[PRV] S.H.M & Aphrodite

"Riding and hiking would be the best way, the cliffs can be dangerous and there are predators about up there." he shakes his head. "They are not pleasant" Jacen raises his tunic, showing a nasty old scar on his side near the ribs. "I have learned to be watchful"
He laughs it off but he had almost died from an infection, it was the only time his mother had cried, Clara too, that was worse for him than the wound.

Jacen slowly makes his way uptowards the gardens, keeping pace with the girls

Sienna's gaze landed on the white, uneven slash near Jacen's ribs. It looked like he was hurt, but there was no blood. He had probably been hurt before, and since humans apparently didn't have any healing powers, maybe the slash was a consequence of being hurt.
"What happened there?" she asked, looking at Jacen, gesticulating towards his ribs. She noticed from the corner of her eyes that the handmaiden, Mira, gave her a surprised look. Maybe it wasn't something you just asked? Not that Sienna could take it back. She had never seen such a thing before, mermaids didn't get wounds, or if they did, they healed quickly. Unless, of course, the wound was too quick and severe for their magical abilities to handle, such as being pierced with one of those horrible human weapons through their heart like Sienna's mother had.

"Oh this?" He smiles proudly, showing it off, for some strange reason. "I was attacked by a bear, an angry female but after it was done, we had bear for a week" he laughs it off again, but the meals had been good, even if bear meat tends to be somewhat sour to the taste, The scars had been fairly deep so the skin that healed over it was in grooves, but the tissue seemed soft.

Sienna looked at him. She had no idea what a bear was, but since he had gotten wounded, it couldn't be something nice.
"Don't laugh, Jacen, you could have died" said Clara with an upset tone in her voice. She had cried for a week when Jacen had floated between life and death, and she had even seen her mother cry which never happened. Sienna looked at the siblings; it must be hard not being able to heal by yourself. She looked over the mountains again. She had to get there somehow, but she was sure that Jacen and Clara wouldn't understand and Sienna didn't want to explain because of the risk of them not understanding. Which meant that she had to leave before sunset and without them noticing.

"What else can I do but to laugh, sweet sister?" he keeps a smile on his face as he walks, but the horrors of the wound were still there. "I should go and bathe before we dine, mother wouldn't want us sitting down looking like seamonsters , would she?" he jokes , giving Clara a kiss on her cheek

As they walked down the hallway, Sienna noticed two of the handmaidens speak in low voices.
"Her bed was made just like I make it, I don't think she slept in it", Alys said to the other, who shrugged.
"That's strange" the other said, and both of them went silent and curtsied when the party passed them.

Sienna listened and swallowed. She didn't want to eat with that woman again. It had been awful the other night, and Sienna would probably mess it up again. However, since both Clara and Jacen seemed to go into their rooms, now Sienna had a chance to leave without having to explain why. The three of them separated and Sienna found herself in her room, alone. She looked around, not sure what to do now. If she left, she had not idea where to go. She knew the direction, but it seemed that it would be very dangerous. But Sienna didn't have a choice. She had to find this flower, and she had to leave before the sun went down. She also had to make sure there would be a body of water whenever the sun did go down. She put her hands over her face. It really did feel like she had gone completely over her head. How was she going to be able to obtain this flower by herself, being bound by the daylight? She sighed and stood up, looking out the window.

There was no way that she was going to be able to get out that window. She had to walk through the castle, but how was she going to do that without anyone noticing her? She stood up, and looked down at the dress she wore. She didn't have anything else, since the potion hadn't provided that, but she didn't want to steal from the people that had been nice to her. But she didn't have a choice.

Sienna walked out of her room, and noticed that the hallway was empty. She was lucky that she was better at walking, she just managed to reach the stairs before she heard voices behind her. She walked down, and found herself outside the castle, surprised that she had managed not to meet anyone. She looked over the town, and wondered if she should just start walking.

