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 Posted: Mon Jul 31, 2017 6:35 am
Ken watched her panic about the fire, still trying to wake up and relax as the pain in his back flared up. "Y-Yitta..." He mumbled, watching her attempt to keep the flame going even as she almost set fire to herself. It was sort of normal to him that she would break a bowl or put out the fire that kept him from getting sicker, thinking it was better her to do this as a maid than a slave. He forced himself to lay down, his back not wishing to move as much as he desired to right now, even as the queen entered he kept his head propped up. "It's fine, Yitta, I'm sure you have some chores from the head maid to deal with, come back and clean the bowl later okay?" He tried to reassure her, waving her hand to shoo her before she did something that the Queen would dislike. "Sorry for not getting up, your highness..." He knew that she already knew why he couldn't sit up at the moment or why there was still a light blush of pink on his cheeks from the fever.
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Posted: Tue Aug 01, 2017 10:35 am
 Astrid waited for the door to click shut behind the anxious maid as she departed, before walking over to sit down in the chair by his bedside. She was here for the sake of appearances. Her guards being present was proof enough of this. She couldn't and wouldn't speak of anything that had happened while they were alone last night. Most of it was blurry anyway, until the point that he'd touched her bare thigh. She donned a small and very fake smile, folding her hands neatly one over the other upon her lap. "I came here to visit you after hearing of your condition from a guard. You have made many allies here, Lord Catanach." She looked over his reddened face, sweat soaked skin and pale lips with mild interest. He deserves worse. She thought to herself grouchily, not at all satisfied with the little problems he was experiencing now.
She would happily have him castrated, and that was the kindest punishment she would've inflicted upon him. Perhaps if he were still her slave, her Uncle might intervene on his behalf like he'd done before. But he was a free man and a member of Criaswen's court. At least he would be after Ailean passed away. She'd wondered many things while alone, but since they weren't alone now she couldn't speak of them. So, she tried to remain cordial. She looked to his dog, who also seemed to be suffering. He was panting heavily, his huge pink paw pads were slick with sweat and he was glued to Ken's side. Had he received the same sort of poison? She was surprised that Daedra hadn't simply killed the animal. Still, this was a cruel punishment since the beast was only doing as he'd been taught to. She reached out, gently touching Rubert's fluffy neck with one gloved hand.
I see your loyal pet is also feeling unwell. I do hope this isn't a serious illness. How upset my youngest sister would be if she lost you. So too would Victoria and Joseph mourn your passing, though they would not feel your loss as deeply as she could." As she spoke her eyes drifted towards the spot on his arm where she'd seen a bandage before. With him too weak to fight back, it was an excellent time for her to take a look at it.
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Posted: Tue Aug 01, 2017 5:13 pm
Kenneth pulled the thin blanket up a bit, keeping his arms out of it as he moved to allow Rubert to snuggle close yet not too close to aggravate both of their fevers. Maybe he should of asked for more snow to keep his fever down, but he didn't want Yitta to embarrass herself in front of the queen. "J-Just a bit of food poisoning, your highness...Ailean has enemies for how loyal he is to the crown so I need allies as well. I-If I wasn't so sick right now I could finish studying..." He mumbled, looking to Rubert as the poor dog panted and it seemed Astrid felt saddened for the pup? Guess he was lucky the giant snow man didn't kill his beloved friend. "No, I-I'll be better, just need a bit of rest and the medicine you had delivered here is still very useful. I'm glad I didn't toss the rest when I thought I was healed." He watched her pet Rubert before seeing her eyeball him? He still had a fever and the sweat made it difficult to keep the bandage on constantly while so close to his arm pit. "Y-Your highness..." He tried to stop her, but if he tried to use his other hand to grab hers, he would be in great pain from his back.
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Posted: Wed Aug 02, 2017 4:59 am
She looked at him as he spoke of being thankful that he hadn't thrown away a gift from her. Her guards were both scowling and irritated by the idea of one discarding a gift from the queen. Astrid was far more upset that he would even entertain the idea of wasting even the teensiest amount of medicine. "That sort of humor is most inappropriate, Lord Catanach. It matters little what your intent was. I will not tolerate being insulted by you for a second time. You should be grateful that our fathers were so close to one another, or you would be on your way to the border to be mounted on a spike." She said flatly, most of all deeply insulted by the thought of any of her precious plants going to waste. She'd made those medicines herself, after all. Raised every one of those plants with love and patience. She regretted now that she hadn't sabotaged that medicine with some slow-acting poison that takes a while to accumulate in one's system before the symptoms begin to show.
