Memories and Futures

[Sir Dmitrii Zurban]

Dmitrii and Aegraine were sitting down at the smaller table, eating and making small talk. Just enjoying one another before yet another day began… It was one of those precious moments together that made all the difference in the world to two people in love. Dmitrii had been discussing his youth in France and things he had learned the hard way with noone but the streets of Paris to mentor with.

Taking a bite, he noticed that Aegraine was silent, and thoughtful. With a smile, he nudged her elbow, now propped upon the table, as she looked into space. “Luv. What is wrong? Tell me yer thoughts…” he inquired.

“I am back where I was at age twelve; in the ranks of the archers. It was like the span of time has gone in a round. Here I be, twenty and I have made no progress but this; survival.”

“Tis not true my love… you are the Mo’r Triath’s finest Engineer… and a Captain in the Army of the Griffin…” he pauses and smiles. “And are loved by one of the handsomest men alive…” he winked and offered her that ever-familiar smirk.

Ae begins to speak of the once fine dressed young lady sat back on her heels and tore at the bread, one bit at a time, through the dark coarse milled grain whose taste took her back to those old days as much as the apprehension, anxious for the moment and dread of pre-battle nerves.

Martin lePower gave over the raising of daughter Ae to one of his women, when the girl’s birth mother retired to the family estate, to keep order there.

“Clohdee.” The young woman had to recall that name with humor. “Come girl. We going to the battle; come look see. I got for you arrow; see?” Beads and wild braids clicked when Clohdee talked, for she kept her constant moving, watching around and shuttled the young child off with her into the ranks of Martin’s archers.

“You got to earn your keep, yes?” Clohdee wrapped her own wrists with wide leather protectors before tossing the same type of wraps to Aegraine. “Not too tight; enough give to move, see, but firm like this, Girl, eh?”

They were dressed and ready; Aegraine sat on a food carton, ready to spring. Her hands went cold and clammy; for although she had been in these scrimmages all she could recall, this was the first thing she did alone.

“Oh child, what worry? You got the aim, right? Ain’t Clohdee taught nothing, eh? Come the fight and we win; what else? Then we drink and have party.” To this former carnival dancer and acrobat, the party was the big thing, or so she would have had Aegraine think. “Clohdee will be there; I find you a nice young man, eh?”

Aegraine wrinkled up her nose and looked to the older woman, why she must have been twenty five, right? Old. “Me? I don't want to party; what would I do with a man… that my Father would not beat me for doing?” Clohdee was not the best teacher of how to become a proper young woman of rank.

“We talk about that later, when the battle be done and the wounded are sewed up and we drink some.” The beaded hairdo got a wrap over it to silence the constant clatter of her ornaments. “You almost thirteen, girl. Clohdee be here to teach you about such things; how to find you own men, or your Da will find for you; Da find you a old man with wrinkle face and you live in a cottage with the pigs.” They were both laughing and it did not break her countenance; the time for that in the midst of it all battle came and what all it contained.

It had all gone fast since that first entry into battle, with Clohdee's coaching and it never stopped. She found one after another of young men handsome to the twenty-five year old dancer's eye but to Aegraine, all young boys with no more experience with life than she. Clohdee talked to instruct Ae what possibilities there were to have fun while not risking an "after battle babe;" but the little Lady lePower all but closed her ears to it all. Then the dancer, with Martin's permission took Aegraine along with her to some wild drinking parties and made her observe what ought to have been fun, in the carnival dancer's mind. Still, Aegraine did not participate. This side of life was simply not for her.

"I do not know, Martin. Your child, she not right for the religion life, I guarantee. But she do not like to play yet, you know? Maybe she need to find love before...eh?" Clohdee nudged her boss with her elbow. “Do not give up on the Girl, eh?"

So it was that Aegraine got a wide ranging knowledge of sexual games and the facts of life but had no actual experience of any, but the one single peck of a kiss farewell before she met Dmitrii.

Her thoughts were her own…unless she sought to divulge them to her beloved betrothed. Still Dmi sat drinking the hot tea, and watched her as she fiddled with the scraps upon the plate. His hand sought hers, and in a loving caress, smiled, and patted her hand. “I love ya lass… truly I do…”

"I do love you; you are my hero as well." She paused and looked up into his eyes.

“Hero?? Couldn’t yu shoot yer arrow of mentorship a bit higher?” he jested. “I have been a warrior all my life it seems… all I have ever wanted was to live in peace…” shaking his head… “Not to die in battle as many wanted… but in a bed as a an old man, next to a woman of my choosing, who gave me offspring thru the years…” He smiled at her, his hand capturing hers again.

"You are my hero. I cannot imagine my life if you had not met Jenk's challenge and won." Ae traced the pattern woven into the tablecloth with her index finger, circling round and weaving back again. Then she changed the subject a little.

"When we are married, do you think we might have a child? You would be a good guide for a little one. I know I have not had the example of what ought to be done to insure a strong, healthy child that he become a good adult, but I assure you, I do know what not to do. Not to give them to one of my Dad's dancing girls to educate in the ways of the world, is one. Do not throw them in lake to see if they will swim." Aegraine laughed at her parents' absurd notions of childcare.

