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The Spoils of War (Legion and Vivid Fizz)

Legion

Legion

Star
Joined
Aug 2, 2010
The war with the elves had ended no more than half a year ago. Lives had been lost in that war one of the lives being the elder prince of the kingdom of Devras. He had been sent in to fight in the name of the kingdom in place of his father, for reasons of the Kings waning health. He had been taught only tactics and had little in ways of battle training, and because of this they had won the war in the last battle, but he had lost his life. Now the king and queen were left with only one heir, their 17 year old son Kaleo. Before the war they had been focusing on his training for tactics and politics, but with the events of the war, he had begun his focus of training on battle and weapons mastery.

At the end of the war with the elves cornered and offered a ceasefire with the terms of merging the two families, Kaleo had found himself engaged to an elven princess, a beautiful young woman. She had found herself in their castle with an elven escort just a few weeks prior. When the young prince had lain eyes on her he knew what a treasure his kingdom had truly won.

However, he had not much time to think about this since he had found himself in the Knights courtyard, thrown into the sparing ring by the Knight Commander Rayne with one of the newer recruits. He had been given little protection while his opponent had been given at least leather armor.
"Ser Rayne, I see not the fairness in this."
"It's not a matter of fairness my prince, it is a matter of learning how to fight an opponent better armored than yourself."
"Is this really necessary?" He asks turning his back to his opponent.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." The Commander warns just as the new recruit runs up behind Kaleo and strikes him across his head with the pommel of the practice sword.
 
Princess Eowyn, daughter of the Elven King Silverleaf, had been given over to the humans as some sort bartering chip. Instead of being treated like the royalty she was, she was being treated like some piece of land; like an object. This was something completely barbaric, sadistic, and made her worth reduced to what someone else thought of her beauty. Many times she had protested but her father flatly refused her pleads. Apparently it was more important to him that the Kingdom know peace. He told her that it was for the good of her kingdom.

The day she had arrived at her new home was the most miserable day of her life. She had been dressed in finery and yet she felt like more of a captive. The weeks she had spent in the castle had her locked away in her room; self inflicted of course. Although she was being forced to marry him, she did not have to interact with him or any of his family. That wasn’t in the peace treaty. Only her going to that dreadful place to be bound to that human brat prince.

As she walked the grounds, during a time she was sure that they would be empty, she spotted her fiancé having a sparring match. It was with amusement that she approached the action that was happening. Normally she would not go near him with a ten foot pole but it was with pleasure this time around; he was getting knocked around. The sunlight glinted off of her raven hair, making it shine so brightly it nearly had a navy tone. Its thick waves rippled over her shoulders and towards the small of her back. Her shining white gown clung to the curves of her body and the skirts rippled behind her. Bright violet eyes shone against a crystal and silver diadem perched on her regal head.

Some of the newer soldiers stopped in their sparring to stare at her. Some got whacked by their more observant and dedicated partners.
 
Kaleo ignored the knock to his head as he saw the princess venture into the courtyard. He hadn't seen her leave her room for days, a few days he had waited outside her door, not disturbing her to see if she would come out. He had been trying to figure out how to approach her. He thought maybe his training might be something he could use to impress her, he had always been told of stories from his mother of women who admire a man who can fight, defend himself, and show his prowess.

He looked at her as the light shone on her, in his mind if art could walk and breathe, no artists in the land could capture the beauty on canvas.

He picked his sparring sword from off the ground and looked at the Knight Commander. "Alright, if that is how you wish to teach me Ser Rayne, then so be it." He twisted around trying to shove his pommel into the side of his sparring partner. The man had jumped back to avoid the shot to his kidney.

"Good, good, if you can dodge you don't need armor! Learn this from him Kaleo watch his movements as you fight!"

The young prince took off his shoes and stepped onto the dirt sparring circle barefoot, the dirt hot under his feet from the heat of the day. The dirt shifted as he put pressure down with his forefoot and kicked himself off towards his partner. The man swung and Kaleo blocked with the flat of the practice blade and reinforced the steadiness with his free hand against the back of the flat. He took one foot up and shot it forward to kick his partner in the knee, the man however quickly slid back, leaving Kaleo to more or less stomp a foot down on the ground missing his target.

