Dai McNeill's Story

Dai rode that morning fetching game for the cook, as he always had done since he was but a lad. Not because it was his job, but rather out of kindness for he. She had been close to his mother years ago, and Dai felt a connection to her. The game was scares, but he managed to catch more than a few foxes for the fire. After all meat the food of Kings, they could hardly be expected to eat greens like peasants do. Dai rolled his eyes thinking of the poachers in this very forest, the princes’ properly didn’t even take notice that there were hunger people in the land, who had to resort to thievery to feed their bellies.

As he rode back to the castle he did not think to take his horse back to the stables, instead he simple rode back to the back kitchen where Horike the cook was fast at work over the fire. Marching in with the hides dangling from his belt he set the meat onto a large wooden table.

“I fetched morning meals, Horike.” He said the old tired looking woman turning around.

“Aye, foods starting to get low pretty soon the Royals may have to eat our humble peasant food.” She joked as Dai cracked a smile. “If that day comes, I’d like to see their faces at dinner.” The woman laughed harder, and pulled a knife from the table and began to carve the meat.

“Shouldn’t you be headed upstairs?” she asked.

Dai looked at the servants’ staircase and shook his head, his eye moving to the line of bells on the wall of the kitchen. “I check on his earlier he’s still asleep.” He said and looked back to the old woman. “He’ll ring when he needs me.” He said, and pulled a knife out.

“You gonna help me like when you were a lad?”

“Aye.” He smiled and began carving. Elijah can reach over the bed to pull a rope after all. he thought to himself.

Bliss patiently listened to Lyanna explain, glad to lend a sympathetic ear. She had not spent much time with the knight outside of the training grounds & their private archery lessons, as one could never convince Lyanna to stray away from her knightly duties, so this was all news to her. She never could have imagined the inner turmoil that the warrior felt in stuffy social situations.

It made sense though & Bliss did not know why she had not realized it earlier. Lyanna had to work extremely hard to prove herself to her male peers, so of course she would not have had the time (or the energy & desire) to learn how to be "ladylike". The handmaid found herself wondering how Lyanna ever managed to get through her younger years, especially so far from the support of her family...How difficult that must have been.

“I’m not mad at anyone, just… frustrated. At myself, for always ending up in these situations where I don’t know what to say or how to be.”

"You need only be yourself," Bliss loftily said. "If you give people the chance to see you, who knows? They might surprise you, Lyanna."

“But I probably shouldn’t have said that. You’ve got enough to deal with on your own, right? Nobody here has it easy, I know that much.”

"No one can known what it is like to be anyone other than themself." Bliss tried to sound casual, but as they drew closer to the stables there was a slight twinge of panic in her words. The handmaid kept an eye out for any unattended horse, lest one try to snatch up her hair or dress in its teeth.

Bliss saw a group of riders approaching in the distance, Ephraim's steward being the only one recognizable. Two, uniquely dressed men rode alongside of him. The larger one with a shaved head appeared to be, almost literally, armed to the teeth. These must be the visitors from Shahari. Her curiosity piqued & she felt a tingling wave of excitement as they drew closer. By the time the party had fully arrived, Bliss had a silly smily plastered to her face.

“Their Royal Highnesses Princes Ephraim and Elijah de Montefort of Merderva welcome you to their home. My name is Sir Lyanna du Lac, and this is Miss Bliss Barnard.” Bliss instinctively did a proper curtsy & bowed her head when Lynna introduced her. It was second nature by now.

As Lyanna continued with the formalities, Bliss studied the guests. Nosy as she was, she was always fascinated by anyone & anything that potentially offered a break from the droll normalcy of every day life. The Prince's pleasant appearance did not escape her attention either.

“So formal!” The prince grinned & Bliss found herself liking him already. He said something more, but she did not entirely listen since she was too busy delighting in the prodigious sight of a Prince kissing Lyanna's hand & consequently making the knight turn bright red. The smile dropped from her face, however, when the royal from Shahiri then repeated the process with her. Her cheeks burned pink. A prince greeting a handmaid in this way! She quickly glanced up at the royal's servant & raised her brows, as if to ask Is this normal?

