Topic: Summer Storm

Alys Beauforte

Date: 2013-06-30 19:02 EST
((Contains references to adult situations - nothing graphic!))

August 9th, 1613

It was a perfect day for riding, but for the clouds threatening over the sea, though it was hard to tell if they'd come ashore or blow back out to sea. Charles led the horse away from the city and away from the eyes and ears of the court and the rumors that seemed to be swirling regarding the young couple since Charles had brought the king's niece to his court. Here in the countryside where no one could see, he felt more relaxed, more free to say and do what he wished. He had often taken to riding out alone for the sheer joy of it, to feel the wind in his hair and the sheer speed and strength of the beast beneath him, but today, he rode slowly, taking his time. Though he was no servant, there was a strange feeling of freedom outside the confines of the castle, and if it were not for Alys, he would have pushed the stallion to its limits.

Pressed into his arms, Alys couldn't help smiling in delight as they left the city behind them, her red-gold hair flying over his shoulder in the breeze of the stallion's passage. Her hands gripped his arms trustingly as she leaned back against him, turning her head to press a kiss to his cheek. "Can't we go any faster?" she called above the sound of the wind whipping her voice away, her expression bright and exhilarated, knowing he would never let her fall.

Instead of answering her question right away, he glanced briefly over his shoulder to see how far they'd come from Bannoc Rise. Satisfied they were far enough away and not being followed, instead of kicking the horse into a gallop, he tugged gently on the reins to pull him to a halt, sliding easily out of the saddle to land on his feet on the ground. "Will your skirts allow you to ride facing forward?" he asked, as he kept hold of the reins to keep the horse from bolting without him.

Slightly surprised he felt the need to slow the horse at all, Alys looked down at Charles in bemusement as he jumped down. "Well ....yes, they will," she laughed softly, shaking her head as she brushed her windswept hair out of her face. "Do you want me in front or behind you?" As she spoke, her fingers twitched at her skirts, confident enough in their privacy together to risk showing a good deal more than just her ankles.

"Front, so I can keep an eye on you," he replied, remembering how she'd almost fallen off the horse once before. It wasn't that she wasn't an experienced rider, but her safety was of paramount importance, and he couldn't risk even a minor accident where she was concerned. He reached up to offer a hand if she needed it, the other holding the horse steady.

"And your hands on me, no doubt," she laughed back at him. Her former misadventure on horseback was nowhere in her mind as she teased him, drawing her skirts high to her thighs. One long bare leg lifted over the stallion's neck to hang down on the other side of the saddle. Smirking with impish delight at her very unsubtle teasing, Alys straightened and threw her skirts down over her legs once again. "Shall we, my lord?"

"No doubt," he replied, chuckling at her blatant flirting, reaching up to hold her steady while she shifted position, unable to miss the flash of skin before she replaced her skirts. It was going to be an interesting afternoon. Once she had resettled herself so that she was sitting astride the horse in a most unladylike fashion, he climbed back up behind, leaning close to reach around her for the reins once again, his breath warm against her neck. "Hold on tight," he warned, before kicking the stallion into a gallop.

"Oh, yes, sire," she breathed into his ear, her mood infinitely lifted away from Bannoc Rise and court politics. He was definitely going to reap the rewards of agreeing to this little outing. As to holding on ....there weren't many places she could hold on, gripping the supple leather of his sleeves as they both leaned forward with the stallion's motion, letting out a loud, very unladylike whoop of excitement as the ground began to flash by beneath heavy hooves.

Unless the horse stumbled, there was little chance of her falling with his arms wrapped around her, and he kicked the horse harder to urge him on, riding like the wind down a grass-covered slope toward, through a small copse of trees before coming out on the edge of a cliff that overlooked the sea below them.

Exhilarated and delighted by the ride, safe and trusting in the more than capable horsemanship of her lover, Alys let out an astonished gasp as suddenly the scenery before her opened out, the ground seeming to drop away abruptly. Though she had spent many years in Martel as a child, she had never ventured this way from the castle, nor so far in so short a time, enchanted by the realisation that Charles had secrets to show her so close to the city and yet wrapped in privacy. Her fingers flexed against his arms as she looked back at him, bright and amazed. "Are we going down there?"

"Do you wish to?" he asked, tugging the horse to a halt close enough to the cliff so that she could look out on the vastness that was the sea, but far enough away from that there was no risk of the horse losing his footing. He had been this way many times and explored much of the outlying countryside that surrounded the castle, but this was a place he found himself visiting often, the view breathtaking.

"Could we?" Strange, that a woman who had spent her whole life being trained to the finest of things could find such simple delight in the most natural of places. Yet she had never really had the freedom to explore as her brother and their friend had, much of the lands she had lived in during her lifetime a mystery to her. It was as much the mystery as the knowledge that Charles could show her all of it and more that kept the wide smile on her face. Her hand rose, caressing his cheek as she nuzzled against his jaw. "Surprise me."

He paused a moment, as if to consider whether such a venture would be safe. He knew this place like the back of his hand, but she did not, and he knew that one misstep could spell disaster. And yet, there was something he wanted to show her that she had sadly never seen. There were so many things he wanted to show her, to experience with her, and this was only one of them. He gazed into her eyes, bright with excitement and full of life. This was the Alys he had fallen in love with once upon a time. "All right, but you must promise to be careful and to stay with me. It can be dangerous."

"Oh, I promise," she assured him hurriedly, and to be fair, he could trust this promise far better than the promises she had made him and Will as a child. Back then, Alys had always managed to get them all in trouble, usually by getting herself injured somehow. But she was a grown woman now, and she knew the dangers of ignorance better than she had done then. Her smile seemed to grow brighter, brown eyes dancing with excitement at the prospect of following him into the wilds, however close they were to the castle. It was guaranteed no courtier would come out this way - it was too wild for such folk.

Alys Beauforte

Date: 2013-06-30 19:03 EST
"I want to show you something," he admitted as he climbed down off the great beast and reached up to help her from the saddle. From where they stood, one could heard the waves crashing onto shore, the gulls crying as they swoop and dove toward the water to catch their dinner.

She was quicker to swing her leg over the stallion's neck this time than she had been to settle herself before, not even intending to show off quite that much bare leg as he lifted her down from the saddle. Her body slid the length of his until her feet touched the ground, her smile still wide and bright and tenderly trusting as she leaned into his arms, looking around herself in wonder. She'd never heard the sea so close before, never seen the gulls swooping in and out of the waves. "There's something more amazing than this?" she asked incredulously, flicking her head to sweep her hair from her eyes once again as the stiff salt breeze played with red-gold strands.

One hand lingered on her waist, while the other reached to flick that wayward red-gold strand away from her face with a mischievous smile of his own. "Would you like to get closer?" he asked, not bothering to explain what he meant. The sea was right there, it seemed, close enough to smell the salt breeze and feel the coolness of it caress one's cheek, and yet still too far away to appreciate in all its wonder. Iron-gray clouds hung ominously in the distance, but Charles thought little of them. It was still early enough in the day that they could easily work their way down to the sea and still have time to find their way back.

"Closer?" She was almost breathless with the exhilaration of simply standing on the clifftop, her excitement stopping her from seeing the little pathways that wound down toward the beach below and the crashing waves. She had thought Fortitude's Cove was the wildest place she would ever see, yet this place outshone it wonderfully. "We can get closer" How?"

"There's a path, but you will have to be careful. It isn't very wide in places, and you don't want to fall." He didn't bother to mention that after winding their way down, they'd have to climb their way back up, but the path steadily sloped and wound its way downward so that the climb wasn't so very difficult as it seemed. Pausing only a moment to lift down the pack that had been made up for them, he reached for her hand, a warm smile on his face, anxious to show her what few who made their lives at court were ever privileged enough to see. The commoners knew it well - they fished these seas to provide for their dinners, but those within the walls of Bannoc Rise rarely ventured this way, but for those who were of an adventurous spirit.

"Come," he urged her with a tug of her hand.

She was easy to tug after him, eager to see the crash of the waves closer at hand, trusting him to guide her safely down what looked in places to be a sheer drop rather than a sloping path. "How did you find this place?" she asked curiously, one hand dropping to tuck the hem of her skirts on one side into the girdle at her waist, keeping the long length out of the way of her feet.

