Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Welcome to For King and Court. We hope you enjoy your visit.


You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free.


Join our community!


If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
spiced wine and strangers; LC!
Topic Started: Mar 28 2014, 09:01 PM (195 Views)
Isabel Leigh
Member Avatar
Virtue alone is invincible.
Isabel's apathy had slowly melted away to leave nothing but a dogged determination in the young woman's wake. She would not be the Howards' to command, and neither would Joyce. No, their futures would be for their benefit, not for a scheming family that didn't even want them. The redhead's resentment and disdain for the family helped fuel her to strive to present herself in a graceful and dignified manner, work her words until they became cunning instead of simple, and to augment her external features so that she never looked bedraggled or tired. Attempting to emulate what a young woman ought to be was borderline exhaustive, but Isabel had to at least try if she wanted to shake herself free of the Howards.

The coronation was a spectacle unlike anything Mistress Leigh had ever seen. The ornamentation, the ceremony, the solemn vow made by the king himself -- all of it stirred something within Isabel's breast. Never before had she felt so connected with her country as when Henry Tudor became Henry VIII. History was made today before her very eyes, regardless of whether or not the young sovereign proved a capable and intelligent monarch.

And now, the celebrations!

Lord Derby himself had opened the banquet, accompanied by the Duke of Buckingham. The redhead had been unable to contain a broad grin as both peers rode into the hall astride their horses and wished King Henry well. And once they and their beasts had departed, food was served and spirits flowed and Isabel could not help but feel her resolve mellow, if only long enough to enjoy herself. Appearance was of no concern today: she wore the third and final gown from the Howards, a beautiful creation of a bright green satin over-skirt and bodice over damask displaying evergreen leaves and vines coiled and twisted as though upon the forest floor. Isabel's red curls spilled down her back, secured out of her face by a French hood of the same color.

The press within the hall was remarkably less than the crowds found at meal times at the palace. Even so, Isabel found herself once more seated among strangers and coaxing a pleasant smile onto her face. One of what seemed to be endless toasts to the king's health was called for, and Isabel raised her chalice of wine to join in. "God save the king!" She agreed, before muttering under her breath, "And most of the courtiers present when they wake up tomorrow." Isabel had never experienced a hangover, but if the morning dawned with a pounding head and miserable spirits the redhead would not be alone in her suffering.
[align=center]Mistress Leigh

Isabel is in 8 threads and can has more!
App | Plot[/align]
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Catherine Willoughby
Member Avatar
vérité sans peur
The celebration--or really celebrations, having heard that there would be more where tonight came from--were overwhelming to young Catherine Willoughby's senses. Her ears, eyes, tastebuds, everything were dazzled by the sheer excess of it all. The cloth of gold hung everywhere, making the great hall of Westminster glimmer and sparkle in the vast amount of candlelight, the beautiful music, the shimmer of expensive fabrics as men and women danced, the glimmer of jewels twinkling, the food. All of it. She just wanted to sit and take it all in.

It was her debut at court, really, this first banquet of King Henry's reign. Thus it was time to socialize with girls other than the Stanleys. Catch the eye of a man who could potentially be a husband. The things women cared about.

Sitting at one of the vast long tables in the hall, Catherine raised her goblet to the health of the king, the strength of the wine already getting to her head. She wanted to dance, yet no man was seen for her to ask, and there was no way she would ask. /She/ would have to be asked first.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" she asked the woman next to her, a young lady like herself, with lovely red hair cascading behind her French hood. "Your gown is very lovely," Catherine added, a hint of jealousy as she looked absolutely vile and sickly in such a color. Her gown, pale blue to complement her eyes, was perhaps the most expensive dress she owned, paired with a shimmering gray kirtle underneath. "Quite amazing, this. I've never seen so many people in one place.."
[align=center]"I must shape my own coat according to my cloth, but it will not be after the fashion of this world but fit for me."

Catherine is in 2 threads.
[/align]
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Isabel Leigh
Member Avatar
Virtue alone is invincible.
The chalice was replaced on the table and the taste of the full-bodied and heady liquid was still on Isabel's tongue when the young lady she sat beside spoke to her. She gently cleared her throat before turning her head with a pleasant smile, not wishing to come off as broody or sour in such a splendid atmosphere. There was no glimmer of recognition for her seat-mate, but the young woman's pale eyes and her beautiful bounty of fine dark hair quickly made a visual impression upon the redhead.

"Oh yes!" Isabel declared in answer, nodding emphatically. "I've never seen anything like this... not even remotely." Her grin widened and she asked politely, "And yourself?" The youthful lady was younger than she, and Isabel often found that when addressing younger women she took on the air of congenial concern that she often used when addressing Joyce.

"Oh!" Blue eyes flickered down to the spring green gown and she gave a nod of her inclined head. "Thank you. My lord stepfather and his family gave it to me. It seems to have been made for spring rather than summer, but I do not hear anyone complaining! ...The color of your own suits your eyes very well." Isabel offered, feeling that she must always repay a compliment with a sincere one of your own. "Absolutely beautiful!"

Ah! Was the young lady's astonishment due to her being new to Placentia as well? "I don't think I have either." The redhead professed truthfully. "Are you... new to court? I am! And just when I think I've seen everything --" Isabel swept her arm in a gesture towards the hall swarming with people, "Something like this happens."
[align=center]Mistress Leigh

Isabel is in 8 threads and can has more!
App | Plot[/align]
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Catherine Willoughby
Member Avatar
vérité sans peur
Why was it that first conversations with strangers always seemed so awkward? Catherine was used to only a few people in her life. Those new to her, well, she felt like an awkward fool unsure of what to say or do. Court etiquette, she knew. But a normal conversation with some other young lady who was new to her? She had not a clue!

