The Journey Home

[Iwant2bafencer]

Rosaline was used to cheering crowds throwing roses, tulips, daisies, and sometimes streamers and confetti in the air when riding back into town.

This time was different. Black banners hung from signs and posts. The once cheerful faces of friends were now solemn. She had hoped their homecoming would be at least a little cheerful, but there was no sign of that, not in their time of hardship.

After seeing Dr. Abernathy about her arm--and getting a strong lecture on keeping it clean--she thanked him and went to her room to get a bath, and a change of clothes. The bath had felt good, and soothed her aches, but not her mind and soul. Even so, she felt a little better.

She had debated between breeches and a shirt, or a dress. She decided on the latter when she remembered seeing The Von Shmect's carriage out front. She had nodded to them at the ball, and had heard of them wanting to rule Arconia, but she had never met them.
Another reason she chose the dress was to get a little more of the 'old' feeling back. She knew that a simple dress could not brighten anyone's spirits, but it was right for being in the castle.

She needed to speak to the queen. Well, she didn't really ?need? to speak to her; Loch had said he would handle speaking with her about Arcon. Rather, it was more of a ?want?; she wanted the queen to know that Rosaline was there for her.

Throwing her hair up in a simple French twist and slipping Moon's dagger through it, she headed down to see the queen. When she arrived the queen was speaking with Dr. Abernathy, and pacing the floor. Rosaline opened the door, and the queen turned anxiously.

"Oh Lady Rosaline?I thought you were Sir Lochinvar."


Rosaline curtsied, and looked at the queen with compassion. "No, but he said he would be coming to see you." She nodded at Abernathy. "Thank you again for looking at my arm." The doctor nodded back.

"Your arm?" The queen asked. "Are you hurt?"
Rosaline flushed a little. "Well, no, it happened a while ago. No need to worry. It's almost healed," she added hastily.

Dr. Abernathy excused himself for a moment to have a servant go and make sure he had locked his workroom. There was a short moment of silence. Then, taking a deep breath, Rosaline broke it.

"My queen, may I ? well, ?we? ? speak freely?" The queen nodded. Rosaline stepped closer to her friend, taking Zelda?s hands in hers. "How are you coming along?" The queen sighed, and made a slight nod.

"If it's any help, I know that all of this is very hard, and more so for you than any of us, but I think there's still hope. No, I KNOW there's still hope!" Now it was her turn to sigh. "I'll let Loch fill you in on everything, for he is far better at it than I. I just wanted to tell you not to lose hope."

Zelda managed a brief smile, and then Abernathy and Lochinvar entered the room, preventing their conversation from continuing.

"Ah good. Lochinvar, I need your help." The queen stated.

"Of course, Your Majesty." He replied.
"Can I help with anything?" Rosaline asked anxiously, wanting to help in any way she could, whether it be small or big. She would be there for her friends.

[ 11-16-2001: Message edited by: Iwant2bafencer ]

[DamedEscrime]

The sight of Willow crying distressed Jo. She wanted to cry too, but held it in. Willow needed someone to be strong for her and Jo decided she would be it. "Oh, Willow. What is it? Does not this medallion bring you hope that the Lady Moon is alive somewhere? Why else would it have been found, if not as a clue?"

Willow looked at Jo through her damp eyes and thought how foolish were the young. They only see what they want and not how is. To them the world is an exciting adventure to play out, not the tragedy of reality. "You are right in that this is a clue, but I fear it is only a clue as to where we might locate her spent shell. Jo," she sniffed, "you must see this as it is, only a token of death. The sooner we resign ourselves to that fact the better we all shall be."

"Willow! How could you say such a thing? There is no proof that she is dead."

"And there is no proof she is alive."

"Then we are at a draw, Mistress Willow. Take the medallion, work your magic and see what is truth, but I know in my heart that will will find the Lady Moon. ALIVE!"

With that Jo quickly retreated to the palace and her quarters. She needed time alone. She was sore and dirty and tired.

As she passed the staircase to the ballroom she thought of the first time she had met Lochinvar. In a flash she remember how handsome he looked and how she felt to be wrapped in his arms and spinning to some enchanting piece. She lingered there a moment, savoring the feel then hurried along to freshen herself lest he see her this way any longer.

[Lord Tellurine]

The door opening interrupted the Von Schmect’s tea. In stepped Queen Zelda, Lochinvar, and Lady Rosaline. “Baron,” Queen Zelda greeted. “Baroness.”

