Thedor 17, 229: The Song is Ended, but the Melody Lingers On

The Queen goes for a walk to clear her mind and finds a song that leads her to peace.


The Song is Ended, but the Melody Lingers On
Summary: The Queen goes for a walk to clear her mind and finds a song that leads her to peace.
OOC Date: 17 January 2014
Related: Everything Lae has ever been in!
Players:
Laetitia Inouv Bird 
Darfield Beach
The rocks by the docks give way to sand, a tannish brown in color, that lines the beach front. The beach goes for several miles in either direction at low tide, the docks a midpoint in their length. There are several coves and inlets to be found along the way. However, when the tide is up, some parts of the beach become impassable. In several areas, a fire pit has been set up, with logs and boulders around for seating. Seaweed drifts to the shore, and the tide leaves driftwood and other debris, along with small sea critters, in tide pools that can only be found when the tide is out.

It is a winter evening. The weather is freezing and snowing. The planet Cri dominates the sky from east to west.

Thedor 17, 229

It's been a rough week for the Queen who has demanded to go for a walk out in this weather. The air is cold and biting, swirlings of white dusty snow clamouring to claim her and her entourage entirely while depositing snowy kisses upon exposed flesh. After her impromptu moment with Aldren and Moira a whole barrage of emotions made her feel as if she were suffocating, the Queen needing air. Air and the sound of the sea to soothe her soul.

Horses were taken out, the Queen riding side saddle with her contingent of guards and four ladies, Lady Winifred having been spared the night out because of her sensitivity to the snow and how the cold clings to her bones. Once the line of frozen sand and dunes has been reached the Queen will dismount, wrapped in warm wolves pelts made into a stunning cloak, furry hood drawn around her face, scarves whipping about her in the wind, thick woolen dress with thick skirts worn of deep purple, thick gloves on her hands.

Her ladies are dressed similarly to the Queen, all hovering about her to keep close, two clinging to her arms, the others clinging to the ladies flanking her as she begins to walk with booted feet through the snow. This is as close to solitude as she gets. Guards walk three in front, four behind, as the Queen heads to the now extended shoreline of ice.

—-

The cold wind sends flurries of snow dancing around them. It stars with a faint sound. It is coming from down the beach and it is as if someone is signing. What you can hear is filled with longing and sadness. The night is dark as black velvet and beach white as any lily flower.

"Do you here that you majesty?" One of the ladies asks. "Do you hear it?" She pauses and moves towards the queen. "It is so sad. We should find the singer your majesty."

—-

Another of the ladies speaks up. "I hear it.." she murmurs to the one beside her. "Haunting… so sad." Looking almost distraught herself, she wipes a tear from her eye, blinking against the cold, the snow. "Should we find the singer? Should we return to the castle?" But still the melody calls, tugs her and she cannot help to look for the source of the voice.

—-

Laetitia does indeed hear the voice, it tugs at her heart strings and makes the organ swell up and deflate in equal measure, so much so that the Queen feels a moment of faintness to her. So haunting, so beautiful, "I do hear it …" The Queen will murmur, her guards looking about as well, the Queen nodding once as she lifts a hand out from her cloak to gesture, "We must find whomever it is who is singing, such a voice …" And the emotion it brings about in her, tears springing to her own eyes once more so easily, a tremulous smile on her lips as she moves forwards through the snow, turning her head to try and listen more —- glancing off in the direction she believes the voice is coming from, "Come, lets us pay accolades to such a voice …and pray find out what breaks it's heart so …"

—-

"Very sad, no we should find the signer, they should not be in the left in this cold." The lady peers down the empty beach. The queen moves and she follows. "Your majesty, who do you think it is? The voice sounds female."

—-

Each note they hear is layered with tones. Each tone is melodic and it hangs in the air. The sound seems to grow take on a life of its own. It fills the space around them and wraps them in a embrace.

—-

Entranced, one of the entourage walk nearer the sea, closing her eyes, taking a deep breath, allowing the cold air into her lungs. "Where is it from? Who is singing it?" She approaches the queen. "Your majesty, have you ever heard anything so lovely?"

—-

"I don't know …I haven't heard any female bards of late with such a voice …" The Queen will murmur, clearly mesmerized even as tears clutch to her cheeks, whipped away by a breeze to roll tiny little ice trails along her flesh then away. Continuing on through the snow she will squint through the darkness, "My sweet, where are you?" She'll call out into the darkness, lights of the ships off the coast in the distance blinking in the air like fireflies caught mid-flight, "No, never …" Its so lovely she forgets the touch of the cold upon her exposed flesh, and she too will move towards the sea, canting her head this way and that, finally pushing back her hood from her face so she can better hear, blonde hair whipping out into the wind around her, buffeting against her face, cheeks wind stung and kissed by the cold, "My dear - come out, let us pay proper respects to your song!"

