A Life Together - 1333

[Sir Dmitrii Zurban]

The beginning of a new year… He and Aegraine had been married for three years and one day now… After the incident with the Templar, Dmitrii and Aegraine fulfilled their promise to each other… They had received the blessings from the Mo’r Triath and the Mo’r Okesula… and were eventually married on the last day of the year, 1329…

Aegraine’s career seemed to explode… She, as the Mo’r Triath’s Engineer had the monumental task of rebuilding the city after the fires in the UnderDark… This, she accomplished with an amazing ability… Few would know she had a newly acquired skill, one that would be invaluable in locating voids in the stoneworks and streets that could be hazardous due to the fires below.

After the incident with the Templar, Aegraine discovered her Mother was still alive and with that her skill with a divining stick would be passed on from Mother to the daughter. No longer deemed a witch’s gift, Aegraine would eventually use the skill to further her career as Lady Engineer…

As for Dmitrii, he too stayed busy… He, as WeaponMaster, had the responsibility that new weapons would be researched and tested… He also had the challenge of ensuring all commanders were training their troops to a standard…

As for the married couple, it seemed that adoration had blossomed… not the usual matched-marriage, but one of chosen love… Their evenings spent in loving arms… still they had not been blessed with children… Was it God’s divine intervention? For it definitely not the lack of trying…

"How can it be another year already, Dmi? I feel as if it was but a day since we stood on the steps of the church to say our vows." She was fishing out something from her sewing basket and handed it to him. "I have finally finished the embroidery for your gift." The work schedule was still demanding for the engineer, as with the Weapon Master. More than two years since the war, the fire, and other building changes as Turas Lan grew back. At least they had the same days off.

Unrolled, the one yard square of linen had fittings at top and bottom to make it hang as a small tapestry. The design upon the surface was a picture of Troika, the black horse, standing on its back legs, forelegs in the air in a battle defense move. His coat was made up of tiny stitches of black linen, wool and silk. Sparkling horse eyes were beads of jet, a rate stone from Wales said to be the fossilized trunk of a monkey puzzle tree. Perhaps that was just one of Martin's stories, but the pair of beads made lifelike eyes on the cloth horse picture. The background was only the shadows that hung under the pine trees in an otherwise blank landscape, snow covered.

"It was snowing the day we met the first time. Fitting that it snowed on our wedding day." Aegraine watched as Dmitrii unrolled the long promised gift. They sat on the cushions and pillows thrown before a good crackling fire, there in Lake Manor. Snowflakes floated down from dark clouds, visible from the far window. Beo and Wulf were out there in the snow chasing and nipping at the flakes as if they had substance. In the distance Martin could be heard laughing at something the cook said.

In spite of the time of peace here and now, there was an uneasy feeling. How long will this last? What can take this serenity from the folks of Turas Lan? Sometimes it pays to just appreciate the moment.

Dmitrii unrolled the material to find a precise and silvery, black thread… and the realest eyes upon a tapestry he’d ever seen. “My luv, this is the second greatest gift I have received…” he smiled, that familiar trimmed beard quirking in all the right places… his voice is soft, shrouded only by the crackling of the fire in the hearth. “The first was you… my greatest gift…” He remembered the day they met… and the day they finally married. Then he pondered the future… and winks… “so far…”

Insinuating some plans for later when they retired to the bedchambers… “We must practice… as for the day God shall grant us to conceive a child…” Oh yes, that wicked smirk crossed his face as his hand patted her thigh.

"Practice. I admit once we are upstairs, to our room I tend to forget that our practice is anything but fun." the engineer shifted the cushion she leaned her elbow and ended with her head resting on Dmi's shoulder.

"We will be ready when the time comes." She reassured most of all herself. Aegraine was starting to hear remarks from the other ladies, anxious to see a next generation. The fire crackled and a few sparks jumped out onto the hearthstones.

Dmitrii smiles wickedly… “Con jesh na [of course]… Fun is important too…” Nodding to her last statement.

"Sometimes the other women think three years without a child is a long time, but it does not seem but a few days to me. Did you know Dora tried to persuade Marie to put those fertility icons in our room? To slip corn babies and herbs under the pillows. I have tried to tell Dora that it is up to the Almighty what happens next and she just shakes her head, no. There is no reasoning with her. I'm glad Marie is more modern, although she did tell me I ought to gain a few pounds to make me more attractive." Ae was laughing at the servants ideas of how to increase the odds of Dmitrii having a son. Such things had no scientific value. They were not logical.

