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Description
You traveled for roughly four weeks, by foot and occasionally by the cart of a kind person in a mostly southern direction. You tried as best as you could to spend as little of Arthur's savings as possible, which meant skipping more than a few meals and avoiding even the most comfortable looking inns. After about a week or so, you ended up in a strange place where the people spoke an odd brand of German. They seemed friendly enough, even though it was more difficult to understand them. You did your best to get along well with them, but it was a little confusing at times.
You decided to rest at an inn for a few days, and the couple who ran the inn, though odd, were more than supportive. The woman, Elizabeta as you later found out, was not from that country, but had moved there to be with her husband, Roderich. The two of you became fast friends, as you were both strangers to this country, and through that, Roderich became a friend as well. They helped you adjust to some of the language, and in return, you provided some labor for them, working in the kitchens.
Elizabeta was a kind woman, and reduced your costs for staying there to almost nothing after she heard that you were travelling alone. Still, you knew you couldn't let them get by on nothing, and so you quietly slipped her the ruby necklace from your bag. When she had protested, you shook your head, refusing to take it back. It was a gift to her, and she could do whatever she pleased with it, you told her. Her eyes watered with tears, and she thanked you profusely, and you gave her a gentle hug in return.
While you were working in the inn kitchens one day, you overheard some customers talking quietly by the table closest to the entrance of the kitchen. The first thing that caught your attention was how the people were speaking in plain German, not the strange version you had heard everywhere here. Then, you noted what they were actually talking about. Their topic made you pause in your work, and you stepped just a bit closer to the door to listen to what they were talking about.
"Yeah, it's all that the people in Germany are talking about! The prin- no, he's the king now, King Gilbert's bride to be disappeared a few weeks ago, and they've been doing a massive search. He's even beginning to search other countries for her, just barging on in to look with his army. She's apparently been kidnapped by some vagrant who wants lots of money, but won't tell the king where he's keeping her. I can't believe that anyone would be so foolish as to challenge a king like that."
The customers soon stopped speaking about it and moved on to other things, but this revelation nearly making you drop a plate, your stomach churning at this news that had just dropped onto your shoulders. Prince Gilbert had been made king? What had happened to King Torvald? Even worse, now he was searching for you with fervor that expanded into other countries! All of this under the premise of a lie that someone had stolen you for ransom! Staying in any one place could mean your immanent capture and arrest, which would mean Gilbert would try to marry you again. Only this time, you wouldn't be able to escape from him in the night, like you had previously.
Your eyes flicked to the golden ring Arthur had given you when the two of you got married. It was more than just a ring, it was your covenant and bond with Arthur, signifying your love amd comittment. You couldn't allow King Gilbert to find you, and that was absolutely certain. As soon as possible, you would have to leave, hopefully before anyone could find out who you were. The German royalty might have connections here since the people somewhat spoke German, and there was no need to be caught there and be forced back to a life you didn't want. You bade farewell to your kind hosts, Elizabeta and Roderich, who were sad to see you leave, and onwards south you went through a series of mountain passes.
The journey was rough, and snow nearly stopped you several times. However, about three days of following a singular mountain pass, you came across someone who appeared to be a native, or at least familiar to the mountains. They helped guide you, never giving anything more than directions, through the mountains. The journey was easier then, though still difficult, and must have taken at least another three weeks alone, but still you carried on. Soon, they left you to return into their territory, but not before giving you the proper instructions to get to the next country, a place called Italy.
Everything in Italy was beautiful, almost like walking through one of the palace's art galleries. It was amazing and you could have settled almost anywhere and been content, but still, you travelled south, finally hitting a fairly small town where you could be hidden away from the world of King Gilbert and other German royalty after another week. You almost enjoyed your excursions around the countryside as the freedom was incredibly delightful.
But a strange on-and-off illness had plagued you while you had been traveling, and now your body was weakened from whatever sickness you had caught. The symptoms had included nausea, with occasional vomiting, fever, and sudden strong urges to eat specific foods every now and again. Initially, you brushed it off as missing home and all the meals that had been there, but it persisted relentlessly. You wondered what on earth you had come down with, but you figured it was not a big problem, since you had still made it this far. And for that, you were grateful and a tiny bit proud that you had accomplished it.
However, the sickness and the traveling with little food or rest had taken a serious toll on your body, and you felt as though you couldn't walk any further. The sun was hot and bearing down on your shoulders, you hadn't eaten in a day or two, and your throat was utterly parched. Your legs wobbled slightly when you walked, and the world seemed to spin and tilt in various directions. It was all you could do to stand up, much less walk. Eventually, you spotted a small tree and stumbled towards it, finally collapsed on the side of the dirt road and closed your eyes to rest.
