December 8, 1178
The Captain of the Carvalli Guard would not look past Ietrin. Mona had been warned of this--the Carvalli were a suspicious folk, and it was bad luck for an escort to form attachments--but nonetheless it bothered her. The lack of acknowledgement solidified her status as a package. The captain thought no more of her than a courier did a routine letter, though he and his men would be her entourage until they reached King Adrius's castle. Until Christmas Day, her only true company would be Anna.And with the way she'd been whisked away--at the crack of dawn, further into the outskirts of the kingdom than she'd ever been to join up with the caravan, her aloof half-brother the lone family member who'd come to see her off--she was lucky they'd thought to send anyone along with her at all.
Anna yawned, a sentiment Mona shared but dared not express. It was far too early and far too cold, but Devidra's men would not have had it any other way and Mona's father had not bothered to argue. Not surprising, seeing as he hadn't even bothered to bid her a proper farewell."Did you say all your goodbyes?" she muttered to her maid, even if it was a pointless thing to ask. She wanted to say something, and she wanted Ietrin and the captain to hear it. It was the most direct way of establishing her sentience.
It worked somewhat--not as well as she might have hoped. Ietrin twitched and the captain's eyes flickered. At least Anna had the courtesy to answer. "Yes, your highness."
How had this poor girl wound up with the ill fortune of becoming maid to a political export? Sent along as Mona's only companion, any life she'd had in Naroni be damned, no promise that life in Carvallon would be preferable. For her sake, Mona hoped it was; she had hope to spare, but no prospects of her own were receptive of it. "Good. Sorry about this, by the way."Anna shook her head. "It's not your fault."
She couldn't argue with that."Right, then." Mona's brother offered his hand for a shake, but the captain declined. Another superstition, perhaps? Or an insult? Ietrin's body language seemed to assume the former, but Mona had never been on to trust her brother's judgment. "I'm sure you'll get my sister there safely. Might I have a minute to bid her luck?"
The captain grunted. "I suppose I can allow it."
Ietrin nodded and turned around, taking a couple steps forward. Mona stiffened, bracing herself despite not knowing what for.
But it didn't remain a mystery for long. It was the first time in her memory that Ietrin had ever hugged her."Best of luck. You'll make a splendid queen, so long as you behave yourself."
So long as you behave yourself.Way to tell me the last thing I want to hear, Ietrin. "Thank you, brother."
In the early morning's midnight dark, she thought she saw a look of pity on the captain's angular face. By the time Ietrin released her, she'd convinced herself it had been mere wishful thinking.NEXT CHAPTER:
10 comments:
I need more hours in a day :S
I've been very bad about commenting lately. ~~ I'm sorry.
But I must say I really like where you are taking this storyline! There's so much potential in it. Anything could happen.
And I like the look (and the looks ;) ) of that guard! I think I sense some future entanglement between him and Mona.
Aww, this feels sad to me. Still, I agree with Ann, this storyline is looking interesting!
Ann: Don't worry about it. Comments are nice, but I certainly don't expect everyone to comment on every post.
Thanks! I'm glad you like this storyline, because it will be the dominant storyline of 1179. And we have not seen the last of that dude ;)
Ekho: Thanks! But yeah, the post is pretty sad in its own way, although not as sad as the previous two.
Wow, Ietrin is leaving at the gate without so much as a "How do you do?" to the royal family? Is this some strange Carvalli custom/superstition not to see (or house and feed in the middle of winter!) foreign princes (particularly ones that bring cargo that valuable) or does Ietrin desperately need to set back to Naroni, like, now?
That guard looks like Izzy. I just keep staring at him and thinking about his Izzy-looks. Also, the images for this chapter came out pretty! I love that atmospheric snow lighting.
I'm another AWOL one. D'oh! Sorry, Van. All the same excuses-- Work and travel, work and travel.
Ack, sorry. That probably wasn't clear enough. They're not in Carvallon; they're in the outskirts of Naroni. The royal family is back in Carvallon, going about their daily business. Ietrin will be back home by sunrise.
Hmm. I don't really see the resemblance, except maybe in the shape of the eyes (or the mouth, but since there are only a handful of Sim mouths I deem usable, that's not too surprising). In any case, any resemblance is coincidental.
Thanks! One of these days I have to install the lighting mod on this computer, but I'm scared because it looks a hell of a lot more complicated than I remember :S
And no worries. I'm in a similar loop myself, only without the travel :P
Yeesh. I thought I couldn't stand Roderick, Ietrin and the rest of the Naroni royal family (excluding the awesome members, like Leara and Camaline and Mona of course) before this. But Roderick didn't even say goodbye to his daughter, whom he might never see again? I can't help but remember how choked up and sad Severin was when Viridis went away, and that was a) by her own choice and b) TO KEEP HER ALIVE! Good Lord, Roderick! What is wrong with you???
Ietrin isn't much better. "As long as you behave yourself"? For that, I hope that Mona gains enough power when she becomes Queen to screw Ietrin/Roderick over in a very significant fashion. "Sorry, Daddy/Brother, but if you wanted me to be a political ally, you should have treated me like a person, not a package."
THAT would be priceless to witness.
... You know, on the topic of screwing over Ietrin, if Ietrin can't produce a male heir with Jeda, can Mona support Medea or Geneva over Ietrin's son with Ellona whose name I do not remember and who I am too lazy to look up? ;) That would also be perfect revenge!
I'm sure Roderick would have said some sort of goodbye... but yeah, hardly a fitting one, especially if he sent Ietrin along instead to see her off :S
Ietrin is... well. I don't even know what to say about Ietrin. But yeah, he and Roderick would definitely deserve it if this came to bite them in the ass later.
Funny you should mention Ietrin's son, because there will be a post about him soon. I don't know if he'll be in the post, but it will be about him.
So far, Ietrin's little brothers are the back-up plan in the event of no legitimate sons, but if they die and Ietrin dies and nobody leaves an heir, things might get a bit messy.
The snowy photography in this amazing. I think I stared at that first picture for a full minute.
I jumped for joy when you said this was going to be a dominant plot coming up. I am absolutely hooked on this & what is coming up for Mona & her crew. (Can we expect more of Anna as well?)
Thanks Winter! That's a huge compliment coming from you--I've started reading In Verona, and your shots are gorgeous :)
Glad you like this storyline, because we'll be seeing quite a bit more of Mona (and Anna!) throughout 1179.
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