“Your highness,” Baron Von Schmect said in a sugary sweet voice as he stood. Baroness Von Schmect remained seated. In front of her was an empty plate of cookies. Baron Von Schmect crossed the room to where Queen Zelda stood. He bowed in front of her and said, “We bring you our deepest condolences.”

Queen Zelda motioned back towards the sofa, offering him his seat back. He sat back down and Zelda sat in the sofa across from them. She said, “I had no idea that news traveled to the east so fast.”

Baron Von Schmect smiled, “We care deeply about the news of our fair kingdom.”

Especially if it favors you, thought Queen Zelda, keeping her polite smile.

The Baron paused momentarily and glanced up at Lochinvar and Lady Rosaline who were standing on either side of the sitting queen. “We were hoping for a private audience with you, Queen Zelda. We have important state matters to discuss.”

“You may speak freely,” said Queen Zelda. She turned towards Lochinvar and introduced, “This is Lochinvar, my trusted counsel and an old friend to the crown.” She turned towards Rosaline. “This is Lady Rosaline, head of Arconia’s armed forces.” Zelda thought it best not to mention the secret service.

Baroness Von Schmect snorted her disapproval that a “lady” would be in charge of the armed forces. Nobody paid her any mind as the Baron smiled and said, “Very well.” He then began his pitch. “These are historic days for Arconia. It has never been without a King and if a King died, there was a prince who could step up to take his place. King Arcon was at the end of a long family line and it seems to me that since you two never had a son, or any kind of children for that matter, it leaves us in a bit of a predicament.”

Zelda knew exactly what he was getting at, but played dumb and said, “I’m afraid I don’t follow you.”

He continued, “Arconia needs a king. Without one we are susceptible to attacks from abroad because we will be viewed as being weak. And without a strong king to keep order we could be exposed to uprisings from within our own borders!”

Rosaline broke in, “I can assure you that the Arconian armed forces can subdue any threats made against our kingdom.”

The Baron turned towards her and snapped, “And how many of Arconia’s soldiers will be willing to go into battle without a king leading the charge?”

She answered back, “They will follow me!”

“Or me,” added Zelda confidently.

The Baroness snorted her disapproval again.

The Baron just smiled and replied in a slow, methodical voice “And what do we do when your Highness is killed on the battlefield and we are left without any royal family to rule the country? There would be power struggles amongst the elite. There would be civil war. Many of your citizens would die.”

Queen Zelda didn’t like the way the conversation was going. It was time for Dr. Abernathy’s cue. She coughed. Nothing happened. She coughed louder. Lochinvar and Lady Rosaline stood uncomfortably on each side of her, knowing what was supposed to happen. She coughed louder still.

Baron Von Schmect looked at her in a funny way. “Queen Zelda, is everything all right?”

Suddenly, through the open door rushed Dr. Julius Abernathy. He was decked out in his full doctoring outfit and he came right over to where Queen Zelda was sitting. “Your highness,” he said in a stilted, wooden voice, “there… you are! You know… you are not well enough… to entertain guests.” He looked at the Von Schmects. “I am… sorry,” he said. “Queen… Zelda needs to rest. She has a condition.”

Baroness Von Schmect asked, “What is her condition?”

Dr. Abernathy paused as if trying to remember something. Finally he said, “Fever syndrome.” His eyes were furiously trying to avoid the Von Schmects. He took Queen Zelda by the arm and helped her up from the sofa. Together they left the room.

As soon as they had left Queen Zelda turned to the doctor and said with a laugh, “Fever syndrome?”

Back inside, Lochinvar smiled at the Von Schmects and said, “I will see you back to your carriage. It would be best if you came back in a few weeks. Fever syndrome is highly contagious.”

Lady Rosaline squelched a smile as the Von Schmects rose from the sofa, wondering what had just happened.

[DamedEscrime]

Jo woke with a start as Nani came banging through the door. Her bath water had long ago turned cold and she shivered with the chill of it.
"Oh, Lordy! Darlin' have ye fallen asleep in there?" Nani quearied. "You'll catch yer death! Now, come out of there."