A heated warmth covered his face. Was he blushing? He had hoped the neatly trimmed beard would hide such embarrassment. And to follow such a predicament, he smirked wickedly and spoke softly, with a charming overtone… “It would make me proud to be the father of your children…” then his eyes sparkled… “And I would strive hard in the practice for such a feat…” followed by a wink.

"Truly, the time I spent being tutored by the dancing girl, Dad assigned me, had me afraid of even one kiss. She showed me things not fit for the little girl I was at twelve. I was afraid to think of being married at all, until you, Dmi." She leaned back in the dining room chair and watched his face as she spoke.

"Now I look forward to kisses." This marked a great step for Martin's daughter. She came about to where he was seated and slid one arm about his neck and sat herself on his lap, so the servants could not overhear what she was going to say.

Glancing around, seeing no one was around, he could be as seductive as he desired without embarrassing her. “And I shall give you as many kisses as you can handle. Among other things…” There! He did it again. Winking at her, his hand caressing hers, but an added feature… his foot nudged hers.

Then Aegraine related the very story she had been recalling in thought, one that had haunted her mind since she was a pre-teen. Ae told Dmi in polite, general terms about how the dancing girl had had encouraged. Ae to be just as Clodhee was, wild and reckless. Her sheltered life had not been as safe and secure as one might guess.

"My Da's woman did not mean any harm; she was simply doing her best to teach to me what a woman ought to know."

“I suspect that IF you do not know what a woman ought to know… I can help… and what I cannot teach you… Dora and Lady Bess would help…” Then he could not help it… “And unless we go broke… I plan to have servants to do much around the manor…” he teased again.

"Ah. We cannot go broke, can we? I am afraid we will need servants to cook the food." Ae did not relate the disaster of the scone baking lesson of earlier that day. "Your cook says it will take me years to learn to bake proper enough so I can pay my bet. I told you I'd bake scones after you won that joust. Just not when." Laughter is the sauce that makes a difficult discussion easier to digest. By the time the servants came by to clear the table, laughter was all they overheard.

Dmitrii just laughed and took a drink of his warm wine. “Nyet, we shall nay go broke… I have a substantial saving… and the Mo’r Triath pays well enough…” and as Ae confessed to her baking skills, he laughed even harder… his hand patting hers.

"Will I continue my employment as Engineer after the wedding? I still love doing the instruction classes for new recruits." They did not need the income but Aegraine loved the work she had done.

“After the fine meal… we still have Julian and Marie to deal with… it seems we have a pair of practical jokers…” he teased her. “It seems they are the cause of this morning’s appearance…” he chuckled, almost laughing.

"They are fortunate it all turned out well, but what if your sister was offended by our appearances? I did want to make a respectful introduction; I do like your sister and would not wish to have her think ill of me. It was funny in a way. Have your servants done anything like this before? I was so accustomed to Dora that they caught me by surprise." Then an impish little wry smile inched across her face. She looked up at Dmi and asked, "Is revenge appropriate?"

“We shall leave for Turas Lan tomorrow morning. Today is ours…” once again patting her hand, and giving her a wink and a wicked smirk.

"Today we could discuss the wedding date? Other than that, well..I am still seeing new parts of your Lake Manor." This life in peacetime was a wonder that Ae had not imagined before. "Whatever we do, I just want to enjoy the day with you, Dmi."

[Sir Dmitrii Zurban]

Water in Skye was probably the best in all Europe… maybe even the world… thanks to Aislin and her research, but still, centuries of mishandling, disease, and mistrust of the liquid lingered. Dmitrii hefted his glass of warm morning wine and chuckled at Aegraine’s comments about her employment and revenge upon Julian and Marie.

Ae drank a little of the breakfast wine, although she usually had a cup of light ale, a custom from her homeland, where they did not have grapes for wine, due to the climate. Little things were changing for her already, so the question about her daily employment was another thing to consider.

“Luv, of course yu can continue working at as Engineer. Yu are the Mo’r Triath’s Prime Engineer now.” He shrugged and smirked half-teasingly. “I have no say so in the matter…” then he nudged her hand. “At least until after we are married. And then I think I shall allow your employment to continue even then…” he canted his head ensuring she knew he was teasing her. “…At least until yu are with child…” Ah yes, there was that charming, wickedly evil smirk she enjoyed so much… the beard crinkling in all the right places to make his familiar expression.

"Yes? I can just see me going over the edge and repelling down the wall, at the eighth month." The image was a funny one, indeed. Ae would never knowingly endanger an unborn, if she were to be so fortunate to ever have a child.

They both continued to laugh at the situation. He loved to hear her laugh, one so feminine, one so true… “Now in regards to revenge… Julian seems to have a finesse about practical jokes… but this… this is a first for Marie…” he smirked. “I presume Julian put her up to it…” His fingers were now drumming on the table in contemplation. “My sister loved yu… appearance is negligible to her… it’s how yu treat me that she is concerned. Our happiness is ALL that counts m’luv…”

"Is Julian married? I have this thought... what if you were to tell him and Marie that they ought to be wed, to save space and give us another room in the house? The costs saved for furniture and linens why that would add up. But let them think on it just enough for a few moments, to see the look on their faces?" Perhaps it was not good for Ae to drink a full serving of the breakfast wine, after all. "I do not want them to think we are serious, more than a few moments. Just enough for a little revenge?"