Jacen jokes as he heads up the stairs to his chambers, where a warm bath is awaiting him and a servant girl to help as well. The day had been fairly successful and the girls seemed to have enjoyed it. His mind wandered to Sienna , the strange girl who somehow spoke like a noblewoman but knew no customs or etiquette, it was baffling. He had heard the servants speak in hushed voiced , he was curious about what they said.

The girl was certainly curious about a flower, one that he knew nothing about, which is a pity, he would have liked to help her. Those mountains hide great dangers and Jacen doubts that his lord father would accept to send men to find something that one does not know what it looks like or where it is, the mountain area was too large for such things. Sienna had learned to walk well enough but she still seemed unsteady and not able to take the trek in the mountains.

As Jacen keeps thinking , the maid is scrubbing his body and washing his hair, it was very relaxing, he must admit, a peasants life must be so dull. not having people like this around

Alys groaned as she entered the empty chambers. The guest had wandered off. Again. She rushed out in the hallway.
"I can't lose her again" she muttered to herself, looking all over the castle to find the confused, strange woman. In her hand, she held a coin, which was supposed to prove to Alys that the girl indeed didn't use the bed. Alys happened to look out the window, and saw the red dress that Sienna wore, and she was heading towards the town. Alys quickly ran through the hallways, and down the stairs. She reached Sienna just as she was about to exit the castle grounds.
"My lady!" she exclaimed, panting. Sienna turned around, cursed inside her mind.
"May I ask where you're going?" the maid asked, and Sienna just had to lie.
"I just wanted some fresh air" she said, and Alys blinked. Somehow, she had a feeling that the woman wasn't telling the truth. Not that it was in her place to question a Lady, if she was a Lady. Sure, she was speaking like one, but so could Alys if she wanted to. This girl didn't behave like a Lady.
"I need to get you ready for dinner, my Lady" she said, gently grabbing Sienna's wrist, who unwillingly walked with her.

Some time later, there she was again. In front of the big doors leading to the dining room. She was dressed in green, and her hair was in a beautiful updo. However, Sienna was even more nervous now than she had been the previous day, because she now knew what kind of person that waited on the other side of that door. The servants opened the door, and Sienna could enter. She wasn't completely steady, but at least better than the day before.
"Ah, Lady Sienna, welcome!" said Lord Richard and beamed towards her. The servants pulled out the chair for her to sit on, and she threw a glance at Jacen's mother, who didn't seem to enjoy her company, just like yesterday.

Jacen had struggled to what to wear, the urge to dress in finger clothes seemed to have escaped him tonight, surely his dear mother would not be pleased if he wore something other than pristine , fine clothing. So in an effort to not anger his Lady mother, Jacen has his servant dress him in a fine silver and dark red doublet with a faint embroidery of his family's sigil around the collar and end of the sleeves, matching breeches and dark boots.

As Sienna enters the room, he stands up, giving her a small smile, hoping to make her feel more at ease with the current company as Clara not present at the table. "You look lovely, My Lady" he says with a wider smile, he can't stop himself from looking at her, the green dress suited her very well, made her eyes even more vibrant.

Sienna cleared her throat.
"Thank you, My Lord" she said, happy that she remembered to mention the title. She sat down on the chair, glancing at Jacen.
"Thank you, My Lord" she repeated, this time aimed towards Jacen who had complimented her on her looks. She looked over at Lady Ella, whose lips were like a straight line. Sienna noticed that she still wore the horrible things around her neck. It almost made her shudder.

When the servants came out with the food, Sienna actually felt her stomach growl. She leaned forwards and picked up the little things to eat with, carefully observing Jacen again to see what he did, when she saw what was on the plate in front of her. She felt as if her stomach had turned inside out. There was two whole crabs laying on her plate. Sienna reacted instantly, and stood up, taking a step back. Unfortunately, her legs couldn't handle such a rushed command, and her knees failed her. She fell and tripped over the chair, falling into a heap on the ground.
"I'm - I'm" she said, trying to get up again, but it was as if her legs didn't want to carry her. She looked up at the table, where Lady Ella's face had gone white with disgust of such a behaviour. Sienna's heart was beating fast, and she could almost hear her blood rush in her body.