"Oh, not an Olympic contender, certainly, but I could manage to swim from the shore to the castle and back. I wouldn't be unseen, of course, but I wouldn't be exhausted, either. You?"
--M. J. Young
"I'm a very weak swimmer, I'll be lucky if I made it to the castle and back before the day and half the night was lost."
He puts on a mock seriousness.
"As bad as that, huh? I guess it's good we have this boat."
He will laugh if you do.
--M. J. Young
I laugh a little, "If floating were the same as swimming, I would be good at it..."
"Hey, floating is the bigger half of the battle," he says. "As long as you can keep your head above water, you will stay alive. The other part is moving, but if you can float and move at all, you can swim a mile eventually.
"Let's see what you can do in the water here," he concludes.
He gives you some basic instruction--opening your eyes under water, doing a crawl stroke with your arms and turning your head to catch a breath under your armpit (which is covered by the full-cloth full-body bathing suit, which is really very modest despite being somewhat formfitting when wet, but makes swimming more difficult for several reasons). He also tries to get you to flutterkick, which he says is usually the fastest kick.
As he works with you, he often places his hands on you--one on your belly and one on your back to stabilize you. His touch is exciting, and it takes some effort for you to focus on what you are doing.
--M. J. Young
At UberCon:
After swimming, we head back to the lodge where after sending the servant to bed, when it is decided to bluntly tell the prince Rudolphia is who Michelle was keeping in her castle. He reacted not as well as I thought, but it could have been worse. He agreed to help anyway he could in the rescue of the queen. I was trained in climbing to be able to get to the drawbridge while Flavius rescues the queen.
We stage the rescue in early September, which by that time the was quite a bit of whispers about my changes from the queen, mostly on how I didn't drink and how I was learning to cook from the chief. Flavius and I rowed, well, Flavius rowed, to the blind spot when he went ahead and grappled the rope over the wall. Then I splashed into the water but had a fairly easy time climbing the rope.
I was originally going to head to the drawbridge, but after hearing I scream, I decided to go investigate. I found (I think his name was Robert) with a bloody dagger, Michelle's body on the floor, and Antoinette by Michelle's body in distress. I drew my sword to which he said "Not today (or was it this time) your majesty" before leaping from a two story window into the lake.
At that point I head back to lower the draw bridge. (Another name I forgot) tried to intercept me but I managed to sprint to the level to lower the drawbridge before he held a sword for a while before Flavius showed up with a barely conscious Rudolphia and his sword. He surrendered and that was the end of that. We're spending a few days at the lodge so Rudolphia can recover and it is easier to have us switch. I asked for a some money and clothing so I could travel away from there.
I forgot to give you back the character sheet, this is what we changed:
1@10 Cooking T 1@2
2@1 Use Bow T 2@1
1@6 Operate Small Boat T3@1
1@9 Use Large Hand-Carried Explosive-Driven Slug Thrower T 6@1 (Winchester, Shotgun)
1@6 Use Small Hand-Carried Explosive-Driven Slug Thrower T 6@1 (Colt Revolver)
1@9 Swimming B 1@2
1@6 Ride Horse B3@0 (English tack)
1@7 Sport Fencing B 7@1
1@8 Climbing B 1@3
I did not want the character sheet back, so that's not a problem. Thanks for the update.
The man who escaped was Rupert of Hentzau.
In the aftermath, you learn that Antoinette was in love with Michelle, and Michelle seemed to care for her but was avoiding any relationship in the hope that she could marry Flavius and so cement her claim to the throne. Rupert attempted to rape Antoinette, and Michelle heard the scream and responded, getting into a fight with Rupert in which Rupert fatally stabbed Michelle. You arrived as the dust was settling, and not certain about your abilities (or who might be behind you) Rupert made his escape.
It takes about two weeks for Rudolpha to recover, during which time Flavius spends a significant amount of time at her bedside. You make a few brief trips to Strelsau to manage state business on behalf of the queen, but mostly you stay at the lodge.
The queen personally thanks you, and praises your success at being a better queen than she would have been. She does not promise to give up alcohol entirely, but notes that a sober queen is a better ruler, as you have demonstrated. You return her ring to her.
As she is sufficiently recovered to return to her duties in Strelsau, she embraces you and thanks you again. Freida thanks you and speaks of how much she will miss you. Sapt and Flavius are going to ride with you to the French border, and are giving you five thousand francs to cover your expenses, along with a Ruritanian passport. What name do you want on the passport?
