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Aoife was quite surprised when Yassia said that she wasn’t going to be attending Auntie Caitrin’s wedding after she had just spoken so much about she valued their friendship. If Aoife had such a friend then she would want to be with them on their wedding day no matter what. She wasn’t really that close to any o the girls at court, as she had never really been allowed to go to court that much, so she had never really met anyone until recently. There were a few girls that she was friendly with but she didn’t have a best friend of course. She hoped to get one though, it would be nice to have someone to talk to about her problems, and about the boys at court, and oh they could have secrets and it would be so much fun. Aoife just nodded as Yassia explained herself. Aoife picked up on one detail, a pre wedding feast? She had remembered her parents mentioning something about it, she had been sure that they had attended it, but not for long, and they hadn’t taken her, insisting it was no one of interest. “I think my parents attended the feast.” She said and frowned a little, “They never said it was my aunt who was getting married though.” Aoife gave a small smile, but now she felt bitterly disappointed, she would have liked to meet her auntie, and get to know her a little. She sounded quite different, and Aoife wanted to form an opinion on her, no matter what that opinion was. Aoife really did feel quite let down that she had only just learned about this, “But a pre-wedding feast sounds quite fun.” She had never really heard of a pre-wedding feast before, only a wedding feast, “How was the feast? Did my Aunt enjoy it?” Her parents had told her nothing of the details, so she wanted to hear everything.

Aoife wondered if there was any truth in what her relatives had told her, and if her family really did hold any magic in their veins. It was something that was quite fun to think on, but Aoife wasn’t sure whether she would actually want that responsibility or not. Magic was never seen as a good thing, or more, not anymore it wasn’t. Apparently there had been a time where sorcerers had been as common as bread, and they had roamed the kingdoms in relative peace, but then Uther Pendragon had killed so many of them, and now most were in hiding. Aoife wondered if any of her relatives had died all those years ago. It made her feel quite uncomfortable to think about. “I don’t think any of my relatives have magic anymore.” She gave a soft smile, “It makes me sad to think that some might have been hunted in the days gone by.” She knew that Yassia might understand that feeling, if her own kingdom did indeed think that sorcery was a good thing.

There was nothing that Aoife wanted less than for Yassia to think there was something wrong, so she perked up almost immediately and smiled at her, shaking her head. “Nothing is wrong my lady.” She lied quickly, a trait she had been told before that she was good at, “I was just thinking, that is all, and wondering what would have come if you had married the elder brother instead.” That was quite a good lie, and one that Aoife was proud of. As far as she was aware, you could not be in charge of more than one kingdom at a time, so if Edmund had married Yassia then they would have had to choose a kingdom to rule wouldn’t they?

Even though Aoife didn’t know her aunt at all really, it would have been nice to go to the wedding. It would have looked a little strange of course, as the family barely spoke, but Aoife loved weddings. She had only ever been to one, and that had been years ago. They were such fun events; everyone was happy, and everyone sung and danced and laughed the night away. It made her even more excited for when it would be her turn to get married and have her own wedding. She would make sure everything was done right, and she would look amazing; she would make sure of that. “Will you be going to the wedding?” Aoife then asked, as it sounded as if the princess and her aunt were quite close. While it was not that strange for Aoife to not be going to the wedding, she would count it stranger if this woman was not going either. Aoife looked on at her, wondering just how well she and her aunt knew each other. She would have loved to have a friend like that, but as it were Aoife spent so much time indoors she hadn’t really made friends with the other ladies of the court. Her father told her she would when she was a little older, but Aoife wanted them now. She had never been the most patient of people, it had to be said.

