|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sun Nov 03, 2013 5:48 pm
 Haidar would be mildly insulted to be called oblivious.
He wasn't oblivious--the way he saw it, he simply had his mind on other things. Other, more important things, of course--ones of such weight as math and science. He was more interested in the stars than in other stars. He was a scholar at heart, which was a problem, since first and foremost, he was a member of the royal family, and the princes were expected to have actual tasks in the herd. It was for that reason, and that reason alone, that Haidar had, begrudgingly, taken a position in the army. His skills with a sword were...decent, for now, and while he did try to practice, it was nonetheless a chore.
Beyond that, he was expected to have some presence in court. Not a huge one, of course--he was, thankfully, quite far down the line of inheritance (seventh in line, not bad), so he was nowhere near as important as his father's heir. But royal family he was still, and so he sometimes had to interact with other stars, at least to find out who they were. And if he thought of it as a way of learning more about other places and other people, instead of making nice, then it was a little enjoyable. But for someone who could name all of the constellations in the sky and all of the brightest stars in the heavens, he still struggled to remember names and relationships of people outside his own family.
Which was the challenge of the day--there was a mare in the herd. Not that this was unusual, of course, but she was a visitor to their lands, so she was not officially a member of the Anuyidan'Danayi. Or...something like that. Maybe she was? And he had just gotten confused? This was where Haidar's knowledge got even shakier, because she'd been here for some months, and he'd been too embarrassed to ask for clarification for her purpose. He wished he had though, because--and this was where it got even more embarrassing--he'd just realized she had a lady-in-waiting, and he couldn't for the life of him remember her name. He wished he did, though, because she was very pretty.
He had a not-undeserved reputation for not paying attention to other stars, but that just meant that he didn't spend very much time looking at them, and when he did, he tried to be polite and avert his gaze--especially when it was a mare. That didn't mean he was dead, however, and, well, he was a young stallion yet. A young stallion with absolutely no experience, so he was instead standing awkwardly around, pointedly not staring at the lady-in-waiting, though occasionally flicking his gaze at her to make it not look so obvious.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Dec 14, 2013 10:20 pm
 The weather was strange here. It never seemed to change. If it wasn't hot, it was stifling hot. And when it wasn't that it was a sandstorm. She'd never seen a sandstorm until she came here. Every other kind of storm, including snow. Something she doubted most here had seen before in their entire lifetimes. Of course, hot and sandstorms weren't the only kind of weather here. It did rain. Just not as often as she was used to. It might as well not rain at all. The lake and little rivers running off it fed the oasis most of the time, she was sure.
But it wasn't all bad. It was nice learning about a new culture. It wasn't so different from her own. Boys praised over girls and girls expected to follow their father's wishes. That was why she was here. On Mina's father's wishes to increase the influence of the Tyrell House by traveling to a new herd to pose as a potential bride. Thus far Germaine had been mostly left unnoticed as the simple lady-in-waiting she was. A servant with a higher rank. That's all she was. Being out here alone with Mina meant she wasn't even that. If Mina wanted something it was usually Germaine that had to go fetch it. Be it food, water, or something stupid like a hair clip. Mina looked like a fool, parading around with that sash over her body.
Germaine really hated her job.
Okay, that was a little harsh. Mina was not that bad. She didn't mean to behave selfishly and forget Germaine had desires, too, to enjoy herself as best she could in a new land. Mina was used to having more than one to wait on her. She must remember that. The younger mare was a good kid. She'd known the flowery mare ever since her birth. Mina had the ability to do as her father pleased, no matter how silly, and make the best out of it. She admired the other mare that.
Germaine sighed from her position watching Mina, off to the side and out of mind until she was needed. It was difficult during times like these to think good thoughts about the younger mare. As her eyes roamed around, she caught the quick glance of a strange stallion nearby, than gave a start. Not just any strange stallion. She recognized those colors, even if his exact name was lost to her tongue. Only the Royal family had browns and blacks in those patterns. Before she could debate if she wanted to ignore him or not, her legs were carrying her his way. It would be impolite to ignore one of the Princes.
