Hammerman

The Keep at Echo Valley

Clara sighed as the sight of the castle was approaching closer and closer. She could see it through the window of her carriage, carrying her back to her home, Black Rock Castle.

It would be such a lovely place... if not for her uncle.

Ever since she was taken in by him after her parents perished, she never felt right around him. She kept feeling that she was being watched by him, and many times she caught him from the corner of his eye staring at her direction. And it was not the kind of stare she was comfortable with. It was creepy, and dare she said it, lustful. It fit more for a lecherous old man than a noble Count.

And that didn't include all the questionable things he did in the war. She knew how he had pillaged Echo Valley when he was supposed to be its guardian while the old Earl was being replaced. Not only for the food and good but for the women as well. It honestly disgusted her. Unfortunately, she couldn't do anything about it. She had no power in the kingdom's politics. And he kept doing it to other places as well again and again until the war ended and the loyalists became victorious. She had hoped that he would be executed for his actions by the King, but unfortunately, thanks to his bribing the capital massively, the King decided to put off on what he would do with him.

She still had her hopes however. Perhaps, if she could bring a more concrete proof of his betrayal to the right person in the capital, she could send him off to the gallows after all.

Today, she was just returning from a social visit to a noble's little tea party. She normally wouldn't like wasting her time in such trivialities, but if they could lead her away from her uncle, then she would take all the invitations she could get.

Once she arrived, she ordered her chambermaids to prepare a hot bath for her in her room. She was tired from the long journey and a good hot bath could certainly relax her aching muscles.

She had no idea in the slightest of the hole that her uncle frequently used to peek on her. Sometimes she would hear odd noises from the wall it was on, but she never put too much thought on it.

And so her uncle once again was gifted with the sight her of pure naked body. Underneath her fancy dress was hidden a silky smooth white skin, taken care very well by her maids, and an hourglass figure that would make any woman jealous. Her breasts were her finest point, full of bouncy and supple flesh that were large enough to entice any male that happened to catch sight of them. Only her buttocks were somewhat lacking, but other than that, she was the very epitome of beauty. And you didn't need to find her naked to appreciate her beautiful long golden hair and her bright blue eyes. Or her large bosom for that matter.

She enjoyed her bath in silence as her maids took care of everything. Aah, as usual, this really feels nice... She enjoyed her bath for longer than necessary, longer than her uncle could stay.

Slowly but surely, she embraced the drowsiness that approached her, before falling asleep inside the tub. The maids just smiled. They didn't want to disturb their tired mistress.

The Keep at Echo Valley

Marina returned a frown when she heard her father laughing at her concern. She knew he was drunk and was not thinking clearly, but it still irked her nonetheless. She hated it when she was not taken seriously.

"Your Lord liked you, and that's a good thing. And tomorrow, you will cross the bridge to seek an audience with the Earl … to see if there is work for you in his--"

Before she could reply angrily to his outrageous words, he suddenly fell forward and slammed onto the ground with a thud.

"Father!"

Marina's reflex was unfortunately too slow to catch him in time, so she could only crouch down and help him get up.

Only for him to abruptly hug her and kiss her on the cheeks.

"F-Father!"

The scent of his drunken breath was terribly unpleasant, making her struggle to release herself from his embrace. But once again, his strength won over her, and she could only stare in discomfort and confusion when he grasped her face.

"I love you, daughter," he proclaimed with a sincere tone. "You are my child … my only child … my loving child … and I would do anything for you … give anything to you … anything I can … anything I have."

"Father, what are you talking about?" Marina replied. She now had stopped struggling as she was starting to be seriously worried for her father.

"I have failed you … and your mother. I have failed you. I have nothing to offer you but the breath in my body-- And right now even that is nothing you would want to have."

"Father, stop saying that!" Marina shouted back, tears starting to stream out of her eyes as well. "I'm perfectly happy with the life we have now! And you have done so very much for our family already! You're not a failure! You never are!"

When he hugged her in a nearly crushing hug, she hugged his back as strongly as she could. He slurred some more terrible words that she didn't want to her, gave her another kiss and a hug, before slumping back as he lost his consciousness.

"Father!"

Marina screamed. The people surrounding them were now all staring towards them as they had made quite the scene. Thinking the worst, Marina nearly called for the guards for help.

Only for her to hear the snore coming from her father.

He was sleeping. That was all.

"Oh Father..."

She quickly carried him upwards. She was strong enough to do so without any help though it was quite the awkward thing to carry someone taller than you. Slowly but surely, she left the feast, back to the road towards their humble little house. Thankfully it wasn't that far from where they were right now, so she didn't have to call for help to carry her father.

She never liked depending on others. If she could do it herself, then she would. One man actually offered his help to her but she refused, saying that they would be fine on their own.