Sitting back in the chair, his hand caressing hers once more. “Aye… selecting the wedding date would be good…” then he smirked wickedly again leaning toward her. “We could go back to our spot under the tree grove… or I could show yu my room…” he smirked evilly. Of course, only in the privacy of his home, and never, ever within earshot of anyone, he would proposition her with such lewdity. “That way we would definitely enjoy the day together…” caressing her hand in a seductive way. “But if that is… well, not to your liking… I guess we could view the weapons room…” he chuckled.

"I have only had but one glance of your Weapons Room. I'd like to see it in more detail, this being a great part of your life's work. Then a little visit to the glade? It is so lovely and summer is too short." She did notice his smirk and looked to the place setting at their table before shifting her gaze back up to his eyes. "I fear if I visit your room too early, we will not show up at Turas Lan tomorrow...or for our wedding. We might get carried away. " Ae ducked her head so that her slightly pinker face would not betray that she too thought of the future and that his love was going to take over her life, body and soul.

She was beautiful by any standard… but gorgeous by his. He loved this woman more than any before… and he longed to be in her arms… to make love to her for hours, then lying bare next to her in ecstasy. Hey, he was still young… twenty-and three was not that old was it??? His thoughts were hidden behind that charming smile he offered her.

"For a wedding date? Not years into the future. Soon enough but not rushed? I think the Church requires three weeks of banns. I have no idea what society expects. What do you think?" All she saw was his marvelous smile and it was engraved in her memory.

His mind was snapped back to the present and reality. “If’n twas up to me, we be married right now and spending waking days in the bedchambers…” Oh yeah, there was that wicked, charming smirk again. Just as usual, he was bold with his words as he was with a sword… at least with her. He wanted no miscommunication between them.

The meal was filling and tasteful… and as he rose, he offered her his hand. “Then it is to the weapon’s room, we shall head…” and as she stood, her arm weaved its way around his and the pair started slowly down the hallway. Behind them were servants whisking away dishes and utensils to be cleaned.

One hand rubbed the beard upon his chin and the steel-grey eyes wandered afar. “No Julian is not married… he plays around far too much it seems… he is nay hard to look upon, and his ways are a bit boyish… but he is a good provider… maybe threat of marriage would do his playful ways good…” Dmi looks at Ae… “Go to Marie… inform her yu heard of the proposed arrangements… make it sound as if yu are ecstatic for her future husband… work the issue of the reasons, that you stated, and make it appear I had decided upon them… Let Marie work the punishment of Julian…” then he laughs at his deceitfulness… “We do make a great team luv…” The two plot as they shorten the distance to the weapon’s room.

Aegraine looked up to Dmitrii and there was a sparkle in her eyes of pure mischief. "I will talk to her this afternoon, when she is helping me get my outfit ready for the ride tomorrow. I am going to tell her how I depend on her to arrange my hair; how much I want her to do my hairdo on the wedding day. Then...let her know how happy I am for her, for both of us will be brides." Right before they entered the Weapons Room, Ae had second thoughts and added, "Dmi? What if I get her expectations too high? What if she will get a broken heart when Julian hears this and gets angry? How will we end this trick without hurt feelings... and a weird hairdo on my on our wedding day?"

Once again he rubbed his beard in contemplation. “Yes, I wish to spring this revenge upon Julian, not to poor Marie… I think he is the culprit, not her… Maybe yu should just mention to Marie that I am considering it… and see what courses from there…” then emerged a wicked grin. “Then just before we are to depart for Turas Lan, I shall tell him… let us see if Marie discusses it with him BEFORE I have the chance to inform him…” then he laughed.

"Hm, I do think they talk together, how else did it come to be that this is the only day I ever visited Lake Manor that there was no dress ready for me in the morning." In retrospect, it was a little bit funny; it was funny but Ae began to consider how even good servants can get the upper hand, if one allows it.

He paused briefly by the door of his own personal room, the weapons room… armour in one corner, weapons of various sorts; old and tested, and new protoypes above the mantel of a nice fireplace… on the other walls were the same. He looked at her and smiled… “Shall I give yu a grand tour, or just allow yu to mill about, ask questions, or maybe give me ideas on yer version that should be added?”

"I will need a tour for most of the things here, but this I know well." She walked directly to the display of farm implements.

Violence and warfare had their place in Dmitrii’s life… and what better way to shed them was to place them upon a wall. Living in a time of upheaval and where warfare was commonplace, as a young male, he was introduced to weaponry from quite an early age; now able to handle a sword and wield it with subtlety. His dual swords were his status-symbol, and were carefully looked after.

Upon the walls of the medium-sized room were double-edged longswords; metal-headed spears; axes of all sizes;, short stabbing swords which were effective and stealthy weapons; spiked hammers and battle axes; crossbows of various styles, and bows of mixed kinds. And on one wall was a hoe, pick and hayrake… dedicated to the men and women of the peasantry who fought battles.