After having said it, Aoife felt stupid about making the remark about magic. After all, none of her family had any magic in them, and the story was probably made up anyway. Her Aunt was probably just giving light to some fairy tale or fable, and she felt ridiculous for having said it now. When she was younger, she had wondered what it would be like to be a sorceress, but now she felt like it was a good thing she wasn’t. Magic wasn’t very well liked in many kingdoms now; Mercia tolerated it, but didn’t encourage it. She wondered if they would one day go the same way as Camelot, and ban magic altogether. Aoife wasn’t sure how she felt about that, she had been told that sorcerers were evil in some respects, but she was pretty sure you could be just as evil without magic. After all, hadn’t Uther butchered all those people many years ago? No matter what the reason, Aoife couldn’t imagine justifying such an act. “It is probably just a fairy story, and nothing more. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have recounted such a childish tale to you, my lady.” Aoife excused herself quickly and flushed a little whilst doing so.

Aoife was glad to hear that the prince had taken matters into his own hands. She had heard about Prince Arthur; many women at court said he was the most fine prince there was. Aoife wondered how they could say such things with Edmund and Oliver sitting below Bayard. It puzzled her. She had always had a soft spot for the princes, but most especially Oliver; he had a way of smiling which just caused her to smile as well. Of course she had never told anyone; they would probably think she was being silly. “I hope so.” Aoife commented, as she didn’t want to be in the middle of a war with anyone n truth.

She leant forwards a little as the princess prepared to tell of her news. Aoife was quite excited that she was being confided in so early in the conversation. She was now extremely glad that her parents had gone out, and left her to deal with all this on her own. She could handle herself with guests. The news was a little difficult to stomach for a variety of reasons, one was that this meant the prince wouldn’t be at court anymore, and instead he would be off marrying this woman in some far off kingdom. Aoife strained a smile, “Congratulations.” Though she had known nothing would ever come of her affection for the Prince, the little flame of hope had always been there, “When will you wed?”

Aoife had always had an idea of how she would run her own household when she was eventually married. So far her aunt and Uncle were completely going against everything that she had in mind. For one, why on earth were they concerning themselves over their new born children? Every noblewoman knew that children were looked after by wetnurses until they were of a half decent age. Even then they were supposed to be looked after by tutors. It cemented Aoife’s view that her relatives must be living in some sort of poverty. And why on earth was her Aunt checking on her bags? Did they not have servants to do that as well? She made a small ‘mmm’ noise when her Uncle Griff told her that the children had never had wetnurses. Oh Jesu, did that mean that her Aunt nursed the children herself? Aoife felt slightly ill at the thought. “Why not?” She asked with a puzzled look on her face, as she watched her Uncle struggle with the babies.

As she continued to speak to her Uncle, she remembered a conversation she had had long ago, with a princess from another land. The woman had spoken highly of her Aunt and Uncle, and about how happy they were in their marriage, or at least that was what Aoife could remember. Pressing her lips together, she wondered if that was truly the case. Well, at least her Uncle had been to Mercia. She wondered why he had chosen to stay here after visiting her kingdom. After all, Mercia was rich country, and her whole family lived there. She could not understand her Aunt’s desire to stay here. “What did you think of the kingdom, Uncle?” She asked him politely, curious to hear his view. His accent was not one Aoife had ever heard before, and if it was a Camelotian accent then this was going to be a painful visit.

She nodded at his question; Aoife hadn’t been this far south for a reason. Up until now she had no reason to go anywhere outside Mercia, and she had never expected to. “I have never been outside Mercia before now.” She said gently. Aoife wasn’t enjoying the sensation of not being in her homeland anymore; she was already longing for home. Perhaps she would get used to this in time, but for now she was resigned to dislike it. Aoife brushed her hands on her skirt and pressed her lips together, “Is that a Camelotian accent my Lord?” She asked him, trying to change the topic of conversation rather swiftly.

