[CRP] An Act of Defiance

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Thea
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Joined: Sun May 17, 2020 1:25 pm

Re: [CRP] An Act of Defiance

Post by Thea »

Everything about the city was different: the architecture, the street fashion, and even the way the people talked. The girl in the back of the wagon heard the boy stir beside her as she looked out at the surrounding city. She turned to face her companion as the wagon came to a stop. At the front of the wagon the owner disembark and go inside one of the local tavern inns. It was odd that he would leave the two teenagers unattended, but maybe he had forgotten they were stowed away in the back. Thea turned back to the boy who whispered rather nervously to her. She grabbed his hand and led him out of the wagon before answering.

"My name is Thea, Thea Winterbourne, and my plan is to get as far from Fenia as I possibly can. The King thinks he owns me. He does not let me do anything on my own. He will not let me have any freedom. I need to get away, far away. I need..."

Her voice trailed off as the pair walked stealthily away from the wagon. She tried to think about how she could possibly manage to get out of this without being recaptured. Zuan treated her like a piece of property. In his mind, she was his to keep in the castle and order around however he liked. The solution would mean that she would have to sever any sort of claim he had over her.

"I know what we need to do. We need to get married. If we are married then I am yours and not his. Even if he finds us he can not take me back."

The girl and the boy had gotten some distance from the wagon now. Thea stopped and looked up at the boy to gauge his reaction to her plan. The idea was certifiably insane but it was her only chance. Marriage meant that she belonged to another and the King could no longer hold her as his prisoner in the castle.
Dorathea "Thea" Sanchari Winterbourne | Lady of Redcroft Manor | The Red Wolf
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Cousin of the Winterbournes | Mother of Zevander, Corabel, Elodie, & Lenora | Wife of Aileigh
Adam

Re: [CRP] An Act of Defiance

Post by Adam »

He looked slightly confused as she spoke. Get away from Fenia? Away from the King? Surely that was no easy task, especially for a peasant boy and a noble girl who clearly had little idea of the realities of the world. Well in truth neither of them did. After all, he had gone along with it up to this point, and here they were. In a foreign city, away from the security of his home and his family and now firmly at a loss given he could now be accused of stealing away a noble girl from her home – least that’s how the nobles would see it.

Then she said it ‘We need to get married’. He stopped still for a moment as she continued to walk, however realising he couldn’t stay still, he quickly caught back up to her. Trying to process the idea in his head. Married? Him? To her? They had barely known eachother for even a day and here was her grand idea. Clearly this was more about her escaping her roots than her enjoyment of his company. Even he wasn’t that foolish.

However. She was a noble. She was a Winterbourne, and if they were married, willingly and openly then no one could say a word against it. Not her family, not her King. It was as foolish an idea as any other the pair had already gone with, so why not go with this one too? If they were caught, but married, he might face less of a punishment, than if caught unmarried. Being accused of defiling a noble girl would likely see his head on a block. If they got married infront of a priest he could claim it was a consensual relationship…

”Alright then.” He said softly, almost in a whisper. ”Just how do we go about that then? Do we not need a priest?” Yet again the boys lack of knowledge was clear, agreeing to an idea he had no idea on how to execute. However it was another step down a path he could not return from, even he knew that now. It would be clear now in Fenia City that it was he the girl had run off with, he could not just slip back to Fenia. This was the bed he made for himself, why not at least lay in it with another?
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Thea
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Re: [CRP] An Act of Defiance

Post by Thea »

Thea had decided that marriage was the solution to her problem. Now she faced the problem of how to execute this new plan. Adam seemed to have reached that conclusion before her as he was now asking how exactly they were going to go about getting married.

"We will need rings and a priest. I think that is it. Right?"

She looked to the boy for confirmation but he was clearly as clueless as she was. Shaking her head to herself, the girl continued to lead the way through the city.

"Right. There should be a market around here somewhere. Maybe this way."

Thea led them down another side street. She was steadily zigzagging them through the town.

"There!"

She exclaimed a bit louder than she had intended. Just ahead she could see an open market square with various stalls and merchants filling the plaza. They both sped up their pace to reach the market. Once there, Thea looked around at the various stalls until she found one that appeared to be a jeweler's booth.

"Excuse me, sir."

Thea addressed the shop owner boldly and with her usual confidence. Assurance in herself meant that others were more likely to take her seriously. This also meant they were less likely to see her as a scared teenage runaway which was actually the case. The man behind the counter looked up from his work to address the couple.

"Yes? How can I help you?"

"Hello. I would like to purchase two silver rings, please. One for me and one for him."


The Winterbourne girl gestured to her companion and then held out her own hand so that the jeweler could see what size was needed for her finger. The artisan looked at her hand then looked at the boy's hand before selecting two rings for them from his stock.

"You do not want it set with any jewels? Or engraved?"

She shook her head no to the man and took out her coin purse.

"No, thank you. How much will it cost?"

"I can sell both rings to you for fifty freznics."

"Deal."


Thea selected the appropriate amount of coins from the small bag and placed them on the counter. Clink. Clink. Clink. The shop owner carefully counted the coins into his hand before setting the two rings on the counter. She snatched up the rings quickly and grabbed Adam's hand with her free one. When she was out of earshot she spoke to Adam again.