He shrugged, unsure how exactly he'd found this place. It seemed it had always just been there - a peaceful refuge away from the bustle of court. He curled his hand around hers as he led her carefully down the grassy slope toward the start of a path, carved out of the rock, it seemed, or worn away by years of adventuresome travelers. He tried to think back to his first visit here. It had been so long ago, he barely remembered it. "I heard of this place from Cedric's father. He used to come here to fish when he was young. I didn't believe him at first. I wanted to see for myself. I got lost a few times trying to find it, but then I realized all I had to do was follow the sound of the sea."

It was a measure of quite how fearless his chosen lady was that Alys barely batted an eyelash at the realization that they were all but scaling a cliff with nothing but each other to hold onto. "Why is it servants have so much more fun than we do?" she complained mildly, leaning onto his hand as she stepped carefully after him, startling herself with the gentle movement of loose rock beneath her feet. "Are you sure this is safe?"

"Will and I used to come here....after you left." He said no more about that, remembering days and even nights the two of them had sometimes spent here, sharing their secrets and their dreams, until Will had stopped coming - a wife and family to think of - leaving Charles to venture here alone. He led her slowly and carefully out onto the path, which was a bit wider than it seemed from above, though only wide enough for one. "It's perfectly safe, so long as you're careful," he warned again, knowing she shared his habit for recklessness at times. "Servants do not have to worry about propriety and decorum, so much as we do. It's just how things are, Alys. Once we are away at Arindale, we can do as we please, and no one can tell us otherwise."

She laughed delightedly at this new promise, able to believe if only for a few hours that there was no war hanging over their heads to sour the prospect of being together in his duchy, away from the court and the judgmental gossips that proliferated there. For just a moment, she paused, slipping her hand free of his only to replace it with the other, laying her now free palm against the weather-smooth chalk that lined the cliff as they descended. "How far down is it?" she asked then, leaning into his back as he led her downward. "Are there mermaids?"

He chuckled at her question, childlike and innocent. "No, no mermaids. Not that I've ever seen. Fish and gulls, mostly. Ships sometimes." He frowned a little at the thought of that - a secret once shared with Will - though she could not see the frown with his back turned. "It's not as far as it seems," he replied, glancing up at the sky. They had plenty of daylight. "They say the view from Arindale is breathtaking, but I can't imagine it being anymore beautiful than this. I shall miss it, in a way."

"They say Arindale is the most beautiful place in Francia," she agreed quietly, leaning close into his back to kiss him gently behind his ear. "We'll find somewhere new to enjoy there, together." She grinned, surprised to find the beach a lot closer to them now than it had been just a few minutes before. Looking up, the cliff towered above them, the feeling of smallness igniting that childlike smile once again. "So no mermaids," she teased playfully. "What about trolls and ogres" Dragons?"

Alys Beauforte

Date: 2013-06-30 19:04 EST
"You know there's no such thing, Alys!" he exclaimed with a chuckle, turning his head toward her momentarily, his feet sure and steady on the path, pausing to wait for her as she glanced up at the cliff above them, knowing how small it made one feel, but they hadn't quite reached the bottom yet. The closer they got, the louder the crash of the sea and the call of the gulls, the farther away the gossip and troubles of court. There had been times when he'd wished he never had to go back, that he could sail away and find adventures of his own, but in the end, he had always returned, perhaps more for Will's sake than for his own. "We're almost there," he said, giving her hand a light squeeze.

"Now, I understand why I'm excited about being this close to the sea," she mused laughingly, letting out a quiet yelp as her foot slipped on a patch of loose gravel, sending her thumping against his back to hold on tightly for a long moment, her eyes closed in case of disaster. After a moment, she cracked one eye open. "We didn't fall. That's a good thing." Relaxing, she let him go with a slightly embarrassed smile. "So, yes, I know why I'm excited, but why are you? You've been here plenty of times before!"

His heart leaped into his throat when she lost her footing and he turned to wind an arm around her waist, pulling her close, just in case. "Be careful!" he scolded, momentarily frightened, wondering if this was such a good idea, after all. He glanced up at the cliff that rose about them as if deciding whether to go on, but they had come too far to go back now. He let go of her as she pulled away from him, taking her hand again to lead her forward. "Who said I was excited?" he asked, teasing her again.

"I am being careful!" she countered indignantly, slightly insulted that he was accusing her of deliberately stepping on loose shingle. It was his path. "And you didn't have to say you're excited, I can see you're excited. You have that fun little twinkle in your eyes and that mischievous smile that usually ends up with my skirts around my shoulders."

He snorted, especially regarding the claim about her skirts. "You talk like we're old lovers. I have only been in your skirts a handful of times." They were coming to the end of the path, which angled down sharply and could be slippery, but a fall from this height would most likely not be fatal. "Have you considered that perhaps I'm excited because I'm here with you?" he asked, letting go of her hand to jump down easily onto the shore before turning back around to help her down.

"Only a few times, and yet a pattern is forming," she laughed teasingly, her body hugging the smooth cliff wall as he released her to jump down. Her pale face was flushed with the cool breeze as much as with her eager enjoyment of the little adventure, that reckless streak urging her bravely onward as she pushed from the cliff wall to let him help her down onto the shingle of the beach itself, winding her arms around his neck to kiss him as he lowered her. "I hadn't considered that I was enough reason to make you excited about visiting a place you know so well."

"I know you well and yet, you still excite me," he replied, lifting her chin to receive her kiss, smiling against her lips. She was right - he couldn't help but feel excited. There was so much he wanted to show her, and this was only the beginning. He drew back with a smile, taking her by the hand again and tugging her forward. "Come on!" he urged, as he led her away from the cliff toward the beach and the vast expanse of ocean.

Alys let out a wild laugh as he pulled away abruptly, tugging her over the shingle as she stumbled after him, relying on his strength to keep her from falling flat on her face as the waves crashed onto the beach not so very far away. Down here she could feel the spray from the sea against her skin, dampening her hair and clothes very lightly, intrigued and enchanted by how real it all seemed up close.

"Take off your shoes!" he called as they moved closer, just out of reach of the crashing waves. He knew the water would still be cold this time of year, but he wanted her to know what it felt like to sink her toes into the sand and feel the foam slide cold over her ankles. He let go of her hand so that he could stumble out of his own boots, hopping on one foot as he pulled each one off, laughing like a boy, not the nobleman he was supposed to be.

"What?" For a moment, every disapproving tutor and governess' face flickered through her mind, declaring in their own way that no lady would be caught dead playing like a child on a beach. But would a duchess be caught like this" Her smile flickered into sight once again as her mind presented the perfect solution. This duchess would. Bending, she slipped her own shoes from her feet with far more ease than he, squealing at how chill the sand felt beneath her soles. And when the waves slid over her bare feet' Alys let out a loud shriek at how cold it felt, falling into ridiculous giggles as she ran away from the water. "You never said it would be freezing!"

For a little while, they were like children again, running in and out of the waves, laughing, the sand sticking to their toes and the soles of their feet, not a care in the world. For a short time, there was no court, no king, no war, only them. Was this how things would be when they were in Arindale" He was not so foolish as to believe it would be easy or without great responsibility, but with her by his side, it would not all be dismal and mundane. For the first time in a long time, Charles felt completely alive, and it was all because of Alys.

Shoes and boots were discarded high on the beach, safely away from the threatening lap of the waves, leaving man and woman to frolic like children in the surf that caressed the beach. Alys hadn't had so much pure fun in years, not since she had left Francia to be married in the first place. Heedless of the view she presented with her skirts gathered into her arms, she splashed through the waves with Charles, coming to a halt to look out across the vastness of the seemingly never-ending sea. Legs bared to above the knee, her hair flyaway and untamed, it was the richness of her dress that jarred in that moment, betraying the secret that she was not simply a girl enjoying the simple pleasures with her lover. "It's so beautiful, Beau."