Dmitrii laughed… “Aye luv… tis the same for me… people tell me to try this and that… and give me spells for conceiving a boy child…” he smiled and patted her leg. “The day last, I was told that during your most fertile time, we should arrange three candles in a triangle. At the top should be a yellow one for the Sun, to the left a green one, for the Earth, and to the right a blue one, for Rain. These are supposed to be the symbols of the Father. You as the wife are to take a dried Oak Leaf and in red ink write… "Sow in my womb a son as tall and healthy as the mighty Oak". Then you are to place the leaf in the center of the triangle, placing an acorn on top of the leaf, repeating… "From this seed is born the Sacred Oak… From this union is born my beloved Son…."

As he paused, he cants his head… “Then yu are supposed to visualize a tree growing, from the first shoots pushing through lush soil, the slender sapling, all the way up until the tree stands strong and proud…. Its leafy arms spread above you…” he imitates the tree spreading its leaves… and he smiles. “You are to hold this image in your mind for a few minutes. Picture the leaves rustling with the breeze, the sun shining through here and there. Now, picture an infant lying at the base of the tree, gently cradled in the protruding roots. Picture him as you would like your son to be, happy, healthy, smiling and hold this image for a few moments. When you are ready, take the acorn and place it under the mattress before making love. Let the candles burn down. Each night before attempting to conceive, repeat, using new candles but the same leaf and acorn.” He smirks wickedly, his hand exploring her thigh… “Sounds good to me…” teasing her some more…

He winks at her… “of course, I do nay care whether we have a boy or a girl… as long as she looks like yu…” Then he takes out a piece of mandrake root give to him by the Captain of the Guard… and shows her… “Lord Drake gave this to me… his wife gave it to him and said it would ensure my fertility and sexual prowess…” he chuckles… then fell silent with simply a smirk quirking his trimmed beard.

After a short silence, Aegraine looked back at his eyes and thoughtfully, stated in tones her Da might not hear even if he were standing outside in the hallway. "I am going to do the one thing my Mother recommended, tonight. Dance for you." Now there is science proven fact, logical in every way. Ae was going to dance for Dmi, a dance she could not do in the parlor, for certain.

“A dance?” he inquired. With a curious huff, he cants his head. “Better than wearing an amulet of some animal or placing it under a pillow…” He looks to the window and makes a silent prayer for darkness…

[Sir Dmitrii Zurban]

"What you say, makes sense, Dmi. It is like constructing a building. First you get the idea, focus on it, imagine how it will begin and progress, and follow through into a complete construction. I like the idea of that ceremony! Should we do it?" Ae looked to see what his face told her, before he spoke. "Of course, I am still going to dance tonight."

Dmitrii got a wicked smirk upon his face at the idea of the dance… “Why not… cannot hurt... besides, it may set a fine light upon the dance… I like yer foundation, and do not mind building upon it…” he said in soft whispers, a soft swat upon her arse… He was being a bit lewd and suggestive, but he was in love with his wife… and they were in a time of peace… why shouldn’t he be optimistic about their future…

In her mind, she began to think positively about a child. Three years waiting was not normal, the ladies all told her. Ae reasoned the Almighty had other things to be accomplished in those years, time in which her skill and expertise as engineer and planner flourished. She did not speak aloud what began to creep into her mind. What if there is no child ?

Martin was walking in the hallway, off into the large dining hall, a roll of scrolls in hand. He called out in conversation to them both, back to the doorway as he walked away the other direction, "When you two get done with what you are doing, come and look at the plans I have made for a few new additions to the manor." No, the man did not walk into the room, but his voice alone was invasive.

"Additions to Lake Manor? Dmi? Really? Or is it my Da again, looking for a new project?"

Dmitrii chuckled a bit… “Tis nay like we have not enough room already… I think maybe he requires a new project…” he paused… “Mabbe we need to ask around if any needs new construction…” teasingly said.

"Look at Da." she sighed, resigned to what Martin refused to admit. "My Mother is never going to come back and live with Da, no matter if he builds a grand palace, ballroom and racetrack. He simply just hopes and prays that the Almighty will hear his pleas and for whatever it is he is bargaining, make them a couple again." Aegraine leaned against Dmitrii’s shoulder and paused, thoughtfully, for a few minutes.

"He has not even considered that his desires are never going to happen." Then it hit her hard and swift. She turned to him and asked her husband. "Dmi? Is it like that with us? Do we ask for the impossible?"