"Did you see any churches on our way over here?"
Dorathea "Thea" Sanchari Winterbourne | Lady of Redcroft Manor | The Red Wolf
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Cousin of the Winterbournes | Mother of Zevander, Corabel, Elodie, & Lenora | Wife of Aileigh
Adam

Re: [CRP] An Act of Defiance

Post by Adam »

This was already going faster than expected as he watched her dart her way skilfully through the various streets and roads which made up the town. He was still not entirely sure where they were exactly. Again, he was a son of a salesman, not a noble child who had been taught the different regions and kingdoms of the wider realm. He roughly knew the location of the main Fenian cities and after that it just blurred into ‘foreign’. However he managed to keep an eye on her and follow her through the streets, as well as keep his composure as she went to the merchant. He decided to hang back for this however. Reason being that they did not ‘fit’.

She was a well-dressed noble girl, even if she was perhaps slightly showing the dishevelled nature of travelling in a horse and cart, while he was clearly a poor young lad of no status. For them to be seen together would not work, he couldn’t even pass as a servant with the scruffy attire he was wearing. And so waiting in the wings for her to return, he instead gazed around his surroundings. Accents, languages and clothing which was all so different to his own, and of his own experiences. It was strange to be so far away from home, yet he managed to keep his composure as she finally returned to him.

Her question was an obvious one, albeit not one he rightly had an answer too. Did churches look similar here to how they did in Fenia? And what sort of church would they seek. He knew in Fenia there was the cathedral, but there were also smaller, more minor temples which enabled worship, especially for those of lower disposition and status. Perhaps that would be better than seeking out a priest at a large temple? And so he gazed around until his eyes settled upon a small building off the main street. It looked fairly run down, but he could recognise a few wooden carvings of the mages outside and upon the doors. And so he pointed. ”Perhaps there? It reminds me of one of the small worship halls on Fenia City. It would be less likely to draw others attention, and more likely to have a willing priest than one of the larger temples.” He said as factually as he could sound, given he was more than certainly assuming the second part – he had no way of knowing if the priest would be willing or not. In a small temple or a large one. They simply had to hope that whomever they asked would be kind enough to listen to their request.
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Thea
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Re: [CRP] An Act of Defiance

Post by Thea »

Adam did not immediately have an answer to her question. Thea watched as his eyes began to scan the surrounding buildings in search of a church. Following his lead she did the same since two pairs of eyes were better than one. He spotted a church first. It did not look like any church that she was used to, not that she regularly frequented houses of worship, but he was right that it appeared to be what they were looking for. He also rightly pointed out that it was less likely they would be noticed there.

"Yes, that might work. Come on."

She grabbed his hand again, the action was becoming natural to her even though they had only known each other for a short period of time. The Winterbourne girl walked a step ahead of him with quick strides. It was better if they got off the open street quickly. She hoped that it would be open as they really could not afford to go running around the city searching for another church. Thankfully, when she pushed on the door it opened without any hindrance, though it did creak loudly on its hinges. Though the open door they entered a small room with a handful of pews facing an altar at the far side away from the entrance. The room was dark and dingy, lit only by a few candles and the small windows above the altar, but it was clear that no one was here. Off to the right there was another door that was closed. Maybe this was an office or a rectory and they would find the priest there. Thea released Adam's hand now and moved past the the pews over to the door. From underneath the door she could see there was light coming from the room. Someone must be in there. She balled up her hand and knocked on the door a few times and then waited. The girl thought she heard a loud sigh from behind the door followed by the sound of feet shuffling on a wooden floor. A minute later the door was thrown open to reveal a stout old man standing before her.

"How can I help you child?"

Thea sniffed at the implication that she was a child. It did not occur to her that this was something normal that priests said to refer to parishioners.

"I am not a child. I am seeking a priest."

She spoke in a tone that was not unlike how a bad-tempered teenager would speak to her parents when she was mad at them. This did not really help make her point with the priest. The older man moved past her in the doorway as he explained simply.

"I did not mean child in the literal sense, though you do appear to be quite young. We are all children of realm of Secfenia, regardless of our own individual religious ideologies."

The man walked to the front altar before turning to face her again. Thea moved towards him as he asked again.

"So, how can I help you child?"

This time she did not protest. She reached the man at the front of the church.

"We are looking for a priest that can marry us. Today."

"We?"


The portly man then turned his eyes towards the back of the church where Adam still stood by the door. He noted that the boy was about the same age as the girl who had to this point done all the speak. His dark eyes moved back to the girl and then to her flat abdomen. There was no indication of the girl being with child but she might not be showing yet. It was not uncommon for teenagers to seek a quick solution when they found themselves in an unfortunate situation such as unwanted pregnancy. He had seen it before and he was not going to deny them in their hour of need. The priest nodded his head and beckoned the boy to the front.

"You two are both certain that this is what you want to do?"

"Yes."


Thea answered with a nod of her head before looking towards Adam. This was it. His last chance to back out. She stood waiting with bated breath for him to answer. If he changed his mind she was not sure what she would do or how she would get away from Zuan's grasp.
Dorathea "Thea" Sanchari Winterbourne | Lady of Redcroft Manor | The Red Wolf
Image
Cousin of the Winterbournes | Mother of Zevander, Corabel, Elodie, & Lenora | Wife of Aileigh
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