Edward 4

 

Cora returned to her chambers to be greeted by her two maids and one of her sisters. Odette was the middle daughter of four. They had three brothers as well, but they were all away from the castle for the next week since it was not thought that the party from odoriferous Odeira. She laughed mirthlessly to herself at the thought of her sister becoming Lady Odette of odoriferous Odeira. Poor thing probably wouldn't even get the joke. She was quite smart about some things but hopelessly lost about others. She was, after all, a teenager.

“What did you think about them?” Odette was never one for pointless small talk and tended to get to the point rather quickly, if a bit bluntly. “I thought the Black Prince was rather handsome, don't you?”

Cora hadn't actually thought about it. She frowned a bit, remembering his haughty boot click and condescending tone with her father. She pursed her lips and shrugged. He was cold and smug and looked to her like a highway robber from one of her stories, though she didn't have the heart to say that to her sister who was obviously intrigued. Odette shared much of her coloring but where Cora's eyes were lighter brown with gold flecks, her sister's were much darker and ringed with impressively long eyelashes. They both had similarly gold blond hair, though Odette had a cooler and lighter shade. Cora shook her head again, trying to clear his image from her mind.

“Even if he is here to discuss trade routes through our kingdom, which I doubt very much, he's not something that either of us should give much thought about. He's the bastard son of their king and not someone any of us should even consider. If he's here to arrange marriage to anyone it's probably for one of his brothers.” Cora was looking at it as clinically as she possibly could. She was the eldest, and since her father was not the most apt dignitary it fell to her to try and make sense of the situation.

“True... but still.” Odette fanned herself dramatically while draping her small frame over the side of a low chair, pretending to faint. “That dark hair that caught the sun just so... and his tall figure. I even liked his beard. Oh, and Cora... my dear Cora, did you see his hands?” Cora sat at her dressing table, removing some of the pins from her hair and raised her eyebrows at her sister through the mirror who wasn't paying attention. She'd resumed her dramatic drape over the back of the chair and was staring at the ceiling. “He had gorgeous eyes too, don't you think?”

She tried to see him from her sister's perspective but the only emotion Cora could raise was contempt for the bastard who'd come to broker the hand one of her sisters to a bloodthirsty kingdom far away for a prince-ling without the balls to come get one of them on his own. His reputation was one of a faithful lapdog to his king and a rabid dog when it came to enemies of his kingdom. She couldn't remove one element from the other but she also didn't have the heart to crush the girlish fantasies of her teenaged sister.

Her sister continued musing about how different their kingdoms were. How exotic his kingdom must be. How strange his culture and ways. How passionate their every endevour. While Odette continued to prattle on about their differences, Cora systematically removed her pins and thought about the strange man with his beautiful eyes like ice. They made her shiver with their cold contempt. She wondered what his war enemies saw in those eyes before he cut them down with a deadly passion.

The princesses were left to their own devices until that evening when an impromptu gala was being held in the honor of their guests. She would have preferred to turn down whatever they were here for, but formalities and decorum were what kept peace between kingdoms. She would smile politely, use her table manners and even dance with one or two of them if she absolutely had to do so. But she would not engage in any conversation more involved than remarking upon the weather.

Her maids had returned with ample time before the gala to dress her and cluck their tongues about her pulling all of the pins out of her hair. She hated the pins. She hated the corsets and the stockings and the heavy jewelry and all the makeup and finery. She wished she could just be Cora with out all of the paint and lace. Odette had returned to her own room hours ago when it was obvious that Cora wouldn't titter with her about the 'handsome' brute visitors.

Cora wore her light chocolate lace dress with a v neck that plunged lower than she would have preferred. Her mother had insisted that she should have a dress such as this for exactly this occasion. There was cream lace dotted with champagne pearls lining the neckline so that it looked more modest than it was, unless someone was truly paying attention, and the sleeves brushed the tops of her shoulders and then hung down along the sides of her skirts. The bodice was more snug than her usual attire and forced her pale bosom up to hug the lace. She wore matching pearls on her necklace and large teardrop pearls dangling from her ears. There were even a few pinned into her hair which was now half up and half trailing down to the small of her back. Clara put on her mother's blue topaz ring on her right hand over her long cream colored gloves. She examined herself in the mirror. If it had been anyone else she would have thought it was completely adequate for the occasion. She, however, felt like a living piece of wedding cake.

Odette and their youngest sister Evalynn came in while she was still staring in the mirrors. Odette actually gasped.

