Orignality's Not A Curse

[xarae]

I ROMANTICIZE EVERY SINGLE THING I DO
especially when it comes to you.

private for malish, ya dig?

Oh, damn it all! Isabel sighed loudly, staring blankly at the sack of potatoes she'd dropped, spilling the contents of the bag everywhere. Already the street urchins were falling over themselves in order to pluck them up, and in a matter of minutes the burlap sack had disappeared as well.

That was the second one she'd dropped today.

"Oh, oh... ugh!" At a loss for words in the face of her own sheer stupidity and uncoordinated hands, Isabel could only stutter. She placed her hands rigidly at her hips and glared sourly at the street children, who by now were quickly fading back into the shadows - with her potatoes, of course.

Her father would surely beat her once he got word of her folly, and judging by the appraising glances of her neighbors, he surely would.

Market day was never an easy task to undertake, especially by one's self. Being the oldest of a family of three girls, it was (unfortunately) her job to sell and barter with her family's goods at every market she could feasibly make the journey to. This time, seeing as Nottingham was a "dangerous place for a young lady such as herself," she had been forced into a caravan with a neighboring family.

Hmph, the indignity of it all.

Isabel stroked Vern's nose briefly, cooing softly into the horse's silky ears. He had been briefly startled by the sudden onset of so many small children, but with a few kind words from his mistress the hot-blooded stallion had cooled down. "Sweet boy," She murmured, surreptitiously sliding a carrot out of the few remaining saddlebags that the proud horse had tethered to his back and allowing him to lip it up.

One of the most degrading things about this whole ordeal was forcing Vern to play pack mule for a day. Isabel valued the horse above all else, and to see the loyal stallion being treated like a common mule killed her.

After leading the horse a couple more meters to an empty stretch of space, she tied his rope to a nearby wooden post and began levying the bags from his back. After moving several pounds of vegetables from his back and onto the ground, she sighed and stretched. The noise of the market was a dull buzzing, setting her tastebuds afire with too many unidentifiable flavors to count. The taste was sickening her stomach fast, but she supposed she'd have to deal with it. Her father would be mad enough already, but if she showed up at home early... Isabel did not let her mind linger on the idea of consequences.

She rubbed her stomach absently, sighing loudly and dramatically. After a few moments to compose herself, she set her face to (arguably) its best setting - 1000 Watt Smile. "Oh kind sir, do come and inspect this cabbage... It's the best this side of Sherwood!" This and other such dribbling frivolities escaped her mouth with sugar-coated glee, enticing consumers closer.

After an hour or so of such bargaining and bickering, she had sold two bags of her wares and was dead tired. Giving up on smiling her way towards a deal, she leaned backwards against her trusty steed and stroked his neck. All the talk was giving her a headache in the worst way, and she would have given anything to leave her spot and spend some time in the shade.

With her mind left to wander, she allowed her eyes to close briefly and contemplate her means of escape. She'd leave this life one day, she had to. There was no doubt in her mind that - somehow - there was a way out.

[/sub][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[donjavier]

Javier was feeling surprisingly cheerful. After his encounter with Hazel the other day, he’d regained a lot of his previous lustre - even Sebastian had commented on it, although not in such polite terms. In truth, all Javi had done was talk to the girl, but it had been enough to make him feel better. He didn‘t think he’d smiled that much in a long time, or even really smiled at all since Issie went missing, it had been nice to feel contented again. Of course, it was mainly because Hazel had reminded him of Issie, which had hurt almost as much as it had made him feel better, but a few days later the negative side seemed to have worn off.

A few guests at the breakfast table had given him some interesting looks as he’d wolfed down his food, varying between concerned and disconcerted, but he hadn’t really paid them any attention. He was still hoping he could get away with things claiming it was to do with cultural differences. A maid in the hallway had received a slight shock when Javier nearly collided with her, instead spinning her round before setting her of in the direction she’d been going. She’d looked startled, then angry, and flounced off, but Javi didn’t care.

It was market day, and there was someone he was hoping to meet.

He didn’t actually know that Hazel would be there, he didn’t really know that much about her, or he might have journeyed over to her village to visit before hand, but this was the best shot he had. He’d even dithered about what to wear - usually he could do it with such ease, slipping into role as easily as one slipped into a hot bath, but that morning he hadn’t been sure. He knew he wanted to look good, but would it be imprudent to put on his finest clothes? In the end he’d told himself he was being stupid, and put on the first things he’d grabbed that matched.

As he walked out of the castle, Javier couldn’t suppress a smile. It was a pleasant day, as well - quite often stall owners cowered beneath what protection their wagons or thin covering fabric could afford them, not daring to leave, just in case they made that bit extra money. Today, however, the sun was out, and though not cloudless, the sky was as blue as it got in England. There was a light breeze that ruffled through Javi’s hair, and he even started whistling as he made his way into the market.

For a little while he wandered round the stalls, not really looking at anything, just smiling politely to those he passed and keeping his eyes peeled for the person he was really looking for. And then he saw her.

It felt as if the bottom had dropped out of Javi’s stomach and all his insides were pouring out onto the street whilst his heart clenched uselessly, starved of blood. Suddenly, all thoughts of the peasant girl had fled his mind, overwhelmed by those of another. Standing there, minding a stall as if nothing in the world had changed, was Isabel Brighton.

It took him a moment to get his breath back, get over the shock of actually seeing her there, but then his face split into a grin, and he set of towards the stall without any more hesitation “I was wondering, Señorita” He said as he approached, smiling even wider, if such a thing were possible “If you have any carrots for sale today?” He’d known what he’d wanted to say as soon as he’d started towards her, and wondered if she remembered their first meeting as vividly as he did. There were so many things that were trying to push into his brain, consequences, things he’d need to consider or change, but at that moment, all he could think of was how utterly ecstatic he was to see Issie again.

