Castle Anvard [Thursday, Fandom time]
Aravis' fire had long since been reduced to embers this early Christmas morning. Ben had left a few days prior, and Aravis had hardly had a moment to herself -- let alone one with Cor -- since. Between the celebrations for her birthday and engagement while Ben had been visiting, and their bleed into the Christmas festivities, the castle had been bustling with warmth and energy without stopping for weeks, now. Today would be the culmination of all that activity, and after Christmas, everything would return to what accounted for their normalcy these days.
But none of these things were on Aravis' mind, before dawn on Christmas. She was asleep under her covers, the silky blanket drawn up to her chin and her curtains closed to keep out the cold. As a result, she was completely unprepared for the disturbance.
"Aravis?" There was someone whispering, touching her shoulder. Aravis woke with a start, whipping an arm up to strike the intruder.
"...oh. Sorry," she said, looking mildly abashed as Cor glared at her, clutching his cheek. "You startled me."
"Now you know how it feels," he retorted, moving his hand over where she'd just hit him.
"Does it hurt terribly?" she asked, smiling a little and reaching out to gently touch his cheek.
"Horribly," he said, his mouth quirking in a tiny smile. "I may need a great deal of attention to repair my wounded face."
"Oh, hush you," she replied, rolling her eyes and reaching out for his hand. "Get in, you'll freeze."
Something vaguely like nerves crept across Cor's features, but he crawled up onto the bed, closing the curtains surrounding them.
"Is there a reason you've come creeping to my bed in the middle of the night, oh love of mine?" she asked dryly, her brow arched. Her mind had an interesting idea of why he might have, but Cor was hardly the middle-of-the-night seduction sort.
"I rather thought I might give you your Christmas present, but if you plan to continue to assault me, I think I may just keep it for my own," Cor replied, rolling his eyes.
She smiled, reaching for his hands to warm them between her own. "You know, I had hoped to beat you thoroughly, but if there are gifts involved I may be able to restrain myself."
"You are too generous, milady," Cor replied, leaning in to kiss her.
"Only because it's Christmas," she replied, bumping her nose against his and making room for him beside her in bed and drawing back the covers. "I'm so generous, in fact, that I might share the warmth of my bed on this occasion. Behold my benevolence."
She blushed lightly, aware of the implications of the invitation. Cor blushed, too, but only hesitated a moment before eagerly moving under the blankets beside her.
"And now you're not surrendering me to the cold. Aravis, you're becoming soft," he teased, though he was clearly a bit nervous.
"You can't give me presents if you've turned into a snowman," she retorted with a yelp. "Your toes are like icicles, honestly!"
"Shhhh," he managed, laughing softly and muffling it against her neck as he curled against her. He reached between them, down to a pocket, and drew out something small that stayed in his hand. Not dirty oh my god. "Now, I shall be giving you another gift, when the whole of the court is present," he admitted. "It's jewelry. Do act surprised."
"I can manage as much, I think," she said, mildly distracted by being so close to him. It was the first time they'd ever been in bed together, no matter the innocence of the circumstances. Aravis was busy trying to keep her mind off of sliding her hands along his chest. He must be cold, after all, so pressing against him would only ease his suffering. It was the loving thing to do --
"Good," he said softly. "Because no one else can know about this." He took her hand, pressing something cool and metallic into it. Aravis uncurled her fingers to find a key, the attached chain hanging out of her grasp and pooling against the bed.
"I don't really understand," she admitted, frowning slightly.
"That key," Cor said softly, drawing its identical mate out of his shirt, "is to a very small guest chamber in the east wing of the castle. I'll show you where it is in the morning, if they'll let us be long enough, but you and I hold the only keys." He was coloring furiously under his faint dusting of freckles, but he was smiling.
It came together in a flash for Aravis. "And no one can interrupt us?" she asked, the smile spreading across her face. "No one can drag you away to decide what to send to Queen Susan for her birthday, or pull me off for an extensive hour of hair-dressing?"
"No, and in fact, I rather plan to use that room to keep your hair quite untidy," Cor said with a smirk, pressing his face into her neck. Aravis sighed, distracted again as she skimmed a hand over his abdomen, drawing him closer to her.
"I love it, Cor," she said sincerely, pulling away just enough to drape the chain around her neck. "Did you want yours as well?"
