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 Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2007 7:32 pm
Leif constrained himself, but that delightful kiss from Shae stayed with him for the rest of their short journey. Within a few hours, twilight was rescinding and dawn was fast approaching. Also, the man slowed his steed, stopping perhaps a hundred or so feet from a tall cliff, the sounds and smells of the ocean close enough to let their whereabouts be guessed quite accurately. He was cold, but he didn’t let it show as he dismounted, then extended a hand to help his “lady” down from his own ride. “We’re almost there,” he smiled through teeth on the verge of chattering, as the north wind assailed them both with its icy breath. “But you’ll have to wear this. Otherwise it will spoil the surprise.” From his pocket, he removed a largish cloth, a handkerchief perhaps, and folded it in a manner to suggest that he meant as a blindfold.
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Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2007 7:42 pm
Once again, Shae found his efforts to be spoiled by the other's apparent "gentleman"-ness. How... annoying. Could Leif not tell that Shae was trying to spark a reaction from him? Or perhaps he could and Leif was merely playing coy with him... And yet, Shae didn't think so. He found that it was best to assume the simplest of the other, as overthinking his actions never seemed to get the young redhead anywhere, and remain with the assumption that the other was merely trying to remain a gentleman.
Shae took the extended hand, although he did not need it, and slipped neatly down from atop his steed, his doubled capes raising in a flury of motion. He glanced up at the other, noting the shivers running along the other's southern skin. Shae, somewhat worried, quickly unfastoned the cloak and handed it back to the other with a small mock-curtsy (just to be "cute") and a smile. "Forgive me for making you ride in the cold for so long," he murmured as he raised his eyes to meet the other's.
Shae nodded slowly at the other's words and glanced at the supposed blind fold. How... quant. It was all rather like a child's game. He inclined his head slowly to show that he understood and had no qualms about wearing the peice of cloth.
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Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2007 7:50 pm
“I’m sure you could find many ways to keep me warm,” Leif responded with a bit of mischief and a wink as he took back as his cloak. He wanted to show that he was not ignorant in terms of the carnal side of romance, but he stated it innocently enough that it was clear he did not intend for Shae to take it too much to heart. But he did have the Chver princess all to himself, Leif realized, and in a place like this, he could do whatever he pleased. The repercussions for such, however, were something he thought about though - since everyone in Chver had probably heard of his coming there by now. “Your presence is enough for now though.” He mused this as he secured the blindfold upon the boy, then turned him towards the cliff, taking his hand in his own. “Alright then, this way, this way.”
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Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2007 7:55 pm
'For now,' huh... Shae thought slowly, a small grin playing across his lips as the fabric was secured around his head. It was quite effective, as well - not one of the cheap scarves that one could see right through... but thick. It completely blocked the young prince's vision. As the other took his hand in his own larger one, they bumped together slightly. Shae was graceful, yes, but there was a limmit to that grace when he was blind-folded. He reached out with his other hand, grasping for Maple. He soon found her and wound a hand loosely in her mane so he could lead her along, although she needed no such prompting.
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Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2007 8:09 pm
Leif was a fool in many ways, brash and violent at times, single minded and ruthless, not to mention that he was a bit bumbling when it came to diplomacy and flowery words. However, he did have his good points, as he had strove to advertise to his potential wife during the course of nearly twenty hours. He led Shae and Maple towards the cliff very slowly, and even paused occasionally to kick rocks and sticks out of the way. A few times, he thought that it would have been better to carry Shae, but he knew that would probably not sit well - and he wanted everything to be perfect now.
At last, they reached the edge of the cliff, and it seemed that they were right on time. Well, almost. The sea below them was still inky black, and it took several minutes for the sun to begin to peek its head above the horizon. For those several minutes, he was silent, one hand upon Shae’s wrist as the other held the blindfold upon him, keeping it there until he finally began to pull it off. "Alright, you can open your eyes now." was the first thing he said after a seemingly endless silence.
