The Forêt Woods

The implication in Arianne's tone made Renaux grimace. There was no man so high that he did not fear the lash of his wife's tongue. He had the distinct impression that his hide would be laid raw the next time they were alone. But he'd made the correct choice in putting his foot down, or that was what he had to tell himself. The king resigned himself to being sent to one of the guest chambers tonight.

The foal and the young prince were quite clearly loath to be separated. The sight of the two trying to stay together tugging at Renaux's heart strings. He tells the handler to take the foal back to the palace. An idea of making a crib large enough to house the two dancing through his head. Sky, but he really did need to spoil his loved ones less.

Once the picnic has been enjoyed to his and Arianne's satisfaction Renaux mounts his horse. Waiting to see if Arianne will do the same or if she will take off in the carriage. Either way, he'd speed off back to the palace riding dangerously fast. Venting some of his worry and frustration out by being reckless. Maybe not the most sensible choice, but he was a little off balance.

The crunch of footsteps over leaves tattooed through the woods, along with the gentle sound of her cloak slightly dragging behind her. Her fur lined hood covered a good portion of her fine face with shadows, her heavy skirts also dragging. The wind was slightly brisk, but she pulled the hood back to let the sun touch her face, her chestnut curls spilling riotously out. She shifted her arm, revealing the empty basket she intended to put herbs and other edibles into, kneeling at the sight of wild onion and picking the plant with a soft hum.

Belle gently tugged and then shook the root free of dirt, then placed it in the basket. She was lost in her own little world for the moment.

He had startled her... The basket dropped to the grass and tipped. The cloaked figure whirled, dark curls bouncing in the wake of the movement. Dark eyes focused on the figure who had greeted her. She wasn't sure how to react at first as she assessed him with a look of intelligence about her that came with lots of reading and such. She was quite comely, though didn't seem to have a snooty air about her like she knew that she was hot stuff.

The young woman rushed her hair away from her face and took a few, hesitant steps forward, gave a slightly rimid smile, then said, "Hello..."

She tilted her head some, gave a smile, and nodded once. "I am Belle... Belle Delecroix." A curtsy was dipped, and then she knelt to right her basket. "Please forgive me... I was picking medicinals when you came upon me." She doubted her cared that she was picking plants, but she said it anyways while placing the wild onion back into the wicker container. Once that was through, she straightened herself up and gripped the basket handle with both hands, she ventured to close some of the distance between them, though stopped before within reach.

Belle's cheeks and nose were slightly pink from the chill in the air, though she seemed to be quite at ease in this setting in general. A smudge of dirt had found it's way to her face near her temple, as well, which added to her charm.

The young miss chuckled very softly in good cheer, dark eyes dancing some. "The forest is wonderful. I have not been too deep in, however, as I am wary of getting lost." She lifted the basket handle to the crook of her arm and dropped her other hand to her side. "I could easily pay for these things in the market, but I would prefer to come here and gather my own before the winter might come. It is a very good excuse not to stay cooped up in the house." With that, she nodded softly and gestured toward the path, "Would you care to accompany me? I confess I am curious to go further. That is... if you wouldn't mind me stopping every now and then to collect the plants."

She knew nothing about his kind, but was perceptive enough to know if he'd wished to hurt her... He probably would. He looked like a strong being, yes? She started to stroll casually toward the path, looking around her in some wonder but nothing blatantly "omg" if you will... She was more curious than anything. "I am glad to have company as well... I am seen as strange by most, so they tend to ignore me." She gave a shrug and paused to pick a cluster of star grass... Gasping at the sight of it because it was a rare plant... "Aletris Farinosa! I never thought to see this here! This plant takes two years to grow from seed. I've only seen illustrations in books until now..." She was careful to only take one plant, instead of the whole cluster like she thought to do, deciding she would plant some for later cultivation. The young lady seemed to have a lot of respect for her surroundings.

Two years was a long time for a rare plant... A very useful plant to help women. But she had no idea of his thoughts, so obviously didn't comment. She finished placing the entire plant, root and all, into the basket and canted her head at him, "You don't seem odd to me." She gave a smile and started to walk again. "Tell me about the Wyld, then, and why it makes you strange to your people for desiring to see the world a bit more?" She was a very accepting person, very mild mannered for the most part. She paused every now and then to get closer looks at plants, but kept her attention mostly on him.

"I see... I suppose if I was fae, I might find it odd too. The people around me think I am odd because I would prefer to spend my time reading books and making medicine than shopping for gowns and seeking out a husband. I find standing still for hours while a seamstress pokes pins at me the epitome of tedium. My father is quite vexed with my mother insisting I be educated." She smiled at that, knowing that as much as she vexed him, she was still the apple of his eye and he'd grudgingly supply her with tomes to fill the library. "There is something cathartic about making healing potions, though... And esides that, I like knowing I am doing some good instead of worrying about such... frippery." She moved toward a weeping willow and used her dagger to scrape some bark from the trunk, "Willow bark... to help bring fevers down and used as a mild pain relief." She mumbled that more to herself than to him.

"Do you find me odd, then?" she asked, not looking up from her task until she was satisfied she had enough bark. She moved on to a rather nice sized cluster of Goat's Rue, murmuring, "Goat's Rue, often used as aphrodisiac, but also used for rheum, bladder problems, menstruation problems, breast milk secretion, expelling of intestinal worms..." She sighed and picked quite a bit of that, for it grew very easily, "Made into a tea or used as a foot bath for a number of ailments." She was most definitely smarter than the average lass, it seemed. She had her basket nearly full by the time she picked all of that... She paused and glances his way with another smile.