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Old 06-25-2003, 12:20 AM   #225
Elora
Shade of Carn Dûm
 
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Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Kalrienmar
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Sting

Vanwe walked towards the pen of horses in a pleasant daze, Derufin's smile bright before her and the gentle brush of his fingers on her inner wrist warm still. His smile, she decided, was wonderful. Not calculating, nor savage as they sometimes can be, like she saw all too often, but genuine and welcome. He was not harsh and ungentle, not a scowl or a hard word. Not even when she had been discovered hiding in his stables. Derufin was a puzzle to her, defying what knowledge she had built up on the nature of Men. Vanwe had her share of puzzles, but this one was one she was pleased to have.

Gentle touch, she thought, graceful soul. Though she had little by way of experience of the truth of that in her own experiences, she thought it true with a clarity that overrode her own past. She took to humming, the same lilting southern melody that had accompanied her broom that morning, as she neared the gate.

Curious by the softly singing newcomer, the horses crowded forward and Vanwe set about guiding the halters into place with a firm, confident hand that had always been hers when working with animals. She had the first shift of horses almost back to the stables, two leads in each hand and four horses trailing amicably behind her, when a woman burst at a run from the stables. Vanwe felt the reins jolt in her hands as the horses behind her lifted their heads back in surprise.

The running woman was gone before Vanwe could say anything, and the jerking leads needed her attention. It took some moments to quiet the startled horses and led them into the stables proper. Ignoring the faint ache in her shoulders that resulted from the reins being yanked backwards by four suprised horses, she lead each one into their respective stables and unhitched them. Her charges soon forgot their alarm, burying themselves in the fodder that had been set there that morning in readiness for the evening.

Vanwe saw a new horse had been placed in the far stall, Derufin standing nearby with a puzzled expression.

"Do you know who she is," he asked. Vanwe shook her head.
"No, and I had no chance to remedy that," she added.

"I wonder if she's in trouble," he murmured and then considering that she'd tarried to stall her horse started to reassess that.

"Well, not even a Haradian slaver could catch that sprint," Vanwe surmised. She'd seen them run more than one reluctant piece of property and doubted that even they would be able to do so for the woman who had burst from the stables.

"Perhaps she heard of Cook's instance on regular meals and did not wish to be late for dinner," Vanwe offered with a trace of a smile that was distinctly mischevious. She turned to see to the remaining horses so that she too would be able to avoid Cook's disapproval for the upcoming meal. The dusk had deepened to a pale shimmer by the time all the horses had been stabled, and their blankets placed in preparation for the night.

Vanwe surveyed each row of stalls on both sides of the stables, to be sure door catches were in place, dusting her hands on her skirt. She glanced down at the gritty material and wrinkled her nose. Noone would credit that she'd washed it only the day before. She climbed the ladder leading to the loft and went to the one draw that held all her possessions.

Vanwe divided her efforts between shaking the attic dust and the day's work from her dress and combing her hair free of any snarls. She braved a quick glance in the small mirror, fortified for what she would see. Thin, pale, tall, unlike the sun burnished people who had surrounded her from birth. Vanwe set the mirror down, and closed off the comments she could still hear in her mind. Conscious that Cook already had cause to be unhappy with her for the incident surrounding the very late lunch, she hurried back down the ladder on nimble feet.

Derufin looked up from where he sat at her speedy return, pulled from reverie.

"I don't want to be late either. Cook is already displeased with me," she explained. The distant expression on his face faded, and Vanwe recognised it quickly from the day before. As he nodded his understanding, well familiar with Vinca Bouce's formidible wrath himself, Vanwe wondered if she should venture a question of the family that Derufin spoke of earlier. The family that she guessed brought a still sadness upon him.

Her question remained unspoken in her eyes, as she weighed the pleasure of his smile against her curiosity. She knew which was more valuable, and cast her question aside. Instead, Vanwe siezed upon instinct.

"Your family would be proud of you, Derufin," she said quietly and turned to withdraw before she trespassed further. Any family would proud of him, she added silently.
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Characters: Rosmarin: Lady of Cardolan; Lochared: Vagabond of Dunland; Simra: Daughter of Khand; Naiore: Lady of the Sweet Swan; Menecin: Bard of the Singing Seas; Vanwe: Lost Maiden; Ronnan: Lord of Thieves; and, Uien of the Twilight
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