Dresden Files / Bob / #36. Mutual
Title: Bounding Towards Horizon
Author:: Cyloran
Fandom: The Dresden Files (tv-verse)
Characters: Bob
Prompt: 36. Mutual
Word Count: 811
Rating: G
Summary: Hrothbert leaves his homeland for the very first time.
Author's Note: "Bounding Toward Horizon" is from the poem Dream Ships by Charlotte Mair
Disclaimer: The Dresden Files do not belong to me; just passing through.
Hrothbert of Bainbridge stood at the starboard rail and looked out across the vast, empty landscape that was the frigid north Atlantic. The port of Queenstown had long since vanished from view, lost in their wake of the great ship as it steamed its way toward a new land. He wore no coat or cap against the chill of arctic spring; the sea air ruffled not a single white hair upon his head as it passed through his form as if he were mist.
"Your pardon, good sir, but are you unwell?" asked a soft Irish brogue.
The voice was so close that he turned his head to see whom it had addressed. To his surprise, a young woman stood just within arm's reach, her dark eyes filled with concern as she regarded him. He had not heard her approach over the sound of the waves and his own distant thoughts.
"I, my Lady?" he queried, as if there must have been some mistake.
She lifted a delicate hand as if to touch him, perhaps to feel his forehead as a mother might an ailing son. "You look so pale. As white as a sheet!"
"It is my natural coloring," he said truthfully. "You need not alarm yourself on my behalf, but I thank you for your concern."
"Oh! Dear me. I beg your pardon," she said, embarrassed. "My husband says that I worry myself too much over the affairs of others. I'm sorry to have disturbed you."
"No apology is necessary," he assured. "I was doing little more than day dreaming." And enjoying a brief bit of freedom while his master dozed on a deck chair just a few yards away.
"Have you family in New York?" she asked.
He shook his head. "No, my Lady. My family is long since dead."
"I am so sorry!" Again her hand moved, as if longing to touch and console him.
Hrothbert shifted his position at the rail, incrementally moving just beyond her reach. He would not startle this lovely creature with the reality of his existence if he could help it.
"I've gone and done it again, haven't I?" she said with chagrin.
"It is of no consequence. In truth, she has been gone a very long time," he assured her. "What of you, my Lady?" he asked, neatly turning the topic away from himself. "Have you family in the colonies?"
"In the…? Oh! That is a very English way of saying America, isn't it?" she said with a little laugh. How quaintly old fashioned he was! "My husband has family in Chicago. Do you know it, sir?"
"I am afraid not. This is my first sojourn to those shores."
"Mine as well." She wrapped frail arms about herself and cast her gaze to the distant horizon. "It frightens me a little," she admitted in a soft voice. "To be going so far from home. I have seen pictures of America, of course. And my husband has told me much of the sights and wonders of his country… but I cannot help longing for my own little village. I am afraid I will not fit into a place as grand as Chicago sounds to be."
"I understand your reservations. I, too, have my concerns about this new world. It is far from my home as well, and will be vastly different from anything I have ever known." His lean, aristocratic features softened with kindness. "But, my Lady, is it not also an adventure of sorts? New places and peoples to explore and experience? Wondrous sights to see and exotic foods to try?" He smiled gently and nodded to indicate her rounded belly. "Especially when there will be new life to share it with?"
She blushed as she clasped her hands over the babe in her womb. "I hadn't thought of it quite that way," she admitted. "It will be a fine place to raise our son. A land of opportunity, so my husband says."
"So I have heard." As had his master. A land of opportunity and wealth, waiting to be plundered. "I wish you and yours a safe journey to the shores of your new home."
"Thank you, sir. Perhaps you could look us up if ever you are in Chicago," she offered. "We could compare tales then, to see if what we envisioned aboard the Titanic meets with the reality."
"I would be delighted if we might one day do so, my Lady," he said politely, although he suspected that they would never meet again.
"Please … you need not be so formal," she said with a warm smile. "I cannot help but feel that we're practically friends now. My name is Miriam Colwell Dresden. Please, call me Miriam."
