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 Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 10:04 pm
Deste gave a short sigh as he watched his brother deliver the ordinance from the Royal Highnesses of Albion demanding the immediate release of their son. Hmph...yup. Take your sweet time. Though the thief supposed that he deserved the slowness, after making Dante rush from the western end of the country down to the southernmost border. He looked disheveled and not too highly please. Hah...payback for their childhood days. And the ex-rogue had only just started it.
The prosecutor frowned, obviously displeased at this interruption. "May I ask how their Majesties plan to find fit punishment for this man? Of your noble line or not, he has committed unspeakably abhorrent crimes-"
Dante cut him off with enough courtesy of the orator's rank, but with an impatience that spoke of the Prince's own higher. "Their Highnesses will pay for any damages from thievery."
"And the murder charges?!"
"We have...reason to believe that, by Chryseas' definition of "murder," that the killings were not premeditated, and thus we request the charges be dropped to manslaughter."
There was a general stirring in the crowd nearby at these words, and someone called out angrily, "How can you call the Guards' Massacre mere manslaughter?!"
The prince stiffened slightly, and after a moment of what seemed like triumphant silence for the angering crowd, the Albinian boomed out, "It is not murder if the act was in self-defense!"
Deste shot his brother a look that just said, "Ooooh, good one." Dante glared back, but bellowing easily over the noise of the uproar, ordered for the immediate release of the accused. He added to those on the platform, in classic polite-and-threatening style, "The new Queen, her royal highness Kestra Esterylen, is most anxious to have her only son home."
That did it. The rope freed itself from the man's neck, and a moment later his shackles were removed. Mmmph...now he had to bow. Bah. Inclining his upper body towards who he assumed was still his superior in rank, the man was...slightly surprised, and very amused, to hear his half-brother say, "There is no need to bow to me, brother. Rise and be heralded as the newest prince to the line of Esterylen, Royal Blood of Albion."
---
He wasn't exactly sure how they had avoided the fiasco that his release had caused; he honestly expected someone to just stab him at some point while he was being escorted away by the guard his brother had thoughtfully brought along. Hm...no Iris either. Ah well...she probably thought he was dead by now. Perhaps it was better that way....
"Deste?" ah, big brother wanted his attention. Glancing to the side - they were riding slowly through the town towards the bridge, side-by-side with the guard scattered around them - "A little gratitude for saving your a**, maybe?"
He snorted. "Yeah. Thanks for being late."
The elder took a deep breath, but his words still came out less-than-happy. "...You gave me 10 days to ride down from Ilios."
"Better late than never." he replied, smirking.
"You...are impossible."
"Always was, probably always will be. Get used to it, I'm in your league now."
"Fah....What's on your mind? You're less pissy than I remember."
"None of your business, really."
"Whatever. Kestra heard some...interesting things from Noria, though. Things about a woman of interest?"
Deste stiffened for a moment, but relaxed, "Blew over."
"...Right. Once you spend a month or so at home, you'll probably be allowed back. Better clean yourself up though...I can't believe you actually dyed your hair."
Alright. He was getting pissed again. "You try sneaking around in the dark with bright-colored hair sometime, see how far you get."
"Hah, but you actually dyed it..."
"Shut up before I stick a dagger in your throat...."
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Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 10:07 pm
"Well, he failed to mention that little detail."
Amun chuckled quietly as his daughter stalked ahead of him, like a cobra ready to strike the closest person to her - hence why he stayed back a little. It was rather amusing, this anger of hers. He knew she wasn't really that mad, it was just coming out that way. But damn was it funny to watch.
"God, a prince! He's a prince, and he never even told me..."
"Well, technically, he wasn't a prince until her Highness-"
He stopped when she looked back at him with that 'anger', he looked away, eyebrows raised, hands in the air signifying his defeat. Alright, alright...no jokes right now. Fine.
"I should have noticed."
"Hmm?"
"I should have picked it up. Hell, I'm around politicians and nobles every day of my life."
"Maybe that's exactly why you didn't notice..."
"Perhaps..." she conceded, sighing. It wasn't so much that she was angry as she was shocked. It's not like he lied to her, it just never came up. And now, his comment about his mother made more sense. She heard the tale of the King's unfaithfulness...but she did not know that a son came from it. She never needed to know - Albion's affairs, unless dealing with money, had nothing to do with her. Still - her lover was a prince. How romantically cliché.