Well, Aoife was glad that her Aunt sounded happy. After all, she didn’t wish harm or unhappiness on anyone, unless they deserved it of course. She had no reason to dislike her aunt, so all she could do was smile and nod at the woman’s words. “I am glad that she is happy.” Aoife replied because that sounded like a suitably grown up thing to say. She did want to keep up this image that she was a mature individual as that was what she was. If Aoife could prove it today then maybe more people would start taking her seriously and would treat her like a little lady, rather than a child as they treated her younger siblings. Aoife was confused, yet she shouldn’t have been. It made sense the wedding would be in Camelot, and not Mercia, as her aunt now live in Camelot. She wondered if she still considered herself Mercian or now thought of herself as... what were you called if you were from Camelot? She puzzled herself, and decided to just push that thought aside. She was sure her aunt would think of herself as Mercian; why would she not? “I am not sure any of our family will be going; it has not been announced.” She answered curiously, wondering whether her father had received an invite and just hidden it, or whether they were not welcome at all.

Aoife had never thought before that being stubborn or headstrong could ever be a good thing. She had heard little tales about the witch Morgana taking over Camelot, though no one ever told her much, so all she heard was rumour and little at that. They didn’t have many sorcerers in Mercia,, there were a few apparently, but her father had once told her that most were killed by Uther many years ago as magic was believed to be evil. From one of her aunts, Aoife had heard that magic ran in the family somewhere down the line, yet none of her Mercian family had magic, and she certainly didn’t so she was sure her aunt had just been lying. It sounded like her aunt was either brave or foolish, perhaps her father would say foolish, but Aoife thought it was brave. Especially if Morgana had magic, after all, magic was a strong force and not one to be taken lightly. “I heard about the witch, my aunt sounds very brave for standing against her.” She bit her lip, not sure what else to say, “Another of my aunts once believed that witchcraft ran in our blood, though I think that was more a hope than anything.” She shrugged a little, sorcery was not disapproved of in Mercia as it was in Camelot, yet still few of them remained, “I trust everything is now settled within Camelot my Lady?” As Aoife had realised she had not yet enquired after the state of Camelot.

Aoife was glad at least that the Princess would be travelling with more people back to her homeland. It was unseemly for a woman of any background to be travelling on their own over such a distance, and Aoife was still shocked that she had done it on the way here. “I am glad to hear that, my Lady.” Aoife commented with a warm smile, and wondered how many Yassia would be travelling with. It would be bad manners to ask of course, so Aoife just kept quiet on that topic for the moment, and instead felt herself drawn in by what Yassia was now saying to her. She wondered who it was that Yassia was speaking of, and hoped very much so that she knew who Yassia was talking about, “Who are you speaking of, my Lady?” She asked brightly and with slightly wider eyes; almost on the edge of her seat. No one entrusted her with secrets, so this was incredibly exciting.

Aoife felt quite out of place here already. She didn’t want o be here, why couldn’t she just go back to Mercia, and live out there. She knew her father couldn’t welcome her home until he remarried, so she hoped that that happened sooner rather than later. She wondered if her Aunt and Uncle lived in some sort of poverty. Their clothes weren’t extravagant, and the manor was a lot smaller than her fathers. She looked at the children, why on earth were they down here with the parents? Both Aoife’s siblings had been looked after by a wet-nurse until they were well past infancy. It was just how they did things, why on earth were her aunt and uncle already acting so unconventionally?! She kept quite a straight face though, not really giving away much. After all, she had to live with them.

Looking back at her Uncle, her question was finally answered, though he seemed quite a bit unsure of his own words. Her Aunt beside her was resisting the urge to bury her head in her hands and ask why her husband had no idea how old their children were. Ignoring her aunt, Aoife just looked at the babies, who seemed more interested in crawling all over her Uncle than doing anything else. This is why they should have been with a wet-nurse. “They seem quite... happy.” She concluded, not really knowing what to say. She wasn’t that interested in babies, she’d had enough of them what with her brother and sister. In her experience all they did was cry, and demand attention. How could anyone think that was cute? Her Aunt had shifted forwards in her seat a little, and she smiled at Aoife,

“I’m sure you’re tired after your journey, I’ll just make sure that all your bags have been taken up to your room, so you may retire when you wish.” Aoife gave a soft smile and gave her thanks. She did want a lie down, she’d been riding for most of the day, and she was quite tired. The journey here had been quite rushed over the border, after all though there was a peace treaty in place, the relations between Camelot and Mercia were still quite shaky. With that, her Aunt got up, gave her husband a quick grin and left the room. If Aoife had been a less noble woman, she would have groaned at this arrangement, but instead she just looked back to her Uncle watching her cousins carefully.

