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 Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2014 12:27 am
"My lady! My lady, you ought not to wander alone!"
Her lady's maid had a shrill voice laced with panic more often than not. Since her arrival at Darrowdown, Ysalone had taken it upon herself to discover how many octaves her maid's voice could range. Never before had she found herself so surrounded by servants uneager to leave her alone, and why not have a little fun with them? Sunderland was a drowsy place, after all, stiff and unyielding in its customs.
"Ah yes, ze sun is no good for ze skin, oui?" Ysalone giggled and rolled her eyes as the lady's maid came hurrying up behind her holding a parasol. What had been intended as a quiet stroll down the street had quickly become an ordeal, what with the maid bustling up behind her. The servants here seemed intent on keeping track of her every movement which made her pine for the freedom of her home and made her more determined to escape their prying gazes. It became almost like a game.
A sly smile slid across her face. Ysalone rolled her eyes up to eye the parasol bobbing above her head, and suddenly she let out a gasp. "Ah, non, zis will not do, hein?" She gestured at the parasol. "Zis is too, ah, what is ze word? Too transparent!"
"I'm sorry, my lady, I'll get another!"
Ysalone watched with a half-hidden giggle as the maid hurried off. Quickly, she hiked her skirts up to her ankles so they wouldn't find themselves underfoot, and took off at a run to duck into the nearest alleyway and through to the adjacent street.
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Posted: Mon Jan 20, 2014 2:25 pm
Sometimes it was just easier to go about your errands without a toddler strapped to your chest. It was lucky for him that Kanina had arrived, or else Abigail would certainly have demanded she come along as well. The little fawn was proving herself to be a good companion for the children, and he was grateful. That didn't mean he was going to be leaving them alone with her any time soon, but his healer had mentioned that Guardians were mystical in nature. Perhaps when Abigail was old enough to be left alone, Kanina would be old enough to keep an eye on her.
It was completely by coincidence that he found himself on the other end of the alley through which Ysalone was retreating. He only heard the girl as she was coming up on the road, and it didn't quite calculate that he should perhaps stop and wait until the clopping ceased.
It struck him briefly how odd it was to see a young woman in such voluminous skirts to be running full-tilt through the dark, damp alleys of Palisade. That was just before she actually struck him as they crossed paths. Kade's immediate reaction was to stop and pull his files close to his chest. He was not about to sit on the street and re-arrange three-hundred pages of translated text.
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Posted: Tue Jan 21, 2014 9:10 am
She didn't notice him, so preoccupied was she by the glances she threw over her shoulder to make sure the lady's maid hadn't caught back up. It wasn't until she turned back to watch where she was going that Ysalone realized she was on collision course with a man. Her eyes popped open wide and she all but skidded to a stop, rocking forward on her toes to avoid tipping over on her face. "Ooh! 'Scusez-moi, m'sieur!" She managed, in Gallian so colloquial that her stableboy at home would have given her a congratulatory kiss, and grabbing the man's shoulder to steady herself.
It was all in quite poor taste, if one was being honest. The fleeing through the streets, the unrefined speech, the talking to a stranger who was most certainly not a nobleman. None of it would have earned her bonus points in the eyes of cousin, but Ysalone had decided that Sunderland was dull enough a place that it simply begged a little outlandish behavior. She was doing nothing she wouldn't have done at home, but it all seemed to be more scandalous in this country. Ysalone couldn't say that she particularly minded. Here, just as in Gallia, she was given plenty of room to fulfill her fanciful whims. Presumably it was because Andrus Kinross had more important things on his mind than her behavior; or perhaps he was simply too polite to reprimand the cousin he had never met until she had arrived not long ago in Palisade.
She was about to address the slightly puzzled look on the man's face when, distantly, she heard the frantic calls of "My lady?" drifting toward the alley. "Ah... Venez ici- Come here," she said hastily, twining her arm through the crook of his elbow and dragging him unceremoniously back the way he had come and around the corner until they were out of sight of the alley. When their safety seemed assured, she stopped and allowed herself a sheepish smile as she peered up to finally get a good look at the fellow who must by now be extremely confused or annoyed or even both... She bit her lip with the air of uncertainty that had gotten her out of trouble countless times before and said, "Pardon, m'sieur, I am sorry to 'ave dragged you 'ere."
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Posted: Fri Jan 24, 2014 1:01 pm
Ah, so she was not only a noblewoman but a foreign noblewoman. He barely recognized the dialect, and were it no for its similarities to the common tongue he might have taken offense. At least she hadn't thrown him far in their collision, and the man gladly acted as a somewhat startled pillar for her to right herself. For her to take him with her, though; that was unusual.
It was a bit difficult to politely take a lady's arm when you only had one yourself. As the young woman had reached up, Kade had been unsure of how to react. He hadn't been in the presence of a proper lady since he'd lost the limb. She'd seemed determined, however, and so he lowered his documents to offer a more accessible angle and allowed himself to be dragged. The man's brow was furrowed, his eyes searching his unusual companion.