Dmitrii took her into his arms… he knew she was concerned about a child… three years was a long time, especially as sexually oriented as they had been. “Lass, look at Lady Aberdeen… Beathag had been deemed as never having a child due to her enduring such torture… and alas, God gave her more than expected…” pausing to look at her… “Do we ask the impossible? Nay… I searched for peace most of my life… now I seek creation… and we shant be denied…”

Ae was not one free with tears, but she was close to them now. "Dmi? What if God is saying 'no' to us? What if we never have a child?"

He now stood next to her looking over Martin’s plans… He knew she had much concern in her mind about a baby, her Mother, and her Father… His hand found her buttocks and gave her a slight squeeze… Tugging upon her arm, he lured her away… “I refuse to accept no as an answer to our quest for a child… If we must, we shall forsake all others, and spend our days in the bedchambers… I may even seduce yu in the fields and stables, if that is what demands us…” he whispered in her ear. “Now come dance for me…”

Aegraine turned and her surprise from how bold Dmi had been with her father right there. Her blink of shock changed to a slow widening smile and she edged away to the door. "Race you!" It was off to the staircase on the run, her skirts held up at knee level.

Caught off guard, Dmi hesitated at what to do… until, she called out her challenge to him… then he took off after her. She was half way up the stairs when booted heels hit the stairs two at a time.

Martin heard what they were saying and hunched his shoulders up as far as he could, as if to cover his ears. He shut his eyes tight and muttered not quite under his breath, "Dear Lord! They are at it again!" He rolled up the drawings and sulked. "The Architect would have looked at my plans! I should have not let that one get away." Oh, Elder lePower did remember what it was like to be young and in love; hell he knew what it was like to be old and crazy in love. Martin took the bundle of drawings and headed back to the kitchen.

Dmitrii reached out for her side, nipping at the material trying to catch his wife. Her agility proving to her benefit… a slip, a catch, he made his way up the stairs… she burst open their door, and he closed it with a slam… It was there he began to tickle her, pulling the dress up to expose her beautiful, muscled legs.

Out in the stairhall, there were shrieks and laughter as Ae and Dmi raced upstairs and into their quarters. It was onto the dance.

Dmi was teased, then pushed away, and as he advanced, he leaped upon the bed, then hopped off the other side, putting space between her and her husband. Following suit, Dmi kicked off his boots and followed after her.

[Dame Aegraine lePower-Zurban]

I am the Vine

“I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. “….King James Bible

Aegraine set aside her gown and got out a new paint box and brush. She dipped its cloth soft bristles into blue-green paint and began to draw a wandering line from under the sole of her right foot, wrapping it around her leg on up and onto her body. Along the line she brushed in leaf shapes here and there, giving the illusion that she was being wrapped about a by a grape vine. On and about all her white skin the green vine went, whirling and scrolling about each limb, about her neck and over her left shoulder onto her back. The process of self painting was a graceful dance in itself, reaching to the paint box, bending and turning until she had reached a completed pattern.

Dmitrii was ordered by Aegraine to sit upon the bed and watch… to say nothing… to do nothing until he was allowed… With anticipation, the Kievan Rus warrior sat nervously on the edge of the bed. Nervously? Yes, for he was madly in love with his wife, and they were experimenting with ways of producing a child… He watched her set aside her gown… yet another thrill he would never cease enjoying… An odd expression crossed his face, and the neatly trimmed beard quirked in an unusual manner as she started to paint herself. As she bent, turned, and occasionally glanced seductively to him, he wanted to run to her, but he remembered her instructions…

“This dance is a prayer to the Almighty above and our Mother Earth below, to grant what is wished today.”

Before the hearth she stood, arms catching a slight breeze that was only in her mind and to a tune ancient and ingrained in her lineage, Aegraine began to do a swaying, primitive dance her Mother taught her, and hers before that. On one of the turns, she waved her arm, looking back over her shoulder to Dmi, beckoning him to come join her.

He watched his decorated wife perform an ancient ritual dance that was both riveting and seductive… his heart raced and resounded in his chest with hard thumbs against the ribs, as if to seem to break them… Deep breathes and sighs would betray his stalwart appearance… he was enthralled with her movements of explicit seduction… He knew she could dance… and he knew she was seductive… but not at this level…

Throughout his life, he was told that pagans were evil… but none had told him of how seductive they could be… and Ae had placed his concepts of what should be, in the trash, never to be revisited… She was so…

Unexpectedly, she motioned for him… luring him to her… He stood, removing his shirt and trousers… Any and all garments were removed with haste… yet he was nervous… and her beckoning him caused him to move slowly, seductive in his own manner… until naked forms meld together in the flickering lights of night.

