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shorter cos you're getting a cheeky double update tonight but also cos i've split different events up into different chapters and they gotta be like this in order to the book to sectionally function
but then i was like let's add more description and shit in but honestly i hate reading books where everythings dragged out and there's loads of irrelevant stuff that could be cut out so i am trying to be v direct
enjoy my lieblings x
word count; 1290
Rosamund
"What?" I whispered, watching as Owain produced an all-too-familiar blade. It glinted in a manner that frightened me much; I hoped he did not intend to use it but Owain was becoming harder to read. He was, slowly, growing insane.
"You and that," He took a moment, "that Irishman!" He spat. I breathed slower at the mention of Finan before thinking methodically; I shook my head in an attempt to deny his claims. They were true but I could not admit that. To confess my sins would be to give up my life, and for what? Some man who couldn't handle becoming, albeit sinfully, a cuckold. No, I was worth more than him. I would always be worth more than he thought me, for he had one, key but fatal flaw; he underestimates his enemies.
"What Irishman, Owain?" I asked, feeling confident in my ability to refute his claims.
"I am Lord King to you!" He growled. I nodded hastily in an attempt to calm him. It seemed I would have to charm him but continue to deny his claims.
"Of course, Lord King, but forgive me; I do not understand your meaning." I spoke like a fool, I acted like a fool, I claimed to be a fool.
"It all makes sense to me now," He cackled like a madman. I could not tell if he had drunk much or if this was yet another mood swing. "That is no lawful child in your belly, is it?"
He had struck me by surprise. I hadn't thought him intelligent enough to put them together but now it was all unravelling, all of it, pushed into the abyss. "...what?"
"It's his, isn't it? The Irishman's!"
"No!" I exclaimed, feeling a fury rise within me. "I am as faithful a wife as you are a lawful King." I seethed, making my voice loud and stern. I could not charm a man so deep in suspicion.
"And now you question the legitimacy of my rule!" He exclaimed. It was these words that prompted me to back down. Questioning his suspicions was one thing, but questioning his God-given right was not something I wished to entertain.
"Lord, no, I-"
"Do not speak another word." He hissed. I moved towards him but he shook his head, "Do not." I nodded again but he began to speak again, spilling out words infused with a jealous venom. "
I woke with a sweat-infused brow and a terror that could not be quelled. My breath was as rapid as ever and I realised, at that moment, I was alone. Owain did not return to my rooms that night and thus I assumed he reunited with his harlot in his own chambers. I was thankful for the long, albeit interrupted, sleep. It would be needed for the long journey ahead. I was heavily with child and thus I hoped this would be the last arduous journey before my child was born.
But, alas, these dreams... these nightmares. They were becoming a torment. My sins were catching up with me and I feared these nightmares would actualise, becoming a reality that I did not wish to face. I had sinned against my husband and the gravity of my sin was overwhelming; I had signed my own death warrant.
But I had no time to think of such matters. The sun was rising, dawn shining over Winchester, signalling it was my time to rise. I did so, dressing slowly and dressing in the thickest furs I had; those I brought from Aquitaine. The air was frost-bitten and no doubt would catch a few men out.
I was to take the carriage home; riding a horse did not seem an apt way for a Queen to travel when she was so far gone in carrying her child. Alas, I stood by it and waited for Owain. When he did, finally, arrive he seemed a different man than the soft-spoken one who I had been with last night.
"Owain?" I asked, looking at his cuts and bruised eye. He looked jarred and as if he'd just exited a brawl fight. "How did this happen?" I said, placing a hand on his cheek. His horse shuffled about behind him and Owain dismissed it, looking at me with a neutral expression.
He shrugged my words off in a casual manner, "A brawl in a tavern, nothing more."
"A brawl? In a tavern?" I groaned in dismay. "You should not be in taverns, Owain, you are the King,"
"I do as I wish, wife," He snapped, turning and quickly mounting his horse. It was one of the first time he'd referred to me by my position and not my name. I nodded and smiled, ignoring it.
"Of course. Forgive me." In another situation, I would've argued it out with him, but we were in public. Rumours already grew of his weakness and questioning him in public would do neither of us any good. I turned back to the carriage, pausing before I stepped in.
"Safe journey," I heard Finan call. I glanced back at him and smiled, nodding.
"I hope I shall see you soon," I said softly as he approached. He had a wide smirk on his expression and was clearly feeling prideful, a glimmer of confidence in his eyes that I had only seen a few times before.
"Hopefully for merry reasonin'," He chuckled lightly. I gave him a warm smile, truly thankful to him. No matter what had gone between us, I knew he'd always have a place in my heart.
"I feared you would miss my departure," I admitted with a frown, but changed it to a smile as I spoke again, "I am glad you did not."
Finan placed his hand on the carriage door and I frowned, looking at a small but noticeable red cut that lay on his cheek. I was alarmed at the sight; Finan was rough but it was not in his nature to be so brutal.
"Have you been fighting again, Finan?" I asked sternly, fiddling tracing a finger along the red line. He flinched and snatched my finger away and shook his head with a chuckle,
"It's ma' nature." He teased. I took a seat in the carriage and the door shut. I placed a hand on the wooden door and leaned out, looking at him.
"Is it?" I asked, eyeing him with a frown on my expression. He opened his mouth to tell me something, a look on his face that I couldn't quite read, but he no time to respond as Owain's horse set off and, thus, the carriage did too. That was just my little luck; to be cut off mid-conversation. Nonetheless, I glanced back and smiled at Finan; he did much the same.
"Who was that?" Aelwyd asked. I smiled down at her and chuckled,
"A warrior, Aelwyd. A friend."
"A friend?" She questioned, arching a brow. "He looked like a brute."
I chuckled again and nodded, "Finan is a rough brute indeed but he has other layers," I smiled. "As do all men."
