Water Music on the Thames

[Evangeline Anovilis]

Josephine smiled. "That would indeed be generous of you. Though nothing too strong, if possible. Merci." At this moment a second person came to the two, with red hair and a white-turqoise dress, anger and annoyance were clearly visible in her eyes. "Josephine! Do not just wander off alone. How often do I have to tell you? Geez..." Josephine looked a bit ashamed "Sorry." The new one turned then to Malcolm. "Pardon, if she created any complicacies. My name is Leopoldine, Mademoiselle de Blois. I'm her half sister." Leopoldine had now at least found one person. Keeping an eye on the Queen, she came to see this lovely scene just before she decided to walk over.

[Triyun]

"Well this has been bracing." Ryu said kicking back a mug of ale walking over to Sir Hawkwood. "Always need a good fight at a party I guess... Leave it to the French to start it" he said joking. "I think they'd be better off if they kicked back and just punched each other out when they deserved it. Wouldn't you agree?"

[Padraig Rua]

After Queen Jane had left the French and Scottish delegates to their business, William approached the two. With a cup of wine in his hand he nodded in approval to them both and started to speak...[i]" Well, that was quite the pretty scene to watch from afar. Nicely done I must say. Did I happen to hear something about the weather? It must have been a boring conversation."[/i] chuckled William taking another mouthful of his drink and gulping it down as he glanced around the area for unwanted eyes.

[Evangeline Anovilis]

Josephine turned around. "Well, it was nothing surprising. Just what we should already know to begin with. After all, our views on English weather haven't changed for centuries, I guess. Won't you agree?" Leopoldine, until recently too far away to hear anything made a rather asking face. "You were talking about the weather?"

[Kevin Kingswell]

[quote name='Evangeline Anovilis' timestamp='1334598132' post='2954328']
Josephine smiled. "That would indeed be generous of you. Though nothing too strong, if possible. Merci." At this moment a second person came to the two, with red hair and a white-turqoise dress, anger and annoyance were clearly visible in her eyes. "Josephine! Do not just wander off alone. How often do I have to tell you? Geez..." Josephine looked a bit ashamed "Sorry." The new one turned then to Malcolm. "Pardon, if she created any complicacies. My name is Leopoldine, Mademoiselle de Blois. I'm her half sister." Leopoldine had now at least found one person. Keeping an eye on the Queen, she came to see this lovely scene just before she decided to walk over.
[/quote]


[quote name='Chancellor Patrick' timestamp='1334609382' post='2954428']
After Queen Jane had left the French and Scottish delegates to their business, William approached the two. With a cup of wine in his hand he nodded in approval to them both and started to speak...[i]" Well, that was quite the pretty scene to watch from afar. Nicely done I must say. Did I happen to hear something about the weather? It must have been a boring conversation."[/i] chuckled William taking another mouthful of his drink and gulping it down as he glanced around the area for unwanted eyes.
[/quote]

Malcolm greeted the new arrivals in turn with a smile and a respectful and friendly bow before stepping away to get a drink for madam Josephine and leaving her to talk with her half sister and William alone. Walking across to the nearby table he poured a small drink of mild wine for Josephine and for himself a march hardier drink of some sort of Enlish ale which should do for now. Standing at the table he took the few seconds of respite to look around the ball and catching Eimhir's eye he nodded his head in secret understanding of what her look she had given him had meant.

[Captain Enema]

[quote name='Triyun' timestamp='1334607962' post='2954412']
"Well this has been bracing." Ryu said kicking back a mug of ale walking over to Sir Hawkwood. "Always need a good fight at a party I guess... Leave it to the French to start it" he said joking. "I think they'd be better off if they kicked back and just punched each other out when they deserved it. Wouldn't you agree?"
[/quote]

Sir Hawkwood coughs politely and nods for a moment as a small grin breaks his noted stoic countenance. After he composes himself by eradicating said small smile he finally says, "I dare say my good sir, I must agree. Though I made a promise to my wife years ago about fighting at events such as this."

Lady Ashley smiles and says quietly, "I didn't say that included the bloody French dear, I'll be back later, you boys have fun."