—-

Entranced, one of the entourage walk nearer the sea, closing her eyes, taking a deep breath, allowing the cold air into her lungs. "Where is it from? Who is singing it?" She approaches the queen. "Your majesty, have you ever heard anything so lovely?" The song stops. "Come to me, come and sit with, I am upon the rocks." The woman cries out in response. Her voice is sweet and layered with a musical quality. "I would like your company. Come and join me, sit and talk with me."

—-

Laetitia twists around, searching for the voice, the guards pointing her to the rocks, they too entranced by the voice. The Queen will dip down slightly to clutch her skirts upwards so she can step more nimbly, picking her way, a joy rising up in her chest at the invitation, "Of course, of course my dear." The Queen calls back, looking to her ladies, bright green eyes dancing even in the darkness, "What good luck have we, my little butterflies, that we should find such a voice in a time so wrought with sorrow." Enthused softly, the Queen assisted by her guards to make her way up to those very rocks.

—-

"Oh we must know, we should know who has such a beautiful, beautiful voice. Never have I ever heard something so hauntingly perfect.." The maid looks to the queen and follows her guidance, as she had always done. Up the rocks, despite the cold, despite the snow. Such beauty to behold!

—-
A guard will move up ahead, bending down to assist the Queen up with lifting hands that tug her forwards while another guard follows behind to steady the Queen by her hips so that she's not tumbling down. The remaining guards will help the ladies up as they all pick their way up - A few slips by the Queen who is not used to such events such as climbing anything other than stairs will laugh merrily, blushing in the freezing weather as furls of wintery mist rise from her lips, the winter claiming her warmth ever more. Closer and closer they get, the Queen pulling herself up with the help of her men, almost breathless - both from weather and exertion. Ooh, boy. She's not young anymore. And no doubt she will feel this climb in the morning, "Oh -" And there she is, up, being guided by a guard further to look around and see where the woman is.

—-

Behind the guard the maid follows, her slippered feet slipping then finding purchase on the cold stone, the cold wind swirling her dark hair into a halo around her head, dark eyes watching the sea, and then the queen, with an almost wanton need. "I wish to meet who owns the voice. I wish to sing as she is, I wonder could she teach me!

—-

There is movement near the rock and what seems to be hand is held out to the queen, her guards and the butterflies. "Come and join me. Sit and enjoy, the sea is peaceful, I would like for rest with me." The woman on the rock beckons. "Come and join me,." As they get closer they see her outline is near and she begins to sing. Her voice is beyond description. "They swam in a sea as warm as mothers milk , caressed hands as sweet and silk. Cried all the voices of the sea, come make love to me. Sailor, Sailor, help me free, your trusted lover I will be, if you just believe in me." The water begins to rise around the rocks where they are climbing, guards and butterflies alike do not seem to notice. "You are so lovely." The voice says to the queen, you should stay with me for a while, my master would love to see you. He has been waiting for you, though he stated you would not stay long."

—-

"Perhaps she will teach all of us, my love." The Queen will state over her shoulder, still breathless, taking a moment though she's soon taking that hand as it helps her up, the Queen only too happy to join the woman. She will wave to her ladies to sit where they wish as the Queen moves to drop down into a knelt position nearby, her heart pounding as the music picks up again to haunt through the air, "I would …I would love to." How could she not, that voice is so warm, soothing and she can think of nothing else in the moment that she'd wish for, "Has he?" Oh, why that brings about a blush to the aging Queens cheeks she'll never know, perhaps wondrous delight that a master who has such a lovely singer would have been waiting for her, "Who is your master?" Asked as she self-consciously runs a hand back through her wildly wind blown hair, "Your voice …it's …sublime …" Hardly able to keep her thoughts along one track. Some twinge rises up in her chest — oh, if only her husband was here to share this moment with her. To hear this voice.

—-

Unknowing of the water rising, the make takes a seat on the rock, oh just to hear the voice in song, to close her eyes and let it move her. Her youthful body sways back and forth to the song, a blissful smile playing over her lips, hair whipping in a cold wind she does not feel. Extending her arms to her side, she is as lost in the song as the Queen seems to be. Were she standing, she would twirl to the music, so elated, so happy. Breathtaking.

—-

The water gets higher, the voice continues to sing. "All the treasures of the sea, will be yours if you just believe in me." The woman sings before she speaks again. "My master always comes at night, it is pity you will not be able to stay you are so kind and so warm. It has been so long since I have had that." She reaches out and touches the queen's arm. Her hand is as smooth as dolphin's hide. Her voice so captivating, "he always comes during his hour, it is the time he was appointed by council, so misunderstood. Even Oblivion does not understand him." The water rises more and their skirts billow around them and the woman begins to sing again.

—-

From down on the beach a sound comes up, a dog barking, the creature bounding in as if on a mission. Upwards through the sands, snow, ice, and up those rocks, clamoring up through the water to squick his way up, Bird is there. But he's not full of frantic energy, no - excited energy. Tail wagging, unable to feel the cold through his thick fur, the old, old canine immediately burrowing in against Laetitia's side as he eagerly awaits the master as well, "Bird …" Oh, it's a loving note, made even more loving by that voice which infuses her with so many emotions she feels clear to bursting. Both she and her lifelong companion listen, the handmaidens forgotten ..the guards, everyone but those who lay closest in her heart. She returns the touch from the woman, feeling that soft slick flesh, but thinking naught of it but 'how lovely …' "Always during this hour? And he has been waiting for me?"