As Jo stepped out of the old brass tub, fingers and toes severly wrinkled. Nani wrapped a towel around her and began to pat her back dry. Jo protested,"Nani, really, I can do this myself. I am no longer a little girl."
"I know me bairn, But you'll always be a little one to me, Nani replied gently. "And I was so worried about ya bein' gone fer so long. You leavin' so sudden with nary a word. Oh, Jo, you must promise me to never do this again. You'll have me ole heart in fits."
Jo turned to look at the concerned old woman. It was then that Nani saw the marks on Jo's neck. She reached to carefully touch them. "Who has done this?" she asked in a hushed tone.
"It was Zarcon, but he'll bother no one again. It will heal," Jo answered blandly." Then more excitedly, "Arcon and Zelda saved me and I stabbed Zarcon and then..." she fell silent.
"Zarcon! Sacre bleu! What else did he do to you?
Did he...did.." Nani could not say the words. "No, Nani. He only held me. That is all."
Relief fell on Nani's face.

"But Nani, there is something I must tell you. Something has happened between Sir Lochinvar and me."

Nani gasped, "I knew he was not to be trusted. Darling, what did he do? You know he is a rogue. I told you as much. We shall have him arrested this very night!"

"No, no, Nani.."Jo almost laughed. "He has done nothing but been good and kind. He ministered to my wounds and kept me warm. Oh Nani, he was wonderful and he kissed me."

Nani's hand went to her overly endowed chest."Were you not able to defend yourself from him?"

Jo smiled again, "Nani, listen to me. There was no need for defense. I wanted him to do it and I liked it. It made me feel... feel so different."

"Jo, 'tis lust, pure and simple, but if he's not had his way with ye. Ye can still find forgiveness."

"Forgiveness? For what? For a kiss and for feeling wonderful? Nani, be serious. I need no forgiveness and neither does Lochinvar. He is the most honourable man I know. Now, hand me a robe. We'll have no more of this silly talk."

"Very well," replied Nani, but in her heart she vowed to stop anymore romantic intentions Sir Lochinvar might have aboutJo.

[ 11-17-2001: Message edited by: DamedEscrime ]

[Zelda]

The Queen, on seeing Dr. Abernathy so regaled had a hard time hiding her laughter......

When they were a safe distance from the reception rooms she gave in and started laughing....
"FEVER SYNDROME Julius???? FEVER SYNDROME??? Thats a classic!!!"

Well hidden behind curtains she watched Rosaline and Lochnivar see the Von Schmects to thier carriage.

"I must show them I can Rule the kingdom...without Arcon." Zelda thought.

"We WILL HAVE THE KNIGHTING CEROMONY!"

"We will?" a voice said behind her, as she turned and saw Lochinvar standing in her doorway.

"Oh Loch....did I think out loud again? And How did you get up here so fast?"

"You forgot I know all the passages you do Zelda. Remember playing Hide go Seek?"

"Yes....." Zeldas eyes had misted over again at the memory which Lochinvar had stirred, and he immeadiately felt guilty.

[Iwant2bafencer]

Rosaline came hurrying through the open doorway with an extremely serious look on her face.

The group looked at her in confusion.
"Is something wrong Lady Rosaline?" Loch asked.

"Yes there is." She replied glaring at Dr. Abernathy. "Our doctor here is in the wrong line of work. I feel we should find a new doctor," She paused here to let her audience soak in what she was saying. "and apoint this man as royal comedian!"

She then laughed out loud.
"The baroness looked as if she was a little girl, and had just found out that Christmas wasn't coming this year, and she woulnd't get her presents! I mean, did you see the look on her face when the queen left?"

Rosaline now took on the look of a wrinkled shocked face.

The room burst with laughter easing the tention that was there before Rosaline entered.

"I must say Dr. Abernathy that was briliant! Simply briliant. Oh, and you your majesty you were great! You kept your cool, and when you started caughing, and such afterwards. I seriously was about to get worried! I thought it was real!"

"Yes, it did look quite real from my point of view." stated Dr. Abernathy.

"Well, you know me! I'm always up for a good comedy." The queen replied striking a pose.

There were a few more minutes of laughter, and joking. Then Rosaline changed the subject.

"Alright, what now? I hate to say it, but the Baron had a point. Right now we only have our queen." She shifted her gaze to Zelda. "and if you die. Or something happens, and we haven't found king Arcon. Then the Von Shmect's will pounce on the kingdom like it was a Thanksgiving feast." She paused looking around the room.
"So any ideas?"

