The seven Duchies of Central Rynmere and their respective baronies, cities, towns, villages, and landmarks each overseen by a Duke of one of the seven noble families and ultimately controlled by the King of Rynmere.
The light had just barely begun to touch his face, causing the lord to roll over and pull the blankets over his head. It was only then that he felt the strange weight upon his torso that he began to rouse himself from his dreams. It had been a strange dream, where he had been dragged all the way from the soot of his work to the forests of Krom. He had been obligated to accompany his parents where they randomly sprung it upon him that he was to be betrothed to young Titania Velaine Krome. The evening had flowed smoothly enough. It had not ended like most dreams, where he was romping with a lady or a maid in his bed. He had been a perfect gentleman strangely enough. Nathaniel had seen Velaine to her room to ensure after having one too many before retiring. For being a dream, it was quite specific.
The weight on his shoulders drew him further away from his slumber. Why was it so hot and heavy? Nathaniel sat up to find himself in a strange room with heavy furs upon his bed to keep out the chill. "Guess it wasn't a dream..."
Several breaks later, Nathaniel was dressed and ready for the day. Unlike the previous evening, he was dressed in his foreman's clothes. He was fully intent to remove himself from this room before his mother could come and whisk him away by the ears to play politics with the other adults. Nathaniel had caught one of the lovely Krome servants in the hallway while he was preparing for the day. She had graciously brought him a basic breakfast. Toasted bread with a fried egg. It was a hearty meal for a small person but would not last him long this day. He did not complain, thanked her, and devoured the meal without a second thought. Had he asked for a more extravagant meal, he would have been waylaid with eating it all.
Then his mother would have had him.
Before he snuck into the hall he grabbed his prized possession: a birch spear that had been given to him by his father. It was his weapon of choice and he had often played with spears in his youth. He considered seeking permission from Velaine and her parents before he set off but considered it too early to bother them. The hunt he planned for in the forest would be something covert and potentially illegal, but he wanted to get some time away from the system.
He slipped through the hallways as quietly as he could to end up outside in the cold of Vhalar. Once in the open, he sprinted as quickly as he could into the forest beyond. Only then would he be free of his mother's clutches.
Last edited by Nathaniel Endor on Mon Dec 11, 2017 2:54 am, edited 1 time in total. word count: 475
Her prediction was right. Velaine Krome climbed out of her bed with a pounding headache – all because of two measly glass of wine. Maybe she should stop drinking alcohol entirely. While the taste and the warmth it gave her was pleasant, it was certainly not worth what she had to suffer the next day. And the embarrassment. The young woman recalled the fact that she had to be escorted to her room by her newly betrothed.
There was no doubt that today her parents and the Endors would drag her through lunch or tea of some kind to talk even further about their betrothal and Velaine had no intention of going through it with a throbbing head. Perhaps some fresh air would help. Exposing herself to the elements always had a soothing effect on her.
With only her silk sleeping gown and a fur-lined cloak, the female Krome slipped out of her room. A servant immediately approached her and she simply say that she was going out for a walk to clear her head if anyone asked. The young woman simply nodded, aware of her lady’s habit of strolling around by herself.
As she walked down the stairs, Velaine noticed a figure rushing through the hallway. Certainly wasn’t one of the servants by the way he was carrying himself and the spear in his hand. It took a heartbeat later, she realized it was Nathaniel Endor. What was he doing sneaking out so early in the morning? Velaine kept quiet, however, not wanting to alert him of her presence.
She slipped out the door in time to see the man dashing into the woods. With only his spear in hand, Velaine would guess that he was out hunting. It was a rather odd thing to do, in her opinion, to go hunting in a place he probably didn’t know anything about. Perhaps it was his way of releasing the tension since last night? Velaine certainly felt a hint of anxiety creeping at the edge of her mind every time she thought of their betrothal.