The match continued like this for several minutes, with Kaleo staying on the offensive and blocking his opponents counters just barely. He had taken blows to the chest and three blows to each of his legs. With the pain in his legs his opponents last move found Kaleo on his back with the blade of the practice sword to his neck.
"Do you concede my prince?" the sparring partner asked.
"Fighters of Devras never surrender." Kaleo stated as he thrust a foot into the mans sternum. In retaliation the opponent dragged the tip of the dull blade against the prince's neck.

"And that is the killing blow my prince, this sparring fight is over. Had this fight been real you would have died three times over my prince. It is admirable you live up to our creed of death before surrender, but as royalty if you find yourself at the tip of a blade, surrender is better than death. You can negotiate if you surrender and escape with your life and continue the line, something your brother refused to learn from me."
 
Eowyn laughed a very musical and lyrical laugh as the dull blade went across the prince’s neck. If only that was real! Then she would have been able to go back home and marry for love instead of this joke of a peace treaty. Now she could revel in the fact of his defeat and possible humiliation. The princess had no idea if he had took shame in defeat; he had expressed how took it in surrender.

“That was certainly an enjoyable show of force, my lord,” she said to the prince as she bent her knees. The crack of her ample cleavage deepened at the movement. A few of the other soldiers stopped to stare but remembered that they were to keep to their sparring and, most importantly, that she was a woman who belonged to their prince. Staring at her too long could end in death. One or two snickered at her remark and she smiled a lovely and disarming smile. It was good to know that some understood her words were supposed to be scathing.

Without another word she turned gracefully around and sought the shade of the overhang. It was the outside hallway that lead towards her chambers. Again she was going to sit inside and wait for a servant to fetch her for the next meal. Her hips swayed as she walked away and she was giggling at his expense.
 
He scowled at her comment, he knew he failed at the fight, he could have done better. He hated fighting with practice swords, he preferred a polearm, that's what he learned with first. "I'd rather you speak without venom in your words princess. If you have an opinion of me or my training, speak it clearly." he said with disdain in his voice.

"One more round, this time I won't use this. Commander, I request use of the practice pole. It's been a week since I've trained with it. It would be unwise for me to become rusty with it."

"Are you sure you are good to go again my prince?" The Knight commander asked pulling a wooden pole about five feet in length from the racks.

"Yes I'm sure. I'll make her swallow her venomous words." Both tossed the weapons to one another catching each.

His opponent looked at him and said, "Are you sure, I hit your legs rather hard my lord. I would not want harm you further."
"Don't treat me like a child!" He held the pole in a fighting pose and moved forward thrusting it forward going for a jugular sweep with the front end where a spear head usually would be.
The man ducked back and knocked the pole up with the fake blade avoiding the sweep.
"No one insults my pride" he muttered to himself. He brought the pole around for a lower leg sweep which his opponent jumped to dodge, however he retaliated by bringing it up in an upward diagonal slash slapping the man across the chest.
"First strike to the Prince." the Commander yelled.
When his opponent had recovered himself on the ground he pulled himself away from the defensive and started advancing swinging his blade with the trained finesse of a Devran Knight.
Kaleo moved, blocked and dodged most assaults. Save for two to his chest which the Commander called two hits on his opponent.
The fight continued like this, Kaleo had been infuriated by what the elven princess said, she was beautiful but a beauty does not give reason for such malice.
The end of the fight drew near as Kaleo thrusted forward catching the Knight square in the chest, pulled the pole around hit him in both knees, ducked under a side swing and got the pole behind the mans knees and tripped him up and placed the end firmly on his chest. "Do you concede?"
"I concede my prince."
 
So he was going to fight another round. Instead of heading for the safety of the passage she instead walked towards the shade of the large tree that was right outside of the sparring pit. The sun was particularly hard on her nearly white skin. Her kind were more prone to coming out during twilight and early evening.

“My prince,” she called out, mocking his title through the tone of her voice. A smirk crossed her lips and she continued innocently. “I thought that my meaning was clear enough. Though I am sure that you will do well this time around; you have my upmost faith.”

Eowyn was not going to stop making those verbal slices against him. There was nothing stating that she HAD to be a doting and devoting fiancé. Just because she was forced to live her and endure that culture with no family or companions, did not mean she was going to be a content little house cat.

