sure.
Awesome posts. I will intro my other character later. BTW, what country is your princess from?
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The black saddle-leather creaked as the buckskin shifted, letting one hoof dig into the sandy soil. He bowed his proud head and snuffed at the long grass, then he nibbled tentatively. When no rebuke was forthcoming, he set to grazing with relish.
Lath sat on the leeward side of a great pillar of stone, once fair and tall, now a crumbling ruin. His grey eyes lay on the rolling hills in the distance, covered in a blue haze. Hemlocks, columbines and wild rose grew in a tangled symphony around the pillar, set on the top of a hill, lonely and desolate. Other ruins of its kind could be seen around the area, where many others had fallen and formed a sort of enclosure.
Lath had come here to think, while looking over the country. Behind him, the land sloped away to a valley, steepening on the other side. At the rim on the other side, a castle was set, its sturdy walls rosy in the sun's last gleam.
All to oncet, he heard the clatter of hoof-beats and a chestnut mare came into view around a fallen pillar. Lath jumped to his feet, grey eyes respectful. The lady carried herself like a princess, and the horse was of a quality little seen even in those days. The mare would be a match for his gelding's stamina, although maybe not in strength. The buckskin gelding was several hands higher, and stopped his grazing, pricking his ears.
Genevieve drew up, taken aback by seeing her 'spot' already taken, but Lath bowed and mounted on his buckskin, grey eyes laughing. "I see you like this spot also, m'lady. Don't let me hinder you, or you may find me uncouth."
Genevieve smiled and swung down from the saddle, her eyes tired. "No indeed, don't worry. I have just come from meeting my supposed husband-to-be, and anyone would seem like an angel compared to him."
Lath let a smile pass through his eyes. "I see you have met my half-brother. I would give you my counsel, only it seems you have already taken it, Princess Genevieve." He looked at her thoughtfully.
"Half-brother? You seem older than him."
"Two years, m'lady. He plans on taking over the heirship, only he has to get rid of me first." To her astonishment, he laughed, without bitterness.
"You laugh? He seems dangerous to me."
"Dangerous, maybe. I have spent only seven years of my life in Spain. The rest were spent trying to escape from royalty and heirdom." He smiled again, and bowed in the saddle. "If you would follow my advice," he added, "you would run. Run from the politics of this life, that would drain you and leave you empty. But then, there may be advantages from a royal lifestyle. I cannot say . . . but I am rich enough without blood money."