Keeping her eyes on him, she made her way over until she was close enough to make a deep bow, her nose nearly touching the sand. When she straightened, she made sure her gaze didn't linger on him too long.
"Good day, my Prince. Do you wish to speak to the Lady Mina?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Dec 15, 2013 9:23 am
Oh no. She had walked over here. To talk to him. What now, Haidar?! It would be unseemly to stare at her body--unthinkable, even. And to look her in the eyes would be too intimate. But to not look at her at all, well, that was hardly fair to him, now was it? She may have just been a servant, but, well...unnatural colors or no, the lady-in-waiting had a lovely array of colors, and those gold speckles were like galaxies in the night sky...
Errm, yes, she was talking to him. About her mistress. Mina, then? Yes, Mina, okay, Lady Mina, she was a member of some noble house from far away. Tyrell, yes, that was the family. Very wealthy, very powerful. He vaguely remembered reading about them when Lady Mina had first arrived. She was probably here in hopes of securing a marriage. But Haidar was not interested in talking to her, not at all. But how did one talk to a servant? Especially one who you thought was, well, yes. And who had just bowed so low to you that her nose was almost touching the ground? And who respected him too much to look at him? And didn't think he wanted to talk to her at all?
He shouldn't have gone out in public today.
"No, I have no need to speak with Lady Mina at the present time," he said. Okay, that was established. Keep it going, keep it going! He needed to figure out her name next. "I was...just thinking that I had not caught your name--?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 3:50 pm
Germaine did not feign surprise. Or even real surprise. She was not. Not everyone wished to speak to Mina. She could not fault them that. The duty to marry someone for political gain could not be a good one. Had she remained in Highgarden she would have suffered the same fate. Though a servant, she was still a noblewoman in her own right. It was strange to her to see how the only nobles in this land were the royal family. None were used as servants such as she was. Though she was sure some could debate that with her. At least, when she seen Latif, the third born son, he didn't always seem happy about his post at his mother's side. The brown mare couldn't understand why. If she were him she would have loved the chance to learn from Scheherazade. Hear all the stories that had charmed the Sultan all those years ago.
She wondered if the Queen had told stories in that fashion to her children when they were younger as bedtime stories, always leaving the other half to be told the following night. It would make for an easier time getting them to bed, she supposed, with the promise of the end of the story.
Germaine silently concluded that the Queen must have done just that.
Straightening up, the speckled mare gave a soft smile to the Prince, looking at a place on his cheek instead of full in his brown eyes. She had always admired the Royal family's brown eyes and the pale brown fur that covered all of them. Being brown herself, she was slightly biased towards the color.
With another small bow of her head, she answered quietly, "Germaine de la Fontaine, Your Highness." It occurred to her she was not sure which of the Prince's he was. Sure, she probably should have memorized them, but had not yet bothered. Latif was one of the few who stuck out in her mind. The way he walked with his nose in the air like even the dirt below his feet was undesirable.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2014 3:08 pm
Well, with a name like that, Germaine was quite assuredly a lady of some rank or another. It still struck Haidar as odd that there could be a noble rank that wasn't related to the royal family. Well, okay, the Tyrells, but the Tyrells were supposedly related to all of the families in their kingdom, so they were sure to have royal blood somewhere in their family. Not that Haidar was thinking any of that. Instead, he was concentrating on preventing a goofy grin from spreading across his face. That would be juvenile, unprincely, and quite impolite to a noblewoman from another land (even one that worked as a servant for a lady). Germaine. Germaine! De la Fontaine, Germaine! It was poetic, how could he resist it? And he wasn't usually someone for romantic poetry.