"You got me something other than the very handsome saddle I know you'll be presenting me at court?" he asked, amused as he gingerly -- or at least, it seemed such to Aravis -- slid his bare feet against hers.
"Yes," she murmured, "but do act surprised when the saddle is yours. I shall have to remove myself from bed to fetch your gift. Keep it warm for me." She reluctantly pulled away, moving out of bed and skittering across the floor to her desk, where she pulled something out of a drawer and hid it in the folds of her gown before running back to him.
Cor was waiting for her, drawing her close against him. "How did you manage to get so cold in a matter of seconds?" he asked, running his hands along her back. Aravis forgot her intention, pressing her face against his neck, breathing him in. She warmed her hands against his chest, twining her legs with his.
For warmth. Of course.
The gift she had been clutching jabbed her with a corner, and she reluctantly pulled back, pressing the book towards him. Cor carefully moved his hands away from her to open it.
"This book is broken, Aravis. There are no words," he told her, smiling quizzically.
"It's empty on purpose," she said softly, suddenly a little shy. "So we might write notes back and forth when we're unable to meet. We can have that book sent to each other's rooms. And now, with these keys, we might use it to arrange meeting times."
Cor studied the book for a moment before carefully setting it aside, as though he was afraid he might bruise it. Then he leaned back in, pulling her against him. "I love it," he said simply. "It's perfect."
"I love," Aravis said, smiling, "that we essentially got the same thing for one another. Privacy."
Cor's nerves showed again, for an instant, before he moved closer still, pressing against her and skimming a hand down her side. "Something, I'll note, that we have in spades right now," he said quietly, nuzzling her neck lightly.
Aravis tilted her head, sighing softly, and tentatively slid one hand up his tunic to rest against his chest. This was skin she'd never touched like this, before. Tangibly, she didn't feel anything she'd not experienced before -- warm skin, a light sprinkling of coarse hair, the gentle rise and fall of his chest. Intangibly, she knew it was a step that would push them forward in a direction from which they could not retreat.
"So we do," she whispered, moving so she could see his face. "Cor?"
He smiled, moving one of her curls out of her face. "Do you wish me to leave?" he teased softly, though clearly he was at war with his hormones given the way he was arching lightly against the hand on his chest, and she could feel his heart fluttering quickly under her fingertips.
"I wish you to stay," she said quietly, "and never leave. But I'll settle for dawn."
He leaned in to kiss her, and she stopped him. "Cor, wait. Do you -- I mean, I...."
It was rare that she didn't know what to say. It wasn't that she didn't have ideas. She had entirely too many. But she wasn't sure where honesty ended and awkwardness began.
"We can just sleep," he said quietly, mistaking her hesitation for some sort of chastity. She actually nearly laughed.
"I don't want to just sleep," she promised, pushing his tunic up and pressing a kiss to his collarbone. "But I -- Cor, I don't want to have secrets from you."
He watched her, pushing his tunic over the side of the bed and curling close, his breath forming a little cloud in the air. "Then what do you wish to say?" he asked quietly.
She snuggled close to him, her nightgown pushing up around her hips already. She was ready to be rid of it -- more than -- but she needed to say this, so he could go ahead and be angry with her now, if he would.
"I don't know your expectations, but...I'm no maid," she finally said, chancing a look at him.
Cor was studying her with an amused little expression. He paused a moment, then asked, "Is this supposed to keep me from wanting you? I don't care, Aravis. Did you think I would?"
She grinned, a little nervous now -- now it was real, now he was here in her bed, and there were no other men lurking at the edges of her past. There would be no others, for the rest of her days. "I certainly didn't want you to. I suppose," she said, pulling her nightgown off and staying beneath the covers, "that if you're visiting my bed before marriage, you probably lack those sorts of morals. You scoundrel, you."
"Yes," Cor murmured, drawing her against him. "I'm a terrible sort, really."
Several hours later, after they'd exhausted themselves with one another and fallen into a deep sleep while tangled in the ornate blankets, they were woken by the startled shriek of Aravis' maid, looking to wake her mistress and finding her certainly abed, but not alone.
