"How does this sound, Mother?" Claire asked, pointing to the paper before her. Her blue eyes looked towards her mother, a worried look on her face.
"That's sounds wonderful, little bird" She said with a small smile. "You have a talent with words. You're bound to do something great with them" Her mother's compliments meant the world to her. In fact, she couldn't ask for anything more than her mother's praise.
Her father sat mere feet away, playing chess against an older man, an elf he claimed to know a long while now. They lived at the tavern where they were at and the regulars knew the family well. The old Silverthorns, once outlaws and now just simple people like the rest of them. Claire was used to seeing her father drinking with a few of them, though they were all good people.
Despite not having a home, Claire was happy. Her life wasn't perfect, but it was her's.
----
The sun was beginning to set and yet Claire strummed on the old guitar. She had bought it for a discount, seeing as its paint was cracked and the wood was old. The strings were new though and when she plucked them, she often managed to play quite the beautiful melody. She was talented with music that way though. Her mother had always been so proud of her.
She was not drawing the crowd she usefully found flocking to her today though. Usually a great number of people were drawn to the music she played. It was how she earned her keep and room at the tavern and without money from the good people, she knew she would not survive long.
She added a sweet voice to the melody she played, singing a ballad of the summer and the swirling winds, though it was yet only spring. Still, not many people seemed interested in her or her song. She was annoyed. She had enough extra money to make a few nights but without people dropping a few dollars into her case, she knew she'd find herself on the streets before long. She let the guitar rest a moment, surveying the park, trying to find out why no one was listening to her sweet songs.
She heard it more than saw it. Another person, probably her own age, was playing on a guitar of their own, attracting the people to him while they ignored her. Why would they do that? Her melody was much more pleasing to the ear than his!
She studied him from a distance and saw that he wore the clothes of a foreigner. It was clearly his exotic nature that was attracting the others because it could be nothing else as far as Claire could see. She pressed her lips together. She would put a stop to this folly at once.
She began walking towards him, clenching and unclenching her fists, trying to remember what her father taught her in case the young man put up a fight. Her father had at once been the head of the royal guard, surely she could beat down one exotic man?
"Who me?" He asked, lowering his guitar to look at her.
"Who else would I be talking to?" She asked him. She was getting a better look at his features now. His face was even exotic looking and she knew at once he did not hail from Dragon Valley. Where ever he had come from, he could go right on back for as much as she was concerned.
"Well I hope its me. Its not often I get to see such a beautiful lady" He winked at her and a furious flush made her cheeks turn red. How dare he!
"Hold your tongue, you...you...!" She could think of no insult. "How dare you take my people from me! Don't you know I need those to manage my way?" She changed the subject but he didn't seem too alarmed from her anger.
"Calm down, little lady" He said and she heard the accent clearly in his voice. "I only came here because I saw many people. I need them to make my own way as well"
That struck her dumb for a moment and she just looked at him. He didn't seemed ruffled in the least. If she had talked to anyone else like that, she would have found herself in an awful fight. He just seemed to be looking her over, as if taking notice of the rough, worn clothing she was wearing.
She noted that he was wearing well-made clothing, but it looked worn from travel perhaps. Then she also noticed he was alone, though he could only be a year or so older than herself. Not many parents let their teenage children wander the streets without them. Too often they would find themselves in trouble...usually of the bodily kind. She heard heard tell of at least two young women her age now married for they had found themselves in a young sir's bed.
That was neither here nor there at the moment though.
"I did not mean to poach your people, good lady" He told her and the honesty in his voice surprised her. "I did not realize that you were playing in the same park before I had already begun. Had I know such a sweet song bird was playing, I would have listened rather than steal your patrons"
"Do not call me a song bird" She huffed, trying to be angry. He seemed so calm and kind though. It was distracting. She had noticed the green of his eyes as well. They shinned with honesty. Who was this man?
"Apologizes, my lady"
"I am not your lady."
"You are just determined to be angry with me, are you not?" Now he seemed amused which made her cheeks flush again.
"Listen, I just want you to stay away from me. Got it? I don't want to see you again" She said, clapping her hands together.
"That is a shame. I'd like to see you again" She pressed her lips together and glared at him. "...But if that is what you wish, I'll try and keep to that" He said simply.
"See that you do"
With that she turned and ran from him. She didn't want to be around him anymore than she had to. She could feel his eyes staring into her back though. It sent a shiver down her spine and made her slightly annoyed as well. Who did this guy think he was?
Soon enough she found herself at the tavern once more, playing sweet melodies for those who came to drink that night. As she sang of heroic knights and beautiful ladies, she thought of the strange boy she had met. She had not even learned his name.
---
And so I start the second part of this story! I think Claire has grown up most beautifully, don't you all agree? Just as a side note, the King and Queen now have four children, three boys and a girl. Abner, the crowned prince, is a teen and I have created a girl for him to marry, whom I hope you'll meet in chapters to come. I engaged him to her as they are both teens already. Hopefully they'll marry straight away when they're young adults and they'll have many babies. Rita is the second oldest and the only girl. She is still a child. Drystan is the second son and he is also a child. Gautam is the third son and he is a toddler.
The King is now an Elder but he will rule until Abner is a Young Adult. The Queen is only an Adult herself, so she will be there to watch her son rule for quite sometime as the Queen Mother. I will probably have the royal siblings engaged to "noble" familes throughout town - that is the ones I'm counting as Nobles due to their starting descriptions and funds. There are actually some very pretty sims in Dragon Valley and I'm sure my family will find themselves marrying townies at one point or another.
Anywhoo, this note turned pretty long but I just wanted to keep everyone informed on what I'm doing and what's going on behind the scenes. Thank you for reading!
No comments:
Post a Comment