She placed a hand upon his bandage and pulled it down. It slid easily, being slick with sweat. She was surprised by the sight of what looked to be a knife wound. It was held together by a few stitches and was covered in dried blood. "What is this..?" She asked, speaking slowly, and removed her hand from his arm. She eyed the wound from a distance, with a troubled look. How exactly was he going to explain this injury away? Was this truly the only reason he'd dared to strike her? Why even hide such a wound, unless he hadn't received it during a sparring match or something similar?
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Posted: Wed Aug 02, 2017 10:13 am
Kenneth's humor was a bit off due to the fever and how terrible he felt. "I'm just joking, your highness, I wouldn't waste a drop of the medicine." He felt the air hit his wound, letting it breath for once since he had been rewrapped this morning by the doctor. "A-A knife wound...I-I was attacked at one of the inns me and Ailean always stay at when traveling." He put a hand to his forehead, trying to stop the fever by pretending it wasn't there, didn't work very well. "I've been refusing to see any other woman of courting age except you, some of them send angry letters, or just move on, one Lady decided if she couldn't have me, neither could you." He was babbling, reaching over gently and slowly to move the bandage back up to cover the wound. He scratched Rubert's side gently, trying to soothe the poor animal. "Y-You said Joseph would mourn me if I passed? I'm sure he would celebrate and piss on my grave." He reached over with his hand that had been scratching at Rubert's side, reaching to take hold of Astrid's hand and hold gently.
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Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2017 4:44 am
She listened to him skeptically, not sure how much of that she believed. She didn't understand why he would hide such a wound if that were the case. Was he embarrassed, that a woman had been able to injure him like this? She jerked her hand back immediately as soon as she felt him touch her hand. She knew that he wanted to hold it, as he had done so a few times before. It was a childish, ultimately harmless gesture from him. At least she'd thought so before he'd so shamelessly groped her and then tried to manipulate her. She felt the hair on the back of her neck raise and her skin crawled. She was absolutely repulsed and hurt by his latest ridiculous attempt. It took her a moment to think of a retort. But she could only focus on who had attacked him. "This woman you speak of. That was Lady Claymoore, wasn't it?" She said, folding her hands over her lap but scooting backwards to move her chair further away from the bed. She didn't want to allow him a second chance at touching her. She was only visiting him to appease his allies. "It looks fresh, and deep. I find it surprising that you were able to move so well when we dueled."
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Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2017 10:04 am
He moved his hand back to Rubert's fur since he was rejected by Astrid. "Nope." He looked at her, wondering why she would care after rejecting his love on so many occasions, was she confused? "Lady Mirabelle, she has gone insane, I'm sure by now she sits in an asylum after that incident. I've learned to deal with the pain when I need to." He smiled, staring at her as if to say it was her fault he had a high pain tolerance until he couldn't move anymore. He wouldn't say it out loud either to her face or in front of her guards while they glared at him from their position. He also wanted to go back to his nap, since Yitta had been the one to wake him with her fumbling around.
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Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2017 4:54 pm
Astrid was intrigued by the malice blatantly apparent in the smile he showed her. It was amusing in a way. He must have lost his mind as well, since he was determined to keep violent company. It was sickening to think that he'd gotten some pleasure from the times she'd punished him. But it made sense, he was always pushing on her nerves and doing stupid things. Anyone would know that to harass her would only end with a painful punishment of some sort. She glared at him, narrowing bloodshot violet eyes, but at the same time managed to return his snarky smile with a bitter one of her own. "So, you are on first name terms with Mirabelle Claymoore. Perhaps you should join her? It seems you aren't in complete control of yourself. Although I will say that I find it very interesting to finally see just how you really feel." She rose to her feet, hands folded tidily over her waist. Then started to walk over towards the door. She paused before leaving the room, turning to say just one more thing to him. "As for my brother... Prince Joseph has returned from the battlefront and his title has been restored. He may not know how to find you now. But should you be invited to visit Ester again, I suggest not accepting that invitation." With that she left, wishing she really could have him killed. She was appalled by his attitude. Wasn't she supposed to be the heartless one? Just how much pain was his diseased mind craving, that he was so openly daring her to hurt him more? She walked down the hallways with her guards in tow until she'd returned to her rooms. The small amount of work she'd brought with her would be her focus for the rest of the day.