So much for discretion. Word that the prince and his lady were now laying together would spread through the castle before midday, thanks to servant gossip. Aravis found, though, as she stretched beneath her still-warm blankets while Cor left with a hasty, slightly chastened kiss, that she didn't care a bit.
[NFB, NFI, OOC welcome, and...sort of NWS. I mean, it's like a PG kind of NWS, but still.]
But none of these things were on Aravis' mind, before dawn on Christmas. She was asleep under her covers, the silky blanket drawn up to her chin and her curtains closed to keep out the cold. As a result, she was completely unprepared for the disturbance.
"Aravis?" There was someone whispering, touching her shoulder. Aravis woke with a start, whipping an arm up to strike the intruder.
"...oh. Sorry," she said, looking mildly abashed as Cor glared at her, clutching his cheek. "You startled me."
"Now you know how it feels," he retorted, moving his hand over where she'd just hit him.
"Does it hurt terribly?" she asked, smiling a little and reaching out to gently touch his cheek.
"Horribly," he said, his mouth quirking in a tiny smile. "I may need a great deal of attention to repair my wounded face."
"Oh, hush you," she replied, rolling her eyes and reaching out for his hand. "Get in, you'll freeze."
Something vaguely like nerves crept across Cor's features, but he crawled up onto the bed, closing the curtains surrounding them.
"Is there a reason you've come creeping to my bed in the middle of the night, oh love of mine?" she asked dryly, her brow arched. Her mind had an interesting idea of why he might have, but Cor was hardly the middle-of-the-night seduction sort.
"I rather thought I might give you your Christmas present, but if you plan to continue to assault me, I think I may just keep it for my own," Cor replied, rolling his eyes.
She smiled, reaching for his hands to warm them between her own. "You know, I had hoped to beat you thoroughly, but if there are gifts involved I may be able to restrain myself."
"You are too generous, milady," Cor replied, leaning in to kiss her.
"Only because it's Christmas," she replied, bumping her nose against his and making room for him beside her in bed and drawing back the covers. "I'm so generous, in fact, that I might share the warmth of my bed on this occasion. Behold my benevolence."
She blushed lightly, aware of the implications of the invitation. Cor blushed, too, but only hesitated a moment before eagerly moving under the blankets beside her.
"And now you're not surrendering me to the cold. Aravis, you're becoming soft," he teased, though he was clearly a bit nervous.
"You can't give me presents if you've turned into a snowman," she retorted with a yelp. "Your toes are like icicles, honestly!"
"Shhhh," he managed, laughing softly and muffling it against her neck as he curled against her. He reached between them, down to a pocket, and drew out something small that stayed in his hand. Not dirty oh my god. "Now, I shall be giving you another gift, when the whole of the court is present," he admitted. "It's jewelry. Do act surprised."
"I can manage as much, I think," she said, mildly distracted by being so close to him. It was the first time they'd ever been in bed together, no matter the innocence of the circumstances. Aravis was busy trying to keep her mind off of sliding her hands along his chest. He must be cold, after all, so pressing against him would only ease his suffering. It was the loving thing to do --
"Good," he said softly. "Because no one else can know about this." He took her hand, pressing something cool and metallic into it. Aravis uncurled her fingers to find a key, the attached chain hanging out of her grasp and pooling against the bed.
"I don't really understand," she admitted, frowning slightly.
"That key," Cor said softly, drawing its identical mate out of his shirt, "is to a very small guest chamber in the east wing of the castle. I'll show you where it is in the morning, if they'll let us be long enough, but you and I hold the only keys." He was coloring furiously under his faint dusting of freckles, but he was smiling.
It came together in a flash for Aravis. "And no one can interrupt us?" she asked, the smile spreading across her face. "No one can drag you away to decide what to send to Queen Susan for her birthday, or pull me off for an extensive hour of hair-dressing?"
"No, and in fact, I rather plan to use that room to keep your hair quite untidy," Cor said with a smirk, pressing his face into her neck. Aravis sighed, distracted again as she skimmed a hand over his abdomen, drawing him closer to her.
"I love it, Cor," she said sincerely, pulling away just enough to drape the chain around her neck. "Did you want yours as well?"
"You got me something other than the very handsome saddle I know you'll be presenting me at court?" he asked, amused as he gingerly -- or at least, it seemed such to Aravis -- slid his bare feet against hers.