The female Krome wasted no time to decide to follow him, walking directly toward the line of trees. She was already planning for a walk anyway. Might as well satisfy some of her itching curiosity. It would help her assemble the puzzle that was Nathaniel Endor.
The young woman took of her boots at the edge of the woods, hiding it beneath some foliage. Back when she was still a child pampered by her parents, Velaine would balk at the idea of going into the woods all by herself. As she grew older, the young woman found a sort of solace in the isolation it offered.
Now, her Defiance had amplified her fondness of nature. She felt much better with the soles of her feet resting on the ground, in comparison to using shoes. Perhaps that made her as primitive as people imagined the people of Krome to be. To be honest, Velaine found it to be a good thing. Her family should be true to who they are, instead of simply following the trends of the city.
Peering pass the trees, Velaine wondered what direction Nathaniel had went to – she had only gotten a small glimpse of him. Despite the fact that she knew these woods like the back of her hand, she was no tracker. As far as she could tell, the Endor had been quite a head of her, seemingly in a hurry to do his task.
As she looked down on her bare feet, Velaine found herself coming up with a small idea. Elrik told her that one of the most basic of their magic was the calling. Simply put, her connection with the elements will allow her to ‘see’ what they were seeing. Like sensing a growing forest fire or noting when something moved across the earth. The young woman doubted she was skilled enough to pinpoint someone’s exact location, but it seemed like a good chance to learn it.
The mage called on the magic that immediately flared inside her, having had slumbered for some time. It was probably the first time she truly used her Defiance ever since she got to Rynmere. Sure enough, the elements instantly became more vivid to her. The winds seemed to strengthen, brushing across the skin. The earth beneath her feet seemed to hum, ready to assist her. So, she closed her eyes, reaching out for the soil beneath her. Velaine wasn’t quite sure what to look for… perhaps some disruptions across the surface? The weight of footsteps pressing down on them?
Slowly, the earth seemed to understand what she wanted. It could be her imagination or it could also be her sense, but the young woman felt something moving around the north-east. Not too far. It was as likely to be some wild animal, but she figured there was no fault in following it.
At best, the young woman might actually find her betrothed between the trees. At worst, she landed herself a small, relaxing trip through the woods.
Half the reason that he elected to go out this morning was for some peace and quiet. He wanted to sit down and evaluate his situation given that the previous evening's discussions were not a dream. As far as he knew, he was now betrothed to a younger noble that was destined to be a Duchess once here parent's passed. That could be many arcs down the road; it could be tomorrow. If she were to become a Duchess and he were her betrothed, that would mean he would become a Duke. It was certainly not something he had considered before. He had never been in line for a seat of power aside from potentially a Barony. Even then, his parents lived at Berengar, the seat of Endor. He had no Barony to claim from his parents.
Suddenly, he was in line to be a Duchess' husband and inherit a seat he knew nothing about.
He stopped in the middle of forest to run a hand up his face and through his hair. He had never imagined being in this position. Nathaniel preferred his station in Endor. The lord had never wanted a seat of power; he wanted soot and rock crunching beneath his feet. That dream would go up in smoke. He would be taken away from his precious mines to sit on a seat in the snow covered forest. Irritated, he kicked the powdery fluff beneath him. At the same time, a breeze scuttled by, pushing the disturbed snow into his face.
Figures...
With the fluffy flakes melting into his shirt, he realized he was very much in a wilderness he did not understand. Aside from the politics of betrothal, this forest was very different in comparison to Endor. He needed to pay attention or he would suffer the consequences. Breathing deep, he left the thoughts of Velaine, the pecking order of her family, and his own mother behind. The snow was scant, but occasionally his footprint left a deep enough mark to track. He thought it might be useful later when he needed to get back to Fort Krom. Ahead of him was undisturbed terrain. Birds tittered above him, conscious of his presence. He paused to investigate a bush that had broken branches.
Something big had come this way. Tilting his path along the angle of the broken branches, he continued forward into the wilderness.
