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Post by Marina Tertius on Jun 20, 2011 15:43:42 GMT -5
Marina leaned forward, gently patting the neck of her dapple grey stud, Alcarius. She has been out with the other trainee’s since dawn, supervising them as they practiced archery, and much more. With a soft sigh, Marie tilted her head upwards, scanning the sky, watching as small snow flakes began to fall downwards. The temperature was below freezing, and instead of raining, it had started to snow. She had never been one for colder weather; it was always the warm weather that would do her in. It had started to grow colder, earlier than usual; that usually meant a terrible winter was ahead. ”Alright, you’ve done well, and I think you deserve a nice, hot drink.” Marina said, glancing over the shivering, pink cheeked, red tipped nosed trainees.
She watched they all turned on their heels, and trudged away through the mud. Even though the ground was frozen, that didn’t mean the top layer was; it was all mud for them. Marina tugged on the reins, causing the steed beneath her to turn, and trot towards the stables. About five minutes later, Marina pulled the horse to stop, sliding off. She would have to un-tack him, and then she could go to her living quarters in the castle. Reaching up, Marie gave the horse a loving pat, and then started to un-tack him. After she had made her sure all of the buckles has been un-buckled, Marina slid the saddle of his back, placing it on a hay bale in front of the stall. Turning around, she reached up, and slid the bridle and reins off, placing them onto the hay bale. Marina led the horse into his stall, grabbed a flake of hay, and placed it in the feed bin, then made sure he had sufficient amounts of water.
Once she had made sure the horse would be ok, and that everything was in order, she closed the stall door, and headed towards her living quarters. As far as she knew, she would be free for the rest of the day. After the trainees warmed up, some of the other knights were taking them out to ride the borders. It wasn’t an order; it was more of a security measure. The Saxons were starting to attack the borders more & more. Marina grasped the wooden door knob, entering her living quarters, while closing the wooden door behind her. Reaching down, she placed her sword & knives on a stone table, and pushed past the piece of fabric that covered the door frame, that led to her sleeping quarters. After she had cleaned up considerably, and changed clothes, she emerged from her sleeping quarters. Marie wore some slacks and a button up shirt, with her dark, wavy locks cascading down her back. She wasn’t in the mood for dressing up, and anyways, she wasn’t too sure if she would be going back out to the training field or not.
Grabbing her knives, she slid them into her sheath, before covering it up with her shirt. Marina closed the door to her living quarters, brushing her hair back behind her shoulders, before looking around the hallway. The only people that were there were a few guards, but other than that it was quite empty. Marina walked down the hallway, watching as Shielly, one of the servant girls walked up to her, ”Do you need anything, m’lady?” Marina stopped for moment, ”Could you bring me a warm ale? I’ll be on the balcony” Marina said nodding in the direction of the balcony. A few minutes later, the young lady found herself leaning against the balcony, an goblet in her hand as she peered at the city below.
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Post by Alowyn of Wessex on Jun 20, 2011 23:12:14 GMT -5
 
To say Alowyn had been in a peculiar mood of late was apt, but didn’t quite capture the severity of her mood. The stress of her situation was beginning to get to her, and with every new Saxon raid, Alowyn became more withdrawn, more quiet. With the most recent, she had dropped out of sight completely. She had always been free to roam about as she pleased, but it was rare that no one laid eyes on her for days at a time.
She had been holed up for five days now, and all she had to show for it was a mound of crumpled paper on the floor and the small desk. She sighed, leaning back in her seat. There were so many things going on in her head, the biggest of which was the vengeance she was going to reap on Cenric’s body for each and every life he cost her people. That, coupled with the exhaustion her insomnia brought her and her restlessness over lack of a real plan, made Alowyn retreat into herself. The sad thing was, even now she had very little to show for herself, other than wasted paper. It was time for a walk to clear her head.
She rose to her feet, grabbing her cloak and throwing it over the simple green dress she had chosen earlier that morning. Her hair was in a simple braid that fell over one shoulder, and as she headed towards the door, one hand absently ran over the end of it. Her mother had always played with her hair when she was younger, and not for the first time, Alowyn felt the heavy burden on her shoulders. Her father would never have stood for Cenric’s treatment of his people, and Alowyn couldn’t very well stand for it, either. But what could she do, really? She was just a woman, alone and scared and angry, far from home.
Stop it, She told herself sharply. Feeling sorry for yourself won’t get anything done.
She shook her head sharply, clearing it. She needed to stop thinking about the impending war between herself and her cousin, and instead needed to think of something more… lighthearted. The problems she had with the war would still be there when she returned from her walk, and even if it was her job to liberate her people, she deserved a few minutes to herself. Besides, it wasn’t as if she had a lack of subjects to think on, anyway. There was the first real snow of the winter season (something that she loved,) her desire to go hunting, and of course the other main thought pattern darting around her brain lately: her late night sword lessons with Galahad. With her disappearing act lately, she hadn’t seen him lately, and she was a bit alarmed by just how much she missed their meetings.
