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 Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2009 2:23 am
Faolan raised a brow more at William's quick appearance check than at his being called a pikey again. "For ******** sake, man." He reached out and just shoved the man over into a fresh pile of manure provided by Stormrunner--best horse ever!--and gave the man a look of utter contempt.
Turning to Lee he smiled at her, reaching out with his left hand to take her right one. A quick glance around, and Fao spotted a decent length of blue ribbon decorating the hair of a servant girl. "Nice ribbon. Can I borrow it?" He plucked it from the girl's hair and quickly twined it about his and Lee's joined hands and wrists, loops of the ribbon going around each other their wrists before being secured around both of them together. "We got plenty of witnesses for this, Lee. I swear to love and honor you, to hold you true in my heart. I promise to never treat you as mere property to be bartered with." He shot a nasty glare at Mrs. Katan and William before looking back at the girl with a much softer expression. "Swear the same, love, and I'll take you from this life to be with me and mine."
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Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2009 2:36 am
William's only response to being shoved into a pile of horse manure was an indignant, squealing and rather effeminate shriek of utter disgust. "How DARE you?!?!"
~*~
Ellandra, on the other hand, couldn't care less about what that silly peacock of a man was doing floundering about in a pile of manure, her attention more to what Faolan was doing with Lee. She bit her lip, trying to keep tears rising to her eyes. This was to get Lee out of here, after all, and sh didn't want to leave the teenager that she was beginning to see as a younger sister-daughter trapped in a marriage with the blonde idiot in makeup.
Still, she couldn't deny that it. . . hurt, hearing Faolan say vows to another, even though she cared for Lee. She knew enough about the culture she'd married into to know that this marriage was perfectly acceptable, and that Faolan could genuinely have two wives if he so chose, and if he were to choose to keep this marriage, well. . . he could.
And for some reason, that hurt.
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Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2009 3:01 am
Who could have possibly cared about William at this point? Not even Mrs. Katan could manage to give him attention as she watched her daughter, her only child, in the middle of a semi-authentic marriage. Where had she gone wrong raising that child?
Lee's eyes widened, not fully grasping what was actually happening. Faolan was... marrying her?! Had he really said he'd promised to love her? In front of Ellandra, too. She stammered as she tried to think about how to respond. Looking from Faolan to her mother to Ellandra, the thought of the woman, his wife, couldn't escape her mind. He loved her. And they were happy together. This had to be part of their plan, right? This wasn't documented or anything, so... it would be easy to leave, wouldn't it? Still, Ellandra. She could see how much it hurt her to witness such a thing. But she wasn't stopping him. Okay, Lee, just do it. "Um..." She tried her best to look him in the eyes without blushing too much. Taking a few breaths to ease the butterflied in her stomach, she continued. "I swear to love... and honor you... to hold you true in my heart. I promise to never treat you as mere property to be bartered with." Good thing it was short, and that it was Faolan's voice that had uttered it, or she would never have remembered. Her heart was racing, wondering what this all meant now.
And her mother watched, speechless, completely defeated.
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Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2009 3:10 am
"Right. It's settled," Faolan said, then looked at Ellandra. "Head for Farstep. We're done here." He scooped Lauss up and wrestled the proto up onto Stormrunner, then swung up and pulled Lee up easily to sit between him and Lauss. "Hold him tight, lass." He kept his left arm around Lee, not having much of a choice with it bound to Lee's own arm. Giving one last withering look to Lee's mother and William, he let the horse rear up again before setting it to a full gallop back to the carnival.
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Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2009 3:17 am
Wiliam was still floundering about trying t oclean his suit off - he didn't even see them go. "My best suit! My best blue suit of the lot! And this smells!"
~*~
Ellandra followed after Faolan and Lee at a much slower pace, letting Morningmist take her time picking her way through the streets. Rhian was silent, sensing that her owner-mama didn't really want any comforting right now, she wanted to think - and, perhaps, to hurt a little without having to worry about Faolan or Lee getting upset from it. The brunette knew Faolan's impulsiveness well; she knew Lee had a crush on him; she knew Lee was an attractive girl - she couldn't help but feel hurt and the slightest bit betrayed, though she was trying her hardest not to feel that way.
She wasn't aware of the tears flowing down her cheeks, even when puppy-Rosco tried to lick them away.
