[b][color=fff79a]Maria[/color] & [color=f7976a]Heinrich[/color][/b][hr]

Her blonde head bobbed back and forth as she hummed to herself a tune she had heard once in the theatre. It was strange for one from Warraqia to be summoned so, considering how reclusive they were.But for her to be chosen, well... it was a great honor of course. Just by this, her family's prestige will skyrocket. At least, thats what her father, the Count, told her. In truth, she did not really care. Her family was still well off, if not very high on the prestige list for nobility.

But the best thing was, she get to play abroad, with [i]man[/i] accompanying her. Maria Abigail Tepes was in a very good mood because of that, even allowing [i]him[/i] to ride in relative comfort on a cart. She would have even allowed him on the coach had it not for his sheer size. Otherwise, he would have been chained and collared in a rolling steel cage all the way.

As for the [i]man[/i], he was lost in thought, sitting alone in the cart that was prepared just for him. His size couldn't fit into one of the many carriages. Not that the young mistress would've allowed him such luxury, of course. And yet, he could feel the lady being quite cheerful today. What a strange sensation it was, to feel what she was feeling. His head was kept low, a symbol of submission he had to learn the hard way ever since this blonde young lady had purchased him. Just how long had it been since he was torn away from the pits of the arena? It felt like years already. Of course, everything seemed to be longer than it was, when one was under the sadistic treatments of the heir of Tepes. 

And yet, for the moment, the big man wasn't thinking much about his life of servitude. No. What was going on in his mind was the very purpose he was now sitting into this coach. Why were he and the young mistress chosen to form this... strange bond of theirs? The reason behind all of this eluded him. And quite frankly, he did not know whether he should bother thinking about it. He'd remain a slave nonetheless. A slave with more power. Power to crush anyone opposing him and threatening his mistress.

Bones crushing. Blood spilled. Heads flying. He couldn't wait for the time he'd get to summon this weapon of his again. Feel this power in his hands, and use it to maim.

A sinister grin appeared on the blonde slave's face. 

Maria, of course, caught the grin on his face, feeling a shiver of ancipationan and excitement running up her back. She knew him well enough to know what he was thinking of.

[color=fff79a]"You will get your chance soon enough,"[/color] she spoke, grinning softly. If one did not know her very well, they might be inclined to think it was an innocent soft smile, a genuine warmhearted gesture that only an innocent child could produce. She looked like one, and the smile was genuine, but there was malice behind it. [color=fff79a]"Perhaps we could even find someone to play with."[/color]

[color=f7976a]"It'll be done according to your wishes, mistress."[/color] Heinrich replied submissively, keeping his head low but eyes up to spy on the girl's grin. A smile familiar to the big man. One that would reflect his own at times.

"What d'ya think of this situation, my lady?"

[color=fff79a]"A golden opportunity, of course."[/color] She laughed, a cheerful laugh like a bubbling brook. [color=fff79a]"But you knew that. Opportunity for a great [i]many[/i] things."[/color]

Heinrich only nodded in approval to the girl's answer. This even would prove to be... interesting, to say the least.

[center]***[/center]

The grounds was... well it was amazing for her. Her own castle was dank, dark and dimly lit. Not because of any trouble or anything, but her father preferred it that way as well as the thick fog surrounding it making it hard to be anything else than that. The person to greet them was familiar to her at least, in name if not in person. 

Heinrich had also noticed the contrast between his mistress' residence and this one. But it did little to impress him, or have him care enough about the luxury and brightness of this place. Years of slavery taught him that the shiniest of homes were built and maintained from the misery of poor souls.

As soon as the servants asked what sort of room she wanted however, she made it adamantly clear that she wanted only a single room, with a single bed in it. The man with her was undeserving of a bed, and was fit only for the floor at the foot of her bed. 

While the servants eyed the bonded duo, unsure about their whole situation, the colossus towered over them with a mean glare in his eyes. 

