Ironsides Family/Bowie/Bowie and Arabell

Bowie and Arabell

How he found her

It was not long before the young Dulbanic knight Bowie Ironsides made his home in the town of Drowenton before he found a woman to suit his young new life. She was the daughter of one of the local magistrates, which made her of noble blood, but more than this, he found her to be of noble heart. Arabell, beauty of Drowenton, never noticed Bowie while he was establishing himself within the circles of Drowenton’s elite. She usually paid no attention to male suitors, thinking that a man worth courting her could never be found. Never is a useless word to love.

Arabell caught Bowie’s eye the first time he saw her at one of her father’s pageants. It was a cool fall night as the nobility of Drowenton gathered in the manor of the town magistrate for another jubilant pageant, much like the one where he first saw her. Bowie came along with his servant Hurloak and his captain, Heimar. They were all young men seeking a good time, but Bowie’s agenda was to make the first contact with the woman of his dreams.

Bowie was introduced to the gathering with the proper splendour, and as he made his round politely saluting the various peoples, his eyes constantly scanned the ballroom looking for her. Arabell, unknowing that there was a predator about, was having a joy with the younger crowd of the families. Her two sisters, her younger brother and all the noble youths made their own circle during these routine festivities, the older crowd was generally out of touch in their opinion. Bowie, being three years older than Arabell, and a well positioned noble, was expected to participate in the society of the night, and while he tried to do so as best he could, he continuously found himself trying to find Arabell.

As the night moved on, Bowie decided to abandon the society altogether and make a more aggressive reconnaissance of the room. The night would be a waste if he did not complete his mission. It was no matter that he had shaken hands with the town elders, with the towns’ top officials, the high judge, the chief of the militia, or any other hand of prominence. It was Arabell who would make the difference.

Finally, he found her. She and some of the other noble youths were laughing and having fun of another youth who was making a fool of himself due to the drink. His eyes found her face and his heart melted. She did not know it yet, but love had shackled her to this man. With a nervous heart, he slowly, but casually, walked closer towards Arabell. As he got closer, he quickly darted to the near direction and made his way behind the stairwell. He had lost his nerve!

Captain Heimar saw him from across the room and came over to find out what he was up to. Bowie tried to brush him off, but could not. So he excitedly spilled his secret agenda. “O, what a heart I have, melted by the sight of her. I found her Heimar. I found her!” Heimar took one look and knew immediately who he was looking at. “Would you like me to intercede Commander?” “Dear me no friend, that would lose my grounding. I must do it myself…as soon as I work up the mind to do it.”

After a quick encouragement, Bowie found himself pushed out of the stairwell by Heimar right into view of the group of youths. They all turned and noticed the knight stumble and recompose himself. Bowie nodded and walked frigidly into the group, his eyes on Arabell. She blushed and covered her mouth. He looked right in her eyes, held out his hand and managed to choke out, “May I have a dance my lady?” The group broke out laughing at him. Arabell joined in a little but tried not to embarrass him too much. “But, gentle Sir, there is no music playing at the moment? To what are we to dance too?” Bowie realized his mistake and shuddered inside. Then, with a quick return, he made another offer. “As it is…. Well m’lady, May I have a walk with you a little?”

Arabell’s younger brother piped up with a suspicious cork eye and questioned Bowie’s status and name. “I am Bowie Ironsides, knight of Drowenton, commander of the Iron Toughs, and a soldier of the Fissoan Privateers.” Not very impressive the young man said. Nevertheless, Arabell began to notice she was attracted to the knight, he was youthfully handsome and his eyes allured her like she had never seen before. She knew not what to think, her heart melted for him. So she decided to accept his offer and they took a stroll on the terrace of the manor. That was the first night they had spoken.

His marriage proposal and their wedding

A while later after some time of courtship, Bowie returned from another terrible campaign against the Monster Scourge. This one was particularly devastating to him, for his brave and mighty unit, the Iron Toughs, were buried to the last man by the monsters, and Bowie was sent back to Fissoa City wounded.

Arabell collapsed in tears when she was told the news of the battle results. She feared the worse even though she was told that Bowie will heal. It was too much for her. She was a strong woman inside; able to absorb much of the difficulties of life, but the near death of her love broke her. She began immediately to prepare her trip to Fissoa to visit the recovering knight.

After a day and a half of travelling, she crossed the boundary marking Fissoa Fields and the city and found her way towards the hospital. It was a fairly busy collection of tents and a stone building or two. Many nurses, healers, apothecaries, and soldiers trotted about. She heard the wails of some wounded men having surgery performed on them. She also accidentally walked into a tent full of freshly wounded men at arms and had a glimpse of what the monsters were capable of. The carnage was obvious.

Arabell tenaciously continued to find the bed of her love, walking where she should not walk, and interrupting and asking any she thought knew a direction. Then, one nurse told her the location of Bowie and without delay she found him.

Hanging in a cot with cloth bandages wrapped around his shoulders and his chest, Bowie lay immobile. He heard her voice from afar speaking to the nurse who had tended to him earlier. He tried to sit up and take notice. When Arabell entered, the sight of her relived his pain as if euphoria had calmed his wounds and sedated his pain. She saw him and dashed over as a lovely dove would fly over a field of flowers. Glorious, he thought, the incomparable beauty she was.

She fell into his arms and they passionately kissed, except the kiss was short because the pain quickly jolted him back to his senses. She knelt beside him and held his hand.

“Arabell, you found me. In all this misery and pain, you found me.” She tried to stay with him through the night, but the medical officer of the army would not allow it. “I will return to you in the morning my heart, be ready.” “Nothing can stop me my jewel. I will await you.” That night, Bowie resolved to ask her hand in marriage, and marry her as soon as he had healed completely.

When she returned the next morning, she found Bowie standing up, though not without aid, and trying to keep the pain from overcoming him. She worriedly tried to get him to stay back in his cot, but he would have none of it. He said he was going to do it right. She was unaware of what he was referring to until he struggled to get to his knees and hold her hand. He pulled out a decorated cloth and wrapped their wrists together, then without waiting for her reaction he confessed his heart and proposed the marriage. Her tears of joy answered him, and they embraced so sweetly you would think they were a mirage, a fantasy of love.

Bowie and Arabell wed in a lakeshore ceremony a month after he was in full health, in the fine port town capital of Fissoa City. It was attended by the local nobility of both the city of Drowenton and the city of Fissoa. Bowie had found his jewel, and Arabell had found her heart. Their young love had now made its first eternal commitment, and they were locked in marriage.

The birth of their baby boy

Nine months after their wedding night, Arabell gave birth to their first joy, a baby boy. Bowie was off campaigning against the monsters when he heard the news and sent her all the gifts he could collect from his camp. They wrote letters to each other as much as they could while he was away, and the one that notified him of his son’s birth made him overjoy.

They have yet to decide a name for the boy, and may do so when he returns to Drowenton and first meets his son.