Beyond Time (closed)

[KieranSoares]

"It's easy not to be shy around you when Dylan and Ash aren't teasing me." He rose to face her as she told him how comfortable she was with him. With a smile, he came to take her hand and pressed a kiss to it. " I can't tell you what it's meant to me to have a good friend like you. I, uh... Actually wanted to ask you something. I've been trying to get up the nerve for some time." She could see the nerves then but he stood up well against them.

 

[heartofcourage]

"What would you like to ask me?" Elizabeth asked, tilting her head to one side to regard John as he stood there in front of her so nervous and earnest about something. "If we're friends then you should be able to ask me anything."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I was wondering if you'd like to have dinner with me some night. Just the two of us, maybe in the garden or something." He gave her an easy smile now that he'd finally gotten up the courage to ask. "I'd like to cook for you. I make pretty good homemade pasta if I do say so myself." He'd known how to make pasta from scratch since he was very young thanks to his Italian grandmother. But to Elizabeth's world, pasta was an exotic food from the Mediterranean.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Pasta? You know how to make it? Even our cook doesn't know how to make it." Elizabeth said, impressed that he knew how to make something so exotic. "I would have to ask Papa for permission, but I don't see why we couldn't have dinner. We're friends, right? That's what friends do when they enjoy each other's company."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Yeah," John nodded, but he felt a little confused and foolish, wondering if he was reading the situation wrong as Elizabeth insisted they were friends enjoying each other's company. Was that all she saw him as? He quickly pushed those thoughts away and returned to the task at hand examining the end table.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Did I say something wrong?" Elizabeth asked as John suddenly went quiet.

As confident as she seemed, Elizabeth had a hard time making friends. It was the curse of royalty. Many were either scared of her or wanted to take advantage of her. She treasured her friendship with Ashien and she thought the world of John. Causing him any pain made her own heart ache.

 

[KieranSoares]

"No, but... I have just one question." John rose once more to face her fully and show her he only wanted a simple and honest answer. "Are we... Just friends? Or do you see me as anything more? I feel really stupid for even hoping, but... Well, I think you're a fantastic woman, and... well... I was hoping we might be... More."

 

[heartofcourage]

Elizabeth blushed furiously as John asked her if they were something more than friends. She did like him and she valued his friendship fiercely, but a simple yes or no wouldn't suffice.

"John, it's complicated." She said softly. "I adore you. You are perhaps the best friend I've ever had. I'm the heir to the throne, however. Who I spend my life with is a choice that isn't up to me. If it was, I would say yes to you in a heartbeat."

 

[KieranSoares]

John knew he couldn't have expected a simple answer, but he seemed undeterred. "I know a princess could never be with a commoner with the way England and Europe are. But if I can make something more of myself... If I could win a knighthood, would your father consider me?"

 

[heartofcourage]

"You would do that for me?" Elizabeth asked him with a stunned expression on her face. "If you wanted to train for a knoghthood, I'm sure Papa would take any suit you bring a little more serious. I can't say that the rest of the realm would be so welcoming."

 

[KieranSoares]

"To hell with the rest of the realm," John stated boldly. "But I have to know if this is what you want me to do. I don't want a title for money or fame or stuffy parties full of rich people who can't see past the end of their noses. I would never ask to court you unless you wanted it too."

It simply wasn't heard of, that a woman of high status had any large hand in choosing her suitors. But John had a modern perspective that would probably get him into a lot of trouble. He wanted Elizabeth to choose him, not anyone else. But if he had to work through her father to give her that choice, he would. Even a king and all the nobles in the world wouldn't deter him.

 

[heartofcourage]

Elizabeth was stunned with John's sudden boldness, but she had to admit that it felt good to be wanted so badly by someone that she did love. She gave him a soft smile, her gaze moving towards the floor as she summoned up the courage to tell him how she really felt.

"I would like to court you." She finally murmured, glancing up at him with that shy gaze. "I would like to see what we might become."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Then I'll make sure we have the chance. It might take a long time... but if you're willing to give me that time, I'll make it happen," John told her with absolute confidence. He'd started a bit shy with Dylandra too, but when he was sure of himself, he grew bold as brass and made his intentions crystal-clear. He offered her a smile and his arm. "We'd better go back out before your dad suspects something. I'll come pick up the end tables later and get to work on them."

 

[heartofcourage]

"As a princess all I have is time." Elizabeth said with a smile as she took John's arm and let him lead her back to the others.

Dylan was entertaining Henry with stories of her own childhood, made up to exclude the fact that she was from a different time period. He was a charming man and she found it easy to make friends with him despite his royal status.

 

[KieranSoares]

Henry was laughing in his warm and jolly way at Dylandra's stories of her grandfather's eccentricity when Elizabeth and John returned. He smiled to John and welcomed them back. "So do you think you could replace those bed stands, my friend?"

