The House of Oldenrock

The Greetings

Part One:  Asher

Chapter One: The Greetings

            Margot Oldenrock stood upon the rock.  The rock was really a large precipice overlooking the Tower River and all of the lands immediately surrounding it.  She stood there with her arms at her sides with her palms out and her head thrown back letting her wild tangle of dark auburn hair blow in the wind glinting red in the sunlight.  Her eyes were closed, and she felt the wind blow across her face and body, making her feel as if she were flying.  A small half smile curved in her face.  Although it was not a wide grin, it was clear that to all who looked upon her expression that she felt joy and enough wonder and peace with nature to want to yell into the wind. 

            Suddenly, a lazy voice interrupted her mood and said, “You do realize that if you get any closer to the edge of that cliff, you will fall off, and I am not sure that either you or I are ready for you to experience death.” Margot turned around.  The joy that she had just experienced had vanished as quickly as it had come.  She opened her eyes, to look upon the speaker.  His eyes were the same as hers, hazel and rimmed with gold, a characteristic signature to the Oldenrock clan. 

            “What makes you think that I am going to fall off, Hal?” she absentmindedly replied.  A deep sense within her told her that she would not recover that fleeting sense of joy she had just had, so she stepped away from the edge, closer to where Hal relaxed under the unseasonably warm sun.  He sat up and faced Margot.  Hal was Margot’s cousin, but while Margot was a princess the seventh born and sixth surviving child of the King and Queen Gregor and Líess Oldenrock, Hal was only a nameless stable boy due to the fact that he was a bastard.  Although his father, the King’s brother, Mark Oldenrock had refused to claim him or acknowledge that he had fathered Hal, Hal’s features had betrayed his parentage.  He had the typical wavy dark auburn hair that many Oldenrocks had, the line of freckles across his cheeks and nose, angular square face, and of course, the hazel eyes rimmed with gold that all immediate members of the Oldenrock clan had.  Since, King Gregor would never sway from his beautiful wife, and Lord Mark, was unmarried and could be a bit over festive during holidays, it was clear whom the little toddler with the Oldenrock look who had been found in the stables thirteen years ago came from.  Many people thought it was better that Lord Mark had never acknowledged Hal’s existence, for a member of the royal family to father a bastard, married or not, was very inappropriate.

            Hal shrugged and said, “I did not necessarily think that you would fall, but I just wanted you to pay attention.”  With that, Hal lay back down on the ground with his eyes closed and his arms crossed under his head.  Margot raised her eyebrows and walked over to where Hal loafed.  The skirts of her plain brown dress blew back and her bare feet felt warm against the rock.  It was a beautiful wild day at the close of April, and Hal did not seem intent on enjoying it properly.  She did not drag him on a ride when he was free from chores for the stables several kilometers away from Rock Hall, the home the Oldenrocks and seat of government for The Olgenoct, so he could take a nap in the sun.  Hal had said so himself that her horse needed some exercise, and besides, Margot was having a two-week hiatus from her boring studies and duties that were required for an Olgen princess.  She wanted to make that time as worthwhile as possible, and watching Hal nap was not part of the plan.

            Margot frowned, and then she gave Hal a quick kick in the ribs.  He rolled over, opened his eyes, and gave Margot and exasperated look.  “What?” he asked.

            “Why do you think I took you on a ride up to Edrick’s Overlook?” Margot replied sternly.

            “So you could spend some quality time with agreeable people.  That is exactly what you said before you forced me grab a horse and ride out with you.”