[color=f7976a]"My mistress' wishes are absolute. If that's what she wants, leave us."[/color] the giant of a man mumbled aggressively to the servants, prompting them to leave as quickly as arrangements were made.

[color=fff79a]"Hmph."[/color] With only that word uttered, she threw herself at the bed, enjoying its soft springiness. Having finally been left alone for the day in her, [i]their[/i], room, she wanted only to relax. Sitting up, her grin widened slightly, as she raised her foot. [color=fff79a]"Heinrich, my feet are tired."[/color]

[color=f7976a]"Very well..."[/color] the large slave nodded, letting an inaudible sigh escape his lips. 

Knowing what had to be done and considering his status, Heinrich leaned down next to his mistress' bed. There, he kneeled lowly on the ground, his back presented as a footstool for the lady's exhausted feet. 

Putting up her feet on his back, she sighed contentedly. There was just something about lowering someone's status to a mere piece of furniture, a toy for her to play with. 

[color=fff79a]"Did you see all those officials? Tell me, what do you think of them?"[/color]

The manly footstool grunted in disapproval. [color=f7976a]"I smell weakness. Typical men living in the Capital. They'd snap like twigs in battle, if they'd ever dare dirty themselves. The servants here too. They'd not last the winter if they were back home. Too religious for my liking too."[/color]

[color=fff79a]"Hmph."[/color]The blonde raised her leg and brought it down on his back, just hard enough to hurt slightly. It was a response a barbarian would think of. [color=fff79a]"That is true. But for so many to be here, there might be more to be gained here after all."[/color]

This seemed to be larger than she thought it would be. She had no real desire for more prestige or higher rank, but if this was what she thought it would become, then she could very well gain land of her own. A household of her own. [i]Subjects[/i] of her own. Of course, she couldn't very well indulge willy nilly, as her own experiences had shown in the past, but still, she will be able to have anyone anywhere play with her. Discreetly of course.

[color=fff79a]"Close your eyes and lie down on the floor like the cur you are."[/color] Again, she accentuated that with a small kick to his side.[color=fff79a] "I need to be make myself presentable for the dinner."[/color]

Heinrich let out a faint grunt in response to the kicking, feeling the bony heel of the girl's foott somehow finding its way to a nerve. But through the pain, with clenching teeth, he was grinning.

[color=f7976a]"Yes, mistress."[/color] the blonde man answered. He closed his eyes and laid down completely flat on the ground, just as commanded.

Nodding to herself, she stepped on him to get towards the wardrobe, picking out another one of her more elaborate, but still simple clothing. The cloth was thick and heavy, and of very good quality, signifying she was above mere peasants, so while it was still simple, there was no mistaking her for anything else but a noble. To complete the look, she pinned a brooch with a large red stone embedded in it to her collar, holding it together over the ruffle there. 

[color=f7976a]"Mistres..."[/color] Heinrich's muffled voice in his arms called out [color=f7976a]"What're yer impressions of the place, and the people?"[/color] A question that mirrored what the young lady asked earlier, but the big man was no good at talking. Making discussions often reflected questions asked to him in the first place. There wasn't much he could think of himself.

[color=fff79a]"Soft."[/color] Maria spun around in front of the mirror, wearing a nice friendly smile. [color=fff79a]"They're not fun at all to be around. They might give us an opportunity to gain more, but they're boring and preachy. The wolves of Warraqia wouldn't even see them as fit to eat."[/color]

Satisfied with how she looked, she thought about stepping on his head, but decided against it. He needed to be presentable as well. Or at least, as presentable as he can be with all those metalic straps and bars wrapping around him. 

[color=fff79a]"Clean yourself up and be on your best manners during the dinner."[/color] She clapped her hands once, signalling that he can stand up now. [color=fff79a]"We don't want any conflict at dinner, do we?"[/color]

She laughed again. [color=fff79a]"At least, not overtly."[/color]

[color=f7976a]"Wash..."[/color] Heinrich repeated, as if he was stupefied. Just how long was the last time he was granted the privilege to wash himself proper?