Well..she was really unsure of what to do at this point. He would be busy now, no doubt - she wouldn't try to reach him until he tried to reach her, simply because of the responsibilities he undoubtedly now held. Deste would come to her...they had been away from each other far too long. When he was ready, he would come.
"I suppose we can head home, now." she said quietly, some of that anger fading.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, it's fine...he will let me know when we can see each other again. I know that much."
Amun quickened his stride in order to catch up to her. "Alright...well, you know what this means."
"What?"
"We've got some work to do."
She narrowed her eyes at him. "What on earth are you talking about?"
"We have to prepare your dowry, for when he proposes to you."
Iris nearly choked for laughing so hard. "Honestly, father...."
"I'm quite serious." he said, blinking at her. "Time to dip into my pansy son's life savings. Which you pretty much have under lock and key anyway. but..."
As he trailed off, her laughter faded. Really now...maybe one day, but she didn't think that he would propose to her this soon. The had never even considered it. Besides...the wounds were still tender. Healed, but fragile still. No, he would wait, if he did it at all...if he could do it at all. After all, some Kings and Queens preferred that their princes and princesses marry others of the same rank. She was of noble birth, but she was not a princess - her family line did not come directly from that of the Pharaohs. Perhaps...
No. Silly father, putting such ideas into her head so soon...this was certainly not something to be thinking about. She shook her head. "Well, we will return home, but I don't know about all that."
"One of these days, you'll realize that I'm right a good majority of the time."
"Of course, of course."
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Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 10:09 pm
Two months....He'd only been back in court for that long, and already he was sick of it. Perhaps it was the lack of freedom he now had in his life, though for the most part he could just...disappear when he wanted to. The first time he tried it, he'd had the better part of the palace servants searching for him. Kalei was eventually the one who gave him away, as someone happened to spot the shedding feathers originating from the topmost tower of the structure.
Good escape when he wanted to be alone, though. While Deste was quite happy to see his mother again, her constant fawning over him was beginning to get irritating. Though, he could understand the reasons behind her behavior; she'd brought him into a life - heh, he could actually think of existence as life now - of ridicule and condescendence, and was trying to make up for it now. He supposed that none of this would be happening had the late Queen Anniea - Dante's mother - hadn't passed away. Or if his father, 'High King' Darius hadn't decided to marry Kestra. Most of the nobles in the country hadn't wanted him to...it would be blasphemous. And political suicide. Bah. He hated politics, and probably always would.
Unfortunately, the former thief was not caught up in the world of one. He'd given up his former occupation, obviously, and was attempting to work out some of the details of reprimands to various families for his past work. Though at times he...just couldn't help himself. He'd stolen a custom-crafted dagger from his brother's room earlier that morning, and it didn't appear as though Dante had noticed yet.
Mmm...things would be easier if she were there with him. Two months. Perhaps it was time to head back for a visit to Chryseas. He had some unfinished business there anyway.
-------
Deste closed his eyes and just...tried to block out his half-brother's incessant teasing and babbling.
To his utter dismay, the other prince was accompanying him back to Chryseas, on the grounds that his fiancé, Norene Rosaylen, wished to go as well to see her little sister and grandmother. So here he was, in a coach with two people while he'd rather have been alone. At least Norene had all the kindness in the world, though, unlike her cold sister. The elder daughter looked very much like the younger, but her hair was more of a golden blonde, and her eyes as sharp as hawk's.
And she was very "excited" to meet this girl of interest of Deste's.
"Dante...if you could please stop your babbling for -5- minutes?"
He got only a grin in return. "Aw, c'mon little bro. Shouldn't you have at least sent her a warning that you're coming or something?"
The new regent snorted, and said with a slight smirk, "Not my style. Traditionally I'd just how up during the night whenever I wanted to."
He saw Norene blink at this; apparently Dante hadn't told her the details. So while her fiancé filled her in, Deste turned back to his thinking. It would have made sense to send an envoy ahead, in case she didn't want to see him...he wasn't sure if she'd want to, considering that she'd made no attempt to contact him either. Hmph..."I'm sure you'll be happy to see Ma'at." the man muttered to Kalei, who twitched an ear at the sound of the name, but continued on in his dozing.
"Hm...I never really thought that the griffins would be so popular, but you said they're more common the further south you go?"
"Yeah, the warmer it gets the more common they are. Lenore's been trying to breed some with thicker coats, I've heard?"
"Yeah, beside her crested ones...."
The conversation carried on to chat about Kalei's race for the rest of the day's ride.
