Whethering the Storm

[Lady Aslinn Draconis]

In a flare of skirts and loose dark locks, Aslinn’s form brushed up against a wall as she pushed against it to change her direction. She was not a good runner, nor was she fast by any means. But in this moment she wanted to distance herself from Calen. She scrapped her elbow along the wall as she skirted along it. Tears in her eyes caused her vision to blur, hence why she collided briefly with the wall. She had thought to run as far away as possible, but she was already becoming winded. Small gasps taken in order to calm her, but failed as she continued to run. She had thought to go to the castle gardens but there were already people milling about. She did not wish to speak to anyone.

Her feet carried her pass the garden wall and straight to the stables. There she would find a stable boy preparing to unsaddle one of the horses. She rushed toward him in a flurry of emotion. She stated to him that she had need of a horse. The stable boy stood looking at her dampen face. His concern noted but she raised a hand to stop him from saying anything else. She did not want to hear pity in his voice nor anyone else’s. Calen had tried to calm her, to even reason with her. She would not have it. She was certain he would follow after her in no time. But at present she was alone with her thoughts. Which might prove to be more damaging then first thought.

A loud crack echoed overhead. She paid it no mind as she drew her heels up into the horse’s flank in order to get him to move. With a firm hold on the reins, she drew them toward her and steered the animal out the stable doors. She had not even taken the time to get herself a robe to ward off the impending chilly night air. The sun was all but fading into twilight when she decided to flee. She didn’t even know where she was going. Perhaps she would ride the animal to the point of complete exhaustion. She didn’t know where she was going. She just rode the animal out of the stables and down the road that would lead to the open fields.

She wanted to be lost. She didn’t want to think about anything. The pain was too great. Thinking that if she stopped then the reality of her world would crash on top of her. Belis would be dead, and she would have to grieve him. She was yelling at the animal to go faster. Tears spilling down her cheeks as she rode onward to no specific destination, at least for the moment.
Dust kicking up behind them as they rode upon the dirt rode. The thunderous sound of the horse’s hooves picked up as they broke into the field. A heavy scent of rain hung in the air. It was fitting really. Miserable weather, matching how miserable she was feeling. The pang in her chest seemed to grow. As her sobs started to take over she drew back on the reins, slowly the animal considerable.

Once the horse came to a stop Aslinn slipped from the saddle. Grief taking over as she sunk to the ground, arms crossed about her torso, hands clasped about her shoulders as she cried. The sobs having broken through to the grief she was trying to keep at bay. It was in this moment that tiny droplets of rain struck the top of her head and slipped down her cheeks, mixing with her tears as she grieved for her poor brother.

[Joscelin Trevalion]

"Bugger," Aemon grunted, wiping mud off of his doublet as he entered Joscelin's room. He looked disgruntled and weary, and the dismay that riddled his features made it obvious that he was none too pleased. Joscelin looked up, leveling his gaze on Aemon and gauging his clothing. "Nothing that a wash couldn't fix," Joscelin observed. "It's not that my lord," Aemon admitted, which Joscelin assumed was right; after all, it was late and why else would Aemon be here. He sighed and set his quill down, freehand grabbing his right to massage as he turned toward his loyal servant.

"Speak freely then, Aemon. What's wrong...?" Joscelina asked.

"My lord, it's the Lady Aslinn Draconis. She nearly ran me over in the street." Aemon said. Joscelin lifted a brow at that. "She didn't apologize?" He asked. Aemon shook his head. "Well, maybe she didn't see you. It's raining. So, don't be so moody over it, Aemon..." Joscelin said, but Aemon shook his head once more. "It's not that, my lord. It's...well, it's late, you know and her manservant Calen...he wasn't there. She was alone and seemed to be riding blindly through the streets." He said, and as Joscelin was turning away, he stilled and turned back.

"You didn't try to stop her or attempt to alert the guards?" Joscelin asked.

"Well, my lord...It's hard to call anyone to stop when they nearly ran you over and are at a gallop," Aemon confessed. Joscelin frowned at the notion of Aslinn at a break neck speed in the rain. "You said Calen wasn't in sight, yes?" Joscelin asked, Aemon nodded. "Well then, I suppose I should find her then." He said and came to his feet, reaching for his cloak.