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Posted: Fri Aug 04, 2017 1:48 am
He narrowed his eyes as she seemed to smile at him with bitterness, did he say something wrong? "H-Huh...Oh sweet Jes- No! I'd rather be a slave again then become her husband! Or near her in fact." He shuddered at the thought of becoming Mirabelle's husband or a slave again, if he couldn't become Astrid's husband, he had no need to marry other than waiting for Ailean to kick the bucket so he would stop nagging about grandchildren. "J-Joseph isn't that scary...." He grumbled, watching her leave and returning to sleep. He skipped breakfast, lunch and couldn't stomach dinner either so he slept until before dinner, trying to eat crackers in hopes of keeping his stomach calm and happy. His fever was light and he could hear Yitta getting the bath going so he could clean himself from sweating so much. He set down the book, "Battles Are Won by Intelligence", a strategy book that Ailean lent him. "Thank you, Yitta, get some rest, Inga should be up in an hour and can drain the bath." He smiled, undressing once she left as he still believed she was an innocent woman who didn't need to see his naked chest all the time or other parts of him.
Once he sunk into the water, his cuts sizzled gently from the heat, letting him relax as it soothed his back pain the most. He didn't know Yitta left his bedroom door open as if no one was in the room.
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Posted: Fri Aug 04, 2017 12:17 pm
Just as the previous night, a look from him was enough to keep disturbing her for quite a long time. She was able to finish her work, and ate her dinner alone in her rooms. Ailean was apparently not feeling too well himself so there had been no need to eat in the dining hall. It was better this way, she could think about other things. Mainly she wondered about the current wars her country was waging. One against an old enemy, one that had attacked when her father was just a boy. A difficult people, even more barbaric than her own in their lust for blood. The other was a quest for more territory. Long lasting foodstuffs to be dispersed throughout the army among other benefits. But even with these thoughts, she couldn't put that maleficent look he'd given her out of her mind. First he was saddened by her, now he was showing that he was angry. What did he plan to do next? How had she let him gain control over her like this? How could she finally be rid of him for good? Should she poison him? Or let that woman find him?
She sighed, touching her forehead lightly as she closed her eyes. It was a frustrating situation. She didn't like it, matters of the heart couldn't be settled that cleanly. She'd told him so many times that she would never marry him, yet he wouldn't give up. She didn't understand it. How could any of that be taken differently? What ever the case, that glare he'd given her earlier when she'd gone out of her way to visit him, stayed with her. Every time she went to confront him with the goal of getting him to surrender, he went a step further in invading her privacy. She'd spent her entire life avoiding that sort of topic, those perverted sorts of people as well. Victoria was the closest she'd ever become, and she only listened to gently chastise the girl for her inappropriate fascination. She'd kept her mind and body pure. Yet he'd stolen her lips and tempted her by showing how sickeningly nice it felt to kiss. Sometimes she would catch herself wanting to kiss him again. It was especially difficult to suppress that desire after their last shared kiss. Even if he had done it to distract her, she couldn't forget how nice that deep kiss had felt.
She blushed, sighing again out of frustration and cupped her forehead within her hands as she looked down at the desk. Yet he'd touched her. A man had touched her, for even if he was a meager one he was still a man. She wasn't married yet and had wanted to remain pure in all ways until after marriage. She had done so many horrible things, the one area of her life where she wanted to stay true to faith had been foiled. By a manipulative little worm. She felt her eyes begin to burn, a warning that she was about to cry. She suppressed that sadness, quickly deciding to deal with this problem with violence to settle her emotions. She'd poison him. At this hour, she knew that he'd probably still be asleep. She rose from her chair and excused herself from her guards. She walked alone through the hallways, avoiding being seen by anyone else. His door was open. So she decided to hide and wait in his room for his return. The lazy fool couldn't possibly stay away from his bed for long.
She noticed a book, becoming curious as she read the title. Curious enough that she walked over to it, not noticing the other open door in the room until it was too late. She caught movement in the corner of her eye and looked in that direction. Her heart jumped in her chest, believing herself to be caught. But instead of a guard or servant, she found herself staring at an unbelievable sight. The bathroom door had been left open and easily within eyesight, Kenneth was bathing. Worse yet, he was completely naked and she could practically see everything. She was so shocked that she just stood there, staring at him. Her jaw hung open, eyebrows arched as she tried to think. What did she come here to do? What was happening? Why in GOD'S NAME was he bathing with the door open?! She pointed at him, covering her mouth with her other hand. Stepping back, she just continued to point at him as she tried to think of something to say. She was outraged to find him like this and it was yet another bit of innocence he'd taken away from her.
