked dubiously at Ben and Andrew. "You must bathe and change before you see the king and queen. Hugo is already here", he said as the gray-clad figure came forward.
"Whoa, you look like Gandalf", Andrew blurted out.
Hugo did indeed resemble wizard in his long gray robe, long white hair and flowing white beard. "Excellent books, and Ian McKellan did a fine job. Since you mentioned I ought to look like a wizard", he chuckled.
Hugo led them to a suite of rooms in another part of the castle while Valeria went to another part. "She's going to stay with the Lady Merryn and the Lady Tamsyn", Hugo explained.
Their suite consisted of two bedrooms and a corridor connecting them, each room with a large bed, fireplace, and an earthenware pitcher of water atop a wooden table along with wooden chairs. The windows were covered with heavy wooden shutters that were now open and had views of the North Sea and the cliffs, numerous scattered islands and rocks in the distance. The doors opened and servants brought in two wooden trunks along with buckets of hot water and a cake of hard white soap. More servants brought in a wooden tub and a large wooden chest which held clothes, mostly the king's older clothes so they would fit in better.
"Okay, who goes first?", asked Ben.
"You both go in together, communal bathing was common now", said Philip.
Ben and Andrew looked at each other and then the tub. The hot water looked inviting and their clothes were wet and stank from the cave, so they hastily stripped off and got in the tub. Both of them were embarrassed to be together in the tub since neither of them had ever bathed together before but they managed to bathe themselves quickly and got out of the tub. "I suppose this is like the showers in gym class, except without the jocks", said Ben pragmatically.
"Yeah, but at least we don't smell like the cave. At least it's a good way to keep people out", said Andrew.
The dried off with a cloth and looked inside the trunk. "We are going to look like Jedi extras from Star Wars", said Andrew.
"Or like Rush in the 70's", said Ben.
The trunk contained the king's old clothes that were in good shape. Most of the clothes were long flowing robes in muted colors and baggy trousers that went under the robes, along with heavy wool socks, sturdy boots and a few shirts. The robes fit well as did the trousers but they were shapeless and baggy and hung off them, but they were clean and didn't stink. "We look as though we stepped out of Minecraft", joked Andrew.
"We do, but at least we fit in", agreed Ben. Both men wore robes over baggy trousers, Ben's in green and Andrew's in blue. Both robes were made of fine soft linen and trimmed with gold and silver satin, the cloth colored with vegetable dyes that didn't have the over-bright colors of modern synthetic dyes. Instead the colors had a pleasant, muted look which looked more natural than modern dyes.
Philip and Constantine also wore similar robes, Philip's a lighter blue and Constantine's in a darker green. "I find these to be more comfortable than jeans, don't you think?", chuckled Philip.
"Ok, if you say so. I still think we look like something out of an RPG", said Andrew.
"You'll get used to it", said Constantine.
The steward entered their suite and nodded in approval. "I am to escort you to see the king and queen. Miss Johnson and the Lady Merryn and the Lady Tamsyn will meet you there", he said.
Ben and Andrew tried not to chuckle when they saw how Constantine tried to hide his excitement, quickly reverting back to type as the reserved Englishman. The steward led them out of the suite and down the steps into the throne room. On the thrones sat Kind Ethelred and Queen Alfrida, behind them Prince Edwin. On either side of the royal family were two young women in lovely silk robes with hoods covering their long hair. The woman on the left was tall and slim as a wand, her dark red gown setting off her wavy black hair and pale skin. The woman on the right wore a similar robe in pale green and her red hair was in two long braids past her waist.
Valeria was kneeling in front of the throne, dressed in a sky blue robe with her red hair in a long braid down her back. The men approached the throne and bowed deeply before the royal family as the king looked at them impassively. "Rise", he commanded.