-------
Ah, back in Xuan. And now he was waiting for her to return home. Apparently, the day he got in she had gone to visit her parents' home for the night...bah. He couldn't very well just go there unannounced; his new rank didn't allow him to. He'd paid a heavy price of his independence to be able to get out of his criminal convictions...but she was worth it. It all came down to being able to stay with her without putting either of them in danger.
"Deste, what in God's name are you doing?!" the hissing remark came from behind him, and the slight clatter of a horse's hooves echoed into the night. Dante had apparently been startled when Deste had begun to scale the outer wall of Iris' home. "Hey, hand Kalei up after me, will you?" he called back.
"Not until you tell me what you're doing!"
"...This is how I always visit her."
-------
He was surprised to find his window unlocked. Hm...she wasn't expecting him, was she? The arrival of the Albinian princes wasn't widely known, as the visit had nothing really to do with politics. Ah well, better that then breaking into her house again.
She was asleep, though considering how late it was, he wasn't surprised. He left Kalei in the other room purely because he didn't want the griffins to make a fuss over each other and wake her up, and luckily Ma'at was to startled to even squawk at him. The egg, he observed, was gone, and Lenore had said she recently acquired a new, black griffin for training...hm. Ah well. The peach-colored avian - whom he observed to have grown quite a lot bigger, though Kalei had too, now that he thought about it - cocked her head at him, and he motioned out the door, since he assumed she was looking for his spotted male. With a soft coo' the female left, and Deste shut the door behind her.
Just had to wait for morning, now...bah. He ruffled his hair, and suddenly remembered that Iris had never actually seen him in his natural color.
....Whatever.
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Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 10:11 pm
Bah, daylight. She voiced her distaste for the blatant brightness of the sun so early in the morning with a barely audible mumble and rolled over, knowing that she had to get up..but desperately not wanting to.
Iris sat up, but did not open her eyes. Instead she rubbed her face, ran a hand through her hair...noted that her room felt different. Odd. Her eyes squinted, even though they were shut, trying to figure out what it was without waking herself up anymore. She was quite comfortable...dammit. Fine.
Yawning, she opened her eyes and stretched...stopping half-way, arms in the air, when she saw a man on her bed. Why was there a man on her bed. Who was the man on her bed. She looked him over - she recognized the build...she didn't recognize the hair...she recognized the attitude, but she didn't recognize the scent. It was almost familiar, but not the same as whoever it was that she remembered...and then, she looked into those dark eyes.
"Deste." she whispered, suddenly quite awake. Wow, he looked good as a blonde.
The woman didn't dare move for a moment, as if wondering if she was looking at some delusion. But when she said his name, she watched a subtle shift in demeanor. Yep, it was him.
In a flurry of movement that may have even surprised him - he stiffened at first contact - Iris threw herself at him, almost making him fall over on the bed. She closed her eyes and clung to him, trying to push herself as close to him as she could. It had been quite a while. She hadn't touched him in almost half a year...and so, she refused to move. Not that he was asking her to. Satisfied, happy, she stayed there for what felt like a good ten or twenty minutes...hell, it may have even been longer. And she remained silent the entire time.
"...hello." she said quietly, after a sound period of silence....still refusing to move.
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Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 10:15 pm
After the initial shock - he hadn't expected to be received this way, if warmly at all - Deste had to smile as Iris practically tackled him in her urgency to feel the two of them touch. Not that he wasn't needing to be with her either. Wrapping his arms around her to return the embrace, he carefully shifted them into a more comfortable sitting position on the bed. Though, she was making movement quite difficult by clinging to him like he was going to disappear into thin air at any moment.
"Well, it's good to see you too." he said softly when she finally spoke. Laying his cheek on top of her head, he stroked her hair lightly, noting a trivial detail that she'd let it grow out well past her waist. Hm...he liked it. And judging from her reaction when she was staring at him, she liked his natural color too....bah. The only reason he hadn't dyed it back was because everyone was harping about him even doing it in the first place. Hmph. None of them considered the pains he would have gone through if he hadn't dyed it.
Hm..."So, my love, what have you been up to lately?" Deste was positive that he sounded much more cheerful than was the norm, but then again, here he was, alive and with the woman he adored, after a good half a year apart. Who wouldn't be pleased?
The man suddenly noticed that she was shaking slightly, as though she were laughing, but oddly enough, a few tears were trailing out from her dark eyes. But she was smiling, so..."Same thing every day, except you haven't been here."
He chuckled. "Well, I won't go away again...not without you, anyway."
