A Day In The Life...

Ariana wasn’t sure how much Floran had been told about her, but based on his reaction he had not known she had a child. She watched him slightly and could see the questions in his eyes. However, he kept himself composed and polite.

“Her name is Meliara,” she replied in a soft tone. “She is almost a year and a half. I suppose no one told you about me...about what I did.”

Her tone and the way she was speaking to him made him wonder and want to know more. What could she have done? Did she have the child out of wedlock? He knew it had been known to happen. But now he looked over at Nauriel and Elessar and saw Nauriel avert her gaze. Floran wasn’t a stupid man. Quite the contrary. The suddenness of everything was now beginning to make sense. And yet…
Visions of weeping upon his dead wife’s pale hand were still vivid in his mind just then. The grief of it, the utter feeling of being powerless...the loss…the ache in his heart. The feeling of being completely alone…Outwardly he simply frowned at her words.
“As I have heard it said in Gahanna, even a black sheep is a sheep for shearing,” he said before he could take the words back. He had heard that from Lord Conleth himself. When she looked at him she’d see his cheeks coloring again. “Oh, uh...I didn’t mean anything by it...Your grandfather...Lord Conleth...I uh...heard him say that,” he said as he winced internally.

Ariana could see that Floran was thinking of something. His outward expression changed and she could see...was it a look of heartache in his eyes? There was clearly more to his own story than she knew, but she decided not to question him about it in that moment. She was about to take another spoonful of soup when he suddenly said that even a black sheep was a sheep worth shearing. Ariana wasn’t entirely sure how she felt about such a comment, but she could see Floran immediately regretted saying it based upon his sudden expression. She gave a small smile to put him at ease but decided to wait until after dinner to tell him everything.

As dinner concluded, Ariana rose to show Floran around the palace. They had managed to find other things to talk about during dinner, although she could tell he wanted to know more about her. She walked quietly for a moment before speaking gently.

“His name was Lucas. He was a young guard here in the palace and we fell in love. I should not have engaged in a relationship with him, but I did and soon discovered I was pregnant. Lucas wanted to go to my father and tell him, but I feared what he might do and so we ran away together instead. We married and moved to Bree where we lived on next to nothing. Lucas worked hard for us, but after Meliara was born he begged me to return to Gondor. He knew he would never be allowed back. He was considered a deserter for what he did. However, I refused to leave without him.” She became quiet for a moment and fought back a few tears as she remembered what had happened. “One night, a day before our first anniversary I received a knock on our door. Outside there were two men and...they had Lucas’ body. He had been killed trying to break up a fight. They dumped his body in our kitchen and told me he couldn’t be buried until they had the money they needed. I do t remember screaming but apparently I was because our neighbors heard and came over. I can still see him lying there in my dreams. They hadn’t even closed his eyes so they were staring at me. I was forced to sell the last piece of jewelry I owned and wanted to give to Meliara in order to have him buried. I then packed up the few things I owned and traveled with Meliara back here. I could not care for Meliara on my own. I was lucky that my parents agreed to allow me to come home. I think if I didn’t have Meliara they would not have allowed it. No one in Minas Tirith wants anything to do with me anymore. They all know what happened.”

Floran was silent for some time as they walked. They had come to a terrace that overlooked the southern landscape. The green hills rolled on almost as far as the eye could see. The sky had just begun to darken and flocks of dark birds flew together, suddenly shifting this way or that as they searched for insects before it became to dark for them to hunt.
It was obvious now that Elessar and Nauriel wanted Ariana to find a husband...and quickly. Floran was honored by them selecting him as a suitor but he didn’t think it was at all fair to Ariana. Being apart from nobility himself he was not raised to believe that arranging marriages with love as a tertiary consideration was appropriate. He loved Ilya to his bones and he buried them together. Was he ready to be a husband and father again? Ariana was certainly beautiful. And the prospect of having children was definitely something he thought about often.
From here he could ask her an entire host of questions but what he would be thinking if she had never told him anything was what she liked to do for fun. That and everything else about her she would convey.
“What does a beautiful Princess do for fun when she is not holding court?” he asked as if he were talking about someone else. It was effortless to forgive her for following her heart, noble or no. Right then he had a strong desire to hold her hand or for her to take his arm but he didn’t allude to that though. He was smiling however and his eyes were very intent on her face right then.

Ariana watched Floran’s face intently as she finished her story. She was curious as to how he would react. She could tell he was deep in consideration of all she had said. It was true that she was a princess, but she had a young child and came with a past that didn’t put her in the best of lights. It would take a man with a good heart and the willingness to look beyond her past to win her hand. A marriage would not just involve her, but her daughter as well and Meliara was her first and foremost concern. She had expected Floran to ask her questions about Lucas and her relationship with him, but instead he surprised her by asking her what she liked to do for fun. She laughed out loud at his question and shook her head.

“I rarely have time to myself anymore. When I am not in court I am taking care of Meliara. However, if I had the time I would go riding. I haven’t been riding just for fun in quite some time.”

Floran couldn’t help but chuckle himself at her reaction. He wanted to know more about Meliara but there was plenty of time for that he decided. He wasn’t certain if he didn’t feel like a stud led to a mare but it didn’t have to be that way if they didn’t make it that way. He and Ilya had been friends since they were children. And regardless of ‘how’ or ‘why’ they were put before one another he thought her charming and very beautiful. That and she also knew what it was like to lose someone. Someone she loved. That endeared him more to her than everything else combined. He knew Elessar and Nauriel knew about his past but he didn’t want Ariana to continue with him because she pitied him. It was obvious now that they had said nothing to her about that and he preferred it this way.

Unfortunately time has slipped away from them as they talked and already stars began to appear in the ever darkening sky.

“Well, since we are very busy people, would you allow me to write you Ariana? And if you do have time, would you allow me to escort you in a ride sometime in the future?” He asked graciously. Normally he should ask the king for this first but considering they were the ones that put him here he decided permission would be implied.

Ariana liked Floran. He seemed like a good man and had not judged her for her past. He seemed willing to look beyond it and that put her at ease. Nothing had been promised or set in stone. At this point in time they were simply two people who were getting to know one another better. And she did want to know more about Floran. She guessed that there was more to his story than he had let on. However, that would have to wait for another day. It was growing late and she needed to go check on her daughter.

"Yes, I would like those both," she responded honestly. Thoughts of Einor continued to linger in her head and heart, but she knew she needed to try and get past whatever feelings she still had for him. She hoped in time they might fade and perhaps be replaced with the same kind of affection for Floran. "I have enjoyed spending the evening with you. It was nice to be able to speak to a man who did not jump to judge me because of my past."

ooc: new Thread