"Hrothbert," he replied in kind, offering her a deep bow. "At your service."
Author:: Cyloran
Fandom: The Dresden Files (tv-verse)
Characters: Bob
Prompt: 36. Mutual
Word Count: 811
Rating: G
Summary: Hrothbert leaves his homeland for the very first time.
Author's Note: "Bounding Toward Horizon" is from the poem Dream Ships by Charlotte Mair
Disclaimer: The Dresden Files do not belong to me; just passing through.
Hrothbert of Bainbridge stood at the starboard rail and looked out across the vast, empty landscape that was the frigid north Atlantic. The port of Queenstown had long since vanished from view, lost in their wake of the great ship as it steamed its way toward a new land. He wore no coat or cap against the chill of arctic spring; the sea air ruffled not a single white hair upon his head as it passed through his form as if he were mist.
"Your pardon, good sir, but are you unwell?" asked a soft Irish brogue.
The voice was so close that he turned his head to see whom it had addressed. To his surprise, a young woman stood just within arm's reach, her dark eyes filled with concern as she regarded him. He had not heard her approach over the sound of the waves and his own distant thoughts.
"I, my Lady?" he queried, as if there must have been some mistake.
She lifted a delicate hand as if to touch him, perhaps to feel his forehead as a mother might an ailing son. "You look so pale. As white as a sheet!"
"It is my natural coloring," he said truthfully. "You need not alarm yourself on my behalf, but I thank you for your concern."
"Oh! Dear me. I beg your pardon," she said, embarrassed. "My husband says that I worry myself too much over the affairs of others. I'm sorry to have disturbed you."
"No apology is necessary," he assured. "I was doing little more than day dreaming." And enjoying a brief bit of freedom while his master dozed on a deck chair just a few yards away.
"Have you family in New York?" she asked.
He shook his head. "No, my Lady. My family is long since dead."
"I am so sorry!" Again her hand moved, as if longing to touch and console him.
Hrothbert shifted his position at the rail, incrementally moving just beyond her reach. He would not startle this lovely creature with the reality of his existence if he could help it.
"I've gone and done it again, haven't I?" she said with chagrin.
"It is of no consequence. In truth, she has been gone a very long time," he assured her. "What of you, my Lady?" he asked, neatly turning the topic away from himself. "Have you family in the colonies?"
"In the…? Oh! That is a very English way of saying America, isn't it?" she said with a little laugh. How quaintly old fashioned he was! "My husband has family in Chicago. Do you know it, sir?"
"I am afraid not. This is my first sojourn to those shores."
"Mine as well." She wrapped frail arms about herself and cast her gaze to the distant horizon. "It frightens me a little," she admitted in a soft voice. "To be going so far from home. I have seen pictures of America, of course. And my husband has told me much of the sights and wonders of his country… but I cannot help longing for my own little village. I am afraid I will not fit into a place as grand as Chicago sounds to be."
"I understand your reservations. I, too, have my concerns about this new world. It is far from my home as well, and will be vastly different from anything I have ever known." His lean, aristocratic features softened with kindness. "But, my Lady, is it not also an adventure of sorts? New places and peoples to explore and experience? Wondrous sights to see and exotic foods to try?" He smiled gently and nodded to indicate her rounded belly. "Especially when there will be new life to share it with?"
She blushed as she clasped her hands over the babe in her womb. "I hadn't thought of it quite that way," she admitted. "It will be a fine place to raise our son. A land of opportunity, so my husband says."
"So I have heard." As had his master. A land of opportunity and wealth, waiting to be plundered. "I wish you and yours a safe journey to the shores of your new home."
"Thank you, sir. Perhaps you could look us up if ever you are in Chicago," she offered. "We could compare tales then, to see if what we envisioned aboard the Titanic meets with the reality."
"I would be delighted if we might one day do so, my Lady," he said politely, although he suspected that they would never meet again.
"Please … you need not be so formal," she said with a warm smile. "I cannot help but feel that we're practically friends now. My name is Miriam Colwell Dresden. Please, call me Miriam."
"Hrothbert," he replied in kind, offering her a deep bow. "At your service."