Once she reached her home, with every inch of her body soaked with sweat from carrying her father, she forgot everything involving the Earl as she threw herself on her rough straw bed, after changing out of her damp dress into her terribly worn and thin nightgown. She fell asleep so terribly quickly with how full and tired she was. She wasn't bothered in the slightest by the noise of the lecture her mother was giving to her father for arriving back home in such a state.

Little did she knew that her life would be changed forever, all thanks to his father forcing her to present herself to the Earl.

The Keep at Echo Valley

Marina's heart skipped a beat when Phillip brought her hand up and kissed it. A blush began to form at her face as his action took her entirely by surprise.

And she hated herself for it.

Normally, a noble lord would never have done something like that. Certainly not to some filthy peasant he had just met. He would only do it to the flowery noble ladies, not someone like her.

After he released her hand, she hurriedly performed another curtsy, bowing her head as deeply as she could in the process.

"I-I thank you for your benevolence, Milord."

And then, he spoke to her father, praising her for her beauty.

Once again, her heart skipped a beat. She had always been easily embarrassed by anyone praising her looks, even when she knew the praise was just pure formality and they didn't really mean it. Her mother always said that flattery was a woman's weakness and that she should be careful not to have her heart stolen by some silver-tongued charmer that never really cared for her other than for her looks and her body.

Phillips then continued to ask her about who she was, what her family did for a living, and many other questions about Echo Valley. She answered all of them to the best of her abilities as politely as she could. But she couldn't help but notice how he was ogling her back and forth as she spoke, and it immediately made her uncomfortable. But she couldn't just leave. Or slap him for it for that matter. Both would be criminally rude (and the latter would certainly count as assault), and she and her entire family would be jailed for it. Perhaps even executed. She knew how these noble types worked. They could not stand any peasants that stood against them. They would be publicly executed, as a reminder to the other peasants on who was in charge.

Urgh, why is he ogling me so much? I'm not wearing anything revealing and my chest isn't that voluptuous.

Oh great, we have a young perverted noble on our hand. I would be willing to bet it wouldn't take him a week until he took some random village girl to his fancy little keep just to plough her.

...Oh no, being here is a really, really bad idea then. If he were to fancy me...

She shuddered at the thought. Want it or not, she would have to go or else her family would be made to suffer for sure. But the image of him ravenously forcing himself at her made her want to puke. She certainly would like to keep her virginity for her future husband, not for some spoiled lord that would never take a look at her again after she warmed his bed for one night.

She finished answering his latest question. And then, before he could say anything, she exclaimed, "E-excuse me, Milord. I would have to leave you now. I... need to excuse myself to the privy, you see. Too much beer," she said with a fake blush. After giving him another curtsy, she put her hand on her father's arm and dragged him away from the scene.

"Father, that was a bad idea," she told him sternly once they were out of sight, mingling back to the crowds. "He was leering at me. And you perfectly know what nobles could get away with with us peasants."

The Keep at Echo Valley

Marina watched with a sigh as her father danced, or at least, did vague, random movements that she believed was supposed to be a dance. She considered to drag him back, but she figured, why not let him have his fun? Feasts like these certainly didn't come often after all.

She diverted her attention back to the food, and took another large piece of lamb leg. She then took a hefty bite out of it, not bothering in the slightest with forks or knives and the like. They didn't even provide them on that table, probably knowing that most peasants wouldn't use cutlery like the upper classes, especially when the food was something easily grabbable like a lamb leg.

She also took a sip of her beer mug. Just a sip though. She didn't want to get drunk.

She didn't notice the glances the new Earl was giving to her in the slightest.

And then, suddenly, her father came up to her, dragging her to meet the new Lord.

"W-what, what are you talking about, Father?" she said to him all confused and bewildered. "Oh no I shouldn't have let you drank that much. Alright, come now, Father, we should get you back home at once."

Unfortunately for her, even in his old age, her father's grasp was still firm; his pull being strong as well. She couldn't free her hand that easily, let alone reverse the situation and be the one to drag him out of the feasting fields to go back home.

"F-Father!" she shouted as she continued struggling to free herself. Now that she was this close to him, she could clearly smell his drunken breath and see his red face. He really had too much to drink.

"Come now, my Love, just for a little while!" he insisted. He normally wouldn't be this brazen with his beloved daughter, but thanks to his drunkenness, he couldn't really think straight at the moment.

"Alright, fine, fine, I'll go meet him!" Marina surrendered. Just like herself, her father could be surprisingly stubborn at times. "But just for a simple greeting, nothing more. And that is if his guards would appreciate us just barging in like desperate nobles who wanted to gain favor with him."

Bill relaxed his grip on her arm. Marina then used her other free arm to fix her hair and dust her dress a little. She wanted to be presentable, even as a mere peasant, when meeting such an important personage.

