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Vale of the White Horse
Topic Started: 5 Jan 2010, 13:03 (19,387 Views)
Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
He went to check on Gwenllian's mare next morning, before breakfast. The swelling had not increased much, but it wasn't gone either. 'Now, that won't do,' he told her. 'I'm afraid you'll have to stay here. Get a little rest. Eat some food. Hang out with other horses. I am deeply sorry.'
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
Her little bronze mirror told her that she looked as she felt: terrible. Gwenllian pushed her face in the basin of water. It helped a bit - now she simply looked as though she hadn't slept well. It would just have to do. She brushed her fingers through her hair and took a few deep breaths to calm herself. Then she straightened herself and went outside. She knocked on Rhywallon's door, but when there came no answer, she walked into the taproom to have breakfast.
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
'You're here,' he said, looking up. 'I'm sorry, your horse can't go with us. I sold it and bought a new one. Slightly smaller, more like a pony. Sturdy enough to carry us through. You may like it.'
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
She nodded. It was a shame to lose the horse, but there wasn;t much she could do about it. 'All right. I'm sure I will like it.' She drank some water, but left the food untouched. 'I'm ready to leave when you are,' she said then.
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
'That'd be about now.' He stood op. She looked as if she had slept very little. That was a problem; he had hoped to cross Briarwood Forest today, or at least for a large part. 'Let me introduce you to your new pony, then.'
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
The pony was indeed a sturdy-looking creature, but it had a certain cuteness too. Gwenllian stroked its nose and gave it a wan little smile. 'We'll get along just fine,' she said as it nuzzled her hand. She strapped her saddlebags on and mounted.
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
'Good, because we have a long day ahead of his.' He mounted his own brown mare, checked his weapons and the belts of the bags, and pressed his legs to the horse.
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
It was a long day indeed. Despite her bad night, Gwenllian held herself as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. She was perhaps a little less chatty than usual, but Rhywallon didn't seem to think anything strange of it. The pony, at least, was a calm creature, and she was grateful for it. They crossed a rather looming forest, and at almost every twig that snapped or bush that rustled, she gave a barely noticable start - and scolded herself for it.
That night they made camp at the offset of a large, rocky hill. Gwenllian ate a bit, but more because she didn't want to worry Rhywallon than out of any true appetite. Then she wrapped herself in her blanket and sat with her back against a tree, staring at their grazing animals.
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
He was tired. The arm was hurting him. When they stopped he was glad for a chance to lean back, close his eyes a bit. It was his duty to stay awake a lot more than Gwenllian, to guard her. 'Have you thought of a name yet?'
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
'..A name for what?' she wondered aloud, confused. Had she missed something, sunken in thought as she'd been today?
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
'Your pony. Though at this rate, chances are you'll have another horse before three days are over.' He lolled his head sideways against the trunk to look at her.
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
'Oh, right. No, I haven't. I'll think of one tomorrow. Maybe I'll have thought of one before the next horse arrives.' She giggled a little, but it didn't sound half as naturally as she would've liked. 'How's your arm?' she quickly continued. 'Shall I change the bandage for you?'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
He breathed out through his noise. 'I suppose it does hurt. I'm used to it. And I changed the bandage just this morning. The wound's clean and dry. It's just a pain.' He grinned briefly. 'Literally.'
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
'Oh.' It would've been nice to have something to do. Gwenllian moistened her lips. She didn't want to go to sleep, but didn't know how to pull it off without making him suspicious. Her best bet was pretending to be asleep, she thought. 'I think I'm going to sleep now,' she muttered half-heartedly. 'Good night.'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
He nodded his goodnight, drawing a blanket over his shoulders. It was quiet out here; the kind of silence that fills a forest where no other humans are, yet the whole place was full of life and little sounds. He knew Briarwood Forest quite well. There were risks of course, as any forest and woodland held: wolves, bears, swines, bands of roaming thugs. But it was also a forest of birches and elm trees and oaks that grew to reach the sky like gigantic pillars of old roots and stem and boughs. It was, Rhywallon though, an easy place to rest in.
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
Gwenllian lay very still, afraid that if she tossed and turned to much, he might realize she wasn't really sleeping. And then there was the fear that if she made too much noise, a group of armed, mounted men might come crashing out of the bushes to take her away. What if she'd be home in a couple of days? It was a terrifying thought and it made her cold to the bone. It was enough to keep her out of her sleep, anyway. But the darkness was heavy and the small sounds of forestlife filled her ears and slowly made her drift off in unwanted sleep.
She dreamt again, but instead of being chased by her husband's men, she faced Higueid himself in his worst mood; on the day she'd decided to run away. She awoke with a scream and sat bolt upright, blinking into the darkness and trembling like a leaf.
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
He gave a start and with one flicker in the moonlight through the trees, he had his small blade out, pressed at her throat. A heartbeat later, Rhywallon realized what he was doing and who had screamed, and he let out a hiss. 'Gods save us!' His arm well away. 'I'm sorry. I must have fallen asleep; the sound...is something wrong? Did you see somerhing?'
