May 1617
Carib was a very different country to Pomerania. For those visiting for the wedding of Princess Elspeth to Lord Miles Bradan, it wasn't so much the isolation of the landscape they traveled through to reach the capital from the only port that was jarring; no, it was the weather. Carib was a far warmer land than its western and northern neighbors, and that was reflected in the clothes worn by the people. The Pomeran delegation was surprised to see the leather and hide-clad men and women of the horse lord clans; yet it was the sight of the fashion in the Carib court that truly shocked. And they had a very good look at it for, as they rode into the courtyard, the soon-to-be-wedded princess erupted from the main doors, running with long strides to wrench open the door of the carriage and throw herself at her cousin and his wife, who also happened to be a best friend she had not seen for over a year.
Felipe laughed at the excited welcome, leaning out of the way to allow Elspeth and Jane to embrace. This was a far cry from the shy cousin he remembered. "Els, you seem to have forgotten your skirt," he pointed out in amusement, earning a blush and a giggle from his cousin.
"If it bothers you, cousin, you should probably not look," was her sweet answer, her smile flickering forth as she jumped down to gesture for them to step out of the carriage.
Jane squealed with girlish delight as Elspeth welcomed them, and she returned that welcome with a fond hug and a kiss on both sides of her friend's pretty face. "Perhaps she will start a new fashion," she suggested with an impish grin of her own. It had been far too long since she had seen her good friend and her husband's cousin, and she had missed her terribly.
Giggling, Elspeth offered her friend a hand down from the carriage, knowing perfectly well that she wasn't going to be allowed to get away with being this informal for much longer. She loved her brother's wife dearly, but Brynhilde did have a formal streak in public that sometimes grated. "Come out where I can see you properly," she told them both. "Before the barons start muttering about how I'm not under control."
"Is it always so warm here?" Jane asked as she climbed out of the carriage and fanned her face with a hand. She was not dressed quite as practically as Elspeth and they had come a long way from Pomerania.
"It gets warmer in summer," Elspeth warned her fondly. The brighter weather showed on her face - when she'd left Pomerania, she had been porcelain pale with never a blemish. Now, she was freckled and rosy, clearly thriving in the almost never-ending sunshine.
Felipe dropped out of the carriage behind his wife, running an awkward finger along his collar. "I'm already regretting putting this doublet on."
"Then perhaps you should take it off," Jane suggested with a saucy grin. She had never been shy when it had come to Felipe, pursuing her heart's desire almost from the very first moment she'd met him. "Oh, Els, you've got freckles!" she said, laughing as she took a better look at her friend.
"You'd rather see me in leather harness like the gentlemen who escorted us here, would you?" Felipe teased his wife fondly. A year ago, he had only just come around to the thought of being in love at all. Now he was married and happy, and his mother had stopped looking at him as though she was never going to have more than three grandchildren.
"I'm sure if you asked nicely, Lorcan would lend you his harness," Elspeth commented with surprising playfulness, laughing at Jane's exclamation. "I do have freckles! Apparently they're terribly unfashionable, but I like them. Miles calls them sun kisses."
"Oh!" Jane exclaimed again, warming to the topic of her handsome husband in leather. "That's an interesting thought," she said, looking her husband over appreciatively, like he was good enough to eat. Being married for eight months had done very little to diminish her desire for her husband. She paused a moment to waggle her brows at him before turning back to Elspeth with a grin. "They're adorable. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise!"
Felipe laughed a little awkward, raising a hand to rub at his neck. He loved Jane, but she was sometimes a little more open about the physical side of their relationship than he was entirely comfortable with. Maks, of course, thought it was hilarious.
Elspeth was blushing at this comfortable display of affectionate teasing, biting her lip as Jane complimented her freckles. "Oh, everyone tells me otherwise except the people I love," she promised her friend, looping her arm through Jane's. "Come inside. Maybe Henry won't insist on you being presented if I can get you to your rooms fast enough."
"And it is a well established fact that I am one of those people!" Jane declared, linking her arm with Elspeth's, while reaching for Felipe's hand to tug him along on the other side of her. "Oh, don't look so embarrassed, Felipe! I promise I will behave myself while we're at court." But she couldn't make that same promise while they were alone or with friends.