Sensitive ears picked up on his words and she laughed once more. “Of course, my prince, of course.”

Though, as the fight went on, her smug sense of satisfaction deflated; he was not faltering in the least and, in fact, was gaining the upper hand! A scowl crept along her features and she thoroughly disliked that he was able to turn it around. By the end of the fight she was not feeling nearly as confident. He was supposed to be incompetent so she could discredit him.

“Hmph!” she exclaimed as she stood from beneath the tree. If that was how it was going to be then she was going to simply return to her rooms. Perhaps even have a nice and relaxing soak while one of the servant girls rubbed oils in to her skin. Yes. That sounded quite pleasant. “You were amazing, my lord. Hopefully your skill with blade will soon surpass it. The enemy rarely attacks with wooden sticks.”
 
The Knight commander looked from the princess to the prince and waved him his dismissal. Kaleo opened a gate at one end of the ring and walked over to the princess. "My skills will get better. They have to be if I am to take my father's throne. My brother lost his life to your people because of his lack of knowledge with a weapon. Enemies may not fight with sticks, but with sticks they train, from sticks they move to steel." He wiped the sweat from his brow as the day's sun continued to beat down on him. "Perhaps we should go inside my lady. I would not want someone as delicate as yourself to allow the sun to harm such tender skin."

He escorted her into the halls of the castle, but fell behind once inside. "I do not appreciate such mockery in front of the men I train with. One day I'll be the one to lead them in battle as my brother did, and I do not want any of them recalling that the woman I am sworn to marry degraded me in front of them. You have been here for weeks and I hear naught a word from you except for your display of words outside."
 
By his tone, Eowyn knew that she had displeased him, but she hardly cared. Why should she? There was nothing that she owed him. It was him and his awful father that had tore her away from the heart of her homeland to be there. She hardly cared that it was her people that killed his brother. Much more Elven blood had been spilled than human. If she had siblings, who is to say how many could have been fodder for the war? Quietly she followed him back towards her rooms. Though she would prefer if he had simply left her when he had escorted her back inside.

“And I do not appreciate being in a foreign land with no friends and being forced to marry the prince of those who murdered my people,” she hissed back. If he wanted her to speak, then she would. There was a good chance that he would not like what he heard from her. “All I want is for the marriage to happen. We will have one night of awkward and likely terrible nuptials and then I will be able to get on with what life I can here. I care little for your reputation here. These aren’t my people; why should I show worry for what they think about you?”

The beautiful elven princess began to walk away from him. Her nimble legs moved quickly. Her aim was to get to her room before he could follow her. There would likely be anger in him from what she said and she did not want to deal with his wailing. Eowyn had already had to hear his complaining.
 
"'The prince of the people who killed the elves?' And what of you Princess of the elves who led a campaign slaughtering thousands of humans. Both sides are responsible for death. I'm no happier with this than you. I would have rather been the one in my brothers place, had I been born a few years before I would have been." he said becoming more irritated with her by the moment, he was starting to wish she hadn't left her room. Yet he couldn't stop following for whatever reason.

He ignored her comment on the nuptials, he new if they were terrible it would not be from his efforts, rather, instead from her lack of participance. The comment of his reputation was what set his blood aboil.

He quickened his pace and grabbed her shoulder to spin her around and raised a hand to slap her across the face. "You had better begin to care of my reputation. Once we marry my reputation will reflect on you, if I am seen as a worthless prince then you too will surely be seen as a worthless princess. Not that you seemed to have much worth to begin with since your father gave you up so readily."
 
Eowyn winced as he grabbed her shoulder. His grip was much more powerful than she would have ever anticipated. With a quick movement, he had turned her around, and his open palm had landed across her face. Tears instantly sprang to her eyes as pain erupted across the cheek. A hand came to cradle to the pain. No one had ever dared to strike her before! His words stung her more than his slap.

“My father loves me!” she screamed back shrilly. She took a few steps backwards. The sparkling tears that had been filling her eyes fell down her cheeks, which were now red with her anger and indignation. “I don’t care if I am a worthless princess here! I have such little care for this place that I wouldn’t care if everyone died! I wish you were your brother, too! That way I wouldn’t have needed to come here and leave my people for the sake of them.”