He was soaked to the thighs, his face flushed from the cold and the excitement. It had been years since he'd felt so free, so unfettered by the confines of courtly behavior, which he only barely obeyed, as it was. He came to a halt as she did, turning quiet as he watched her, admiring her silhouette against the seascape - the way the wind blew her hair around her, wild and untamed. For a moment, she was a girl again - the girl he'd once known who was as wild and adventurous as the boys she tried to keep up with - but for the graceful curves of her body that betrayed her womanhood. "Yes, it is," he replied, though whether he was talking about the view or her was hard to tell.

Alys Beauforte

Date: 2013-06-30 19:04 EST
Her face turned toward him, her smile as wild as the child she had been, yet touched with the warmth of the love that had blossomed as she'd grown into womanhood. "It's like being a child again," she laughed, openly delighted with the wash of chill salt sea against her lower legs, hugging the bulk of her skirts to her stomach. "You never did teach me how to use a sword, you know. And Will promised to teach me the bow, but never did. I suppose I'm too old now?" The hope in her voice was charming and playful, but entirely genuine. If anyone could teach her such things, it was her Charles.

"You're never too old, but not here. Wait until we get to Arindale." He didn't have to tell her why or remind her of the danger if the wrong eyes were to spy them or the wrong ears were to hear. And yet, here they were, alone, with no one around them for miles. No one would see them or know what they did here, and it wouldn't hurt for her to know how to defend herself. He frowned thoughtfully as he considered all this. It wasn't why he'd brought her here. Would knowing how to use a sword have helped her defend herself against Denhelm, or would it have only caused her further injury' It was hard to say. "You should leave such things to men. Battle is no place for a woman," he said at last, not quite denying her request, but not liking the idea she might ever have to use one.

Her smile turned just a little sardonic as he added that last, brown eyes rolling at the typical response. "I'm not proposing to ride into battle at your back," she laughed, kicking the spray toward him with one bare foot. "It would be nice to have some use beyond giving you an heir, though. Fun though the making of that heir will be."

He flinched at the spray of cold water, chuckling. "And here I thought that is all women are good for - rutting and childbearing," he teased with a grin, knowing his remark would inflame her anger. "Tell me, Alys, do you remember how to swim?" he asked, blue eyes bright and playful, as he started unbuttoning his jerkin. Cold as the water was, the sun was warm and would dry them in no time - so long as the clouds threatening a storm stayed out to sea.

Her jaw dropped at his tease, the shock of actually hearing him share that view, whether he believed it or not, enough to do more than ignite her temper. Her eyes narrowed at him. "Well, clearly, Your Grace, your ability to find one who can bear your child is sadly lacking," she countered - not the strongest come-back, admittedly, but the best she could do in the face of his rough teasing. He did manage to distract her with the opening of the leather doublet that wrapped him about, the anger turning with subtle heat to familiar passion. "I am quite capable of swimming, thank you very much," she informed him, kicking another wave in his direction as she turned to make her way up onto the dry sand where they had left their shoes, dropping her skirts to sway about her ankles as her own hands rose to undo the lacing at her back.

He followed her up the beach as he shrugged the leather from his shoulders and tossed it aside with his boots and hose, as if his clothes were little more than rags and not the fine, expensive clothing fit for a nobleman of the king's court, turning to her with a playful grin as she dropped her skirts and started to undo her laces. "You had better hurry or you're going to sink like a rock in those skirts," he warned as he stalked after her.

She stuck her tongue out at him, deliberately turning her back as the laces came loose enough to let her slide her dress from her shoulders. Her chemise beneath seemed to be all she was wearing beside the dress, fitted to her torso, her arms and shoulders bare but for slender strips of fabric keeping the embroidered linen from slipping down. She, too, tossed her dress aside with his, running her hands through her hair to unpick the pins that held it back from her face. "Just how alone are we?" she asked thoughtfully, looking down at herself as the breeze swept her chemise about her legs.

"Alone enough," he replied with a smile, though he could not promise they would remain alone. He had rarely seen anyone else here in all of his visits, but for fishing boats out to sea and the occasional wanderer. He turned her to face him, pushing her hair back from her face only to have it blown about by the breeze. He gazed into her eyes, as bright with life as his, her face just as flushed. He was thankful for the warmth of the sun or they might catch their death. The water was cold, probably too cold for a swim, though not icy cold. He had thought to take her for a swim, but as he stood there cupping her face in his hands, he was torn between teasing her with one thing or another.

Looking up at him, Alys found herself easily forgetting about the chill on her arms, caught by his gaze as he looked into her eyes. His hands were warm and gentle on her face, her own creeping to rest against his chest as the wind flipped skirt and hair about her face and legs, her fingertips stroking teasingly at his skin through his shirt. "I ....I only ask because ..." Her lips quirked into a sweet, slightly wicked smile beneath amber-flecked eyes that could easily be persuaded to stay on land. "Because this chemise will take a while to dry ....if I wear it to swim."

"To hell with swimming," he replied, something more tempting and more urgent on his mind. He leaned closed to capture her lips, his hands still cupping her face, a dark fringe of lashes brushing his cheek as his eyes drifted closed to savor that kiss, a rush of desire burning in his veins despite the cool breeze against his already damp clothing.

Five long years had separated them, neither truly knowing what they felt for one another was love until a heated encounter in the king's forest when she was under his protection and returning to court. That had been only ten days before - ten days was not enough to dull the need to consummate and make certain of one another, not enough to give them the fortitude to suppress the passion they felt for each other when there were no eyes to see and judge. She rose onto her toes in the cool sand as he kissed her, slender arms insinuating themselves between his own to loop about his neck and press herself close as urgent temptation passed from him to her, setting her blood a-flame all over again.

Yet she broke the kiss abruptly, breathing him in as she lingered so close, letting her hands smooth down his chest once again as she shared her smile with her lover. "Do you still enjoy the hunt, Beau?" she murmured, the tease bright in her eyes and her smile for one warning moment before she suddenly pushed away, whirling to run over the sand and away from him, the wind drawing her chemise above her knees with each laughing step.

Alys Beauforte

Date: 2013-06-30 19:05 EST
He lingered in her kiss, lost in her spell, hands falling away from her face to slide against her waist, pulling her against him only to feel her pull away. He opened his eyes to find her smiling at him, teasing him with her eyes and her hands. He longed to take her in his arms and make her his all over again, but she was not ready, it seemed, or perhaps she thought him too easy. "The hunt?" he asked, a baffled expression on his face, as she pulled away, escaping his grasp. "You mean the chase," he muttered in reply, a smirk upon his face when he realized what she was up to. Despite the longing that was burning like fire in his veins, he found himself amused and even charmed by her girlish playfulness. He laughed as she whirled away from him. This game was almost too easy.

Of course he had an unfair advantage, knowing the terrain far better as well as being longer of leg and simply faster over the ground than she would ever be, but Alys liked to play, and she remembered a boy who had gone out of his way as a child to give her a fighting chance before beating her at her own game. Her feet splashed through the surf as the beach dipped beneath her, sending up salt spray to wet her chemise as she stumbled, her laughter whipped from her lips to play on his ears as the breeze brushed them both.

He chuckled to himself once again as he watched her before bounding down the beach after her, splashing through the waves in pursuit, oblivious of the cold spray of water and the dark clouds that were drawing near. As was to be expected, he was faster than she was, his legs longer and more accustomed to physical exertion, despite the beating he'd taken in the joust the day before. If it was not for that, he might have caught her sooner or perhaps he was just having too much fun chasing her. When at last he got close enough to catch her, he reached out to grab her around the waist and swing her around once before setting her on her feet again and taking her firmly into the circle of his arms.

She squealed as his arm swept about her waist, as she was hoisted off the sand and swung around, feet flailing, oblivious to the encroaching rainclouds advancing across the sea. It really had been far too long since she had been able to play like this, far too long since she had had someone to play with. Set down on the sand, she giggled, tipping her head back to grin at Charles as her hand caressed his cheek. "Is this where you skin me for your lunch?"

He grinned back at her as he captured her back and held her tightly against his chest, his fingers locked at the small of her back. She was not getting away from him so easily this time, not unless she cheated by tickling him or by some other means. "No," he replied with a wide grin, leaning so close he could feel her warmth and taste her breath. "This is where I..." He broke off suddenly as a rumble of thunder rolled in from the sea.

