{"id":32724,"date":"2012-10-21T22:55:01","date_gmt":"2012-10-21T22:55:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.firechildren.net\/lightfire\/iamthefirechild\/2012\/10\/21\/the-three-fountains-37\/"},"modified":"2012-10-21T22:55:01","modified_gmt":"2012-10-21T22:55:01","slug":"the-three-fountains-37","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.firechildren.net\/lightfire\/iamthefirechild\/2012\/10\/21\/the-three-fountains-37\/","title":{"rendered":"The Three Fountains"},"content":{"rendered":"

dukehumphrey<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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iamthefirechild<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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dukehumphrey<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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iamthefirechild<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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\u201cAnything, my lord. I place myself entirely in your hands.\u201d She let him lead her to the balcony, neatly side-stepping drunks and dogs. Once there, she drew away, clasping both hands on the railing and gazing upward. The night was clear and warm and the sky blossomed with the light of a million stars.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs not God\u2019s work beautiful to behold?\u201d she asked softly at last, turning to look at Humphrey.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cI am certain God\u2019s most beautiful work is not up in the sky, for it is you, my lady<\/em>\u2026\u201d Humphrey said, stepping to her. \u201cMay I?\u201d<\/em> he asked as he touched her neck with a finger, his other hand drawing a leather poach from his pocket. \u201cThis is something I had made for you, and I had some other occasion in mind to give you\u2026 yet I saw you tonight and I thought, it is exactly what you shall wear along with your dress.\u201d He took from the pouch the necklace of rubies and pearls<\/a>. \u201cI hope you like rubies. I thought they suit you\u2026 well I hope you like the gift,\u201d<\/em> and with that, he placed the necklace on her neck and clipped it behind her head, the motion inevitably drawing him close. His hand traveled down to her waist as he held her for a long moment. \u201cI wish not to start any talk,\u201d<\/em> he whispered, \u201cI restrained myself all night so no gossip goes around, but you shall know that my heart is yours still\u2026 that I want none but you.\u201d<\/em> He raised her cheek to face her, and looked into her eyes when saying it. \u201cI wish I have been as chaste as my brother the king, for then I had no gossip around me and I could dance the night away with you. I want no talk and no damage to your honour, my love. So tell me, what to do. And first of all, tell me if you would have me.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cYour Grace,\u201d Summer whispered. It felt as though everything around them simply faded away, leaving only the two of them, on the balcony in the starlight, looking at one another. His gift weighed around her throat, the metal warming to her skin. Her pulse pounded in her ears. Dared she believe him? \u201cWilt have my heart in trade for thine? I fear thou hast stolen it all the same. Yes, I\u2019ll have thee, with gladness.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Humphrey smiled at her submission, the confirmation that he was right. He knew that she wasn\u2019t the kind who would take just anyone, and he even dared to believe that she didn\u2019t take him just because he was a royal duke. He looked around, but besides two drunken lordlings quarrelling and a couple lost in kissing and more in the corner, the balcony was empty. Thus he leaned down and kissed her, gently touching his lips to hers, and when her lips parted he deepened the kiss passionately with tongues teasing as they danced. He held her close, feeling her arms on his neck, not wanting to part even when breathing became a necessity.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour lips truly taste like summerwine\u2026\u201d<\/em> he whispered to her, smiling. \u201cI would gladly be sickened with drunkenness from it. So tell me, my lady, when can I see you? And how? I need to know to be able to endure more dancing with my aunts\u2026 and their ladies-in-waiting with their offerings. I need to know how long I am to starve\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Summer gave him a soft smile, cheeks flushed. “‘Tis simple, my lord. Who would question thou and I encountering one another in the library? Or writing to one another of texts modern and ancient? Or ever thou canst escape council, I’ll meet thee in the gardens. Now kiss me again, to stave off thy starvation.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

dukehumphrey: iamthefirechild: dukehumphrey: iamthefirechild: \u201cAnything, my lord. I place myself entirely in your hands.\u201d She let him lead her to the balcony, neatly side-stepping drunks and dogs. Once there, she drew away, clasping both hands on the railing and gazing upward. The night was clear and warm and the sky blossomed with the light of … Continue reading The Three Fountains<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[10,1043,3793,140,4006],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firechildren.net\/lightfire\/iamthefirechild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32724"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firechildren.net\/lightfire\/iamthefirechild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firechildren.net\/lightfire\/iamthefirechild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firechildren.net\/lightfire\/iamthefirechild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firechildren.net\/lightfire\/iamthefirechild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32724"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.firechildren.net\/lightfire\/iamthefirechild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32724\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firechildren.net\/lightfire\/iamthefirechild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32724"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firechildren.net\/lightfire\/iamthefirechild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32724"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firechildren.net\/lightfire\/iamthefirechild\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32724"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}