When you opened your eyes again, there were two bright green eyes staring into your own (e/c) ones, startling you. The person sitting over you moved away, revealing a pale skinned woman, with dark, almost black, hair that was in a long, thick braid over her her shoulder. She smiled down on you and removed a small damp cloth from your forehead. How had that gotten there? Who was this lady who was leaning over you now? And where were you now?
You glanced around at the small house, panic surging through you. It appeared to be furnished sparsely, but it gave a homey feeling all the same. Oddly, it felt like the servant's chambers you used to sleep in with your mother when you were younger, and it calmed you. The woman asked you something in a strange language with odd, yet beautiful, rolled letters. After a second of just looking at her, you shook your head to show you didn't understand, and she nodded.
"I asked you what-a your name was, bella, and-a what you were doing on the road," she said in an accented voice, speaking smooth English. She sounded like most of the other Italians you had met, but she wasn't as sun-kissed as the others, instead being pale like royalty, even though she had a few freckles here and there. She pushed back some of your damp (h/c) hair, held her paln to your forehead, in what you assumed was her checking your temperature, and clicked her tongue in disapproval.
She told you to wait there for a moment, then stood and disappeared into another room, calling for someone named Lovino. A man's voice answered her in rapid fire Italian, and the woman continued to respond back to him. This conversation continued for a minute, and you sat up a little more. Eventually, the woman returned with a sun-tanned man in farmer's clothing, chocolate colored hair with a strange curl, and his arms folded.
"So you're-a finally awake, ragazza," he said in a sort of grouchy manner, almost as if your presence irritated him. You didn't feel obligated to like him, as he somewhat reminded you of Gilbert. "Well, we would-a like to know who you are and where-a you came from."
You hesitated to tell this couple who you were precisely, but you liked the woman's overall friendliness shown to you when she introduced them as Lovino and Gianna Vargas. After a few minutes, you poured out the whole story to them, from your strange beginnings, to the arrangement, to meeting Arthur, your marriage (skipping the nights spent together), to the escape, all the way up until this point. They both had listened, with only a few interruptions for clarification, but otherwise were silent during your tale.
Both Gianna and Lovino seemed stunned that you had made it this far in so little a time and had dared to do something so reckless. The woman was supportive, however, and she went to get you food and drink hurriedly. When she brought it to you, you gulped it all down hastily, hunger and thirst overtaking your manners for a moment. The man looked totally shocked for a minute, but the woman remained calm. She waited patiently until you had finished eating to your stomach's content to speak again.
"Well, I couldn't-a help but notice that your illness that you speak of has been-a rather odd from there to your journey here. Are-a you sure you're feeling alright now? I'm-a sure that Bella next door was having the same-a symptoms as you, and-a she just found out she was having a bambino about a month ago, " Gianna said softly while she scratched her chin. You looked at her with confusion, not understanding what she meant by that.
"I'm sorry, but what is a, um, bambino..?" you asked hesitantly, sounding out the foreign syllables carefully, your tongue unaccustomed to it. Gianna and Lovino exchanged a glance, then spoke to each other briefly in Italian before looking back at you. The Italian man left the room, making a gruff apology and saying something about his vineyards while Gianna gently rested her hand over one of yours.
"A bambino is a...," she paused for a moment, as if searching for the right word, a faint pout on her lips. "If-a I recall correctly, it's a baby." Lovino confirmed this woth a small nod and a grunt, his eyes not leaving you, as if searching for more answers.
You felt your heart skip a beat and the blood drain from your face immediately. A baby..? That couldn't be possible, unless it had been with Arthur! Your mind immediately started to whirl with dizziness. Were you pregnant with Arthur's child?
"Are you certain about that..?" you asked Gianna slowly, doubt and worry creeping in at the edge of your mind. The woman laughed a light and melodious laugh, tossing her head back slightly. She brushed a few strands of hair out of your face, much like a mother would to her child.
"No, I'm-a not certain, because-a I am no doctor," she replied. "But I am-a good friends with one who can-a tell you more certainly than-a I can. We can-a visit him at a later time, but-a first, you need to rest. You have-a been on the road a long time and-a it will do you no good to push yourself any further than-a you already have now. Sleep for now, regain-a your strength, and-a we can see the doctor when you are-a stronger."
You started to protest this, but your body ached for sleep. You had to know what had happened to Arthur, and what would come of him. Had he known that you had left the castle successfully on your own? Did he presume that you didn't want to wait for him? What if he had gone off to find you but had gone in a separate direction from you? Before any of these answers could be reached, you found yourself drifting off on the gentle waves of sleep, and these thoughts were replaced with dreams.