[Subtleknifewielder]

[quote name='Kevin Kingswell' timestamp='1334596198' post='2954310']
"I see it is of no matter and I find it charming that you dedicate so much time to your people they must love and appreciate you very much. Tell me is their a lady of Kent in your life my dear Earl?" replied Eimhir slyly before leading the Earl into a slow and gentle dance as she did she pulled him off to one side of the barge away from most of the other guests. This way she could talk to Anthony in private without anyone else being able to interfere or to overhear, rasiing one eyebrow she inclined her head as Anthony mentioned the crown. "Why do you say that Anthony? Is the Queen in some sort of difficulty?"
[/quote]
The young Earl shook his head. "Alas, there is not. Perhaps that is a small portion of the reason the demands are so overwhelming at times..." despite his words, his tone and expression implied he was anything but regretful of having no wife. "If there was indeed such a woman, I doubt she would permit me to be here without being present herself. And, no doubt, be fiercely jealous of my time." He flashed a charming grin, figuring she would understand readily enough what he meant by jealous. He was apparently unconcerned with being taken off into a secluded corner, rather, taking the time to enjoy the dance. "In trouble?"

He shook his head again. "Just the typical headaches of managing a newly revived nation, difficulties I have no doubt your father has experienced, particularly if what they say about Scottish stubbornness is true. I can well imagine he had quite a challenge getting them to agree on much of anything at the start." He chuckled at the thought. "No, I simply prefer to leave the affairs of state to those better suited to the task. All that besides...if I was the King, I would not have had the time to dance with such a lovely maiden. Surely one such as you is not without her share of suitors?"

[Kevin Kingswell]

[quote name='Subtleknifewielder' timestamp='1334654045' post='2954765']
The young Earl shook his head. "Alas, there is not. Perhaps that is a small portion of the reason the demands are so overwhelming at times..." despite his words, his tone and expression implied he was anything but regretful of having no wife. "If there was indeed such a woman, I doubt she would permit me to be here without being present herself. And, no doubt, be fiercely jealous of my time." He flashed a charming grin, figuring she would understand readily enough what he meant by jealous. He was apparently unconcerned with being taken off into a secluded corner, rather, taking the time to enjoy the dance. "In trouble?"

He shook his head again. "Just the typical headaches of managing a newly revived nation, difficulties I have no doubt your father has experienced, particularly if what they say about Scottish stubbornness is true. I can well imagine he had quite a challenge getting them to agree on much of anything at the start." He chuckled at the thought. "No, I simply prefer to leave the affairs of state to those better suited to the task. All that besides...if I was the King, I would not have had the time to dance with such a lovely maiden. Surely one such as you is not without her share of suitors?"
[/quote]

"Oh that is a terrible shame my dear Earl a wonderful man such as yourself deserves to have a woman who would treat you right in all ways" replied Eimhir with a sneaky wink as she continued to lead him through the dance. She would listen to him talking about the Queen's troubles and put the information away in the back of her mind to tell her father later before raising a hand to her mouth to stifle a very woman like giggle as Anthony mentioned suitors. "No I am afraid not. You see I have two more sisters who are both more ladylike than me and so many men desire them above me which does allow me to look out for more interesting qualities in men such as yourself."

"Tell me my Earl of Kent after this ball would I be able to accompany you for some time here in East Anglia or would that create too much difficulty for you?" she asked as the music came to an end before starting on another song though Eimhir had stopped dancing and was now just holding Anthony's hands tightly.

[Mara Lithaen]

Feeling rather out of place in the whole ball, the Empress and her uncle quietly left, leaving Jane and her daughter to stand awkwardly in a corner, not knowing a soul in the room and all in all feeling rather alone.

[KaiserMelech Mikhail]

[quote name='Mara Lithaen' timestamp='1334701467' post='2954985']
Feeling rather out of place in the whole ball, the Empress and her uncle quietly left, leaving Jane and her daughter to stand awkwardly in a corner, not knowing a soul in the room and all in all feeling rather alone.
[/quote]
Before the empress had a chance to leave, two of the mooseriders circled around and cut off their path.