“Oh, Clara, you're a vision!” She giggled and started dancing around her sister. Eva, the more reserved of her younger two sisters merely smiled kindly and nodded her approval. Celeste would probably already be waiting by the door of the gala for her sisters to join her. She didn't share Clara's reticence when it came to strangers. She wanted out of their small, sheltered kingdom, and she didn't particularly care who it was or what the details might be. If there was any sort of chemistry between herself and the visitors, their sister would jump at the chance to abandon them.

Before they could leave for the gala, Clara reviewed a few protocols with her sisters and made sure that they remembered their polite, noncommittal responses to questions that a strange man might ask them. It was all part of the training that they'd received from their mother, but she had been gone for a few years now and the younger girls looked to her for their good manners. Clara had been a little younger than Eva was now when their mother had been thrown from her horse.

The sisters ranged in age from twenty three to fourteen years old. Evalynn was only a few months from her fifteenth birthday, Odette had just turned seventeen, and Celeste was nineteen but seemed to be fast approaching thirty. Their brothers, Armand, Sigmund and Wyatt were twenty, eighteen and twelve, respectively. They would be away for another week unless the weather turned, however. She had made sure that her father sent a messenger to try and find them to get them home earlier, but she would just as soon have the hostile kingdoms men leave before they got the chance.

Wyatt was an easily influenced young boy as yet and might want to emulate some of their aggression. She couldn't have that of her baby brother. He would have enough challenges in his life, having grown so much without his mother's care and in the shadow of an ailing father.

Clara did a final check of her young sisters much more modest dresses and made sure than they had handkerchiefs hidden in special folds of their dresses. She reminded them, one last time, not to pick at their hair or lift their skirts. If they needed help they were to find her or one of their attendants and not to try and fix something on their own, no matter how tempting.

Edward 3

 

The next morning brought a chill with it. The spartan camp was cleaned up quickly which left a bit of time to obscure the signs of their presence. The fire pit was buried and the entire area was covered over with pine needles and random fallen branches from the surrounding forest. Not for the first time Edward lamented the lateness of the season and began to hope that their errand didn't take too long. The last thing he wanted was to be stranded in a hostile kingdom due to the weather, should their diplomacy take a sour turn.

After gathering the horses and taking care of their necessities, the men continued on their way through the ridge and began the upward portion of their journey into Latamis. They continued through the mountains at a steady climb for three more days in much the same fashion. Edward continuing to worry in his typical stoic manner, John eating his way through their reserves and helping to spar with their small band of soldiers, and August studying the plants and trees along the way while taking an impressive amount of notes in his book and cracking jokes at his friend's expenses. If not for the difference in destination, it would have been much like any other journey they'd taken together.

Edward knew more of their diplomatic mission than his lower ranking counterparts. He'd made the captain of his guard aware of what might happen should the talks fail. But other than Rylan, the only other person who knew of the plan was the King, his father. He had been the architect of this idea and this son, the Black Prince, would be the executioner.

Though the mountain path seemed to rise and fall in waves, they were progressing farther and farther up. Some of the men were having trouble breathing up until the final day when they descended into a deep valley. The brisk breeze that had plagued them through the final week seemed to leave them as they entered a stillness for which the Asteryos valley was famous.

Pine trees made way for grand Oaks and Rowan trees. August could not fathom how such trees had made their way into such a high valley in the mountains and made sure to tell everyone in their party several times as they made their way into town. The party quieted as they approached the increased habitation signaling their arrival.

The main gate to the town was located just inside the settlements to the south, where they had entered the crescent shaped valley. To their surprise, the doors that should have been there were missing and only a lone sentry was standing watch in the tower looming above the large entry. Clearly they had little need of such precautions as a door, a testament to their mountain location and historically peaceful kingdom. It's easy to taut the virtues of peace when you've never risked getting involved, he thought bitterly.

It took more than an hour and a half of walking their horses to reach the inner wall that housed the enormous castle. Idly, Edward wondered how many of his father's castle would fit inside those walls. He'd heard about the grand gardens around the structure and wondered what beauty he would see inside. His father valued strength, justice and many other intellectual pursuits. Gardening was not high in his estimation so the castle garden of his home was limited to food and medicinal items.

The entry to the castle keep had a similarly large entry, but unlike the first entrance, this one had large doors that were closed. Rylan rode ahead to announce their arrival. Word had been sent ahead that they would be coming to visit, but no doubt they wouldn't have expected them as soon as they'd arrived. Edward was pleased that they'd been able to be early. The sooner they were done the sooner they could leave and the sooner he could resume his life, having satisfied his obligation to his demanding father.

