676-02-18 - Of Proposals and Supposed Transgressions

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Of Proposals and Supposed Transgressions
Summary: Aeryn tells the King of Jerrick's proposal - and various other matters regarding the prince.
Who: Barret Brais and Aeryn Firandall
References: re:Jerrick Onimus, re:Zephan Onimus, re:Nathan Onimus, re:Zuhur Nuru, re:Ciera Nuru
When: February 18th, 676
Related Logs: Recent Jerrick logs, especially 676-02-17 - Marriage Proposal? Ask the King not me!
Date of RP: 20-21/02/2015
Where: Solar, Mergorand Castle, Beresgond, Two Rivers
Room Desc: This room is usually very light during the day, as several windows allow the rays of the sun to enter. There is a table with chairs in one corner of the room, allowing for small meals to be taken there, as well as engaging in games of dice and cards. In anther part of the room, in front of a hearth of moderate size is a group of very comfortable wooden chairs, all of which have the coat of arms of House Brais carved into their backs. Here one can often find some noblemen engaged in the casual light conversation about current politics, as well as the occasional group of ladies exchanging the latest gossip whilst practicing their needlework. A door at the side leads out onto a large terrace, where the magnificent view over the Plains of Perescan can be enjoyed. During especially warm days the terrace is a popular gathering place as well, as it has been designed to give the impression of a charming little garden - with plants and flowers in clay pots placed at strategic places, as well as a flower bed to the far side.


With so many official guests crowding in Beresgond lately, the king had somehow retreated from the public eye, focusing on spending time with his betrothed Sigrid Bjornsvartr and her daughters, who were likewise not keen on being paraded around in public, apart from a few occasional meals in the Feasting Hall. It seemed King Barret showed a new facette to his personality that had been long buried beneath his responsibilities, a youthful air and the intention to impress the future queen with his personal traits - in a less formal setting.

Right now King Barret Brais sits in the Solar, alone, taking a break from the duties of his court. It is early afternoon, the guests from Estoria have retreated to their chambers, and a Council meeting which had taken place earlier still present somehow, in the thoughtful expression of the ruler of Two Rivers.

On the table beside where he is seated is a flagon of Athereyne Red, and two glasses, the king's gaze directed towards the window, with a pensive expression.

Aeryn is wearing her red dress today though she did consider wearing a white one which she usually dons with arrows and other such things. She misses having the use of her left arm, though it's severe sprain is nearly healed and the bruising has lessened on her body. The choke marks are still visible but they are receeding from her neck.

She steps into the Solar with little wolf cub in tow. She points out to inside the room "Charlotte, come..." little cub gets distracted easily though, sniffing every which thing she can. Oh, so many curious smells! Aeryn manages to corral her however into the Solar, in which the little cub runs over to the King to skidder to a nongraceful stop and sniff at his feet. Oh! She knows this one, he's part of her pack! She pounces on his foot playfully, better start showing him who's the one in charge early!

Aeryn chides softly "Charlotte!" and dips into a curtsy. "My King, apologies, little Charlotte is rambunctious today. She does seem to enjoy playing with you though, which is good because it'll mean later on when she's grown she should consider you family and not an unknown." She grins softly "I guess it was the same way with me. If I know yae', your escaping all the prim & proper protocol for a bit? Mind if I join you?"

The king's head turns when Aeryn is admitted into the Solar, and that thoughtful expression fades quickly to be replaced with a smile. "Aeryn," Barret greets with a good-natured grumble, his brown eyes flickering over the lady with a bit of concern, noting the traces of violence that are still there. His hand is extended to pat Charlotte gently on the head, as he does not appear troubled by the wolf cub's presence.

"Oh, please have a seat. You are hardly disturbing. The morning has been a little busy, council meetings and such," he shrugs, gesturing towards a nearby seat. "It has been a while," he remarks next, gesturing towards the tabkle with the flagon and the glasses. "Help yourself, if you are thirsty." His gaze shifts back to aeryn. "How have you been? How are you recovering from your adventure...?"

Charotte seems to try a different attack, she'll attack from below! By the King's foot she begins trying to dig under him, her paws moving but she isn't getting deeper. She seems determined however..she'll probably be at that a while, considering that the stone isn't going to give way at all.

