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 Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2013 8:15 am
~~~ Rufus Arthur Rayne ~~~
 "I thought you should be comfortable whilst you learn your lesson, Little Mouse. But you have many questions to answer first."
He walked forward, leaning on his bed post and staring down at Meme. "First, why did you lie to me? I could have helped you - forced marriages are distasteful, but not if you know how to get out of them. We could have found a way for you to be with the stable boy." He gripped the bed post hard. "But to carry on under my nose is something I cannot allow, accept or live with."
He drummed the post with his fingertips. "So, I have three choices. I can send you off to your lover, after ensuring neither of you talk, but you will still be married to me.
I can have the marriage - our marriage - annulled.
Or I can keep you here, after which it will be assumed that we consummated the marriage, then lock you in the dungeon."
Twenty.
Prince.
Next In Line.
Soon-To-Be Wed.
Trapped.
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Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2013 10:03 am
** Meme Pear **
Meme was truly scared now, it was about time to start telling the truth. "You have the wrong idea! We're not like that! I promise!!" he said as he shrunk away from the man as best he could. "Me and him are just old friends, we grew up together in the village!" Meme knew their plan had come to an end, he would not subject his lifelong friend to this kind of abuse, not when Meme could prevent it.
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Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2013 5:11 pm
~~~ Rufus Arthur Rayne ~~~
"Riiight. So all the sneaking around was for - what? I read the note, Meme." He tutted. "Lesson one of secret affairs: never give a note for your lover to the butler of your husband. Pick a less loyal servant, one whose discretion could be bought for a few coins. Of course, the fact that you sent such a note at all is very... damning. But these little lessons must be learnt."
Twenty.
Prince.
Next In Line.
Soon-To-Be Wed.
Trapped.
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Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2013 5:30 pm
** Meme Pear **
Meme couldn't help but to let out a small chuckle which soon disappeared when he saw Rufus' cold and serious expression. "All it said was that I needed to go away for a while, I was afraid that you would be angry with me if you found out what I was really doing here in the first place." Meme's expression went blank suddenly and his skin turned white, he hadn't meant to let that last bit of info slip.
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Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2013 6:13 pm
~~~ Rufus Arthur Rayne ~~~
Rufus gave him a curious expression. "'What you were really doing here'? What does that mean? I -"
He was interrupted by a knock on the door. Assuming it was Kuro with an urgent message, Rufus stomped to the door and opened it barely a crack so no-one could see inside. A nervous servant handed him a message and ran off, clearly aware that his employer was in a 'give-a-wide-berth' sort of a mood.
Rufus closed the door and glanced to Meme. "I think I'll read this in your room, for privacy." He left to read it, coming back in five minutes with a confused frown on his face. "Who are you?"
Twenty.
Prince.
Next In Line.
Soon-To-Be Wed.
Trapped.
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Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2013 6:25 pm
** Meme Pear **
And with that, it was all over. He knew Rufus couldn't be fooled any longer, now he knew the truth. "I'm not royalty like you.....I'm a peasant, a nobody. I came here to see if you really were going to marry someone just because someone told you to. It would have been terrible to not love the person you marry." he said softly, his voice becoming low and depressing. "I'm sorry, I never meant it to go this far."
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Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2013 6:53 pm
~~~ Rufus Arthur Rayne ~~~
Rufus blinked at him slowly. "You married me. We are married, and you don't even know me, so how can you love me? Are you a hypocrite, or do you think I can love anyone on less than 48 hours acquaintance?"
The Prince paced in front of his bed. "I don't understand you, but I'm a Prince. I don't have the same choices as you do." He waved the letter in his hand in front of Meme's face. "Neither does the woman I'm supposed to marry. She wants to find a way out. She..." He trailed off, staring at Meme for a moment before starting to laugh. "Well, I guess I'll end up not married to anyone. We'll annul this marriage so you can be with that stable boy or whomever, and she and I will announce our lack of martial intentions to our fathers. Oh that'll be some real fun!"
He sobered as he pictured it: his father going to strike him, her father going to hit her; Rufus trying to take both blows; chaos. "Real fun." He moved forward and released first Meme's feet, then his hands. "Wait here. Get dressed - we can't see the vicar without proper attire."
Rufus left Meme to dress, going to find Kuro. When he found him, he asked for him to release Akito, then went to wait outside his room for Meme.
Twenty.
Prince.
Next In Line.
Soon-To-Be Wed.
Trapped. ♫♪♫♪♫ Akito Nakamura ♪♫♪♫♪
Akito had fallen asleep a while ago, hanging uncomfortably from his chains and having nightmares about the fate he and Meme faced.
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Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2013 7:12 pm
** Meme Pear **
Meme stared at the Prince for a moment or two, watching the panic rise in his expressions. Meme quickly got dressed and followed Rufus out the door. "Wait---uh...." he said quickly and loudly, but once the word escaped his lips he found himself at a loss to produce more. "We don't have to get anulled, she doesn't want to be in a forced marriage and I'm sure you don't either! I know we don't know much about each other but by the time your father returns to the castle an anullment would make the palace government look unstable! He'll have no choice but to allow us to stay married!" Even Meme was surprised at how much of this statement came from the top of his head, but it was a very plausible strategy.
}{ Kuro Suji }{
Luckily Rufus didn't have to search very far for Kuro. The butler understood his orders clearly and quickly headed for the dungeons. "Wake up!" he called to Akito, shaking him awake and getting the boy's wrists free. "Change of plans." he said softly when Akito was awakened.
