Coghill Manor Lawn
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Coghill Manor stands here, right in the center of a broad, snowy lawn. The large house is a combination of wood and stone, with a wrap-around porch. Drifts of white lie upon the roof, and glittering icicles hang from its eaves. To the south, a path leading in from the road has been cleared. It passes beneath several old shade trees--now bare of leaves and blanketed in snow--before splitting east and west to circle the house.
In the midst of this wintry scene blazes a bonfire, large enough to light up even a moonless night and thoroughly warm the surrounding air. Two enormous roasting spits holding wild game have been set up beside it, and all around stand any number of sturdy tables heaped with good things to eat. Long wooden benches are everywhere, with musicians wandering in and out among them. In one particular area, the trampled snow testifies to many dancing feet.
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You can go: Orchard <W>, Front Porch <N>, Vineyard <E>, Coghill Manor Road <S>
Contents:
Rosalind waves to the party from the porch until they are completely out of sight. She smiles softly, caught up in some of their excitement.
Dar walks down the road to the south.
Colin leaves, following Dar.
Cantil leaves, following Colin.
Tyren leaves, following Dar.
Honour leaves, following Dar.
Elriya leaves, following Dar.
Shar leaves, following Dar.
Evette watches and listens attentively as the crowd gets ready to depart, another smile gracing her lips as she catches the exchange between the knight and the boy. She exhales as they pass out of sight.
Rosalind squeezes her sister's hand gently. "You would ride out if you had your choice, I know..."
Evette doesn't deny it, but she smiles softly. "Perhaps, but I wouldn't truly be much help anyways. And I wouldn't like to leave you all alone on such a night."
Rosalind smiles. "Thank you, Eve. I am always glad of your company. What shall we do, then, while they are at the hunt?"
Evette shrugs and holds her palms out in front of her. "Whatsoever you would like," she says brightly.
Rosalind says, her voice a trifle wistful, "I wonder if there are gardens...and if anything is still blooming."
Evette glances around. "It certainly seems to be a very large place. I doubt they would mind us wandering the grounds."
Rosalind's eyes light up with interest. "Perhaps not. If you are not cold, let us see what the grounds are like. A servant can tell us if any areas are out of bounds for us."
Evette nods agreeably, and holds out an arm affably to Rosalind.
Rosalind tucks her arm through her sister's as the pair set out over the frozen ground.
Orchard
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Here stands what appears to be a small orchard of fruit trees, though of course they are all brown now. Snow covers their branches, and their prickly twigs are coated in ice that makes them glitter in the sunlight.
Some of the trees run in two rows through the middle of the grove, while others stand together in little groups. A single set of booted footprints has made a path running east and north between the two rows of trees, but otherwise, the snow is smooth and untouched.
Benches are stationed off to the sides under the tree clusters, though they too are draped in this wintry blanket. A small storage shed stands in a far corner, with a ladder lying on the ground beside it, nearly hidden from view.
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You can go: Apple Tree <1>, Peach Tree <2>, Plum Tree <3>, Pear Tree <4>,
Cherry Tree <5>, Quince Tree <6>, Brook Lawn <N>, Manor Lawn <E>
Contents:
A daughter of eve with burnished dark red hair (Rosalind)
Evette steps along the snow-covered path and stops when they encounter a beautifully frosted-over orchard. She catches her breath at the glittering, sparkling sight.
Rosalind sighs in pleasure, glancing up through snow-coated branches. "Beautiful..." she breathes.
Evette brushes a hand against the trunk of the nearest fruit tree and nods, eyes sparkling delightedly.
Rosalind grins at her sister. "Hard to believe this will be a riot of colors in a few months."
Evette grins back. "Aye, but the way it glitters in the moonlight - it's just as beautiful now, even if the only color is white." She lifts her eyes upwards to scan the treetops and the twinkling stars above.
Rosalind follows her sister's gaze upward again. "If I were still an inn cook, I would be considering all the pies that the fruit of these trees would make."
Evette giggles a little. "Whereas cooking is the farthest thing from my mind right now." Her green eyes look a little mischievous.
Rosalind's eyebrows wing upward. "Really? And where are your thoughts, Eve?"
Evette swallows a grin and saunters over to a sturdier look tree, one that appears easily climbable. She rests a hand on a low, wide branch that is covered in snow, but not ice. "It has been a long time since I've climbed a tree," she admits, a little sheepishly but still as though she is considering it seriously.
Rosalind giggles, looking younger than she usually does. "Oh, Eve, you wouldn't!"
Evette tilts her head at her, encouraged by the giggle. "I most certainly would!" She grins, and, to prove it, swings herself up into the lowest branch (fancier dress than normal not withstanding).