Caught tight against him, Alys couldn't have drawn away even if she had wanted to, her laughter warming his lips as he leaned in close to her, feeling the hunger for his kisses rise up within her as he joined in her teasing. The thunder, when it came, startled her, amber-flecked brown eyes lifting from his gaze to look up at the sky as it darkened ominously above them. Her eyes flickered back to his. "Please tell me there is somewhere to shelter close by," she murmured, her gaze then falling on the distant pile of their clothing on the sand.

He turned, following her gaze to regard the gathering clouds, which he'd hoped would stay out to sea. "There is, but we'll have to hurry," he replied, releasing his hold on her so that they could seek shelter before they got soaked or worse. He knew storms off the sea could become quickly and dangerously violent. His glanced turned briefly to the cliff overhead, muttering a curse at his own foolhardiness. His horse would be smart enough to seek shelter; he just hoped the horse didn't decide to bolt back to the castle without them or get lost in the trees. Another clap of thunder drew him out of his thoughts and he grabbed hold of her hand. "Come on!" he urged, turning to break into a run back up the beach to gather up their clothes and seek shelter before the clouds broke.

Thunderstorms were a thing of the world beyond Alys' experience, something to marvel at from the safety of a castle or palace, a sheltered place in which to watch waves crash and lightning lance downward to the land and sea. The prospect of being caught in one was more than a little frightening. She let Charles take her hand to pull her along, catching up her skirt in the other fist to keep pace with him over the cold sand as the wind began to pick up around them, whipping her hair into her face as they raced along the beach.

"Hurry!" he called as he slung his pack over a shoulder and hurriedly pulled on his boots. He gathered up the rest of his clothes and turned to help her with her skirts. The storm was rolling in quickly, too quickly for comfort. Lightning flashed across the sky, followed a half a minute later by a loud boom of thunder, though the storm had not quite hit shore.

"I'm hurrying!" She didn't put her shoes on, knowing the ribbons were too fiddly to tie at speed and without being tied, they would be more a hindrance to her than a help. Sweeping her dress and shoes into her arms, she looked around wildly. "Which way now?"

"Follow me!" he called back, looking her over with a frown, wishing he'd paid more attention to the storm coming in and less to her kisses, but there was nothing to be done for it now. The place he was seeking was only a short distance up the beach, but the closer they got, the more rocky the terrain, and she was barefoot. He could have led her back up the path, but they'd never make it in time. Even now, he was feeling scattered raindrops pelting his back and knew they only had a few short minutes before the sky opened up and let loose.

For all that she was a lady, Alys was braver than she looked, bearing the prick and scrape of uncomfortably jagged rock under her feet with little more than a soft yelp whenever she landed too hard against it. Hurrying after Charles, she let out a louder squeak as the rain suddenly arrived - not in large drops evenly spaced, but in a sheet of water, a deluge to soak them if they lingered for too long out in the open.

The deluge of rain made it harder to see, and it was slow going with Charles looking back every few minutes to make sure Alys was still with him. "Alys!" he called, "We're almost there!" He reached a hand out to her to help her along, forgetting that she already had her arms full of impractical fabric.

Harder to see, and harder to find a decent footing on the rock beneath them as the rain wet the stone without a care for the safety of the man and woman running for shelter. As Charles reached back for her, Alys lifted her eyes from the rock, and knew within a split second that she should not have done so. Her foot slipped on smooth, wet stone, her ankle turning as she sought to save herself from falling, and down she went, landing hard against the rock. It was only her armful of impractical fabric that saved her from splitting her pretty face against the stone itself as she sprawled painfully, unable to help the sudden prick of tears at the unwelcome throb in her ankle.

Alys Beauforte

Date: 2013-06-30 19:06 EST
"Alys!" he shouted as she went down, not fast enough to catch her. He'd upbraid himself later for his stupidity and for taking her here in the first place. Everything had been going so well, until now. "Bloody hell!" he muttered, shifting the pack on his shoulder, which was far more important than their clothes. He threw his doublet on over his shoulders as he picked his way back toward her over the rocks, bending over and shielding her from the rain with his body to see if she was all right. The sky rumbled with thunder, far too close for comfort, and he shouted to her over the din. "Are you all right?"

She pushed herself up onto her hands, one arm still holding her clothes and shoes close to her chest as she shook her head, more apologetic than anything as he shielded her, upbraiding herself already for the fall that had slowed them both down. "My ankle," she shouted back to him. "I don't think I can run anymore!"

He turned his attention to her ankle, which thankfully didn't look broken, though it was hard to tell in the rain. Either way, it was unlikely she could walk on it, and he had to get her to shelter. "Hang on," he told her, scooping her up in his arms, skirts and all. He had to get her to shelter until the storm passed, and then he had to look at her ankle and sort out how he was going to get them back to Bannoc Rise before sunset. He shifted her weight in his arms as he made his way over the rocks and the driftwood that lay scattered in his path, a dark shape looming up ahead that was the mouth to a cave that promised shelter from the rain.

She was lucky to have turned her ankle in the cold, the wash of cold rain over her skin already beginning the task of taking down the swelling that would inevitably rise even if the turn wasn't as bad as it first seemed. Drawn up into the cradle of Charles' arms, she clung on tightly, biting down on the sounds of pain that rose as her weight toyed with landing upon that injured foot for a moment before she was safely held aloft. With her arms tucked about his neck, she pressed her face to his shoulder, her dress and shoes snug in the crook of her body, taking the opportunity for the childlike tears to fall as quietly as possible. She'd never hurt herself like this before, surprised by how vulnerable to tears she was in the shock of the moment.

He didn't notice the tears with all the rain, though he thought he felt her shivering or shuddering against him and assumed she was cold. He hated himself for having brought her here now. Had the view been worth all the trouble really' He thought they should have just stayed closer to the castle. Being out here on his own during a storm was one thing, but it was completely unacceptable and irresponsible to have brought her with him. He shielded her from the deluge as well as he could, the rain beating on his sore back and soaking him through. He wished he was back at the castle in front of the fire, perhaps soaking in a hot tub or curled up beside her in a warm bed.

They were only a few tears, and Alys had them under control fairly quickly. She wasn't exactly the toughest person he could have wished to be caught in a thunderstorm with, but at least she had a practical mind when it came to situations like this. Her lips brushed his cheek gently as he bore her onward, knowing him better than perhaps he might think. It wasn't his fault that the rain had come down on them, and it certainly wasn't his fault that she had fallen. Chance and coincidence were things she was not going to let him take responsibility for. Although getting out of the rain would be a good start.

The light was dimmer inside the cave, but still light enough that he could easily find his way inside without much trouble, leaving the sheet of rain behind them, the thunder loud enough to shake the ground, lightning crackling all around them. He carried her deeper into the cave, well away from the rain, before setting her down as gently as he could, his arms and back aching from the effort.

It was much quieter inside the cave, her gentle sigh of relief more than enough to tell him that being out of the rain was exactly what she wanted. Her hands shifted as he set her down, moving to cup his face, her eyes finding his with gentle concern. "Are you all right?" she asked him, worried that the effort might have done him more damage on top of everything he had suffered through in the lists the day before.

The storm sounded muffled from inside the cave, not half as bad as it was, but Charles knew they weren't going anywhere until it was over. Now that they were safely out of the storm, they were safe for the time being, but he was worried about her ankle and his horse and about what the king might say if he found out where they'd gone. "I'm fine," he insisted, forcing a strained smile, more worried about her than anything else. "I need to look at your ankle and make sure it's not broken," he told her, knowing it was going to be at least somewhat painful.

The horse, he could at least be fairly confident of. If the stallion had bolted, it would make its way back to Martel and the castle, though its riderless arrival would immediately call out a search for them. If it hadn't bolted, it would be on the clifftop waiting for them when the storm had abated. Alys snorted softly, wiping the water from her face as a small smile of her own made itself known. "I don't think you need to ask my permission to look at my ankle, love," she assured him, sliding her skirt up to show him her injured limb. "You've seen everything else, after all." Her ankle was a little reddened, and yes, it was swelling, but she could move it without much pain. The test would come when she had to walk on it, which would not be for some hours yet.