But she was having a very difficult time looking away from him. She'd never seen a naked man before and the scientific part of her mind was curious. But this was also the man that she loved. So, completely red in the face, she backed up until she felt her rump hit a piece of furniture. "Why--?! Why are you naked?! You--!" She cried out, very quickly becoming hysterical and unable to stop herself from crying. She brought her hands up to shield her eyes and turned in the direction she thought the bedroom's exit was in. She was vaguely aware of the sound of a dog's nails clicking against the stone floor. Loud at first but slowly growing fainter as presumably, the dog was making his way over to his master.
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Posted: Fri Aug 04, 2017 10:06 pm
He had just settled in when he noticed Yitta had left his bathroom door open, she probably left his bedroom door open too, knowing her after Inga had walked in on him once. He stood, reaching for the towel as he climbed out when the queen herself stepped in to view and he froze in his spot. "Do you always enter men's rooms without permission?! S-Stop staring!" He shielded himself with the towel, wrapping it around his waist while seeing her shield her eyes. "I....lets not talk about this..." He rubbed Rubert's head, letting the pup in the bathroom as he slowly closed the door. "A-Ahem...good day, your highness, i-if you need me I will be done in an hour or so." He was blushing, embarrassed that she saw him in all his nakedness and she was blushing as well! He shut the door and leaned against it to take a breath, would she tell Ailean? Keep it to herself and use it against him, and now all he had was a towel and door between him and the Queen's eyes.
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Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2017 4:19 am
"You don't count!" She protested, wandering blindly around in his room. She bumped into several objects, becoming frustrated. How?! He barely has anything in here to begin with?! She finally used one hand to search around until she found the open door. She slipped out, shutting it behind her as she uncovered her eyes. Her vision was blurred. She feared one could warm the building with the heat radiating from her voice. She felt like she was being watched and a quick glance downwards revealed her child slave. The girl's dead-looking eyes were glued to the floor. No trace of amusement and she was completely quiet.
Astrid stepped away from the door quickly, setting out to return to her quarters. She wore a stoic expression, though the color still clinging to her face refused to dissipate. She was trying her hardest not to think about what she'd seen. And being told to return later if she needed him? What did he mean by that?! That pervert! She went into her room without a word spoken to her guards and closed and locked the door behind herself. While doing so she remembered why she'd even gone to see him. She hadn't told him! But she didn't want to see him again.
She would have to send him a letter! She started over towards her writing desk, realizing as she sat down that she couldn't send anything to him right now. Her messenger would find him in the bath. What if they put it all together? She wouldn't be able to handle that sort of gossip. How she wished she could go back and avoid having ever seen--! That! Those! She covered her face with her hands and grit her teeth together, doing her utmost to suppress a scream. How, after all of this time and with how cautious she'd been had she made such a mistake?! No, had he planned it?! What was she supposed to do now! She wanted to speak with her priest but couldn't.
She couldn't speak of what had happened. What if the only way for forgiveness was to marry that unforgivably horrible. manipulative cretin?! She wasn't supposed to see... How dearly she wished she had closed her eyes, like a pure hearted woman. She had been, until that. Now just trying to figure a way out of this situation she couldn't stop remembering it. Women were only permitted to know about such things after marriage! A difference was obvious but she'd never had the chance to study the differences--and that wasn't the point now! She couldn't let this slip-up determine her future. He was unfit to rule by her side! She could no longer trust him to keep her secrets either.
Astrid rest her forhead against the desk, hoping the cool surface of it would help her to calm down. What was she to do now? A letter would give him a chance to respond... Should she really kill him? Could she live like that? It was the wisest choice. He couldn't be trusted. What if he tried to use it against her? She sighed, wrapping her arms around her waist as she tried to think.
---
Meanwhile, Egbert had been booted from his wife's room just for getting a little bit drunk and flashing someone. Didn't matter that it was a room full of maids. Gertie was just overreacting. So, hugw bottle of beer in one hand he limped his way to his buddy's room. He opened it without any hesitation. "Ay, Kin(Hey, Ken!)" He shouted merrily, meandering over to the other man's fireplace and plopping himself down on the rug. His deep voice rumbled as he spoke, even with him in such a state. "Kum oot, kum oot. Haf drink wif mah!(Come out, come out. Have a drink with me!) Ah git bear four yuh, yah cuuuunt! Lis driNk!(I've got beer for you, you c**t! Let's drink!)" He cheered drunkenly, glancing around as he wondered where Ken had gone. He shook the bottle, sloshing the liquid around like he was calling a small animal over.Then whistled about as well as an injured and drunken idiot could, with the hope of getting his friend to appear.
