|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Wed May 21, 2014 1:26 pm
Queen Stephanie gasped softly, trying to force herself silent as the other gently removed the glass. She was shaking by the time it was out with the effort not to cry out again. When the other wrapped the silk around her nose, Stephanie managed to whisper "Thank you," before she had to marshal all her resources in the battle to keep herself from swooning with reaction. Swooning was maidenly, and acceptable on rare occasions. Used too often it made a princess weak, but once every while, it was acceptable and showed royal bearing, even. Unfortunately, the very reason she wanted to swoon - she had been cut deeply when she had least expected it, was why she could not. There could be more glass. She didn't even dare sit, which wasn't thrilling her, as her legs were shaking so bad from reaction that she could hardly stand.
It hadn't been the pain, oddly enough. She had been hurt worse, helping others. She had been hurt worse playing as a foal. But those had been experiences where some part of her mind had been expecting pain; or at least the possibility of it. The shock was what shook her, she hadn't expected that anything here could or would hurt her. Lesson learned. But couldn't she learn her lessons over a nice warm cup of tea in a pleasant glade somewhere?
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed May 21, 2014 2:34 pm
Kadentsu lead the other gently into the hallway, away from where she had been injured. She didn't want such a thing to imprint the room as a terrible place. There were certainly worse things that could happen to one wandering around in ruins. Especially ones that could possibly become unstable. Though she was sure that this place had already done all the falling it was going to for a few years to come. The land was slow in relcaiming it, knocking things down as it went.
Kadentsu gently perusaded the other to lay down in the hallway. Sure she hadn't expected to be hurt in such a place as this. The glass had surprised herself as well. She should have known to warn the other of such things, considering she had encountered them in the past herself. Though ended up with more scrapes and bruises on her legs than anyplace else. Those heal and fade with time, as will her nose. Though her idea of the place may not. Which would make her sad... She didn't want the other to end up not wanting to go around exploring in places anymore because she had been injured. Worse still she didn't want the other to think her bad for not warning her of danger that may have been lurking in the piles.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed May 21, 2014 5:17 pm
She allowed herself to be eased down to lay in the hall. She hated to admit how relieved she felt not to have to support her own weight for the moment. She folded her legs under her and rested her head against the cool stone wall. She just focused on breathing for several moments, waiting for the throbbing to subside. She felt like a fool, now that the shock and pain had faded.
"I apologize," she said softly. She knew that she had over reacted, but a princess would never admit to that if she could avoid it, but she would apologize for putting someone else out.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu May 22, 2014 6:33 pm
Kadentsu smiled at the mare.
"You have nothing to be sorry about. Neither you nor I knew about the hidden danger in the pile of things. And having such a startling thing happen on your first time looking through things... It's not an experience I would expect someone of any stature to take calmly."
She laid across the hall from Stephanie.
"When you are ready and think you can stand, we can either continue, or I can walk you out."
She posed the question to the other because she didn't want to make such a choice for the mare.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun May 25, 2014 8:38 pm
"We can continue," she said, leaving it ambiguous if she meant at all, or immediately. "I would not wish to leave, unless you did." After all, a princess had to be polite. She had to behave, and would not push her new acquaintance if she wanted to stop herself, now that they were aware of the possible danger. She could always come back later. however... Stephanie had a feeling that even as wondrous as this place was, she would not enjoy it even half as much, alone. That could be the fear of the glass, of facing it alone without someone to pull it our, but she did not think that was it, at least... not all of it...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2014 3:04 pm
Kadentsu nodded at the other. She would accept whatever she wanted to do. She certainly didn't want to push Stephanie if she didn't think she was able to go onward. And, even more so, she wouldn't want to push the other until she was ready to go.
"Whenever you are ready, we can continue to the next rooms. Certainly no reason to go back to the room with all the glass, wouldn't you agree?"
She smiled warmly at the other while she thought about which room to go into next. The last room in the hall should be the largest. The room where the King himself should have slept and stored his things. There should be plenty of different things for either one of them to pick through and keep.
"Just ask when you would like to get up. I'll help you and we can continue along into the next room. The biggest room. The room where the King himself stayed."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2014 11:31 pm
Where the king himself stayed! Oh, that did sound thrilling. She appreciated the offer, but did not want the other princess to think her weak. She pushed herself to her feet, able to stand quite well. The prospect of such a chamber filled her with a different sort of shakes than the reaction from the wound had. This was far more pleasant.
"If you would be so kind as to lead, I would be most honored to follow," she said as regally as she could. Her nose still throbbed a bit, but a princess could not let that sort of thing keep her down for long.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2014 8:53 am
Kadentsu smiled at her and slowly started towards the room. She didn't want to wear the other down too much. Certainly not since she had been so startled by her injury. She wanted to be sure that the other had a pleasant time the rest of the journey through the ruins.