Rosalind lets out a tiny gasp at her sister's boldness, glances around to make absolutely certain nobody else is around, and then makes her own sedate way upward to join Evette.
Evette giggles in delighted surprise when Rosalind joins her. She scrambles up another branch, being a little more careful due to the snow than she is apt to. She grins down at her sister.
Rosalind follows suit, brushing some of the snow off of the next branch first so as not to ruin her dress entirely. "I didn't say I'd lost the knack", she grins.
Evette smirks and holds to the trunk of the tree with one hand. "Oh my, look at me corrupting you back to childhood. Dearie, what shall we do?"
Rosalind gives her sister a smirk and laughs lightly. "Climb up further, of course. What else is there to do?"
Evette throws back her head to laugh infectiously, and some of her carefully pinned curls escape. "Of course!" She scampers upwards.
Rosalind shakes her head ruefully as she also climbs higher. "I will never be able to explain this to my lord", she says.
Evette peeks around the branches at her and studies Rosalind’s dress. "Oh, it looks fine to me. And you're quite handy with a needle. I daresay he won't protest too much." She peers down from her perch and says with a twinkle in her eye, "Provided we aren't discovered of course."
Rosalind glances out over the countryside visible from this new vantage point. "At least we'll see anyone coming." Her face drains of color as a townsperson passes below, heading in the direction of the feast, and she grasps firmly hold of the trunk.
Evette stifles a giggle and holds very very still, trying to keep as quiet as possible until the townsperson has passed by without noticing them. She claps a hand over her mouth.
Rosalind's hand flutters to her chest as the man departs, apparently without noticing them.
Evette's giggle escapes as soon as he is gone, and she laughs into her hand. Her cheeks are red from the cold and her breath fogs the air, but she seems completely happy.
Rosalind gives her sister a slightly crooked smile. "I knew there was a reason I don't tend to seek out adventures..."
Evette tightens her hold on the trunk and leans back, hanging slightly into the air off the branch she is perched upon. She tsks playfully. "Goodness me, you don't enjoy the threat of gossip and slander over harmless fun? Wherever have your sensibilities gone, Rosa?" she teases.
Rosalind swings her legs, enjoying herself despite her attack of nerves. "I believe I left my sensibilities on the ground", she jests.
Evette grins. "Good for you, sis," she says. And then she stops, lips pursing a little and she smiles again. "Oh my, here I go corrupting you. Barron will have my head."
Rosalind chuckles faintly. "When I nearly spilled soup on him the first time I brought him his supper I believe he had some notion of what he was in for."
Evette tilts her head to the side, loose curls bouncing lightly. She pulls herself in from the air and closer to the trunk. "Well. There is that."
Rosalind pats her hair to make certain it is still neat. "At least it was more edible than the very first soup I made. Do you remember?"
Evette grimaces. "As I recall, it was blackened from the bottom half being burnt from being cooked too long."
Rosalind glances at the position of the light. "That was only the beginning. Even father's pigs wouldn't touch it. But we should get back. It grows late and they will be starting the feast."
Evette laughs lightly. "My, those were the days. They didn't last long though. You've always had a knack, I think." She looks up at the moon. "I suppose you are right."
Rosalind looks down next. "I...don't remember us climbing this high..."
Evette peeks down through the branches. "Here. I'll go down first and help you." She clambers down a branch, holding her partially sodden skirts out of the way, and then drops them to take a hold of the tree and hold out her other hand to Rosa.
Rosalind makes her cautious way down, with her sister's help, and doing her best not to look down again.
Evette reachs the bottom branch, close to the ground, and sort of leaps off of it. She skitters a bit in the snow and ice and laughs heartily before holding her arms out to Rosalind when she has regained her balance.
Rosalind's feet touch the ground and she also has to work to keep from slipping. "What we suffer for fashion", she teases as she regains her balance.
Evette tsks and loops her arm through Rosa's arm again in preparation to head back. "Nearly a crime, it is."
Rosalind stifles a giggle as she allows Evette to steady her. "Fortunately, in Lancelyn Green at least, I don't think we need worry, since we know the man who makes the laws..."
Evette grins. "Yes, I do believe he has our backs."
Rosalind grins back at her and hastens their steps a little. Before they even reach the Manor, the smell of roasting boar wafts in their direction. Rosalind pauses to pull a stray twig from Evette's hair and to straighten her own skirts.
Evette lets her do so and smiles.
Rosalind's eyes dance as she says, "It wouldn't do to give ourselves away."
Evette purses her lips to hold back a grin. "Certainly not." Although, the fact is she does look a little less put-together than she did when the hunting party left, with some of her hair coming undone and her partially damp skirts.