Aeryn takes a seat crossing her legs at the knee. "I'll pass for the moment, but thank yae' though. I'm healing..the bruises are relenting, the cuts are as well. The lighter ones should be healed fairly soon. My arm is ready but it was fairly severe, so I'm giving it a couple more days of immobilization. Considering everything that's happened it seems having a hidden advantage should something happen wouldn't be a bad thing either."

She looks rather stern a moment, and reaches her free hand out to tap on the table. "It's a big responsibility having a wife now, and we expect children young man. Lots of children and th' pitter patter of feet. I want to make that perfectly clear" She grins afterward leaning back into the seat.

She gives it a few moments for the jib to sink in and for reaction. "I know we've kept in touch by missive, however there have been more developments I need tae' make you aware of. I met with the Golden Lion, Zuhur. I'm not sure of her title so please forgive. She came at my request about Prince Jerrick. I gave her my side of things and told her there wasn't anything untoward or actionable that happened as I shut things down right away. But I gave her my full impressions. She met with me the next day and told me while we were meeting there was an order given. Apparently there was some inappropriate behavior with the Golden Lion Princess and Zuhur and the Prince are not to see one another. I'm to understand touching might have been involved, but it's unclear. She offered me a place as a handmaiden, when I politely refused. She is staying with us here as she wishes to meet with the Domitanus. I imagine she might be thinking marriage possibility, I had told her I think he is a trustworthy man and worth meeting. If anything the two meeting I don't think would be something ill. Prince Jerrick called on me a few nights ago to apologize. I was rather frank with him after asking him if I may be so. I told him that I thought he was remorseful that he was caught, though I think he would be far more careful in his dealings with women as a result. He spoke to me of being lonely and far tae' long without companionship. He asked for mae' hand and..well, I think you would be proud of me however I may have made work for you with my response. I told him that I was a noble and do not have the ability to make a decision on whom to marry, the King makes these decisions and any request for marriage would have to go through the King. I thought this was the most diplomatic way of putting it. He went immediately into expressing desire to talk to Luanda about the pairing, I would live in Two Rivers and he would come here after the passing of his mother, and I attempted to stop him by telling him he's being rather rash. I don't think this put stop to his mind however. For someone that I still consider to be predatory, to immediately offer marriage after his courtship was cancelled, and by not even approaching the proper channels first..well. I think this would be a poor pairing. To be honest I feel rather badly about it now, since I figured you would nae' approve and that was the entire reason I worded my response the way I did. I'm sorry Mae' King, I didn't mean to use you in such a manner. I was rather put on the spot as I was not expecting such a..offer from him. And this was the most diplomatic thing I could think of to do to avoid either of our lands to lose face."

King Barret's hand continues to pat Charlotte in that soothing manner, glancing downward and noting that activity that is so endearing. His brows lift at Aeryn's remar and he chuckles, in a good-natured and certainly very amused manner - especially when he is called 'young man' by the young lady. "We are yet to be married, child. The wedding is only a few weeks away.", he clarifies, helping himslf now to a bit of wine, as Aeryn does not seem so inclined, forced to be silent now anyway, when Aeryn launches into her long monologue.

One hand goes finally up when she pauses, to keep her from babbling on with even more topics, when the king leans a bit forward and studies her for a moment. "It seems there have been many things I've missed, whilst keeping my betrothed company," he says with a smile. "Princess Zuhur is here, in Two Rivers? Apparently she has not requested to see me, nor is her visit of any official kind," he remarks, a bit thoughtfully. "As for her meeting any quests here at my castle, how could I object, as long as there are no scandals. But there are guards everywhere in the castle, so I believe we should be relatively safe." It is when Aeryn speaks of the proposal of Prince Jerrick when the king looks positively astonished.

"I've heard nothing about it, in fact, this is the first time I hear of such an... idea.", he says. "Bainsworth informed the Onimus Prince and one of his brothers were here. None of them the one who will be betrothed to Luanda. He spoke of a quest, but as none of those Islanders really requested help... They have received a minimum of hospitality, given they are not here on an official visit." He sighs. "To be honest, this proposal sounds rather odd to me." His eyes settle on Aeryn. "If you do not wish to marry him, why don't you tell him so. There is no need to hide behind me, as I would never force you into a marriage you would not want. Apart from that, I doubt the match has any chance to be approved by the Council of the Isles."