"Sweetheart, you and I both know that you will deliberately misbehave just to make the stuffier nobles blush," Felipe pointed out as he let her take his hand, falling into step with the women. "Between you and Marianne, half of Father's court doesn't dare express an opinion older than you are."
"Well, it serves them right for being stuffy. It's not my fault they don't remember what it's like to be young," Jane argued, with a pout. She wasn't pouting because he was reprimanding her, because he rarely if ever did, but because she couldn't understand how once vibrant people became so dull as they got older. Unless they were dull to begin with.
"You are going to have half the younger southerners falling over themselves to make you laugh," Elspeth predicted. The Archon's people would be only too happy to entertain Jane and Felipe, in her opinion; the barons were still just a little wary of being overtly friendly to anyone without some clear gain for themselves.
"So, tell me about this Lord Bradan of yours. Is he handsome?" Jane brazenly asked. Of course, Elspeth had already written multiple letters telling her all about Miles, but Jane wanted to hear it all over again, in person.
"Jane!" Elspeth erupted into flustered giggles, her cheeks flushing beneath her freckles as she drew them into the castle, waving away the herald who came rushing toward them. "I am quite capable of showing their highnesses to their rooms, thank you ....And yes, he is very handsome," she added to her friend.
Felipe snorted with laughter, taking pity on the herald. "You ladies go ahead," he suggested. "I'll mollify the court and make sure Henry doesn't feel left out."
"Don't worry, Felipe. There is no one as handsome as you," Jane assured her handsome husband with a flirtatious bat of her lashes and a squeeze of his hand. She might have thrown her arms around him and smothered him in kisses, if not for the herald.
"You are an incorrigible flirt, and I adore you," was his matter-of-fact answer. He bent down to kiss his wife softly. "Go and gossip, you have been dying to for the last three weeks. Els, I will inevitably see you later. If she talks too much, find her something sweet to nibble on."
Elspeth giggled at this advice. "I'll take than into consideration, Felipe, thank you."
He wasn't getting away so fast without at least one more quick kiss to his lips and a pat to his cheek. Jane did so love kissing him and getting him flustered, not because it gave her some strange sense of power over him, but because he was just too cute. "I'll nibble on you later, love," she whispered in his ear before drawing away, an irrepressible smirk on her lips.
Carib was a very different country to Pomerania. For those visiting for the wedding of Princess Elspeth to Lord Miles Bradan, it wasn't so much the isolation of the landscape they traveled through to reach the capital from the only port that was jarring; no, it was the weather. Carib was a far warmer land than its western and northern neighbors, and that was reflected in the clothes worn by the people. The Pomeran delegation was surprised to see the leather and hide-clad men and women of the horse lord clans; yet it was the sight of the fashion in the Carib court that truly shocked. And they had a very good look at it for, as they rode into the courtyard, the soon-to-be-wedded princess erupted from the main doors, running with long strides to wrench open the door of the carriage and throw herself at her cousin and his wife, who also happened to be a best friend she had not seen for over a year.
Felipe laughed at the excited welcome, leaning out of the way to allow Elspeth and Jane to embrace. This was a far cry from the shy cousin he remembered. "Els, you seem to have forgotten your skirt," he pointed out in amusement, earning a blush and a giggle from his cousin.
"If it bothers you, cousin, you should probably not look," was her sweet answer, her smile flickering forth as she jumped down to gesture for them to step out of the carriage.
Jane squealed with girlish delight as Elspeth welcomed them, and she returned that welcome with a fond hug and a kiss on both sides of her friend's pretty face. "Perhaps she will start a new fashion," she suggested with an impish grin of her own. It had been far too long since she had seen her good friend and her husband's cousin, and she had missed her terribly.
Giggling, Elspeth offered her friend a hand down from the carriage, knowing perfectly well that she wasn't going to be allowed to get away with being this informal for much longer. She loved her brother's wife dearly, but Brynhilde did have a formal streak in public that sometimes grated. "Come out where I can see you properly," she told them both. "Before the barons start muttering about how I'm not under control."
"Is it always so warm here?" Jane asked as she climbed out of the carriage and fanned her face with a hand. She was not dressed quite as practically as Elspeth and they had come a long way from Pomerania.
"It gets warmer in summer," Elspeth warned her fondly. The brighter weather showed on her face - when she'd left Pomerania, she had been porcelain pale with never a blemish. Now, she was freckled and rosy, clearly thriving in the almost never-ending sunshine.