",הלו שיין מיידל" Dmitry said.

"Private Petrenko says, hello pretty girl," Mikhail said after him.

"?וואָס זענען איר טאן דאָ אַלע אַליין"

"Private Petrenko asks vhat you are doing here all alone."

"?וואלט איר זאָרגן צו טאַנצן צו דעם פּאַמעלעך ענגליש מוזיק"

"Private Petrenko asks if you vould like to dance to this slow English music.

Dmitri jumped down from his moose, removed the heavy robe and threw it across the saddle, showing his bright orange tunic. Stamping a heavy boot on the wooden deck of the party barge, he held out his hand to the empress.

Edited April 17, 2012 by KaiserMelech Mikhail

[Mara Lithaen]

The Empress completely ignores the mooserider, but finds her carriage missing, sighing about, re-entering the ball area and attempting to spot Queen Jane, her lips quirking at her name. [i]Queen Jane?[/i] she thought, [i]If all of the reports are accurate, she and my Jane may well get along... maybe. Either that, or hate eachother.[/i]

She returned to the ball, and shooed Christian off to dance with a minor English noblewoman who caught his eye. "You might as well enjoy yourself, " she told him.

"I could say the same to you, My Lady."

Edited April 18, 2012 by Mara Lithaen

[Subtleknifewielder]

[quote name='Kevin Kingswell' timestamp='1334677471' post='2954844']
"Oh that is a terrible shame my dear Earl a wonderful man such as yourself deserves to have a woman who would treat you right in all ways" replied Eimhir with a sneaky wink as she continued to lead him through the dance. She would listen to him talking about the Queen's troubles and put the information away in the back of her mind to tell her father later before raising a hand to her mouth to stifle a very woman like giggle as Anthony mentioned suitors. "No I am afraid not. You see I have two more sisters who are both more ladylike than me and so many men desire them above me which does allow me to look out for more interesting qualities in men such as yourself."

"Tell me my Earl of Kent after this ball would I be able to accompany you for some time here in East Anglia or would that create too much difficulty for you?" she asked as the music came to an end before starting on another song though Eimhir had stopped dancing and was now just holding Anthony's hands tightly.
[/quote]
"Perhaps it is as you say," Anthony agreed noncommittally. To be fair, he wasn't really interested in marriage right now. He did have a duty to eventually marry and carry on the family line, but there was no urgency at the present time. Of course, he couldn't actually come right out and say that publicly, even if the only witness who could hear him was a foreign princess. It would be the height of impropriety to imply, or worse, outright state, he had no interest in something that was his duty, and while foppish and outspoken, he was still all about at least [i]seeming[/i] proper.

As their second dance came to an end, he raised one of her hands to his lips and kissed it again. "No suitors? That is a tragedy..." he sighed regretfully, though his smile was hardly diminished at her apparent eagerness to stick around with him . "And I'm sure you wouldn't really desire to accompany me for any great length of time...it would, undoubtedly, swiftly grow tedious to have naught but me available for company, however intriguing you may find me at the present time."

[Kevin Kingswell]

[quote name='Subtleknifewielder' timestamp='1334718505' post='2955136']
"Perhaps it is as you say," Anthony agreed noncommittally. To be fair, he wasn't really interested in marriage right now. He did have a duty to eventually marry and carry on the family line, but there was no urgency at the present time. Of course, he couldn't actually come right out and say that publicly, even if the only witness who could hear him was a foreign princess. It would be the height of impropriety to imply, or worse, outright state, he had no interest in something that was his duty, and while foppish and outspoken, he was still all about at least [i]seeming[/i] proper.

