Philippe of Morgarath

Chapter Eight

It felt like forever, since Philippe had been standing outside of the big, oakwooden doors of his fatherly home. He knew that behind the door, his wife was trying to brew something with the flower he had gotten from the mountain, the day before. People said that in the morning the conconction would be finished, but that had not been true. Usually women prepare it in a night, but his fiancée liked to keep him waiting, it appeared. Either that, or she was horrible at cooking.

His legs had gotten stiff hours ago, and his back was soar from all the stretching Philippe had done. He was not allowed to sit down, or go somewhere else. He had to wait from the moment he woke up, to the moment she was done. And it felt like forever, since he -full of energy- took place in front of the doors. If only he had known this would take so long, he would have pretended to sleep a little while longer.

The program of the day was exciting, but also nervewrecking. The moment she came through the door, he had to pick her up and bring her outside. There he had to put her on a white stallion, and drive her to the Ninartree. He had requested with Maldun if he could bring Nay, but the old man was not moved by Phil's emotional speech. White, meant white. And nothing Philippe said could change his mind.

He used to play at the field of Ninar, as a child. The big appletree was one that had always amazed him. As a child he was allowed to play near it, but he had never been allowed to touch the tree. Let alone eat one of the apples. At the end of the fruitseason, when the apples fell of the tree, they were taken home by ladies of the kitchen. They would prepare the unpicked apples into a mouse, that was given to pregnant ladies of court- and surroundings.

According to custom, these apples were given by the Gods, for fertility and strength. If a pregnant woman ate them, it meant blessing for the child. Some women were even allowed to eat some of the prepared applesauce if they were breastfeeding. It all really depended on how many pregnant women there were at that time.

People always told him, that one of the reasons of his mother's untimely death, was because she had never eaten the sauce during pregnancy. She had refused most customs, because she did not believe in the Gods that much. Maldun always said that Philippe's mother believed in nature, but he never wanted to specify what he meant with that.

Because she had died so young, Philippe never got the chance to meet her. According to his father, Nina -his mother- disappeared right after giving birth to Philippe. It had taken months and months before people found her. They found her, dead, in the house of Parwer, a village elder.

Parwer back then was older than Maldun was now. He was known for having interest in magic of all kinds, and nothing else much. He was a very distant, quiet person. People had let him be by himself, and if they saw him they walked around him with a big bow.

Rumors said that Nina left Malowen, to be with Parwer. A silly story, considering Parwer's age, but Philippe knew he would never be able to figure out the truth.

After they found Nina dead, Malowen started a big search for Parwer, looking for revenge. But the man had never been seen, or heard of, ever since.

This is when Malowen's disgust with magic came to be. No one was allowed to speak of it, or act on it, under his rule. His punishments could even lead to death, in rare cases.

Philippe looked up, when he saw the doors open slowly. He saw his fiancée appear. Her blonde, curly hair, hung neatly combed over her shoulders. In it were wild, pink flowers and around her neck she wore a medallion that looked similar to the one Philippe had worn the day before.

She wore a wide, airy white dress with long, falling sleeves. In her hands she had a small bottle, with a pink fluid in it. Philippe noticed that she was trying to say something, but she could not manage to get the sound out of her throat. She looked terrified, and even more shy than she usually did.

Philippe took a step towards her, picked her up in both arms and walked with her outside. There he put her on the back of the white stallion that had been patiently waiting for them. He looked at his shaking fiancée and whispered: 'Hold on tight', after which he took place behind her.

While holding her in his arms protectively, they drove off. Loud cheers appeared as they drove through the gates of the castle. Hundreds of people were standing there, waiting and throwing flowers. Philippe felt Llona's shaking become even stronger. She really was a very, very shy person. He quickly made the horse continue in a gallop, so he could take her away from the people.

It did not take very long before they reached the field of Ninar. A couple hundred meters away, Phil made the horse stop, and he got of. He helped Llona get both feet on the ground as well.

The ceremony said that with the upcoming sun they had to go to the tree, but because Llona had taken her time brewing the liquid, the sun was almost at its highest point already. In a way Philippe found it funny, his fiancée was just like him. Human.

Slowly they walked towards the tree, leaving the horse behind. 'What did you add to the potion?' Philippe broke the silence, hoping for her to relax.

Llona looked up at him, and he saw that she was confused. 'I am not allowed to tell you', she said. He heard in her voice that she did not understand why he would ask her that. That's why he quickly continued with: 'Ah, protocols. Of course.'

When they reached the tree, Philippe glazed through the pink coloured blossom leaves, looking for an apple. There were some, but he had no idea which one they would be picking. He looked at Llona. 'Which apple do you want us to take?' he asked her, still hoping for her to loosen up a little bit. 'This one?' he pointed at an apple that spoke somewhat to him. It was a little bit out of shape and had some green coloured spots on it. He appreciated the apple's character, if that can be said over a piece of fruit, of course.

Llona answered by shaking her head. Slowly she walked around the tree, with focus. At the other side of the Ninartree she came to a stop and she pointed up. Phil followed her and saw what he pointed at: a big, red, perfectly round apple. He stretched towards the fruit, picked it and held it right in front of her face. A smile appeared, while she touched it with her fingertips. 'Yes, this apple', she said quietly.

Philippe took a bite from the apple, after which he gave it to the girl. She took a bite a swell. They opened the bottle, and drank from it. Phil looked up to the skies. 'And now we have to ask the Gods for blessing', he said with a wide smile. When he looked back down, he saw the fear in her eyes. His smile disappeared. He put his hand on her cheek. 'Do not worry', he said to his soon to be wife, trying to comfort her. 'I will not do anything you do not want me to.'

Llona grabbed his hands, and took them to her hips. With his hands under hers, they followed her thighs, more and more down... The smile came back to his face, when he saw the determination on her face. She wanted this, just like he did.