"This hay rake is so like the one I saw Dora Lynch wield, back in Ulster. We were in the forest, shortly after her group of desperate battlefield scavengers hauled me back from the field, two broken ribs and so many bruises, but alive. A patrol of the English conquers came, stationed in the castle they still held and found us." She held her hand out as if to touch the handle of the rake but did not actually make contact. The wooden handle had the texture of wood out in the rain and wind, all dry with the wood grain raised. It made for a sure grip.

"I could not draw my bow and was seated at the base of a tree, my ribs so wrapped tight that I could scarce draw a decent breath." She recalled how the tree bark cut into her back and wind whipped the rain heavy leafy branches back and forth, swatting at any who walked near. "One of the uniformed men with a short sword in hand came almost up to me, saying, 'What do we have here? Sister Traitor, if I see right.' He had recognized me from the days of my being captured in the Ulster Castle, for I still was wearing that old Nun's robe, although cut off shorter now." The she turned to Dmitrii and smiled, for it was the good part she was about to tell him.

"From back of the tree came this wild thing, good Dora and she had a hay rake. She went failing it like a whirlwind and ran at the man, with a scream worthy of a Banshee. She took advantage of his surprise and with one blow struck that sword out of his hand; it went flying. Then she proceeded to chase him, for she is a good runner, dodging the tree boughs and jumping over the fallen tree trunks in her path. Dora caught him a few slashes and then at the woods edge, let the young man run back to safety. I have seen this weapon in action; my life and others were saved by it."

Dmitrii nodded in regards to the hayrake and Ae’s predicament, and then as the story about Dora unfolded, the beard crinkled in the familiar manner as he began to smile. His thoughts immediately going to the visualization of Dora chasing those armed men around. “Aye, I’d hate to be on the receiving end of Dora’s wrath…” followed by a chuckle.

"I should love to hear about what weapons you favor; what new things are there to keep the peace?" Aegraine looked to Dmi, to see what the tour would entail. "Do you have some new inventions? My home in Waterford has some weapons collected, but not as complete a set at these."

“Yu have seen what I favor most in weapons… my twins… as they have been dubbed…” he smiled… “They have been tried many times, and remain true with each test. They have never been broken and are easily sharpened… they are made from metal from my homeland of Kievan Rus…” he chuckles… “Tough and resilient, just like me…” then he gives her a wink.

The answer to Ae’s questions about peace was hard. This room was devoted to war… was war a means of peace. Dmi just scratched his head. “Peace is something I have been searching for all my life. Tis something I hope to someday find and live my life to age gracefully.” He walks to the mantel and points to an odd wooden and metal combination. “This odd new tool is called a handcannon… It is a crude beginning… but Lord Flynn has the more improved models. He calls this pistols…” then he shrugs… “This new thing makes armour less useful. I fear someday, chivalry and close combat will die with its perfection.”

"Handcanon? I saw Flynn use that weapon once, at Aberdeen. I thought the whole thing was going to explode! Imagine what such weapons could do if any highwayman could get his hands on a pistol?" she had thoughts about armor not being enough to protect a combatant. "I have been thinking about working with you and my Da to try and discover ways that a castle can hold against full sized canon. It will come to that someday, I fear. So much more the need for lasting peace." Aegraine looked to him and tried to change the subject to one less morbid.

"My childhood toys were miniature catapults, a bow and arrows and a little crossbow that shot toothpicks." Her younger days were those of a wealthy privileged child, but filled with weapons and talk of waging war, for defense.

He chuckles… “Some lil girls have dolls… some have carved animals…” he laughed teasing her… “But yu.. yu had lil catapults…” then he took her into his arms for a more serious statement. “I care not if yu played with dolls… nor catapults… I love yu as yu are… not how yu came to be this way… One thing is for sure… I pray we shall live to be very old, with many grandchildren around to lift our spirits…” his steel-grey eyes softened as he lifted her chin.

Oh hell, there goes the pulse… racing… coursing blood to parts of the anatomy, sparking something exotic in him. It was her fault… so beautiful… smelling so wonderful… and they were in love… of which just fueled the fire all the more. Would she know? Of course, unless she was numb… but she did feel so good in his arms.

"I can see us old, just as we are now, but with white hair and a few more scars. Grandchildren far cuter than our children were. This is only a beginning." And it was a beginning for another day of kisses that Ae increasingly enjoyed. It was as if some great plan carved their forms to become a set, perfectly proportioned to stand there together, arms about each other.

A soft whisper… a loving voice echoes softly in her ear… “aye tis only a beginning… a wonderful event in the face of time… and I pray time passes quickly now for us, as so we may begin to form this family…” Her in his arms, stirred more than the blood that raged thru his veins at this moment. His imagination was roaming wild as to how they would be together intimately. Mentally he vowed… that if sex with Aegraine was a sin, then he would be at confessional each and every day… but he would wait… wait until she wanted to… In the meanwhile, all he could do was smile and smirk in between kisses and caresses, his expression most probably giving away his secret thoughts.

