GranoxFirewind

Glass Shoes [GranoxFirewind/LalaKitty]

Marken was curious about her answer as well, wondering just what had caused her to fall in love with him. They hadn't exactly met on the best circumstances, her trying to spy upon his family, and then him forcing her into a marriage for his own selfish reasons. Honestly, he wasn't quite sure what about her that attracted him so. While he knew a great portion of it was the fact that she didn't lick at his heels like an overfed puppy, he knew that there was something beyond that. Afterall, love would be a weak thing if it only struck because someone treated him like a person, rather than a position.

So, when she spoke, Marken found himself strangely un-offended by her answer. However... She had one thing wrong. When they married, she would be his responsibility as the kingdom would, and so she would take the same priority that his kingdom would. Still, he was silent about this, having nothing to truly contribute to the conversation. Instead, he allowed his mother to interrogate his fiance, a small smile on his face as he consumed his breakfast. Hopefully she wouldn't embarrass him too much with her questions and statements.

Regina, on the other hand, had lost her smile. It wasn't that she was angry, she was simply listening to Ella speak. For a moment afterwards, she said nothing as they all ate their breakfast. "Well, I think you mean more to him than you think. It's been brought to my attention how close you've been at night..." She let out a humored smile. "Don't worry, I'm not going to judge you on it. I think you're a very nice young lady, and I think that Marken here is lucky to have found you." Her tone was filled with mirth, even as her voice was soft and weak.

Marken suddenly stood up from the table, looking over to his parents. "I'm going to see Luke about something." Regina raised an eyebrow at Markens sudden announcement. Then she smiled even wider, remembering who Luke was.

"I'll keep Ella company, don't worry about me." She waved her hand to Marken, who took it as a sign that he was dismissed. Glenn didn't seem to care, one way or the other, instead focusing more on the mountain of food before him. "So, Ella, tell me more about yourself. What was your childhood like?"

When in Rome (GranoxFirewind & Kate)

Alright, it's fine. Got a lot on my plate too, so it's fine. Really looking forward to your post!

Glass Shoes [GranoxFirewind/LalaKitty]

She smiled warmly at Ella's words, allowing a servant to make her a plate of eggs and potatoes. He clearly avoided giving her a large portion, doubting she'd have the appetite to eat anything more. He placed it in front of the queen and gave a small bow, though Glenn made his own plate. Clearly, the royal family only accepted a servants aid if it was truly required in such trivial tasks, the queens need clear to anyone who knew her recent condition.

"The Winters family? I've heard of them. No sons, if I'm correct? Forgive me for my ignorance, it's hard to keep track of the endless amount of families that continue to appear." Her reply was abrupt, but not rude. Rather, she was trying to clarify facts, albeit in a blunt manner that some might take offense to.

She folded her hands underneath her chin, glancing over to her husband. With a small sigh, she continued. "What about my son interests you Ella? He's never been one to socialize well..." Marken let out a groan of both annoyance and embarrassment as his mother spoke, though he looked to Ella as well, curious what she would say about it.

Glass Shoes [GranoxFirewind/LalaKitty]

Marken led her to the dining hall, looking around for his parents. Strangely, enough, he didn't see either of them, though he simply assumed that they were still in their room. He doubted they would miss breakfast, Glenn would atleast show up to tell his son of her recovery, if nothing else. He pulled out Ella's chair for her, remembering atleast common courtesy for a noble lady. Marken was a strange man, ignoring some customs, and following others. In all honesty, the man did what he felt like doing. He didn't have ulterior motives for snuggling against Ella at night when they slept, it was just something he enjoyed.

Taking his own seat, Marken made himself a plate of eggs, fried potatoes, and gravy. A biscuit was added, as he mashed up the sliced potatoes with a fork, taking care not to get any off his plate. He was still royalty, and while he ignored a great deal of customs behind closed doors, the man still exuded the aura of royalty in public. His very presence carried authority it usually didn't have in the rooms they now shared. Impaling a large piece of egg, Marken began to dig into his breakfast, finding himself quite hungry and ready for the talk that he would have with his mother, and with the jeweler he intended to speak to.