The sunrise was finally beginning, and as it rose, it revealed a sea full of shards of ice, the remnants of a long hard winter finally becoming spring, and the light reflected off of each one, making it sparkle in sheer brilliance. Leif had always thought it looked like diamonds, but he kept this to himself, as the reactions to his attempts at metaphors and such hadn’t been so pleasurable. He hoped that the princess would appreciate this one gift, even if it was something that a pauper might give his peasant bride, instead of real jewels exchanged amongst royalty.
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Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2007 8:17 pm
Shae did his best not to trip - to... show that natural grace that everyone praised him for. But it was very, very hard. However... he could tell that the other was... trying to help. Shae could hear the other kicking aside stones and roots and the like in the small pauses that riddled his blind walk with the prince of Solveig. It was... well, it was undeniably... sweet. There was no other real word for it, except perhaps "polite," but that didn't quite sit as well in his mind.
He waited during those tantilizing minutes of stillness, itching to simply rip the cloth off himself. However, he did no such thing but rather waited placidly for the other to do so, as was fitting.
As the blindfold was released, Shae gasped. The sight was... lovely, to say the least. His green eyes reflected that endless, shining light which was so... so... beautiful. After several moments of silent reverie, Shae whispered, eyes still fixed on the scene before himself, "It's... beautiful.... thank you..."
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Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2007 8:34 pm
It -was- a beautiful sight, as the dank blackness of it all became a white speckled glittering blue, Leif thought so too. In the distance, he could see the ships of raiders being pushed off the beaches of the bay, and he knew that soon, many seaside villages would not be safe - but even the dangers of the ice melting could not compare to its beauty. More than beauty though, it meant something else. The mood was set perfectly now, and he could no longer stand it. A pair of lovers at the edge of the ocean at sunrise, it was cut out of the most romantic of ballads, and he knew what he must do. He was a man, after all, and although some people didn’t think so at times, he thought that he knew what he was doing.
In one fell swoop he used his sheer strength to twirl Shae around, throw him back far as he moved in, his lips pressing against the sweet lips of his lover. It was a kiss that went beyond the politeness and restraint of the kisses before it, it was a deep kiss, a kiss of passion and honesty that let there be no question regarding his emotions, which were bold and absolute - even if there were many who would insist that too little time had passed for it to be “love”. His need, his wanting, his pure desire were evident and demanding, as if he wanted to consume Shae in his entirety. The real question was whether or not this sensation transcended gender and sexuality, but Leif was not aware that this was even an issue.
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Posted: Tue Feb 20, 2007 5:06 pm
Shae had been about to remark furthur, his bright green eyes still fixed on the gleaming sunrise, when he was suddenly pulled into a kiss that was most unlike the ones before it. The redhead's cheeks were brightly flushed in hues that could match his fiery hair for intensity and his heart was beating quite wildly. To tell the truth, he wasn't so sure why, exactly, but this kiss felt so... different -- different from other kisses and other people. Except that it did.
The young prince's hands slid up to ghost along the sides of his neck, pale finger rising into the other's golden hair.
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Posted: Tue Feb 20, 2007 5:43 pm
Leif was a warrior, and as such, he was a man of strategy. He approached all things in a methodical manner, whether it was conquering a nation or haggling the price of a sword. He saw his search for a wife in the same manner, and originally intended to simply negotiate with a king for his daughter or some other straightforward and unromantic way. That was, until he met Shae. His plans altered, and he genuinely wanted to be liked and adored, but the goal was the same.
“Marry me,” he whispered, his gruff voice velveteen as he let his wish be known. He didn’t feel the need for the concept of time or even getting to know Shae better. They had the rest of their lives to do that.
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Posted: Tue Feb 20, 2007 5:54 pm
Marry...?
At first, the meaning of the other's words didn't quite filter into Shae's mind. But then... marry?! He, but-- he couldn't. Well... technically, he could if they were to be married in Chver. However, he was not so sure of the laws in the other's land and was not at all convinced that they would be accepting of such a marriage. To say the least, Shae was troubled - and yet all that registered on his features was shock.