After a while, the young woman had begun to think that she was wasting her time. Every time she closed her eyes, Velaine swore she could sense the weight of something moving across the earth not too far from her. It wasn’t specific, by any means, but somewhat enough to convince her that she was not doing anything silly. Out all of the elements, earth was the one she rarely practiced with – probably explained her doubt as she tried to reach for it.
Perhaps it was luck, perhaps it was the ether leading, whatever it was the Krome suddenly noticed a series of footprints, leading deeper into forests. It seemed… fresh? Not that she really knew what a fresh track was supposed to look like. Judging from its sizes and the fact that it was nearby, Velaine believed it should be the Endor’s.
As she looked around, the Krome realized the light smattering of snow atop of the foliages and a bit on the grounf. While the wind didn’t affect her as much as it did most people, the young woman couldn’t help but notice that the cold was closing in on her body. She clutched her cloak tighter around her.
If she didn’t find him in a few bits, she should probably return home.
Only a moment later, Velaine caught a flash of movement in the corner of her eyes. Sure enough, it was a figure of man. Despite the excitement that came with the thought that her spark might have actually contributed in tracking him down, the young woman approached him slowly. She kept her eyes on the ground, making sure that she didn’t step on anything she would regret – even if Defiance had made the earth far kinder to her feet.
Velaine hadn’t even decided if she wanted to alert him of her presence.
Still, as the female Krome moved, the bushes rustled loudly as her cloak brushed against it.
Nathaniel had lowered his weight as he stalked through the forest both to diminish his sound and to prepare himself for battle. A lower center of gravity made it easier for him to maneuver as well as made it harder for him to be seen. Smaller targets were harder to hit. The bush that he had passed several paces before was followed by a tuft of fur upon a tree trunk. It appeared that whatever he was tracking had stopped to scratch an itch. He paused to touch the hairs, feeling its coarseness. Surprisingly it was softer than he anticipated. Maybe he was stalking a prey animal instead of a predator beast.
There was noise behind him that caused him to pause. His heart rate picked up and his breath hitched. How could he have been so stupid to allow someone or something to stalk him? Nathaniel waited and waited until he heard it again. A skilled hunter might have been less rash about his movement. A skilled hunter would have known the distance and perceived that an animal would have already attacked. Nathaniel whirled around, his spear held mid-shaft. It was meant for short distance dealings and would prevent the weapon from breaking if a heavy weight was to collide with it. He would have denied it, but he let out as vicious of a yell as he could have.
That was, until he was struck silent when he found his iron spearhead pointed directly at Velaine's heart.
Nathaniel did not move. He did not lower the spear because he could not will his body to do so; his muscles were too tense. Despite the stance he was holding, his eyes were wide in disbelief. Velaine, his newly betrothed, had followed him out into the woods. She had snuck up on him and he had pointed a weapon at her. With trills passing, he managed to move his eyes up and down. Why was she barefoot?
Why was she walking about in her nightgown?!
Nathaniel should have been a perfect gentleman and turned around right then and there. He could have been a prude and dropped his weapon to cover his face like a 10 arc old boy. He should not have gaped, oogling her goodies like one of the many whore he had bedded. His mother would have put him six feet under at the whole situation, calling this the cherry on top of his sundae of mistakes.
"Velaine, I-I-I..."
For the first time, Nathaniel Humphrey Endor was found without words.
It was too late when the female Krome realized that this was probably a very bad idea.
Approaching as closed as she dared, it never once crossed Velaine’s mind that Nathaniel might hear her before she decided to announce her presence. She thought she could take her time and watch whatever it was he was doing. Oh how wrong she was.
When the man suddenly paused, the young woman figured something was wrong. Perhaps he spotted his target? She imagined he would go about continuing his hunt. Needless to say, the young woman didn’t expect it the slightest bit when he suddenly turned to her and yelled.