The group rose to their feet as the king gazed at them. The king was a tall, imposing man at over six feet tall and having a wide barrel chest, his wavy red hair topped by a gold crown adorned with a large red jewel the size of an egg in the center. Around his body was a purple robe made of fine wool and trimmed with ermine, a gold staff topped with an eagle in his right hand. The queen was a handsome woman whose dark blond hair was nearly the color of her crown, also clad in a purple robe trimmed in ermine. Their son Crown Prince Edwin was tall as his father and blond as his mother, his robe purple and ermine-trimmed like his parents'.
"Hugo says that you, Master Wilson and Master Gordon, are going to help us. What do you do?", asked the king in a deep baritone voice.
Andrew was momentarily shaken but he quickly calmed down and took a deep breath. "I am a musician, Your Majesty", he replied.
"And I am a writer, Your Majesty", said Ben.
"Interesting, one does not know when skills may come in handy. As you know, our daughter the Princess Emma was betrothed to a nephew of the Emperor Charles. Her party was to arrive at his capital of Aachen by the beginning of March, but the party has disappeared in Flanders and Emma was kidnapped. The Sol Duga have helped us before", said the king.
"Flanders is western Belgium, Charles is Charlemagne and Aachen is in Germany", Valeria explained.
"Do we go to Flanders, Your Majesty?", asked Andrew.
"Yes, within the week. From there you will go to Aachen and the emperor will help you. The marriage was supposed to ally Northumberland with the empire, I do not trust the people in the south and the Scots are barbarians. And I want answers to what happened, heads will roll", growled the king.
"The Lady Merryn will join you, she is a fine horsewoman and is skilled with weapons", said the Queen in the same commanding voice as the king.
Lady Merryn bowed slightly and walked over to them as she pulled off her hood. Andrew hastily stared down at the floor and tried not to blush since Lady Merryn had to be the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She was a few inches shorter than his own 5'10 and slim, her red hair a rich auburn with brown and golden highlights that fell in two braids past her waist. Her oval face was framed by high cheekbones and her eyes were bright green and tilted slightly at the corners like a cat's, a dusting of freckles on her slim nose. "We will find our sister, Master Wilson", she vowed.
"We will, Lady Merryn", he replied.
"What sort of instrument do you play?", she asked.
"Uhh, keyboards and guitar. Uh, keyboards weren't around here, but a guitar is like a lute", he replied.
"I do not play an instrument but I do sing, Tamsyn plays the harp", she replied.
Andrew had to chuckle when he saw Constantine and Tamsyn holding hands. Tamsyn was the opposite of red-haired sister, her black hair and round blue eyes in a delicate oval face giving her an ethereal, elf-like appearance. "When we come back, they will marry", said Merryn.
"Isn't the older sister supposed to marry first?", he asked.
"I don't want to marry at the moment, Tamsyn is happy to marry and be a wife. I want to see and do things", she replied.
"Like Eowyn", he said.
"Who is that?", she asked.
"A warrior woman from Lord of the Rings, she is the king's niece and rides off to battle disguised as a man. She kills a demon which is a prophesy says can't be killed by a man, but it's killed by a woman, the prophesy was sort of correct", Andrew joked.
"I like that, the people of our ancestors' lands had women warriors as well. Our people were originally from Germany and Denmark, my mother's people had women warriors as well", said Merryn proudly.
"Like Valkyries", he said.
"And real ones too, we are not a race of meek women, Mr. Wilson", she retorted with a smile.
Ben and Valeria tried not to smile and hoped Andrew had met his match in the Lady Merryn. "You may go back to your rooms, supper will be later this evening", said the king.
"May I take Master Wilson and Master Gordon on a tour of the castle, Father?", asked Merryn.
"Yes, but please have Tamsyn and Constantine follow you. I must speak with Philip and Valeria", replied the king.