"Ah, it's no problem, milady." It was strange and unexpected for certain, but Kade knew his place. As it was, he only saw this side of the city when a delivery had to be made. "I have to say, I am a bit confounded as to why we're here? Hiding from a servant, are we? You certainly seemed to be retreating quickly..." A small smile graced his features. Some day his girls would be this age, and perhaps just as rebellious. At least they wouldn't be expected to remain at home as proper gentlewomen.
Nobility seemed to work differently here than it had in Feoulor. He had often been amidst royals and leaders in his younger years, but he was fairly certain that this woman wasn't even supposed to be speaking to him, let alone escorting him into dim alleyways. It struck him then that he had been speaking a bit informally to someone of her class.
"Is there something I can help you with, milady?"
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Posted: Sun Jan 26, 2014 9:39 am
Even the commoners in Sunderland were surprised when their nobles didn't quite act the way they were "supposed" to! Ysalone had to smile, more due to a frustrated sense of amusement than anything else.This country was such a bore. The stableboys at Darrowdown all but fell over themselves in shock whenever she showed her face and most retreated to stammering barely coherent, single-word responses to her attempts at conversation. The lady's maids only knew how to parrot silly words of advice on how to stay warm and safe, and the footmen... oh, the footmen didn't even bear thinking about, so stoic and silent were they in her company.
She looked over at Kade and threw up her hands. "Ze people 'ere, zey are so very... ennuyeux. What is ze word? Boring?" A quick glance over his shoulder ensured that they were both still safe from the prying eyes of her lady's maid. "Mon cousin, eh? 'e is ze golden boy of your noblemen, but I 'ope zey are not all like him, because 'e is too, euhh... proper."
Not that Andrus wasn't perfectly charming. All of the whispers she had heard about him were true, and he was certainly a desirable company. But somewhere along the way, Sunderland had gotten the better of him. Ysalone knew what she saw: every once in a while, it came to the surface, some old spark that suggested adventure and the craving for a thrill, but it was all buried deep inside.
Then she had a thought. Her smile returned, bright and mischievous as ever. "You can 'elp me, yes," she began. "I 'ave 'eard ze men of Sunderland are all gentlemen, oui? Will you let me stay with you for a few hours?"
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Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 4:10 pm
Kade was watching the young woman speak with something like shock written across his face. She apparently didn't need help from anything, and the way she was looking back down the road said that she had no intentions of returning home. Maybe not all noble folk were quite as stuffy and subdued as his experience in Sunderland had insinuated.
He had no idea what 'ennuyeyx' meant, either. He had a firm grasp on two entire languages, and neither of them involved any such mellifluous words. Propriety told him to not pry, but he was interested in where this woman might have come from. If her fellow noblemen were too proper, however, what did that make him...?
"Oh! Ah, well. I'm not sure you'll want to stay with me. I was just heading to drop off my latest assignment and return home. I have three children..." Even the average woman wasn't too fond of a man with baggage. In fact, he was a bit startled that she had approached him at all. People tended to give strange looks to or outright avoid the big, one-armed man with the facial hair and scars. Call it a cultural quirk.
...wait, gentlemen? Kade couldn't help but chuckle slightly.
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Posted: Fri Feb 07, 2014 1:00 pm
She didn't have any problems with that. Ysalone was not particularly choosy about her companions. Her only criterion seemed to be that they be interesting, or at least bring to her some sort of excitement. While she didn't exactly empathize with the lives of commoners, she seemed to take inordinate pleasure in taking little sneak peeks into them. Some of her best friends in Gallia were commoners, whether her parents liked it or not: the stableboys for whom she always had a kiss and one or two of the footmen. But the ones at Darrowdown were not quite as friendly.
"I 'ave two little brothers, m'sieur," Ysalone replied with a wide-eyed bat of her eyelashes meant to break down the last of the man's defenses. That he hadn't said no seemed to mean that he would eventually say yes, and Ysalone harbored no doubts that she could make it happen. "I am okay with children, yes?"
She leaned up against him and slipped her hand through the crook of his arm again. If she even noticed the fact that he was missing an arm, Ysalone didn't show it. The one that he did have was plenty strong enough for her. "Also, 'andsome men should not do their errands alone."
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Posted: Fri Feb 07, 2014 5:21 pm
One again, Kade bent over to accommodate the young lady's arm. It was a bit of an awkward situation (and one that made him feel like he may drop his manuscript at any moment), but it certainly wouldn't kill him to humor the woman. Maybe if would even feel nice, just for a little while. She did look quite younger, and he would be lying to say she wasn't easy on the eyes. Besides, she'd called him 'handsome.'
