an awkward situation. [matthew, open]

[madeline delaford.]

madeline frances delaford. . .
^{you've got to change the world
and use this chance
to be heard.}

<sup>Madeline felt the slightest twinge in her stomach as she realized she might get in trouble for what she was doing. Not that she was doing anything bad in particular, it's that she hadn't bothered to tell anyone where she was going. The young lady hadn't told anyone because she knew that they would have sent someone to accompany her--and she preferred to spend this mid-morning walk alone. Maddie took a deep breath of fresh air, pushing the guilt out of her mind and forcing herself to think of other things. Such as her beautiful surroundings.

The Delaford had left her horse at a local inn where upon she took to foot, her boots barely stirring dust on the worn forest trails. Of course, the girl's first priority in this whole escapade was Atlas' exercise. She was afraid the merlin wasn't getting enough and decide that a flight through the trees would be an interesting, interactive place for him to stretch his wings. Madeline smiled as she spotted his blue-grey plumage flickering through the canopy. No doubt he was search for a tasty bug or two to snack on. Of course, fate took it's shot at her while she was gazing up at the ancient boughs.

A dip in the trail caused her to stumble, only, her foot had lodged itself in a cross of gnarled roots that peeked above ground. She cried out as a sharp pain pierced her ankle. Falling clumsily to her hands and knees, she slowly sat back, picking a few thorns from her palm, not caring so much if her handsome riding habit got smeared with dirt. The throbbing, tingling pain in her ankle clouded out those silly notions. Gingerly, she wiggled her boot heel, trying to dislodge it only to react with teeth-grinding moans. It was obvious she had twisted her ankle, or worse...hopefully not worse.

What a predicament Madeline had placed herself in! Here she was, alone, no one knowing where she had gone, stuck where any predator could find her, without even a horse! "Bloody hell." she murmured, her voice husky with pain, the words foreign against her innocent tongue. Atlas, the brave chap, had settled on a perch in the tree above her and stared with unreadable eyes. She could already feel the tightness in her shoe, swelling no doubt. Tugging at her neckerchief, she used it to press on her palm, where the skin was torn and bleeding. Sweat spotted her forehead as she stared at the stupid tree root, feeling rather faint. This was not good.</sup>

[matthew green. <3]

but hold your breath
because tonight will be the night
that i will fall for you over again
don't make me change my mind

Neigh A smile spread over Matthew's face as he heard his horse call for him when he wasn't even in the barn yet. He already was imagining her light colored hair and cream colored mane as he quicken his pace to the barn. He had raised this horse ever since she was a filly at the barn next door and was completely in love with her. He had told himself that he was never going to be able to get married because he loved his horse too much to love anyone else as much.

"Hey girly girl. How has the barn been holding up? It hasn't fallen down on you yet has it?" Matthew talked to his horse as she came into view. Penelope nickered back reaching her head out to her owner. "Want to go out into the woods? Yeah, I think you do." he spoke more to his horse then he did to anyone else. It was much easier with someone that wouldn't judge him or even respond in any way. Plus he just couldn't seem to get rid of his smile when he was around Penelope.

He moved around his horse brushing her and getting her ready slowly not worrying about time. He had all the time in the world. He worked over at the barn next to his whenever he had time but he wasn't committed to doing anything at certain time so he found himself over at the barn more times than not. A lot of the times he had a sketch pad with him so he could draw Penelope from every angle possible.

Soon he had her tacked up and was ready to ride. He through his sketch pad and charcoal into his bag and threw it over his shoulder before leading Penelope out and jumping onto her. He settled nicely into the saddle worn from years of use. He urged Penelope on letting the reins go slack and letting her pick the route this time. As long as Penelope got to do what she wanted to do then she was never unhappy, it was when Matthew wanted her to do something that he wanted to do when she got crabby.

The sun flickered through the leaves and Matthew took in all his surrounds that he had already seen countless times. He was picking out places that he would want to come back and draw, today Penelope got to pick where. She knew wherever she stopped, he would climb off of her and they would get a break. That was if she did stop.