(fade to black)

The next day, the young couple were not seen out and about the house until late afternoon. The servants who went to clean their quarters were non-plussed at what they observed. There were contact prints of vines and leaves all over the linens, on the walls, on the carpet and the hearth fire brick. Some were mirror images of others. Leaves everywhere. Not to mention the window sill. The window sill?

The night had been one of wild passion, unresolved to passiveness… light intimacy gave way to feral abandonment… Two warriors now fought a war of a different kind… one of childlessness… neither wanted the other barren… and in the night, they cared not for what was proper, nor appropriate… it was them, and them alone… No place was sacred… no position sanctified over another…

That afternoon found the couple walking hand in hand in the snow… their booted feet in concert, their coattails fluttering in the slight breeze. There seemed to be a certain glow, almost an orange aura about them…[/font]

A Walk in the Snow

That afternoon found the couple walking hand in hand in the snow… their booted feet in concert, their coattails fluttering in the slight breeze. There seemed to be a certain glow, almost an orange aura about them…

"I love the snow. The first time I saw you was out in the snowy field beyond the farmlands. Beo and Wulf were still like puppies back then. I knew from the first glimpse, that you would be pleasant to work with." Untrimmed beard fresh from his time being imprisoned by Adam, Dmitrii had impressed Ae with that first smile. The short conversation they had told volumes about him. Ae turned to look at her husband, the snowflakes sifting down on his hair and beard. There was nothing but white about them, as if they walked in a cloud.

Dmitrii squeezed her hand as he side-glanced a look at her... “When the snow covers the heather, and I look out across the plain, it reminds me of home...” he catches a glance... “Kievan Rus...” he clarifies... “I do not remember Argania... but I do remember the home of my Father...” he looks down and scuffs some snow with his boot... “I’d invite yu there, but Kievan Rus is not the gem of the world as she once was...” he shrugs a bit... “But maybe someday when the Mongols are driven out...”[/b][/font]

“Dmi?" in the silenced outdoors her voice was soft and small, her words carefully selected. "In spring, when the time comes for the wall checks at the castle, I am not going to repel off the walls this year. I will do the rest of my work, but I am not taking any risks. In case we have had our 'request' answered." It was too early to tell. "I cannot wait for spring." That season too had its charms.

Dmitrii chuckled... “if we are granted our wish, I hope yu shall do things lightly... but afterwards, we shall swing from the walls together...” then he laughed and stopping to look at her... “Remember the time with the cannon...” then he started to laugh out loud, breaking the silence...


"Oh! I thought I was going to be burned when my jacket caught fire! Good that the men drenched us with the water from the cannon set up." Their second meeting and Ae was looking like a contestant in a wet T-shirt contest.

Dmi laughed at her expression and arms imitating what had occurred.


"So, what will be on the schedule back at work in Turas Lan? Martin insists he is going to town with us. He wants to visit the Lilly; he even told me so."Raised brows at that idea. "Aurilla is still jealous of the acrobat he chased years ago. What will she say about the Lilly?" Her dad got into such trouble for his skirt chasing that Ae's Mother left old Martin.

Dmi shrugged... “Whatever the Mo’r Triath deems necessary my dear... but rest assured, yu and I will be close...” then he smiled, that charming quirk of a neatly trimmed beard. “Martin and the Lily?” then he shook his head... “Does the old man ever quit trying?” then he laughed.

"Dmi? Now that I know what I did not, How did we ever wait until marriage?" Ae gave him such a look that her thoughts were clear without saying. "I hope we visit your Father's homeland, one day."

The Kievan Rus warrior got a wicked smirk upon his face... “T’was easy for one not to endure what is not known... but a’lass, t’was hard to endure what one imagines of what could be...” then he shook his head... “There were many trips to a cold stream for me... and our picnics alone, yer kisses and caress, left me desiring what I could not have...”

"ß íàäåþñü, èìååì ëè ìû ðåáåíêà, îí íå áóäåò ïðèîáðåòàòü àêöåíò îò ìîåé ðå÷è. ß ïðàêòèêóþ." Ae worked to make herself comprehensible, but there was much to be done yet.

The walk thru the snow was enjoyable... lovers and friends they were... so far as parents, they were forsaken... but none the less, they strived for what would be... His face appeared to lighten and a smile took over as she spoke Rus... As in all things, she was a quick learner... and was learning to speak it fluently... “Yer Russian is getting better... just remember, it is all in the formation and placement of the tongue... I have no fear that our child will be far more intelligent than we...”