Her eyes widened and her heart stopped. If she was any less surprised, she would have screamed along with him. Before she could react, the point of Nathaniel’s spear was already pointed to her chest. Any closer and there was good chance she would start bleeding. For a moment, Velaine could only look at the Endor in shock. The surprise was probably mirrored in both of their faces.
Velaine, however, gathered her wits somewhat quicker than her betrothed. “Did you just tried to spear me?” Understandably, the man was probably startled by her presence, probably never imagined that there would be a young woman in the forest with him.
Before he even replied, the young woman noticed his eyes traveling down her body. She followed his gaze. The young woman nearly cursed out loud as she realized what was wrong. Her cloak must have snagged at something behind her, revealing the thin gown underneath. Only then it dawned on her on what a horrible idea this was. While Velaine had often went for a walk only in her nightgown and cloak, she realized it was probably not the best attire to go with in this case.
Taking a step away from the weapon, Velaine tugged at her cloak so it hid her body from his view. Despite the heat rising to her face, the young woman had always been exceptionally skilled in maintaining her bravado. “See anything you like, Lord Endor?” Her tone was sharp, her eyes churned green with the disapproval of the fact that he had taken his sweet time looking at her.
She just hoped she didn’t look as flustered as she felt.
He had taken much, much longer to collect himself. Never before had he been put into a position where he was attacking a woman. Nathaniel had always thought that he would have more respect for the other sex than that. Slowly he lowered the point of the spear, standing up straight. His hunter ego had been deflated a bit, but his inner heathen was burning bright. Spear her? She would certainly know if he was trying to spear her. Nathaniel half wanted to tell her those very words. Instead, he blushed and turned his head at an angle to try and divert the very apparent embarrassment at the thought.
She was collecting herself while he collected himself. Nathaniel remained silent at her question. Of course he saw things that he liked about her. It was a very chauvinistic ideal and delved into the very core of his womanizing. Then again, she might like to hear the truth. "Of course I did Lady Velaine. Maybe you should not go walking in the middle of the forest so scantily clad. I certainly hope you had no intent meeting someone else dressed as such. We are betrothed you know."
That was a bit more acidic than he had meant it. A proper gentleman would have dismissed the comment and offered to walk her home. Nathaniel clearly did not understand what he should do as a proper Lord. Frustrated, he turned around and continued deeper into the forest. Maybe she would just return home on her own. Certainly it would solve his problem. Besides, he barely knew her? What if she had been meeting someone else? If she had a lover before their mother's had thrust him upon her, what would he do?
I'd kill him of course.
The subconscious response shocked him but he kept moving without hesitation. He barely knew her, he had no right other than to lay claim upon her as a husband would a wife. Again he ran his hand up his face and through his hair. It would be a habit she would probably notice of him before he did. Several paces away he stopped again, sighing.
The young woman glared at his comment. Nathaniel certainly wasn’t as gentlemanly as he had been last night. Though she couldn’t possibly be mad about that considering she wasn’t as ladylike as she should have been either. Saints, this was only their second day of being betrothed and things had been going so well. “Really? What sort of woman do you think I am?” Velaine did not take slightest offense at his remark, but a part of her was annoyed and embarrassed enough to want to rile him up. One her psychology teachers in Ne’haer might point that it was an unhealthy defense mechanism. She was even tempted to ask him what would he do if she was planning on meeting someone else.
Fortunately, the young woman at least had a semblance of self-control. Their future wouldn’t be so pleasant if they managed to infuriate one another too far.
The exasperation on Nathaniel’s face was clear enough as he easily walked away. No concern whatsoever as he turned his back to her. It probably shouldn’t annoy her, but it did. Though admittedly, Velaine was more pissed at herself more than anything. What was she hoping to gain from following him, really? It was such a rash idea that she wondered if she had lost her common sense.
Velaine was ready to turn away when the Endor suddenly stopped to look back at her, running a hand across his face. “I should take you home, shouldn’t I?”