As their second dance came to an end, he raised one of her hands to his lips and kissed it again. "No suitors? That is a tragedy..." he sighed regretfully, though his smile was hardly diminished at her apparent eagerness to stick around with him . "And I'm sure you wouldn't really desire to accompany me for any great length of time...it would, undoubtedly, swiftly grow tedious to have naught but me available for company, however intriguing you may find me at the present time."
[/quote]


"Oh. I see if that is what you think then I can't argue with that" replied Eimhir her tone and face showing her disappointment and hurt, orginally she had hoped to use the young earl to gather vital information but had quickly found him quite appealing. Now though it seemed only she felt that way about him and not vice versa. Quickly dropping Anthony's hands and though she didn't want to Eimhir felt tears begin to form in the corner of her eyes and before Anthony could stop her she turned and quickly ran away disappearing into the crowd with her head held in her hands. And unfortunally for Anthony she had chosen to do so just as Malcolm had turned back to face the pair from where he stood and seeing his daughter run off in tears quickly stormed across to Anthony, face red with anger, and didn't even give Anthony a chance to speak before throwing a swift right hook at his face.

OOC:

Edited April 18, 2012 by Kevin Kingswell

[Subtleknifewielder]

[quote name='Kevin Kingswell' timestamp='1334720966' post='2955155']
"Oh. I see if that is what you think then I can't argue with that" replied Eimhir her tone and face showing her disappointment and hurt, orginally she had hoped to use the young earl to gather vital information but had quickly found him quite appealing. Now though it seemed only she felt that way about him and not vice versa. Quickly dropping Anthony's hands and though she didn't want to Eimhir felt tears begin to form in the corner of her eyes and before Anthony could stop her she turned and quickly ran away disappearing into the crowd with her head held in her hands. And unfortunally for Anthony she had chosen to do so just as Malcolm had turned back to face the pair from where he stood and seeing his daughter run off in tears quickly stormed across to Anthony, face red with anger, and didn't even give Anthony a chance to speak before throwing a swift right hook at his face.
[/quote]
Anthony opened his mouth, trying to think of something to explain further, but before he could, she had turned and left. He saw the tears, just before she turned away, and sighed, keeping his eye on her until she blended into the crowd. By God, he'd hurt her. He hadn't intended to, he never did, but sometimes those things happened--with the way he talked and behaved, it was inevitable, and well he knew it. It was the price for being the way he was.

With a heavy sigh, his smile actually did fade, and he was about to step off after her, to explain, do something. He wasn't even considering any explanation might make it worse, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw swift movement. He couldn't react quickly enough to defend himself, but he had just enough time to loosen his body to roll with the punch. Nevertheless, it bloodied his cheek and knocked him sprawling to the deck, his hat falling off in the process. He sat up, grabbing at the mislaid item before anything, then looked up to see his attacker. From the family resemblance to Eimhir, and what she had told him, he quickly deduced this man must be her father. The King of Scotland, and what's more, understood why the man might be angry with him.

He made no move to defend himself, instead bowing his head as he stood, and making no move to defend himself from any further attacks. "I beg of you, Your Majesty..." he said, still not looking up. "Please give your daughter my deepest, sincerest apologies. I am afraid I might have misinterpreted her intentions."

[Captain Enema]

"I don't know how you could have misinterpreted that, she wanted your dong!" someone shouted from the back of the room.

[Kankou]

Afranche, noticing the punching from the edges of his eyes, swiftly would move near the earl. While normally he would help the fallen up, he could see from the eyes that the Earl would want to do things his way, so he just stay put, yet still was a formidable figure guarding from possible fists from the Scottish King. "I hope you are all right, Earl." was the sole sentence sh spoke in a deep and memorable voice.

[Kevin Kingswell]

Malcolm stood above the fallen Earl of Kent his breathing heavy with anger and his fists clenched tightly, if Anthony had tried to fight back or to stand he would have struck him again but with the man staying down and in fact apologising to him Malcolm felt his anger starting to bleed away with every moment and when his son stepped out of the crowd and placed a hand on his shoulder Malcolm let out a heavy sigh and let his arms fall to his sides as he looked down at the man. "I do not know what you said sir but not many men have made my Eimhir weep and none of them were ever left unharmed but luckily for you I am a generous man and I suggest you run after my girl and apologise to her in person. Or I will cut your tongue out myself" said Malcolm placing a hand onto a small scabbard on his belt which contained a sharp dagger and pointing in the direction Eimhir had fled with the other.