"Yes," she murmured, "but do act surprised when the saddle is yours. I shall have to remove myself from bed to fetch your gift. Keep it warm for me." She reluctantly pulled away, moving out of bed and skittering across the floor to her desk, where she pulled something out of a drawer and hid it in the folds of her gown before running back to him.
Cor was waiting for her, drawing her close against him. "How did you manage to get so cold in a matter of seconds?" he asked, running his hands along her back. Aravis forgot her intention, pressing her face against his neck, breathing him in. She warmed her hands against his chest, twining her legs with his.
For warmth. Of course.
The gift she had been clutching jabbed her with a corner, and she reluctantly pulled back, pressing the book towards him. Cor carefully moved his hands away from her to open it.
"This book is broken, Aravis. There are no words," he told her, smiling quizzically.
"It's empty on purpose," she said softly, suddenly a little shy. "So we might write notes back and forth when we're unable to meet. We can have that book sent to each other's rooms. And now, with these keys, we might use it to arrange meeting times."
Cor studied the book for a moment before carefully setting it aside, as though he was afraid he might bruise it. Then he leaned back in, pulling her against him. "I love it," he said simply. "It's perfect."
"I love," Aravis said, smiling, "that we essentially got the same thing for one another. Privacy."
Cor's nerves showed again, for an instant, before he moved closer still, pressing against her and skimming a hand down her side. "Something, I'll note, that we have in spades right now," he said quietly, nuzzling her neck lightly.
Aravis tilted her head, sighing softly, and tentatively slid one hand up his tunic to rest against his chest. This was skin she'd never touched like this, before. Tangibly, she didn't feel anything she'd not experienced before -- warm skin, a light sprinkling of coarse hair, the gentle rise and fall of his chest. Intangibly, she knew it was a step that would push them forward in a direction from which they could not retreat.
"So we do," she whispered, moving so she could see his face. "Cor?"
He smiled, moving one of her curls out of her face. "Do you wish me to leave?" he teased softly, though clearly he was at war with his hormones given the way he was arching lightly against the hand on his chest, and she could feel his heart fluttering quickly under her fingertips.
"I wish you to stay," she said quietly, "and never leave. But I'll settle for dawn."
He leaned in to kiss her, and she stopped him. "Cor, wait. Do you -- I mean, I...."
It was rare that she didn't know what to say. It wasn't that she didn't have ideas. She had entirely too many. But she wasn't sure where honesty ended and awkwardness began.
"We can just sleep," he said quietly, mistaking her hesitation for some sort of chastity. She actually nearly laughed.
"I don't want to just sleep," she promised, pushing his tunic up and pressing a kiss to his collarbone. "But I -- Cor, I don't want to have secrets from you."
He watched her, pushing his tunic over the side of the bed and curling close, his breath forming a little cloud in the air. "Then what do you wish to say?" he asked quietly.
She snuggled close to him, her nightgown pushing up around her hips already. She was ready to be rid of it -- more than -- but she needed to say this, so he could go ahead and be angry with her now, if he would.
"I don't know your expectations, but...I'm no maid," she finally said, chancing a look at him.
Cor was studying her with an amused little expression. He paused a moment, then asked, "Is this supposed to keep me from wanting you? I don't care, Aravis. Did you think I would?"
She grinned, a little nervous now -- now it was real, now he was here in her bed, and there were no other men lurking at the edges of her past. There would be no others, for the rest of her days. "I certainly didn't want you to. I suppose," she said, pulling her nightgown off and staying beneath the covers, "that if you're visiting my bed before marriage, you probably lack those sorts of morals. You scoundrel, you."
"Yes," Cor murmured, drawing her against him. "I'm a terrible sort, really."
Several hours later, after they'd exhausted themselves with one another and fallen into a deep sleep while tangled in the ornate blankets, they were woken by the startled shriek of Aravis' maid, looking to wake her mistress and finding her certainly abed, but not alone.
So much for discretion. Word that the prince and his lady were now laying together would spread through the castle before midday, thanks to servant gossip. Aravis found, though, as she stretched beneath her still-warm blankets while Cor left with a hasty, slightly chastened kiss, that she didn't care a bit.
[NFB, NFI, OOC welcome, and...sort of NWS. I mean, it's like a PG kind of NWS, but still.]