Ben was disappointed he wouldn't be with Valeria but he did try not to grin when he saw how Andrew perked up around the Lady Merryn. He did admit the king's daughter was very pretty and intelligent to boot, plus she appeared to resemble his friend's fantasy crush Eowyn from Lord of the Rings. Ben mused that Andrew might have finally found his ideal woman, but they might have to leave her behind when they went back.
Andrew hung on every word Merryn said as she gave them a tour of the castle, even if it wasn't as interesting as castles in fantasy fiction. "Lady Merryn, so the queen sewed these tapestries?", he asked.
"Yes, along with Tamsyn and Princess Emma. She is good at needlework, the womanly arts. My hands are not for sewing and weaving, they are for wielding a sword and the reins", she said.
Andrew noticed that her hands were unusually large for a woman's, the nails cut short and a few with a slight jagged edge as though they were accidentally torn. Her fingertips had light callouses on them as though she had gripped something tightly a lot, the back of her hands having faded white cut marks. "From practice, I don't use gloves since they don't allow me to grip the pommel well", she said.
"I wish I knew how to use a sword, in our time people don't use swords. Plus, I can't ruin my hands", he said ruefully.
"I learned as a child using a wooden sword, then my father's swords from when he was a child. Later I was given my own sword", said Merryn.
"Wow, awesome", he exclaimed.
Merryn gave him a little smile and gently touched his hand, feeling the palm. Andrew's mouth went dry when he felt the calluses on her fingertips, feeling slightly dizzy and lightheaded. "You have soft hands, Mr. Wilson. Yet you are not fat and lazy like so many of Father's nobles", she said.
"Well, I use lotion", he quipped.
"I like the calluses on my fingers, they make it easier to hold a sword and it shows I work hard", she replied.
"You do, Lady Merryn", he said.
"Please call me Merryn, since we are going on this journey together. And my title will attract attention", she said.
"All right, and you can call me Andrew. Mr. Wilson is my father", he replied.
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Post by Tim on Jun 9, 2019 11:30:53 GMT -5
I see that our heroes are on their way.
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Post by ladyfiaran22 on Jun 16, 2019 10:23:59 GMT -5
Chapter 11
"Dude, you really like Merryn", teased Ben.
"Of course, Sherlock. "She's hot, awesome, my dream girl. Why can't I find girls like this in America?", sighed Andrew.
"Andrew Gerald Wilson, I've known you since we were in kindergarten. You're acting like you just had ice cream from the Mr. Softee truck for the first time", joked Ben.
"Hey, it was super hot and Mr. Softee is awesome. And this feels like the first time I read LoTR, that was a life-changing experience", he said with a dreamy smile.
"That and your first guitar. But just be careful, Lady Merryn is still the king's daughter", warned Ben.
"I know that. And I was raised a gentleman, which is why I don't date girls I meet at shows or festivals. They want to date a producer to help them get a record deal, but then they find out I'm a huge dork", said Andrew with a bitter chuckle.
"I know, your ex thought it was glamorous to date a music producer but she saw your Harry Potter and LoTR collection", Ben said.
"She thought having a copy of Anduril was lame, Anduril, Aragorn's sword which was owned by Isildur and reforged in Rivendell", he griped.
"Andrew, a lot of people think LoTR is lame since the movies came out a while back. Next time, don't date girls just because they're hot", said Ben.
"And you ought to tell Val how you feel, or drag her off like a caveman. You ought to make a move before you lose her", said Andrew.
Ben blushed and fidgeted with the frame of his glasses. "Uh, I'm not very good at this. And I don't want to ruin our relationship", he mumbled.
"Dude, she might like you. Since we're all going on this weird trip together, you'll have plenty of time", teased Andrew.
Ben sighed as he walked over to the window and looked out onto the landscape surrounding the castle. From the tower window, he could see the fields around the castle as farmers tended to the crops, beyond that herders watched over cows in one pasture and sheep in another. To the left was a small inlet of the North Sea where a few small rowboats had been resting since that morning when they set off for fishing, the catch of herring and mackerel going to be prepared and preserved. Nearby wire racks held gutted and split herrings salted for the winter as they dried out under the sun. The sun had just started to set and much of the sky was still blue but turning red and orange at the edges as the farmers and herders prepared to go home.