The elven girl fought the urge to slap him back or spit on him. All she wanted was to go to her room and shake him off. All she wanted to do was leave back for her home. Physical abuse of spouses was not something that the elven race took lightly.

“You’re a coward for hitting me like that. Perhaps it would be better if you had been the one who died. For your kingdom, it would have been.”
 
"Try learning of us before you speak! I hear from you once the entire time you've been here. All you've done is slander me and the people of Devras. Learn us and our culture before you judge us. You are shallow and withdrawn, all you know is you're stories of us from the war! I had thought we could learn something from one another, but to hell with it. I would have gladly died for my kingdom, but the Gods and the webs of fate they spin had other plans." He stood before her holding back the urge to strike her again, once should suffice to get the idea across.

"You place me in a situation where I would be nothing more than a coward no matter my actions. If I said nothing, I would be a coward for not defending myself and my people. If I spoke I'd be a coward for not facing what you believe to be the truth about us. I am yet still a coward for setting you in your place. Royalty, pheh, you act like little more than a sheltered spoiled little wench!" He said anger lining his face. There was so much more he wanted to say, to do to set her in her place, but he could not form the words to describe fully how he felt any farther than he did.
 
“Putting me in my place!?” she exclaimed in disbelief. In what society was it acceptable to smack around a woman and justify it with pathetic excuses? Eowyn disliked him more and more. She rubbed the soreness of her face and glared at him with more venom than she had ever mustered before. “It is talk like that which makes me think you are nothing but a kingdom full of barbarians! I may be a spoiled, shut in wench but, at least, I do not use my fists to pummel what I don’t like into submission!”

She crossed her arms over her chest. It was her nature that kept her from hitting him herself. No. She was not able to bring herself to slap him and treat him like he had treated her. The elf much preferred to use her words. However she did not even have the strength for that.

“I am going to nap before the next meal is served.” A hand rested on her forehead. “I now have a headache and no longer wish to deal with you.”

The princess attempted to walk pass him to get into her quarters.
 
He let her pass and continued down the hallway. He payed no mind to her comments of him being little more than barbaric, at least outwardly, inside he wanted to go to his father and demand she be sent somewhere other than here, to marry one of his cousins instead. However, as fate would have it, for human royalty, once a marriage has been arranged there is little either involved parties can do. In this case not even the parents of the children could do anything lest the peace be forfeit and war consume their lands again.

He made his way to the castle library and held himself inside away from the rest of the castle staff, save for the keeper of the records who would help him find any books he desired. He had taken four different books, one on battle tactics, one on battle history, and two others on elven history and elven lore. He wondered if it was the elven life style that made her so closed minded, some way her culture raised her, and if there was a way he could break that upbringing. Some of his studies weren't simply for trying to figure out how to break her, but to show that he would at least attempt to be the better one in the situation after his methods of getting his point across, and at least attempt to understand elven culture even a little to begin with.

"If she desires to call me a barbarian, then I shall prove her wrong. Maybe showing I'm open to her culture will get her to at least consider learning us. I only do this because father wishes it. With her attitude I'd sooner rather see in the stocks."
 
Eowyn did not enjoy being so venomous or so rude normally. In fact, outside of this environment, she was much more soft natured. Her ego had been marred severely when she had been told she was to be offered up as the virgin bride to their enemy’s prince. Her father had been very eager to sign the treaties and hand over her rights to these humans who treated women as they treated property. All she had been valued for was her looks here and even that had its limits. Situation had a lot to do with how she was behaving. This was akin to taking a piece of delicious fruit away from a child. She had all she had ever wanted back at her home. Here she was confined to her room because she found everything so vulgar.

As she stormed into her room she flung herself on the large pillows that compromised her bed. How many days would it be until she was officially bound to the brute? A hand came to rest and rub the sore spot on her cheek and her eyes watered. How dare he hit her! That above all things had made her angry. Perhaps she was being cruel and, perhaps, he did not deserve to be spoken to like that but that still did not warrant to be smacked in such a manner! Such behavior here was commonplace though. She had seen it before between servants and it instantly put a bad taste in her mouth.

If only she could be free from this horrible place. If only she could have been married to an Elven prince instead of the brat child of two uppity and forceful humans! Tucking one of the pillows beneath herself she began to weap bitterly. One day she would be free of him. They wouldn’t even have to stay in the same place if he didn’t want. After marrying her, he could ship her off to another castle and take on as many lovers and mistresses as he wanted. Maybe she would even be able to find a knight for herself.