Eimhir herself had ran through the crowd to the last barge away from the other guests and making her way to the end of the boat sat down with her boots just above the water and decided to watch the common people of London go about their business. She watched fascinated as many people walked about, talked freely clearly without worrying about being made to look like a fool in front of some foreign nobility. "It must be nice to be free" she said softly wiping away the tears with her hands.

[Evangeline Anovilis]

Josephine was quite shocked at the rather violent scene. "Mon Dieu, that must have hurt. But isn't it a bit rash to throw punches?" Lepoldine shook her head. "If someone had brought you to tears, I would guess grand-father even in his old days would ask for satisfaction. So, if someone does, please don't tell him. I don't think he'd survive it all to well and we cannot afford to lose our King." "I guess he would. But well, it was rather harsh on the young Mademoiselle. He could have been more considerate." "Indeed." Both then looked over to the Earl, a bit of pity in their eyes.

Elene fought her way through the crowd, as it seemed something had happened. A sudden outcry, someone had caused a commotion. The youngest and not at all tall Fille de France tried her best to get through, when she saw a weeping maiden in front of her. "Madame." Elene followed the Scotish princess, trying to catch up. As they arrived at the end of the barges, the small chase stopped. She had not much stamina and at home, she either walked or was transported by a carriage. Running for extented periods were quite exhauszing for Elene and so she panted for a minute or two, before she walked up to the seemingly melancholic Eimhir. "Madame, pardonnez-moi, but may I ask what causes you this grief? It saddens me too to see others cry."

[Sarah Tintagyl]

[quote name='Kevin Kingswell' timestamp='1334750470' post='2955300']
Malcolm stood above the fallen Earl of Kent his breathing heavy with anger and his fists clenched tightly, if Anthony had tried to fight back or to stand he would have struck him again but with the man staying down and in fact apologising to him Malcolm felt his anger starting to bleed away with every moment and when his son stepped out of the crowd and placed a hand on his shoulder Malcolm let out a heavy sigh and let his arms fall to his sides as he looked down at the man. "I do not know what you said sir but not many men have made my Eimhir weep and none of them were ever left unharmed but luckily for you I am a generous man and I suggest you run after my girl and apologise to her in person. Or I will cut your tongue out myself" said Malcolm placing a hand onto a small scabbard on his belt which contained a sharp dagger and pointing in the direction Eimhir had fled with the other.

Eimhir herself had ran through the crowd to the last barge away from the other guests and making her way to the end of the boat sat down with her boots just above the water and decided to watch the common people of London go about their business. She watched fascinated as many people walked about, talked freely clearly without worrying about being made to look like a fool in front of some foreign nobility. "It must be nice to be free" she said softly wiping away the tears with her hands.
[/quote]

"Actually," said Jane as she appeared behind Malcolm with three English guards. "You won't be doing anything. We've already pulled to the shore to allow your passage out. I don't know what happened, perhaps my cousin is an idiot, he normally is, but you do not strike someone. It's bad enough you spent your time talking to these...women," she said gazing at the French, "But to strike another guest? No, guards if you would please escort his Majesty off of my barge and then out of the country. I forgot what it was like to deal with Scottish barbarians. Shame that all your communication skills are to be found at the end of your fist, but I guess one of these days we'll put that two the test."

The captain of the guards approached him and nodded his head. "King Malcolm, if you'd follow us, the exit is right this way."

As Jane watched the guards approach Malcolm she turned back to where Josephine and Leopoldine were talking to each other and smiled. "Oh now whatever will you talk about without the King of Scotland in the room?" She gave both of them a vile smirk and then continued on her way throughout the rest of the party.

Meanwhile, another two guards would approach Eimhir at the back of the flotilla and stand at attention. "Princess, I'm afraid your father is being asked to leave. If you would like to go with him, you may follow us, but the Queen has allowed you to stay, provided you do not cause any problems."

[Kankou]

Afranche heard what Jane said and thought [i]"Perfidious Albion, as always. Willing to lay herself for those that would give her power, even if it is with the most immoral powermonger in the world. Such arrogance will surely bring this city to destruction in the near future"[/i] He sighed, knowing that hypocrites did not know that they were such, but such was a fact of life, and it would seem that soon enough some will receive their rightful punishment, even if only for a temporary period.