“Where is their wet-nurse?” Aoife finally asked, the question was almost bursting out of her. She could only be patient and wait for what she wanted to know, but patience wasn’t one of Aoife’s virtues, so instead she had half blurted her question out, “Both my brother and sister had one from birth, you see.” She explained, after all, a woman of noble birth couldn’t be expected to feed her baby from her own breast. It was just unheard of. Unless her Aunt did that as well. Jesu, what other ridiculous notions had her Aunt and Uncle incorporated into their lives as well as this? Why did she have a habit of running into ridiculous people? This had all started with Richard, but at least he had been amusing. Running out of things to talk about, amazingly, Aoife bit her lip, trying to think what else to say, “Have you ever been to Mercia my Lord?”

Aoife wished so much now that she had known more of noblemen and women by herself, without her parents looking over her shoulder all the time. Of course there had been Richard, but that had only been the once, and it was only because she had been trying to annoy him. This was completely different. Aoife was trying to impress this princess, and make it seem like she was the perfect little noblewoman. It was all Aoife ever wanted, to appear like she was simply the image of perfection. She really did want to just make her family proud. She had seen what happened to those who displeased her family, after all, her father had once told her that her Aunt Caitrin had displeased their father, which was why she had been sent to Camelot. Aoife couldn’t imagine living somewhere else other than Mercia. This was all she knew. She wondered if her Aunt wanted to come back to Mercia. She couldn’t see how she could not want to, after all, Mercia was the home of the de Archers. It was where their ancestors were laid to rest, and where their children should be born. Anyone with in the family knew that.

Aoife had heard different things about Camelot, some said that a tyrant held the throne, others boasted of its thriving economy and courts. She wasn’t quite sure what to believe. Perhaps if she were more adventurous or daring she would have declared to visit the kingdom someday, but she was quite content to just stay here in Mercia, as it was all she knew and it was all she wanted to know. Perhaps her Aunt did like it there though, if she was the centre of the courts, or so to speak. Aoife felt a pang of jealousy, she would have loved to be at the centre of the Mercian courts, with everyone’s eyes upon her. Her aunt seemed quite different to how her father had painted her. But she did remember something her father had heard, “But she is betrothed, isn’t she?” Aoife asked almost cautiously. She hardly ever heard things about her extended family. Her interests hardly ever ran past this house. “I have heard she is quite headstrong and stubborn.” Of course she wasn’t going to name her father in that accusation, even Aoife was smarter than that, “but it is good to know she is a good friend.” Aoife wondered if, because Yassia was foreign, traits like being stubborn were seen as a good thing, rather than something to be squashed out of a young woman.

The markets were something Aoife could enthuse about for most of the day. She really did love them, but that was probably the reason her parents left her at home when they journeyed to them, to stop her spending all their coin. The fabrics, and silks and ribbons that were showcased at the markets were just divine, and Aoife wanted all of them. She did love stitching, and making her dresses. It made her feel accomplished somewhat. “You should visit them, they are some of the best in Albion.” She declared proudly, and settled to nod as the woman told her that she would let her know if she was thirsty. Short of forcing the drink down the woman’s throat there wasn’t much more she could do.

It sounded like quite a long and complicated story, but Aoife nodded and got the gist of what Yassia was saying. She couldn’t imagine travelling so far away on ones own, it was simply scandalous, and Aoife did well to hide her surprise at the woman’s words. She thought that Yassia must be very brave or very stupid to come such a long way on her own. Perhaps a bit of both. “It must have been terrifying to come such a long way on your own.” Aoife would have been scared, that much was true, “How are you liking Mercia though, my Lady?”