"Yes, sir," John nodded confidently. "I'll just need to order in the right kind of wood."

"Good man." Henry easily slipped back into conversation. John, however, joined Ashman's side and the two conversed quietly.

 

[heartofcourage]

"I was telling him that some of my things have come from Spain." Elizabeth said with a smile towards her father. "Mummy aways had such beautiful things in her rooms. Spanish lace. Beautiful tapestries. It always reminded me of a fairy tale."

 

[KieranSoares]

"The palace used to be fairly bare and solemn before she came. She couldn't stand how lonely it felt, so she brought all sorts of tapestries in and commissioned young unknown artists to make little statues and furniture and paintings. Within a year, she'd made the palace an open forum and people have been coming and going fairly freely ever since, aside of course from some extra security measures. And I kept all her changes and decorations. I wanted Elizabeth to see her mother in it all, and for everyone to know the wonderful queen who'd once lived here. Today I still recruit young crafters and artists and replace the art regularly to keep it lively. But a few my wife loved most never move."

 

[heartofcourage]

"It sounds like you loved her very much, your highness." Dylan said as she watched him speak fondly about his wife that he had lost so many years ago. "And the palace truly is beautiful. It's a testament to her that you kept her dreams alive."

 

[KieranSoares]

"She was everything to me. I think if not for Elizabeth... I might've followed my wife not too long after she passed. But Elizabeth became my world in her mother's stead, and I never spared details or expense in keeping her safe. And she takes care of me just as well." He smiled to his daughter, leaning over to kiss her forehead. Ashien and John seemed deeply embroiled in their own conversation but Henry didn't interrupt them. Much of the rest of the day was like this until Ashien and Dylandra headed home and John came to join them, still talking quietly with Ashien.

 

[heartofcourage]

Dylan was completely charmed by the way the king talked about his daughter. He adored her and he wanted the best for her since his beloved wife passed away. They truly made the perfect team, each there for one another no matter what. It was the kind of relationship she wished she had with her own father, a man that she barely had known.

One the way home that evening, Dylan couldn't help but notice the way that Ashien and John seemed to be deep in conversation. "Are you ever going to share what is going on?" Dylan asked them both, crossing her arms over her chest as she looked towards them.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Nope, super secret boy stuff. No girls allowed," John gave her one of his teasing and rugged grins despite the seriousness of the conversation with Ashien. So Ashien decided to use that as a chance to embarrass him.

"Our dear friend would like to begin training to become a knight so he can win the fair Lady Elizabeth's hand," Ashien explained with an easy smile while John went completely red.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Elizabeth?" Dylan asked, looking between Ashien and John with a little bit of surprise. "You really want to try for her hand? She's a princess, John. That's a lot of heartache on your part."

 

[KieranSoares]

"She wants me to try, and so do I." John looked incredibly sure of himself despite the daunting road ahead if he wanted to become worthy of knighthood quickly enough to be able to win Elizabeth before someone else did. It took most men most of their youth to become a knight at Ashien's age. John was a tad older and had never picked up a sword or a shield before.

 

[heartofcourage]

Dylan pulled to a stop, staring at her dear friend as he talked about trying for Elizabeth. She had never heard John talk about a relationship in such a sure and easy manner...not even their engagement. Glancing towards Ashien, she saw that Ash believed that John could actually do what he was considering.

"Well, if that's what you really want then the both of us will support you." Dylan said softly. "I'm sure Ashien can train you quickly if you're a willing student."

 

[KieranSoares]

"But before we start... John, you know that this will make you a military man, don't you? Like myself and other knights, you'll be expected to fight if Henry calls. Knights are the deciding force of war today. The infantry goes in first, followed by the cavalry. We're the horsemen and the dependable fighters who can devastate with sword, lance, and bow. If you're going to do this... You have to realize you'll be expected to fight, kill, and possibly die for England. Are you ready to take someone else's life, or give up your own?"

Ashien had killed more than his fair share of men, and watched too many good men die both at his enemies' hands and at his own. John was quiet for a long moment, and his gaze fell to the ground. "I... No. No I'm not."

"I would've been very worried if you were," Ashien sighed. "Dylandra knows what she faces with me as her husband. I might be wounded or killed, and I might never make it home if a real war starts. Elizabeth faces the same no matter who her husband is. And that's another point... Would you be ready to become a Prince? Even a King, though Elizabeth would have the power? Could you make those hard decisions and pass judgement for an entire kingdom?"

Ashien didn't mean to tell John to shy away, but John did seem to be quaking. Love wasn't so easy in this time, especially concerning princesses and war. "I'm sorry, John. I just want you to know what you're getting yourself into," Ashien sighed and laid a hand on his shoulder.

"No, I appreciate it. I needed to come back to reality..."

"Don't give up if you love her." At that, John fixed Ashien with a confident gaze.

"I never said I would. When do we start?" John's voice was full of steely resolve and Ashien had to laugh at him.