Bill then guided her to where the Earl was currently standing. Once they were close, he announced her proudly, not caring in the slightest on what a social faux pass he was committing. After all, other drunken villagers had come up to the Earl and praised him for the feast after all, and they weren't punished for it.

"My liege! Behold! My beautiful daughter Marina!"

He then pulled her forward, nearly making her trip in the process. Marina quickly did a curtsy as she said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, my Lord. And thank you for the feast." It was all formality, and her tone was absolutely neutral. She couldn't do what other girls might do and act all happy or even flirtatious to the Earl.

The Keep at Echo Valley

Marina of Echo Valley



Physical Description:

• 20 years old
• 5'5"; slim with plump butt and small yet firm breasts.
• Light brown, curly hair; blue eyes.
• Surprisingly firm hand and arm muscles

Personality:

• Somewhat tomboyish.
• Honest to a fault.
• Desires justice above all else.
• Stubborn as a mule.

History:
Daughter of Bill and Mary, just one of the many farmers of Echo Valley that inhabited the place. She used to have a handful of other siblings, all older brothers, but they all died in the war. They were forcibly conscripted, and from what she learned later, were pretty much only used as mere meat shields as they were barely even equipped properly unlike the previous Lord's actual professional soldiers.

She was fortunate that her father was viewed as too old and crippled to be forced as a conscript as well. Indeed, he was already in his fifties back then, and he walked with a limp on his steps.

Today, she was doing most of the farming work, taking over from her father who was aging more and more. She considered herself fortunate that she was a strong and healthy child that never burdened her parents more than they were already burdened with.

The Keep at Echo Valley

Marina never expected much from the new Lord. She already accepted the inevitable truth that he was just going to be like the other Lords before him.

It didn't matter whether he was a loyalist or a rebel. Both sides would just see them as mere peasants only to be used for their own political goals. They wouldn't care a damn if they all starved or died in their wars if it didn't affect them. She was fine with them having to pay high taxes to fund their lavish lifestyles and their wars, as long as they took care of them well.

Unfortunately, so far, all the Lords of this land never gave a crap about them in the slightest. And they suffered greatly as a result.

So when the news came that the replacement Lord was arriving, she wasn't that excited like some of the other villagers.

However, she still went out on the road to see him and his entourage nonetheless. Everyone else was doing it. It would be odd if she was the only one who stayed behind.

And besides, she still had a little curiosity in her heart herself.

Just a little though.

---

To her surprise, she managed to get a good look of the new Lord up close.

Well, not that close as there were obviously soldiers surrounding him, guarding him from any riff-rafts that might approach him.

But she was in front of the crowd, and it was the closest you could ever get to him as an ordinary peasant. It's not like you're ever going to ever be called to meet him in his fancy keep or castle.

She didn't intend to be there from the start however. Somehow, she ended up being pushed to the front of the crowd against her will.

At least this time around she didn't get her arse groped from behind. That tend to happen whenever she got into a heavy enough crowd.

And she had to admit, she was surprised. He looked entirely different than all the other Lords she had ever laid her eyes on.

He was young. Really young for someone who was supposed to be a reigning Lord. He shouldn't be that much older than herself.

She remembered. How he was originally just a landed peasant that became a noble after saving the King's life. The news had reached all the way here as he was pretty much acclaimed as a hero by the kingdom, or at least, among those loyal to the King.

She still didn't believe he would be any different however. Her pessimism, build by so many years of hunger and starvation under cruel and selfish Lords, was not so easily cured by a mere first impression.

However, she was willing to give him a chance. To see what he would do to this land as a new noble.

Perhaps, just perhaps, he wouldn't be as rotten as the rest of them.

She wouldn't hold her breath for that however.

---

The feast the new Lord established didn't really surprise her in the slightest. It was quite the tradition of new Lords to celebrate their ascension in status with lofty feasts and dance parties, though it was usually only done in times of peace, for obvious reasons.

What surprised her however was that he didn't ask any of the villagers to contribute their own food into the feast. Everything was provided by him and his men.

It was a terribly generous act, and naturally, every single villager came to the feast. Free, delicious, filling food for everyone. Who could resist?

It was enough for some villagers to start singing praises to the new Lord already, drinking their beer on his name. The feast quickly turned rowdy as a result, as more and more villagers were starting to be intoxicated from all the free drinks they could get.

Marina on the other hand was still pacing herself grumpily in the corner. She would not, could not, put her faith on the new Lord just because of this one act of kindness.

She still partook of the food however, stuffing herself as much as she could without hurting her stomach.

Naturally, she rejected any drunken fool who asked her hand for a dance. She was in no mood for such a thing.

And besides, she needed to watch over her father who was also there in the feast with her. She needed to make sure he wasn't drinking too much.