When the pair would find that kisses and embraces had sparked the inner drives for both of them, they silently decided to continue to the tour. “Ae, the weapons I collected all have meaning… places in either my history, or events I have witnessed. And as the years pass, I shall tell yu each one of the stories and in that yu shall learn more about me than anyone…” spoken with affection… his hand taking hers and guides her thru to the adjacent parlor.

Hand and hand they walked onto the parlor, into the brightness of the day and for the first time Ae acknowledged to herself that she did indeed think about the future. Until recently life had been one day at a time for Aegraine, not even considering tomorrow, let along old age.

The room was lightly colored, and filled with windows… the sun lighting the room completely. Having her sit, he went to the cabinet and pulled a decorative bottle. Setting it on the table next to her, pouring a small glass of clear liquid. Kneeling onto one knee, he hands her a glass… taking the other in his. The other hand taking hers… “This is part of an old Kievan ritual… I added the drink of the Rus… som ea gone… then I shall profess my love for you and present you with a Rushnyk…” Tapping his glass to hers, he speaks a word of toast… “Nos ta ro vi ya…” he whispered…then he tipped the glass back drinking the small glass clear of its contents… his eyes watching her.

"What do I reply? I want to get this right." It seemed that drinking the little glass like a toast was in order here, so she did just that. It tasted like nothing in her experience, strong in her way of thinking and important, for it was part of this ritual.

Dmitrii smiled… “The proper way is to repeat the toast…” then with a slow pronunciation and a roll of the r…. “Nos ta rovi ya…” then clinked their small glasses. It didn’t matter if she got it right, or even tried at all, the fact was he loved this woman… and if she tried, she would pick up the language quite easily with him as a teacher.

"Nos tah rovi yah" Aegraine did her best with the new phrase, but her accent was thick, still very English.

When she drank the homemade alcoholic drink, he set the glass down… and opened a drawn under the table… taking out a red and white, hand woven towel, he lays it over the clasp hands and begins to speak in his native tongue of Rus… “I love you beyond imagination….My love fills our void… my hard work fills our baskets… I offer this profession of my love unending, no matter death takes us both or leaves only one…” his steel grey eyes softened, and a tear of joy seem to fill the corner… It was evident that he was in love with this lass… and his past life was now no more than a shutter to windows of time.

He stands and hands her a piece of bread to absorb the taste of the strong drink… “Come lets go wander the fields near the lake… maybe to our favorite spot under the trees.”

"Before summer ends. I love the greenery and the freedom out in the fields. Being like the wind and sweeping along through the grasses." The bit of bread took the sharpness of the taste of the drink and softened it so that it seemed pleasant to her now. Even now dressed in a lovely linen gown with gold trim, Ae was not so proper a lady that she did not want to run through the fields, arms stretched into the wind, hair streaming down her back and windblown, trying to keep up with Dmi. "Let's race! To the far oak at the wood edge."

They were no sooner at the door that she took off, her hand ripping from his… the challenge was on !! Dmitrii was never one for running fast, just long… it was apparent that he was more for endurance than speed. Though Aegraine was faster than he, Dmi stayed the course and ran behind her at a steady pace. He saw her grasp the hems of her dress and her feet quickly one after the other; lily-white legs shown briefly as she ran. Now that made him run even faster…

Along the lake’s edge, round the path and up to a small rolling hill, where the large, old oak stood proudly… Their special place… a position upon the knoll overlooking the Zurban holdings… the graceful manor standing in the far end of the lake. Aegraine released her hems and allowed the dress to fall in place just as Dmitrii arrived… and as he neared her, he stopped suddenly, his strong arms lifting her and spinning her around… the dress ballooning in the slight breeze… “My swift angel… light of feet and quick of heart… Yu win…” then setting her down. “Next time the Mo’r Triath has a foot race event, I shall enter yu…” then he laughs heartily.

Slightly short of breath, Dmi took her hand and led her to their spot, where he laid down, pulling her along with him, to a place atop him… and quickly kissed her. Looking up at her, his course hand caresses her face… steel-grey eyes move side to side, as if to examine her windows to the soul. “I want to remain here with yu forever…”

Physical contact with Aegraine always sparked something in him… and her weight atop him aroused him… and with that arousal, he rolled her to her back and pressed against her… his lips capturing hers in a passionate kiss. No words were needed as when the kiss ended, he twisted his form to reposition in his head in her lap, lying upon his back, looking up at the blue sky, and occasionally looking to her, as she now sat, caressing his curly hair.

Ae had been wondering about the weapons she saw in Dmi's weapon room, the collection of varied items including his twin swords. All the places she had traveled with her family and the different manners of combat she'd observed had not included anything like Dmirtii's weapons of choice. She asked both from curiosity about the swords and because she simply wanted to hear his voice. Ae combed Dmi's hair back from his face with her fingers as she asked, "If I ask will you tell me what is most likely a long story? Something I simply must know?"

"Will you begin with the first weapon you used and finish with the story of your twin swords. Having seen them in action twice, I am fascinated with how your style of combat came about. How you got from that first weapon to now." The setting here was as far from combat and the sound, the smells and impending danger of wartime days. The quiet of this place gave an apartness to the subject of weapons, as it were only a story, but a true one, in this case. Aegraine picked up a sprig of leaves and used it to fan both of their faces, for it was a warm day and they had just run full out through the fields. "How did it begin?"