He imagined them scrambling to accommodate his small band with a smile.

“So, this is what makes you happy, is it?” John was at his side with a tired smile of his own. Edward's melancholy had reached new heights with their climb into the mountain kingdom. It wasn't as if he had anywhere better to be, he just didn't want to be there. This marked the beginning of the end of his task. The fact that he could irk such a flabby and historically complacent kingdom was merely icing on the cake.

“You realize, of course, that we're a full two weeks early.” His smile widened to a smirk. Peace made people lazy and the thought of forcing them into action gave him an unexpected thrill. After waiting on restless horses for almost twenty minutes they were finally allowed inside the gate. They left their horses and a few of the soldiers with porters at the door. The remaining party were welcomed into the main thoroughfare by eager servants. It seemed strange to him that they all greeted him and his party with such large, familiar smiles. None of them had better attempt to touch me, he thought to himself.

Just inside the inner door of the keep the royal family was standing in line by rank. At the top of the stairs was their recently widowed king and his eldest daughter, Cora. Edward had heard tales of her cunning but not of her beauty. She was the color of honey milk with a crowning glory of golden curls half pinned up with careful precision. Cora was the only one of the fifteen people lined up to greet them that wasn't sporting a wide, tooth filled smile. True to the gossip, she was smart enough to know why they were really there and it had nothing to do with trade routes.

“Greetings and salutations, Prince Edward of Odeira. Well met and welcome to our kingdom.” The king himself issued the greeting with a smile as bright as the sun. Edward, not for the first time, held in a heavy sigh and put on what he hoped was a charming smile and attempted to return the greeting.

It was painfully obvious that they did not get many visitors of his ranking or stature. He couldn't even find any evidence that they had a court of any kind outside of their own family. A part of him was envious that they didn't have to deal with the machinations of lesser royalty vying for favor among the aristocracy and clamoring for attention from the king and his sons. If it had been their kingdom, a servant would have announced each of them in turn from lowest rank, not counting the lower soldiers of course, up to his own title.

Without the buffer of traditional routines, Edward was at a bit of a loss. Cora, without missing a beat, picked up on the awkwardness of the situation and sidestepped her father.

“Please forgive our King. Our dearly departed Queen was a master of the finer arts of diplomacy. Perhaps we should reconvene this evening after the Prince and his subjects have had time to rest and refresh themselves after such a long and rapid journey?” She looked at her father now, who turned his beaming smile to his daughter and nodded magnanimously.

“That sounds amenable to me, dear sirs. What say you, your Highness?” The king was addressing him directly now. Edward wanted to laugh. What a mess of a kingdom. He wondered idly which of the four daughters would agree to his brother's hand in marriage when this was all over and done with, if any of them. Whoever it was would be absolutely eaten alive in their court. All except, possibly, the scowling Cora. For all her beauty, frost was coming off of her in waves. One way or another, one of them was coming with him. He also had plans of taking whatever handmaiden that particular princess might employ. But that was a problem for later, if at all.

Edward nodded curtly, snapping his heals together at the same time, in a long practiced move. They might be inept at how to treat visiting royalty, but that didn't mean that he had to drop his own decorum. Standards must be kept at least on one side of this mess of a mission.

Edward 2

 

Not for the first time, Edward mused about their mission and absentmindedly scanned the horizon again. He scratched at his beard and smoothed it, deep in thought.

“You could try washing it. I've heard that's helpful.” Edward looked over and down to his friend Augustus van Williamson, the Baron of Grimspire, another neighboring kingdom. He was shorter than him by almost a head and not as good in a fight, but he was smart and had a great propensity toward being lucky. He was also a good friend and someone who knew him better than almost anyone, except perhaps their mutual friend John Malcolm, the Viscount of Roserun. He had to laugh at the comment, though he barely cracked a smile.

“You're one to counsel people on hygiene. When was the last time you bathed yourself?” August laughed dryly at the retort.

“We both smell like old cheese and horse.” He shook his capped head and a sprig of dark hair fell in his face. “Still, it could be worse.”

“Oh? Do tell.”

“We could smell like our dear John.” They both looked over to their friend who was already sitting at the fire, eating something vaguely potato shaped with his signature ravenous abandon. His blond hair was breaking free of its yoke and hung in greasy clumps around his face. He had obviously heard his name and perked up.