A loud clanking of metal on stone from the hall drew his attention. Turning around, Marken noticed two of the Paladins trudging down the hall, Glenn and Regina behind them. He raised an eyebrow at the added security, but honestly thought it was probably a good idea. One assassination attempt, that now failed, would likely be followed up, so the guards would help stop that. Marken wanted to meet the assassin who could fight one of the paladins, much less two.

His mother appeared to be in much greater health than she was the day before, a bright look on her face, though a bit pained. The poison wasn't completely worked out of her system, but it was very obvious that she was much better than before. "Who's this, sitting next to my son?" Her voice was quiet and very soft, though filled with an exceptional kindness. Unless she was a very great actor, she was as Marken made her out to be, at first glance. He waited patiently for her to take a seat, watching as she moved carefully, likely sore and stiff from the long period she spent in bed.

"This is Ella, mother. You've missed quite a bit, since you fell ill. I'm glad you're better, I visited you yesterday... The ball that father hosted was a success, and I found this little gem in it. We're to be married as soon as I can get the details worked out with father." The way he spoke about her illness made it obvious that he didn't intend to flat out say that she'd been poisoned, though they all knew it.

She let out a small laugh, and nodded in her direction. "I'm Regina Caitiff, Markens mother and queen of Rhal. I'm very pleased to meet you dear." She had a curious expression on her face, waiting for Ella to speak now.

Countryside Adventure (GranoxFirewind & Light The Dark)

He watched Calliope blush and couldn't help but smile. She had never been this close to anyone, aside from him... As far as he knew, anyway. If she had somehow been sneaking boys into her room with his vigilance, than Alexander honestly had no reason to be her guard, but aside from that, this was also the first time that they had been so close together on good terms. When they were this close, he was carrying her away against her will, or they just happened to be walking close together. Now though, she was curled around his arm, his arm around her own. It was quite a change from the usual, for certain, though the reason it happened certainly wasn't a good one. No, Calliope had no family now, not that she seemed to particularly enjoy the one she did have. Still, it would be hard to recover from suddenly having nothing instead of just about any physical object she could want, given enough time.

"We're in an inn, in the village near the manor. I brought you here after we managed to escape. We're to travel to Norgarrum, on your fathers orders, to some family of yours. I hope you know of them? We didn't have time for him to inform me of their names, or location within the country, and I don't exactly know your family tree." He was down to business, while still holding the girl in his arms. Alexander needed this information to properly serve as bodyguard, and now escort, but he was still far to comfortable to want to move, no matter how selfish it was. "I imagine things are a blur? So many things happened at once, so much change."

Another knock at the door. "I found her a dress that used to belong to my daughter. She got a little big in the waist for it, but it should fit Calliope just fine. It's plain, but I imagine it's better than nothing." Alexander let out a soft sigh, out of minor annoyance. He unraveled his arm from around her, so that he could sit up in the bed.

"Come on, we need to talk to the inn keeper, get some supplies and go. We've got quite the distance to travel, and I imagine that army is close behind." He had neglected from mentioning the fact that Calliope had been forced to defend herself, hoping that she didn't remember that detail. Calliope didn't need to be exposed to such terrible things, killing and the like. It was far too much for a young girl like her.

Glass Shoes [GranoxFirewind/LalaKitty]

He let out a soft chuckle at Ella's reaction. "This will be interesting, getting used to living with a woman in my room..." He muttered to himself, a small smile clear on his face. The man went about changing into his own outfit, humming softly to himself, changed in a matter of moments. A comb was brought through his hair, straightening out the last of what remained from his sleep as he tossed about.

