Arcaea/Dining Hall Late 08-09/13th Night
Cypreana and Goffrey, having procured horses from the stables, started to ride out into the countryside to look at various pieces of land which were for sale and upon which she could either build her estate or move straight in. Her personal bodyguard, Sylus, followed on at a discrete distance. Cypreana had decided to hire him after the event on the road and she hoped he would measure up to the job. This was his first day after all but he seemed an experience and watchful man.
Cypreana couldn't decide whether she wanted to buy property with an existing house, or just land on which she would build. The pair of them began looking at both. Just as they were leaving one particular place one of Goffrey's servant rode up to him and said that urgent business called him back at court. Apparently two farmers were squabbling over the ownership of a cow and it looked like it could get dangerous.
Goffrey was hesitant to leave Cypreana, but she assured him that she would be fine with Sylus and that she would just ride a little further and return back to the castle before long. So, Sylus and Cypreana continued on together, him in the livery of the House of Rossini, and she in her riding habit and gloves.
Lady Cypreana Rossini (Dame of Sasat)
He had decided it would be best to backtrack to the better travelled paths, not only because they were suited to riding but simply because there was no way Aerywyn wished to risk breaking a leg going down the rock steps. With fresh ice on the ground, he wasn’t taking any chances this high up. Valaka’i whinnied as rocks broke off and fell under his feet, though he took comfort from the calm assurance of his master’s knees urging the way forward, and the gentle whispers in his ear.
Aerywyn trusted the gray charger well enough here in the mountains, for he had met his father. A king of the mountain was his sire. Soon the path widened and the wind seemed not as fierce nor biting, and greenery began filling out the landscape in front. It opened out onto a narrow strip of flat land. There was a palisade in the distance near the river and by the major pass that led through the barren mountains. Closer however on the road ahead, Aerywyn sighted something which made his heart skip a beat.
Nay… it can’t be…
Curious now, Aerywyn unconsciously urged the charger on a little faster towards the pair of figures in the distance. Blue eyes squinted hard, and suddenly he realised there was a lump in his throat, just as soon as he realised who was ahead. The soldier’s livery was unmistakeable, as were the dark hair and proud bearing of the woman riding ahead of him. A bright sun fell deeper under the horizon, framed by the silhouete of the mountains and forests, with the road falling in between. The beauty was not lost on him, nor the apparent significance of this…
“Hail, m’lady!”, Aerywyn cried when they finally closed in to each other. “Where is this little dove and her escoirt headed?”.
With renewed vigour he sat straighter in the saddle, tall as a spear, and only then did he notice how plain his clothes were. Yet there was a flush in his cheeks from the exhertion of the day and a happy look in his eyes, though his voice almost had a tone of hope, as if he was trying to deny what he had heard and known to be true about this woman.
Gods… Madelena looks more enchanting than ever in this light…
Aerywyn Haerthorne
Imperial Chancellor of Arcaea
Cypreana could not fathom who the man was riding behind her and seeming to call out to her. He was behaving in a very familiar way. She tried not to look around and see him but by the time he rode up beside her she had no choice but to look him in the eye and see reflected in them the same deep penetrating blue that was in her own eyes. Yet still she did not recognize him.
"Good day sir," She said cautiously. Her bodyguard meanwhile was watching this spectacle with his hand on a dagger waiting for the man to make one false move.
Lady Cypreana Rossini (Dame of Sasat)
Aerywyn bowed in the saddle, apologising as he did so.
“I am sorry, Lady Rosinni, I do not look as I normally do”.
That much was true, as a cursory glance would reveal. His normally well kept brown locks were tumbling messily about his head and over his brow from the ride. His clothes too were now dirty ridding attire, with a loose pair of briggae instead of either his platemail or courtly pantaloons with the little frills along the--
He brushed his hair back with a hand, hooking it behind his ear to give an almost wild look, and with the grin on his face he looked almost a simpleton if it weren’t for the intelligence blazing in his eyes.
“Do you still not recognise me?”, he ventured, sighing a bit dramatically as he realised it yielded little results. “Sir Aerywyn Haerthorne, at your service…”
He cleared his throat, eyeing the guard as he did so. Unconsciously his hand strayed to the pommel of his blade.
“What business do you have in Sasat, m’lady.”
Aerywyn Haerthorne
Imperial Chancellor of Arcaea
“Do you still not recognise me?”, he ventured, sighing a bit dramatically as he realised it yielded little results. “Sir Aerywyn Haerthorne, at your service…”
He cleared his throat, eyeing the guard as he did so. Unconsciously his hand strayed to the pommel of his blade.
“What business do you have in Sasat, m’lady.”
Cypreana squinted, trying to make out the man's features. She had never seen him before, she was sure of it, although as Imperial Banker she obviously knew his name. He seemed to expect everyone to recognize him, and although this was a little pompous and perhaps arrogant of him, she decided to play along for she could not make out whether or not he was in jest.
"Of course, Sir Aerywyn, silly me, how are you! I had the sun in my eyes and therefore could not see you properly. I am here looking for an estate to buy! Will you ride with me?"
Lady Cypreana Rossini (Dame of Sasat)
With a smile he bowed again, this time with his hand held over his chest. For a moment his face was hidden from the sun and from sight by his hair, and his expression changed from the melodramatic to something far simpler. When he rose again it was if another man sat in that saddle, the act having fallen away leaving a little mirth behind.
"Of course, m'lady", he said with more of his natural voice coming through. "May I ask what has interested you so far?"
His knees pushed into the sides of the horse, and the gray snorted a little as it looked Cypreana's horse over curiously. In a way, Aerywyn seemed to be doing the same. 'Theres something different about her... I can't place it...'.