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Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2009 10:22 pm
William's voice was drowned out by Mrs. Katan's flurry of thoughts, on what to do now, why this had all happened, if she wasn't just imagining all of this. But what was she supposed to do? Drive after them? And then what? Lee was a stubborn girl sometimes, and this happened to be one of those times. No, that wasn't the way to go about this. William, he was a rash decision, and that had only pushed her further away. This would take careful planning.
She turned on her heels, and headed back inside, completely forgetting William was even still around. Stupid man, anyway. Not worthy of the family name... But, still, he'd have been better than what Lee was married to now. She shut the door behind her, leaving Will outside to further complain about his suit, and began planning her counter-attack.
***
Was this really happening? They'd managed to save her, steal her away from her mother and Will, and she was now married to Faolan. This was a dream, there was no other explanation. But it was so... real. She clung to Lauss, his tail flopping all over as the horse galloped away, and despite Ellandra, she was more than overjoyed. But perhaps there was more to this than there seemed to be. They had probably come up with some sort of plan, right? I mean... this all seemed to fast, but surely no one was acting on impulse.
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Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2009 10:48 pm
With a clattering of hooves, Stormrunner galloped into the carnival grounds, bearing his riders easily. Faolan halted him, keeping a firm grip on the girl and her Essentic when the horse reared, and dismounted, pulling Lee gently down with him, to go talk with Keagan as the old man hurried towards him.
Keagan spotted the clasped hands with the ribbon binding them and frowned, his strides becoming more purposeful as he stalked towards the young man and decked him. Faolan fell to the ground, barely managing to not pull Lee with him. The old man glared down at him. "What th' hell did you gae off t'do now? Who is this girl an' where's Elle?"
"I can totally explain so long as you donnae hit me afore I get a proper chance," Faolan said, holding up his free hand to fend off any further blows.
"Best be quick, lad," Keagan told him darkly.
"Elle's on her way. We went to rescue Lee here from an arranged marriage an' I did a handfastin' so her mother wouldnae follow and to scare the man off they were practically sellin' her to," Faolan quickly explained, sitting up and then getting to his feet. "I figured you could just anull it now that we're safe here."
Keagan just stared. "Are you insane?! You are a bigger idiot than Ah e'er took you fae. How is it you manage th' brain power t' remember how t' breathe?" He shook his head, then pinched at the bridge of his nose, silently asking the gods to give him the strength to deal with his son and the patience not to kill him this time. "Ah knew Ah shouldae left you on them church steps." He looked at Faolan. "Lad, you cannae break a handfastin' for at least a night an' a day after it's done. You rushed int' it, you wonnae be so quick t' be rushin' out. You an' Elle--when she gets here--will joost hae t' deal wi' th' extra wife fae th' night."
Faolan looked down at Lee, then back at Keagan. "Fair enough. We'll just anull it tomorrow then."
"Only after you three hae a reet sit-down an' discuss if'n you truly want t'end it," Keagan said. "It's part o' th' traditions." He reached over and slapped Faolan hard upside the head. "You be lucky Ah don't throw you to the clowns after this."
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Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2009 10:58 pm
A few minutes after Faolan's arrival - perhaps ten at the most - Ellandra managed to make her way into the camp, trying to manage holding on to her Essentic, a wriggling puppy, and Lee's things all at once. This wasn't an easy thing to do when you didn't know how to handle a horse very well. Luckily Morningmist seemed to know where she was going, so finding Farstep hadn't been hard at all.
If her eyes were a little red, then it was simply because Mrs. Katan's perfume had been something she was allergic too. No need to let Faolan or Lee see how deeply this scarred her, not when it was the best thing for the teenager. Still, she wondered what would happen if this was permanent. She was glad Lee was safe, but. . . this hurt.
She wasn't even really paying attention to where the mare was going in the carnival any longer, having never really had any control over her to begin with.
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Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2009 11:23 pm
Lee could see that the man walking toward them was not exactly happy, and half-hid herself -- as much as the ribbon would let her -- behind Faolan as they moved closer. And then, Faolan was knocked to the ground. Because of her. Her blue eyes stared at the man in front of her, hoping he wouldn't punch her, too. After all, if she hadn't gotten herself into this mess in the first place...
