What A Time You'll Have |Grandisle, Firegem Isles
Jan 31, 2011 5:28:08 GMT -5
Post by Kender Bard on Jan 31, 2011 5:28:08 GMT -5
Now it was Delilah's turn to glance down but she smiled almost secretively as she did. "He had brown hair, not black, and he liked to wear it in a long braid. He was surprisingly light for an islander and he had soft brown eyes the color of new leather."
"He was a reserved man, in a way. He knew how to say what he wanted to in only a few words and he had an uncanny knack for putting men in their place with just a look or a short retort. He loved to listen to people rather than talk." She gave a short laugh. "And I thought he was as boring as sand. We were betrothed, you see. Put together through an arrangement from our parents when we were younger. I didn't mind, though. That's usually how it goes for young women of direct lineage birth, and I was the oldest of my sisters so it was almost assured that my hand would go to a house for a handsome price or much prestige. This case it was the latter. I didn't think I could love him or that he could love me."
"I spent most of our marriage performing my duties as his queen--we were married after he was crowned, you see. Which meant mostly taking care of his domestic affairs and seeing to his social life. It was a good life. Easy. Glamorous. Exactly what I was brought up for. I didn't bother with scandal or affairs because I found them distasteful, even though I didn't feel any great love for my husband at first. And he didn't care for it either. His favorite 'scandals' involved running off for stretches of a time to pretend to be some kind of peasant. He told me once he wished he had been born a fisherman's son. Oh I couldn't believe him! Now I do, of course. The rigors of ruling..."
She cleared her throat. "We did grow a fondness for each other. A deep fondness. He was my best friend... And it wasn't until after he died that I realized how much I loved him and how much he must have loved me." She trembled with an effort not to cry. A few deep breaths and she had gotten herself back under control. "He was a very good man. He cared for the people. Everything I know about ruling I learned from him." Her mouth quirked slightly. "Although he wouldn't have stood up and shouted down his court. I claim that charm all to myself."
"I thought I'd never love anyone ever again. Then five years after his death I realized that I had moved on. I still missed him. Miss him. And I regret... a lot. But I thought that I could get on with life. Maybe not marry again, I thought. But get on with living. And now five years after that I would give anything to be with a man who would love me and who I would love back... This time with no reservation and without taking it for granted. You'd think a single queen, eligible for marriage, would find someone to fill that role within a fortnight, but there's not a single native on this island who could love me like that. But the idea of marrying for love, especially as monarch, is a queer one to hold here. You have affairs out of love. Liaisons. Marriage is political. But I can't bring myself to it."
"He was a reserved man, in a way. He knew how to say what he wanted to in only a few words and he had an uncanny knack for putting men in their place with just a look or a short retort. He loved to listen to people rather than talk." She gave a short laugh. "And I thought he was as boring as sand. We were betrothed, you see. Put together through an arrangement from our parents when we were younger. I didn't mind, though. That's usually how it goes for young women of direct lineage birth, and I was the oldest of my sisters so it was almost assured that my hand would go to a house for a handsome price or much prestige. This case it was the latter. I didn't think I could love him or that he could love me."
"I spent most of our marriage performing my duties as his queen--we were married after he was crowned, you see. Which meant mostly taking care of his domestic affairs and seeing to his social life. It was a good life. Easy. Glamorous. Exactly what I was brought up for. I didn't bother with scandal or affairs because I found them distasteful, even though I didn't feel any great love for my husband at first. And he didn't care for it either. His favorite 'scandals' involved running off for stretches of a time to pretend to be some kind of peasant. He told me once he wished he had been born a fisherman's son. Oh I couldn't believe him! Now I do, of course. The rigors of ruling..."
She cleared her throat. "We did grow a fondness for each other. A deep fondness. He was my best friend... And it wasn't until after he died that I realized how much I loved him and how much he must have loved me." She trembled with an effort not to cry. A few deep breaths and she had gotten herself back under control. "He was a very good man. He cared for the people. Everything I know about ruling I learned from him." Her mouth quirked slightly. "Although he wouldn't have stood up and shouted down his court. I claim that charm all to myself."
"I thought I'd never love anyone ever again. Then five years after his death I realized that I had moved on. I still missed him. Miss him. And I regret... a lot. But I thought that I could get on with life. Maybe not marry again, I thought. But get on with living. And now five years after that I would give anything to be with a man who would love me and who I would love back... This time with no reservation and without taking it for granted. You'd think a single queen, eligible for marriage, would find someone to fill that role within a fortnight, but there's not a single native on this island who could love me like that. But the idea of marrying for love, especially as monarch, is a queer one to hold here. You have affairs out of love. Liaisons. Marriage is political. But I can't bring myself to it."