So she spent time in her room sulking and catching bits of sleep between vague moments of clarity until she was summoned for the meal. A girl who wasn’t much older than sixteen came in to wake her; a cute little thing with blonde curls and soft brown eyes. This was the servant that had been assigned to the princess.

“My lady,” she said in a sweet voice. “My lady. You shouldn’t spend the afternoon sleeping away. We have a most delicious meal prepared for you and it would be a shame for it to go to waste.”

Eowyn grumbled and went about getting ready for the dinner she would now be forced to sit through with her new ‘mother’ and ‘father’ and that horrible would be husband of hers. The mark on her face was met with a gasp from the girl but she quickly waved her off and headed towards the dining room.
 
Kaleo had gone to his father, after attempting his hand at some studies both battle oriented and on the elvish, he had bored himself. He was in no true mood to sit down and study. He had gone to his father in his personal study and told him what had occurred. After telling him he had struck the young elven girl, his father had risen from his seat, placed down his journal, and approached his son in a manner far to calm for Kaleo's own comfort. Before Kaleo could acknowledge his father's movement, he had received his father's back hand across the same cheek he had told his father he struck Eowyn.

"W-what was that for father?!" He had been struck by his father many times in the past and dared not shed a trace of fear nor tear in front of the man lest he be struck again.
"You struck your bride to be, that is why. You say you put her in her place, so I placed you in yours."
"She was being a horrid wench! She slandered our people, my brother, our family, and myself to my face! Her words as I sparred in the courtyard were everything but kind." he said defending his actions.
"She doesn't understand our people. All she knows is what we displayed in war with her kind. She only knows us as barbaric and desiring nothing more than to conquer and fight."
"Pray tell father, how would you have me show her how we are? She desires nothing more than to leave the castle, but I am sure she will not leave unless it involved her returning to her home."
"Then find a way to get her to leave the castle grounds."
Kaleo rubbed his cheek as the sting from his father's strike began to set in, slowly glowing a bright red.
"Come my son, dinner is to be served soon. Give me no more reason to strike you again from today on." His father may have been getting up in his age, but he still commanded respect with the way he carried himself. Kaleo wished he was capable of commanding the respect of the elf just by looking at her as his father did to him.

He walked with his father half of his face glowing a fresh red, his father put far more force into the blow than Kaleo had described, however this was supposed to be a lesson. He would see how far his father's methods would get him. Perhaps an apology would be in order, no she would most likely mock him seeing the mark claiming his father surely scolded him and forced him to apologize like a child.
She would surely mock him for receiving punishment, he would give her no more fuel to add.

The dinner was to take place in a far smaller room than the main dining hall. The main dining hall was used for parties held by the royal family for the noble families. The room they would dine in was smaller but still well decorated with a table with the elongated shape. The king and queen would sit at either end, and the prince and princess would sit in the middle opposite one another. He was still in no mood to deal with her at the moment, and he was to be forced to stare at her in close proximity for the whole dinner.

When Eowyn came into the room, the queen had approached her husband speaking in a hushed tone asking what had happened to the two of them and why they both had marks on their faces. The king spoke lowly to her as well and quickly explained what had happened. The queen threw a look of disgust to her son, and shook her head. This was to be a good dinner and would not let his stupidity ruin it.
 
Eowyn wondered what was going on. The King and Queen both were speaking in hushed tones and Kaleo had a similar mark on his face to what she had on hers. Except his was fresher and looked far more pained than what hers felt. Good. Perhaps he had tried to spar again and had failed. It was very poetic that he got the same mark as she did. This satisfied her enough to visibly calm and relax before sitting down. Maybe he wouldn’t raise his hand to a woman again.

She fanned her hair over her shoulders and watched as the two others sat down in their respective seats. The king, of course, sat at the head of the table and the Queen on the other end. Her spot was across from the Prince. Even with the small victory she had won, it was difficult to look him in the eye. Despite herself, the elf was terrified of her husband to be. That little mark on his cheek hardly meant anything in the grand scheme of things. If she said something to make him angry he was going to hit her again; Eowyn did not hold her tongue well.