"Bloody hell." Penelope's head pricked up towards the noise and Matthew instantly pulled his reins in the direction that he heard the voice from. They were far into the woods and he had no idea who it could have been but it sounded like they were in trouble and he wasn't just going to leave them there to suffer.

Penelope picked up a trot as she sensed the excitement of the situation they were in, she was just as interested in who had spoken as Matthew was, except for different reasons. Who knew which people calling out had treats for special horses like her. Matthew kept his head as he kept going in the direction he heard the call.

Then he saw a lady sitting on the ground and it looked like her ankle was twisted in a bunch of roots and was stuck there. Matthew swiftly jumped off of Penelope and whispered for her to stay there before quickly heading over to the lady on the ground. He knelt down beside her and without even looking at her he put his hands lightly on her ankle. "Does that hurt?" he asked gently touching her ankle not wanting to put any pressure on it that would hurt. He knew he was going to have to get it out of the roots.

He tried to keep his mind clear as he waited for the response. He knew if he even looked at her he would become flustered and not know what to say or do. He just had to do what he knew how to do. He had been trained with all this sort of outdoor stuff because well that was where he spent most of his time.

because tonight will be the night
____________________________

woo. i think this is an amazing post especially since it is my first one with him. (:[/size]

[madeline delaford.]

madeline frances delaford. . .
^{you've got to change the world
and use this chance
to be heard.}

<sup>Slowly and painfully, Madeline began to twist her boot out once more. Arrgg! Her thoughts fumed, fueled by her own feelings of stupidity, helpless and distress. It's simple enough, just yank it out! No, no! Ouch! Oooh...ouch... She moaned inwardly at any little movement. Madeline quickly realized that the shoe had to come off in order to free herself. Then she should be able to easily pull it out. Now, the tricky part was how she would undo the tight laces one-handed. The young lady's boots were made to endure. Top quality, water-proofed leather dyed an attractive dark red; stitched finely with decorative pinked cut edges. She would be sorry if she'd have to cut through it.

The Delaford was fiddling with her laces when Atlas gave a shrill shriek overhead. She glanced up to see him ruffling his plumage and staring warily down the path. It was then that Madeline heard the steady footfalls of a trotting horse. A slight panic caused her heart to stutter, flailing weakly against her ribs like a captive songbird. She probably looked like a vagabond with stolen nobleman's clothes; curls strayed from her ornate hair twist, dirt and bits of dried mud clung to her skirt hem. Of course she was all sweaty and flustered. Besides the dangerous fact that there was no telling who was about to arrive on the scene.

Fourtunatly for Madeline, she had a good view of the man before he got to her and judged him to be of a decent nature. At least, she told herself that thieves and men with bad intentions wouldn't have such a lovely face. Course, she didn't stop to decipher the flaws in that resolution. Her mouth parted to speak but the words fled like mice. She watched in similar silence as he approached hurriedly. It was when he reach toward her foot that she finally blurted out. "Excu-" A strange man was touching her ankle, he should have at least asked permission first! Right? Or...wait...what would a proper lady do in this situation? For once, Madeline wasn't quite sure, so she shut her mouth.

She found herself staring at the fringe of brown hair on his forehead as he spoke. Madeline felt rather odd about the fact that he continued to stare at her boot. Not once did he look up. She could see part of his face though and she fidgeted with the notion of asking him to look up, he had pretty eyes...is that what her eyes looked like? She was pretty sure they were similar. "It's sprain--no don't..ooohouch!" Madeline's first reaction was to squeeze her eyes shut tightly and put a death grip on the fabric of her skirt. It was only a second before her lids snapped open again though, for an falcon's sharp cry sounded and the air between them was filled with the rustling rush of feathers. Maddie gasped, Atlas was so quick, she barely had time to react when he swooped on the man in warning.

"Atlas, roost!" she commanded sharply. The bird disappeared immediately, although Madeline knew he was still watching from the treetops. It was blatantly obvious that the bird was hers. The fitted, fingerless gauntlet on her left arm was proof enough. It's gold leaf inlay glittered in the dappled sunlight and gave further evidence of her rank in society. "A-are you alright?" she stuttered, a blush painted her cheeks pink. "Please accept my deepest apologies kind Sir, h-he thought you were..." She felt it unnecessary to finish with a 'hurting me' for an even deeper blush had crept across her face. Oh lord, what fun.