“Decided not to abandon a helpless young woman in the middle of the wilderness? Don’t worry, I can find my own way,” the young woman replied stubbornly, still unable to truly shake off the mortification of having revealed so much to a man she had only met yesterday – even if he was to be her husband. Her pride wouldn’t let her vocally accept an offer from a man who had been so ready to leave her alone in a forest.
Unfortunately, even if her mind was defiantly stubborn, her body was instantly reminded of where they were standing at the mention of home. The cold Vhalar air was blowing stronger across her face, making the tip of her nose cold. Velaine’s entire body shivered as she realized more snow was falling.
He knew exactly how he would have answered that question. Based on their interaction last night, he would have expected her to be a much more refined woman. He did not really believe she had a bit on the side. The thought infuriated him but he did not actually find it at all true. Words expressing those feelings should have poured from his mouth to rectify the situation. Maybe she would have felt a bit better about the situation. Nathaniel might have been able to redeem himself. Instead, the words dried up on his tongue and he said nothing when she questioned him.
He watched her, defiantly responding and staring at him despite his attempt to make amends. Half of him wanted to leave her there and let her find her own way home. The other half wanted to push her buttons and see just how angry he could make her. That half won out. He stepped closer to her, digging the butt of his spear into the ground like a walking stick. The stalking nature he was using made her take a step or two backwards until she was backed up into a nearby tree. In that time he noticed that she was barefoot. What kind of woman had the endurance to walk through the woods on rock and sticks barefoot? His boots broke a twig beneath him as he closed the distance completely, pinning her between him and the tree.
"Are you really helpless Velaine? I would have thought last night you were one of the strongest women I have ever met. Today, I see simply a girl and her repertoire of stupidity." The wind blew past them both but it broke upon his back. He had not brought a cloak with him like she had, but his leather vest kept his core slightly warmer than his appendages. If he didn't continue moving, he would get cold out here.
He reached up, sitting a hand over her head while moving the point of the spear to catch a lock of hair. "Why did you follow me m'lady? It really isn't safe out here. I am not an expert on Krom, but I would not be surprised if bears roam these woods. Frozen wolves won't make it very far."
After her insolence, Velaine was sure that her betrothed would be pissed enough to actually leave her to find her own way back. It wouldn’t be a surprise and she wouldn’t entirely blame him for that. He would walk away and she would go back. Then when lunch came, they would have to pretend being civil in front of their parents. Velaine was more than ready to do that.
Unfortunately, Nathaniel seemed to have other ideas.
There was no warning when he suddenly stalked up to her. At the sight of a wall of muscle barreling towards her, her body reacted without thinking and retreated back. It never occurred to her that her back might hit the large trunk of a tree. Before she could get out of its way, the Endor was already there, trapping her.
Still, the female Krome refused to falter. Nathaniel had got what he wanted. “Sorry to disappoint. Since we’re talking about it, I’ll return the favor and talk about you. Last night I thought you were quite the gentleman, someone I might enjoy talking to. Today, all I see is a brute who enjoys throwing his weight around,” she retorted, mimicking his tone. Meanwhile, she tried not to think about how his proximity was chasing the cold away. “It seems like we still need to better our knowledge of each other.”
As if he knew precisely how to make her feel vulnerable, the Endor rested a hand above her and leaned down. She could not remember any man that dared to be so forward with her. One might argue that Nathaniel was the only man allowed to do so after bearing the title of her future husband, but that did not mean the Velaine was expecting it. Well, she got what she wanted, at least. Her little traipsing into the woods had probably showed her a hint of the Endor’s true nature. Velaine had been curious and this was her answer.
“That’s where you’re wrong, Nate,” the young woman countered, tilting her head up to look at him instead of shrinking away like most women would probably do. Velaine even managed to partially ignore the way he was pointing his weapon to her face. Unwittingly, a small voice at the back of her mind remarked that the green of his eyes wasn’t so different from the green surrounding them. “This is a wolf’s forest. Bears don’t belong here.”
