[center] ROMAN X VIOLET [/center]

[color=SeaGreen]Roman Paused and mentally facepalmed and scratched his head, “My apologies Lady Violet, Lord Roman Ravenwood.” reiterating his proper title, “It has been some time since I have come to such a gathering. Like many others here, my parents insisted that I come to more of these gatherings. I'm the oldest of a family of seven brothers and four sisters. I am also the last to marry and have, as my mother says, Many little monsters for her to play with.” he wasn't sure if that was too much or the wrong thing to say it would seem that he didn't care or mind but didn't seem like he was doing it to push her away.

“Err yes the uh temperature here is warm compared to the mountains. The city is one of the many Varian wonders. I'm certain my ancestors were reading too many old stories of gnomes and dwarves, half the dam city is carved into the mountain after all.” Roman leaned against the railing, looking up towards the stars smiling. He continued to gaze up at the stars for a moment longer as he remembered a distant memory before turning his attention back down to her. The dim light of the evening courtyard illuminated her features  and he caught his eyes looking over her scar once again.

“The old gods wove the skein of our lives a long time ago, we all have a path to follow. It is what we choose to do while on that path that makes us into the people we are. I also think it is because of my profession and attention to detail that helped me find you in the sea of people that honestly make me uncomfortable.” pausing for a moment to pull his eyes off her scar and back towards the doors for a moment. The music still hasn't picked up again but there weren't any screams of bloodshed either. 

“What about you? Why do you hide yourself away from others? I'm not entirely familiar with this kingdom's uhh hierarchy. Is it the positions of the families… I really should try to remember these things when I'm coming to a different kingdom but I've been working too much at the forge I guess.” great now he knew he was being awkward, what would his mother say if she knew he had forgotten the other families other than the king and queen… probably throw her ax at him again. The thought made him snicker at nothing for a moment. [/color]

Violet could feel his eyes on her scars as she stiffened. The constant eyes peering on her neck, even though most knew the story it still shocked many when they saw them. Unfortunately, her collar was the highest she could wear without feeling suffocated by her clothing.

“It is quite alright Lord Ravenwood. Truthfully, I myself don't pay much attention too  titles and such. I find titles to be rather pointless , especially when they are attached to men or women who value their titles and coins more than the people in their country. “ she paused, knowing she was being rather forward but for some reason she felt comfortable talking to him.  Something about him seemed different then the other boring lords and princes. It was refreshing.

“A city built into the walls of a mountain? Sounds charming , almost a fantasy of sorts. You keep making me want to visit this place Lord Ravenwood, I may have to scold you for making me  want to leave my comfort” she offered him a smile and a soft laugh. She caught his eyes once again eyeing her scar , as she turned away from him to move the conversation forward. 

“The sheer level of fake egos I suppose. I would just rather like to speak to someone without wondering what their other motives are. Sadly many of those royals are always keen on seeking an obedient woman to bear their heirs and live lives in separate chambers for the good of their kingdoms and I am simply not interested. “ she sighed lightly. “ Just to many egos in one room fighting over who shall be crowned the jewel and it’s rather horrifying to watch let alone participate”

She took a pause and decided to go over the  elephant  in the conversation. “ I got the scar when I was a babe. A small child, I ran off into the woods to adventure and was attacked by an animal. I was almost killed, but thankfully , due to my mothers condition we have so many doctors on call that they  were able to help me rather quickly. However, the scars are there and rather large and noticeable. I can’t do much without people staring, and have been told on a few occasions that my scars are ugly and make me an unfit suitor for a  lord or prince as I'm tarnished. “ She tilted her head as her eyes watched the stars quietly for a moment. “ Maybe  I should count myself lucky, I wont need to worry about swooning men draping themselves all over me like they do the others.” 

Changing the subject she turned to looked at him “ so your some form of blacksmith then I take it? Rather odd job for a Lord is it not?” she asked curiously. 