“Hey, I am right here if you wish to say something to my face.” The two friends began laughing and went to join him by the fire. Edward's unease was lifting somewhat, but he'd feel better once they were at their destination.

Edward

Edward scanned the horizon for the hundredth time since they'd stopped in the small clearing at the edge of the ridge. Despite every reassurance from his guide and from his men, he couldn't shake the feeling that there was something out there. Following them. He'd already sent out two men, one to scout forward and the other to scout behind them, just to satisfy his inkling. They'd returned with very little to report that could not be seen from atop his own horse.

“To what purpose, my lord?” The small, heavily bearded man they'd contracted in the village inquired. “Are there alternative reasons to your journey?” It was a simple enough question, but Edwards temper threatened to get the better of him. There was no way for him to know that they had a darker purpose than a simple jaunt to the next kingdom. Or to have any idea how far they'd journeyed already. He studied the man's red beard and bald head for a moment, letting his anger dissipate lest he do something rash. The middle aged man stood, slightly breathless, wringing his floppy cap in his hands nervously. Edward was frightening him. If he was wont to admit it, he liked frightening people he didn't know.

Taking a breath, Edward dismounted from his horse and allowed the man to tie it up with the others as he joined his spare group of men in making camp. The ten men with him had journeyed far in a relatively short amount of time and it had been a great boon to their travels when they'd happened upon the guide. Hamish had already cut what could have amounted to a weeks worth of travel by leading them over the ridge instead of around it as their maps had suggested.

In hindsight, he might have taken less men so that he would have been able to carry out his deed quicker, but that would have meant arousing suspicions within his own court and that would not do. Whatever lands and titles he held, there was still work to be done. Evil to counter and alliances to be formed. There were great corruptions, vulgarities and malignancies throughout the land that had to be dealt with if good people would be able to thrive. Granted, he was the product of such evils, but that was more the reason that he should be the one to try and right those wrongs.

No, whatever else anyone thought of him, being the bastard son of the king meant that he had certain responsibilities that his brother would never need worry about. Edward raked a hand through his thick, shoulder length hair. The deep brown had picked up warm gold highlights from their extended time in the sun.

The only real positive of the journey was that he hadn't had to worry about shaving and his beard had been allowed to grow in over the last three weeks. Not only did it help to mask his identity, but it helped to give him a greater air of experience and gravitas among the young men of his group. He was not much older than many of them, a few scant years to their early twenties but a couple of them were his elders both in experience and in age. Then there was also the Viscount, his friend John, and the Baron, their friend Augustus. Counting himself and their guide they had twelve people. If their mission was successful, they would have fourteen people on their return.

In Memorium

         There are times in life when there are no words to describe how you're feeling. Perhaps there has been a fundamental change in your world. Maybe there was a strange occurrence during breakfast. Or, perhaps something, or someone, has been lost.

       Today I lost my mother. 

      I guess thats not a fair thing to say. I didn't "lose" her. She wasn't a set of keys or an odd chotchke or something. She passed on. 

     I am angry and frustrated and sad and confused and above all... I miss my mommy. I want to call her and ask what I should do now. I want to hug her and have her tell me that everything will be alright. I want to go to her house and talk about life and laugh about something that might have happened in our lives. I want her to be here. I want to take back the last conversation that I'd had with her. I want to buy a house and have her live with me and help me teach James to speak German and to go with Sean and James and I  to Germany or Maine or anywhere. I want her to be healthy and happy and here. I want my Mom.

      That being said, she was not healthy. She still had her humor and she still had her smarts. But her body was not cooperating with everything that she wanted to get done. Her heart had a replaced valve. She had COPD from a lifetime of smoking. Her mind might not have been as strong and sharp as it had once been. But, she was still here. 

      There are people in this world that can't help but improve the lives of those around them. My mom was one of those people. She was funny. Most of the time, it wasn't really on purpose, but she was hilarious despite that. A couple of my all time favorite one liners were: "It's going to be alright, damnit." and (to a former patient who was nervous about showing her his penis for a catheter) "Don't worry, I've seen more wieners than Oscar Meyer."

     I like to think that she's sipping strong coffee with my grandma Gertrud on the porch of grandma's old condo overlooking the Rhine river, waving at tourists over the long window baskets full of deep red geraniums and laughing together. Perhaps Sean's mom, Jill, is sitting with them. And one of my mom's hands is resting gently on our red Golden Retriever Reba's ears, scratching that spot she always was angling her head to get scratched.