The big man got up on his feet, eyeing the noble clothing his mistress donned for the event. She truly must feel like this event was important if she had put that much effort in choosing her garments, and even have him be clean. A slight grin appeared on his face at the last statement. Whether they made ennemies or not, he wouldn't care that much. That would give him more reasons to crush some heads. But for the sake of his mistress right now, he'll just have to play along with these curt games, until he was given the order to step on those weaklings.

[color=f7976a]"I'll get myself prepared. Won't take long."[/color]

Heinrich departed from the room when Maria allowed him to, heading for the nearby privy. In his case, cleaning was very superficial. The blonde colossus used the water basin only to wash the accumulated dirt, sweat and dried blood off his body. Using soap or other fancy products, that he did not know of. As long as his skin was rid of dirt, he was presentable. At the very least, the stench emanating from him subsided significantly now that he was free of filth.

Unwanting to keep his mistres waiting or be left alone  for too long, Heinrich returned to the girl's room as quickly as he could. 

Nodding with approval as soon as he returned, Maria left with him in tow for the dinner.

[center]***[/center]

Dinner was certainly different than what she was used to. For one, there was a whole lot of food on the table, whereas the table in her father's castle was usually unused, as most of them either ate alone in their room or elsewhere in the castle ground. The general was, of course, someone she recognized by name, but the rest was unknown to her.

The Rochean noble seemed rather uptight, preferring to let her servant do the talking, while that noble from the far north only gave his first name. Neither of them was familiar to her, but at least she recognized them as nobles. Another foppish looking noble with a girl looking rather uncomfortable in her dress was another, but the rest seemed like pissants and curs. And what was that attrocious smell? This wasn't at all the sort of pain she liked. The food looked delicious, and she did feel hungry, but it took almost all her concentration to not cry at the table. 

Meanwhile, Heinrich was too busy stuffing his face in the variety of food that was offered on the table. He couldn't remember a single occasion he had been given a meal of such high quality and allowed to eat to his heart's content of such. He wasted little time, once seated, to grab the nearby plates and empty their contents into his own. Seeing how few the others seemed to eat, it won't go to wsate, he figured.

Listening to what was being said at the table, the blonde slave paid little mind to everyone's introductions. He knew next to nothing about everyone seated at this table, and he frankly didn't care much. Eyeing the individuals, he deemed none of them looked very strong. All he saw was weakness, pompous little nobles pretending to be important and puny kids wanting to play heroes. It was rubbish, the whole lot of them.

 The only thing of interest he noted was the talk about being trained to fight. Immediately, the giant of a man grinned at the prospect of fighting. If they were here to train and become warriors, then that meant there were battles to be had. And if there were battles to fight, then there would be blood to be spilled. Bodies to maim.  There was hope for something interesting here after all.
 
 Standing up, Maria seemed to be more overwhelmed by the table's height standing than she was sitting. Trying to push the smell to the back of her head, she beamed a bright sunny smile as she started her own introduction. [color=fff79a]"I am Marie Abigail Tepes, of the House of Tepes from Warraqia. Nice to meet you. This is Heinrich, he's my bodyguard. Do not mind his brutish appearance."[/color]
 
She bowed politely, the cheerful look never leaving her face.

[color=fff79a]"Feel free to stop by my room anytime. I would love to have some company from time to time."[/color] She resumed, eying the twins as she spoke. 

As Maria began introducing herself, Heinrich paused in his eating frenzy, getting up as well from his chair to present himself to the others. Unlike his mistress, the brutish colossus did not say a work, only offering a grunt after his the young master introduced him to the others. There was not much to say about him, other than being a slave and toy to the mistress. But that wasn't something they really needed to know. His master didn't need to lose face in front of the others right now. 

Done with the introduction, Maria sat back down, glancing over to the twins, before looking over to the others. That scruffy looking girl there looked fun. Perhaps she could persuade that girl to come with her some times. She would try to examine the others more, but the stench was making her lightheaded. If she knew who it was, she would teach it a lesson it would never forget.