Instead, he turned to the depressed Earl, and patted his shoulders. "You have done nothing wrong, Your Lordship. Young maidens have a frickle heart, and they would need to weather more of the outside world in order to truly blossom. Your Lordship had just done what a responsible adult would do."

Edited April 18, 2012 by Kankou

[Kevin Kingswell]

[quote name='Sarah Tintagyl' timestamp='1334762562' post='2955331']
"Actually," said Jane as she appeared behind Malcolm with three English guards. "You won't be doing anything. We've already pulled to the shore to allow your passage out. I don't know what happened, perhaps my cousin is an idiot, he normally is, but you do not strike someone. It's bad enough you spent your time talking to these...women," she said gazing at the French, "But to strike another guest? No, guards if you would please escort his Majesty off of my barge and then out of the country. I forgot what it was like to deal with Scottish barbarians. Shame that all your communication skills are to be found at the end of your fist, but I guess one of these days we'll put that two the test."

The captain of the guards approached him and nodded his head. "King Malcolm, if you'd follow us, the exit is right this way."

As Jane watched the guards approach Malcolm she turned back to where Josephine and Leopoldine were talking to each other and smiled. "Oh now whatever will you talk about without the King of Scotland in the room?" She gave both of them a vile smirk and then continued on her way throughout the rest of the party.

Meanwhile, another two guards would approach Eimhir at the back of the flotilla and stand at attention. "Princess, I'm afraid your father is being asked to leave. If you would like to go with him, you may follow us, but the Queen has allowed you to stay, provided you do not cause any problems."
[/quote]

"I do not require an escort your majesty I have my own and I can look after myself well enough. I must say it is comforting to see that you English still can not take even a little punishment before crying out" replied Malcolm pushing past the guards and making his way off the barge though not before turning to face Eochaidh and pointing a finger at his chest. "Eochaidh I leave you here to negotiate for Scotland try not to give the homeland away" he said before turning and mounting his horse and riding away with most of his guards leaving enough behind for Eochaidh and Eimhir. Watching his father ride away Eochaidh shood his head before turning around and offering Anthony his hand to help him up. "I don't know what you said to my sister to make her weep but she probally took it the wrong way. Her experience with men is close to nothing and either way you didn't deserve to be hit like that, or at least not so hard" he said with a grin.

Eimhir meanwhile had managed to wipe away the tears and had been about to reply to Elene when the English guards intervened and as they spoke her despair turned to anger and she leapt to her feet to face them. "Me causing problems!! I am the one whose honour was insulted" she shouted to the pair. "But you can go tell your Queen I won't be causing any problems so she can be happy." Turning back to Elene she smiled at the girl. "It doesn't matter my dear, going by your accent I would say you are French no?"

[Subtleknifewielder]

Anthony swung his head sharply, looking for the source of the rather crude comment, and automatically, his hand went to reach for his weapon, at the last second remembering that he'd turned in his rapier to the guards. "Such crudity is unbecoming of an occasion such as this," he muttered, when he could not locate the one who had called it out, and jammed his hat back on his head. Then, to give his hands something to do, he withdrew a square of cloth from a pocket in his surcoat, and wiped the blood off his cheek. He flashed Afranche a look of thanks for understanding that he wanted to do this himself, and muttering he was 'fine, but thank you,' then turned back to King Malcom.

He nodded, respectfully, as the man, understandably enough, demanded he give his apology in person, not by proxy. Even as the man was asked to leave, Anthony was not gloating, instead an uncharacteristic look of melancholy contemplation on his face, unaware of the scrutiny of the French delegation. He considered protesting to Jane that it wasn't necessary, but she had already moved off again. Instead, he shook his head at the attempts to console him from both Afranche and Eochaidh. He offered a small smile as he politely declined the prince's help. "No, I am afraid it is I who is at fault. A nobleman must know when he has made an error, so he does not make the same one again--not doing such would compound it grievously."

He looked around, but in all the confusion he'd lost track of which way the princess had gone. Turning back to the two other nobles, he grinned sheepishly. "Forgive me, but in the confusion of the moment, I seem to have misrecollected which direction your sister has fled in. Would either of you happen to recall this important detail?"