Dmitrii looks at Ae with a humorous and quizzical expression. “Oh my, lass… twas many years ago… I guess I was about 10 or so…” Then he began to explain his early years as he knew it from his sister Kaelyn…

Memories of youth should be fond ones, but Dmitrii’s was none similar. His was a harsh time of life…

The King of Argania, Devlyn, was a ruler of a country in turmoil… Anger filled the royal family as treachery and disloyalty ran amuck, as well as the royal marriage was astray. Argania’s elite had become paranoid and solicited assistance from lands far from them.

One day while the King was away, The Queen, Seren, had an affair with one of the Ambassadors who frequented the castle… M’Lord Leonid Kravchenko, the Ambassador from Kievan Rus… The affair was brief, passionate, and discreet.

The Queen, now with child, living under the fear of disaster, feared for her daughter, her own, and new baby’s life. With schemes and plans, despite the threat of death for the child, she was able to convince the King that the child was his own and was able to carry it to term.… Wanting to return to the land of her birth – Scotland – she could not escape…

Then in 1305… Nine miserable months later, a babe was born on a cold winter’s eve… taken away before the mother could even see it. With Argania in turmoil, she became afraid of a male child being born and sent him away with her handmaiden to be safe. The older child, a female, was no threat to the monarchy. That was Kaelyn Rose. The Queen gave the male child, a medallion, and strict instructions, to her handmaid, a loyal servant from Kievan Rus, Yelena Zurban….

The Queen, fearful and paranoid, forced Ambassador Kravchenko, the handmaid Yelena, her husband Nikoli, and their son Ivan, to return to Kievan Rus. And Yelena vowed to care for the baby Dmitrii as if he was her own…

There, his foster Mother and Father returned to Kievan Rus only to find the Muslims had invaded the city and destroyed it, never to be the grand city it once was. “It was in Kyiv after my foster mother, Yelena and step-brother, Ivan, died during the Great Famine… My foster Father, Nikoli, was so saddened by their death that he turned me out to the streets.…” then he looks away and then back to her.

As she heard about this tragic time, Ae held onto the pendant necklace she wore, as it had become her custom to do when there was nothing she could or say to make things better.

“I stole, lied, and begged…whatever it took to survive… including fighting with a blade. I was attacked by other abandoned youth… and one attacked me with a dagger… I found a stick and hit him with it… then I took his dagger and retaliated.” He looked down, only to have her lift his chin. Steel-grey eyes became damp. “The others ran away… and the lad died in my arms.”

Everywhere she had traveled with her family, around the edges of their world, Aegraine noticed the orphans of war and upheaval after a siege, scrambling to stay alive in desperate days. Only the strongest made it; most never made it to their twenties. It was that moment Ae made a silent promise to sponsor the adoptions that her serving woman Dora wanted to do, to give a family and home to those children most difficult to place. This was to be a secret from even Dora and Clovis.

“That was a hard time of my life…” then he chuckles a bit… “I even became a great equestrian during that time… by stealing horses from neighboring oblasts (districts)…”

Dmitrii began to explain his next phase of life… “Five years later, in 1320 I think, evading arrest and imprisonment by the Lords of Kievan Rus, I went to Paris and enlisted into the French forces of Charles IV… it was during this four-year enlistment that I learned to fight and ride as a soldier.” He chuckled again… “And fight well I did, earning the title, Le guerrier principal… ummm, The Master Warrior…”

He winks at her…. “I thought I was good with a sword, but it was there that I learned other things from two men from Italia… one from Florence and the other from Japan… They taught me skills with a sword that I never knew possible…” offering her a shrug… “What they taught me was called Florentine… the art of wielding two weapons at once, one in each hand. Some people prefer to call this method "Two-Swords" or even simply "Two-Weapons". The man from Japan called it nitôjutsu… "Two Swords, One spirit", He watched for her expression.

Ae had dropped the leaf branch fan and was just listening, intent on trying to comprehend facts about two handed sword styles, for this is the first time she began to realize that there were others who used a pair of swords. Rhupert Jenks had been caught by surprise when he had faced Dmitrii at the Joust. His first blink of disbelief that Dmi used no shield gave away Jenk's advantage and was enough that Dmitrii’s challenger lost.

Then he continued… “In terms of fighting technique, flourentine can either be very elegant or very choppy, depending upon the fighting style of the combatant. By giving up the shield and using the swords to block, a combatant wielding two swords gives up defensive capability in exchange for offensive power.” He smiles… “Though important for any combatant, keeping the initiative is even more important for a two-swordsman. Because he does not have the defensive leisure or margin of error available to a sword and shieldman, he must seize the initiative and make the fight his own if he expects to succeed. Hence is why I seem fanatical to some… self-destructive to others…” Offering a shrug once more.

