A visit to Igen

Rihan had spent the better part of the afternoon with Igen's Lord and Lady, visiting with them about details of the wedding date that would arrive before they knew it. They discussed the timing of events and when they would send invitations, carefully drawing up a draft of those who should be invited. And of course, he'd presented them with a formal copy of the documents that would finalize their agreements upon the land that had become Eolyn's dowry, pressing it with his own personal Seal of approval in Lord Qisbon's presence in order to consummate their agreement -for his part. A preferably male child born to himself and Eolyn would be the final Seal -which was Eolyn's part.


When Rihan had arrived earlier in the day, servants had not been told who had come to visit them on dragon back, but were advised that it was a regular meeting for business over frankly dull detail. When They'd eaten lunch and Rihan had a chance to visit with Eolyn's family more freely, over topics that were not business oriented, he decided that he should deliver his gift and letter to Lady Eolyn's chamber before she returned from her outing. He'd already expressed to her family that he was nervous as any newly engaged man, but that his reason for not seeing her on his first visit was because he desired to allow her a proper courting. Whether they thought it romantic or childish, either way, Rihan was set on the idea, and eager to have his fun. It wasn't every day that a man became betrothed and had a chance to fall in love. This was probably the only chance that life would give him.



With the envelope containing his letter and a beautiful box in hand, tied in colourful ribbons that formed a large ornate bow, he had been led by a servant to the Lady's room. Rihan gave a polite rap with one knuckle, just in case Eolyn had returned without notice; but such was not the case. So he went into the room with curious grey eyes capturing every detail of the living space.

Slowly making his way to her bed,..well, there were two beds in the room, so not knowing which was hers, he set the box and the letter upon a night stand that was between them, taking the liberty to clear a few things from it in order to make room since the box was rather large. Continuing to look about her room, he walked its perimeter, admiring the art upon her walls and the things which she had hung, the colour of the curtains she preferred and the style of furniture she filled the room with. Some garments had been left out, so he began to become familiar with her preferences of such, also finding the excess of jewelry that she kept and favoured perfumes set out on a makeup table. He even sampled a scent of the perfume with a spritz of it into the air to see what was to her liking.

Before he turned to leave, he found a wide ribbon of cloth that was discarded in a place that he assumed would mean it belonged to none other than his Fiance (due to deductive reasoning). Taking it up, he brought it close to him, sampling its scent as well. What a gentle fragrance, touched by the perfume and yet distinctive in another way. Rihan respectfully folded the cloth and tucked it under the front of his belt next to where his hand fan had been stored. The young Lord went swiftly to the door, silently motioning the servant who'd accompanied him, and went from the room. A dragonrider would be coming to see him back to Telgar ere long, so he would need to finish up any discussions and say his farewells to Eolyn's family soon.

Following Eolyn into their room a bit belatedly as she'd stopped by the kitchen to snatch a handful of treats before dinner time, Courisse arrived just after Eolyn discovered the gift between their beds.

The girl's eyes were wide with surprise as she went to her cousin's side, placing the sweets beside the large box. "Yes, do open the letter! Is it from that Nerat Holder?"
But even as she peered into Eolyn's grasp where she now opened the envelope, she recognized that the seal was not the same. "Oh! Maybe it is from your betrothed!"

With a giddy giggle, she leaned nearer to her Lady, eager to read what he'd confided in her. ...At length, her eyes were wide again, a dainty hand uplifting to settle upon her chest where she finished reading with bated breath. "Oh, my dear Cous,..." Her voice trailed, and then reached a high note in exclamation, "He was here?! Earlier, that was Him!? Ohh!" And Courisse jumped back a step, hands cupping her mouth in astonishment as she made another connection of events. "He was in our room!"

Courisse fumed, biting back the severe words and complaints that she wanted to utter, but didn't feel as though it was her place, especially when it was really all up to her Lady to decide how to treat the situation. She would wait to hear her cousin out.



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The blue wax of Rihan's seal was removed to reveal one of the most personal letters he'd probably ever written. What Eolyn didn't know was that he'd spent many hours pouring over the things that he would write to her. There were so many feelings that he could express; so many thoughts that he wanted to share. Pages upon pages he could have added to the envelope, wondering aloud to her all of the things of his heart. But that is not what she would find there. A deliberate and practiced hand scrolled in artful form the letters which spelled out his longing.


