Still entranced was she by that oh so wondrous touch upon her cheek, that of the Princess namely and not the skin curdling grace of Varros' hand upon her face, that she was not aware of the dark storms of worry and apprehension that her inaudible silence was conjuring within the very troubled heart of her lady, the young lass indeed fearful still of what may have become her protector, and strangely enough as Irina considered of herself, her friend... Such an updraft of tension it must've brought to poor Crystal, Irina's unresponsiveness as she lulled through this trance induced upon her. What was wrong with her, though? Why did she...feel this way all of a sudden? Twas not a paralyzing fear, such as what attacks her relentlessly and grips her in the metaphorical talons reaching from Varros' cold, lifeless eyes to grasp at the evidently intimidated woman, no....this was far more....relaxing....far more welcoming than any sort of sensation to fall upon her....but it just felt.....to bizarre for Irina. It was only when the Princess was contemplating upon leaving the performance early, and herself....forsaking her one and only night...., that Irina was finally able to pull herself from this stupor of hers and finally speak a word, "M'lady wait!" She called out, her voice a bit hoarse, but still able to carry through the lobby. "There is no need to leave so soon, for I am perfectly fine. I do apologize greatly however for my silence. I....I just felt a bit...rushed in thought it seems." A very light chuckle she gave, her cheeks only slightly red as she brought her hand to her lips. "But please, Princess. Do not let me spoil your night any further." As the two women returned to their reserved balcony, Irina happened to notice a server pass by, as always carrying a tray of silver, topped with what else but sparkling, elegant chalices filled with bittersweet white cider, and...despite the knight being on guard of the Princess...Irina began to wonder to herself, [i]Well...I suppose one drink wouldn't hurt. I mean....I should at least be enjoying this night as well as the Princess, and again I don't want to be too overbearing of Crystal.[/i] She had noticed the girl in question also laying eyes upon the polished glasses of dazzling clear liquor, albeit very lustful and languid eyes, which brought a bit of a smirk to Irina's lips, erasing her once doubtful and imposing glower. Her smirk only widened more with a bit of scheming delight as she listened to Crystal's little excuse of [i]water[/i] to make the Knight feel better. "Water?" She replied to Crystal with a bit of an insolent snicker. "Or perchance a taste of white cider? Don't think you can pull a fast one on me, M'lady." But then her smirk softened into a more calm and friendly smile, "Make sure you get one for me too, M'lady. I...feel as though I could use a sip or two after that debacle." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Meanwhile as the intermission was coming to a close and the third act was soon to be afoot upon the stage, Varros remained stationary and rather stoic in the lobby, a hand clutching within the brass pocket watch he fished from his duster, his eyes, once terrible flames of hatred, of savagery only the cruelest of men could muster....had died down and faded away, the candles of his malevolence seemed to have been snuffed in an abrupt gasp of storm winds, as he intently stared upon the miniscule black hands of the small clock, watching as ever second and every millisecond began to pass by him, the minute ticking and whirring of the miniature gears resonating about his ears as a thick mist of disparaging apprehension gradually began to fill his predatory eyes. In deep thought certainly was the dark man, albeit...only to some was he this dark and intolerable creature, this demon come lurking from the abyss to bring chaos and misfortune to all, when all he was.....was a man...a man scorned for too long. But a man was he still, and even the most hated of men...still held a heart within their chests. [i]My Jocelyn.....[/i] He sighed to himself, closing the watch with a snap and placing the brass piece back into the shadows of his coat, shortly adjusting his hat as he made movement down the hall, strolling cautiously away from the lobby. [i]I wonder.....if you are looking upon me now, upon my....endeavors. What is it, I wonder....do you think of me?[/i] He made his way swiftly down the hallway to his right, happening upon a door, which his frail knuckles wrapped upon twice, and the door opened to not one or two.....but fifteen men, all clad in black robes, their grim faces all but visible underneath the thick shadows of their hoods. [b]"My lord."[/b] One of them spoke graciously of their master, kneeling before him. [b]"The third act has not begun, but we are ready. Just give us the order, and we, your faithful warriors shall bring terror upon-"[/b] But.....the dark fiend paused in absolute and bewildering awe of what befell from Varros' lips, [b][i]"I'm calling off the attack. We're returning to Narsil."[/i][/b] [b]"What?!"[/b] Immediately was the cloaked beast to his feet, quite the towering presence over Varros, but the Lord of Narsil, he was not intimidated, not fazed at all. Rather, his teeth were grit within his mouth, as silently he listened to the berating of his doubting soldier, [b]"My lord, surely this is a joke! What of Narsil? What of your fellow countrymen? Do they not deserve this night to take vengeance upon the damned Kingdom of Alegasia? Blood will be repaid with blood!"[/b] Then Varros spoke, his voice harsh, rasp almost, as if the low and guttural growls of an agitated beast, [b][i]"And vengeance Narsil shall have, my knight! Mark my words, my fellow warriors of Narsil, retribution is at hand for Alegasia. They will pay for the very sins they committed upon our homeland, and there shall be no absolvement from the Goddess herself of their bloody transgressions.....but tonight is not the night for payback. Tonight, after the opera, we return home and plan for another day. There will be a time when Alegasia burns to the ground and the ashes of Narsil's past shall consume it whole....but that time is not upon us yet. You are all dismissed from further duty tonight. Make ready the horses and my carriage for the ride home."[/i][/b] And with his last decrees given, Varros left the room of his knights' hiding and made his way back to his seat in box 17, his mind still aflutter as he slowly sat down....at odds with his own morality....