“Good evening, my prince,” she replied in a tone that was as civil as she could muster. Her hands were clasped viciously beneath the table. It was good that she wasn’t that strong or she might have hurt her own hands. “I trust it that the rest of the day has treated you well?”

The King looked between the two at her comment and she flushed. Her comment must have come off as smarmy. Which was, for the first time, not her intent. Or, perhaps, he was shocked at that the beautiful elf was actually speaking. This was the first time that she had said more than five words to anyone that she wasn’t screaming or upset.
 
Kaleo looked at the princess as he came into the room. He knew she saw the mark on him, fresh and red. The sting had not faded, his father had a far stronger arm than he could hope to obtain any time soon. He envied his father, he commanded respect from his subjects without question, yet to Kaleo he did not seem to rule as a tyrant. How could one demand such loyalty without demanding it. He took note that even the princesses demeanor changed while in the room with his father and mother. Perhaps she was trying to be civil around them, an act to prevent them from seeing her venomous side to make him look a fool in front of his father after what he had told the man?

It didn't truly matter at the moment, at least the woman knew how to be civil when others were around. He sat with them waiting for the servants to bring in the food that had been prepared for them.

"Good evening, my prince, I trust it that the rest of the day has treated you well."

He would have scoffed at her comment, having been at the receiving end of her poor attitude only hours earlier. However, his father knew how to be gentle, but as he had proven earlier and so many times before, he could be a fierce man. Kaleo knew better than to be disrespectful in front of his father.

"Yes princess, it has been, insightful to say the least." he said ignoring any negative thoughts he might have drawn from her words. He looked to his father after mention of his day being insightful, but followed the look with addressing his father. "What has the kitchen workers prepared for this meal father?" The king went from looking at the princess after her comment, back to Kaleo. "Duke Graos has offered some goods from the families who live on his lands. He offered much, but far more than we needed. However, you shall see what he offered here shortly. In the meantime wasn't there something you wished to ask of your lovely bride-to-be?" he asked his son to remind him of what they spoke of, while trying to flatter the princess.

"After dinner perhaps." he said looking towards Eowyn. "That is if the princess does not have other engagements tonight and will have time to spare for me." his mind labeled "engagements" as locking herself in her room, as it seemed to be all she did since she arrived.
 
Eowyn was stunned by the question. It was the first of its kind asked to her since she had come to the castle and a summons that she could not refuse. After all she just had spent the day humiliating the Prince and, really, she did not want to feel the sting of his hand again. That was the first time in her life she had been hit by anyone. Even in jest no one dared to mar her flawless white complexion. The worry rose to her eyes and she worked on swallowing a lump that had risen in her throat. By the gods! What sort of coward was she that she feared someone after one strike?

“If that is what he wants…” she replied; her voice trailing off in notable disdain for the situation. The princess did not want to be alone with him again. Violet eyes casted downward towards her plate. Now she wished for this to end quickly if only to speed up the talk with the Prince. “I am obligated to do as he asks.”

After all, she was simply a foreign princess. Technically her position there was on shaky ground at best and there was likely little in the way of protection in regards to her. There were likely many who wanted to see her dead simply because she was an elf. Many more who wanted to see her slain merely because she was the one to wed the prince! Begrudgingly, she had to admit that showing at least a shred of respect towards her intended was her best course of action.

“Eowyn, dear,” The Queen chimed in at her discomfort. “You are looking rather… off today. Are you ill?”

“Hmmm?” the raven haired beauty inquired, wondering what the royal meant. Her reflection was caught in a particularly shiny piece of flatware and she could have groaned. Her face was grayer than normal and the bags around her glorious eyes heavy. “Oh! I am fairing well. Sleep hasn’t been on my side, however, since I arrived to this castle.”
 
Kaleo remained quiet until the princess and his mother were done talking. He had been using the few moments to run some ideas through his mind on what to set up for tomorrow. His father had told him to make her see their people, but he knew that alone would not gain him or his family her respect. He had to think of something before tomorrow morning.

"It is understandable that sleep would be difficult to obtain in a new place. After all the elves live differently from us, am I correct? Or have I been reading books that might be older than my grandfather?" he was at least going to make an attempt to make nice in front of his parents. Though he still held some contempt for her about what she said. To him, he believed she hated them because she saw them nothing more than killers and the enemy of her people despite the treaty.
 