"This looks like a Disney film", he mused aloud.
"Better than Disney, Disney makes stuff look too pretty", said Valeria as she entered the room.
"Don't you knock, Val?", teased Andrew.
"No, since you guys didn't knock and you got yourselves in this situation. But seriously, the king requests us to come to supper", she said.
The men followed her downstairs. Valeria had changed into a more elegant dress, with a dark red shirt under a royal blue tunic held up by brass brooches shaped like dragon's heads. Her red hair was pinned up and held in place by a brass comb adorned with glass beads as it caught the sun's setting rays. Ben though Valeria looked more at home in this outfit than she did in modern clothes, the outfit looking like actual clothes and not a costume.
They met the royal family at the dining room in the castle. The king and queen and Prince Edwin still wore fine clothes but their purple robes and crowns were set aside, the three of them wearing thin gold circlets around their brows. Lady Tamsyn stood by Constantine but Lady Merryn stood alone, tall and proud. She had changed into a blue gown the color of a blue topaz which made her hair appear redder, her hair in the two long braids. She gave Andrew a small smile and his heart skipped a beat, feeling giddy as though he were a teenager having a crush on a girl for the first time.
Philip hid his smile behind his hands as he followed the group into the main dining hall. The room was off to the right side of the throne room and its high ceilings and windows gave it a spacious yet imposing air. The stone walls were hung with tapestries depicting various hunting scenes and legends of their people, the colors faded with time but the scenes still visible, the large heavy cloths also preventing drafts in the winter. The table and chairs were made of heavy dark wood and the table was covered in a fine linen cloth dyed the blue and green colors of the king. Each place had a setting of a golden plate and goblet and silver utensils, a saltcellar in the center shaped like a lion's head.
The king sat at the head of the table with the queen on his right and Prince Edwin on his left followed by Lady Merryn and Lady Tamsyn, then Philip, Constantine, Valeria and finally Ben and Andrew. Andrew was upset that he sat far from Merryn but rationalized it by thinking that since they were guests they wouldn't be seated close to the royal family. He was glad that Ben sat next to Valeria and hoped his two best friends would talk without Ben being embarrassed.
Stewards poured everyone a glass of wine and then they served everyone a bowl of soup. "You will be leaving for the continent in the next two weeks, Master Wilson and Master Gordon. You will have to learn how to ride horses in our style and how to wield a sword", said the king.
"Okay, we know how to ride since we grew up around farmers, Your Majesty. You mean, without saddles?", asked Ben.
"No, we are not barbarians. But have you ridden a stallion, Master Gordon?", asked Prince Edwin.
"No, just geldings. My father is an animal doctor and one of his jobs is to geld bulls and stallions. A farmer gifted our father a gelding and he gave it to me as a present", Ben replied.
"Very good. What do you know of animal medicine?", asked the king.
"My older brother is an animal doctor who works with our father, I have helped them. I know how to shoe horses and have seen how stallions are gelded", he replied.
"Not bad at all. Master Wilson, have you ridden a stallion?", asked the king.
"No, like Master Gordon I have only ridden geldings", he replied.
"Very well. My daughter Lady Merryn will teach you to ride stallions, since she herself rides one", said the king.
"My stallion Saemearh is a bay, I've raised him since he was a colt", said Merryn.
"It's been a long while since we've ridden horses, Lady Merryn", said Andrew.
"No worries, Master Wilson. It's a skill you don't forget", said Merryn as the servants cleared away the first course.
After the last of the dinner dishes were cleared away, a servant brought out a harp. "My daughter Tamsyn will play the harp and my other daughter Merryn will sing for us", said the king.