[color=SeaGreen]The giant of a man dropped his smile slowly while he listened to her , her words were direct and he couldn't make out any lies or deception in her words. It's not like he would pick up on it anyway. The thought was there though. Being well aware that the customs where he was from were very different even to their closest neighbors don't escape his thoughts either while she talked about the other nobles. Roman did agree with most of what she was talking about until she started talking about her scar. With a disapproving or so it sounded huff  and without saying anything he began to take off his intricate gloves and set them on the balcony then pull up his sleeves after unbuttoning them. Almost as one would do when about to get into a round of fisty-cuffs.

Something she had said made him a bit irritated and his body language showed it, yet for him it was what she said about her scar and what the others had said. Turning back to face her with his rough calloused palms up and slowly turning his arms revealing many scars of many shapes and sizes. “For us scars are beautiful, it shows others the hardships one has gone through and makes them stronger for it. My people don't crave strength, we honor survival above all else and scars are survival.” making sure to look her in the eye for a moment, “your scars are beautiful, they are you. They aren't going anywhere and whoever says that you are tarnished doesn't know what the fu-... What they are talking about.” honestly he was surprised he caught himself with that one. “Sure i cover mine because its part of this stupid uniform  and i dont have a choice but otherwise i normally show my scars off.” 

Pausing for a moment to breathe and calm himself of his irritation, Roman smiled, “I apologize if I came off as rude or angry. My sister Sarah was in an accident at a young age and has facial scarring. Because of it I have gotten into a few fights with other Varian nobles or merchants  for making fun of what is in my opinion the most beautiful of my siblings.”  hoping she would believe him and understand his protective nature surrounding the subject at hand. 

Crossing his arms in a relaxed posture he continued, “I'm glad you don't pay much attention to titles. My family's personal view is that we are here to serve the people and not the other way around. Of course where i'm from it's a bit more brutal and harsh compared to these places so i'm not surprised as to the amount of rude or snobbish nobles that are around. I am a firm believer that everyone needs to be punched in the face at least once, it is a very good way to build character.”

“I think other than the cold, you would like Emberstoneit is nice  if you keep warm and know the good places to eat around town. The people are mostly friendly but none of them will out right be rude towards you.” thinking about what she said about marriage  made him glance back towards the ball room doors. “My father is a marquees which doesn't put us anywhere close to the throne, honestly i don't care who is the best jewel if there are inclusions within the diamond’s being itself its just a bad stone. I'm honestly looking for a friend, one I would be happy to spend the rest of my life with that doesnt mind having a few little minions running around and doesn't mind the cold.” Maybe he was being too honest.

Pausing awkwardly for a moment like he just let slip some big secret, “not that i think that's you or anyone here or just my opinion matters i just … should stop talking for a moment….” a moment or two passed before he continued again. “But uhh yes blacksmith right. My family is the best armor, weapon, and jewelry maker in all three kingdoms. Even your prince has a piece of art I made specifically for him. I can actually talk for hours on the subject so best not to get me started.” awkwardly smiling at her he ran his hands over his scars like a child who thinks they did something wrong or awkward. [/color]

Violet watched as he got frustrated with her and began to undress various parts of his clothing. Taking a step back, she looked towards the ballroom, glancing at her father, fearful of what he may think or do with a man acting in such a manner. However, Violet's attention was brought swiftly back as she was interested in the rather large man and what he was about to do. She was fearful but curious. 

His passion and his story about his sister left her speechless, and for the first time in a long time she could feel tears welling in her eyes that she instantly attempted to hide, she choked back her words as no one had ever said something so sincere to her that his temper grew hot around it. “ I … I um, I -” she stumbled on her words as she felt his intense gaze on her as he continued. “Please ..don’t apologize for that, I just am - “ she paused. “  I am just simply at a loss for words.” she turned her head to wipe a tear from her eye before it fell. “ Thank you, I truly do mean that.” she offered him a warm smile, something she had not done in a while. 

“Please..’ she reached out and touched his arm with her fingertips softly “ Don't stop talking, this has been the most refreshing evening for me.” Her finger traced down one of his larger scars “ Are they all from the work you do?” she asked curiously. 