"Germaine de la Fontaine, may I ask how you are finding the Anuyidan'Danayi so far? It must be quite strange for you, this place so far from home." It was the first thing he could think of to ask--how she was doing. Of course he had to sound solicitous but aloof. He thought he had done a pretty good job of it, though.Hoshi Lockhart [ Throws a copy of Rumi at Haidar's head]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2014 9:36 pm
After the introductions were made, Germaine moved her eyes to his, now feeling it disrespectful to keep looking at any other part of his face. She always thought that was a stupid rule that some adapted. They would arrest you if you so much as looked at any point a few inches near their eyes. What were they afraid their subjects would see in their depths, she always wondered. Kings and Lords in her home country always seemed so devious, yet you could look at them without punishment. After you gave them your bow, of course. That custom never seemed to change, wherever she went. She kind of tired of it. All the silly customs that went along with royalty and nobility. Her father required those he protected to bow to him when they greeted him. She, however, always got annoyed when someone did it to her. She felt noble in the sense of how dignified she tried to carry herself. But she didn't feel the same kind of noble that would ask for those 'beneath' them to bow. That couldn't walk the streets and interact with the rest at leisure.
Mina, on the other hand, seemed only to shine more brightly in the special attention her birth brought her. Funny how things worked out. Germaine hadn't always been a servant. Even as a child she had wanted to play with those of lower rank than herself. To splash in the mud like every other child. To skin her knees and eat strange plants on dares. She missed out on all of that growing up. Her parents had kept a close eye on her.
Giving the prince a pleasant smile, the speckled mare tried not to be annoyed at still not knowing this one's name. It wasn't his fault. It was hers for not memorizing them as she should have done.
"It is...Different," she said carefully, ever cautious not to offend the stallion in his homeland. "I am not used to the heat. Nor the sand all around when one goes near the edge. Where I come from, it is flowers, grass, and trees. On the other side is the ocean, which stretches like your sand does." She paused, realized she had babbled a bit, and quickly added, "I do not hate it, though. It is beautiful here."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2014 7:17 pm
Germaine de la Fontaine? Babbling? Perish the thought! Haidar actually thought her voice was quite charming, and the way her gold eyes moved to his own brown ones almost turned him into mush. No! Not princely behavior! What sort of prince would he be if he couldn't look a lady in the face without melting? Haidar, you'll just have to get over yourself. Talking to a gi--wom--a lady was not a difficult task for the colt who had whined at his mother to finish--ahem. Who had learned so much from Queen Scheherezade. He had learned how to talk to ladies. Er. Right? It was probably something his mother had taught him. At some point. Or another. Er.
Right. Well, then. He returned her smile with a warm one of his own. "The heat is much more intense here than in places far away, I've heard. It is nothing to be ashamed of. I should quite like to see the sea someday, and your homeland as well," he added. The way he said it came off as hasty to him, and he could definitely feel himself quaver on that last word. Oh, this would never do, he was losing his nerve! He just...okay, deep breath, let it out slowly and casually so that it doesn't come off as a sigh... "I am glad you find it beautiful. There are many more beautiful things in this land." Wait, wasn't that an unseemly thing to say?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2014 8:08 pm
Germaine merely smiled sweetly, glad to have a normal conversation without feeling her sense of duty looking over her shoulder. Or someone else. She was always conscious of her need to behave in a certain manner, especially with beings of influence. But he was being normal, so she could relax a bit? Mina could take care of herself, wherever she was.
The mare nodded her head, not finding anything offensive in what he was saying. She was not so oblivious not to notice his nervousness and she let the confusion show on her face a little. Where she came from, royalty and nobility both were schooled in how to speak to those of all classes. Scheherazade and Shah Ryar had given her the same impression here, so it was very strange for her to hear one not so confident. She and Mina had no problems socializing with the herd. Mina perhaps a bit too much.
"You always think your home is the most beautiful until you leave." Her attention was drawn to a flock of birds jumping from one tree to the next. "My home is quite far away. I hear the sea is closer than it is on the opposite side of your oasis. I have not seen it, but I am sure it is also quite beautiful."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