The servants filled everyone's cup with wine as Tamsyn sat on a stool and checked the tunings while Merryn cleared her throat. The sisters presented a lovely and contrasting sight, Tamsyn so dainty and petite with her dark hair and Merryn with her red hair and height. "This is our song from our country", said Merryn as Tamsyn played a few notes on the harp.
The group watched with rapt attention as the sisters performed. The delicate strings of the harp echoed in the hall as Tamsyn's long fingers deftly coaxed beautiful sounds out of the instrument, as Merryn sang a haunting ballad in a soaring mezzo-soprano. Andrew was still and he was in awe of her voice, estimating that she had a three or three and a half octave range. He felt that she had a gorgeous voice compared to most other singers and thought that if he was her producer, she could be a big star. But then he realized her voice didn't fit with that of normal pop singers, since it was more deep and not the breathy, little girl voice of a typical pop singer. Still, he believed Merryn had an amazing voice and it was a shame her style of singing wasn't in vogue.
The king beamed with pride when his daughters finished and hugged them both. "I have two lovely and talented daughters. The sky is dark and it's time for bed, since we rise at dawn", he said.
"Good night, guys", said Valeria as she hugged them both. Ben tried to control the blush exploding on his face as his skin turned red, his heart racing and his stomach doing flip flops. Andrew gave him a knowing smirk as the servants led them back towards their suite.
"Anymore red, you'll turn into a tomato", he teased.
Ben sat down on the edge of the bed, his face still red. "She hugged me and it felt awesome", he murmured.
"She hugged me too, dude, and it felt like hugging my sister. That's because I think she likes you", Andrew chuckled.
"You really think so?", asked Ben hopefully.
"Dude, I saw her hug you a little extra. Go for it", said Andrew.
"I hope you're right, dude", said Ben.
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Post by Tim on Jun 16, 2019 11:30:04 GMT -5
Like they've gone back in time to the Middle Ages.
In a way, they have.
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Post by ladyfiaran22 on Jun 23, 2019 10:06:16 GMT -5
Chapter 12
Andrew breathed in the earthy aroma of the stables and it reminded him of his childhood, helping his parents and sister with the horses. Ben nodded in understanding as the men looked around the stables at all the different horses. "We are horse people, we were horse people in Germany and we have been since", said Merryn.
"My family raises horses and my sister and I helped our parents. So I grew up riding horses but I haven't been on one in years", said Andrew.
"Once you get back on a horse, it would be like you never forgot", said Merryn.
Andrew nodded and discreetly checked out Merryn. She wore a long gray cloak pinned by a bronze brooch over brown wool trousers and sturdy black leather boots, her red hair in a long braid which swayed gently as she walked. The clothes were plain but functional and were suited to riding, unlike the fancy riding habits most ladies would have worn. "Tamsyn wears a habit but I prefer trousers, since it is more practical to ride Saemearh. Her horse Lady Rose is a docile little palfrey", she said.
"My horse was a gelding named Bilbo because I was reading the Hobbit and he had the One Ring. I've read the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings many times", he said proudly.
"You read? I read our language, the German tongue, Frankish and Latin. I cannot speak Latin since no one else speaks it around here, perhaps in the southern countries. But I know the German tongue since it is similar to our own and Frankish", she said.
"I only know English", said Andrew.
"Just like most of our people. But you will learn, Master Wilson", she said.
"Call me Andrew, Master Wilson makes me sound like an old dude", he joked.
"Hah, but you are older than me. I am nineteen summers and Father says that if I succeed in finding my sister, I can marry anyone I want or choose not to marry. Tamsyn will marry Constantine, and Father will have grandchildren sometime", she said.
"That's cool, you shouldn't have to marry some dork", he agreed.
"This is my horse Saemearh", she said, stroking the neck of a handsome bay stallion. The horse was large and well-built with a gleaming reddish-brown coat and shiny black mane and tail as he whinnied in happiness when he saw his mistress.