She finally pulled away, though only slightly, just enough so that she could look at his face. And then the questions started. "Why didn't you tell me who you really were?"
"Because my parents, 'their Royal Highnesses,' were married scarcely 3 months ago. I wasn't technically 'noble' until they were married."
"...But you were still born royal. You mother was a duchess before she became Queen, right?"
Ah. She'd been doing some research. "And I suppose you know everything about my life now, hm?" he said with a half-smile.
She laughed, "Not as much as I'd like."
"Hm...shall we get better acquainted then? We still have some...unfinished business, after all." he let his tone go sly, and was rewarded with her startled stares. Suppressing a chuckle and feigning exasperation, he covered his eyes with one hand and said, "Oh for God's sake, I didn't mean that."
Deste could tell she would have slapped him if she could, "That wasn't what I was thinking about!"
He grinned and let his hand drop to take her chin. "I know." he said softly before touching their lips together. He pulled back shortly, though, still intent on getting some business done. "But I was serious. We have some things to take care of."
"...Which are...?"
"Why don't you make yourself presentable," he started, vaguely thinking that he was, for the first time, better dressed than her, but that she was beautiful in whatever she wore, "and we'll head to your father's estate?"
He opened the door and stepped out before she could protest.
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Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 10:16 pm
She'd go with it. She didn't have any idea what he was planning in that brain of his, but she'd go with it. Besides, it didn't seem like she had much of a choice regardless.
"Deste, this isn't even fair."
"And...why is that?"
"The younger brother isn't supposed to marry before the older one does!"
Hearing light conversation downstairs, but...really unable to understand what was being said (though someone sounded a bit offended), she busied herself getting dressed. After so many years of practice, one knew how to do it quickly - well, but quickly. But while she 'made herself presentable', she couldn't help but ponder over that different look in his eye, that urgency to 'get work done', to get to her father's estate. Never one to assume - yeah, right - the woman attempted to put it out of her mind. That would be easier if she hurried up. One quick check in the mirror, and she was downstairs within a few minutes of starting...to find Deste and his half-brother Dante at the foot of the stairs. Goodness, so many people just showing up in her house today. Next, it would be Lenore. Heaven help her.
The two took no notice of her, apparently....
"...And your deficiency in the romance department is my fault...how?" Deste retorted.
"Hey now, Nore' and I have been together since...even before you ran off from court."
"Ah, but your mother hated her...mostly because of me, though."
"See? You are the source of my woes....and here I went and saved your life, no gratitude, at all..."
"Oh shut up..."
God, it was so hard, trying to keep from laughing. "Well, I'm grateful to you."
Both heads turned in her direction. Both of their faces brightened...but Dante's was more of an 'Hey!-I'm-a-charming-prince!' kind, whereas Deste's was affectionate. Very, very large difference between the two.
"Good day, madam!" Dante said, a light bow as she descended the staircase. Deste looked pained.
"Ignore him. He's sleep deprived."
"I am not."
"Oh...ok, sorry. Nevermind. This is normal...sadly."
Dante got that sort of I'm-not-going-to-dignify-that-with-a-response air about him. The irritated look she saw from Deste made her smile as they left her home, Dante immediately bursting out into polite, conversational questions. Deste looked like someone was stabbing him in the temples. The two griffins, surprisingly silent up until this point, were squawking happily above Dante's words. This was going to be a long trip.
~~~~~~~~
Iris took a deep breath upon entering her home, earning her a calming look from Deste. It was hard being here, knowing her...'brother' was in the house. But it could not be avoided - and, it seemed, she was expected to be in his presence today. She immediately tensed.
Her father greeted them all in the foyer. By the look in his knowing eyes, it almost seemed as if she was the only one oblivious as to what was going on...which was starting to get on her rather fragile nerves. Good thing she could act. Smiling, she let her father lead them to the place they would apparently be meeting. The griffins were left in a separate room, probably to avoid dealing with their joy at seeing one another. Iris stayed near Deste when her father led them in, feeling as if she would do something rash if she didn't. There sat her brother, injured still, a long, deep burn running down the length of his face. God, how she wished it would have consumed his entire body, like it was supposed to...
Remaining relatively subdued, she took her seat next to Deste, careful to avoid as much sight of her sibling as she could.