"Race you to the wood's edge!" It was snowing more now and there was little wind, the flakes coming down like little white feathers all over the fields and grasses.

Dmi accepted the challenge without a sound... and soon trailed behind the lithe woman... His boots crushing the snow with each step... As he neared her... and the wood’s edge... he took one step and fell face first into the snow... lying there for what seemed like minutes... he rose to see her making her way back... the fluffy white snow sticking to his beard and eyebrows... he could not help from laughing with her.

"Dmi?" Aegraine stopped short when she noticed he was not close on her heels. "What happened?" She began racing back to where he was, laughing as this had to be some kind of trick. She was sure to get a few handfuls of snow thrown at her. "Is there ice..." and she found the same slick section of frozen path, losing her balance as well. Arms waving did not help and the engineer fell right on her rear, in the now gathering pile of snow. "Dmi" Ae rolled over to see if he was hurt, face into the snow as he was. "Oh, your face? Her let me kiss it and make it better." She began to brush snow off his dark beard, so much more neatly trimmed now than that first day they met.

At the edge of the wood, blending in with the gray of the undergrowth brush and tree trunks, stood two dark scraggly gray canines, watching the Zurbans, there in the snow. One opened its mouth, stretching his jaws. Long sharp teeth gleamed with the evidence of a recent kill and meal out in the forest. The second creature gave the humans a steely glare, watching their every move.

Now they were both laughing at their snowy situation... and when she leaned to kiss his snowly face... he kissed her back with a sudden snap, making her jump...and they continued laughing.
Getting up together, they dusted each other off and took up walking again... Suddenly, Dmitrii stopped, frozen in his tracks... then took one step infront of Aegraine. “Be still... do not move...” Automatically he reached for non-existent swords... “Chort...” [chyt]

"Tree! Tree!" Ae glanced around, for she had not taken her usual precaution of checking on her immediate surroundings. "I have two daggers. " She was facing the wood edge, standing beside Dmitrii. "Can we get to that tree?" There was one of moderate size to his right. Even a fun run out in the snow was not safe, the world was not safe even here in peacetime. Oh, it was early for beasts of the forest to prowl out into civilized fields like this. Were the animals going to rush them? It did not make sense to break eye contact with the two gray coated ones. Their eyes were glittering and both of them were lowering their heads, gazed locked at the Zurbans.

Dmi nodded to Ae and as they edged their way toward the tree, keeping his body between her and the wolves... his hand slowly reaching behind him to her for the dagger. He never took those steel gray eyes off the beasts... and it seemed to keep them entranced.

Despite their growling and snarling, the pair continued to near the tree... Steps away, he fumbled for the second dagger as he would protect them in case of a charge while she climbed the tree. “Now !! Be stra... [hurry]” he exclaimed urging her to move quickly.

Ae scrambled up the tree, its frozen limbs creaked and ice flickered down onto the snow below. She got high enough for Dmitrii to get up away from the animals below. Heavy snow fell on them so thick one could barely see the outlines of the canines, now running to the tree. "Dmi? I am going to whistle for Beo and Wulf. Will it be louder if we whistle for them at once?" Aegraine was not sure if the part wild hounds would even hear them from the barn. Snaps and snarls at the tree trunk became more frantic. They had been treed. One the very large beasts tried jumping to catch hold of Dmitrii's boot.

Then there was a lull in the snowfall, enough for them to see the canines below. "Beo? Wulf? Look how big they have grown! And wild." For the dogs ran off into the forest last fall during the hunt and it had not been reported. "I thought Clovis took them to the North lands, with him." Even though they were not wolves, a greeting from the over affectionate big shaggy gray dogs was not really safe.

What a sight...!! Two soldiers, treed by wolves, whistling loud for their canines. Dmitrii yelling at the wolves to get away, slashing his dagger at the beasts. Only for the snow to clear and find out the beasts were their own canines... Frightened at first by strangers in the woods, then just so overjoyed to see their masters after left alone for so long.

“Dmi & Ae, sittin’ in a tree... K.I.S.S.I.N.G. First come love, then come marriage, here they come with a baby carriage...” Laughing turned into an embrace... and embrace turned into a kiss... and the kiss got deeper... A slight movement, and the pair of lovers fell from the tree and into a snowbank... and no sooner than hitting the ground they were assaulted by two “overly friendly” hounds. Amidst the yelping of the canines, were laughter and squeals from the pair.