Maybe I’ll find him while I’m out…
She stepped out into the light, blinking at the bright sun. She thought she heard a movement, and shielding her eyes, she turned to see Marina above her. “Oh. Good afternoon.” She smiled, aware that it was the first time in days that she had done so. She rather liked the female knight, if she was being honest with herself. She reminded Alowyn a lot of herself. “Are you too busy to take a walk with me?”
 count : 562 tags : Marina noted : Listening to: Begin Again- Measure credited : KBIRD of caution 2.0 [/color][/font][/size][/center] |
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Post by Marina Tertius on Jun 22, 2011 14:49:42 GMT -5
Lifting a hand, Marina brushed her dark brown, wavy hair back. It was extremely rare to find Lady Marina with her hair down, but today was different. She didn’t feel like pulling it back, not to mention the fact that it shielded her neck and shoulders from the cold. Every since the first snow fall, the temperature had continued to drop. But Marina was used to it by now – she wasn’t even wearing a cloak. She had been out and about in the bitter cold all day, and after a while – you grew used to it. Leaning forward, Marina peered down at the city below, looking at white ground. The snow wasn’t deep, not yet – but it would be soon. Now, the ground was frozen below, but the top layer was more of slush made of snow and mud. A soft voice caught her attention, causing Marina to lean back, turning her head.
She watched as Shielly walked up to her, before handing her the goblet full of ale. ”Thanks.” Marina said, nodding her head, before turning her attention back to the city below. Lifting the goblet to her mouth, Marina took a sip, shivering in delight as the warmed liquid slid down her throat. In all honesty, it was quite nice to be able to sit back, or in her case, stand back and just relax for a few minutes. Setting the goblet aside, Marina watched as a few trainees trudged in from the field, heading to the inn. It was only three o’clock, with plenty of daylight hours left – but if she her memory served her right, they had been training since dawn with one of the senior officers. A few minutes passed by while Marina stood there, enjoying the peaceful moment, soaked up in thoughts of her own.
As far as she was concerned, she had the rest of the afternoon, free for herself. Maybe she could go track down Lancelot, and challenge him to a game of dice? Or perhaps she could wander down to Princess Helena’s quarters and hang out down there? If not, she’d end up back on the training field because of boredom. Reaching forward, Marina grasped the goblet, lifting it up to her mouth to take yet another sip. A short while later, her peaceful thoughts were soon scattered as an familiar voice caught her attention. Glancing down, below the balcony, Marina pulled both ends of her mouth up into a smile. It was Alowyn. ”Good afternoon, Aly.” Marina said, taking yet another sip before continuing onwards, ”And not at all – one moment.” Pushing off the stone wall, Marina turned on her heel, before arriving at Alowyn’s side in just a few seconds.
It had been a few days since she had saw the young lady. Marina had meant to ask Arthur about her disappearance, thinking that maybe he had sent her on an errand or something. But every time she was around Arthur, she forgot or something more important came up. ”Where have you been, lately?” Marina asked, tilting her head to the side curiously. Alowyn and Marina were a lot alike – both of their fathers had died, and they weren’t typical women. They fought, and trained like the men.
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Post by Alowyn of Wessex on Jun 24, 2011 20:34:48 GMT -5
Alowyn made the slightest of faces at the nickname, but otherwise made no comment about it. She watched as Marina disappeared from above and glanced over her shoulder as she waited. It took only a moment for the female knight to join her, and Alowyn rewarded her with a smile. “I was afraid you’d refuse- then I’d have no choice but to spend even more time with my own company. I’m afraid the laudations are hardly correct.” She joked, rolling her shoulders absently. She felt as if she had been locked in her rooms for years, not mere days. She wasn’t one for spending a lot of time indoors, and it had definitely taken a toll on her.
”Where have you been, lately?”
She should have known better than to think she wouldn’t be asked that question- she was too much of an oddity at Hadrian to have her absence go unnoticed. “I’ve been indisposed.” She said after a moment’s hesitation. She didn’t meet Marina’s gaze for a moment, then sighed. Marina was her friend, and someone that Alowyn trusted. She could be honest with Marina… even if she didn’t particularly like the honest answer.
“I’ve been hiding out, in all actuality.” She answered truthfully, scrunching her nose once again. It wasn’t often that Alowyn showed fear or weakness, it simply wasn’t part of culture. She was used to being strong- at least outwardly- all the time, but she had learned quickly upon fleeing south that that merely confirmed the fears people had of Saxons- heartless, cold, unrelatable. Alowyn was slowly ingratiating herself, or at least trying- and that meant showing more of herself than she was usually comfortable with. “This war is starting to wear on me, and it hasn’t even started.”
She raised her chin slightly, setting her jaw with defiance. She was a queen in her own right, she had to keep reminding herself. There was a long road ahead of her, one that she would need to face with grace and dignity- allowing herself to dwell too long on dark subjects would achieve nothing for her. “What about you?” She asked, hoping a change of subjects would lighten her spirits. “What have you been up to?”
count : 370 tags : Marina noted : Listening to: Raise Your Glass- Glee credited : KBIRD of caution 2.0 [/color][/font][/size][/center] |
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