not, to ensure that
Artan's lineage was brought honor as well for his families help with
the war. I had only met him a few times as Artan had taken a castle
near the borders of my father's kingdom to hold them strong and firm.
Today I would meet
him again, my father's declining health ensured that the marriage
would happen soon, within the year no doubt, if not sooner. Though
from my knowledge of Conchobor he didn't particularly want to marry
me, who he considered a willful child. The goal of today was to show
him how not childlike I was.
Though of course I
was innocent in the art of lovemaking I knew of it, and had been told
much on the ways of pleasing a man. My gown was snug, showing my
feminine curves, slim waist, and breasts. My mother tied small
flowers in my hair, taking her time to wind the stems in so they
would not fall, then braided my thick hair to hang down my back in
braids.
My little sister,
Ita, came bustling in, her hair bound in a quick knot at the back of
her head, and a soft blue gown hanging from her fragile shoulders.
She was a slight thing of only 12 years, much younger than me, but
she had been a much sought for child, and when we'd nearly lost her
and my mother, my father had declared that the last child they'd
attempt for. I love her like the dove loves the spring, and the bee
loves the flower.
She plopped down on
her belly on the foot of my bed, her bare feet raising and showing
her legs up to her knees. “Ita, really,” our mother
tutted, and I chuckled. My father had given her a lot of leniency
because of the risks of her life, but my mother was continually
trying to rein her in.
“Wanna go
riding?” Ita asked, rolling to her back and looking at me
upside down.
I smiled and winked
at her, “I can't, Gooseberry. I am meeting my future husband,
and you know it.”
“But it would
be so much more enjoyable to go hunting.” She rolled back over
again, a wisp of her golden brown hair, much like my mother's, fell
down into her face and she pushed it out of the way. “Faelan
says the rabbits are coming out in troves, and we should get the hunt
on before the first snow hits.”
I rolled my eyes
playfully. I was a good hunter. I could catch a rabbit faster then
any man I had hunted with and while it was much more
enjoyable, I was too much a lady to go against my father's wishes and
not meet my future husband.
My mother permitted
our cheerful banter as she finished my hair, finally placing a slim
golden circlet on my brow.
“I will ask
Conchobor if he would like to hunt with us in the morning,” I
asked, grinning at her.
My mother smiled,
she knew that I was willing to meet and marry Conchobor, and to make
this work. I was a lady, and it was what was expected of me, but as
all I hoped for love. My father and mother had an arranged marriage,
one securing wealth to the new king – her father made a lot of
money as a merchant – but they had also very quickly fallen in
love. My father had adored her quick wit, her gentle and kind
nature, her love of the kingdom and the people.
I could only pray
that Conchobor would come to love me and I him.
We exited my room
and moved down the long hallway to the curving stairs that took us to
the great hall. It was adorned with green and red tapestries,
carrying my father's story as he defeated King Mac Raith, making the
castle his own. There were stories of my birth, and tales of Ita and
even of Conchobor, Muirenn, and Artan. Red flowers adorned the
spaces between the tapestries, a rich and vibrant red carpet had been
brought in, and a fire the size of my bed was burning in the center,
keeping the chill of early autumn at bay. Light filtered through the
upper windows, lighting the silver and gold serving wear, filled
already with some of the bounty of my father's harvests. He had
invited many people, much more than normal, hundreds of guests from
all stations, even peasants, cleaned and dressed in their poor
finery. I smiled at them all, merchant,
Artan's lineage was brought honor as well for his families help with
the war. I had only met him a few times as Artan had taken a castle
near the borders of my father's kingdom to hold them strong and firm.
Today I would meet
him again, my father's declining health ensured that the marriage
would happen soon, within the year no doubt, if not sooner. Though
from my knowledge of Conchobor he didn't particularly want to marry
me, who he considered a willful child. The goal of today was to show
him how not childlike I was.
Though of course I
was innocent in the art of lovemaking I knew of it, and had been told
much on the ways of pleasing a man. My gown was snug, showing my
feminine curves, slim waist, and breasts. My mother tied small
flowers in my hair, taking her time to wind the stems in so they
would not fall, then braided my thick hair to hang down my back in
braids.
My little sister,
Ita, came bustling in, her hair bound in a quick knot at the back of
her head, and a soft blue gown hanging from her fragile shoulders.
She was a slight thing of only 12 years, much younger than me, but
she had been a much sought for child, and when we'd nearly lost her
and my mother, my father had declared that the last child they'd
attempt for. I love her like the dove loves the spring, and the bee
loves the flower.
She plopped down on
her belly on the foot of my bed, her bare feet raising and showing
her legs up to her knees. “Ita, really,” our mother
tutted, and I chuckled. My father had given her a lot of leniency
because of the risks of her life, but my mother was continually
trying to rein her in.
“Wanna go
riding?” Ita asked, rolling to her back and looking at me
upside down.
I smiled and winked
at her, “I can't, Gooseberry. I am meeting my future husband,
and you know it.”
“But it would
be so much more enjoyable to go hunting.” She rolled back over
again, a wisp of her golden brown hair, much like my mother's, fell
down into her face and she pushed it out of the way. “Faelan
says the rabbits are coming out in troves, and we should get the hunt
on before the first snow hits.”
I rolled my eyes
playfully. I was a good hunter. I could catch a rabbit faster then
any man I had hunted with and while it was much more
enjoyable, I was too much a lady to go against my father's wishes and
not meet my future husband.
My mother permitted
our cheerful banter as she finished my hair, finally placing a slim
golden circlet on my brow.
“I will ask
Conchobor if he would like to hunt with us in the morning,” I
asked, grinning at her.
My mother smiled,
she knew that I was willing to meet and marry Conchobor, and to make
this work. I was a lady, and it was what was expected of me, but as
all I hoped for love. My father and mother had an arranged marriage,
one securing wealth to the new king – her father made a lot of
money as a merchant – but they had also very quickly fallen in
love. My father had adored her quick wit, her gentle and kind
nature, her love of the kingdom and the people.
I could only pray
that Conchobor would come to love me and I him.
We exited my room
and moved down the long hallway to the curving stairs that took us to
the great hall. It was adorned with green and red tapestries,
carrying my father's story as he defeated King Mac Raith, making the
castle his own. There were stories of my birth, and tales of Ita and
even of Conchobor, Muirenn, and Artan. Red flowers adorned the
spaces between the tapestries, a rich and vibrant red carpet had been
brought in, and a fire the size of my bed was burning in the center,
keeping the chill of early autumn at bay. Light filtered through the
upper windows, lighting the silver and gold serving wear, filled
already with some of the bounty of my father's harvests. He had
invited many people, much more than normal, hundreds of guests from
all stations, even peasants, cleaned and dressed in their poor
finery. I smiled at them all, merchant,
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