Tweet of the Day: Now that the Connection is open again…
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Severus the Rogue – 1 – 4 – 6
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While Father went out on a rare summer hunt, Guinever and I tended to our knitting in my room. Pip and Conobar, Father’s oldest hounds lounged at our feet. I tickled Pip with the tip of my sandal. He looked up, yawned with extra curled tongue and went back to sleep.
“Mordred is charming, isn’t he?” asked Guinevere. An acrid taste coated the back of my throat the moment I heard the name. “Oh, don’t make that face, Morgan. He is charming. Everyone can see it.”
Yes, even Father, the old fox fell for Mordred’s honeyed words. He brought a smile to everyone smile, even as he beat Kay in a contest with mock swords or drank most of Father’s warriors under the table. He made everyone else look foolish and they adored him for it. Yet, those eyes of his never thawed. No, Mordred was not to be trusted.
“And so do you, I suspect,” I said with a glance at Guinevere.
“Oh, I don’t know. I guess he would be fun to play with, but nothing more.”
“Fun to play with?”
“Yes, he is, or at least he looks fit enough. But men like him jump from one bed to another with too easily,” she said with a wink.
“And how do you know so much about ‘men like him’.”
“I may die of old age, but I will not die an old maid, unlike some I know.” There was nothing virginal about Guinevere although she could play the part with ease when it suited her. “We are lucky, you and I. Lucky in that we have fathers that care for us and haven’t tried to marry us to the first withered old rich man that crossed their path. I would hate to be married off only to swell up nine months later and die–” I blinked back the tears, “Oh Morgan, I am so sorry. I completely forgot about your mother. How thoughtless of me.”
“No worries, it is the way of things.”
“Perhaps, but the pain still remains. I’ve heard that your father loved her very much even if their marriage was unconventional to say the least,” she said.
Still the idea of Mordred seducing Guinevere disturbed me.
If Brother knew….
“What about Arthur?” I asked.
She turned back to her needle and thread, “What about him?”
“You care for my brother, don’t you? A great deal I may add.”
“So? He is…preoccupied at the moment.”
“Isn’t he stationed at Leodregrance’s court?”
“Yes. Father sent me a letter saying that Arthur has held off the Saxons, but that his fort is now full of refugees.”
“Then you should go to Hascombe and ask your father to marry Arthur.”
“What?”
“Women are not the only ones that die suddenly. Men die with frightful ease in war, do they not?”
“But I don’t know if he feels the same way about me. The last thing I want is to drag him about like a puppy. I’ve seen what happens when you chain a man like that. They turn vile and cruel. No I won’t do that to him.”
“You really do care. Perfect!” I went to my armorie. Wrapped within a silk cloth was a special amber concoction. “Here, this will help. Pour a few drops, four at the most, on his drink. It should ease the tension, ” I winked.
“A love potion. Are you sure about this,” she said as she took the vial with tremulous hands.
“Aqua Viate. Not as strong as in the legends, but just enough to bring the truth to the surface. After he drinks it, ask him your question. Then wait until he wakes the next morning and ask him again. If he repeats his answer then it is the truth.”
“And what do I do in between?”
“I should not say this since he is my brother, but you could…play with him,” I said. Pip yawned loudly, got up, and rested his head on my lap.
“And here I thought I was the devious one,” she said.
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