Aeryn puts a hand over her mouth with a soft blush. "Sorry, I get going sometimes. There's a lot to get out. So much that you need a nautical navigation chart or something to keep it all together. Okay, it seems I need to catch you up on a lot. Let mae' slow down a bit." She rests her hand on her knee. "So Prince Jerrick went on some quest. I don't know what it was all about, but Prince Jerrick was tasked with doing some things to prove he was worthy of Zuhur's hand is the gist I got of it. Zuhur hired the Marcus we both know and love to hunt down a dire wolf. They did that and Marcus received payment from Zuhur. He had shared his impressions of Jerrick with Zuhur, who in turn asked to speak to me about the impressions I shared with Marcus because I asked him to keep an eye out while he was here in the castle. She came to meet with me to get my impressions directly from me, and is staying to meet Domitanus. That's the first point or so. Any questions thus far?"

The king takes a sip from his wine, smiling when he notices Aeryn's reaction. "I already got you so far," he comments with a low chuckle. "But... it is /Princess/ Zuhur, child. She's the sister of the Emir, as far as I know." Apparently Barret has done his homework, knowing some things about the ruling families of Felaguria. "I know she requested some letter from you, about your impressions on Prince Jerrick." A hand is waved dismissively. "As I have no sons to marry off, I have not that great an interest in Princess Zuhur, but she being here at the same time, when their betrothal has been called off, could lead to complications..." He casts Aeryn a thoughtful glance. "That's why Bainsworth has taken care to double the guards and assures they do not come across each other."

A low snort comes, showing a bit of amusement at the developments. "As to whether this Golden Lion princess and Domitianus should decide to court each other, I don't know. It would seem a little ironic though, if Castle Mergorand would be the backdrop for such development. So far I have not been tasked with helping along with arranging marriages between our neighbours from the North and the kingdom of the desert."

Aeryn snaps her fingers after the king is finished. “Yes, that was the next part. That’s exactly what I thought. Princess Zuhur told mae’ herself that the courtship was over and the Prince Jerrick was tae’ remain away from her. Ah’ think we may have a serious problem that needs to be addressed. I told her about Domitanus, and she wanted to meet him. I think meeting the Ningo might be good for her, but a meeting I can set. That’s nae’ really a problem. Ah’ think she’s thinking suitor, but ah’ didn’ae go into that. So. I don’t know what the full story is, I don’t know much about th’ Emir of Golden Lion. What I do know is, you don’t mess around with th’ Emir. As I understand it he’ll chop someone’s head off if he is disprespected and their people really, really do what they can to keep him happy as..well, let’s face it we all like our heads. I don’t know what the order is but I assume if there’s another incident he’ll come chop off the Prince’s head personally, an arse cheek, tickle him tae’ death, I don’t know. Just something wholly unpleasant.”

She frowns. “This is the troubling part. Jerrick sought me out, and I was rather blunt with him yet still polite. We want to keep Prince Nathan open as an option for Luanda as we both know she’s quite openly taken with him and he’s the most manageable out of the brothers. I wanted to save face, offering no insult to him, but keeping our honour intact. That’s why I answered the way I did. But..here is the troubling part. He said he was going to head off to apologize to Princess Zuhur. In our castle. I warned him against this and did what I could to dissuade him, telling him he shouldn’t go. If something happened he would be facing our guards because she was a guest in our castle. He went anyway. We parted ways so I don’t know what happened but he seemed quite determined. If he did meet with the Princess here in our castle then he put us at risk. My question is that if this is th’ case, should we report this to the Emir? Personally I think it would be the best case this way we don’t get caught intae’ this mess and provoke a war.”

"We don't know the exact reasons for the dissolving of the betrothal to Prince Jerrick, do we?", King Barret muses. "As for Princess Zuhur nad him meeting... There are guards, as I already mentioned. So far I haven't heard any alarming reports, so in this we are safe, I presume." he shrugs. "We have no reason to doubt in Prince Nathan. Still, this business of his brother will in a way reflect on him as well."

He smiles. "I don't believe we are in any danger at the moment. Princess Zuhur is not alone, and she is here with the Emir's permission. I believe Prince Jerrick has enough sense to act with the decorum required, while he is staying here in Beresgond. Or I will have to take certain measures against his person, no matter if he is of high birth or not."

Aeryn shakes her head "Actually we do in a sense. Princess Zuhur said that it was for touching the Princess Ciera inappropriately. Princess Zuhur also told me that Prince Jerrick took one of her handmaidens as a slave, or something along those lines and she was fairly cross at him for this. There was something he said of great concern to me. He mentioned something about guards being loyal and keeping quiet. I told him I encourage all of my guards to very open with my King and report anything that happens. I would rather my guards be loyal to my King than to me directly."