"To the Eolyn of my heart,

Falling leaves begin to pile up on the ground as autumn's turn has come.
I feel as though we are sitting side by side, gazing at them.
If I stretch out my hand, can I reach you?
This distance between us is frustrating.
Each time I think of you, what is this stir
that I feel in my chest?

Looking down, I swallow the words
that I imagine I could be speaking to you,
wishing I could say how I feel.
Ever since the day that I knew we were to be wed,
why is it that the more I try to look away
the more you become the only thing that I see?

If things go on like this it feels as though I will always be alone.
So, I imagine you smile gently at someone like me,
over and over again.
The time and the scenery, everything else
are all constantly in motion.
But I want to be still and keep looking at you.

I will put all of these feelings onto the falling leaves,
so that they can be flown to you across the distance.
I want so badly to tell you,
so let the first leaves of Igen's autumn
bring these words of mine to your ear,

'Smile upon me gently,
so that the world is filled with your light,
and so that your smile never fades,
let me stay by your side to love you more
with every passing season.'

And when you miss me, between now and when we meet,
just hold out your hand as I hold out my own,
and catch the leaves of autumn,
pouring out to you all of these feelings that I hold.



The gift I give to you today, I delivered in person. This is my engagement gift to you. I would be humbled if the radiant Eolyn would grace me with her presence, wearing it to the upcoming gather. With you at the center of the occasion, I will not miss being there.

Please accept this gift, and please accept Me most favourably.



Rihan of Telgar"

Courisse's lower lip puckered into a bit of a pout, giving a consternated furrow of her brows when Eolyn was decidedly... not...so upset over his having visited Igen and not even taken the opportunity to meet her in person!

"Well..." She trailed off , wanting to continue her fuming over the situation, but her cousin's happiness over the whole situation defused most of the disappointment. And when Eolyn seemed to have figured out her betrothed's designs, she couldn't disagree, so simply shrugged, wondering aloud to her Lady, "Do you really think so? I suppose it could be." Whatever the case, she didn't want to ruin the happy moment for her cousin.

"You should open the gift straight away!" And as Eolyn brought to box to the bed, she climbed up onto the bed to sit next to where she'd set the package, chewing her bottom lip with anticipation.


======================================================================================

As Eolyn's hands removed the bows and lid, setting them aside, a number of smaller boxes were placed within, nestled atop a pale blue cloth -which happened to be the dress he'd sent her, folded beneath them.


Within the widest of these smaller packages would be found a waist-cinch-er to be worn on the outside of the dress that was crafted of some metallic alloy and painted in gold leaf. Across its front was lined by row after row of fine golden chains that seemed nigh as thin as thread, each one suspended a number of beautifully cut gemstones of Aquamarine, Tanzenite, Azurite and Sapphire, creating a dappling of all the shades of blue across the midsection.

The smallest of the boxes was obviously one for jewelry, and when opened, revealed a necklace of similar glory, becoming a splendorous array of small blue gemstones to drape about her collar with matching earrings.

The medium box contained within it a beautiful hair comb adorned by the same multitude of blue gemstones.


Once these things had been appreciated, one could only hope that the dress itself would hold to the same standards as the accessories he'd sent to go with it. As Eolyn picked the dress up from out of its box, it was much softer to the touch than the previous gown she'd been gifted.


The dress was slenderizing in design, with a neckline that was broad enough to show a little shoulder but came to a close, crossing at a diagonal over the breast where only a modest hint of cleavage would have been left to show. The sleeves were fitted, just as was the midsection of the garment, of course, calling for the use of the waist-cinch about the middle. From the hips, the gown became fuller, offering the liquid drape of Pern's most sumptuous swags of silken fabric, trailing the floor just barely in the back.