Felipe dropped out of the carriage behind his wife, running an awkward finger along his collar. "I'm already regretting putting this doublet on."
"Then perhaps you should take it off," Jane suggested with a saucy grin. She had never been shy when it had come to Felipe, pursuing her heart's desire almost from the very first moment she'd met him. "Oh, Els, you've got freckles!" she said, laughing as she took a better look at her friend.
"You'd rather see me in leather harness like the gentlemen who escorted us here, would you?" Felipe teased his wife fondly. A year ago, he had only just come around to the thought of being in love at all. Now he was married and happy, and his mother had stopped looking at him as though she was never going to have more than three grandchildren.
"I'm sure if you asked nicely, Lorcan would lend you his harness," Elspeth commented with surprising playfulness, laughing at Jane's exclamation. "I do have freckles! Apparently they're terribly unfashionable, but I like them. Miles calls them sun kisses."
"Oh!" Jane exclaimed again, warming to the topic of her handsome husband in leather. "That's an interesting thought," she said, looking her husband over appreciatively, like he was good enough to eat. Being married for eight months had done very little to diminish her desire for her husband. She paused a moment to waggle her brows at him before turning back to Elspeth with a grin. "They're adorable. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise!"
Felipe laughed a little awkward, raising a hand to rub at his neck. He loved Jane, but she was sometimes a little more open about the physical side of their relationship than he was entirely comfortable with. Maks, of course, thought it was hilarious.
Elspeth was blushing at this comfortable display of affectionate teasing, biting her lip as Jane complimented her freckles. "Oh, everyone tells me otherwise except the people I love," she promised her friend, looping her arm through Jane's. "Come inside. Maybe Henry won't insist on you being presented if I can get you to your rooms fast enough."
"And it is a well established fact that I am one of those people!" Jane declared, linking her arm with Elspeth's, while reaching for Felipe's hand to tug him along on the other side of her. "Oh, don't look so embarrassed, Felipe! I promise I will behave myself while we're at court." But she couldn't make that same promise while they were alone or with friends.
"Sweetheart, you and I both know that you will deliberately misbehave just to make the stuffier nobles blush," Felipe pointed out as he let her take his hand, falling into step with the women. "Between you and Marianne, half of Father's court doesn't dare express an opinion older than you are."
"Well, it serves them right for being stuffy. It's not my fault they don't remember what it's like to be young," Jane argued, with a pout. She wasn't pouting because he was reprimanding her, because he rarely if ever did, but because she couldn't understand how once vibrant people became so dull as they got older. Unless they were dull to begin with.
"You are going to have half the younger southerners falling over themselves to make you laugh," Elspeth predicted. The Archon's people would be only too happy to entertain Jane and Felipe, in her opinion; the barons were still just a little wary of being overtly friendly to anyone without some clear gain for themselves.
"So, tell me about this Lord Bradan of yours. Is he handsome?" Jane brazenly asked. Of course, Elspeth had already written multiple letters telling her all about Miles, but Jane wanted to hear it all over again, in person.
"Jane!" Elspeth erupted into flustered giggles, her cheeks flushing beneath her freckles as she drew them into the castle, waving away the herald who came rushing toward them. "I am quite capable of showing their highnesses to their rooms, thank you ....And yes, he is very handsome," she added to her friend.
Felipe snorted with laughter, taking pity on the herald. "You ladies go ahead," he suggested. "I'll mollify the court and make sure Henry doesn't feel left out."
"Don't worry, Felipe. There is no one as handsome as you," Jane assured her handsome husband with a flirtatious bat of her lashes and a squeeze of his hand. She might have thrown her arms around him and smothered him in kisses, if not for the herald.
"You are an incorrigible flirt, and I adore you," was his matter-of-fact answer. He bent down to kiss his wife softly. "Go and gossip, you have been dying to for the last three weeks. Els, I will inevitably see you later. If she talks too much, find her something sweet to nibble on."
Elspeth giggled at this advice. "I'll take than into consideration, Felipe, thank you."
He wasn't getting away so fast without at least one more quick kiss to his lips and a pat to his cheek. Jane did so love kissing him and getting him flustered, not because it gave her some strange sense of power over him, but because he was just too cute. "I'll nibble on you later, love," she whispered in his ear before drawing away, an irrepressible smirk on her lips.