[xarae]

OH I LOVE, OH I LOVE, OH I LOVE
what you do to my heart.

Tending her family's stall was never an interesting job, especially this far away from home. A distinct lack of familiar faces always gave her a slight pang - a yearning for a certain person whose face she always unfailing searched for in a crowd. Ever since that fateful day during the Silver Arrow Competition when her tattle-tale sister Claire had spotted her kissing a certain Spanish nobleman, Isabel had been confined to the house.

Without a way to send notice to Javier (not that she had assumed he'd noticed her absence - she merely thought it was the... polite thing to do), he had been left to his own assumptions.

Isabel had often let her mind run rampant, cooped up indoors as she was, there was little other entertainment. Her imagination concocted all sorts of barely-believable explanations for her absence when they finally met once again - anything that sounded more intriguing than the truth.

The noise of boots on the ground brought her back to the present, her eyelids fluttering open. Isabel blinked several times and carefully swiped her bangs out of the way. She rubbed gently at her eyes before yawning briefly, cupping a hand graciously over her mouth. "Carrots? Of course, si - ... " Issie trailed off, her teal eyes widening.

"Javi?" She said, only slightly breathless. It was a wonder how one man could make her feel this way - as if her heart was about to smash every one of her ribs, it was fluttering so madly. "I mean, that is... oh, blast..." Issie mumbled, so caught up in the flavor of his name on her tongue once more that she threw all politesse to the winds, forsaking his formal titling and stature altogether.

She did not grace him with a curtsy, or even an inclination of the head. Her smile spoke volumes. Isabel closed the gap between them quickly until she was less than a foot from his chest. Vern snorted warily, but lowered his head in contentment from the midday heat and let his eyelids close.

"Yes. I have carrots for sale," She murmured, extending her hand and placing it gently on his arm, her fingertips barely touching the fabric of his expensive shirt. "But that's not what you really want, is it?" Isabel smiled gamely and ducked her head, her hair falling into her eyes.

The heat from his body was radiating outwards, sinking into her fingertips and sending a delicious shiver down her spine. Touching his shirtsleeve was inappropriate enough for a peasant, anything more would be purely outrageous with so many prying eyes. Trying her hardest to contain her rapidly beating heart, Issie met his eyes briefly, her usually icy cool blues melting to a molten aqua.

"It's truly been too long," She added, just as softly. Her words were meant for his ears only - to speak louder than necessary would feel unseemly, even if the everyday market chatter made it harder to hear her quiet, though dulcet tones.

Isabel stepped closer, allowing her fingertips to trail down his arm until they rested at his wrist. Every few seconds, she could feel his pulse. Was she imagining it as such, or was his heart beating just as fast as hears?

Surely she was simply deluding herself.

Her smile was full and genuine, aimed at him to convey all that her words could not. "Though I suppose all there is to do now is to make up for lost time, hmm?" Isabel could not withhold a smirk at this, her eyes sparkling deviously. "I have so mourned the loss of your language lessons."

[/sub][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[donjavier]

Javi couldn’t help but laugh a little at Issie’s reaction when she worked out who was addressing her. He’d never seen her startled before. Sure, she’d passed out on him once, but even then she hadn’t seemed that phased. Inside of him, something squirmed with joy that he’d had such an effect on her. She wasn’t blushing delicately like other women her age - one in particular Javi could think of, but he pushed that thought o the back of his mind - he wasn’t sure he’d have wanted her to. Here wide eyed surprise was more than enough, and some how he didn’t think Issie would play the blushing maiden too well.

He laughed again when she stumbled over her words, feeling entirely light hearted and joyful, especially having herd her say his name after so long “I think, perhaps, the phrase you are looking for is ‘it is good to see you’” He said with a smile, to happy to turn it into a smirk “Now I am teaching you English?”

Thankfully, his wit hadn’t left him, even if he had apparently lost control of his facial muscles.

As she walked towards him he felt his breath catch in his throat, although not in an entirely unpleasant way. She was barely a foot away from him, after she’d been so far for so long, it was almost surreal. He wanted nothing more than to just reach out an hold her, kiss her, and only the thing holding him back was the fear of repercussions, for her rather than him. He could have gotten away with it, but the last time he’d kissed her she’d dropped off the face of the earth.

He barely even noticed the lack of formality between them, it felt so natural for them to be acting the way they were. When she reached out for his arm it felt as if little shots were shooting along his nerve endings. It was just a touch on the arm, something that could easily have been perfectly innocent - even though it was improper for a peasant to be touching a noble like that - but the way Issie did it spoke volumes.

“No, it’s not” He replied, still smiling “I want to know where you’ve been for the past month” He reached out to brush her hair to one side where it had fallen across her eyes. As he tucked it behind her ear, he let his fingers trace a slow line down her jaw before his hand fell away.

There was concern in Javi’s face - now he’d addressed the issue, he’d began to feel a little more solemn, remembering what it had been like whist Issie was away. Still, that couldn’t do much to dampen his joy, especially when Issie stepped closer, running her hand down his arm as she did it. His eyelids closed for a moment as she laid her fingers on his wrist, then he moved his hand so it held heirs their fingers entwined “It has” He murmured, eyes flicking up to look at her face.

Javi gave no response to her final question, except a grin that stretched from ear to ear. Pulling on her hand he made to lead her away from the market. It probably wasn’t the best idea to leave her stall unattended, but right at that very moment, he didn’t care.