Aoife felt a little strange as the woman started smiling at her. Not that she wasn’t allowed to smile or anything, but it was a curious sort of smile, like she knew something Aoife didn’t. She really hoped that this woman hadn’t been sent as a test from her father or something like that. Why would she be being tested anyway? Aoife knew her hosting skills were getting better, practically everyone told her that anyway. One day she would have a fantastically lively household with children and a loving, noble husband. Aoife was quite content with thinking that was going to be the rest of her life, because it was her life and no one else’s so she didn’t care about what others thought of it really. The woman still made Aoife curious though, she didn’t know much about the lands beyond Albion, she’d never really paid much attention in her lessons, well, she’d learnt all the impressive things like cultures and needlework, but in terms of geography, well, she just about knew the borders of Mercia and even that was at a push.

Well, it didn’t take long for Yassia to indulge Aoife with exactly why she looked and was acting so sure of herself. She almost resisted the urge to groan, it seemed that most people seemed to know her Auntie Caitrin. It was strange, as Aoife had never met the woman, and yet she had heard so much about her that she felt al that she was missing was a face to put to all this information. It was well known the de Archer family weren’t a close knit family, and the woman in question was in Camelot at the moment wasn’t she? That was what Richard had told her all that time ago. “She’s my auntie.” Aoife said with a smile and brushed some hair behind her ear, “But I have never met her.” Aoife wasn’t sure whether she wanted to meet her or not, she had heard many different things about her Aunt, some were completely shocking, others less so. Her father didn’t like his youngest sister very much, and he never had a kind word to say about her, “What is she like?” It was a broad question, but hopefully one which would be answered better than it had in the past.

Aoife nodded and shifted in her seat, “My parents have gone to the Mercian markets.” She had no idea what business they had there, but her parents liked time on their own sometimes, and Aoife was always told that she should respect that privacy and just accept it. Aoife felt like they still treated her like a child all of the time. She was practically a woman and yet no one would treat her like it. Was she supposed to be offended that Yassia had declined the drink? She wasn’t quite sure what to do, “Oh, are you sure? It is no trouble.” That was polite enough wasn’t it? She wished her parents let her do this more often, that way she would be able to do everything with much more confidence.

The fact that Yassia had come so far by herself was positively shocking to Aoife, who couldn’t imagine going further than the family estate without an escourt. She blinked a few times, wondering if Yassia was jesting with her. When she saw she was not, she just sat back in her seat and nodded, “It must have been hard to find your way.” She had no idea how you would navigate yourself, “So, did you come straight to Mercia?”

Aoife couldn’t remember if she’d received guests before on her own. She was sure she would have remembered such an important occasion but alas, she doubted that she had. Her mother and father had always been here to do it for her, and she had just had to say her words in the right place, look pretty and curtsey. She didn’t mind of course, but it might have been nice if they had prepared her for such a moment. It was incredibly irritating that she felt so unprepared, and it was all her parents fault of course. The woman looked like she was of high birth, so she knew it was right that she had decided to invite her in. She couldn’t just let a lady of high birth go around with a lame horse. It struck Aoife as odd that the woman didn’t have an escort with her. Didn’t she know how dangerous the Mercian roads were? Aoife was never allowed out without her fathers men there to protect her, and it had always been that way. Why would she want to put her neck on the line by running off unattended anyway? It was just silly, everyone had heard of misfortune befalling those on the roads, but it didn’t scare Aoife because she knew she was always safe. It was an arrogant thought, but Aoife was an arrogant person in many ways.