King Barret blinks, taking in all of this rather... suprising information. A shrug comes after a moment as if to say 'Foreigners!' and he rolls his eyes. "Prince Jerrick will behave as long as he is on my grounds," he states, not really allowing for any objection. As to what Aeryn reports about Jerrick's statement to guards, his face takes on a rather stern expression. "The guards of Mergorand Castle answer to me and noone else. What a fool this prince appears to be, if that was what he told you. Alas, a long as he behaves there is little for me to do but tolerate him here. Maybe his has just a bad mouth and needs some lessons in manners." The king seems to be a little irritated indeed, as what Aeryn tells him sounds awfully much like disrespecting a king's auhority in his own lands.

Aeryn reaches out and taps the table softly with a finger. "Forgive me My King, but I must have a minor disagreement with you here. You are the King of these lands, the supreme ruler of Two Rivers. This is your home and you have the right to kick anyone out of your lands, and especially your home that you seem fit. If Queen Onimus was here, you could ask her to leave. And if she persisted you could take boot to arse to anyone that doesn't heed polite request. I'm nae' saying to kick Prince Jerrick out. Just that you have the right to ask anyone to your home, just as you have the right to ask anyone to leave. We trust your decisions and have complete faith in you."

Her expression goes a bit neutral. "Maybe he'll never ask you. Maybe he's nae' truly serious, but unless it was an order from yae' I wouldn't marry that man. So of the three Onimuses, we know our impressions of Jerrick. There is also Zephan. I haven't met Zephan, but I hear he's like a manwhore. He goes from woman to woman, sometimes tricking them in love, sometimes using charm, when it comes down tae' it if yae' have a rack, yae'r of the feminine persuasion, yae' need to watch after your feminine charms. That being said, he's the captain of one of the fastest ships built, he runs a good crew, and I've never heard of him actually breaking promises outside of romantic notions. He's a man of excess but he may be trustworthy yet, he's just a pervert is all. But he's rather open about it. This kind of behavior means he's very true to himself and there is an honesty about him. He is a man akin to flights of whimsy. Marriage material? No. But you know exactly what you get with him."

"I am merely saying that if Prince Jerrick means to transgress boundaries, by forcing himself upon Princess Zuhur, that he will have to face consequences. It is my duty to have him keep to his chambers until some official of the Isles comes and takes him away.", the king replies softly, shaking his head a bit. "I do not mean to prosecute any ill-mannered behaviour beyond that, still, if he does not play by our rules I will certainly let him know." "As for the betrothal..." he sighs. "Knowing what I know now I will hardly agree. But as you are against the match, I will know what to reply to him, in a civil manner. His bushy brows lift when Aeryn speaks of Zephan. "Have you met him? I hear he is mostly keeping in Equis these days, eager obviously to sail back to the Isles."

Aeryn shakes her head "Nae, I haven't met him, I just put together a bit o' a profile based on others experiences and word of mouth. He's quite well known because he balks against the authority of his mother and does what he wants. It's known they are on bad terms. He is probably the most infamous Onimus brother by reputation keeping in mind this isn't a positive reputation."

She reaches over and flicks a finger against the King's glass, the nail striking and releasing a reverberating sound. "Prince Nathan. He's a knight I believe. He has had military service. Of the brothers, it seems like he tried to get away from the madness by going into such service. Marcus thought he was pompous, but I think we can deal with that easier than the other two. We know Luanda has an infatuation but the question will be how does Prince Nathan feel about Luanda? As we can see clearly the family has some issues. If there is actually affection, dare I say even love then I think that mae' be enough to cement this joining. I really want to meet this man to get a sizing up of him. But I have a positive feeling about him..definitely the best choice of the three brothers."

"Few political marriages are graced with love from the beginning," King Barret muses, shooting Aeryn a glance. His brows twitch upwards at the flick of the finger against the glass. "As for Prince Nathan, Luanda has emphasized her preference of him. That is all I need to know. Especially when the other two princes are not that desirable marriage candidates." He smiles. "Livia and I were certainly not in love with each other when we were betrothed and wed, after the war with Estoria. Our affection grew over the years. It usually does, if the characters of bride and groom are somewhat compatible."