And then he made up his mind. "If that is what you truly want... then I shall," he murmured slowly, a small and slightly coy smile on his lips as he leaned up to leave a soft kiss on the spot directly between the other prince's eyes (it was the highest he could reach, anyway, whether or not he had originally intended to place his lips there or not). It wasn't a striaght answer, but he would hold to it. If, by the end of the week, the other still wished to make Shae his "bride," then the prince, true to his word, would marry him. But, somehow, he doubted the insipient marriage would be kept when the secret of his masculinity got out.
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Posted: Tue Feb 20, 2007 6:29 pm
Leif blinked. Of course, it was his goal, but he didn’t expect it to be reached so quickly. He was better than he thought. His elation was written in his very expression, and he lifted Shae to be upright once more, before planting another kiss upon his lips. “Excellent, excellent, excellent,” he repeated, his next course of action already circulating in his mind as he looked away from his lover and out towards the ocean once again to watch it in peaceful silence, together with his future bride in his arms. He was a man of few words, but many ideas, and with firm resolution he decided upon another destination for them to visit. “We should go be blessed before we return to Chver to inform your family.” That was partly because he wanted to make sure the deal was sealed before running into those brothers. He was a strong man, but he didnt want to make enemies of Shae’s family.
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Posted: Tue Feb 20, 2007 6:49 pm
So it had come down to blessings, had it? Well, well... Leif truly was serious. This wasn't some elaborate joke to be played on the middle prince of Chver, after all - though Shae had discarded that idea long ago. "In... your country... do you receive blessings from priests before those from parents, then?" Shae asked, genuinely curious. In Chver, marriage must be quite different from those of other lands... For one thing, it was most often women who asked men (unless it was a pairing not between the opposite sexes), after which the parent's and family's blessings came immidiately after, if not before.
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Posted: Tue Feb 20, 2007 7:05 pm
An unexpected question that served two purposes, one of which was to remind Leif that Shae knew little of the world outside of Chver, and the other was to remind him of his duties and family. “Not usually,” he responded truthfully, “But our union is a special case.” His brow furrowed as he tried to find the right way to word it. “I told you before of my father and his mistress... seer.” He thought of her as being more of the former than the latter, but that wasn’t something that one discussed openly, no matter what their opinion.
“If I don’t get another person versed in the mystical arts to agree that our marriage is fated and will bring good fortune, she’s likely to deny it and send me out again looking for someone else.” He left out the minute details, such as that Shae would probably be burned alive in some sort of cleansing ritual, or worse - if there was worse. “I’d rather choose my own life mate.”
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Posted: Tue Feb 20, 2007 7:11 pm
Shae grinned, then, a small giggle pealing like a bell's chime from his lips. "Ah... I can see how that might be, although my family has never put much trust into mystics and the like..." It seemed as if it would be quite bothersome to have such a woman around and in any sort of power over the prince. "It must be rather terrible," he added, after a moment's thoughtful pause, his pink lips persed together slightly.
((Bleh... short. Sorry. D: ))
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Posted: Tue Feb 20, 2007 7:33 pm
((No worries! smile ))
“Ah, it’s not so terrible.” The prince was very diplomatic regarding it, and he even smiled as he brushed back his hair with his fingers. “She is responsible for many of Solveig’s victories.” Of course, the real reason for their victories was his indiscretion on the battlefield and inability to give up on anything, but it was true that she often chose when and where their country would attack. “You’re lucky that your family doesn’t rely on scryers and the like. But after a while you begin to believe in what you’re being told.”
He paused for a moment to breathe in the salty air, then sighed. "Well then, what shall we have for breakfast? We wouldn't have had this problem if we went to the village with the candy." Truth be told, he really wanted an excuse to have more candy from there, which was the original reason he suggested it. Everything seemed to work out okay though.
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