She didn’t flush, but she wanted to half smack the woman in the face, not because she hated her, but because she had pointed out where Aoife had gone wrong with her introductions. It could have been the woman asking a simple and innocent question, but to Aoife it just showed her where she had gone wrong. She pressed her lips together, keeping her temper in check. How had she forgotten to introduce herself and the manor? Of all the things to forget! She had been pleasant, and kind, but still she had got it wrong in some sense. She had to get over this though, however, it was childish to hold grudges and to remain angry, and Aoife wasn’t a child. No, she was on the verge of womanhood, and everyone had to know that. “My name is Lady Aoife de Archer, it is a pleasure to meet you princess.” She had never heard of Ailantha, and it sounded just weird. She couldn’t voice that of course because it would show she was uneducated in that sense. Perhaps she should have paid more attention to her tutor. Then again, she had only ever been taught about Mercia, and a little about the other kingdoms. Why would she have to learn about them, it wasn’t as if she was ever going to have to leave Mercia was it? “This is my father, Lord Bryce de Archer’s manor.” She explained as she began to lead the woman inside. A servant had already stepped up to take the woman’s horse inside so he could be re-shoed.

Now, what did noblewomen like to talk about? When Aoife was at court with her friends she liked to talk about all the young knights, and how gallant they looked in their armour. They also just spoke about needlework, and who had the best dresses, and who was the most talented embroider. She doubted this woman would find any of that interesting though, so she was a loss of what to do. Eventually she led Yassia to the solar, because she had no idea where else to sit. It was nice enough in there anyway. “My servants will return when your horse is seen to.” She said rather quickly, “Would you like a drink while you wait?” Would she want wine? Aoife didn’t know where they kept the wine, “Forgive me, but I have never heard of, erm, Ailantha?”

Aoife smoothed out her dress before being shown into the solar where her Aunt and Uncle were. She felt like she was on show somewhat, but this just felt strange. She’d never met this side of the family, she’d only heard about them, and if Richard was anything to go off then her Aunt was going to be strange. She hadn’t heard anything about her Uncle, and she wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. After all, her father spoke about all the most important people over their dinner table. Aoife always listened of course, but her Uncle and Aunt had never been mentioned in those sorts of conversations. The house was quite nice though, so she supposed it wasn’t all bad. Maybe they’d let her go riding, she’d like that.

It seemed to take forever for the maid to come back to her, though it was probably only a matter of seconds. Patience wasn’t a trait any of the de Archers could really say that they owned. Her father had told her that once, so it wasn’t her fault she was impatient, it was in her blood. Anyway, it had been a long ride and she really just wanted to sit down and not be bothered by anything or anyone. The maid showed her into the room and then promptly left. Wait, wasn’t she going to introduce her?! Aoife stood rather awkwardly for a moment, before remembering to sweep into a low curtsey before raising her eyes to her Aunt and her Uncle, only her Aunt, or who she assumed to be her Aunt was stood there though. “I’m sorry to have kept you waiting, my name is Lady Aoife de Archer.” She quickly blurted out, and inwardly cringed, why was she apologising for being late? She was a day early, Jesu this was already going badly. Her Aunt was stepping towards her, and out of the corner of her eye she noticed a man with two babies around him and she inwardly groaned. Her father had told her that her Aunt had children, but she had been hoping for someone a bit older, not babies. What fun were they?

“It’s nice to meet you Aoife.” The woman inclined her head towards her, “My name is Lady Caitrin Aubert, this is my husband Griff Aubert, and our children, Esmae and Arthur Aubert.” Once the formalities were done with she managed a small smile at her Aunt. She still spoke like a Mercian, and she hadn’t been expecting that. “Would you like to sit down?” Caitrin asked her and Aoife nodded and took up a seat not too far away from her Uncle and cousins. She looked down at the babies. She couldn’t understand why everyone said babies were so cute, they just looked the same to her,

“How old are they?” She asked, thinking of something,anything to say. The question was said more to her Uncle though as her Aunt had gone off fetching drinks. Aoife let out a breath she hadn’t known she was holding and brushed her skirt again, well, so far so good.