A pulsing ache had started in her ankle. The boot had to come off.</sup>

^{notes; Amazing indeed! You blew me out of the water. ;D Sorry if my posts are a little...strange[?]...I'm trying to get into the role of my new character too. <<}

[matthew green. <3]

or i won't live to see another day
i swear it's true
because a girl like you is impossible to find
you're impossible to find

Matthew wasn't a fancy man by any means. Kneeling on the ground was something that he didn't even think about. Any lord or someone of higher ranking may have thought that what he was doing was ridicolous and wouldn't be caught dead on the ground no matter what the circumstance. Matthew was going to do what he had to though.

He waited patiently for her to reply if putting any pressure on her ankle hurt just so he could know how he was going to have to get her out of this situation. She had started to say something before but his abrupt behavior made her shut her mouth. As she started to reply about it being a sprain she cried out in pain and Matthew instantly jumped away not wanting his hands on her ankle to hurt her anymore.

He barely had a chance to regain what had happened when he was attacked by what seemed like a bird from a tree. He threw his arm over his face but then he heard the girl speak, telling the bird to go back into the trees. Matthew took his arm from his face and looked up at the tree to see if the mysterious bird was still there ready to attack him if he took another move but he didn't see it. The girl began to talk and he turned his head slightly to hear her better but didn't look at her face yet because he didn't want to know who it was that he was helping, if it was someone he knew.

She had begun apologizing for the bird before she trailed off obviously because of the awkward situation between them. Matthew just nodded at her, his way of saying that it was okay and she didn't have to worry about it. Instead he moved slowly back towards her foot keeping an eye out for any bird that may come back down and attack him. He reached his hands out for her shoe lace and began to undo it slowly careful not to pull too hard so it moved her foot.

Matthew kept his head down still not wanting to know who he was helping get out of this mess. He was never good with conversations to begin with and now in this situation he knew that he wouldn't be able to say anything, or say something incredibly stupid. He was always the quiet kid who never said anything but that was his preference - most of the time. Of course sometimes he wished he was one of those people who always knew the right thing to say and never had any problem wondering what to say.

He almost had the shoelace completely untied when he heard a big sneeze that couldn't have came from the girl. He looked over and saw that Penelope had wandered over to them and had just sneezed all over the poor girl on the ground. Making a point to not look at her yet especially since his horse had just sneezed all over her, he stood up and grabbed Penelope's bridle and backed her away from the girl. Who knew if she was afraid that the horse would step on her. Matthew knew that Penelope never would, she was just more interested if she had anything to eat.

"Sorry. My horse is just always hungry and you may of had something..." It was Matthew's turn to explain for a badly behaved pet. Then he turned to Penelope and whispered to her, "Stay over here. I promise I will give you two whole carrots when we go home because you are being such a good girl. Penelope snorted and Matthew gave her a pat on her neck and moved back to the girl and knelt on the ground next to her foot again.

"Okay. I am going to pull the boot off of your foot now. It should come off easily but I don't know how much it will hurt," he said addressing the girl from where he was looking at the boot. "I won't do it until you are ready." Matthew stayed still waiting for her to tell him that he could go ahead and take off the boot. He knew she wouldn't be able to walk afterwards because of the sprain but the first step would be to take the boot off.

because tonight will be the night
___________________________

don't worry about it, i understand completely. and i'm happy with this post too! wow. two goodish posts in a row.[/size]

[madeline delaford.]

madeline frances delaford. . .
^{you've got to change the world
and use this chance
to be heard.}

<sup>Madeline was almost surprised that the gallant man hadn't stormed off after the small falcon had so boldly attacked. Most of the men she was acquainted with, noblemen of course, were cocky and short tempered--always ready to show off their "manliness" with exaggerated airs. Madeline was always turned off by these gaudy lords and would rather spend the evening embroidering dreaded cushions than in their presence. She was a modest girl and down to earth. The sugar-coated flattery of men didn't settle well with her as it did with other women. Such things she shied from like a green-broke filly.

