Early Days - Fav Photos - Antique Lilac

Memories of the Early Days

During the process of putting together the books about Baron and Naomi's story, it was sometimes necessary to photograph some extra scenes to fill in missing spots in the story. These are some of those inserts...

A Cover

Book three, Somewhere In Time, New Beginnings, needed a cover, as there were no really good photos of Baron and Naomi together throughout the book, since they spend most of it apart. So I had to photograph one...

Baron's Reaction

In book three - new Beginnings - it is revealed that Baron is actually Dominic's son, but Baron's reaction was never included in the original story.
After the revelation, Dominic and Baron went out to the terrace to talk....

We couldn't hear their conversation...

...and neither could Miho and Naomi, who were watching them through the window....

Baron was very quiet that evening back in their apartment. Naomi sensed that he was likely still in shock at the revelation.
“How are you feeling?” she asked.

“I’m okay.” he answered, “but it’s going to take a bit of time to get used to this. Dominic and I had a long talk in the garden, and even though it came as a huge shock to him, he’s also thankful and excited to know his son wasn’t killed in that attack long ago.”

“But, how are you feeling about all of this?” she asked again.

“I don’t know. It’s a lot to take in all at once."

"I used to think of Lawrence’s father sort of as my own father as well, and never really wondered what my real father would have been like.”

“And what do you think of Dominic?” she asked as they started getting ready for bed.

“I like him.” Baron responded. “I've gotten to know him better since he moved in with my Mother, and he really is a good man. He seems to be a very impressive person, and I have great respect for him.”

“I really like him too,” added Naomi, “and I personally think this is amazing news. Who knew that your Father was still alive, and living right here with us in Miho’s castle? But I think your relationship will take some time to grow.”

“Yes,” replied Baron. “He suggested we just take it slow, and I should just continue to call him Dominic until some day when I might feel comfortable enough to call him Father.”

Putting the Newborns in their Cradle

After the birth of their twins, Baron got into the bed with Naomi and the babies ... and they lay there for a while just watching them

Until Baron finally got up and put the babies in their cradle....

... hoping they might all get a little sleep....

Then he tucked them in....

..and got back in the bed with Naomi, where they lay watching their new little miracles ... until they all drifted off to sleep....

Going Hunting

As time passed, and Baron slowly recovered from his injuries the previous winter, he started to regain his strength and return to some of his favourite activities. Like going hunting with Rex.

It felt good to be back on his horse again...

Night Feedings

Many noble women in Medieval times chose to use a wet nurse, but Naomi didn't like the idea and wanted to try and feed her twins herself.

She kept their cradle close beside her bed so it would be easier to just pick one up when they were hungry in the night...

...and take them into her bed with her.....

But as soon as one was finished, the other would wake up....

..so she wasn't getting much sleep...

Back to Work

It had been many months since Baron had been victim of a vicious attack, and he had recovered enough that it was finally time to start training to regain his full strength as a knight of the realm.

He got up quietly and got dressed, trying not to disturb Naomi, knowing she'd been up many times during the night...

But she was a light sleeper. "I hope you have a good day."

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I didn't mean to wake you."

And he bent down to kiss her good-bye

"Take it easy today," she whispered. "It's just your first day back to training."

"I will. And you try take it easy as well. Get as much rest as you can while the babies sleep."

"I'll be back in a few days."

Training Camp

All the knights were required to attend training camp regularly every month, to keep up their strength and fighting skills.

It was run by Jude, head of the King's Special Forces Team....

and knights from neighbouring kingdoms were also welcome to participate...

It had been quite some time since Baron had been able to attend. It had taken many months for him to recover from all his injuries from the attack last winter. So, he was going to start out with some light swordsmanship with Rex...

Rex was very accommodating. "We'll start out slow for a while, to get you used to it again."

Lawrence had come to watch, to see how Baron was doing....

...and he wanted to hear Jude's opinion on Baron's progress.

"I don't think I need this shield."

"Okay, if you think you're ready."

"Yes, I'm ready."

"He's doing really well, considering what he's been through." commented Jude. "He hasn't lost his swordsmanship skills."

"But he's going to need some major strength and endurance training to get back to where he was before."

Running

One of the training exercises for a Medieval knight to build up strength and endurance, was running - in full armour. It was heavy and unwieldy, but that was the whole point.

The goal was to eventually be able to run around the entire city wall with ease.

But since it had been a very long time since Baron had actually done anything like that, Rex came along to spot him, and brought his horse along should Baron not be able go on any further, and need to stop.

They'd only made it halfway around the city walls, when Rex became concerned....

Baron was looking rather winded....

'
"I think that's enough for today." commented Rex. "You need to build up your stamina slowly. We'll try again in a few days, and see how far you get next time."

Baron was disappointed that he hadn't made it as far as he had hoped, but knew that he needed to ease into some of his training exercises, and that this was enough for today.

As a fully seasoned knight he used to be able to leap onto his horse while in full armour, but that wasn't going to happen today either. Still, he managed to get up.

He hadn't realized just how out of shape he was...

...but was thankful for his patient friend.

...knowing that this was just the very beginning....

..and it was going to take some time to regain his strength, one day at a time.