Edited April 18, 2012 by Subtleknifewielder

[Evangeline Anovilis]

Elene sat down next to Eimhir. "Indeed, I'm French. I'm Elene, the third Fille de France. Though, don't think too much. I have little interest in all these politics around." She sighed. She always got reminded of this burden, whenever she had to introduce herself. Elene would have preferred some normal last name, but officially it was 'de France' and that most likely stayed that way. "But say, is there really nothing? I may not know much, but I do know one does not cry without reason. Even if you don't want to tell some foreign Frenchwoman, you should still not ignore your grief, for it else will root in your heart and be hard to get rid of again."

[Kevin Kingswell]

[quote name='Subtleknifewielder' timestamp='1334787183' post='2955464']
Anthony swung his head sharply, looking for the source of the rather crude comment, and automatically, his hand went to reach for his weapon, at the last second remembering that he'd turned in his rapier to the guards. "Such crudity is unbecoming of an occasion such as this," he muttered, when he could not locate the one who had called it out, and jammed his hat back on his head. Then, to give his hands something to do, he withdrew a square of cloth from a pocket in his surcoat, and wiped the blood off his cheek. He flashed Afranche a look of thanks for understanding that he wanted to do this himself, and muttering he was 'fine, but thank you,' then turned back to King Malcom.

He nodded, respectfully, as the man, understandably enough, demanded he give his apology in person, not by proxy. Even as the man was asked to leave, Anthony was not gloating, instead an uncharacteristic look of melancholy contemplation on his face, unaware of the scrutiny of the French delegation. He considered protesting to Jane that it wasn't necessary, but she had already moved off again. Instead, he shook his head at the attempts to console him from both Afranche and Eochaidh. He offered a small smile as he politely declined the prince's help. "No, I am afraid it is I who is at fault. A nobleman must know when he has made an error, so he does not make the same one again--not doing such would compound it grievously."

He looked around, but in all the confusion he'd lost track of which way the princess had gone. Turning back to the two other nobles, he grinned sheepishly. "Forgive me, but in the confusion of the moment, I seem to have misrecollected which direction your sister has fled in. Would either of you happen to recall this important detail?"
[/quote]

Withdrawing his hand politely Eochaidh stepped back to allow the earl to stand on his own two feet and pointed in the direction of the rear of the proccession of barges. "I believe my sister has fled to the very end of the flotilla, I guess you would still find her there if she is still upset" he said with a shrug of his shoulders. "Otherwise she could be anywhere."

[quote name='Evangeline Anovilis' timestamp='1334790888' post='2955488']
Elene sat down next to Eimhir. "Indeed, I'm French. I'm Elene, the third Fille de France. Though, don't think too much. I have little interest in all these politics around." She sighed. She always got reminded of this burden, whenever she had to introduce herself. Elene would have preferred some normal last name, but officially it was 'de France' and that most likely stayed that way. "But say, is there really nothing? I may not know much, but I do know one does not cry without reason. Even if you don't want to tell some foreign Frenchwoman, you should still not ignore your grief, for it else will root in your heart and be hard to get rid of again."
[/quote]

Eimhir gave a harsh laugh before shaking her head from side to side. "You must know what it is like, you find men everywhere who want your power or position and then you find one man who doesn't and you find intriguing and he isn't interested no matter how hard you try to change his mind. I've been acting like quite the fool it seems" replied Eimhir and noticing the two guards still standing behind her she turned to them and waved them away with one hand. "You can go now gentlemen or are you assigned to watch my every move?" she asked with a slight hint of anger and annoyance in her voice.

[Evangeline Anovilis]

"Hmmm" Elene looked out at the river. "Well, the ways of the heart are as mysterious as those of the Lord. Quite a few have made a fool out of themselves for those." She knew not what else to say. Elene still lacked the experience of truly loving someone, apart of the normal affection one held for ones family, she had not had much time in presence of males, all she knew was the romanticised love of novelsand plays. "At least, it is a sign of one strong heart to give in to ones heart. It may make you a kind lady one day."