------------------
Carpe Diem

[DamedEscrime]

Nani, trudged back towards the kitchen muttering to herself. "That girl does not know what she is getting into. That Lochinvar is a bad one. He'll be carryin' her off before we all know what is happenin'. Oh, we'll never see the dear thing again. Certainly, she thinks t'would be romantic. She is such a foolish thing. What to do? What to do? Hmmm... think, think... Aha! Me old friend Rathsmusen. She'll know what to do." She grinned to herself. The pots and pans from the day's meal would wait tonight. Instead, Nani pulled her wrap from its peg and headed out the back door to see her old friend, Rathsmusen the gypsy.

[ 11-19-2001: Message edited by: DamedEscrime ]

[Swordsman]

Ooh, yes, I'm liking this...

"Lies, treachery, and math homework."

[ 11-18-2001: Message edited by: Swordsman ]

[DamedEscrime]

Well, get your little butt back here and you can play too!!

[Iwant2bafencer]

Yea! All . .4 of you! my word!

----------------
Carpe Diem

[Lord Tellurine]

After a long silence it became apparent that nobody had any ideas. Breaking the silence, Lochinvar asked Dr. Abernathy if he could remove his stitches.

“Certainly,” said Dr. Abernathy with a smile. “Let’s find ourselves a nice spot to do that.”

They excused themselves from Queen Zelda and Lady Rosaline and went to a small room that faced south and was thusly well lit. Dr. Abernathy pointed at an ottoman sitting in the room and said, “Sit.” He began unpacking his bag.

Lochinvar sat and Dr. Abernathy went to work. He worked silently with the exception of the occasional tongue click, a habit he had when he was deep in thought, and a constant annoyance to Mrs. Abernathy. Finally he said, “I think…” He paused as if he was still thinking about what he thought. He repeated, “I think… that the best thing for Queen Zelda and for Arconia would be to find King Arcon… Alive.”

Lochinvar was quiet for a moment then said, “I agree.” He then added, “But that’s just not possible. We searched the entire river. All the way up to the sea.”

Dr. Abernathy said, “King Arcon would do anything for his citizens. Anything he could possibly do. We all knew he was someone we could come to when we needed help. And I think that there are enough Arconians who would be willing to leave their homes and lives to search the land… and the sea… for their king.”

“It’s inconceivable that he would have survived the fall from the cliff, the journey down the river, and continued to live if he were carried out to sea.”

“And to me it is inconceivable that we would give up looking and hand over the kingdom to the Von Schmects.”

“Nobody is going to ‘hand over’ the kingdom to the Von Schmects.”

“Of course not. They’ll find a way to take it.” Dr. Abernathy finished. “Done,” he announced. He began to pack up his bag.

“Dr. Abernathy,” said Lochinvar, “putting together another search party would be unproductive.”

Dr. Abernathy began walking to the door. He stopped and turned around just before exiting. “You ask the citizens of Arconia if it would be unproductive. The answer might surprise you.” With that, he turned and left.

[Zelda]

Ok guys, my life is getting hetic as hades here so feel free to throw me in as needed. I will be back for the knighting ceremony (next weekend I hope!)
Zelda

[DamedEscrime]

"Why did gypsys always have to live on the edge of town?" Nani muttered to herself as she sped across the square. The shadows were getting long. If she did not hurry she'd have to walk back in the dark.

Meanwhile an old grey head, hair hanging, loosly tied with a bit of twine bobbed up and down in an effort to spy on what few passed by. Thick golden hoops hung from her long strectched lobes dangling freely. The gangly appearance and riot of color worn by Rathmussen along with the bobbing gave one the impression of some great water bird that perched upon stick-like legs.

Nani found her thus and slipped up quietly behind as to not give away the secret perch. Tappping her on the shoulder and whispering, "Rathmussen, what are you looking at?" the old woman, being somewhat deaf, pratcially jumped out of her skin at being snuck up upon. Heart pumping wildly she turned to see her old friend. "Why, Nani, I ought to put a curse on you for that. What to mean scaring me half to death?"

Nani spoke quickly, "I am sorry, my friend, but I have urgent business concerning an affair of the heart. I desperately need your advice and perhaps a trick or two."

"Ah," she responded. "Tell me more. This sounds intriguing."

"Well, it's like this...." Nani began.

Meanwhile, Jo had donned the same pretty yellow dress that she had worn before the latest adventure had begun. Loch had said she looked like a ray of sunshine init. The little yellow shoes would not do today though, her foot was a bit swollen and could not see fit to push its way into one. Instead she opted for a pair of soft blue velevet slippers.