Description
You traveled for roughly four weeks, by foot and occasionally by the cart of a kind person in a mostly southern direction. You tried as best as you could to spend as little of Arthur's savings as possible, which meant skipping more than a few meals and avoiding even the most comfortable looking inns. After about a week or so, you ended up in a strange place where the people spoke an odd brand of German. They seemed friendly enough, even though it was more difficult to understand them. You did your best to get along well with them, but it was a little confusing at times.
You decided to rest at an inn for a few days, and the couple who ran the inn, though odd, were more than supportive. The woman, Elizabeta as you later found out, was not from that country, but had moved there to be with her husband, Roderich. The two of you became fast friends, as you were both strangers to this country, and through that, Roderich became a friend as well. They helped you adjust to some of the language, and in return, you provided some labor for them, working in the kitchens.
Elizabeta was a kind woman, and reduced your costs for staying there to almost nothing after she heard that you were travelling alone. Still, you knew you couldn't let them get by on nothing, and so you quietly slipped her the ruby necklace from your bag. When she had protested, you shook your head, refusing to take it back. It was a gift to her, and she could do whatever she pleased with it, you told her. Her eyes watered with tears, and she thanked you profusely, and you gave her a gentle hug in return.
While you were working in the inn kitchens one day, you overheard some customers talking quietly by the table closest to the entrance of the kitchen. The first thing that caught your attention was how the people were speaking in plain German, not the strange version you had heard everywhere here. Then, you noted what they were actually talking about. Their topic made you pause in your work, and you stepped just a bit closer to the door to listen to what they were talking about.
"Yeah, it's all that the people in Germany are talking about! The prin- no, he's the king now, King Gilbert's bride to be disappeared a few weeks ago, and they've been doing a massive search. He's even beginning to search other countries for her, just barging on in to look with his army. She's apparently been kidnapped by some vagrant who wants lots of money, but won't tell the king where he's keeping her. I can't believe that anyone would be so foolish as to challenge a king like that."
The customers soon stopped speaking about it and moved on to other things, but this revelation nearly making you drop a plate, your stomach churning at this news that had just dropped onto your shoulders. Prince Gilbert had been made king? What had happened to King Torvald? Even worse, now he was searching for you with fervor that expanded into other countries! All of this under the premise of a lie that someone had stolen you for ransom! Staying in any one place could mean your immanent capture and arrest, which would mean Gilbert would try to marry you again. Only this time, you wouldn't be able to escape from him in the night, like you had previously.
Your eyes flicked to the golden ring Arthur had given you when the two of you got married. It was more than just a ring, it was your covenant and bond with Arthur, signifying your love amd comittment. You couldn't allow King Gilbert to find you, and that was absolutely certain. As soon as possible, you would have to leave, hopefully before anyone could find out who you were. The German royalty might have connections here since the people somewhat spoke German, and there was no need to be caught there and be forced back to a life you didn't want. You bade farewell to your kind hosts, Elizabeta and Roderich, who were sad to see you leave, and onwards south you went through a series of mountain passes.
The journey was rough, and snow nearly stopped you several times. However, about three days of following a singular mountain pass, you came across someone who appeared to be a native, or at least familiar to the mountains. They helped guide you, never giving anything more than directions, through the mountains. The journey was easier then, though still difficult, and must have taken at least another three weeks alone, but still you carried on. Soon, they left you to return into their territory, but not before giving you the proper instructions to get to the next country, a place called Italy.
Everything in Italy was beautiful, almost like walking through one of the palace's art galleries. It was amazing and you could have settled almost anywhere and been content, but still, you travelled south, finally hitting a fairly small town where you could be hidden away from the world of King Gilbert and other German royalty after another week. You almost enjoyed your excursions around the countryside as the freedom was incredibly delightful.
But a strange on-and-off illness had plagued you while you had been traveling, and now your body was weakened from whatever sickness you had caught. The symptoms had included nausea, with occasional vomiting, fever, and sudden strong urges to eat specific foods every now and again. Initially, you brushed it off as missing home and all the meals that had been there, but it persisted relentlessly. You wondered what on earth you had come down with, but you figured it was not a big problem, since you had still made it this far. And for that, you were grateful and a tiny bit proud that you had accomplished it.
However, the sickness and the traveling with little food or rest had taken a serious toll on your body, and you felt as though you couldn't walk any further. The sun was hot and bearing down on your shoulders, you hadn't eaten in a day or two, and your throat was utterly parched. Your legs wobbled slightly when you walked, and the world seemed to spin and tilt in various directions. It was all you could do to stand up, much less walk. Eventually, you spotted a small tree and stumbled towards it, finally collapsed on the side of the dirt road and closed your eyes to rest.
