[ORP] Chateau de Xaviera - The home of Haley and Shane

[ShaneLancaster]

The man introduced himself as Renaldo and gave a slightly wimpy handshake in Shane’s opinion but his smile seemed genuine and reached his eyes as he gave the usual greeting speech he probably had rehearsed a dozen of times in front of the mirror. Shane smiled politely and waited for him to get it over with while he glanced at the front of the house.

Maybe house wasn’t the correct word; it was more of a mansion or small estate. Shane quickly explained why Haley would be arriving later and Renaldo nodded waving his arm towards the house and asked him to follow him for the grand tour. The paper work would have to wait until Haley arrived but he had another client later and pressed to finish in time. Shane nodded and followed through the impressive wooden front door and in to the hall.

Pointing here and there Renaldo blabbered on about architectural details and the historic peculiars of the house that most didn’t care for anyway as he continued on to the left in to the dining room

and from there in to the kitchen.

Shane walked along with his jaw dropped to his chest most of the time in awe of what would soon be Haley and his home. From the kitchen they continued to the private living room

Renaldo kept an ongoing stream of words pouring from his mouth to which Shane barely payed any attention. They continued to walk through the guest living room

and from there directly on to the winter garden.

Arriving back in the hall the tour was completed upstairs where the master bedroom

and all the other rooms were placed in case they would have visitors staying overnight. Clearly Renaldo was getting impatient not wanting to be late to his next appointment and they quickly agreed on scheduling sometime next week for the final processing of the paper work. Haley would have to be present of course but the house was ready for them to take over if they wished to do so. Upon accepting the key Shane smiled as Renaldo took off and headed back inside.

[ShaneLancaster]

With his head leaned back on to the wall behind him and his eyes closed Shane took some time contemplating on how his life was evolving while he waited for Haley to arrive. Things seemed to go by at a blinding speed at the moment but for some reason it didn’t scare him like it used to. In his still fairly young life he had experienced a lot. Bitter experience and being on the road alone most of his adult life had taught him to never let anyone come too close yet she had broken through his barricades. She had managed to get close enough to open his heart and to show him that love was possible even for him. At first it had been terrifying but as he spent more and more time with her she put his worries at ease one by one. He was ready to settle down. Find a home and stop traveling.

He opened his eyes and looked up at the blue sky through the glass roof. This was already becoming his favorite room in the house. The winter garden made it possible to be somewhat surrounded by nature without really being outside. The wind made the flowers outside the window sway softly and it reminded him of how her hair used to sway back and forth when she walked. It caused a smile to appear on his face. It was small things like that convinced him that she was the one.

The happy smile lingered on his lips as he sipped the ale he had snatched from Idunno the last time he was in the tavern which reminded him that he needed to go pay the tab later that day. He sighed wondering what kept Haley. She was several hours late now and he started to worry.

[Haley_Rose]

While cleaning up the room at the Inn, the Inn's keeper had knocked on the door. She wasn't expecting anyone so she quickly dropped what she was doing and answered the door to find the clerk from the front desk. Hello is there something wrong, I don't think we were making too much noise. No of course not Ma'am. A courier has arrived with this letter for you, you are Haley Rose, am I correct? Haley curiously looked at the man, "Of course I am" Well here you are mi'lady. The clerk handed her the letter and went down the hallway to go downstairs.

She closed the door and opened the letter to read it:

	Dear Haley Rose Blackhawk: I hope this letter finds you well. My name is Renaldo and I am the real estate broker for Fenia VR. Your parents when you were just a little babe had me keep a property for you when you came of age. Please meet me at the following address that is listed on the back of my card that is enclosed. You have been well taken care of and hope you like the house. Sincerely, Renaldo

She looked at the card and turned it over to see the address. "Well I guess I better hurry straightening up in here. Boy bachelors definitely can be messy." She gathers up the clothes and puts them aside. Grabbing her jacket she leaves the room and locks it.

She got on her horse and rode to the address Renaldo had given her and tied her to the post. It was the most beautiful piece of property she had ever seen and the house was magnificent. She couldn't imagine that it was hers. She loved her little house in Kiene but this was breathtaking.

She walked up to the door and knocked.

[ShaneLancaster]

A knock on the door made him jump slightly and ripped him out of his trail of thoughts. He was wondering who it could be since no one had lived there for a long time. It had been renovated recently and furnished just this past week but Haley and himself would be the first occupants in several years.

As he opened the door he was surprised to see Haley waiting outside. He tilted his head looking curiously at her and smiled. “What are you doing?” He stepped aside to let her pass him and closed the door behind them. “Why are you knocking on your own door? And where have you been? I’d thought you would be here hours ago?” He sighed and hugged her tightly. He really had been worried.

He held out his hand towards the adjacent rooms. “So what do you think so far? Do you want me to show you around?”

[Haley_Rose]

Smiling when she saw Shane, she gave him a hug. Well this is funny you being here. Showing him the letter from Renaldo, I received this letter from this Real Estate man to meet him here. Actually I'm late because I was waiting for you at the Inn and you didn't show so I started cleaning up when the clerk at the front desk gave me this letter so I figured I better head over here. I didn't know you would be here. I was expecting Renaldo to answer the door.

Of course I would knock, I don't have a key yet. She walked past him wondering how he knew of the house before her.

The house is beautiful. Yes I'm guessing I missed Renaldo. Please show me around.

[ShaneLancaster]

He laughs a little and wondered what went wrong in the line of communication. He frowned a little and nodded as he listened to her speak. “I’m not sure what went wrong but the clerk came to my room this morning looking for you. That Renaldo guy was waiting downstairs so I went down to talk to him. He told me about all of this and said he had arranged a meeting later today. He asked me to meet you both here. I guess he figured I was family or something. I don’t know. I’m sorry for the confusion.” He held out the key letting it dangle from his hand in front of her. “Here is the key to your new home my love”

He nodded and started the tour from the Hall they were standing in ending upstairs in one of the guest rooms. “Well. What do you think? Magnificent right?”