Charles shoved his dripping wet hair away from his face to lean in and take a better look at her ankle, his touch surprisingly gentle as his fingers moved over her ankle to determine the severity of the injury. "It doesn't seem to be broken," he told her, relieved about that anyway. If he had to, he could carry her back up the path once the rain stopped, so long as the horse hadn't bolted. He gently flexed her ankle, moving it slowly to see what her range of motion was.

She winced as he checked the articulation of her joint, drawing in a faint hiss of breath as her hands clenched against the sandy stone beneath her. But she had full motion in her ankle, even if it was painful. "I'm sorry," she heard herself apologize. "I shouldn't have looked up, I should have kept looking where I was going." She bit her lip, guilt touching her eyes for the fact that her perceived idiocy would cause him no end of headaches just to get her back to the top of the cliff once again.

Alys Beauforte

Date: 2013-06-30 19:06 EST
"You've nothing to be sorry for," he assured her, ever so gently lowering her foot to rest against the ground. He lifted his gaze to her, his fingers brushing her cheek in a tender caress. "It's my fault. I shouldn't have brought you here. It was stupid and foolish."

"Don't you start that," she told him firmly, raising her hands to curl her fingers into his collar, holding his gaze pointedly. "This is a beautiful place, and I'm so touched that you brought me here. But I won't have you trying to take responsibility for the weather or my clumsiness. And the damage isn't that bad. I have a sore ankle, and we're wet. So what? We'll dry off, and I'll heal in a few days at most. You just have to entertain me until the storm ends."

"And the king will ask how it happened," he pointed out, continuing, "and he'll want to know where we went." He decided he had not thought this thing through as well as he should have. Thankfully, he did have the pack and enough provisions to last them for at least another day. He glanced toward the sheet of rain that was pouring outside the cave, the thunder rumbling over their heads. He snorted at her suggestion. "I can imagine what your idea of entertainment is."

"Well, in that case, I'll come to the audience with my uncle with you," she told him firmly, her smile lopsided and amused. "He won't be able to tell us both off, especially if he's too concerned about making me subject to a physic." She did, after all, know the overprotective tendencies of her male relatives a little too well. Following his glance to the mouth of the cave, Alys sighed a little, stroking her thumb over his cheekbone. "I'd imagine my idea is rather close to yours. And we are soaked through. We could easily catch a chill if we stay in these wet things too long."

"I wish I'd brought a blanket," he remarked with a frown, her touch calming his troubled heart. He glanced about the cave to see if there was enough dry driftwood about for him to get a fire going. "I think I can get a fire going," he said, sliding the pack from his shoulder. It would take some doing, but he'd done it before. He'd even gone so far as spending the night here before. He shrugged out of his doublet and laid it across her shoulders. It was leather and hadn't gotten soaked through the way her clothing had. "This will keep you warm until I get a fire going."

She rolled her eyes at his concern over her, biting back the comment that wanted to rise as he draped his doublet over her shoulders. "And what about you?" she pointed out, shaking a fold of his soggy shirt between her finger and thumb. "You're not exactly drier than I am, dear heart. And no matter how much you want to pretend otherwise, you're still hurt from yesterday. You should be looking after yourself, Charles. I can cope with being a little chilly for a while longer."

His shirt was soaked and clinging to his skin, but he was more concerned for her than himself. She was in a thin, wet chemise that did nothing to keep her warm or covered; at least he had his pants. "Hush, Alys," he told her, pressing a finger against her lips. "I will be fine, but I will never forgive myself - and neither will Will or Christian - if anything happens to you." He would not hear another word of her argument.

Her lips moved under his finger for a moment longer, but the words were incoherent. Which was probably just as well, or they would have found themselves in another argument at the worst possible opportunity. Her fingers curled about his hand, drawing his palm to her lips to kiss fondly. "Just be careful, all right?" she told him. "I don't want to break you because I was an idiot."

"How are you going to break me, dear love?" he asked, his expression softening, touched at her concern for him, when she was the one who had been injured. It would take more than a joust or a chill to break him. The true test would come in battle, and it seemed that would happen sooner rather than later. He smiled warmly back at her and leaned close to touch his lips to hers, tucking the doublet tighter about her shoulders. "Stay here. I'm going to find some wood. I won't be far."

Her fingers stroked at his cheeks as he kissed her, reassured by his confidence, if not entirely convinced that he wasn't injuring himself by insisting on being hands on and in charge. "I'll stay put," she teased softly. "Promise." She drew him down to kiss him once again before sending him on his way, prepared to amuse herself with a little nursing care for her own ankle while he was busy trying to warm them up.

As promised, he didn't go far, though it was difficult to see in the gloomy shadows of the cave, with little sunlight to light his way. He moved carefully about the cave, collecting as much dry wood as he could, though it wouldn't burn forever. He'd have to be careful where he built the fire, close enough to the cave opening that they wouldn't breathe in the smoke, but deep enough inside that the rain wouldn't put the fire out. He set the wood down and gathered some stones to form a circle, looking around for some kind of kindling to get the fire going.

As Charles worked on the fire, Alys worked on herself. As good as his instincts were when it came to diagnosing an injury, she knew her training in tending one was better, one of the few practical skills she actually had. Left to her own devices, she tore a long strip from the hem of her dress, damp but thankfully protected from the worst of the rain during their mad dash for shelter. This in hand, she squeezed the water from her hair to wet the cloth and wound it in a firm, flexible bandage about her ankle, glancing up every now and then to make sure Charles was still nearby.

He felt useful, at least, still silently berating himself for this small disaster, which could have been a lot worse. One way or another, he'd get her back to the castle when the weather broke, if he had to carry her all the way there himself. He found a few dry twigs to use for tinder and carefully set them inside the circle before finding his way back to Alys to fetch his pack. "Are you all right?" he asked, noticing the makeshift bandage around her ankle, before he turned his attention to rummaging in his pack.

"I think I'll live," she assured him, her mood lifting now they were out of immediate danger. They could keep each other warm easily enough, and the summer weather being what it was, when the storm passed, the sun would be hot enough to finish what they began in here. She just hoped they got a few hours before her brother called out the entire guard to search for them. "I want to have a look at you, though, when you're done with the fire. And this time you're the one who isn't allowed to argue."

Alys Beauforte

Date: 2013-06-30 19:07 EST
"Whatever for?" he asked, unsure what all the fuss was about. He was sore, certainly, but nothing was broken, no blood had been spilled, and bruises would fade with time. He could not promise the same if war broke out, and if everything Christian was telling him was true, war seemed imminent. He said nothing of this, however, not wanting to frighten or concern her. She knew all this already, and it wasn't just his life that was in danger, but that of her brother and her uncle, the king. Charles would do everything in his power to protect the other two, including putting his own life at risk, and he knew she knew that, too. The only sound that came from him was the sound of metal against rock as he worked to get a spark. He had added his hose to the kindling, hoping the fabric would catch flame.

"To ease my mind, you stubborn sod," she informed him in no uncertain terms, drawing from the depths of her experience a fond insult she'd often heard servants and farmers using against one another in the mildest of terms. As he worked on the fire, she opened the pack he had brought down from the clifftop with them, drawing out several packages of food, a couple of water-skins, a bottle of wine, and from the very bottom, a pair of blankets. Evidently Cedric, or whoever had put the pack together, had thought that a lady should not be made to sit directly upon grass or sand.

"I can assure you I'm fine. You've already seen the results of the lists. If you want an excuse to get my clothes off, all you have to do is ask," he replied, going quiet again so that he could lean in and blow air on the small spark he'd managed to produce in hopes of encouraging a flame.

Alys rolled her eyes, her jaw clenching at his stubborn refusal to admit that he was, if not in pain, at least aching horribly after the effort involved in getting them both safely out of the rain. "Just stop arguing and put up with the fact that I am going to take a look at you, whether you want me to or not," she informed him sternly, shaking out one of the blankets over the cold sand. "We're going to be married, Beau. Get used as much to being looked after as being the one doing the looking after."

He clenched his own jaw, not in anger but stubbornness, unused to anyone fussing so over him. He hadn't ever had much of that. His mother had died so long ago he could hardly remember her, and his father had never had time to dote on the boy. His grandmother had been anything but maternal, and he'd learned at an early age how to take care of himself, rarely complaining even when he had something to complain about. "Might I remind you that you're the one with the twisted ankle?" An injury that would not have occurred if he hadn't been so blasted stupid.