When you opened your eyes again, there were two bright green eyes staring into your own (e/c) ones, startling you. The person sitting over you moved away, revealing a pale skinned woman, with dark, almost black, hair that was in a long, thick braid over her her shoulder. She smiled down on you and removed a small damp cloth from your forehead. How had that gotten there? Who was this lady who was leaning over you now? And where were you now?
You glanced around at the small house, panic surging through you. It appeared to be furnished sparsely, but it gave a homey feeling all the same. Oddly, it felt like the servant's chambers you used to sleep in with your mother when you were younger, and it calmed you. The woman asked you something in a strange language with odd, yet beautiful, rolled letters. After a second of just looking at her, you shook your head to show you didn't understand, and she nodded.
"I asked you what-a your name was, bella, and-a what you were doing on the road," she said in an accented voice, speaking smooth English. She sounded like most of the other Italians you had met, but she wasn't as sun-kissed as the others, instead being pale like royalty, even though she had a few freckles here and there. She pushed back some of your damp (h/c) hair, held her paln to your forehead, in what you assumed was her checking your temperature, and clicked her tongue in disapproval.
She told you to wait there for a moment, then stood and disappeared into another room, calling for someone named Lovino. A man's voice answered her in rapid fire Italian, and the woman continued to respond back to him. This conversation continued for a minute, and you sat up a little more. Eventually, the woman returned with a sun-tanned man in farmer's clothing, chocolate colored hair with a strange curl, and his arms folded.
"So you're-a finally awake, ragazza," he said in a sort of grouchy manner, almost as if your presence irritated him. You didn't feel obligated to like him, as he somewhat reminded you of Gilbert. "Well, we would-a like to know who you are and where-a you came from."
You hesitated to tell this couple who you were precisely, but you liked the woman's overall friendliness shown to you when she introduced them as Lovino and Gianna Vargas. After a few minutes, you poured out the whole story to them, from your strange beginnings, to the arrangement, to meeting Arthur, your marriage (skipping the nights spent together), to the escape, all the way up until this point. They both had listened, with only a few interruptions for clarification, but otherwise were silent during your tale.
Both Gianna and Lovino seemed stunned that you had made it this far in so little a time and had dared to do something so reckless. The woman was supportive, however, and she went to get you food and drink hurriedly. When she brought it to you, you gulped it all down hastily, hunger and thirst overtaking your manners for a moment. The man looked totally shocked for a minute, but the woman remained calm. She waited patiently until you had finished eating to your stomach's content to speak again.
"Well, I couldn't-a help but notice that your illness that you speak of has been-a rather odd from there to your journey here. Are-a you sure you're feeling alright now? I'm-a sure that Bella next door was having the same-a symptoms as you, and-a she just found out she was having a bambino about a month ago, " Gianna said softly while she scratched her chin. You looked at her with confusion, not understanding what she meant by that.
"I'm sorry, but what is a, um, bambino..?" you asked hesitantly, sounding out the foreign syllables carefully, your tongue unaccustomed to it. Gianna and Lovino exchanged a glance, then spoke to each other briefly in Italian before looking back at you. The Italian man left the room, making a gruff apology and saying something about his vineyards while Gianna gently rested her hand over one of yours.
"A bambino is a...," she paused for a moment, as if searching for the right word, a faint pout on her lips. "If-a I recall correctly, it's a baby." Lovino confirmed this woth a small nod and a grunt, his eyes not leaving you, as if searching for more answers.
You felt your heart skip a beat and the blood drain from your face immediately. A baby..? That couldn't be possible, unless it had been with Arthur! Your mind immediately started to whirl with dizziness. Were you pregnant with Arthur's child?
"Are you certain about that..?" you asked Gianna slowly, doubt and worry creeping in at the edge of your mind. The woman laughed a light and melodious laugh, tossing her head back slightly. She brushed a few strands of hair out of your face, much like a mother would to her child.
"No, I'm-a not certain, because-a I am no doctor," she replied. "But I am-a good friends with one who can-a tell you more certainly than-a I can. We can-a visit him at a later time, but-a first, you need to rest. You have-a been on the road a long time and-a it will do you no good to push yourself any further than-a you already have now. Sleep for now, regain-a your strength, and-a we can see the doctor when you are-a stronger."
You started to protest this, but your body ached for sleep. You had to know what had happened to Arthur, and what would come of him. Had he known that you had left the castle successfully on your own? Did he presume that you didn't want to wait for him? What if he had gone off to find you but had gone in a separate direction from you? Before any of these answers could be reached, you found yourself drifting off on the gentle waves of sleep, and these thoughts were replaced with dreams.