[Haley_Rose]

Listening to Shane, she wondered how she had missed Renaldo. Well at least you got to meet him.

She followed Shane around the house and was in awe off the beauty of everything and couldn't believe that it was left to her by her parents. It was a house fit for a princess and was in shock that it was hers.

This place is magnificent. All the rooms are beautiful and I love the sun room. I can't wait to get some seeds for the garden. That woman, Amanda, opened her own flower shop that I would like to visit.

We should go clean out the room at the Inn to save some money. I straightened it up for you.

[ShaneLancaster]

He smiled watching her reaction which was in fact pretty similar to his own. The house was indeed magnificent either way her parents had made sure she was well sought for. He found he had struck gold in more ways than one by meeting her and a happy smile spread across his face as he lead her through the house. He looked outside as she mentioned the garden. It was nothing more than a patch of dirt right now but ne could vividly imagine a garden with colorful flowers and maybe a gazebo down by the lake. He nodded at her. “Sound like a good idea. Maybe we can go tomorrow? I am sure she can help with ideas and maybe even relay some assistance for the landscaping. You’ll have my labor at your service of course but depending on how much heavy lifting there will be I might need some help.”

He laughed and nodded again. “Yes I guess that would be a good idea. No need to pay rent when we have this. You straightened it up for me?” He chuckled “Are you saying I am messy? And here I thought I was pretty decent. You should have seen some of the men I’ve worked with. Compared to them I am suffering from compulsive cleaning frenzy.”

He headed towards the door but changed his mind and walked back to her. He leaned down and kissed her before heading back towards the door. On his way out he looked back at her with a smile. “If you clean out your place I’ll go grab my things. I’ll meet you back here tonight?”

[ShaneLancaster]

It had been quite a while since he had been home. A lot had happened since they had received this beautiful place and little had been done to actually make it their new home. Shane had been busy with various things and between work and tying up the loose ends of the life he had lived up until now he just wanted to spend time in the arms of his wife.

But now was the time to get things started, to start a new life together and to make this their home. He dropped the box on the floor as her entered the front door and smiled. Despite everything he was happy and looking forward to his life with Haley and the baby that was on the way. He looked around as if it was the first time he had set foot here and smiled. He knew she wasn’t back yet and he had a few things he wanted to take care of before she did.

He got right too it and with the box in hand he headed out in the garden or the simple patch of dirt it still was. Haley had dreams of turning this in to a magnificent garden but he knew she didn’t have the energy to get it started yet but with spring upon them now was the time to start. However he had no clue to what she wanted out here and he didn’t want to mess things up even before it had started so he settled on something small but meaningful. He picked what he thought was the perfect spot and dug a rather large hole compared to what he was going to plant but he wanted to make sure the little tree had the best start it could have thus he had bought freshly enhanced soil to aid the little thing in settling strong roots.

He had chosen a sort of lemon tree that never grew very tall but had an intoxicating aroma to it when it blossomed. Gently he placed it in the hole and added the soil to cover the roots. He finished with watering plenty and dusted off his hands. Upon placing the remaining soil in the garden shed nearby he returned to inspect his work. Hopefully Haley would be pleased with this first addition to the garden.

[Haley_Rose]

Haley had been staying at the Inn for some time now. The house was just too big without Shane there. She knew he had a lot of business trips lately and she was missing him terribly. Being at the Inn gave her everything she needed without the absence of being reminded that Shane was not around.

The clerk at the desk gave her a note from Shane and as she read it her heart jumped for joy. He was coming home. She had so much to do. She started packing her clothes and endless pairs of shoes that she had told Shane about. He was so funny not understanding why women had so many shoes. It was quite comical and cute at the same time.

Locking the door behind her, she walked down the stairs and paid the clerk for the time she spent there. He smiled and told her to come back and visit. She was carrying her things with her and went to go buy a carriage and another horse. The gentleman who sold her the horse and carriage recommended his son as a stable boy. He was looking for a job and he seemed like a very dependable young man. He hooked up her horse and the one she had just purchased to the carriage. He put her belongings in the back of the carriage and offered to help her inside. He rode them to the market and helped her out of the carriage. Thank you Michael, I’m just going to get some groceries.

Haley went to the market to get some food and dropped the basket letting all the food fall onto the floor. She was just a few months pregnant and this pregnancy was a little rough on her. She went to bend down to gather the food when a nice young woman asked to help. Hello my name is Violet, may I help you. Haley looked up to her “Of course thank you.” Violet picked all the food up and put everything back in the basket. Haley talked to Violet “Thank you very kindly." Your welcome ma’am, you just seemed like you needed some help. Well I actually do need some help. You aren’t looking for a job are you? Violet looked at her with a big smile. Actually I am looking for a job. I’m a great cook and love children. Haley smiled sweetly and couldn’t believe how blessed she was today. Well if you don’t mind coming with me we can hire you temporarily and if we both like each other than you can have the job. Yes ma’am that sounds perfect. Violet picked up the groceries when Haley paid for them and Michael grabbed them from Violet and she glared at Michael. Sorry ma’am, I’m Mrs. Haley’s stable boy. Violet apologized. Michael put the groceries in the back of the carriage and helped the ladies in the carriage. He drove to the house with the directions Haley had given him.

Michael opened the door and helped Violet and Haley out of the carriage. Thank you, Michael. Can you bring the things inside and then you can meet my husband, Shane. Yes ma’am.

Come Violet, you can meet my husband, Shane. I’m sure he is home now. Violet followed Haley inside the house once she unlocked the door.