"Which has been tended and can't do anything but throb now," she countered pointedly, inching over the sand to lay out her dress and his canions to dry over the smooth rock that rose from the sand. "Whereas you are carrying strains and bruises from a battering yesterday, and your muscles have just got very cold thanks to that downpour. I know you're aching, Beau, stop being such a bloody hero about it."

"I am trying to make a fire here so that we aren't cold!" he snapped back, glancing over at her, wishing he'd thought to wrap up her ankle, but he'd thought of her comfort first, not wanting her to catch her death of cold. He turned back to the fire, adding a few dry sticks, the hose going quickly up in flame, as predicted. He wanted to feed the fire, not suffocate it. What in bloody hell were they arguing for anyway' It only made matters worse. The day had started off well enough. If only the rain would stop. There was no telling how long they'd be stuck here if it didn't stop. He had no intention of leaving her there to go for help.

Her eyes narrowed at his back, one hand closing around a soft piece of sandstone speculatively as she eyed him crouching and snapping at her. She did think better of actually throwing it at him, however tempting the prospect. "And I'm not trying to stop you making the damned fire," she snapped back at him. "If you'd been paying attention, you'd remember that I said I wanted to look at you after you'd finished playing with sticks!"

In truth, he was not angry at her at all, but at himself, blaming himself for her hurts and wondering how he was going to explain this all to the king. It was partially a matter of wounded pride, unused to anyone fussing over him so the way she did, and while her caring touched his heart, he was unsure how to react to it, never having submitted himself to the warm, caring hands of a woman before, except to take to his bed, all of them gone before morning. "I'm sorry about your ankle," he told her again, though what he really meant was that he was sorry for making her angry. He reached for a log to place it on the fire, waiting for it to catch fire, before adding another.

"It wasn't your fault," she told him, the heat in her voice still anger at his stubbornness as she tugged his doublet tighter about herself, admitting - albeit silently - that the sodden cloth of her chemise was chilling her more than she was comfortable with. "I'm the one who wasn't looking where I was going. It was my mistake, and the consequences are mine to deal with. Stop treating me like a child."

His head snapped toward her as she tried to apologize, taking offense at her remark. "I was trying to treat you like a lady, but if you insist on acting like a child, then I shall treat you as such." He clenched his jaw, already regretting the retort as soon as it had been spoken, and he turned back to the fire with a heavy sigh, taking little comfort from its warmth. "You should get out of those wet clothes and wrap up in a blanket."

The silence that met this retort and its following advice was ominous in its weight. Alys didn't trust herself to answer, not when she was hurt and furious with him, on top of the guilt for having got herself hurt in the first place. She didn't move to do as he said, twisting until her back was to him, leaning against the cave wall, away from the blanket laid out and the other piled atop it. She didn't even acknowledge the pain in her ankle as she curled up, her reaction childish, yes, but infinitely better than the flaming shouting match it could have been.

Why they couldn't just remember their courtly manners when it came to their interactions, he wasn't quite sure. A simple "I'm sorry" or "thank you? would have sufficed, but instead they found themselves shouting angry accusations at the other that neither really meant, and he wasn't sure why. One of them would eventually have to give in and he thought it should probably be him. The fire was finally going, helping to warm the damp cave where they'd taken refuge against the cold and the rain, which was still coming down in sheets, though the thunder had faded into the distance for now. Crouched over the fire, he was brooding a little and debating how best to close the breach between them. Was it love that made them act this way' He had never met a woman who infuriated him more or who sparked his passion.

Alys Beauforte

Date: 2013-06-30 19:08 EST
It was Alys who broke the silence, her voice tiny in the echoing stillness of their shelter. "I'm not a child," she said quietly, muffled by the way she had huddled down into herself, shivering with the chill. "They call me "lady" to my face, but the entire court calls me a child behind my back. Even your grandmother called me a child. How is caring about you, wanting to be sure you're all right ....how is that behaving like a child" What did I do this time for you to lose your temper with me?" Tell me, so I never do it again. Henri's rough lessons were with her still.

His head turned toward her again, seeing her shivering and taking pity on her, all his anger evaporating as he tried to understand what she was telling him. He laid another log on the fire and moved to his feet, long strides carrying her over to her in no time. He took up one of the blankets and crouched down beside her to wrap it about her shoulders. "You're not a child. I've never thought of you as a child. My grandmother is a mean-spirited harpy of a woman whose opinions have no bearing on what I think of you. I love you, just as I always have. I am only angry at myself for....for all of this. I wanted this day to be special. I wanted to show you this place. This is where I always went after you left when I wanted to be alone. I would sit on the beach and watch the waves and think of you." There was a hint of loneliness in his eyes, five years without her.

She lifted haunted eyes to his, forcing aside the memory of her late husband and the malicious gossip of the court to focus on him, the man she loved, the man who loved her, leaning into him as he drew the blanket around her shoulders. "There's nothing to stop this day from being special," she told him softly. "A little rain and a stupid fall don't take away from the beauty of this place, or that you wanted to show it to me. I'm here, Charles. I'm with you. It's the only place I ever want to be, even if you were to turn your back and never so much as look at me again."

He saw a hint of the haunted expression in her eyes as she lifted her gaze to his and knew they had both suffered, but all of that was over now. They were together; they would always be together, so long as she wanted him. "I'm so afraid of losing you again," he admitted after a moment, his voice so quiet it was barely a whisper. He cupped her chin, drawing a thumb against her cheek as he looked into her eyes. "I would never turn my back on you, Alys. I love you, just as I always have, just as I always will."

She twisted under the wrap of his arm, her own hand emerging from the folds of leather and cloth to caress his jaw as she held his gaze, her voice echoing his in a soft whisper. "I am in no danger of being lost," she promised him fervently. "Though you are in danger of being slapped again if you don't let me look after you on occasion." Her thumb stroked over his lips as she smiled a little. "If we're equals, partners in life and in love, then you cannot always take the high hand. If nothing else, it will deny you the moments of quiet you need, because I never stop arguing with you about it."

He frowned at her a little as she touched him, her touch making him feel strange inside with a sweet ache that tugged at his heart. It was almost as if she was reaching inside him and touching his very soul. He found the strangeness of it all at once frightening and calming, never having opened his heart to anyone before the way he had her. "I don't know how," he admitted at last, after a long moment of listening to her and considering a reply. He said more in that small statement than he ever could with words. He didn't really know how to let someone care about him when no one ever had before, not like this, not since she'd been sent away.

"Then learn with me," she said softly, gently sliding the blanket from her shoulders as she turned herself about fully. "Let me look at you, love. I know you're hurting, even if it isn't much. I might be able to help." She kissed him tenderly, willing him to let go of just a little of his pride and be loved in a way he wasn't accustomed to.

He didn't think there was any way she could help. They were just bruises, nothing a little time wouldn't heal. It was his pride that was injured the most and the fact that he'd lost the tournament when he should have been the clear winner, but he knew his place in the grand scheme of things. Though it might all just be for the entertainment of the court, the pain and the injuries inflicted on the combatants was very real. "I should have won," he said, when their lips parted, submitting himself to her in whatever way she wanted. Her shivering seemed to have stilled, but his own skin was colder than he had let on, despite the fire.

She smiled gently, her eyes lovingly sympathetic. "I know," she assured him. "And I am not the only one who knows it. Even Christian, proud king that he is, knows he only won because he is king, and you couldn't let him lose before his sons or his people." She nuzzled affectionately to him for a moment, laying the blanket he had wrapped about her onto the other where it was settled over the sand, and shrugging out of his doublet to lay that aside with their drying clothes. Her hands moved to his shirt, easing the sodden fabric up over his chilled skin with gentle care for the aching muscles beneath.

He moved stiffly as she removed the sodden cloth from his chilled skin. It was his shoulder that seemed to have taken the worst of it, though there were bruises scattered here and there in an ugly rainbow of discolored, abused flesh. It was a small price to pay for earning the king's favor and it wasn't the first time he'd swallowed his pride to do so. He had more to lose than most and as such, he knew he had to work all the harder and be on his guard at all times.