The young woman scrutinized the man's arm, making sure that Atlas hadn't made physical contact. Madeline knew from experience that the puncture wound of a falcon's talon was painful indeed. Deeming him free of scraps of scratches, she dropped her gaze back to where his nimble fingers worked on her boot laces. She felt rather silly and embarrassed, like little child who couldn't tie their shoes properly yet. She lifted her own hands to help but found the task impossible without getting in the way. Besides the blood-stained neckerchief clumsily tied around her right palm wasn't too pretty.

The fact that he still hadn't made eye contact made Madeline slightly uncomfortable. Not that she wasn't in a state of discomfort already--but it added awkwardness to an awkward situation. Did he have something to hide? Surely not a physical ailment, for the Delaford lady could see most of his face from her position...yet he obviously couldn't see hers. Lord, was she that ugly? Madeline used the edge of her sleeve to wipe the sweat from her brow, she was feeling a bit faint again, though the color in her cheeks was quite vibrant. 'Please, please don't let me faint on this man.' she pleaded mentally while taking deep, calming breaths.

Madeline's thoughts were interrupted quite abruptly by a loud sneeze and a spattering of moisture across her face. For a Lady, she took it all in stride--wiping her face as she looked up at the golden head hanging over them. In fact (perhaps the pain was making her loopy) she thought the horse was quite a character. A lilting laugh escaped her lips, a bit husky from the ache in her ankle. "She deserves a handful of sweet feed for her patience." Madeline waited for him to return before finishing. "and I believe she thinks so too." The weak smile on her face was immediately shut down as he spoke, for it was time for maximum pain tolerance once more.

"Here..." Madeline placed her hands just above his on the boot and held her breath as she pulled her stockinged foot from it's prison. Her eyes watered but she refused to cry out again, and in the blink of an eye, she was free. Releasing the air from her lungs in a great whoosh, she silently considered peeling off her stocking to take a look at the damage.</sup>

^{notes; yeah...uh...-fail-}

[matthew green. <3]

Matthew blushed as the girl talked about Penelope, the first time they had really talked to each other except for the small exchange at the beginning. He loved Penelope to death but sometimes she was a bit of an embarrassment. Like a child would be embarrassed by their child or even the other way around at times. Of course he knew Penelope would be getting lots of pampering after this. She was spoiled and she knew it which made her even more pleased.

He felt Penelope's nose sniffing the back of his neck and he just ignored her focusing on the girl who was still stuck. He watched her hands come right about his. He couldn't help but compare them. Hers were so small and dainty and his were big and calloused from all his work in the barn. It was amazing how much you could tell from a person just by their hands. He could tell that she wasn't one too spend too much time outside, or least she didn't work outside.

As she began to pull, he did as well and quickly the foot was completely out of the boot. Just by looking at the foot he could tell that it was most definitely swollen and she probably wouldn't be able to walk on it. Matthew reached over and grabbed the boot and by wiggling it in ways that a human body wouldn't be able to he got it out. He placed it on the ground next to the two of them. Sitting there was completely awkward. He knew he was suppose to say something now but he didn't want to say something stupid. Not to mention he still didn't know who he had just helped get their foot out of a predicament. He knew that he probably should look at her but he wasn't sure if that would make it worse.

Lifting his head he looked at her for the rest time. It was Madeline Delaford. Good thing he didn't look before. Taking a big gulp he looked back down at her foot. He wished he hadn't looked yet. Just knowing that he had just touched the daughter of the Delaford household like that made him blush again. But of course he couldn't just leave her. "Uh. I think that you aren't going to be able to walk on it," he said a little more nervous than before now that he knew he was dealing with the youngest Delaford daughter. "Do you want to try to stand? I can uh help you." Talk about awkward. Still he was going to try to go about how he would even if she wasn't someone of a higher class of him that had already been extremely nice with Penelope. Right Penelope. He glanced over his shoulder and saw the mare grazing on some grass she found. That made him smile, she could always find some food no matter what the situation.

because tonight will be the night
____________________________

double fail. sorry it took so long too.