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Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2017 8:48 am
He slid back in the water, keeping an eye on the door, almost expecting that yeti to return or even Astrid with a guard or something, no she wouldn't let anyone know about this...accident. He heard movements in his room, reaching for the towel just as he heard Egbert's voice; drunk. Oh lord, the idiot got a hold of alcohol again and his wife probably kicked him out for awhile. He dried himself off, deciding a bath wasn't as relaxing now as it had been earlier. He opened the door once he got his pants on and looked at Egbert on the ground by his fireplace. "I'm not drinking while the Queen is here!" He rubbed the back of his head, nervous but the alcohol would help the pain in his back for awhile so maybe he should? No, then he would be vulnerable against Astrid or her yeti. "Don't think I could stomach it very well either, Egbert." He mumbled, sitting on his bed and wondering if he should call Inga or Yitta back to dress his wounds since he couldn't do it by himself. "You should know...when Astrid leaves, your going with her, okay?" He hoped the man wouldn't be upset at this, but he couldn't keep him once Egbert was healed up and the storm would end in a few days.
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Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2017 1:49 pm
Egbert jumped at the mention of his master, looking around stupidly to try to spot her. At the same time, he hid the bottles behind his back and was trying to straighten himself up. His wild eyes were full of fear and in truth he was terrified of her catching him like this. But he didn't see her anywhere. "Szia, glaikit! Menj, és forraljuk fel a fejed! Te kibaszott megölt engem! Csak ssssh! Nem beszélünk az ördög, vagy ő lesz talál minket, ostoba picsa! (Hey, glaikit! Go and boil your head! You ******** killed me! Just ssssh! Don't talk about the devil or she'll find us, you daft c**t!)" His heart was pounding within his chest so he grabbed his chest and began to roll around on the ground, moaning as if in pain. "Te köcsög. Nagyon várom... Ez kurva furcsa..! Mi a rohanás... (You ********. I'm really dying. It's ******** weird! What a rush.)" He closed vibrant green eyes and groaned loudly. Then he looked up at Ken, pouting pitifully. His Crias was still terrible, and he was worse at it while drunk, but he could understand most of what Ken had said. He was ******** awful at pronouncing other languages anyway. He could only speak what he could because he knew he'd be tortured if he didn't do what his master wanted. He made his lower lip tremble, pushing away his friend's meddling puppy as he shifted to his feet. He was moving slowly, trying his best not to fall over, and cursing softly to himself all the while. He managed to get up eventually, though he had to keep his arms out to stay balanced. "Oou, no tawk af mas. (You, don't talk about my master.)"
But the more he looked at Ken, the easier it was to notice how red in the face the other boy was. Even if the older boy wouldn't quite moving around. Egbert grinned stupidly, bellowing laughter as he pointed at Ken's face. This caused him to fall roughly back onto his rump, but he didn't care. Between laughs, he managed to ridicule his friend. Tears welled up in the corners of his eyes and he occasionally smacked the floor for emphasis as he spoke. "Mi vagy te, egy cicus? Te arcul ütötte vadszamárnak piros! (What are you, a pussie?! You're red as a smacked a**!)" He didn't remember seeing any booze in Ken's room. But he didn't think about it too much. He didn't notice that Yitta was just starting to come into the room carrying medicine, either. "Mi a fasz, Jessie?! (What the ********, you effeminate man?!)"
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Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2017 10:37 pm
He watched as his friend began to panic about Astrid coming in and seeing her slave drunk. He sighed, not meaning to scare the kid or make him get excited and think he was dying. "I'm not drunk! I got poisoned or maybe it was food poisoning...shut up and give me one, I'm not a p***y!" He grabbed the bottle from Egbert's hand and gulped it down just as Yitta walked in. He set it on the place above the fireplace, gripping his stomach and nearly throwing it up before steadying both himself and keeping everything in check. "Yitta? Mind bringing me some more beer for me and Egbert?" He asked, walking over and sitting on his bed to let Yitta check his wounds and rewrap them before giving him the medicine for his fever. "You want to try some booze too, Yitta? Nah...the head maid would bury me alive!" He reached out to Egbert for another bottle, trying to prove he could handle his alcohol when the last time he drank, he barely made it past four pints of beer.
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