Bitter Air

[Lovely]

January 29, 2010
11:00 p.m.
Devhano


The celebration for the dark moon had just gotten underway, soon to launch into a hunt on the grounds for the privileged 'born' of the Devhano house. The night would only see light of two of its moons, the third in full wane, or 'new' as some once called it, rising only in shadow tonight. The hunt would be a challenge to test the senses beyond the brilliant sight of Devhano's children, though not all of them would come tonight to revel and play. The prince had duties to otherwise attend and perhaps ones far more challenging than the hunt, taking care of his ill betrothed, though she was neither sickly, nor his intended. It was a matter which had kept them from speaking civilly for weeks. Rhain, attending the supposed sick-bed, had come to the her room alone and burdened with clean towels and linens with a pitcher of herbed water to ease the fever she was said to have. The ladies in waiting had been asked to stay clear for fear of contracting the peculiar illness themselves. Whether convenient or catastrophic, it was yet to be determined how well she might react to him tonight. The pitcher was set down and the cushioning fabrics held low as he knocked upon her door.

Elisabeth was far from ill and unless you could call being miserable and unhappy an illness, she was perfectly well. She did not wear the bed clothes that one would expect a person who was so ill to be in, she'd wore a dress befitting the evening and it's celebrations. Of course she had not been allowed to attend, such a pity, she was quite fetching in the black dress with it's slim and frilly straps and corset like bodice. Her hair had not been pinned and hung in loose curls over her shoulder, though no one would see how she shone even in the light of only two moons. A knock came at the door and she crossed to answer it, pausing as she caught the scent of who was on the other side. She considered pretending to be asleep but he'd know better and might not go away if she tried to ignore him. Elisabeth opened the door, only just far enough for her to look out at Rhain. She was curious as to why he was not enjoying the festivities and going out on the hunt, her eyes cast cooly over him though she said nothing.

His foot stayed the door as he looked from her icy glance toward the floor, taking in the length of elegant black along the way. Rhain nodded his appreciation and his polite intrusion, begging entry to deliver the unsoiled linens with a grin. "As you are unwell, it appears you have a nursemaid assigned. These are for you," he said, hoping to include himself in the delivered items.

There was the barest of flinches as he repeated the lie the king had told to prevent her from doing nearly everything. Her gaze fell to the linens and she reached for them, her eyes lifting to his face briefly though she didn't return the smile. "Thank you, it's very kind of you to bring me.. towels." She glanced down again, to how his foot caught the door to keep her from closing it on him. "Since when does a prince bother himself with providing linens.. or playing nursemaid?.. You appear to be alone.."

"Since I happened to be carrying the towels and ushering your ladies and my father's guards away so you might have some peace without their scrutiny.. m'lady. My interest is not in hunt on the grounds with captive prey. Frankly there's no sport in it," he explained, his gaze returning upwards, suggesting the hunt he preferred.

"Then whatever are you doing here? I am more captive then what they have released on the grounds for their amusements." She took the stack of linens and turned to bring them into the room, she knew if he wanted to come in, he would whether invited or not.

He stayed at the door a moment, considering her remark and agreeing that he had little to argue against it. He watched her cross the room, her movement fluid and proud. She belonged on the grounds with him, commanding the hunt, not in here alone. Knowing there would be no one beyond her door for several hours, he offered her a suggestion, "Come to the hall with me, then."

[Lovely]

She set the linens down and her hands curled into fists, she spun with her eyes raking sharply over his face. "Do you enjoy taunting me? You know very well I can't do that."

"Why can't you? The entire palace is away, my love. Yes, I say it freely and would yell it just the same," he chuckled, motioning to the door he'd left open. "Come dance with me while they hunt. Run barefoot through the corridor and anything else you fancy. This night is for celebrations for everyone and for once... please... can I do anything at all that will make you stop hating me for a moment long enough to smile or say 'yes' to anything?" He reached out to her for her fists, an embrace if she'd accept it or a solid bag of flesh to pound if she wished only that.

She shook her head, not to his request that she stop hating him but to going to the hall with him. "We can't risk it.. your father is the one who is not well and may not make it far.. or any of the others could stray or return.. " Her eyes stung with bitter frustrated tears, the agony of living like this twisting her hands tighter though she didn't yank them out of his as he reached for them. "I have no reason to celebrate this night.. unless you've truly come to tell me his last breath has rattled through him."

"I've considered arranging it.. seven thousand different ways," he said softly, trying to gently uncurl her fingers to lace into them. "Seven thousand and one, to make him drown in a bucket filled with every tear you've shed. I promise you, it won't be much longer. There were even bets placed with olives around the banquet table tonight, of how many more moonrises his sagging body will be able to withstand. I grant you, you're likely right he won't stay at the hunt long. I do fear what all that fresh young blood might do to him tonight. There is something bitter in the wind tonight, Elisabeth."

For a moment she clenched her fingers more tightly as he tried to pry and lace his own into them, it was only a moment though and her grip relaxed, her fingers clasping his in a firm grip. "How is it that you can infuriate me one moment and charm me the next.. it's really quite frustrating, you know." She half heartedly chuckled and her head nodded to his observation of the feeling in the air, she had also sensed it and it made her step toward him seeking safety against his chest. "I am not sure how many more moonrises I can withstand.."

Because she loved him more than she would dare to admit aloud. He grinned and curled her into his embrace, though his attention pulled to the air again. He kissed the top of her head and hugged around her tightly, but briefly. "At least this one tonight. It may be his last and seven thousand plots come to a halt," he said, the revelation making him chuckle slightly.