Still, he was secure in the knowledge that he was one of Christian's closest and most trusted friends. He had proved his worth more than once, but felt he still had more to prove, if not to the king, then to himself and to those around him who doubted him. "I am his loyal servant, Alys. I owe everything I am to my king." That was not exactly true, but he knew that as graciously as the king gave, he could just as easily take away, and his own love and loyalty to the king was no secret. Though Christian was his king, Charles also counted him as one of his closest and dearest friends.

She took a moment to lay his shirt over the rocks to dry slowly, turning her attention to the scattered multi-hued evidence of his misadventures in the lists. Her hands skimmed gently over the abused expanse of his chest and sides, fingertips lingering over the shoulder that had taken the brunt of the blows that had been visited upon him by friends and others. "Your wealth and position, you owe to the king," she corrected him gently, inching closer to brush her lips over his bruised flesh. There was nothing she could do for bruises, but the chill of his skin was another matter entirely. Her palms flattened as she touched him, rubbing to bring the heat of her touch to his flesh as her lips graced his injuries with tender kisses. "You are far more than simply wealth and position, love."

Alys Beauforte

Date: 2013-06-30 19:09 EST
"I am nothing more than what the king has given me and made me. My mother was a commoner, as my grandmother so enjoys reminding me, and my father was no great lord." He clenched his jaw a moment at the mention of his father's mother again, muscles tensing at the thought of her. "When I was a boy, I only wished for her to show me one small bit of affection, and now that I'm a man, she thinks she can use me to gain favor with the king." His relationship or lack thereof with his father's mother had always been painful, but now that he was grown, he saw her for who and what she really was and the pain of childhood had turned to loathing. There was little love lost between himself and his grandmother, and he knew there was no point in hoping for it to blossom now. Instead of relaxing under his lover's ministrations, his muscles were tensing with anger at the reminder of the unpleasant visit with his grandmother earlier that morning.

"Charles." Alys lifted her head, her hands rising to cradle his face, drawing his gaze to hers as she met his gaze. He was hurting himself with his remembered anger, unable to let go enough to allow his body to relax under her touch. "I love you. I do not love the duke, or the warrior, or the king's favorite. I couldn't care less about the grandson of Dame Beatrice Beauforte, or the son of a merchant's daughter. I love the man in front of me, the boy I grew up with, and I loved him long before the king was in a position to give him anything." Her lips brushed his, once again willing him to relax, to forget the court and the people in it, if only for a few hours. "Let go, dear heart, just a little. I'm here to catch you."

"She even had the gall to suggest our children might one day be in line for the throne. Can you imagine the audacity of the woman?" he scoffed, his voice full of loathing. There were others in line for the throne, others he had sworn allegiance to and would willingly die to protect. Did she not understand there were more important things than power" Honor above all. That was what made Charles the man that he was, despite the lack of royal blood and the doubts of those around him.

He lifted his gaze to her, the anger melting away a little at her reassurances. Let go' She wanted him to let go' Let go of what? The anger" The pain" The constant need to prove himself and to watch his back against enemies and traitors? But she was not his enemy. This was the woman he loved, that he'd always loved. The one woman who knew him better than anyone, even after five long years apart. He drew a deep breath, biting back a wince of pain as he exhaled slowly, holding her gaze, trying to let go as much as he possibly dared.

She drew him down to her, forehead to forehead, her eyes closing to give him the illusion of privacy to feel everything and let it pass through him. Her hands were gentle on his face, smoothing to his shoulders as she lingered with him, gentle and undemanding for perhaps the first time since they had kindled their love for one another. All she could give him to help in that moment was quiet and peace, and that, at least, was something she could do. "I love you," she whispered once again, a tender reminder to break through all the pride and anger and pain, the shield he had built around himself to keep everyone out over the years. All she wanted was a small Alys-shaped hole in that shield, to know that she was welcome where his emotions ran deepest, but even she knew that only time would bring her that privilege.

Though she might not yet realize it, she was one of few people he'd allowed to break through the walls he'd built around himself and let into his heart, and the one whom he trusted and loved most of all. "Nothing is going to keep us apart," he told her, not for the first time, drawn close to her, studying her face, so still and calm and peaceful in that moment. She calmed his troubled heart, like nothing or no one else ever could. He didn't bother to repeat her words of affection, instead leaning close to brush a tender kiss against her lips that spoke louder of his feelings than words could ever say.

His kiss startled her, brown eyes blinking open for just a moment as his lips found hers, only to fall closed once more as her hands retraced their path to curl at his neck and shoulder. She found him so hard to read sometimes, a mystery of a man who could be hard or soft, cold or warm, detached or passionate, seemingly at a flick of his fingers. Yet she knew he loved her, and found in that love something far more precious than anything else in her life. She never wanted to let him go. A shudder rippled down her spine, the cool breeze from the stormy mouth of the cave reminding her body that it was wet and cold, urging her closer to him in search of his warmth.

He drew her toward him, savoring the sweet taste of her lips against his and the comfort it gave him, her kiss soothing his hurts more than any poultice or potion. She was right, of course. It wasn't a disaster. They had gone for a ride, just as he'd told Cedric, and gotten caught in the rain. Nothing had been his fault or hers, and nothing had yet happened they could be condemned for. He kissed her quite thoroughly, his body warm against hers, before drawing her gently down to the blanket that she'd spread across the cave floor. It was no bed, but it was a welcome refuge from the raging storm, a storm that was not unlike that which raged in his heart.

Drawn down to the blanket, she winced just once as her pained ankle found an odd angle, easily remedied as her legs straightened to entwine with his. Their passion for one another, dampened by the rain quite literally on the beach, renewed itself easily, warmth easy to find in the tender embrace each offered the other. Her hands stayed gentle as her touch roamed over his skin, mindful of the colorful bruises that covered his torso; his thorough kiss answered with easy tenderness as she breathed him in, seeking to wipe away the sting to his pride that lingered still in the loving heat of her affection.

Without another word, without so much as asking permission, he took her again. Slowly, gently, careful of the ankle that pained her enough that he saw the wince in her face when she moved it. She did not have to move at all; he would do all the work. He warmed her with hands that smoothed over her body, lips that left a trail of kisses wherever they touched her soft flesh. He explored her yet again, learning her better, showing her there were better ways to love than those she had experienced at the hands of a husband who had sought to control her, to possess her. He showed her what it was to love and be loved in return, not so much with words as with actions, and when at last he took her, he did so with a tenderness that was unexpected for a man who was used to taking what he wanted.

The sodden cling of her chemise was no match for the gentle determination of his hands, soon joining the rest of their wet clothing to dry in its own time as she writhed tenderly beneath his touch, kept from doing more than simply reveling in his adoration of her as much by the claim of his body with hers as by the soft haze he drew down into her, clouding her mind and keeping her from doing more than he wished her to. This was what set him apart from that one other lover, the knowledge deep in her bones that she was loved, and that he wanted her love in return. She rose with him as he took her, the storm outside forgotten in the gentle storm that took them both, breath and touch and tender kisses shared back and forth as they chased the chill away, together.

Alys Beauforte

Date: 2013-06-30 19:10 EST
When he was through - at least for now - he drew the spare blanket up over them both, kissing her tenderly, satisfied that he had at least warmed the chill that had her shivering only a short time before. He held her close, safe in his embrace, the crackling of the fire and the rhythm of the rain the only sounds drowning out the sound of the waves that crashed against the beach and the pounding of his heart. Despite all his worries, he felt strangely at peace, as if they had entered their own private world where no one could touch them. He brushed a kiss against her forehead as he held her against his chest, savoring the moment, knowing it couldn't last forever.

Alys curled into his arms, warm and safe, enveloped in his loving embrace with a sweet smile to decorate her face, one sign among many that she was loved. Her lips brushed his chest in answer to the kiss he touched to her temple, the arm draped over him tightening in response to that unspoken affection. The sound of the rain was muffled in echo through the cave, the sand beneath the blanket shifting to accommodate them in comfort. "Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could just ....stay here?" she heard herself murmured quietly. "Live out simple lives, just the two of us?"