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Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 10:18 pm
Dante left his younger brother to deal with his affection's own sibling as they sat, while he remained standing to speak with the father. The prince had been told that the senior Amun Nefretiri was a good and honest man, casual and lighthearted for the most part, but also from a very old and noble line from the realms of ancient Egypt. Which, well...they weren't from the line of the Desert Kings, no, but Iris seemed to be a good kind of girl, probably just the kind that would actually keep Deste from being too restless. And the longer the Albinian man spoke with the Egyptian father, the more he liked the politician. Hm...very good. Now if only his fiancé would hurry up and get back with the mother.
They came soon enough, walking side by side and chatting like they were old friends catching up on the latest gossip. The casual conversation between the two standing men broke as they each turned to greet their significant others, who took a moment to draw a final conclusion before separating. Norene smiled warmly at her love, indicating with expressive eyes that she apparently found enough redeeming qualities in the mother. Hm, well, it all came down to the girl yet. And the brother, who...well. Deste didn't like him. At all. And Dante knew, when Deste didn't like someone, that someone was high up on a list of people-to-die.
They all seated each other soon enough, though there was a certain tenseness in the air that was pretty much radiating out of the woman seated beside Deste. Norene was watching her with a sort of passive wonder; she'd heard that Iris was many things, and fiery of spirit, but this vengefulness was unsettling.
And Deste could tell that Norene's liking for his flower was dropping, though he knew his cousin to be relatively accepting of people, regardless. Get the two women together in any other setting and they would probably get along immediately - Nore' had a tendency to be liked by anyone, just like her younger sister had a tendency to immediately set everyone she met off on a separate path just to avoid her.
"Iris, love." he murmured quietly to her ears alone while his brother chose to speak into the moments of silence, "Stop glaring daggers at your brother. Norene's here to...'evaluate' you, to see if we're compatible. A show of loathing for you sibling is putting her off." The man felt her stiffen for a moment, as if surprised by something....ah, had she finally figured it out?
"...And if my brother would be so kind as to listen while I'm speaking?" Dante said a bit louder than intended.
Deste glanced over to him, caught his eye, and understood. "My apologies. Please, continue."
"...Ahem, as I was saying, the Esterylen family would like to request that your family, sir," he said, turning and inclining his upper body towards Amun Sr, "pay reprimands in damages towards the royal blood, specifically, for the many months' worth of harm that you have caused to my brother."
There was a bit of a startled silence; if anything, this was the last thing they had been expecting. The father took it all in good stride, though; hm...it seemed as though Dante had informed him well. "What sort of reprimands are you requesting, your Highnesses?" Amun Sr. inquired politely.
Dante glanced at his brother, and Deste stood to take over, bowing also to the head of the Nefretiri family. "Only this, sir; I would ask for your daughter's hand in marriage."
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Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 10:18 pm
Evaluate, hmm?...suddenly, something clicked. An apprehensive excitement filled her. Sooo, that's what this was all about...it made sense now. Especially the conversation she walked in on earlier, between Deste and Dante - though she only heard part of it, the topic that had eluded her before now seemed quite clear. It was why he had that different look in his eye, that gleam...now, to wait for it. It'd probably be the longest wait of her life.
Her attention being brought back to Dante, thanks to his rather loud interruption of their interruption, Iris smiled....caught in confusion mere moments later by Dante's words. Al...-right? Glancing to her father, who looked especially calm considering what had just been said. Honestly, now. There had to be more to that than it seemed. Heh, of course there was. She almost forgot what kind of situation this was.
"What sort of reprimands are you requesting, your Highnesses?"
Her love stood to his feet after a look from his brother. Her eyes lifted to watch him, she felt a wonderful warmth consume her when he spoke. "I would ask for your daughter's hand in marriage."
Amun Sr. glanced over to his daughter, who was staring lovingly up at the man beside her. He owed her an 'I told you so' later. Heh. This really didn't need much consideration. Deste had won over the Nefretiri from the start, and though the situation looked quite bleak at some points, questions being raised as to how much Deste really did love her if he could almost literally throw her out a door...the boy came through. Something told Amun that he would. Iris told him, in some odd way, that he would...she was right.
"Nothing would make me more proud." he said, smiling. "You have my consent."
~~~~~~~~~~
It was just Iris, Deste and Amun. Junior, that is. And now that her evaluators were gone...well, she still kept her self-control. She stared at him - nothing had changed. Still as arrogant, still as much of a b*****d as he was before...but now, he no longer pushed his sister, no longer threatened her. See, Iris was funny in the way that she would, under certain circumstances, tolerate much, and forgive much...but once she was pushed too far, that fire in her came to its peak. Amun knew that better than anyone. And now, he would have to answer to his crimes.