Every motion was methodical as Joscelin clasped his cloak and lifted the hood when they neared the servant's exit, which would lead them out and onto the sable. When they exited, Joscelin spoke over the downfall of rain. Fortunately, it wasn't too harsh...yet. Who knew what may come of it within the hour. Nonetheless, Joscelin told Aemon what he wanted done, taking control of the situation as he was wont to do.

"I'll take the thoroughfare and toward the maingate. I want you to wander to the slums and ask about there if they saw anyone venturing about," Joscelin said. Aemon nodded. Unfortunately, it was hard to tell where Aslinn had rushed off too when considering the fact that it was raining. They did know where Aemon was nearly run over though and that was on the main thoroughfare, but who knew whether or not she ventured onto a serpentine alleyway. Nonetheless, the moment they entered the stables and had the stablemaster's attention, Joscelin let him have it instantly.

"You saw a woman come here, yes?" Joscelin asked, fixing the man with a narrowed gaze.

"Yes, my lord...she...well, she looked upset..." He confessed.

Aemon had been working both of their horses the entire time as Joscelin shook his head.

"So?" Joscelin asked. "It was raining and it's late, and the weather doesn't look like it was getting any better, and yet, you allowed her to leave...? Bah!" Joscelin growled, brushing past the man before mounting up. Aemon, silent and regarding the stablemaster with no pity, did the same. "If she returns, send for me," Joscelin said, guiding his horse free of the stables as Aemon had done the same. What happened then...well, it was a long night to say the very least.

As Joscelin had intended, he had begun to question anyone out and about the main thoroughfare that were rushing homeward. That and the men on patrol who seemed miserable to be out under the downpour. Yet, none of them had seen a woman...except for one, who was unfortunately drunk and his slow, slurred speech did not help whatsoever. Yet, Joscelin had gleaned a semblance of knowledge that let him know that she had rode out for the forest of Balor, at least that was the direction. Joscelin sighed and figured he could leave Aemon to his own search in case he didn't find Aslinn at the forest. Fortunately, Joscelin had taken his nobleman's blade with him before leaving if there was a need for protection.

He left Camelot.

Aquilon plodded through the rain and mud, sheets of rain running down Aquilon's body and off of his hooded cloak. Fortunately, upon entering the forest, the canopy overhead diverted most of the storm as he rode through the trees and called out a single name.

"Aslinn!" He waited for another call back but there was nothing.

"Aslinn Draconis!" He called once more with more fervor, louder than ever and with that distinct timbre of his. There was no answer still. "Aslinn Dracon--" Then suddenly Aquilon snorted and tossed his head, reacting to somewhat that was near...what he found...well, was rather unexpected. It was the form of a woman and nearby a horse whom seemed to sidle closer to a tree for protection. He dismounted hastily and rushed over, as he threw his arms around her, embracing her fiercely.

"My lady! Are you mad?" He demanded, looking quite genuinely crossed as his hands lifted to hold her face between his hands. He took a shuddering breath as his hands fell away and worked his cloak free to slip over her. Unfortunately, Aslinn was already soaked through, but at least he could try to keep her warm and protect her from any more. Nonetheless, he looked genuinely concerned and even relieved to see her well and alive.

"I have half a mind to punish you myself," he murmured, brows furrowed as he tugged the hood of his cloak over her head. HIs eyes lifted to settle evenly with her own, gaze roaming over her features for a moment as he sighed heavily. "Why are you even out here...?" Joscelin asked, looking doubtful of a good enough answer.

[Lady Aslinn Draconis]

A crack of thunder echoed in the sky as the rain came. Aslinn knelt upon the forest floor curled over her knees. Riddled with grief. Her body trembled as she cried for her dead brother. It was a strange thing to do for someone. Cry for them. What good did it do? It did not bring her comfort or peace, at least not at that moment. She was confused and troubled by these events. Why was he gone? Why did it have to be him? Of course she didn’t want it to be anyone else. She just didn’t understand the reason for his death. If she had been there she could have saved him. It was a ridiculous thought and was not any truer for her thinking it. He was dead because it was the way the world worked. She could not change it.