      So, if you're so inclined, please raise a glass to Edith Martha Graf and her life of love of books, sewing and travel. Remember her smile and her dry wit for friends and family if you're lucky enough to have known her. Think of her tenacity and the incredible jam she used to make. Imagine her laughing at some silly in-joke or railing about the government. Treasure our times with her and savor the memories together. Myself, I've already raised a few glasses to mom and plan to do just a bit more before the night is out. Love you Mom and I will be forever thankful that I had you in my life.

Doomed Reunion Pt2

     Since she'd had lots of time in advance to prepare for her reunion, she did what many of her friends would do and spent many hours in the gym. Katie's aspirations weren't anything more exciting than looking good in the expensive swimsuit and pretty dresses that she had purchased for the trip. Just because Jim had moved on with some hot young grad student didn't mean that she couldn't have fun on her trip.
     If her soon to be ex would have gone she wouldn't have worked out before hand because it wouldn't have mattered how good she looked. He would have been cavorting with someone that wasn't her before the end of the first day. That he actually thought she hadn't known was what really hurt the worst in that entire effed up situation.
    As it was, he was shacked up with someone who until a year ago hadn't been able to buy her own booze. But she was surprisingly over it. He'd moved on and she couldn't be happier about that fact. It was a good thing that she'd be basically single for the last few months. She would technically be completely single after the reunion, but she could flirt. She hadn't been in this good of shape for years.
     Closer to the reunion Katie started posting to the Facebook page about being happy to see everyone and more than a few people she had been friends with in school started replying with their own hopes for the reunion. Before long, she had plans to spend time with several people in her old group of friends. The time went surprisingly fast since she spent so much time working out and tracking her food. She suddenly realized why her healthy friends never seemed to have any free time.
     The week of the trip she made sure that her dog Juno was set up with her brother and his girlfriend. He also promised to pick up her mail. Once she was packed all she had left to do was wait. She worked out one more time before going home and watching what she hoped would be a relaxing show. Now that the fateful days were here, she wasn't sure what to do. There was no dog to cuddle, no great shows to watch - she was all caught up for now. But she just couldn't sleep.
     By the time the shuttle came to pick her up she'd only had about two hours of nightmare fueled sleep.

Doomed Reunion Pt 1

"“I wasn’t planning on this. Falling in love with you was the last thing I wanted. Because I know our time would have to come to end. Yet, here I am, begging you not to turn the page.” Who is the speaker and who is the speaker talking to? Finish the scene."  (Writers Digest Prompt from June 25th)


    “I wasn’t planning on this. Falling in love with you was the last thing I wanted. Because I know our time would have to come to end. Yet, here I am, begging you not to turn the page.” His voice had broken on the last few words, but she just didn't know if she could trust anything he'd said.
    "Why are you here, anyway? You are MARRIED. Hell, until next week, I'm married too!" She couldn't seem to look up at his face. It had been many many years since she'd felt the way she felt tonight, but it didn't lessen the voracity of the facts. They were married to other people and they had missed their chance a long, long time ago.

    The high school hadn't thought it would be a good idea to have their 10 year reunion at the school, and it was one of the few things about this week that Katie thought was a great idea. Vegas? Seriously? They'd gone to a High School in Littleton, Colorado for crying out loud.
    None of them were wildly successful, but it hadn't mattered. Once the meeting room was booked, and the event invitations were emailed to whatever alumni that our still obnoxiously perky Class President Meaghan could find, the RSVPs had begun pouring in.
    The event page on Facebook had filled up so fast that Katie had wondered if Meaghan had posted the promise of naked pictures if people said they were going to go. After her own RSVP with deposit all she'd received were a very perky thanks, information for discount hotel accommodations and a request for her physical address to send a badge that would let her in the event. Knowing Meaghan as long as she had, it was a tossup about what she could really expect. Would it be a basic catering setup with tables in the middle where everyone could seat themselves? Would it be a small carnival with Skee-Ball, Ring Toss and a Mind-Eraser ride? Or, would it be set up like a school dance that served h'ordevours? If she had to bet, knowing Meaghan's love of Brat-pack movies, it would be a school dance atmosphere. But in Las Vegas...
     Katie had never been to Las Vegas. The closest that she'd ever gotten was Black Hawk in Colorado. It's not a fair comparison. Black Hawk was a small mountain town until gambling was voted for and then proceeded to completely overrun its historic charm and closest neighbor, Central City. Now they were both small Reno-esque mountain gambling centers with charms of their own, but no longer were they anything resembling the quaint and charming towns they were.