Aerywyn Haerthorne
Imperial Chancellor of Arcaea
“I haven’t got far as Sir Goffrey was called away before we could make much progress. Do you know Sir Goffrey well?” she asked as the two fell into stride, side by side. Cypreana was glad that this knight had come to her rescue in traveling with her about the countryside. She still felt uneasy after the episode with the bandits and didn’t wholly believe her new bodyguard was up to much. Although being a kind, gentle sort of man, Cypreana could tell that Sir Aerywyn wasn’t someone to be trifled with either. “Ideally I would like to find the perfect location first, and then worry about building something later. I intend to spend as much time out of doors as possible, so a good view is important,” she continued. Was that a smile she noticed creeping on to Sir Aerwyn’s lips? She couldn’t be sure that it was but the corners did seem to turn up just a smidgeon.
Lady Cypreana Rossini (Dame of Sasat)
Aerywyn nodded to himself as he took in her words, already working on the task at hand. There were many places, although the logisitics of some would make the task of building an estate unsurmountable, to say the least. There was one place he could recommend however… not too far from the river.
“I have met him occasionally… he is a good man”, he said. “Handsome lad too, if a bit headstrong…”
He could feel that she was looking at him, and as Aerywyn tilted his head to look at her he could feel that smile growing despite all his efforts. Neither could he help but feel like laughing, but for what reason he did not know why.
“What are you looking at?”, Aerywyn asked lightly.
Aerywyn Haerthorne Imperial Chancellor of Arcaea
“I believe I am looking at the fine view and prospect which is before me,” replied Cypreana, blushing slightly as she turned and faced the path ahead. By way of distraction she gently patted her horse’s neck.
“Sir Goffrey saved my life you know…” she continued. “I was set upon by a band of robbers, and he rescued me. Who knows what might have happened should he not have come along looking for me! I owe him much.”
There was a silence between them which seemed to last an age.
“But it is nice to finally meet you,” she continued, anxious that there be no awkwardness. “I have heard so much about you from my sister, with whom I am not on better grounds, and I can assure you that it is all good!”
Aerywyn’s face stared blankly back at her.
Just then the penny dropped.
“Oh!” she said as her gloved hand went involuntary up to her gaping mouth. “You thought I was Madelena!” She started to laugh. “Sir Aerywyn, I am not Madelena, I am Cypreana!”
Lady Cypreana Rossini (Dame of Sasat)
For a time Aerywyn stared at Cypreana, stunned as he was by the revelation. His lips parted as if he was about to say something, then they merely resigned themselves to an expression of self-mocking realisation. He had seen the portraits, and gods knew he should have thought before acting… he himself already had found out the her sister had come into Arcaea, and into Goffrey’s service as well.
Cypreana… the bookish one, or so Madelena had said... no wonder there had seemed something different about her. More dignified almost.
His eyes darted to hers, seeing the embarrasment there. Thinking almost in tune with his master, the gray charger stopped Cypreana’s horse whilst Aerywyn offered a simple yet elegant bow from the saddle. Although the wind blew his hair about his face, he lost very little composure as he broke the silence.
“My apologies then, Cypreana, but it is difficult… to tell such beauty apart…”, he said frankly. “In that case then, we haven’t been properly introduced.”
He took her hand with a swift and gentle motion, gazing curiously into those eyes as he kissed her hand.
“Sir Aerywyn Haerthorne. At your service”.
Aerywyn Haerthorne Imperial Chancellor of Arcaea
Goffrey rode next to the messenger, not exactly excited about ruling on a court issue that had to do with a cow, but thus was the down side to being a baron. So with resignation Goffrey rode down the rode back to his castle, his messenger trotting next to him.
It wasn’t until he was half way back to the manor, that Goffrey came up with a solution that would satisfy his duties as a region lord, and his role as guide to Lady Cypreana.
“You wouldn’t happen to have paper and pen on you, would you,” Goffrey inquired of his messenger. The man looked thoughtful for a moment, before reaching around inside his saddle bag. A moments search produced the requested items, filling Goffrey with elation at the prospect of a plan coming together.
“I almost hate to ask, but...can I barrow your back for a second?”
With the pen in one hand, and the paper held firmly against the back of the messenger, Goffrey wrote down a quick message, before throwing his signature on the end of it, to make things official. That done Goffrey handed the paper and pen back to the messenger and had him go over it aloud.
“I, Goffrey Massey, Baron and Lord of Sasat, do hereby decree that the aforementioned cow, shall be cut in half and divided equally between the disputing parties,” the scribe read aloud, before continuing on to the next paragraph, “Should a party relinquish their claim on the cow, in order that its life be spared, then that party shall receive the whole of the cow as is, signed Goffrey Massey Baron of Sasat.”
Leaving instructions to have the first half read aloud, and the second half read only to his steward, Goffrey turned back down the road, confident the court case would be resolved by the time he got back.
Goffrey rode back down the rough path, doubling his pace in an effort to catch up with Cypreana. An unknown amount of time passed, when he finally caught up to her...just in time to see Lord Aerywyn kissing her hand...
Goffrey wasn’t entirely sure what to make of that, he was steadfastly determined not to be jealous of a woman me met not but a day or so ago, after all rushing into things had been the end of his last ‘not’ relationship.
By the same token however, there are some reactions you just can’t help...
Nevertheless he pushed his personal problems to the side, happy at least to have gotten out of a boring day in court to spend time in the much more enjoyable company of Lady Cypreana.
So it was with a lighthearted smile, and a cheerful wave, that Goffrey rode up alongside the two nobles, and the stoic figure of the body guard.
Goffrey Massey
Baron of Sasat