"I believe you have a story to tell." she said quietly, staring into eyes that reflected nothing but defiance. She knew this wasn't needed, she knew Deste believed her..but something inside of her wanted badly for this to be done, especially so Deste could say what he wished. Amun didn't dare defy her now, though - he was in a room with two people who certainly wouldn't mind killing him. Fine.
"Dear sister," he began, knowing that the title pissed her off. "My story is simple - I attempted to break up what would and could become an embarrassment to the entire Nefretiri line by placing both you and I as the culprits to what I believe was a nearly successful scheme to put impassible enmity between you two, if not kill the possible problem itself."
The look on his face was disgusting. "And who were the members involved in your little plan?"
"Me, myself, and I."
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Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 10:21 pm
"I see." the younger Esterylen Prince answered simply, manner suggesting that with, or without, the explanation, he cared little for that past situation anymore. It was more of a retribution for his star to hear her b*****d of a brother actually admit to the crime...well, let her have what she wanted for the moment. As for the former thief, well...he had a cleared name and a being who cherished and accepted him as no other had ever before. Sentimental? Very much so, but his newly-resurfaced soft side needed some maintenance. Iris liked a romantic one, he knew that much. Luckily so far, his blatant and candid form of such theatrics had kept her close to him as well.
"It is fortunate for you, though..." Deste began, rising from his seat and slowly beginning to pace around to where Amun was resting, "That your efforts were for nothing." His dark eyes, normally so expressive of fury or threat when gazing at the male heir of the Nefretiri line, held nothing but detached politeness; he'd had to relearn how to be "nice" in his two months back in his birthplace. His status no longer allowed for any open hostilities...at least until the other noble lines accepted his mother as the new Queen. Until then...tolerate them. Just as he had to tolerate this life form.
"I would consider it unfortunate, still." Amun challenged with that classic touch of condescendence. "As my dearest little sister is still quite attached to you. Please, don't take offense," he commented even while his tone suggested that he was waiting for some explosive reaction, "I am only concerned for her safety."
"Touching." was Deste's only reply as he reached the brother's side. He knew the b*****d was expecting more, but the man wasn't going to give ground. Still, he'd had enough of this conversation. In a show of mock civility, he presented his hand to his future brother-in-law in an offer of amnesty. There were a few hanging moments of slightly apprehensive silence, but the clasp was made and done within a few seconds after that.
Turning and stepping back towards his fiancé - and noticing the curious look she was giving him - Deste offered her a smirk before offering his arm to her. As she rose to take it, he commented, "Oh yes, and Amun....Take care to tread lightly around Lenore, especially if she -is- training any griffins you may be acquiring in the future."
-------
The three Albinian nobles invited their newest member to the Rosaylen estate later that evening for dinner, though Deste knew that his half-brother and Norene wanted to get to know her better, without the presence of her family around. Bah, fine...might as well let them have her now than later, when she'd be under even more scrutiny from the rest of the royal court and would need a good word here and there.
The ex-criminal excused himself from the irritating presence of his brother sometime after twilight and went out into the back grounds to wander about the trees. Solitude was still a valuable thing to him, and he got little of it in Albion, and would probably be getting even less of it upon his return and the news of his engagement spread. Hmph...he wondered how his mother would take to Iris. They were both the same, and yet not; perhaps that was what had attracted Deste to his affection in the first place.
"Deste?"
He blinked upon hearing the voice of the woman who had just been on his mind. He was losing his touch already, if she had been able to walk up to him without him even noticing. But, he turned to look at his beautiful flower with soft eyes and a half-smile, beckoning her to join him under the starry night. Yes, he valued his solitude, but having her presence was better than being alone. "Are my siblings done with their examination of you?" he asked lightly, beginning the banter for the night as he slipped an arm around her waist.
She shook her head, answering with a sly smile, "Norene is nice enough, but I'm not sure if I could stand marrying into a family with someone like Dante interrogating me."
He glanced down at her with a raised brow. "Oh? And who said you were even marrying into said family?" He smirked when she blinked at him. "We're not engaged yet, love. Not officially, anyway. I haven't even proposed."
"Ah, but you do have my father's consent."
"True, so..." Unwrapping his arm from around her, the man took her hands into his, smiling warmly and never taking his dark eyes from hers as he went down on one knee. "Star of my night, will you marry me?" He presented her with a ring, an ornate gold band inlaid with rare black diamonds. Untraditional, but he was wondering how long it would take either of them to notice.