Andrew quickly looked under the horse and saw he was a stallion. "Dad wouldn't let us ride stallions, cuz he thought they were dangerous. We used them for stud", he said.
Merryn reached into her pocket and took out an apple which she gave to Saemearh who eagerly devoured it. "Stallions are not dangerous if you train them when they're young", she said.
"I guess our parents were concerned", said Andrew with a shrug.
"It sounds as though your people fear much. If you do not face your fears, they will only grow bigger and more dangerous", she said.
Ben and Valeria joined them in the stables, Ben slightly out of breath and his clothes a bit damp with sweat. "I never thought using a sword was so hard", he panted.
"It is not hard, you're out of shape, Benjamin Gordon. You've been living a sedentary lifestyle and now you're getting some exercise", she chided.
Ben blushed guiltily and adjusted his glasses. "I know, but being a writer doesn't need exercise", he said.
"You do need some exercise, Ben. You got some love handles", she teased, pinching his sides.
Ben turned bright red and his eyes widened in shock, the effect making him look like a startled owl. "Oh yeah, Val. Maybe being here can help, I haven't had the best lifestyle or habits", he mumbled.
"You're right, there's no junk food or computers here", she said.
Merryn chuckled. "Your friends fancy each other", she said.
"I know, but Ben's really shy around girls, especially pretty ones. He was a shy kid with glasses who'd rather read than play sports and girls didn't want to date him back in high school. I have to give him a push", Andrew said with a laugh.
"I see. Let me show you our other horses, would you have a problem riding a stallion?", she asked.
"Not really, as long as they're tame. I'm not in the mood to tame a horse", he said.
"I've raised Saemearh from when he was a foal, I was twelve summers. I first saddles him when he was three and I trained him. When you have a stallion, you must train them young or they will be too wild and willful to ride", she said.
Andrew nodded. "So what kind of horses do you have?", he asked.
"About half male and half female, half the males are geldings. This is so we don't have too many pregnant mares and too many foals since they may not survive the winter. In the summer we decide which horses to breed to produce the strongest foals", she replied.
"Horse breeding hasn't changed at all", he chuckled.
The stables held all sorts of horses ranging from large stallions for riding and even larger ones for pulling plows and wagons to smaller geldings among the males to the smaller mares with their foals and gangly colts. They came in all colors from the darkest black with white markings to different shades of brown, vivid reddish bays to pale cream and even white. Andrew sized up the horses as they looked impassively at him with their brown eyes, not wanting a horse too big or wild since he hadn't ridden in years.
He stopped in front of a chestnut brown stallion as the horse looked at him calmly. The horse was the same size as Saemearh and his coat was a rich nut brown, his mane and tail a slightly darker brown. "Ah, good choice. Our steward recently bought him from a trader who had come from Ireland. The Irish are brilliant horse breeders", said Merryn.
"I know, my family is originally from Kildare in Ireland and my great-grandpa started our horse farm with some horses he'd brought from the family farm in Kildare", he said.
"I have never been away from our castle grounds, Edwin has since he is the heir and needs to see the kingdom. I think I would like to be a peddler with a wagon selling things, they are foreign people and must have seen all sorts of things", said Merryn thoughtfully.
Andrew thought about telling her about family vacations in Florida and Canada or the time him and Ben backpacked around Europe while in college but realized she wouldn't understand. "I was born in Pennsylvania and now live in Bayonne, New Jersey. That's an hour away, it's close to New York since a lot of show business people and music people are based there", he said.
"Like London, I would like to see London", she mused aloud.
"Well, we are leaving for Flanders and then Germany, so consider this your first trip abroad", he chuckled.
"I hoe it is the first of many, Andrew", she said with a grin.
"It will be", he replied.
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Post by Tim on Jun 24, 2019 23:23:03 GMT -5
Andrew has been to Canada?
Wonder if he ever visited Ottawa.
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