She had spent the first ten minutes crying for him. Then yelling at the sky, between the cracks of lighting and thunderous reply. Was god listening? Was he laughing at her? How could one god think this was at all fair? She threw her arms out at her sides and demanded that he return what he had stolen from her. She screamed to the tops of her lungs before falling back into sobs. Deep, heart wrenching sobs that caused her entire body to shake. Her long dark locks clung to her flesh. She had forgotten her robe and therefore sat in the clearing, just under a young oak tree. It’s branches too young to full shield her from the coming rain.

Her form shivering as she knelt in the grass. Dirt soiling her gown as well is its many undercoats. She had not even noticed the lack of a shoe on one of her feet. She was a right mess to behold. The rain came much heavier then she would have liked, but at this point in time she did not care, nor did she give notice. The long loose braid of hair lay slick against her back, while wisps clung to her upper arms and along her face. Her dark blue eyes were bright and red from her tears, the only sign that she had cried at all. As the rain now growing heavy, carried them away.

The cracks of thunder came again. The storm was growing fiercer. It was possibly becoming too dangerous to remain here. But Aslinn did not care. Take over by her grief the world just seemed to fall away. She didn’t hear her voice, nor the sound of another’s approach. It did not even register to her that someone had even touched her. Her body trembled as the rain continued to fall. She heard the voice but she could not pin it to any one person. She thought at first it was Calen, but it wasn’t. There was something off about it.

His accent was not his. Calen was from Mercia. This voice was not Mercia. Plus she knew that with Calen would come scolding and lecturing. This one came with emotional outburst, anger even. She felt finger’s press to her cheeks and draw her gaze up. A solemn look within her dark blue eyes looked to him, if not through him. Did she register just whom it was that knelt before her; it was hard to tell at first.

Her lips quivered as she knelt there. Her gaze lifted to take note of the cloak being wrapped about her. She blinked a few times as her tears continued to fall, mixing with the rain. Her hand moved to push them away, as if it would help. “Calen….” She said, her lips parted as she finally spoke. She never thought that she had any trouble with finding words to express herself. But this moment, this moment was unlike any she had ever experienced or wished to. She lifted her gaze to find Joscelin there. Her brow furrowed wondering why he was even here. “Why are you…” a long pause came, “here?”

She didn’t mean to sound rude by any means. She was just surprised that he was the one to find her here. She had figured Calen was not long off, and he would return her to the castle and they would return to Mercia. But here was someone she did not expect. Someone she would have thought the last to come to her rescue, so to speak. Joscelin.

The tone of his voice matched the look on his face. He was cross and perhaps thought her crazy for coming out here so late and in the midst of terrible weather. The truth be told that the weather had not been so terrible when she first set out. And weather was unpredictable, much like herself, as Calen would often share with her when he scolded her.

Why are you even out here?

Her steel blue eyes locked with his as he drew the hood up. Her emotions worked to their peck, had now exhausted her that she no longer had a fight in her. “My brother Belis is dead. Calen told me, no…. I demanded that he tell me.” Her brow furrowed at her actions. Knowing that it was possible hard for Calen to keep it to himself least of all tell her. “My mother sent a letter like she often does. He’s my ….” She paused and her gaze dropped to the space between them. “was my eldest brother.”

Her tears started to flow once again.

[Joscelin Trevalion]

Joscelin felt his heart tighten within his chest at Aslinn’s admittance.

Her brother was dead and she hadn’t been there to see him in his final moments. Joscelin knew there and then what Aslinn felt because it was how he had felt over the loss of his foster-mother, albeit Joscelin had kept himself checked and he had stored away all the hurt, blame and anger deep within himself, curling every bit of it into a ball so small that it was hidden inside of his very core.

Mayhap he should have loosed himself to the world and bared himself without shame as Aslinn had? There was healing in weeping, even though some may have said otherwise about it. Joscelin himself believed there might have been, but he was afraid to cry. He was afraid to show weakness because he could not afford such a thing in the wide world where only the keenest survive.