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Posted: Sat Dec 16, 2006 3:05 pm
She smiled down at him, trying to take in the details of this moment. This was the man who stole from her, tried to kill her on more than one occassion...but loved her as much as she loved him. It was amazing how one auction and once chance encounter could have led to this...and to think, she had considered not going to that auction in the first place.
Oh! Right, an answer.
"Yes, Deste, I will." she said softly, allowing her to place the beautiful ring on her hand...though, it did seem a bit familiar. Hmmm...
Oh well. She'd ask later.
~~~~~~~~~~
Iris sighed, returning to her room after the retrieval of food for her griffins. It was the night after their official engagement, and she had only seen him twice in that 24 hour period, both for short amounts of time. Of course, there was also the fact that he wasn't allowed to do his normal ritual and visit her in the night either, which...well, she understood it, but it still irritated her. The Egyptian woman glanced down at the ring on her hand, smiling through the irritation. Well, she did have one thing that could keep her occupied.
Taking up a good portion of her bed was a new addition to her little family. He had arrived earlier that day, at her door, from the family of her fiance. He was a gorgeous adult griffin, with a snow white body and red stripes on his ears and neck and back. His hind feet and tail were tufted in a deep crimson, and his beak progressed from a bright to dark shade of red. His larger wing feathers had differing colors of bright red and crimson and ruby and maroon in gread stripes, while the smaller alternated between white and red. He was a big, strong, beautiful creature with intelligent red eyes and a calm temperment. Apparently, his coloration mimicked that of an exceedingly rare fish...she named him Elrok.
So now it was Ma'at, Sekhmet - who was still away for training -, and Elrok...hmmm. She wondered how Deste would react.
The large bird coo'd as she sat down on the bed and stroked his feathers as Ma'at ate her dinner rather ravenously on the floor. Mmm...it was long past when she would have normally gone to sleep, and yet she felt nothing compelling her to the dream world. Perhaps she would make it a point to see more of Deste tomorrow. The seperation was making it more difficult for her to actually sleep.
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Posted: Thu Dec 28, 2006 6:32 am
"She's really very nice, Deste. I'm glad that you've found someone so...brilliant, and who you adore so much."
"...."
"Hah, and who can tolerate your sorry a**."
The conversation with his cousin and brother had left him both irritated and hopeful. Norene liked her, and despite his idiot elder's teasing, it was apparent that he approved of Iris as well. Well, that was one problem overcome, albeit a small one. The biggest nuisance would be getting his damned father to take to the idea of his son marrying one who wasn't royalty. Though lucky for him, he knew that an engagement of any kind once proposed had to be honored, at least on his side. If his affection decided that she wanted to back out, well....Bah, he couldn't honestly say that he wouldn't fight for her back. And it would be one hell of a challenge....
And, challenge number two for the night presented itself in the form of an uptight and twitchy Lenore.
"...What?" the man asked after she had apparently scrutinized him for a few minutes.
Auster let out a low whistle, which Kalei returned. The griffins were on good terms, even if the owners weren't. Her reply came slowly, in a guarded tone that suggested she was ready to start raking at him at any given moment. "Sekhmet should be sent back to her owner for a night or so, to see if she will obey another person other than her trainer."
Hmph. Damn girl never referred to his fiance by name. Something to do with jealousy, as if saying the word "Iris" stung her pride. Which, considering, it probably did, just because the cold-hearted woman thought that he would be her's simply by default; fate had ordained differently, much for the sake of Deste's sanity. "Very well, I'll take her over to Iris' tonight when I go to visit."
...Ugh, wrong thing to say.
"You're going to see her?!"
God damnit, just yell it for the entire city to hear, won't you...."Why yes, does her Holiness have a problem with that?"
He didn't need to look at her expression to tell that Lenore was fuming, and trying to find an excuse for him to stay put through social etiquette as befitting his new rank...."You know you can't just leave and show up unannounced! It's not right!" Hmph, starting on her revenge already. Vindictive little b***h.
"Right, right..." he said passively, the indifference and the fact of his not-paying-attention thick in his tone. "I'll collect Sekhmet and be on my way then."
-------
It had taken another twenty minutes of Lenore, and then Dante and Norene to an extent, badgering him about going to see Iris before he could actually get away. Bah, let them be angry; he hadn't seen the flame of his heart - or rather, spent some decent solitary time with her - in months. Hmph...at least his aunt understood that, and had eventually silenced his cousins and brother from stopping him.