--M. J. Young
Likely I'll keep the name Ahmetia Campbell.
Frieda wonders whether a Scottish name will seem strange on a Ruritanian passport, but Sapt suggests that she should explain that she is the daughter of a Scottish gentleman who married a distant cousin of the king, and so she has the look of a Ruritanian and the name of a Scot.
Ruritania touches France just south of Belgium. Goodbyes are said at the border, beyond which you will have to travel unescorted. Any thoughts where you will go from here? (Feel free to look at a map.)
--M. J. Young
I'll probably head into France, I'm hoping that I'll find a job better in France even if it's just a street performer, likely taking the train to Paris and make use of my modern maps of Paris, there's bound to be numerous roads that are right vs wrong.
You'll have been given a horse for the journey, and that means you'll be sore but will move quickly. The conventional logic would be to head for Paris, because it's the capital and major city of the country, but there are plenty of places to be in France. Saying that you'll head into France when you're standing on the border is a bit like saying that you'll head into New York when you reach the border at the north end of Route 17 in New Jersey--big place, lots of places you could go, from making a tight right across the Tappan Zee into the City to heading up the Thruway to Albany, to continuing up the Northway into the Adirondacks or cutting left toward Buffalo and Rochester and Syracuse, to hundreds of places from Lake Placid to Poughkeepsie--well, you get the idea.
So, where in France would you like to go?
--M. J. Young
Paris would probably be the better option because I don't know how long 5,000 francs could last me and Paris would probably be the best place to find work if I needed it.
You could probably find adequate room and board for four to five francs a day, assuming that a boarding house is satisfactory. It's almost twice that in the better part of Paris, and it will be more to stay in a hotel and eat at a restaurant, but unless you spend it on expensive clothes or other luxuries, you've got enough to last a couple years.
I should probably mention that along with the horse and appropriate tack, you have a Winchester rifle, a Colt .45 revolver, and a saber, gifts from Sapt. I should also ask whether there is anything else you would have wanted to take from Ruritania, since they would certainly have asked and probably given whatever you requested.
--M. J. Young
There'd be nothing else I can think of.
Speaking of room and board, as you emerge from the woods onto a dirt road you recognize that it is getting late in the day. A horse won't make it to Paris tonight, but there are bound to be inns along a road so near the international border. On the other hand, there is plenty of woods for camping.
--M. J. Young
I'll probably go with the inn since I didn't bring anything with me for camping.
You turn the horse southwest, the direction of the heart of France, and start looking for a place to stay. You pass a farm, the buildings back from the road perhaps as much as a mile, surrounded by fields. As the evening gloom approaches, it begins to rain--lightly at first, but a chill autumn evening rain.
There is another farmhouse a mile off the road on the opposite side, and as yet no sign of a village or inn in the gathering gloom.
--M. J. Young
I'll probably ask them where the nearest inn is, and if it's too far, I'll take to take cover till the rain lets up, don't want to catch a sickly death outside.
You take the drive to the front door and knock.
A moment later, an elderly man opens the door, holding a candle in a glass lamp.
"Bon soir," he says. "Comment est-ce que je peux vous aider?"
--or something like that.
--M. J. Young
Shoot, I only know enough french to say my name and that I'm short. "Oh, I'm sorry to bother you this late, do you happen to know any English?"
"Oh, bon soir--I mean, good evening. You are not English; American? I have not been to America, but my cousin, he lives there and writes to me. His father, my uncle, lives in England, and I have visited a few times.
"How can I help you?"
--M. J. Young
"Do you know if there is an inn near by? I'm a bit lost and hard to see in the rain."
"Mais non, sacre bleu! That is, please do me the honor of being our guest tonight. We have space for your horse in the barn, and a spare bedroom as good as you would get at the inn. My wife's cooking, well, it is not Parisian cuisine but it is good food, a hearty stew. And it will save you an hour's ride in the rain--well, half an hour, at least. Come in, dry yourself, my son will see to your horse, and you can tell us of your journeys over a bowl of hot stew and a glass of fine wine. Yes?"
--M. J. Young
"If I wont be trouble at all, I would like that." I'm carefully dismounting from my horse at this point.