"It is quite shockingly beautiful, isn't it? So much food. I do love how the hall looks, with all the candles, and the cloth of gold. I think that is what those who were planning such a grand event hoped: that we would all be dazzled. I know I am." Catherine smiled at Isabel, glancing away from her for a moment to admire the decoration about the hall that was truly breathtaking. "I've never seen such a sight in my life, and I suppose I ought to get used to such things..."

The green gown, Catherine thought, was very flattering on this lady. Unlike Elizabeth's mustard yellow gown that would make the most beautiful woman a witch-faced sallow thing. "Oh, thank you." She smiled prettily at the compliment, closed-lipped, taking a sip of her wine. Never before had she drunk as much as she had tonight. It made her head feel dizzy in a pleasant way. "The kirtle is new, the gown is not. I am just glad it is one without stains or patches! It wouldn't do to show up looking so very shabby for such a banquet, would it?" A giggle passed her lips at the idea of her in an old, patched gown that she would sometimes wear before she had come to court.

Inclining her head, Catherine nodded, taking another drink before putting the fine goblet down on the table. "Yes, yes, my guardian the Earl of Derby insisted I along with his daughters attend his lady wife here at court until we are all found positions. Or husbands." The life of a woman: wait until someone wanted you, a higher ranking lady or a man. "I think court will shock us all regularly from what I have heard. All manners of debauchery seem acceptable as long as it advances one's interests or one's family." Nose wrinkling, she shook her head, long fingers twirling a dark curl. "Though I cannot say I am entirely without sin, thanks to the wine... I have had too much!"
[align=center]"I must shape my own coat according to my cloth, but it will not be after the fashion of this world but fit for me."

Catherine is in 2 threads.
[/align]
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Isabel Leigh
Member Avatar
Virtue alone is invincible.
The redhead had a tendency, while at court, to feel like whenever she agreed on a subject with someone that she was pandering to them, or that they would not take her agreement as genuine. With every single courtier out for themselves and using flattery as a weapon, Mistress Leigh feared that she would be lost among the masses as just another schemer. Nevertheless, she nodded in agreement to the young lady's words.

"I do not think that I've had the opportunity to see you in the Great Hall at meal times -- but have you been eating there?" Isabel asked when the subject of food was broached. "It's... very stewy. I am absolutely thrilled to be here eating such wonderful dishes that don't need bread to add a certain amount of flair!" Stews were all very well and good, but Isabel had yet to get used to eating with four strangers from the same mess. More often than not, the redhead found it all too easy to leave more manners on her plate than she would if she were at home.

Nodding emphatically to show that she was indeed bedazzled, Isabel's blue eyes followed the other girl's to the cloth of gold and back. "And I hear murmurs," The redhead lowered her voice secretively, "Of a masque for the festivities as well! I imagine that both you and I will be well-versed in the splendor of court before the celebrations are over, giving us a good introductory lesson on the degree of ostentation we can expect. Perhaps such experience will prevent us from staring overly long when we shouldn't."

Laughing as well, Isabel turned her eyes the the new kirtle. It shimmered like the underbelly of a fish in the light, something that the redhead did not think was a negative comment at all. "It is very beautiful -- like the scales of an mythical fish! What a fitting garment to wear to such an event." An eye closed in a wink and Isabel took a sip of her own wine. Nodding once more (she found herself agreeing with the other girl so often that her head might bobble off if she weren't careful!), the young woman stated, "I would look very shabby indeed if it weren't for the... kindness of my lord stepfather and his family. I think some of my other gowns were made for my mother when she was my age!" Which honestly, wasn't too far from the truth. At least she and Joyce were of the same size and build, for the most part. Sharing expanded their wardrobe quite a bit. "Perhaps such fashion choices could set a trend -- a nostalgic trend for the days of old! I've always been rather fond of heninns"

Scarlet eyebrows arching and lips parting in surprise, Isabel asked, "Your guardian is Lord Derby? I am acquainted with him! He has been very enlightening since my arrival to court." The redhead could not recall if Lord Derby had spoken of a ward in their previous conversations, so she felt it compulsory that she properly introduce herself. "I am Isabel Leigh." She was unsure whether to preface her name with 'mistress.' Surely it was known that the last name of Leigh was not attached to a peerage, so she didn't think it a lost detail.

"I am here in a similar capacity, though I find myself rather... drifting at the moment. I haven't anyone to serve, but there are certainly times that I would rather be back home -- but then I just find myself in the library, and such thoughts vanish." Though Stockwell was always an option, as of late Isabel found herself hoping she left the palace for a different situation than eldest daughter. It would please her beyond words to use the Howards' own game against them!

She was further educated in the intrigues of court than Isabel had been, but was that such a surprise with her guardian being Lord Derby? "It is not what I expected, to be certain." The redhead confided in a low voice. "It seemed to me such things were like fairy tales with their exaggeration. It shall prove quite an education, I'm sure."

Giving a knowing smile, the young woman took another sip of her own wine. "It is rather a fine drink, but it has already steered me into an indiscretion." The memory of bare feet in the grass and the king teasing of the scandal made her smile grow. "It is a good thing that the royal chapel is so near! And certainly the priests will have heard much worse things than any 'debauchery' girls of such a tender age as we might get up to."
[align=center]Mistress Leigh

Isabel is in 8 threads and can has more!
App | Plot[/align]
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
« Previous Topic · The Banquet · Next Topic »
Add Reply