Her head rested against his shoulder while the brief embrace lasted and the she lifted her gaze to his face, studying it intensely for another moment. "Each night is like a lifetime.." She murmured, her hand pulling free of his to raise a soft caress to his cheek. She did love him, despite trying very hard to hate him.. she could not voice her truest feelings openly and it pained her greatly to do so. She longed for the day she could be at his side or throw her arms around him for all to see, it was just another torture to be so close yet so far from him. "Will you do something for me?" She asked him softly, it was the first time she'd ever asked him to do anything for her and yet she'd done so much for him already.

[Lovely]

The gentle tone and unusual sound of her request distracted him from reaching his attention out to the hallway and the sound from the grounds beyond her covered windows, although already he could hear the sounds of one or two of the horses being returned for fresh ones. He focused on her with his stern expression that only she could seem to pry away and find the warmth beneath. A slight nod was his agreement, though silent, that he would do whatever she would ask, though she'd done so very rarely.

"Send for my sister.. please?" The pain she tried to keep hidden, shone brightly in her eyes as they pleaded with him to allow her this one thing.. the care and companionship of her sister. "I've written her a letter.. not to worry, I told her nothing of what has truly gone on here.. only the lie that I am unwell and wish her to come be with me.. Please.. dispatch a messenger with it tonight.. Read it if you feel you need to.." He'd taken the only person she'd trusted and turned them.. leaving her completely alone and isolated and with one less lady in waiting to attend her. Not that the latter mattered all that much to her but she had refused to even look at the girl and would not allow her to enter her room, once he'd turned her.

Sisters were often more treacherous together than all of the king's guard, in his opinion. It was the sort of treachery, however, that made him curl a smile and nearly laugh, though her expression helped him to mask the humor he found in the arrangement. Perhaps one day when he took his proper place he would share his folly. For now he again nodded. "I would have no reason to read it. It is the Queen's message and I am not privy to her thoughts or desires," he quipped, though she knew it to be quite the opposite. "All I know, you have told me yourself and that is all the messenger will know upon dispatch.. .to bring her to you immediately."

She shifted away from him and then back in an instant, now holding the sealed letter that was meant to bring her sister to Devhano. Elisabeth dared to press a soft, tender kiss to his mouth though she didn't dare to make it last as long as they both might like it to. "Thank you." She whispered as she pressed the parchament into his hand.

He grabbed the letter and her hand, pulling her back to an insistent kiss for his 'thanks' instead. Let the aged pile of bones he called a father smell him on her and let the man challenge him for it. The kiss was still brief, but more satifying before being asked to leave her side to send out a rider for her sibling.

She shouldn't have been surprised by his actions as he'd always been more bold in his affection with her, though of course always cautious for her safety. She smiled a little, nipping softly at his lip and taking just a drop of him before she'd let him go. Her eyes alone would tell him many things that she could not yet say freely, including the invitation for him to return to her room if it was safe for him to do so after dispatching the messenger.

[Lovely]

He nipped back a little, feeling the sting on his lip before he pulled away from her embrace. "Enjoy it," he teased, licking the wound and sealing it closed as he stepped back with the letter, watching her as he reached for the door. He listened and heard only the rustle of the drafts beneath doors whistling more of the turn into the air. The night was full of changes. Satisfied that there would be no interruptions, but cautious not to emerge from her room unexpectedly, he returned through his passage and exited his own room with the letter already hidden. A trip to the stables would find the returned horses still watering and resting and an all-too eager stable boy ready to take his task away from the castle's walls. Rhain pulled the boy's collar and turned him toward his own horse, one faster and more rested than those that had been selected for the hunt. The stable boy seemed fearful of the larger horse at first, but once ready to ride off, Rhain whispered something to the animal that made him as docile as a kitten. The letter was presented and the order given to return with Elisabeth's sister without delay. Off the boy rode without a murmur of hesitation as if he held the Queen's own gloved fingers tenderly in his hand and not the bent letter he was to deliver in request to the Queen's sister. Of course it had been explained that her poor health made the matter most urgent. If the boy were detained, the story would save him, Rhain hoped. A matter more urgent was his own return to her side. He slipped back to his room and the passage, bringing a single, full goblet.

Elisabeth didn't know how long the errand would take and how soon Rhain might return to her or if he would be able to return at all. He'd come to her door this evening with towels and his offer of company but had left through the secret passage. This concerned her as she worried that he had sensed trouble or that he would run into trouble of which there were many possibilities. She was at her window again, watching the grounds as best she could though her view left much to be desired. She felt the air stir as Rhain returned but something made her hesitate before she turned toward him, that same feeling she'd gotten at his mention of the bitter turn in the air.

He'd covered the passage and secured the closure in his room. Anyone entering would simply find his own room empty, though any with a good eye and knowledge of his habits might notice that his favored goblet was missing as well though the evening banquet was finished. He stayed at the edge of the passage, watching her with her back turned to him and listened close again. No one was with her, but how quickly might that change? "Any visitors?" He asked in a whisper, concerned that any other company she'd had might imminently return.

She chuckled and again it was only half hearted with very little amusement in it. "Who else do you think visits me?" She asked, curious as to how he thought she spent her time. She was only ever visited by him and summoned to his father .. the rest of the time she was alone unless she called for her ladies to attend her. Perhaps that was what he meant, though she would hardly summon them when she was hoping he would return. In honesty if it were not for his visits and how he affected her, she would have gone mad or taken drastic and deadly measures to escape his father and this wretched room. She hated this room, it was her prison and every night she considered torching it. She sighed and shook her head a little. "None of the guards have come to check on me if that is what you're asking."