"Trouble? Kindness is always trouble, or it wouldn't be kindness. I would be more considered if I turned a pretty young lady away to the weather and the road when I could offer her food and shelter for the night. Etienne?" he calls this last, and a young boy about twelve comes in response. They talk in French, and then your host says, "This is Etienne, my son--you would say Steven in English, I think, but he would not recognize that name. He will take your horse to the barn and get it hay and grain, and rub it down for you. Come, Marie will get you warm stew and coffee--or should it be tea?--while I get you a place to sleep. Marie?" he calls, and the rest is in French. Then he returns his attention to you. "Her English is not so good, but she will understand simple things. Once your room is ready, you can give me news of your travels, yes?"
He draws you into the front room and offers to take whatever you are wearing or carrying that you would not take to the table. "I am afraid we have no toilette, so you will want to use the outhouse out back, but you can get water in the sink in the kitchen. I am Marc--Marc and Marie, easy, non?"
He leads you into the kitchen, where there is indeed a large sink with a hand pump, along with a wood stove and a woman a few years younger than your host who is already ladling stew into a bowl. It smells of garlic and onion and probably pork, potatoes, carrots, and celery in a rich brown sauce.
--M. J. Young
Maxx pointed out that my post didn't register on the main page, so I'm posting again to alert you to it, although you probably already noticed in the Behind the Screens thread that I posted.
"I'd prefer tea if it's not to much trouble, or ice water."
"I'd love to tell you of my travels. Merci Marc, Marie...I believe, vo cou is very much, right?" I'll have to be sure to thank Etienne when he comes back too.
He laughs at ice. "The water from the well is cold, but it is too early in the year for fresh ice. But we have tea. An English drink, but my cousin sends it at holidays."
He smiles at your efforts with French. "Merci beaucoup, much or many. You are welcome. C'est [read "say"] rien, it is nothing."
The stew is followed by the tea, Etienne is chased to bed after he returns from stabling the horse and you have thanked him.
"Je regrete, qu'est c'on dit? I am sorry, we did not make enough dessert to have some. We do have some biscuits, which are sweet, and I think Marie is planning to make custard for breakfast. But if you are not too tired, I would love to hear of your travels."
--M. J. Young
"I would love to, the only problem is where to begin. Ruritania was truely lovely."
"Oh, how long were you there? I heard that the coronation was wonderful, but that it was almost impossible to get seats inside. Were you there for that? What was it like?"
--M. J. Young
"Quite a few months. I was there just in time for the coronation. I guess I was lucky to get in though, it was a very elegant affair."
"I guess good seats were hard to get. Could you see much from where you were? Did the cathedral have open balconies? Is the queen as pretty as they say?"
--M. J. Young
"I could see everything. I can't recall if there were balconies, not everyday a queen is crowned. Though I couldn't tell you if she is as pretty as they say. I don't even know what they say."
"Oh, you know--she's supposed to be cute and impish and very, what's the English expression? Tomboyish, a hunter and drinker and at the same time a flirt. Her eyes are said to be a stunning blue, and she has long hair--but then, all of that detail does not say whether a woman is beautiful, does it? One could have every feature described and be perfectly plain. It is, perhaps, the royal mystique: one is beautiful because one is rich and powerful. It may be that France has down herself a disservice by destroying her royals. They say that Marie Antoinette was very beautiful. We are now a nation of commoners, and all of us are plain, with no great beauties among us.
"My wife excepted, of course."
--M. J. Young
"Then I guess she was as beautiful as they say. Though I disagree with the rich and powerful part. Some people are just lucky where they don't have to spend hours working on themselves to look beautiful, and you can see it in the country side, in the merchants and farmers, and bakers. But I guess the rich and powerful have that luxury."
"Mais oui, there is that--if you have all day to do your hair and clean your skin, and you can have hot baths every week if you like, plus the finest creams and colours available in Europe, it is easy to be beautiful. But some have more beauty to start.
"So, now that you have seen the coronation of a queen, I suppose it is, qu'est qu'on dit, downhill from here? What do you hope to see and do next?"
--M. J. Young
"It wont compare to being at the coronation," or pretending to be a queen for a few months, "but I am hoping to be able to visit some towns and cities, hoping to find a path for me to follow."
"Oh, yes, you can see the new Tower Eiffel in Paris, and the Musee de Louvre. Paris is the place to visit, yes?
"But you must be tired. Do you require anything else for the evening?"
If not, you can presumably find your way to your room and move through the night to tomorrow morning, if you like.
--M. J. Young
I can't think of anything else, so I'd probably thank him again for the stay and head off for the night.
Did you pack night clothes of some sort, or are you sleeping in the clothes in which you were hiking, or in something else?
--M. J. Young