Her hand dropped to her side & the Prince turned to address his riding party. A riding party which, Bliss noted, was unusually discreet.

“Well, we didn’t get a chance to eat aboard the ship this morning, so breakfast seems like a splendid idea. Lorri and Su’da here are of course free to do as they please.”



Laurent's brotherly worry kicked in when he observed the way in which Malik greeted Lyanna. He was not entirely certain why it bothered him so. She was, after all, a lady & it was not so unusual of a greeting with that considered. He was slightly relieved when he saw the gesture repeated with the handmaid, but not entirely. Laurent dismounted & several of the stablehands came forward to tend to their horses.

“Your servant shall stay to protect you, highness.” The older man said, cearly devoted.

"I will go to kitchen to ensure everything is to your liking, m'lord. Please let me know if you have any special requests, & I will happily oblige." A royal messenger had been dispatched ahead of them, so Prince Ephraim should be well aware by now that his guests had arrived.


"After the meal I must depart from you, however," he explained as they walked to the dining hall. With another guest on the way & the ball tonight, Laurent would have his hands full running errands & accomplishing whatever tasks Prince Ephraim had in store for him. "But you have the good fortune of having the honorable Lady Lyanna to escort you where you desire." He smiled at his friend as he spoke of her & then performed another flourishing bow before he excused himself.

In the kitchens he encountered Elijah's manservant, Dai, helping Horike prepare food. The man seemed to be genuinely pleased in doing so as well.

"Good morning, Dai," Laurent said. He eyed the hunk of meat that Horike & Dai were skillfully carving away at. "Lovely kill."

Although he & Dai did not particularly see eye to eye, Laurent always tried to keep his manners intact in spite of who he may be conversing with. "The guests from Shahiri are in the dining hall, if you wish to let Prince Elijah know where they are."

Laurent stopped one of the servants that were about to leave the kitchen with tray bearing pitchers of drinks. "If you see Bliss Barnard out there, tell her to stop sticking her nose in other people's business & go tend to the princess Giselle, as she should be." he growled. His good humor tended to falter at the thought of someone ignoring their responsibilities, although that wasn't the only reason her presence had bothered him. He knew by now how much the handmaid enjoyed stirring up gossip & scandal, & considering that Ephraim seemed to want to be tactful about his royal guests, the handmaid's presence should be a cause for concern. "I would have told her myself, but the royalty was present."

Dai

Dai forgot where he was for a second, his mind just faded into what he was doing. It all seemed so natural to him at that moment. Horike was so much like a mother to him, far more than his own ever was. Sure Glynae had some motherly qualities, however the majority of her time was spent on seeking to advance her place in this world. Horike always told him he inherited that from her, his determination and desire to see more of himself. He was caught off guard when Laurent approached them, Dai held nothing but respect for Laurent something he was certain was mutual. He had never been one that made friends easily, Dai was far too concerned on his work effort to care half the time.

“Thank you,” Said spoke at last to Laurent’s comment. “I gathered it this morning.” He smiled softly. “Are the Royals up?” he asked the man.

---

"To be honest, I was wondering that myself." Laurent replied. He had expected at least one Prince to be in attendance when he arrived with their guest. "I've just arrived from Shahiri with Prince Malik Falmari & thus far I have only seen the Lady Lyanna & the princess' handmaid."

He looked at the woman that Dai was helping & took a minute to address her. "Horike, please see to it that a bit of extra effort is put into the food preparation whilst our fine guests are with us." He smiled warmly then, reassuring her. "Not to say that we have ever had a complaint on your cooking, of course. Only that it's important to His Highness that a good impression is made. I trust in your ability to aid in his doing so."

Food was always an important part of dazzling nobles & royals, as far as Laurent's personal experiences in the castle had shown him. Even during his travels abroad the point was made once more. He planned to check in on the kitchens again later...after taking a gander at how the decorators were faring & hopefully after a meeting with Ephraim as well.

He sighed heavily & looked about, as if he were going to find the solution to his problems there in the kitchens. "Who knows where any of them could have gone off to..." He returned his attention to Dai & gave him an inquiring look. "Have you seen Prince Elijah this morn'?"