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Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2013 7:35 pm
~~~ Rufus Arthur Rayne ~~~
Rufus frowned at Meme. "Why would you want to remain married to me? The only way my father will accept our marriage is if he thinks we've consummated it already, but if we do that - there's no divorce in our family. So unless you're fatally ill, the only way out is an annulment before everyone believes we've slept together in the biblical sense."
Twenty.
Prince.
Next In Line.
Soon-To-Be Wed.
Trapped. ♫♪♫♪♫ Akito Nakamura ♪♫♪♫♪
Akito stared at Kuro, suspecting some kind of trap. "What happened? Is Meme alright? What changed?" he blurted as he stumbled around, trying to stay upright when his legs had turned to jelly hours ago.
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Posted: Wed Oct 16, 2013 11:16 pm
** Meme Pear **
Meme nodded approvingly. "Then that's what we should do. I know it's not ideal but nobody has to know I'm a peasant, nobody cares about us so we're not widely known. How do you think this is going to make you or your father look when the kingdom finds out that you made such a foolish mistake?" he desperately wanted to stay married or at least living with the Prince. He wanted to prove to the other that he could be trusted, he wanted to learn more about Rufus but he had to admit, he sure didn't make this easy.
}{ Kuro Suji }{
Kuro gripped Akito's arm tightly. Peasant or not, Kuro was still a bit angry that the two boys tricked them. "Yes...your peasant friend is just fine." he sneered as he dragged the boy with him back to Rufus' bedroom, waiting outside the door for further instructions.
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Posted: Fri Oct 18, 2013 10:00 am
~~~ Rufus Arthur Rayne ~~~
"I think he'll be more worried about the reaction of my real fiance's father..." Rufus muttered, pulling the letter out of his pocket and sighing. "But as long as you have no objection, I would prefer that we help her out. What we need is to get her father out of the way - I can handle mine - and let them think I intend to marry the girl so she can be free. It says she's in love with someone else, so we find this man, check that he's suitable and shares her feelings..."
The Prince paused in his planning. "Why do you want to stay married to me? You'll probably fall for someone else in the meantime and then where will we be?"
Twenty.
Prince.
Next In Line.
Soon-To-Be Wed.
Trapped. ♫♪♫♪♫ Akito Nakamura ♪♫♪♫♪ Akito waited beside Kuro, worried about the judgement and punishment they were about to receive. Suddenly his legs gave out again and he fell forward. "Please, just tell me whatever it is you're going to do to us." he whispered to Kuro.
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Posted: Fri Oct 18, 2013 10:58 am
** Meme Pear **
Meme couldn't believe the Prince didn't remember, but maybe that was a good thing, that memory could be Meme's little secret. "I won't fall for someone else. I know what I want." he said softly, blushing gently at the thought of the two of them staying married. He couldn't believe that his dream was coming true.
}{ Kuro Suji }{
Kuro managed to catch Akito when his lags gave out and picked the boy up who was surprisingly slightly heavier than he looked. "I don't know what's going to happen to you two. But for now I think you need to go to the infirmary and make sure you're okay." he said softly, this was just about the only time he had ever made a decision without consulting his Master, but he guessed Rufus wouldn't want Akito to look too mangled.
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Posted: Fri Oct 18, 2013 11:44 am
~~~ Rufus Arthur Rayne ~~~
Rufus shrugged and opened the door. "I'm going to write the letter and then we'll get your friend and Kuro to deliver it. We need to word it so that if the two kings get hold of it then they won't know a thing." He looked to Meme. "We'll stop off at the kitchens and get you something to eat since you didn't eat much. Then to the library to write the letters."
Twenty.
Prince.
Next In Line.
Soon-To-Be Wed.
Trapped. ♫♪♫♪♫ Akito Nakamura ♪♫♪♫♪ Akito blushed at being carried by the butler. "A-are you sure you want to carry me? I could just lean against your arm or something."
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Posted: Fri Oct 18, 2013 11:50 am
** Meme Pear **
Meme nodded, it sounded like a justifiable plan. "Your father is going to be furious won't he?" he asked, though he already knew the answer. If Rufus was this brutal with him then his father had to be much much worse. "About dinner....what happened? I remember eating and then my head was fuzzy and my eyesight began to blur. Next thing I know I'm in the bed." he said softly, feeling embarrassed for how the Prince had tied him up for everything to be revealed as it was.
}{ Kuro Suji }{
Kuro shook his head. "Be quiet......you're weak and need rest. It's not a problem." he said rather coldly. Kuro placed the boy gently on the bed in the infirmary and instructed the nurse to deal with Akito's wounds on his wrists. The nurse busied herself and Kuro stayed at Akito's side. The boy was so weak and frail, Kuro could do just about what he wanted with the boy; with that thought he stood up and turned his back on Akito as a subtle but bright blush appeared across his cheeks.
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Posted: Fri Oct 18, 2013 12:15 pm
~~~ Rufus Arthur Rayne ~~~
Rufus coughed, looking sheepish. "I wanted to know the truth and I- uhm... I drugged you and I'm sorry. But you deceived me and I thought you were in love with that stable boy. I couldn't understand how you could run away, or how you could lie to me when I gave you a chance to get out of the marriage - I was furious."
Twenty.
Prince.
Next In Line.
Soon-To-Be Wed.
Trapped. ♫♪♫♪♫ Akito Nakamura ♪♫♪♫♪ Akito answered the nurse's questions and watched Kuro. He didn't trust him, but carrying him and looking after him was something gentle that he hadn't expected. He just caught the blush before Kuro turned around. He started to ask what was wrong, but he started coughing. The dungeons were freezing and he'd been wearing nothing much for several hours. He started shivering madly and curled into himself.
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