Slightly Late Arrival « Thread Started on Nov 14, 2007, 6:31pm »
(midday of the second day of the midwinter festival)
It was sunny and bitterly cold as two horses and one rider arrived at the castle, weary from a long journey. The rider was in full armor, though his helm was hanging from his saddle. In this weather, he was wearing his heavy fur cloak, the wolverine-lined hood pulled up over his head. He rode the horse, leading the second, right up to the stables before finally slipping down to the ground and beginning to remove the gear. The jousting sticks that had been carried by the second horse were already at the Arena.
Richard de Courtenay, son of a serf, did not call a stable boy to unload the horses or put away the gear. Bit by bit, he did it himself. Once the horses were unloaded, he still did not call for a groom, feeding them himself while he brushed them down.
Joined: Dec 2006 Gender: Female Posts: 304 Location: THE MOON Karma: 8,388,607
Re: Slightly Late Arrival « Reply #1 on Nov 14, 2007, 8:12pm »
Alianora hunched her shoulders ever so slightly against the bitter cold, several well worn layers doing their best to insulate the heat her slender body created. One hand clutched the leather reins of the pitch black mare, and the was lifted up slightly, her fingered mittens having the last inch or so cut off to allow her fingers to be in direct contact with a lead rope. Alongside the black mare's flanks trotted a leggy chestnut gelding, his hooves flashing glimpses of a new set of shoes, jogging contendedly alongside the heavier set mare. Alia reined in Char to a walk, and the gelding eased into the slower gait as well, allowing Alia time to look about and see if there'd be any disruptions on the way to returning the gelding to his cozy stall in the castle stable. She dismounted from Char to lead them both in, and upon hearing the soft sound of bristles on fur, narrowed her eyes suspiciously before continuing forward. She turned him around in the stall, having left Char out in the aisle, and took off the rope halter from his face to let him loose in the stall, free to start poking it muzzle at the hay and delicately lifting a few wisps to munch on lazily, staring at Alia balefully with big brown eyes. Smirking, a small chuckle escaped past her lips, before she left him to return to Char. Rubbing the mare's forehead amiably, she then turned to investigate the other person in the stable, since it seemed to be otherwise deserted.
Peeking into the stall containing the soft noises of grooming, she saw a male grooming a horse; both of which she'd never seen before.
"Who are ye'?"
She asked suddenly, always been as bold as brass, though it usually got her in trouble.
[You sure you want Richard to be only sixteen? He'd be the youngest character.]
Re: Slightly Late Arrival « Reply #2 on Nov 15, 2007, 12:45pm »
((Most well-used knights didn't live past 25, and most became knights by the time they were 16. I'll bump him up to 18, though. I intend for him to live a good long time.))
He stiffened as she spoke. She'd startled him, and he was always jumpy anyway. Lowering the brush, he glanced at her, before continuing to brush down the big stallion. "Sir Richard de Courtenay. I am here for the tournament." He looked at her again. "You speak to me with familiarity, yet we have never met."
"ye" was actually pronounced thee. Contrary to popular belief nowadays, thee, thou, thy, and thine were actually the familiar forms, while you, your, and yours were the formal. That is why, in the bible, the ten commandments all started with, "Thou shalt..." because God was not speaking to strangers, he was speaking to his own children. I'm a nerd for the ancient and medieval.
Joined: Dec 2006 Gender: Female Posts: 304 Location: THE MOON Karma: 8,388,607
Re: Slightly Late Arrival « Reply #3 on Nov 15, 2007, 8:32pm »
So he was a knight, though he didn't quite look it, especially in this scene, grooming the horse and all. Country knight, perhaps? She was well aware of the fact that not all of the knights were of noble blood, though many were, for it required resources to travel here and compete, and not many countryfolk had such resources.
"Yeh know there are servants an' grooms for tha'."
She pointed out, curious to see his reaction to her statement.
"Well, I don'a see much point in making things too fanciful."
She replied with a hint of a snort, though she wasn't particularly bothered by him; the fact that he was brushing down his own horse certainly made a difference. Nobles were usually too lazy, though since he was here for the tournament she could imagine him actually knowing a bit about hard work, though that didn't necessarily hold true for all of the contendents, or even half, most likely.
Boy, sometimes she just wanted to teach those spoiled brats a lesson, though she'd surely be hung or executed if she even but laid a finger against one of them. Of course, she still gave them a piece of her mind quite often, but it was usually just the men who became too bold when altered by drink in the evenings, somehow mistaking her for another girl who could be bedded for a single coin. Which she was most definitely not.
Re: Slightly Late Arrival « Reply #4 on Nov 16, 2007, 10:46pm »
((On the spur of the moment, I'm making him into a Highlander/Irish type.))
He grinned as she mentioned servants and grooms.
"It is funny yeh should mention that, lass. I grew up a servant, till I saved me lord with a spade." He made me a knight fer that. Two years ago, now. I'm doing it all meself, because most knights are too lazy. I cannae be the best at manners, so I'm the best at going alone." He finished with Warbanner, and moved on to the packhorse. He showed just as much care to the horse he'd raised from a colt as he did to the warhorse.
Joined: Dec 2006 Gender: Female Posts: 304 Location: THE MOON Karma: 8,388,607
Re: Slightly Late Arrival « Reply #5 on Nov 20, 2007, 10:26pm »
He was rather direct, and she wasn't sure if she liked it or not. Heck, in the same situation, she wasn't sure if she wouldn't have just let the lord die, due to whatever reason. He saved his lord with a spade? A comical scene played out in her head, but she masked her amusement when speaking again.
"Well, ye' speak sooth to say tha'." She had to agree, adding a small nod.
On the spur of the moment, she voiced another question. Her mother always said that her lack of thought before opening her mouth would get her in trouble one day, but in a sense, it already had. Since meeting certain people, she'd come to realize that her words didn't always work out so well, especially as she slowly became fond of people. Grumble grumble.
Re: Slightly Late Arrival « Reply #6 on Nov 21, 2007, 2:55pm »
"The white one is Warbanner." He looked at the former plowhorse as he continued brushing it down. After a moment of silence, he chuckled. "I never named this 'un." He glanced at her. "Would yeh like to? I raised him from a wee colt. That was when I was still a serf."
Joined: Dec 2006 Gender: Female Posts: 304 Location: THE MOON Karma: 8,388,607
Re: Slightly Late Arrival « Reply #7 on Jan 7, 2008, 7:32pm »
She still wasn't sure what to make of this man; he was quite easy to get along with, and quite kind to offer her the privilege of naming one of his horses.
"Thank ye', but no. I wouldn'a name'im justly; I don't even know'im."
Glancing down the aisle, she saw Char toss her head, snorting through flared nostrils. The poor girl was feeling neglected, standing all alone while a cold draft swirled in from just outside. She looked back to the young man, offering a small bit of a smile.
"Sorry, but I must go. There are horses to be tended to, I'm'fraid."
She said, excusing herself and whirling around to collide with a groom, both of them stumbling a bit. Cursing under her breath, she looked up with fierce eyes to the groom, who hurredly stammered his reason for being here. He was to show her to the other horse who was to get new shoes, a light grey mare. Once the horse in question had been pointed out, she shooed the groom away, slipping a halter onto the mare and leading her out into the aisle. The mare was heavyset, probably of Percheron blood, with clean legs devoid of feathering. She moved well, if a tad bit slow, and Alia led her to Char, mounting the black mare and nudging her sides with her heels. Together, the threesome moved away from the stable at a walk, navigating the daily throng of people about in the village as they made their way back to Alia's brother's smithy.
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