Chapter One
"I suppose I can allow Artemis a few hours off this afternoon," Arbellason said, as he ran his fingers through his hair, "but you will have to ask him yourself, to see if he wishes to go."
"Of course, of course; would you please call the boy down here, I’d like to get back to our home soon to let Vanya know about the status of her outing."
"Artemis," Arbellason called towards the barn, "Artemis, come down here, please."
"What is it Arbellason," Artemis asked, poking his head out.
"Come down here, boy," Arbellason shouted. "Someone has a question to ask you."
Artemis rubbed his hands on a loose towel and began his quick jog to where his father was standing. He gasped when he finally saw the visitor requesting a moment of his time, "Your majesty," he said, bowing slightly.
"Stand up, boy," Arbellason said gruffly. "We don’t bow to anyone anymore."
"Ar..Arbell..Arbellason," Artemis stuttered, "I was…just…"
"Don’t worry son," Beinion said, patting the lad on his shoulder, "I know you meant it as a sign of respect and I appreciate the thought."
"Your welcome, umm," Artemis said, reddness coloring his cheeks.
Beinion held up his hand to stop the boy, "I am here to ask if you would like to accompany my daughter, princess Vanya, on a picnic this afternoon. She has asked for Griffith and you to be her guests."
"Really," Artemis said quietly shocked, "I would love to attend, that is, if Arbellason says I can."
"I’ve all ready given my permission, son," Arbellason said, patting Artemis’s shoulder. "The final decision is yours to make."
"Arbellason, thank you," said Artemis, a large smile forming on his face, "I’d be honored, your majesty."
"Fine then," Beinion said, returning the boy’s smile, "I will drop by in a few hours to escort you to our private garden, make sure you are ready to go; you must never keep a princess waiting."
"I’ll be ready," Artemis said, grabbing Beinion’s extended hand excitedly.
"You had better get back to work then," Arbellason said, "so you will have time to clean up."
Artemis turned and ran happily back into the barn to finish his chores, Beinion turned his gaze upon Arbellason, "That is a fine boy you have there."
"I know," said Arbellason, with a soft smile, "but I must be getting back to work, if you don’t mind."
"Yes well," Beinion said, slowly turning away, "I must be returning home, as well. Vanya will be wanting to hear the answers of Artemis and Griffith. It was nice talking to you, good sir. I wish you fine day."
"I wish you the same," Arbellason said, walking towards the barn, "your majesty."
Ouch. Just a tad bit of hostility running through there! I wonder if he really is oblivious or is just pretending not to notice. Would be difficult to not notice that, yikes.
Glad to see you’re updating this again!
Comment by Mao — November 11, 2006 @ 11:22 pm
Gosh, everyone looks so good! Do I detect some jealousy in Arbellason? He certainly doesn’t seem to care for Beinion…
Comment by Toni — November 11, 2006 @ 11:27 pm
Fun start to your story. Is this a Royal Kingdom challenge? (And is there a background somewhere that I’m missing?) Arbellason very obviously does NOT like Beinion. I wonder why?
Comment by Aeronwy — November 12, 2006 @ 8:44 am
Aeronwy, no this isn’t a royal kingdom challenge, just a story idea that I had and wanted to see if I could make it work. In the first entry (”from the ashes”), Tira makes the comment that her father (Arbellason) blames the “leaders” for the war and destruction of their home. His extreme dislike for the “new king” comes from that.
Comment by Administrator — November 12, 2006 @ 8:49 am
Oh, Arabellason definitely isn’t a fan of Beinion. But Artemis seems pleased with the prospect of spending time with Princess Vanya. But I wonder what her intentions are from the outing.
Comment by Heather/Simaholic — November 12, 2006 @ 7:36 pm
I’m not used to these types of stories as it is always hard to remember names, but this one is fun! And how cool is that for the king to be able to travel and invite the boy himself! No guards or anything–haha Looking forward to following this story.
Comment by guRl — November 17, 2006 @ 12:55 pm
Wow, Arbellason’s certainly not happy with Beinion, is he? And he’s not very good at covering it up! lol I can’t wait to see the outing, I bet Princess Vanya is lining up suitors *wink*.
Comment by suzie sim — November 17, 2006 @ 9:38 pm