He smiled at the thought of that, though he knew she didn't mean it, not really. As soon as they had to deal with some difficulty of survival or another, the spell would be broken. "We will at Arindale," he promised, pressing another kiss against her forehead. Perhaps not simple lives, but they would be together, and he would be the master of his domain. No one would be ever be able to hurt them or come between them again. "After you left, I used to think about going after you, stealing you away from your husband, and running away together."

She chuckled softly, appreciating the longing in that wish, touched that they had shared something over so many miles without ever knowing the other was having the same thoughts. "I used to dream that you'd come and rescue me," she admitted, a little embarrassed by her childish dreams, however loving they were. "They were so vivid sometimes, I'd wake up and actually cry when the face on the pillow next to mine wasn't yours." Her smile faded a little at the memory of what those tears had earned her, but she deliberately shook it away. "I don't think my uncle would ever have forgiven us if we'd started a war just to be together, though."

He traced her cheek with a fingertip, watching her in the firelight, filled with regret and remorse that he couldn't have made those dreams come true when she'd needed him, but then, they finally had their reward for five years apart, and he was never going to let anyone take her away from him again. "He can never know the truth, Alys. He loves you dearly and if he knew how you were treated, he would blame himself." Perhaps Christian knew a little already; perhaps that was why he had vowed to let her marry for love the second time around. "I'm sorry I didn't come to your rescue, but all that is behind us now, dear heart, and perhaps....perhaps we will love each other all the more for having known what it is to be apart." He knew he was going out on a limb there, but as difficult as those five years had been, it had taught him how precious and rare such a love as theirs was.

Her eyes rose to meet his gaze as his fingertip caressed her skin, her lips curving in a gentle smile to echo his feeling. "I will not even tell Will," she assured him softly. "I wouldn't have told you, if it had not come between us so badly. I never wanted to hurt you with the knowledge of something that was so far beyond your influence to change." She nestled into him with a low sigh, wishing with all her heart that he might be right, that it was all behind them. "And we will be married tomorrow, or the next day. Not even Bereth will be able to prevent that."

"No, it would only hurt and anger him to know," he agreed, with regard to Will, and there was no one to take that rage out on but an enemy who was still too far away to fight. There was no point in anyone else knowing, but he would never allow her to be used in such a way again by anyone, friend or foe. "Tomorrow?" he echoed, craning his head toward hers. "Can it be arranged that quickly, you think?"

"You and I both have people we trust above all others," she said, confident in her Bess at the very least. She shifted, careful in her movement not to hurt either on of them as she raised her head to look down at him. "We could set things in motion tonight and have it all arranged for tomorrow evening. That is ..." She hesitated, worry touching her eyes. "Well, unless you have changed your mind."

He smiled back at her, banishing her worries with a smile that reflected his happiness at the prospect of making her his officially and permanently, albeit a little prematurely. "Of course I have not changed my mind," he assured her. No matter how many arguments they might have or how high their tempers might flare, nothing could stop him from loving her. Even five years apart had only made him love her and want her more. "I will be the happiest man in the world to have you for my wife." He chuckled a moment, remembering when he'd first seen her in her father's library, grown into the loveliness of womanhood but still possessing the hot-blooded temperament he had remembered when she was a girl. "You cannot be rid of me that easily. Do you know when I first saw you again at Monceau, how hard it was not to sweep you off your feet and kiss you?"

She laughed at his chuckling memory of her, shaking her head as she settled over him, her arms framing his head and neck as her fingers teased through the curls that crowned him. "Why in the Goddess' name didn't you, then?" she asked him through her smile. "We could have ridden straight for Arindale and been married days ago if you had." Amber-flecked eyes danced with teasing amusement as she looked down at him, daring him to take her seriously.

"And risk the king's ire," he reminded her solemnly, not realizing right away that she was only teasing. "No, it is better this way. We have his favor and his blessing, even if we are moving faster than he would like. I cannot risk falling out of favor. I tried to tell you that in Monceau, but you would not listen. I asked you to come to Arindale with me and you refused." Perhaps he needed to say it out loud, to reassure himself that they had done and were doing the right thing. Though Christian loved them both dearly, he was the king, and he demanded both their respect and obedience. "He will be angry when he learns we haven't waited. He will want to make our wedding a reason for celebration."

"And he still can," Alys assured him gently. "No one need ever know that we married before the king set the date, not so long as you stay alive and I do not get with child. There is no reason to think either of those things will happen. Marrying now is ....it's a safety net. And it is mostly for my protection, love, I know that." She kissed him fondly, drawing her fingers through his damp hair. "The king can have his great celebration, and the Church allows for us to renew our vows without risking annulling our match. We're safe."

Alys Beauforte

Date: 2013-06-30 19:11 EST
It seemed she had thought it all out, every angle, every possibility. There were no doubts in her mind, and nothing left to said. "Tomorrow then," he decided, glancing furtively toward the rain that was dripping down from the mouth of the cave, but thankfully the fire was still going. "Or the day after if it doesn't stop raining," he smoothed his fingers through her hair as he drew her close, his kiss soft and warm against her lips. "How long do you think it will be before they come looking for us?"

There was no resistance in her as he drew her down to him, sharing another kiss before she considered his query. "They will not come looking for us until after the rain has stopped," she mused thoughtfully, "and even then, they will not come straight here unless Will is ..." She sighed. "Unless Will is with them. Which, naturally, he will be." Alys groaned, tucking herself close once again as she looked out at the deluge and the crashing sea beyond. "We should get dressed when the rains stop. Not before."

It was true - Will would more than likely be able to guess where they'd gone, but Charles also knew his friend and her brother would be reluctant to give this place away, until and unless he thought they might be in some sort of danger. One day away from the castle would not warrant an all-out search party. Two days away, however, might. "Let's hope Gideon will still be waiting." Gideon being the name of the horse that he'd left waiting for them atop the cliff. He hated to admit how worried he was about the horse, but if the horse were to return to the castle without them, he knew there would be a full-fledged search party looking for them before long. The horse was used to the area, however, having been left on his own here before, and there was no reason to believe he wouldn't be waiting.

"How long do you think the storm will last?" Alys asked him then, pushing herself to sit up, looking out at the violent waves beneath the pouring rain. She let the blanket fall away as she straightened, comfortably immodest when she was absolutely certain only his eyes would see her.

"It's hard to say," he replied, tucking an arm behind his head as he shifted against the blanket and followed her gaze. "We have food and drink and shelter. There's enough wood to keep the fire going a while longer." He didn't want to frighten her, but without the horse, it was a long walk back to the castle, and there was no way she'd be able to make it with an injured ankle. He'd be forced to carry her, and the walk might take all day. "We'll stay here 'til the rain stops, and then I'll go check on the horse." If the horse wasn't there, they'd have to consider staying put until a search party came for them.

Her hand lingered against his thigh as she gazed out at the raging sea, lost in thought for a long moment. Her hair was a damp tangle hanging down her back, promising to be painful to comb through when they returned to the castle, but she didn't care so much. Despite the less than good circumstances, Alys couldn't help enjoying the privacy they'd inadvertently found down here on the beach. "And there's nothing to do while we wait," she sighed, rubbing her fingers against his hip through the blanket as she lay back by his side, smirking up at the ceiling of the cave. "We could die of boredom, you know."

"Oh, I highly doubt there is any danger of that," he said, smirking back at her. "We can always tell stories, if we get bored. Or talk about the first thing that pops up." An old joke whose meaning was obvious. He turned her face toward him and kissed her again. Whatever happened in the next few hours, it was clear they would have no trouble making use of the time, a gift of the goddess perhaps, a respite from the eyes and ears and wagging tongues of court, but oh, how those tongues would wag when they found out the two of them had disappeared and not returned before nightfall. Outside the rain continued, a sheer curtain of impenetrable water that kept them safely hidden from the outside world.

Indeed, outside the storm raged wildly, crashing waves battering the shore as water poured from the sky, a bitter summer storm to freshen the air and bring respite from the increasing heat of the crown of the year. And within, a new storm found its own mark, in the tenderness of a lover's embrace, and the promise of many such moments to share as long as life endured.

((Will the storm ever end" Will our lovers make it back to the castle without being called straight to the king" Will this war that's brewing ever happen? Stay tuned to find out! Muchos thankies to Charles' player!))