“By age 19, I was a troop commander under Charles of Valois in the war of Saint-Sardo. And under the Auld Alliance, I was sent to Scotland… It was there that I fought for the Bruce… Eventually, I met a man named Marco Sudovaine… the Green Knight…” then he smirks…

"I heard legends of a Green Knight, back in Ulster. You met a famous man, then?" There were stories told among the archers at the end of the war there, as well as tales she had overheard when the castle in Ulster had been occupied, where she had been unwilling "guest." The surprise registered on her face and she had interrupted Dmi's story, without thinking about it.

“Yu know him?” then he laughs… “He know of him with his true name… Adam Maubrey…” then he laughs harder… “It was in Inverness that He and I became the best of friends…serving in fights against the English…”

"Maubrey? Is that a relative of the man who brought that terrible trebuchet against Turas Lan's gates? That Maubrey is related to the legendary Green Knight?" She did not mention that the trebuchet she had recognized as a product of lePower production. Someone in her family had dealings with the enemy, directly or indirectly and who exactly, she was determined to discover.

Nudging her a bit… “But of course, yu know him best as Lord Adam Aberdeen…” again laughing at her expressions. “It seems that I am always at the right place at the right time for war… never peace… until now…”

"Your friend Adam! Really? I would have not guessed." [/i]Her confused, sidewise glances shifted to center upon Dmi's face and she told him, "Then I must be in the right place, too." The sky continued to be clear bright blue and higher in the trees, bright green glossy leaves filtered the sunlight into bright bits among the shadows.[/color]

He could not help but chuckle a bit at her excitement. “According to Adam himself, in his confidence, shared with me his earlier years.” His hand reached up and caressed her face to clear up the confusion. “In the earlier days of Adam Aberdeen… our Mo’r Triath… it seems that his Father was so oppressive that he escaped his Father’s grasp… and in the years that followed had become a knight of his own right serving the English as Sir Marco Sudovaine… but in his disobeyance of a slaughter-all order, Adam’s Lord tried to kill him… Mortally wounded, Adam was able to kill the men… but before he himself died, some local villagers found him and cared for him… eventually nursing him back to health…”

He smiled as he looked up at her… “In the several years to follow… Adam spent his waking hours fighting everything English as the Green Knight. A terror that eventually led him to Scotland… Slowly, and reluctantly, he began to trade his attacks on the English, for time spent with a lovely blonde lass named Beathag…” then he smirked again. “That is where I met M’Lord… in Inverness…” He looked away, then returned. “MiLord took Beathag’s family name as his own, along with his birth name… so no one would know he was the son of the English’s Lord Advisor against Scotland… Hence Marco Sudovaine became Adam Aberdeen…” He smiled… “Since those days, we have found side by side in every campaign… and my swords are his swords… I fight so he does nay have to…” He canted his head at her… “Adam is a Maubrey… but hates his Father with such passion… and has sworn to bring him to justice one way or another…”

Within her logically mind, it all made more sense now, now that she learned more about the history of both Dmitrii and his friend Adam. "I will not mention to anyone that I know this. Sometimes disagreements with a family can be such dangerous matters." Ae watched a butterfly atop a wild flower stem, not a foot away from them. It teetered, fluttering in the light breeze, as if one more gust would flick it away. Life is so fragile and small things can destroy its delicate balance. One misstep, one wrong word and a family can be shattered. She had seen that within her own relatives. So much the worse in days of wartime.

Dmitrii gets a charming look upon his face… “I agree that yu are in the right place…” his hand patting her thigh that supported his head. “The only better place than here would be in my bed next to me as my wife…”

She leaned forward and spoke quietly, "Soon we can know what day that will be, providing the Mo'r Triath and Mo’r Oukselo approve. Their advice will be our guide as to when, when we speak to them in Turas Lan. Do you think they will require us to wait a long time?" Aegraine did not define what "long time" meant to her. Something else was bothering her. "What if they say no?"

Dmitrii would look up to Aegraine and shake his head… “Nyet… do not think such things…” then he looked as if his mind drifted… After a few moments, he smiled… “Years ago, in the Highlands… in Inverness… the King refused for Victoria and I to marry… We ran off and eloped to a nearby Parish…” he looked a bit solemn… “We had only been married for a month or so when the English invaded… later we learn that Maubrey and her Father was involved together… and, while I was off at war, it got her killed.” Once again he looked to her and smiled… “The same King forbade Adam and Bess to marry too… and Adam and I were fighting in the Scot lowlands… we were surrounded and thought defeated… Adam was bound to get back to Bess, but when Inverness was overrun… things got desperate… That’s when the Templars from Skye joined the fray…saving Adam and I…” He could only smile at her.

"There are still Templars almost everywhere, my Da tells me. Back in France when it became known that their extinction was inevitable, some scattered to the four winds. It is only rumor, I know, but what else would make banking of wealth still as dependable as it is currently?" Some thoughts of hers were not to be spoken in public, but Aegraine could tell Dmitrii anything.

“Adam, I , Sir Robert, and others all sailed to north from Skye, around the northern tip of Scotland and down into the Moray Firth to Inverness… and fought our way back out and to open seas…” He rotated a bit, propping his head upon his hand, his elbow on the ground, looking at her. “I want us to grow old together… and have many children and grandchildren…”

"First we are wed, then we will see." Ae waved the leafy branch she'd been using to cool off after their race at him, and peered through the leaves, as if it were indeed a flirting fan. "We will see what the future brings us." She thought on it and added, "Dmi? It is unlikely we will need to elope, then? Then we can have a huge party and feast for simply everyone? A church wedding and dancing at the party after?"