The moment wasn’t about him though…It was about Aslinn whom was so distraught that it made Joscelin ache. He wanted to reach out and soothe her with a touch, a word…with himself. Yet, he couldn’t, at least not now. The true healing would come when she realizes the sobering fact that her brother was gone and that she was not to blame. That there was nothing she could do for him and that it was simply his time to depart from the world.

“Shh,” Joscelin began and stroked her cheek as he drew her within his arms to embrace her fiercely. He enveloped her, holding her there against his form as he tucked his chin upon the top of her head. “I know it hurts now, love, but it will heal, I promise you, but we must leave get out of this storm…” He said and trailed off, frowning deeply and furrowing his brow as he lolled his head so that he may search her face, noses nearly brushing and brows bumping. “We can talk all about it in warmth, alright? Please, we must before you catch yourself a death of cold!” He added more firmly, pulling at her and drawing her away as Aquilon snorted and stamped, eying them both as he was buffeted by a sheet of rain.

He attempted to help her onto Aquilon's back then, and at a cluck of his tongue, the stallion stooped to offer his back underneath the pelting rain. Yet, in the end, it was entirely up to Aslinn and whether or not she'd fight him.

"I'll take care of you, I promise. Just trust me," he murmured while lifting her to the saddle.



[ Sorry it's not that good...Uni has my brain melted. ]

[Lady Aslinn Draconis]

She looked at her hands as they rest in her lap. She didn’t know what to do with herself, should she go back to Camelot, even go back to Mercia. The rain was getting heavier as they knelt there in the clearing. The sound of thunder rumbled overhead so loudly that she had turned her gaze just as the lightening flashed, and the thunder came again. The storm was much closer now. Was it safe to travel upon the roads in such weather?

She didn’t seem to mind the rain now. Of course she was soaking to the bone, and her flesh was cold to the touch. She looked to Joscelin as he saw to her. She studied his face through the rain as he saw to wrapping his cloak about her shoulders. He seemed to take great pains in her comfort to try to ease her sorrow. Her breath seemed to snag in her throat as she felt another stir of emotions rise within her chest. Never had she known such grief. Of course she had cried when her favorite horse had passed on. Her heart twists as she called Belis coming to sooth her pain. Why did it hurt so much to recall these memories?

Her hand rose to her lips as she covered them to keep the sobs from escaping. Joscelin didn’t deserve this. No one did. Her dark sapphire gaze lifted to his face while the back of her hand wiped a mixture of rain and tears away. “Oh how I miss I were a man.” She told him, such an odd thing to say at such a time. But she felt that if she were she could lock it away. Perhaps she could. Try her heart from the world. But that was not who she was. She was an emotional person. At times her heart was often upon her sleeve that is when one is careful enough to see it.

Swallow breaths, trembling hands and a quivering lower lip greeted Joscelin’s gaze each time he would look at her. She couldn’t control anything about her state. Her grief was all too real. When he touched her face she turned her cheek to the side. Was it right to find comfort in a man that was for lack of a better word a stranger. She wanted to say she was sorry for her state. No man wants to have to deal with a woman in this state. It was why she had handmaids was it not. But here was Joscelin trying to console her. She would nod at his words. If they were true, at the moment she did not care. She knew what she felt in her heart. She wanted Belis back.

“Calen would not tell me how he died. Just that he was gone.” She looked at the back of his as it rested against her cheek. A thought came to her as she knelt before him. The rain hit against the ground surrounding them. “You could ask him.” It was a simple question. But it asked too much. She furrowed her brow and shook her head. “No, no I could not ask that of you.” She would nod to his order of needing to leave and get somewhere warm. “Yes, too great a favor…forget I asked.”

She would start to rise, lifting one leg and angling it under her form. She was unsteady on her feet as she rose. Her face lifted so to look for further order from Joscelin. They were mere inches between them now. Slowly her gaze lifted to behold his own brilliant orbs. “We should go then.”

She would move toward Joscelin’s horse. With some aid she would be able to climb upon his back. She would gesture toward the horse she had ridden out here. Wondering what was to become of her. Surely Joscelin would bring her along. She couldn’t leave her here. She would smile at his words. They were a comfort, at least for the moment. She drew the hood of Joscelin’s hood up about her face as she felt a new string of tears come. “Shall we be off then.”