She reached for her collar and hesitantly opened up her rather tight and constraining piece of clothing, She opened it to show the top of her large scar. There were four deep scars, red in nature, looking like painting strokes with all the reds, blues, and purples. “ It travels much further along…I believe it was a bear but I don't remember. She slowly began to button herself back up, adjusting it once again. “ I wish I shared your people's confidence, but sadly when we leave this balcony I return back to my veiled self,” she whispered. 

“I too have similar aspirations, but as I stated, the chances of me having that is rather small. My father has been trying to create some kind of arranged marriage, I suppose that will have to do.” she turned to lean back on the balcony “ I suppose that a   loveless marriage with children will be my future, I suppose I keep fighting it because it's not what  I wish, but as you said, our paths have been chosen and I'm afraid this will be mine.” 

Changing the subject she pulled herself out of the darker thoughts “ I would really love to see your work, perhaps the next we meet..” she smiled at him. “ Lord Ravenwood.”

[color=SeaGreen]For a moment he was afraid that he had come off a little too strong from her reaction and mentaly scolded himself for a moment before she continued to speak. Her words were not of fear or anger but were thanking him  for what he said, not the first time  this has happened but more often than not he ends up offending someone somehow. Then she started to unbutton her dress and his heart dropped into his stomach as he thought to himself, [i]“There is no way this is what i'm thinking.”[/i] sure enough it was just to show off her scars. Her scars were very prominent and he could tell why she would be shy about them. 

He caught himself barely moving the knuckle of his index finger across her chin as to better see the scar, not paying any mind at all as to who could be watching and what it might look like to them. His observant nature took hold as he took in the details and shape of the scar. It looked strange to him the logical side seeing the shape and markings of an obvious animal attack but a thought deep in his mind suggested for a brief moment that it might just be meant to look like an animal attack. That thought was brief and he pulled his hand away quickly to make sure he didn't give off the wrong impression. “I'd like to see how far along it goes…” 

The man instantly looked away and grimaced as his mouth was once again faster than his mind. “Umm to identify the source of the attack definitely not for anything lewd i wouldn't want to damage your honor because of it. From what I can see, it looks more akin to a mountain lion than a bear. Bears have 5 big claws meant for digging and ripping apart dead trees, cougars have four sharp claws for climbing and latching onto prey.” 

Trying to recover and get away from what he said earlier as quickly as he could, Roman pointed out a jagged U shaped scar on his left forearm. “Most of my scars are from working the forge or training with weapons. For us you can make a weapon if you don't know how it's used, that way we can innovate or customize it without destroying the weapon in the process. But this scar is from a juvenile wolf. My youngest brother Reo thought he killed one while hunting but only knocked it out, this is what I got for jumping in between the two and dispatching the beast before it did the same to us. mother was furious and father laughed for weeks.”

Her comment about the arranged marriage soured his mood a little but as he said he was looking for a friend first. Somehow he didn't think he would be able to find someone like her around here very easily but perked up at the mention of wanting to see his craft. Like a dog when someone mentioned their favorite toy. “I never really agreed that marriage is a currency kind of thing but I understand. At the very least I do hope we can be friends through this vacation I guess. And yes I think you would enjoy being around a forge to see me work. It's a little loud but you can read as much as you like and I can show you the finished products, jewelry making is not as loud. I did bring a few smaller things with me as well for this trip.” again he found himself smiling , it was good that he felt like this at least he thought so.

“Lady Violet.” he spoke and gave her a respectful bow, “please remember your scars are beautiful and it doesn't matter what those fools think because you don't care what they think already. Confidence comes in time but I believe that you will find it.” again he gave her a smile and a nod. “I do hope i can find you again tonight for a dance possibly. Oh and one more thing if you could.” Roman began to button his sleeves back down and put his gloves on. “I'm afraid I missed your entrance. Could you point out your father and mother for me?”[/color]