Okay, so he was a father figure of some sort? He seemed to mean well, at least. She looked up at Faolan as he asked the man to annul their marriage. So... this is what he planned. She'd gotten all excited over nothing. But this was good, for Ellandra's sake. She tugged at her uncomfortably fitting skirt with her free hand. That really took a blow to her excitement. So... she wouldn't be Mrs. Grady? Lee looked down and bit her lip. Never mind, then...
Wait... so which one was it? They were married or they weren't? Or... they wouldn't be... but... they were technically right now...? This was so confusing. She looked from Faolan to the man and back as they spoke, not knowing if she should speak or hide or whatever else. Faolan, tell me what to do...
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Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2009 11:32 pm
Faolan rubbed his sore jaw, looking at Keagan and nodding. "Fine. we'll talk it over tonight. For now, let me introduce you to your new daughter-in-law. Lee, this is Keagan Grady, my da."
Keagan looked at the girl. "Charmed. Welcome to the clan." He looked back at Fao. "Pickin' them young, ain't you?"
The young man shrugged. "I'm gonna find where Elle went, take Stormrunner to the stables, and get Lee to the vardo . . . somewhat in that order." He took hold of the reins in his free hand, making sure Lauss was still situated okay on the horse, and headed off. "Sorry about all this, Lee."
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Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2009 11:39 pm
Morningmist had taken Ellandra right to the stables, as a matter of fact, and the brunette remained there, sitting on thepretty mare, unable to get down since her arms were full of flutterby, puppy, and bags.
"Well. . . we're home now, flutterby," she whispered to Rhian, who looked up at her and flicked her antennae.
"Yes, but you're sad," Rhian responded equally quietly. Ellandra shook her head a little.
"I'll be all right," Ellandra whispered back, hoping that it was true.
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Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2009 11:51 pm
Lauss wiggled on top of the horse, trying to turn his head far enough around to where he could see this new voice. "Hello, Mister Grady." He managed to flop over on his belly and look at everyone without breaking his neck. "Miss Lee, where is Miss Rhian?" Lee was too busy trying to make a good impression on Faolan's papa to pay too much attention to Lauss. She bowed her head slightly, uttering a small, "Thank you, Sir." Okay, so he didn't hate her. That was good news.
Lee trailed off by Faolan's side, looking at her feets as she walked. "It's fine..." You have nothing to be sorry about, Faolan, honest. Her shoulders slumped forward and she searched behind her quickly to see if she could spot Ellandra. Nope. Where was she? "I'm really sorry, Faolan. I didn't think... I mean, I just wanted to talk to Ellandra was all, I didn't mean to get you stuck in all this or anything."
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Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2009 11:58 pm
"You didn't do anything wrong, Lee. I just have an impulsive nature," Faolan said, guiding her and the horse to the stables. "I saw Will there and couldn't help sticking it to him and your mother." He grinned at her. "Told you my Grandmother's cards never lie." Seeing Ellandra, he sobered a bit and hurried his pace, passing the reins of the horse to a stable hand.
He reached up one-handed and got the belongings from Elle, passing them to Lee, then helped his wife down. "How're you holdin' up, love? Ready to go home?" He glanced at Lee before looking at Elle again. "We're all gonna have to talk about some things."
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Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2009 12:04 am
Ellandra nodded a little, hugging Rhian to her as she watched Faolan with wide eyes. "I know," she said softly, before struggling to hold on to a suddenly wirggling Rhian, who had spotted Lauss at last.
"Lauss-teacher! Lauss-teacher!" The flutterby called as quietly as she dared before Ellandra clapped her hand over her mouth. Sighing, the brunette looked to Lee and Faolan, then shrugged her shoulders a bit. She'd deal with this. . . somehow.
"We should get Lauss and Rhian inside as soon as possible, anyway," she said, her voice even and soft, the only sign of her reaction to the impromptu second-wedding being the redness of her eyes.
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Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2009 12:30 am
Faolan shouldered the bag with Lee's belongings and sighed, seeing Elle's eyes. As if he didn't already feel like crap from what Keagan had told him. He handed the squirming puppy to Lee to carry, then grabbed Lauss up gently and settled the Essentic over his other shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "Let's just get home. We'll all feel better once we can relax and talk some of this out." He put his free arm around Elle's shoulders, leading his now larger family back to the vardo.
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