Eowyn looked to the prince, surprised that he would even ask about her culture. Though she had no clue if that was a good or a bad thing; her paranoia had sky rocketed since being there. Either she thought someone was going to kill her for being an elf or she thought they all hated her for her lineage. Shoulders rounded and she cleared her throat, unsure if this was a setup to attack her culture or if this was a genuine question.

“This is true,” she replied to him. “I am used to sleeping on many pillows the size of my body instead of an actual bed. Being here was the first time I used such a thing. My back is quite sore. My quarters at my old home opened up towards the garden and I could walk easily between the two. Most rooms are like that in elven culture. My people love nature and hold reverence for it; we try to keep our homes intertwined with it at all times. I suppose I miss the fresh air and scent of honeysuckle constantly circling through my room.”
 
The king spoke as the food was brought out by several castle servants.

"We may not have gardens about the castle, except for what is out in the main courtyard where we hold parties for the nobility and landowners within the kingdom, but you may certainly venture out of the castle with a couple of guards as escorts to see some of the outlying farmland and vineyards. There are a few landowners who devote large portions of their lands to growing native and exotic flowers to decorate feasts and festivals. I'm sure our son would be more than happy to take you to see them sometime himself, wouldn't you boy?"

Kaleo shot his father a quick glare, but dissolved it when he saw his father looking at him sternly. "Yes I would gladly take her any time she wished, if my studies and practices with the squires did not interfere."

"Fine then, I shall send word to the Knight Commander, the Squires, and your teachers, that whenever the Princess desires you to take her somewhere, that they are to dismiss you and give you leave."

He gave a slightly agitated sigh, he rather enjoyed his studies. "Yes father, that would help with the situation greatly." he said forcing a grateful tone.

On the table had been placed down an above average size roasted chicken, cooked to a dark golden brown, a large bowl filled with salad drizzled with a common vinegar, oil, and salt mixture. Various cooked and uncooked vegetables were brought out, the dishes they would eat on and with were made of pewter as were the dishes that held the food. Cups crafted from horn were brought out and promptly filled with a simple red wine. The chicken was the main source of meat, though a small dish had been brought out containing a decent amount of mutton. Not all this food was meant to be consumed in the single dinner, as the cooks would prepare more than they needed, taking into consideration they did not know the size of the royalty's appetites. Anything left over often went to any servants who had not eaten.

"Now let us eat and enjoy the food that the good Duke Graos has provided us with tonight." The king said once again praising the duke, and looked to Kaleo to finish the praise.

An annoyed sigh, tiring from such a trivial act, "May the Duke's lands and family see prosperity this year."
 
Eowyn was sure that if anyone from that kingdom got her alone, they would murder her, and did not like the idea of being taken out of the safety of the castle. However she wanted nothing more than to be outside of the bounds of that place. The walls were beautiful but they were the bars of a gilded prison. The beauty bit her lip when the King further suggested that the Prince take her instead of the guards. While she trusted him not to kill her she still did not like the idea of being alone with him for an extended time without the comfort of her sanctuary.

The disdain in his voice did not make her feel any better about it. A smile crossed her lips. Maybe she could make him show her around just to annoy him. Although that would not make her feel better at least she would know someone else was going to be as bothered as she was.

“Perhaps he can show me the exotic gardens tomorrow,” she replied softly. “It has been a very long time since I have seen the outside of the castle grounds. I am sure that my Prince will be an ample enough guide. How very <i>kind</i> of him to volunteer to be with his future bride.”

As the food came, her stomach gave a long growl. The meals here were always so rich. Instead of the fresh fruits, sprigs, and lean deer meat she was accustomed to at the castle there were breads and cured meats, caramelized vegetables, vinegar salads, and sweets. Thank goodness that she was an elf or all of that heavy food would go straight to her thighs. When the thanks for the food was given, she lifted her glass. Truly it was an amazing feast and it was fortunate that someone had provided it for them.

Quietly she tucked into her meal, enjoying the flavor of the fresh vegetables and the chicken. Starving as she was, she only ate a small amount compared to everyone else at the table. It wasn’t that she disliked what was given to her but her system was delicate, as all elves, and until she got adapted to the richness, she was going to hold back.
 
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