Kadentsu turned a bit of a corner and came to a rather large entryway. Though most of the doors had caved in or simply deteriorated into a pile of mush, these doors seemed to stand tall. They were just as beautiful as he believed they would have been when the king himself stayed there.
As she crossed through the large doors she took in the room. It was at least twice the size of the first room and decorated much more lavishly. The moldings that had been used on the walls could still be seen in most of their detail. Whoever this king was, he certainly knew how to decorate to impress anyone. As she walked slowly into the room, she took note that there didn't seem to be any roof missing in this room. It was rather fortunate considering she didn't want to dig in anymore piles that might contain glass or any other kind of sharp object. Walking into the middle, she motioned the other to follow.
"This room seems to be pretty intact considering how long it's been sitting here." She motioned toward a half decayed dressed. "In there you should be able to find some silks, or even some other nice cloth. Kings usually wore things that were made of the finest material after all." She smiled at Stephanie.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Sep 28, 2014 7:04 am
Queen Stephanie looked around the King's chambers in awe, and all sense of proper royal behavior fled her. She recalled not a whit how to act or speak as a proper noble mare of royal birth. But for the moment, it mattered not, for she could not have moved, or even spoken in anyway that would show the lack. She just stood, staring. To her credit, her jaw did not drop, nor did she drool, but her eyes... oh how they danced as they drank in the sights. She was as dry sand when the tide came in; the sights filled her, and as she absorbed them, they left her different than she had been. She felt more solid, more together, more... herself. She turned, slowly, taking it all in, and when her eyes landed on Kadentsu, it was as though the other mare were part of this place, as though she belonged here... as though... Queen Stephanie belonged here as well. Seeing the other, in this place, feeling this... this... wonderment... she had no breath for a moment that seemed an eternity. There was no room in her chest for something as ephemeral, and pointless, as air. A warmth, a feeling of... of... rightness... filled her instead.
When she finally, finally did breathe again, it was a soft sigh, a delicate sound that befitted a royal, for all she had no intent or artifice behind it. There was just such a rightness to the sound, to the place to... to Kadentsu. She swallowed, not from fear, but rather, because she felt word press against the insides of her mouth, seeking egress, words she hadn't thought to say, but caught just in time. They had just met and just because Queen Stephanie felt this way... did not mean Kadentsu did as well.
However... Should a princess, should a queen, throw away her chance at happiness absent a need to sacrifice it? Should she risk, dare, and formulate what she almost said, into words befitting the grandeur of this place and this mare, or should she stay silent, continue to swallow the words and watch if such a thing were possible, in the silence of her awe, for some clue as to if the other could possibly feel the same? Asking she would know at once, but that knowledge could, and very possibly would, hurt. However, it could also be the foundation of a wonder even greater than that which she felt just now.
For the first in her life, Stephanie felt balanced upon a narrow ledge. One side was safety, wonder, joy - all she could wish and more; the other side was a deep yawning chasm, a fall that would leave her broken, destroyed, at the base. Sense said, of course, to go to the side of joy, and become attendant to that happiness. However, sense failed to be aware of the fact that she was on this ledge blind. As long as she stayed still, as long as she said nothing, did nothing, she perched forever upon the narrow precipice of hope. Once she spoke, should she choose to, she would be leaning to one side or the other. She could put into her words her wishes, she could express them eloquently, and perhaps that might make some difference, however, if the other were entirely adverse to the base premise, then no words, no matter how carefully chosen, could save her this fall. But would those words guide her instead to the wide ledge just beyond... And indecisive, she remained perched there.
There was within her a voice that cried against the ever emotion that welled within her, but it was a small voice, almost mute, and almost suppressed by the rightness of the moment. That small voice was trying to open her eyes to how short a time they had known each other, Stephanie and Kadentsu, and to the fact that even were they to fall in love, the other probably would not wish to reside here. The voice tried, in vain, to remind Stephanie that a Queen was often called upon to sacrifice her heart for the good of her people.
But... she had no people. There was no need for her to marry to provide an heir or to make alliances. That was perhaps the very crux of her life. She was raised a princess, grew into a Queen, but she was a Queen absent a court, absent people who needed her to be, in essence, what she was, a monarch; a ruler.
There had always been a part of her that had presumed that role would be, somewhat, filled by family. That in raising foals, she would have to be as her parents before her, a ruler who raised the young to honor the people and protect them, who taught her children the core of what noblesse oblige meant. She had always presumed that to have these foals, she would one day find a King or a Prince to be her equal, her partner in all things. But before this day, and it felt odd to think the span of time so short, never had she found anyone at all that shared her fascination with places such as these. She had met others who fancied themselves royal, but they were not her peers, being too far above or below her in truth. No one needed her to sacrifice her heart here, no one, save herself.
To take this step, even should Kadentsu agree, could mean giving up on having that family, having baskets and foals of her own to raise, with a loving mate at her side. But... there could be other foals, could there not? And others, even adults, who could benefit from what the two of them could teach. Perhaps it was true that no one yet lived here, or rather, no one remained here and no one had reclaimed this place, but once - once it had been a seat of power, this much was clear. Her mind thought back to what they had first found, and to all that Kadentsu had already taught her, all she could still yet learn; and all she might be able to teach.
