[ORP] Firestorm Manor

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Nikola
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Re: [ORP] Firestorm Manor

Post by Nikola »

Lunch was lovely, as always, and Ben had hurried out to the stables after eating his fill and prepared Starr for her afternoon ride. The dogs were excited as always, ready to accompany their mistress and sniff out the squirrels and rabbits along the way. "Thank you, Ben," she said as he handed her the reigns. She knew he had everything set but had double checked the tack anyway as was her habit to ensure all was as it should be. "You've done an excellent job as always," she praised him was rewarded with a happy grin and a nod of his head. "I won't be too long, but if I'm not back by dark, come looking for me, will you?" He agreed and waved her off and she urged Starr forward to the delight of the dogs. Aiden, her collie, tried herding all three for a time before giving up and just enjoying the run along with her two retrievers, Donovan and Orla. Starr even seemed happy to be out for a bit and Nikola urged her into a trot until they were away from the manor and onto the main road that ran along the front edge of her estate property line. Once on the road turned Starr toward Carashire and let her find her own pace which for now was an easy canter as the road was well maintained and Starr was apparently wanting the exercise.

She had yet to make an official visit to her Viscounty, but she did enjoy the ride between Firestorm Manor and there. It was a lovely day, warm but not too hot, sunny but with a few wispy clouds to provide the occasional cover from the sun. She wore a split riding skirt in brown with brown leather boots and a soft blue, long-sleeved blouse. The garment would protect her from the direct rays of the sun whilst being light enough to keep her from getting too warm, particularly with the breeze stirred by Starr's passage upon the road. A straw hat was on her head to further protect her from the sun's rays, secured with a yellow ribbon tied beneath her chin. She wore soft deerskin leather riding gloves to protect her hands and carried a simple swimming shift in her pack to change into should she decide to cool down in the lake or river. Cook had packed her a basket for her dinner should she be out late and so she was set to enjoy the afternoon jaunt with her four-legged friends.
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Ella
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Re: [ORP] Firestorm Manor

Post by Ella »

Eat. Sleep. Work. Repeat. That seemed to be all Ella did these days. Eat. Sleep. Work. Repeat. Day after day. She was growing tired of it. Her 'adoptive' family seemed to have dissipated over the last six months. Things went further downhill with the disappearance of the netherbeast. Once in a while, she would see Varann, but those meeting had become fewer and far between. Were they still her family? Ella honestly didn't know. Her mind might have quickly tricked itself into thinking she did not have any family, aside from her daughter Rosalie and her cousin Zehara. But the ache that she could feel in her chest quickly told her this was a lie. She missed them, most of all she missed Joanna and Meraxes. Ella sighed to herself. She needed to stop dwelling before it consumed her. It could be so easy to just let the sadness consume her. Ella was often chaotic and emotional. She felt everything so strongly and it was easy to let her emotions swallow her up. Her eyes were a dark brown, leaning towards black or grey as she sat at her desk in her study. Soft brown was the 'neutral' color, but they shifted colors depending on her mood — an unfortunate trait she gained from her mother. She could never truly hide her mood even if she tried.

As if a sudden spark jolted through her, Ella shoved the papers to the side of her desk and pushed herself to her feet. She would go for a walk; she needed to stretch her legs. She did not wear proper attire for such a venture, but Ella gave little care to this. Her thin black dress swished loosely with each step as she exited her office and found her way outside of Westhollow Manor. Her dark hair fell in loose curls, framing her pale face in defiant juxtaposition. Her leather sandals were tied securely to her feet, so at least she was not walking around barefoot, though that would not be entirely uncommon for her. Ella began to walk along the edge of the road though she was not walking anywhere in particular. She was just moving, moving as if it would suddenly give her some sort of purpose.
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Nikola
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Re: [ORP] Firestorm Manor

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The small party, mostly of the four-legged variety, skirted the edge of the lake until the road turned south toward Carashire. At this point she let Starr have her head and was pleased to see that the mare wanted to run. The dogs barked their pleasure and matched their pace with that of the horse for the first few hundred yards, but then they began to lag behind and so she pulled Starr back into a trot to let her canine companions catch up. They did catch up, tongues lolling happily as they padded alongside. It was always nice to be out of doors and with her creatures. She did not have much family left to her and though she knew many of the creatures in Secfenia there were few she felt she could truly call friend.

John was one of that small group. TK was another. Nocturne had been yet another, but he had retreated into the Netherworld now. She thought she might enjoy female companionship as she had truly enjoyed having Faranni live with her that winter. That reminded her of Quixote and she smiled broadly thinking of her Knight Errant and wondering where he was now.