Emerald City

@The Muse
Nice, she's cute!

Emerald City

Aurora Madelene

Name
Aurora, Madelene

Birthday
8/25/2001

Age
18

Appearance


School
High school. Third grade.

Occupation
She works part time in the Cosy Bear Cafe as a waitress.

Personality
She's a huge grump, rarely ever seen without a frown on her face. She hates her ordinary, boring life in this boring, ordinary town. She wishes for more excitement, something she feels she wouldn't be able to get if she lives here. She's a sarcastic, matter-of-fact person, that never bothers with meaningless pleasantries. This, unfortunately, puts her up to be a loner at school and everywhere else. She's fine with that though. She doesn't need or want to have boring "friends" that she has to play nice with.

Short Bio
She counts as one of the original inhabitants of the town that has lived in it for generations. Her father is a government worker in the mayor's office while her mother is just a stay-at-home wife. She lives life well enough as a daughter in a middle class family. Her academic life is pretty decent. She's not the top student or anything but she excels well enough in both indoor studies and sports that she could get by comfortably. She only takes the part time job as a waitress to get the funds needed to take a college outside of town. At the very least, she wants to fund her own living costs. Her parents are against her leaving, so it's her way to display her dedication to said goal.

FILLED: Seeking female: 1x1 romance, Noble and Peasant and others; GoT-like but also not.

I'm interested in this. Though I have to ask, do you expect the two women to fall in love with your character right away?

L'Mordryn Academy

---

Esther's class differed wildly over Corona's, as Sir Kimbra preferred to teach in a more practical way over just talking over theories and the like. And Esther welcomed that very much. Unlike Corona, she couldn't stand learning just raw theoretical stuff. Too boring for her.

The class today was about the so-called Sterling Engine, an engine that worked by utilizing the difference between temperatures. Sir Kimbra didn't spend much time talking about how it worked on paper. Most of the class was instead spent on him bringing out all the fancy forms of Sterling engines that he possessed in his repository and demonstrating them in the class. He even invited the students to go to the front and take a close look at them.

Esther, naturally, took that opportunity right away.

Putting down her cup of coffee, she nearly ran towards Sir Kimbra's table where all the devices were displayed. She started from the device that could run just by her body temperature. Just by her putting her hand on the device, the turbine inside would move.

"Oh wow, this is amazing!" she exclaimed with glimmering eyes. "Now I want to incorporate this engine thing into Castle as well!"

Her brain immediately went into overdrive, imagining all the upgrade possibilities she could do to it. She bent forward, examining the device really, really closely as it worked.

"Hmm, so this goes there, and that goes here..." she mumbled, lost in her own world.

Entirely ignorant of the fact that she was exposing her panties to the rest of the class, as her one piece dress had risen up by her bending over like that.

In retrospect, she probably should not have worn such a criminally short dress in the first place, especially with how absent-minded she could get whenever something caught her interest. It was an old dress, well worn for years of her being in the academy. At first it was mid-thigh long, short yet still at a reasonable length. But now, after shrinking little by little from multiple laundries and her getting taller as well, it only barely covered her undergarments, matching its length with the outer jacket she wore. Any kind of bending over would no doubt reveal her unmentionables to the world. And she certainly had to be more careful of any kind of breeze or even when she walked up the many academy stairs.

Or she could just wear one of those spandex shorts some girls liked to wear under their skirts and save herself the trouble.

But where's the fun in that? Wouldn't work. She believed it would clash terribly with her style and she would just look odd wearing them.

And a lot of male students in the academy were certainly thankful for that belief, including the ones that participated in the very same class she was in right now.

Unfortunately for them, the girls of the class were already ready, and they quickly blocked the view with their bodies, giving a couple of deathly glares towards the boys that were staring too obviously towards the oblivious girl.

Indeed, this had happened so many times that the other girls had to be the one to protect Esther's chastity. They had told her over and over about how she should be more careful with how she moved, but Esther just kept doing it over and over again.

One of them came to Esther and whispered, "Esther, you might want to straighten up. Your panties... they're showing, you know."

"A-ah!"

Esther, brought back to the real world by her whisper, quickly did as she was told. She stood up straight with her hands pulling down the back of her short dress. Her face was red as a tomato.

"T-thank you for that, Mylina," she whispered back with an ashamed smile.

Two more times a similar exposing incident happened in the class, and every time one of her girl friends would block the view and warn her right away. Esther might feel embarrassed for a short while but she quickly forgot everything once she returned back to her own little mechanical world. Such was her character. It might not work well if we talked about her being a girl who wanted to keep her undergarments from not showing, but with her being a student, she was the best of the class. She just had a knack in both understanding a complex device just by looking at how it worked and a knack in the actual mechanical construction itself.

When the class was over, she already decided on what the next upgrade for her Castle would be.