The knock as his door brought Markens attention away from himself, and his thoughts, and another chuckle was let out. "I'm decent, if it truly matters Ella. Afterall, we just shared a bed." He walked up to it and opened it, giving Ella a very clear smile. "I feel like you need to loosen up at some point. It's not like people will know what goes on behind these doors, and after we're married, it'll be acceptable regardless to your customs."

He pulled her into a gentle embrace, before hooking his arm around hers as they had done in the past. "So, let's go see if we can meet my mother, hmm? I really think you'd like to meet her. I can't remember if I've told you her name, but I think I'll let her introduce herself." With that, he'd allow Ella to lead the way out of the apartments and towards the dining hall once more. Again, he started humming some song he'd heard at the ball, unable to remember anything other than the melody for the life of him.

When in Rome (GranoxFirewind & Kate)

Verus nodded simply at her words. So then, she would not want him to kill in the arena, if he could avoid it. There was an issue in that, than, in that if the crowd wanted blood... They would receive it. The man couldn't simply ignore the bloodthirsty savages that called themselves people who gawked down as men, MEN, spilled their blood into the sand. Nor could he ignore the wishes of the emperor, who would almost certainly want to see him fight, make sure that the investment was worth it. Make sure he had the stomach to serve the royal family.

He movement caught him by surprise, Verus half-expecting her to actually go through with it. However, he also knew that she would almost certainly not be so... Free with her body towards him. Thus, there was no surprise when she instead turned away, walking towards the door with an almost prophetic prediction. Or perhaps it was simply luck, or maybe she hadn't intended to intercept the meal at all. Regardless, the door opened up before her, multiple platters laden with very enticing food being laid out on a table. The thing that caught his attention the most, however, was the jug of wine. Verus had, like all Romans, partaken of the drink several times, though not recently, and he highly doubted any wine he'd had would match up to the drink fit for royalty.

He walked over to the table, looking over the food with an almost suspicious look. It had been about a year since his last meal that he'd actually enjoyed, and nothing could equal the feast offered before him. He moved his hands about carefully. He seemed even more tense about picking the food up, despite how confident he'd been earlier. When it came down to it, Verus was still humbled by what he'd been offered, and truly didn't know how to react. He assumed that Claudia would likely find his actions humorous as well, given how uncomfortable he looked. Eventually though, Verus relaxed enough to begin eating normally, using the slices of bread with the meat and cheese. That was one meal that he did know, though it was still much higher quality than anything he'd eaten before. The same went for the grapes, Verus popping a few into his mouth and closing his eyes as the sweet taste flooded his mouth as they popped under his teeth.

Reaching over, he brought up his stone glass of wine, bringing it to his lips and taking a large draft of the crimson drink. The entire time, he'd been silent, focusing more on enjoying his meal rather than talk. He also ran over her words through his mind several times, thinking of what she had told him. A bath, this meal... Hell, his life was already better for having been given to her. At this rate, he would be glad to serve her... Not that he'd let her know that, of course. He still had to maintain his appearance, maintain that he was still to be treated as a human. If he acted like a servant, as a slave, in the end, she would treat him like one.

"I must say... I feel that you missed a great party on my behalf..." He let out a soft chuckle, before eating another piece of bread, chewing the soft stuff with his eyes closed again. "You're being much kinder to me than I had expected you to be... I feel that I need to thank you for that, given that you have no reason to do anything other than throw me into a cage and let me out once in awhile to stretch my legs. As I said before, I'll do my best to follow your wishes... I owe you that much atleast." He sounded grateful, but at the same time firm. He wasn't groveling, he was stating mere facts, and they were truthful in their entirety. His new owner treated him better than anyone else had in years. He had no reason not to be grateful, for such kindness.

When in Rome (GranoxFirewind & Kate)

Alright, time to work on a post. Got the map worked out well enough.

When in Rome (GranoxFirewind & Kate)

I'll get a post up soon. Got a map to work on for this RP.

When in Rome (GranoxFirewind & Kate)

It was. Rather boring though. Talking out setting up an advanced RP with a friend of mine.