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
If there was anything that could've scared her more than her nightmare, it was Rhywallon with his knife against her throat. She hardly dared to move, not even when the blade was gone. Her breathing was shallow and irregular and tears were rolling down her cheeks. 'N-no,' she gasped, 'it's - nightmare..sorry.'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
Well, fuck. He pushed the blade back into the sheath with a hard gesture. 'I'm sorry.' His voice did not sound very friendly. He tried again. 'I scared you. But you're not hurt.'
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
She swallowed once - and again, but it didn't noticably improve anything. Gwenllian tried to assure him that she'd be fine as soon as she caught her breath again, but right now she needed all of it not to faint. She was so afraid that if she lost consciousness now, she might wake up in her own bed with Higueid looming over her, his terrible, smug face split into a wicked grin. Her fingers grabbed the blanket as if it was a safety line and she weakly shook her head in an attempt to at least convey something to Rhywallon.
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
He waited for her reply. It didn't come. She was looking right past him, staring as if the sidhe had brought her right into their other world. This wasn't just about the blade against her throat...The girl had shown more backbone than that. What was it she'd said? Bad dream? He approached her, staying low on his knees. 'Gwenllian.'
He might as well have spoken to a standing stone. Carefully he put his hands on hers, easing her fingers away from the blanket. 'Talk.'
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
Before she knew what she was doing, she leaned forwards and buried her face in his clothes, crying and shaking uncontrollably. 'It was - Higueid,' she gasped, 'my husband..' Gwenllian startled at a sound that may or may not have been in just her imagination.
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
He almost recoiled when she pressed herself to him. It was the least he’d expected from a girl in any position. A bird, as startled as he was, left the undergrowth in a rustle of wings and falling leaves. She shrank like a baby rabbit. This night was going to be long. ‘There’s nobody here,’ he said, trying to sound reassuring, comforting. ‘Nobody but us. Shh.’ That husband of hers, Rhywallon thought as he laid one careful arm around her shoulder to steady her trembling, he must have been a brute.‘I have suffered more nightmares than you can possibly imagine, Gwenllian. I know they hurt.’ Gods yes; that at least he could convey to her in all honesty. ‘But if there’s one true thing, it’s this: the past is not the present. It will never be the present again. You have shadows…So have I. They can haunt you and chase you, but there’s one thing they’ll forever fail to achieve…’ he shifted his weight. ‘That’s catch up with you.’
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
Rhywallon was talking, and though she didn't register all of the words it was a comfort to hear a familiar voice and feel a supportive arm around her. Vaguely, she realized that her current position was highly inappropriate and that she should probably pull away, but she didn't have the strength. She was light in her head and her whole body felt as though someone was giving her thousands of tiny pin-pricks all at the same time. Higueid's face was still looming, somewhere behind Rhywallon's shoulders, but it was slowly disappearing. Yet she couldn't stop crying. 'The..the woman, she said - men have been asking for me,' she could finally force herself to explain.
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
It was easier now to rock her gently back and forth, like a baby in a cradle, or a scared little child. He had often comforted his sisters this way. 'The woman?' he murmured softly. 'In your dream?'
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
'Back in the settlement,' she whispered. 'She asked...I said she was wrong.' Gwenllian squeezed her eyes shut. 'And then I dreamt about them - and just now it was h-him, and he wouldn't stop hitting me and I kept begging but he just - he just...'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
He closed his eyes. 'Why didn't you tell me that?' He wanted to scold her for that, grab her shoulders and rock her harder, far less gentle. Instead he just ceased in his movements, looking down on her. 'Gwenllian. No one is here. We are completely...alone.'
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
She bit on her lip until she drew blood. 'I thought - it was silly,' she tried to defend herself, but at that moment she realized she really should have told him. But even though Rhywallon could deal with earhtly dangers, he couldn't do anything against the nightmares. She looked up at him. The shadows partly hid his face. Gwenllian attempted to smile, but her lips just trembled. 'I'm sorry...'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
'Sorry will not help you,' he said shorty, 'not to feel better. Becoming braver will. It's something you will learn over time. Until then, Gwenllian, you have hired me as your bodyguard. I can't..fight shadows.' He released her, holding her back to look her in her tear-streaked face. 'I fought a gang of robbers single handedly. You hardly helped with that silly stick of yours. Trust me to take on your husband or his men when they show their ugly faces.'
She looked so lost, he thought. Like a deer, seperated from his mother. She looked so fragile, so much like she could snap any moment, so much like Olwen...His hand made to move up, to stroke her cheek. It faltered in mid-air. This was not his sister. 'Now, go back to sleep.'
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
She tried to control her shaking. Be brave... Easier said than done. She'd been putting a brave face on things ever since she ran away, but it was getting harder by the day. Yes, he'd taken on a gang of robbers on his own (and how stupid she felt for not using that dagger!), he would be able to take on Higueid. Right? Gwenllian flinched a little when his hand moved, but then he stopped and she wondered if he'd finished that gesture if she hadn't... A silly thing to wonder, surely. His face was unreadable. 'I think I'd rather stay awake,' she whispered.
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