The pale blue of the dress as viewed from the top, as it unfolded in her hands, was deceiving. The pure azure that surrounded the shoulders of the garment faded into gradually deeper shades that gave way to seductive midnight hue that would curl about her feet like the embrace of night. The creamy fabric that would have laid against her skin was covered in a light, diaphanous layer that did not deflect from the stunning weave of blues that it overlay; rather, the sheer, mesh-like fabric appeared as the glitter of golden stars set against a sky of day and night, and upon closer inspection, the glitter of those stars was truly golden. Minuscule pieces of real gold had been painstakingly hammered into the soft fabric (similar to Egypian Assuit), creating an array of golden constellations about the entirety of the gown.


A final gift wrapped box had been situated at the bottom of the package, and when Eolyn would catch her breath long enough to open it as well, a pair of satin slippers in midnight blue would be found for her to wear, too.

The young woman’s eyes went wide and her jaw dropped a little. Quickly covering her open mouth with a delicate hand, she didn’t dare touch the waist cincher when she first saw it. It was unique and beautiful. She touched it then, running her fingers over the metal to feel the texture. Passing the box that held the waist cincher to Courisse, she moved on to look at the next box. T

he smallest of them held a necklace of incredible craftsmanship and beauty. The comb and earrings which accompanied the necklace were of equal quality. In fact everything the young Lord had sent her was better than she had dared imagine. Eolyn set the necklace next to the cincher and then took her time looking over blue gown inside.

“Oh. It’s perfect!” She said, taking the gown all the way out of the box to look at the shape as well as the flow of the dress. As she admires every detail of the gown she knew there was no contest between this and the previous gift. This one was much more thought out. Her betrothed had wonderful taste and had spent a small fortune on this for sure.

As she looked at it, the gold in the fabric appeared more and more to her. Stars caught in an evening sky was really what the gown represented to her, the idea of stars in the sky made into a dress was something to consider. Had her betrothed thought about the coloring on purpose.

“Hope you like red, fair cousin.” She said with a giddiness she could not contain. “I must wear this to the Gather.” Nothing could compare really. Her future husband had thought of everything. As she set the dress next to the other items, she caught a glimpse of the other box. Inside were two slippers to go with the dress. She was feeling a little overwhelmed by it all. Eolyn was used to gifts from her parents however this was entirely different. There were bigger emotions and promises attached to these.

“I think I ought to…” She was caught off by her own brain sending her unconsciously onto the floor. Luckily her head didn’t hit anything on the way down.

The Lady Courisse's reaction was of equal awe. Marveling over the waist cincher as it was passed to her, it took a long moment for her to swallow the astonishment she felt. It was absolutely breathtaking, the magnificence of it all. There were no words to describe her ...relative shock.

Small hands dared to touch the delicate ornamentation of the wide belt, but her jaw dropped again when she saw the dress. Sliding the box with the waist cincher off to the side, on the bed, she stood to touch the dress, fingertips grazing across the cold metal where the gold had been laid into the fabric.


“Hope you like red, fair cousin...I must wear this to the Gather.”

Smiling at that, she laughed too, "Are you sure about that? I'm really liking blue right about now. Ahh..but this is going to look terrific on you! Oh! Everyone will marvel! We'll have to be so careful with it for it never to be ruined."

The girl's smile faded with worry as her cousin's words trailed, then seeing Eolyn collapse to the floor, her words struck a high note in a squeal. "Ooh! Cousin!"

Not sure what to do right away, Courisse went to her knees, one hand moving to cradle Eolyn's head and the other to pat on her cheek to try and wake her. She was absolutely frantic! "Oh! Eolyn! My Lady! Oh! Someone! Someone help!" There had to be a servant or someone around within earshot that could assist her! "Lady Eolyn!"

The nearest drudges sent for the Healers who were quick to come to the young Lady’s aide. However there was little they really could do. They placed her on her bed and put smelling salts under her nose. Eventually Eolyn came to, eyes wide. She had never been the fainting sort until now and she was completely embarrassed. The healers said it would be best if she rested for the rest of the day. She didn’t feel tired though, she insisted. Her mother had put her foot down so she had no choice but to remain bed-ridden for the remainder of the day. When the room cleared out again, she addressed her cousin, “I was just so excited and I think overwhelmed.” She figured Courisse would understand.

“He really likes me. Don’t you think?” The question was rhetorical in a way because there would be no changing her mind as she had set it to believe that he did like her. She reached for the letter from her night table and read it again. “Oh I can’t wait for the Gather!”

(End Thread)