Part of her melancholy, she decided, was being in one place for so long, not having her family close at hand or any real friends to pass the time with. Perhaps she should plan a trip. Whether the King would allow such an adventure or not was anyone’s guess, but he had allowed her to travel briefly to Bravia, so perhaps he might consider it. There were still a number of places she wanted to visit, and the thought of getting back out on the road again filled her with a deep sense of longing.

She was still deep in thought contemplating these things when Starr’s ears flicked forward just before the dogs perked up in interest. She looked ahead down the road and saw a black figure gliding along the road. At first she did not recognize the creature, but as they drew closer she realized it was Ella. Ella’s barony was in Nikola’s Viscounty of Carashire and she had often thought of visiting the former mayor to get to know her outside of their respective offices, but her duties kept her tied to the castle more often than not.

As they drew near, she pulled Starr to a halt and called the dogs to heel. She did not want to frighten the young witch or give her any reason to barbeque the dogs. They could be boisterous and a bit of a handful which could be overwhelming to someone who was not comfortable with dogs. She did not know whether Ella liked dogs, she thought perhaps she did, but she was not sure, so thought it best to hold them back for the moment.


“Ella!” she called out in greeting. “I did not expect to see you out here, particularly alone on the road.”
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Ella
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Re: [ORP] Firestorm Manor

Post by Ella »

Ella heard the sound of the horse and the dogs before she saw them. Her dark eyes moved up from the road to see who or what it was, probably just a local merchant. She squinted ahead in an attempt to distinguish the figure on horseback in the bright light of the day. Nearer and nearer the figure drew, Ella could finally distinguish her as Nikola. The lady had always been kind to her and they had worked well together when she was mayor. Her lips twitched into the vaguest form of a smile as Nikola greeted her.

"I decided to go for a walk," Ella said as she waved her hand faintly to her surroundings. "I was tired of being still."
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Nikola
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Re: [ORP] Firestorm Manor

Post by Nikola »

Nikola certainly understood that sentiment. "Do you mind if I join you?" she asked, reining Starr to a halt and dismounting so that the two women could speak face to face instead of making Ella look up at her. "I feel much the same way myself," she offered, wondering whether the young witch would mind conversation. "I get stir crazy every now and again just sitting in that castle day after day looking at ledgers and inventories. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy my job most days, but I miss traveling. So I have to strike out on my own with my creatures," she smiled and nodded toward the dogs who were off sniffing out some small animal or other. "I just wish, sometimes, that I could leave Fenia and see the wilds of Secfenia again. I never did get to finish my travels before moving here and have not been able to leave since except very briefly a few months ago." She smiled at the girl. even if she did not seem particularly happy to have company. She supposed she could remount and continue on the road, but she was happy enough to spend some time in the company of the other girl, if Ella was up to it.
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Ella
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Re: [ORP] Firestorm Manor

Post by Ella »

"Certainly," Ella replied to Nikola's request. The blonde woman dismounted her horse and the ladies began to walk in step together. Ella's eyes remained fixed on the road as they walked except for the occasional glance upwards to Nikola as she spoke. Travel. Ella had never really traveled outside of Fenia once she had settled in these lands. Even before she was mayor and then councilor, she had not wandered outside the bounds of the Kingdom of Fenia.

"Since coming to Fenia a year and a half ago, I have not left the Kingdom. Not once. I do not know what is beyond here except for what others tell me." She looked up again at Nikola. Her eyes appeared stormy, swirls of grey, black, white. Ella was depressed. There were no other words for it. She felt lost and alone. But now she had an idea.

"We should go. Travel. You wish to be in the wilderness again. And me...well...I just need to do something."
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Nikola
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Re: [ORP] Firestorm Manor

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Nikola glanced over at her companion, surprised by her sudden interest. But it made her consider and after a moment she nodded. “Aye, we should definitely go. We will both need to gain permission from the King to be relieved of our posts, and there are a number of preparations that will need to be made, but…” She paused, a grin lighting her face at the thought of being free of responsibility if only for a time. “…I like the idea.”

She began to consider all that would need to be done before they could leave, as was her way. Mentally she began planning all the items to prepare in her workshop to make sure everyone had enough food for the journey. The first thing would be to convince the King to let them go, of course, and while she was not fully confident that he would, she had high hopes. He had let her visit Bravia briefly during that election, and she had returned to her duties as promised so perhaps he would allow a longer journey this time.