Her hair had tangle terribly during her time away and it took a considerable amount of time to brush through it. Brushing her own hair made her wondered where Nani could be. She usually liked to brush her hair and did a much better job of it too. Well, no matter, the tangles were coming out. Soon she was able to twist the unrully strands and pile them on her head, fastening them with a lovely gold clip. She looked once more in the mirror and though how nice it was to feel like a woman again.

The last thing she did was sprinkle herslf with her favorite rasberry scented water. Then she left her chambers and went in search of Lochinvar.

[DamedEscrime]

It did not take long before Jo discover Loch shaking his head as he left the small room were Dr. Abernathy had removed the stitches. As he looked to see who was coming down the hall his face quickly changed to a smile.

As she neared him he reached out to take both her hands and pull her into the now empty room.
She started to speak, "Loch, wha...?"
"Shh, mo chroi. Let me look at you." he said in a hushed voice. This made her blush, feeling self conscious and she could not look into his eyes.
"Again, you have brought the sun to me and brightened an otherwise dismal day. I shall just have to reward you," he smiled. Then he pulled her close, lifted her chin and kissed her firmly on the mouth. Her eyes closed and she waited for more. He kissed her again and then moved to her neck just above the shoulder. His breath was warm on her ear and it sent a shiver down her back.
She felt as if she were drifting off into a wonderful dream and she didn't want to wake up.

The two were lost in each other when, suddenly the door crashed open and Dr. Abernathy came flying into the room he had left only moments ago. Startled from their brief repast, Loch and Jo jumped apart and stared, red faced, at the good doctor.

[DamedEscrime]

Ok, Lord Tellerine. You're reaction, please. Then I want to hear fron Lochinvar.

[Lord Tellurine]

Dr. Abernathy became as flustered as the two lovers. “I… um… excuse me,” he stuttered incoherently. He smiled a wide smile and then stopped. He smiled again. Finally he said, “I forgot my stethoscope. On the table there…”

Jo spun around and saw the missing piece of equipment. She quickly grabbed it. She smiled an uncomfortable smile and handed it to Dr. Abernathy.

He took it and shoved it unceremoniously into his bag. He began to turn to leave, but at that last moment he looked at Lochinvar and said with a wink, “Glad to see you’re recovering so fast.”

[Swordsman]

Oh, the memories, the memories...

Guess a friend's better than a parent, no?

[Swordsman]

By the way, Lochinvar, is mo chroi just something you made up, or actually from a language?

[lochinvar]

"Mo chroi" is Gaelic, though it is identical in Irish.

Scots Gaelic and Irish are quite similar in many respects, rather like Spanish and Italian.

I am using the traditional Gaelic/English spelling, but it would be pronounced "muh-KREE".

(For native English speakers, pronouncing Gaelic or Irish is problematic if you've never heard it spoken. For examples, the town in southern Ireland spelled 'Laois' is pronounced 'Leesh', while the type of drum spelled 'bodhran' is pronounced 'boe-RAWN'. As for Welsh...well, I'm not sure even the Welsh know what's going on there... )

[lochinvar]

For a moment, Loch and Jo simply stood looking at each other, then Loch exploded in uncontrollable guffaws, as Jo stood fanning her flaming face and giggling.

“My, I haven’t been surprised like that since I was a young lad!” Loch said when he could catch his breath. He reached for Jo’s hands again. “It’s a good thing we weren’t attacked on the way home with you along – they could have walked right up to me before I even knew they were there. You see what a distraction you are to me,” he murmured as he drew her close against his chest.

Jo’s brow wrinkled in concern. “Really? Oh, I hope not; that would put you in grave danger!”

“Hush,” he said as he stroked his hand back and forth across her shoulder. She was so earnest, at times! “I’m only joking. Although you have been occupying a lot of my thought, lately.”

“Oh? Well, that’s good, then,” she replied with a smile. She tilted her face up expectantly and lifted her eyebrows in invitation, one he accepted, most willingly. After a moment, he pulled back to look at her.

“Ah, sweetling, I must return to the queen, now. Will I see you again, soon? Or better yet, if you don’t have any other pressing business, come along with me. We still need to ask her about your sword training, remember?”

“Alright,” she assented, and they started back. “And don’t forget, you were going to teach me to shoot. I’m holding you to that!”