The wicked evil grin crossed his face, pushing the beard in all the right places… “Wed? I thought we’d just live in sin…” then he laughed that familiar charming laugh… “Then we’ll see?? What do yu mean we shall see…” nudging her a bit and teasing her…

Then he took on a serious note… “If necessary, I would invite the whole world to let them know how much in love I am with yu… Of course we shall have a church wedding and a grand reception…”

Once they returned to the city, there would be several serious meetings to be held, of which meeting Dmitrii's cousin was first to be done. Ae did not understand all that was going on, as some of it Dmi and his sister spoke in their native language, for she was just beginning to learn. Work back at the city walls and lessons for the new recruits on the wall defense loomed over her next few weeks; all that was in a state of change as well.

Compared to the lives that these two had before the Mo’r Triath came to power, the times they would spend together seemed like heaven on Earth.

"Dmi? I am saddened to hear what all you have gone though to get to this point in life...but I am so glad you survived it. You and your best friend."

Sitting up, his hand going to her face… “Past is past… I am alive… healthy, and well to do financially… You are alive and here before me… Yu and I are survivors… best served together thru life’s future…” then he pulls her close to him, his steel grey eyes lightening a bit… then softly he kissed her once… then again… and the third time was a kiss full of passion.

About an hour ago, out from the gates of Turas Lan two shaggy beings padded on out for their daily run. Trained by a daily routine of dashing to the end of the farm lands and back, Beo and Wulf often ran out onto an extra path exploring woods or fields before going back to town. This day one of them discovered a pathway heading off to the unknown and before long both were loping along, headed for Lake Manor.

The brothers were a mixed breed of some other kind of coach dog and mostly Irish Wolfhound. Fearless and still playful as pups, even though they were each over seventy pounds both dogs stood near three feet tall at the shoulder. Coats of almost identical brown and gray covered them and what house they lived within, during the shedding season. Now it was still summer, well before their outdoors life brought a winter coat on them. Long legs covered the distance to Dmitrii's manor house in about the same as would a horse.

Aegraine had her mind on Dmitrii and was not listening to anything else beyond the two of them, when suddenly a wild chorus of barks and yipping broke the placid moment and crashing through the thicket nearby, Beo and Wulf, tails wagging, bounded, directly running to Ae and Dmi.

His attention upon the lass before him was broken by the chorus of yelping canines headed their way. He had only time to look away a bit and begin to rise…

"Beo! Wulfie!" Aegraine got caught by both big pets and scarce could stand, as they surrounded her and Dmitrii. "Look. They like you." She was glad to see the dogs include Dmi in their greeting, both of the dogs tried to lick his face at the same time. "Pet both of them at the same; they are such rivals for attention."

Knocked back to the ground by two eager and frisky pups… pups? Not in their size… he could only laugh as the pranced about them, nudging them with their massive size for canines. His hands were busy attempting to satiate the rivaled attention of both dogs. “I see…I see…” as he laughed. “My God they have grown…” They were the same two dogs, but much larger now, that he had petted along the wall months ago.

"At home Beo and Wulf sleep on the ends of my bed, but I think the stables might work better here in Lake Manor." It was such a lovely home with fine furniture and decor. Obviously the dogs were too large and wild to have indoors. One of them accidentally stepped on her foot and Ae winced from the weight of Beo upon her cloth shoe. "And they are only half grown."

He canted a head her way, his steel-grey eyes looking at her sideways… “I sincerely hope they won’t sleep there now…” he laughed as Wulf reared up and put heavy paws upon his shoulders knocking his backwards and licking his face as he hovered over Dmitrii. Laughing, Dmi looked at Aegraine… “I agree that the stables would be better… we can make a place for them…”

“Half-grown?? Good gracious my dear…” he pushed Wulf off him only to be nudged hard by Beo… “Alright… I shall pet yu both…” fluffing their coats with his hands, along their backs and heads…

Nothing like two horse-size canines attacking you to cause stimulus interruptus… He laughed as the frisky pair now switched from him to her…

Aegraine gave a short whistle and both dogs sat attentive and waited for her. "Good boys!" she gave a hand signal and pointed to a nearby field. "Go play." Both trotted away to chase whatever wild birds or butterflies they came across in the tall wild flowers and grasses. There they'd wait until time to follow along to Lake Manor.

"They got leaves and sticks all over your suit, Dmi. Here let me take care of that." Ae brushed Dmitrii's garments with her hands, ridding his clothing and hair of dust and greenery the overgrown dogs had got all over him. "They need a trainer again; the one I had was killed in the war, last spring. There; like new." She stood back and looked at Dmitrii, such a handsome man and with a good sense of humor; how else would he have put up with the likes of Beo and Wulf?

Dmitrii laughed and stood, brushing the remains leaves from his clothing… Extending a hand to her… “Come luv, let us go back to the manor…” then the pair walked hand-in-hand back home.[/font][/color]