Oh, but what did her other words mean prior …so long since she had had that …A momentary look of joyful confusion, the Queens gaze ever fixed upon the woman, her hand upon Birds head to swing about to cradle his neck, "I ..I am honored that he would …see fit to see me." She feels so young again, shy, unsure, emboldened all the same, eager to meet this master, "Where am I going, why would I not be able to stay? I would love to stay …" She murmurs, some disappointment in her tone. She doesn't wish to leave. Not yet.

—-

Silent and still now, the maid remains on the rocks, drawn by the voice whether singing or talking, enchanted by the spell. One of the guards squats down beside her, a hand at her back and she leans into him. A forbidden romance coming to light, though both seem as entranced with the singer as with the song.

—-

One by one the butterflies disappear as the water grows higher. There is no sound and there is not struggle just the sound of the singer's voice and the sound of the waves crashing on the shore. The forbidden lovers are swallowed up as the tide grows higher. Soon the queen and dog and the singer are all that is left. The icy water teases at her clothing tugging on it and teasing it. Her gown billows around her and the cold bites deep. "It is time, he is here." From the water a man dark ebony with red eyes appears and looks up at the queen. He holds a hand out to the queen offering for her to take it.

—-

As the world falls away …one by one …each butterfly swallowed up, Laetitia will feel those waters rise up about her but they're hardly given mind, "He is." Watching as the man emerges from the water, her lips parting, cheeks bright with sudden knowing. How could she not. She had prayed to him so many times in hours of darkness, of desperation, of sorrow. When her soul, her spirit, had ached the most.

Elegantly she will reach a hand out to the woman who had been singing, touching her shoulder as she slowly rises up, "I wish I could stay longer, my love, to hear more of your song, but my Lord …he beckons." Barely a whisper drops from her lips with those words, the cold clutching to her, waters swirling about her as she straightens to a full stand, Bird rising with her, hand dropping from the womans shoulder to the tall canines neck as she reaches out to take Inouvs hand with her free hand.

"Bird …let us not dally." And then a deep curtsey that would set women to jealousy to the lord, knees drifting back into the water as she edges forwards to allow herself to be led into the depths, "Where are we going?" There is no fear in her, nor in Bird, the wolf hounds tail wagging as he winds around Lae, through the water, to nudge his snout up against the hands of Inouv and Laetitia, licking both before he skims back to where he was, the old canine looking adoringly between his Queen and the God. They're ready.

—-

He takes her hand and he holds it tightly and then he leads her to Bird down into the dark water. "To my realm for a time and then my brothers and sisters said you are to go to theirs for now you are mine just for a little bit. We will enjoy each others company, next time when you are born again you will remember my touch and thoughts." They slip away from sight. Once they are in there the cold disappears and then there is nothing but peace. He leads her into his realm when the hour changes she will be allowed to enter Paradise.

—-

Laetitia shivers, though she would never acknowledge it, the cold so biting, her steps matching Inouvs as she clutches his hand just as tightly, a tightness overcoming her chest as she turns just a moment to look back over her shoulder at the world she is leaving behind, "It was all so ..beautiful." No regrets, joy nearly bursting her heart. She had what most women in her position only dreamt of as young women; true love with the love of her life Callem, a lifetime spent with him, being his Queen, his wife, his lover, his confidant. The creation of their beautiful children, flaws and all, their grandchildren, her newest child in which she was able to give life to before this. Friends that became her family so that she would not feel so keenly the loss of her own, a Kingdom which loved her, good or bad, and the chance to have tasted the most delectable treats one could hope for in the Kingdom thanks to a baker she wishes she had made Royal baker sooner, if only because he deserved that and more.

And once more, at her side, at the junction between life and death, her ever steadfast companion Bird, "You and I deserve a rest my love." Murmured, the Queen only pausing once in her steps with Inouv to do a small crouch, Bird leaping up, his huge form nothing in the water, head over his Queens shoulder, paws to either side of her neck, clutching her as they are delivered to those waters which take away all pain and biting of the cold. A kiss to Birds neck with a twist of her head as they disappear beneath the swirling waves of the ocean that swallow up those rocks, leaving nary a trace of those who had been there before. She of sharp green eyes and flaxen hair who so adored the earth beneath her feet and the stars above her head, of the joy of life and living, who had experienced so much sorry and tragedy over her years, but so much love. She so loved that a God himself took her for company before escorting her to the next realm. Laetitia, Queen of Mobrin. And Bird, King of Canines.

Say not in grief that she is no more

but say in thankfulness that she was

A death is not the extinguishing of a light,

but the putting out of the lamp

because the dawn has come.

- Rabindranath Tagore

charlize-theron-black-and-white-portrait-slight-smile.jpg

Laetitia Kilgour

Thedor 01, 187 - Thedor 17, 229

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