Here was a peer, one raised to noble birth as she was, who too saw the majesty of a palace such as this. Could she simply let fear drive her from what could be so wonderfully right? Was not a princess brave? Was not a Queen even more so?
If she truly was to do this, however, she wished to do it correctly. She was aware that she would have one chance, and only the one, at success. Words must be chosen with care. The words that had tried to escape at first - marry me, let's live here forever - would not do, and she discarded the form of them, though she kept the individual words, and used them to build a stronger presentation for their very essence. The core of what she wished to say remained as it had been, yet the framing needed to be proper.
She considered multiple phrasings, aware that she was still staring at the other mare, and less aware that the awe in her eyes had given way to something more fragile, and even more vulnerable. She worked, as though at a puzzle, piecing together that which worked best, discarding what did not suit the requirements of the statement she wished to make - that she almost had to make.
Finally, finally she at last felt that she could say what needed to be said, and leave her fate across the back of the other. Here she would fall, or here she would fly.
"It has been said," she began, her voice clear, and pitched in such a way as to get and hold attention. She spoke as though there were distractions in the room that she must be on guard against, she spoke as she was taught a ruler must when the topic was important. Her voice was firm, clear, authoritative without giving orders, audible without being shouted. None of the fear she thought to fear sounded in what she said, and oddly, as she said it, the warmth grew, and there simply was, within her, no room for fear. Yes, she knew she must still be cautious, yes she knew that she could yet fall, but she did not fear it. She was aware of it, as one might be aware of a nest of sleeping snakes in a nearby ditch, aware, but not ruled by it. She proceeded, head high figuratively and literally. Her eyes found Kadentu's and she looked no where else, needed to look no where else. In those eyes she found all the anchor and encouragement she needed to continue. "that there are experiences which can truncate time in a fashion. They can make mere hours seem as though they were years, they can bring people closer, or tear them apart, in their seeming. There are places of power that have nothing to do with physical strength or any aspect of spiritual magic, that speaks to the spirit all the same. These locations are places of power not intrinsically, but because of how they resonate with those who experience them. I believe this to be one such place. I may, in this, be in isolation. It is fully possible that your feelings, should you have developed any by this point, about me, and about this place, do not match my own. I accept and acknowledge this. I request simply that you hear me out, and that you, when you are comfortable doing so, answer me honestly. I do not need, nor do I even wish, the answer before you are certain that you wish to give it."
She breathed because she needed to. There was no artifice of a dramatic pause in it, no gather of her thoughts, for she already had them hoarded around her, prepared. She was not breathing to delay, she breathed because the words she spoke were, at the moment, the same as her own life; and both required air.
"For me, there is a power to this place, a magic that speaks to my heart directly. This is a place of power, and in it time has, for me, truncated. This place is one that I would, I think, call home. That I would like to call home, and wish only to absent myself from it with the knowledge that to it I shall always return. However, the physical majesty of this place and the history of it that we find in the artifacts and leavings are not the whole of what makes this place feel, in my heart, to be home.
"It is your presence with me that completes it." She did not lower her voice, nor her face. She did not give the words weakness, rather she gave them strength. Vulnerability, if it were present, and it as, was wholly in her eyes, and absent her posture or voice.
"I was raised, as you were, to rule, to royalty. However, I have no people, and no kingdom. But from this place where once humans ruled, so could we. Together, you and I could build a people and protect them, and we can restore to this building the destiny it craves. We can build a family, a kingdom, a home, here, where once all these things stood; for others. It could stand here for us."
Now at last she did look away, but it was not for her own sake, but for Kadentsu's. It would little be fair to continue to hold her gaze. She turned the look around the room again, in another slow perusal, so as to give the other the chance to martial her thoughts, and have her reaction, in some semblance of privacy, making no immediate demands. They were both royal, and she would shame neither herself, nor Kadentsu by failing to give her those moments to find her own composure and equilibrium.
"As I said, you do not have to answer now, and if you never feel comfortable answering, so be it, but until I have an answer, one way or another, I shall wait," she said simply, not turning back to look at the other. She had chosen, she no longer straddled the peak of a mountain, she no longer wavered on a ledge. She had committed, not by a step, but by a leap. And she would accept with grace the answer, whichever answer Kadentsu tendered, whenever she elected to do so.
Queen Stephanie walked further into the room, to examine it, though she saw less than she would have otherwise, less than she had in the other rooms. Even without looking at Kadentsu, she was acutely aware of her; could not help but to be. She did, for the sake of Kadentsu's dignity, attempt to be less aware, but as she failed that, she acted as though she had succeeded. Much of royalty was acting in the way that was best for others, rather than in the way that was intrinsically true. Especially when it came to emotions. Only a lifetime of training kept her from turning to face the other, now.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