“I think we should invite TK and John to go with us. There is strength in numbers, and I know John loves to travel. TK enjoyed the short trip we took to Bravia, and I’ve been wanting to get away with him for some time now. Would you mind if I invited them to join us? Oh, this could be so much fun!” she exclaimed. Starr snorted and shook her mane behind her and when Nikola looked up at the mare she had to laugh. “I think even Starr is ready for a trip. What do you think?”
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Texas_Knight
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Re: [ORP] Firestorm Manor

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TK was working in the butchery as the summer went on and on. Between his duties at the castle and his duties with the army, and his duties with his own shops and fields he'd had little time for anything, or anyone else. He'd scarcely seen his love over the last few months and he'd become ... grumpy... for lack of a better word. It was known to all those that were around him. From the workers in his lands to the creatures he had to interact with on a daily basis. He'd decided he'd had enough. He spoke with the King Zuan and had gotten permission to leave the army so he could refrain from killing anyone out of boredom. He'd gotten his lands in order and had given orders to Ethan and the rest of his staff. Everyone had done what needed to be done. Oblivion was readied, his gear was loaded, his estate was in order. Everything was done and decided.... except where he would go.

"I'll figure that out along the way" he told Ethan "but I think north sounds like a good idea right now." He stopped just short of the entryway to his lands and gave final instructions to the guards at the gate. "If Lady Nikola should come seeking me or my company, tell her that I've gone north for a little walk in the woods." The guards nodded "If anyone else should come by, except for King Zuan himself, deny them access to the lands without escorting them. I'd hate for them to be killed by some creature on the way to the castle." The guards knew what this meant and nodded once again. TK knew that if the king came by, he'd have his own guards and protectors, but he also knew the guards would absolutely escort his party to the castle. Not out of fear for the king's safety, but out of respect and duty.

TK turned towards the gate and was on the road. He felt suddenly like a weight had been lifted from his shoulder, like care had been set free. Like life itself was fresh. He smiled as the wind touched his face and chest. He lit his pipe and dismounted. He decided he'd walk a while and enjoy the ground on his toes.


*Double posted here and in Barony of Wyvernston
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Ella
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Re: [ORP] Firestorm Manor

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"I'm sure he should not object," Ella remarked as Nikola said they would need to get permission to leave from the King. "But surely he will need time to find people to cover our jobs. Perhaps I shall see if my cousin Zehara can do it. She could use something to keep her out of trouble."

The dark-haired figured paused momentarily to contemplate this. What was the worst that could happen? Ze's powers were limited in this realm anyway. She was often telling Ella she needed to teach her magick. Perhaps that is what she would offer Zehara ― do this, and I will teach you some witch's magick. Ze had the blood in her after all, even if it was only a small fraction of her. She could probably learn. At least Ella could try.

Back to the present moment. She was walking with Nikola, they were making plans for their trip. She nodded in agreement to Nikki suggesting they could bring TK and John with them. Ella saw no harm in this. If they wanted to stretch their legs too, so be it.
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Nikola
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Re: [ORP] Firestorm Manor

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Nikola listened as the young witch suggested getting her cousin to replace her in Council. Nikola was not really close to anyone in Secfenia other than John and now TK, and since she planned to invite both of them on the trip, there was really no one she could suggest as her replacement. But she was certain the King would have someone in mind. He was quite capable, after all.

After they talked over their plans, the two women parted ways, Ella finishing her walk and Nikola remounting Starr and turning back to Firestorm Manor. There was much to do to prepare for such a journey, the first of which would be to invite her lover and her best friend to join them and the second of which would be to notify the King of their desire to be released from their posts for a time.

She took her time, enjoying the chance to be out with her creatures in the fresh summer air and taking pleasure at the thought of spending a lot more time in the near future out of doors with her friends. She included Ella in that grouping, even though they were not close. Perhaps that might change during this trip, but whether it did or not she was determined to enjoy a little taste of freedom for as long as she was able. Just the idea of freedom filled her with joy and anticipation such that she considered riding for Wyvernston rather than Firestorm Manor to invite the Baron in person. A glance at the sun and she decided there was enough daylight to make it to Wyvernston before darkness fell and she could always send word to her estate that she was safe within the Baron’s keep.

As she passed her estates and drew closer to the town of Fenia, she noted a horse up ahead. Something about the way the horse followed its master seemed familiar and she felt her heart skip a beat as she recognized the figure of the Baron. She urged Starr forward into a gallop to close the distance between then, the dogs happily sprinting along beside them. As they approached the figure, she waved and slowed Starr to a cantor, then a trot and finally a walk, stopping only when she reached his side. She quickly dismounted and threw her arms around him, kissing him soundly in greeting.


“TK! I was just coming to see you,” she told him breathlessly. “I have an idea that I hope you will like. Ella and I just had a chance meeting and we have decided we need a break from the drudgery of our offices. We are going to request that the King allow us to journey into the wilds for a time. We both have quests that need to be completed, and I really need a break away from Fenia. Will you come with us? Please say you will!” Her face was flushed from the ride as well as from the excitement of the idea of getting away for a time. She had barely given him a chance to even greet her, but she had not wanted to wait to tell him of their plans.
Last edited by Nikola on Sun Aug 04, 2019 6:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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