Purely out of custom did the former thief swing in through her back window, which was unlocked as always. He left the two griffins down by the front door, intending to let the pair in to join Ma'at once he'd let the owner of one of the two know that he was intending to spend the night with her. Hmph...three griffins to deal with now, between the two of them.
He pushed open her bedroom door, surprised to hear a hissing sound over the din of what sounded like the tawny adolescent feeding. Glancing up, Deste's black eyes met the intelligent gaze of an obnoxiously bright, red-feathered bird sitting to one side of the woman's bed. The person on the bed said something, but he didn't hear....so that was what his brother had been snickering about....said brother was going to pay for this. Somehow, someway.
But for the moment, the man simply walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him as he suppressed an annoyed groan. Alright, make it four avians between them...luckily, three of which were his fiance's, but still...God damned...
He went down the stairs and let the two others in, watching them follow the scent of food up to the room.
....He had been hoping that this wouldn't end up being a stressful night. Mmmph.
He returned eventually, when he was sure that the masses of feathers had settled down. Leaning against the doorframe, he gazed at the largest creature in the room, then put a hand to his forehead with a sigh of exasperation. "My brother is the bane of my existence."
She laughed at that, and the pleasant sound of her voice made him feel slightly less annoyed...slightly. "Elrok is such a nice one, though. Your family has my lasting thanks."
Deste sighed again, then moved towards her, attempting to smile a bit down at her sitting form. "Right, right. Just get them out for the night." The 'I'm tired' part of his sentence went unsaid. Routine - though they had been apart for some very long weeks - had established that there was a certain tone of voice either used when they were ready for sleep. Iris got up to shoo out the four birds, taking an extra moment to familiarize herself with Sekhmet again, and gently ease the red one out.
He watched her with his dark gaze, sinking into her beauty, her fire, and just how much he loved this woman who made him act so strange. Strange, not only in word and deed, but in feeling also. She cast a warming light on emotions that he had tried to kill years ago...but she, indeed, was making him go soft. And in a way, he didn't particularly mind.
Or, he was just very, very tired right now.
But not too tired to step up to her and gently pull her into an embrace. He lingered for a long while, enjoying the feeling of being close to his Egyptian flower as she pushed herself further into his arms. Mmm....his mind strayed to other, less noble thoughts for a moment, but on the other hand, they were engaged now. Perhaps it wouldn't hurt....And he always did have the excuse of their "game" to use.
Chuckling slightly at the thought and earning a strange look, he shook his head, murmuring, "Nothing...let's sleep, my love."
Perhaps...perhaps not.
((Shmeh, I feel like I'm killing his character. But considering that I haven't handled him in a few weeks. >.> Whatev. *bounces off to sleep*))
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Posted: Wed Jan 03, 2007 5:18 pm
Iris couldn't exactly say that she didn't expect his reaction, because she did. Even so, it was still highly entertaining. She giggled as he came in and then left, no doubt cursing over the fact that she had yet another bird in her home. What? She liked them. They were beautiful, loyal, fun...and, they would protect her should she be unable to. Admittedly, Iris knew that she was in a slight bit more danger now that she was marrying the Esterylen line's newest prince. One would think twice before attacking a woman with three gryphons and whips.
Again, she liked them...apparently, his family knew that.
Eh, he would get over it. In a few days.
It felt so good to have him near again, have his scent mixing with the scent of jasmine in her room..even that cute little look in his eye when he wanted to go to bed. Finally, after everything, he was still here - this time, for good. One glance at the ring on her finger reminded her of that. The next little while would still be bumpy, and she knew that - all the specifics of the engagement still had to be worked out. She still had to meet his parents. All of that, though, didn't concern her. Very little could shake her before all of this - now, she was as solid as anything.
She forced her brain to leave these thoughts be as he took her into his arms, she let him hold her...until she heard his quiet laughter, a soft chuckle. Pulling back, she looked up into his face. She had a....slight idea, but instead of voicing what she thought he could be thinking, she simply gave him an odd look.
"Nothing..."
Yeah, right.
"Let's sleep, my love."
She smiled, putting a hand on his face and pulling his head down just a bit so she could kiss him long and hard, passionately and deeply...since, after all, she hadn't been able to in quite a while. It was a good while before she released him, smiling as she sat down on the bed, gently pulling him down with her.
"Alright, bed...but tomorrow, you and Elrok get better acquainted."
"Feh."
This almost felt like the peaceful conclusion to some long, difficult battle...perhaps, that's exactly what it was
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