"If you say so," he said, relenting with a little shrug. That had not really been that much of a battle. Besides, he'd be keeping her out of the house as best he could. It was possible that she'd just get bored of him by the time they got back. "They're young and nosy. Ah, and the deer as well. We have a deer."
Well, he wasn't sure if 'deer' was the right word, but it was close enough. He actually hadn't seen any natural deer without human companionship since the move.
"Won't it be startling to see you wandering with a commoner? Or do you not particularly care if others look at your cousin strangely?" He smiled and shook his head. "My name is Kade, by the way."
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Posted: Tue Feb 11, 2014 4:58 pm
Her smile brightened and might even have been somewhat triumphant. She was always happy to get her way and tended to without much hassle, as if the people around her just didn't want to put up a struggle. "Ah, bon!"
Without even giving it conscious thought, she was touching him, sliding her free hand down his arm, touch light as a feather. There was something about the longer hair and the beard and the somewhat older, more weathered air to him that seemed powerfully attractive. Then again... Ysalone was capable of finding attractive qualities in almost everyone she encountered.
"Deer?" She echoed, giving him a look that suggested a lack of comprehension. "What is this deer? An animal, yes?" Sunderlanders kept many strange creatures as pets, Ysalone had discovered. She had encountered a lady who owned a screeching, hairy thing she called a monkey as well as a baron who kept what looked like a black and white striped donkey in his stable. Neither had made much sense.
"Ah, my cousin 'as 'is reputation, yes? It is not changing if I walk around with a commoner. I am just ze foreign cousin. I think they even are pitying 'im if they see me with you." Which was just fine and dandy for Ysalone. It seemed that as long as she couldn't overly damage Andrus' reputation, she had few qualms about scandalizing the ranks of Palisade's gentry. "Enchantée, m'sieur. I am Ysalone."
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Posted: Thu Feb 13, 2014 1:39 pm
That gentle touch didn't go unnoticed, causing the man to peer down curiously at his companion. She certainly was a flirt, wasn't she? Kade was a bit upset with himself for not minding the attention. It was just for a little while, just until the girl got bored and headed back to her life of wealth. He had been young and flirtatious once, but that had been quite a long time ago...
"A deer, yes... except not quite a deer," he responded, head tilting slightly to one side for a moment, "You see people with them all the time. Big deer with antlers, little deer, all strange colors. Sort of like pets, but not quite. They come from little figurines, it seems. I'm not sure who in my house is the 'Warden'..." Really, there was still some research to do about the whole unlikely phenomenon.
He laughed at the mention of her cousin's pity and shook his head. How charming, to be a reason for pity.
"The pleasure's all mine, milady."
They were headed toward a home just up the road, sitting on its own acres of land. The man who had commissioned the company was wealthy, but not necessarily nobility. The work had been dry and tedious, but Kade couldn't complain. It kept food on the table.
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Posted: Sat Feb 15, 2014 12:00 pm
"Oh, from ze Wood," she said, nodding. These curious deer were becoming quite fashionable in Sunderland, it seemed. By all accounts, these deer were somehow magical and would somehow save the country from an impending onslaught from some equally magical Wolves. Ever since the Queen had acknowledge the owners of these deer as Wardens, the gentry in particular had taken to the idea and begun to flaunt their companions more than ever. There were banquets thrown almost exclusively in their honor.
"My other cousin 'as one. She is very sweet but she does not like me very much, I think," she said pensively, as if she couldn't quite understand why that would be the case. Certainly, Ysalone had never done anything to offend the deer, though she had never gone out of her way to befriend it either. "She loves mostly her Chosen."
They headed up the road to the house that Ysalone thought rather cozy and charming, sort of like a nice summer home somewhere that one could visit once or twice a year. "Who owns this 'ouse?" She asked, more out of curious habit than any real interest.
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Posted: Sat Feb 15, 2014 3:46 pm
Kade nodded and headed down the walk and up the front steps. Did everyone know about Wardens but him? He'd really need to get out of the house more... come to think of it, the kids needed to see more of the world so they wouldn't end up frightened from under the same rock.
"One Mister Kieslich," he said then, offering Ysalone a polite visual nudge, "I will need my arm back to do my business here." He could easily explain what was going on here, but she hadn't asked. He didn't want to bore an interesting young woman with the tedium of a working life. Instead, he reached out with a foot and rapped three times on the door. There was a pause before a stout middle-aged maid appeared at the door.
"Hello, can I help you?" she asked, appearing for all the world like she had something better to do.
"I have something for Mister Kieslich. An edited manuscript?"
His accent might have caused some question in her mind, as she half-turned and eyed Kade up and down.
"...I will need to speak to him personally," he assured her. She nodded politely and disappeared into the house, but not before giving Ysalone a little glance.
"I think you're throwing her off," the man joked, turning to the young woman. She really was a sight.
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Posted: Thu Feb 27, 2014 12:20 pm
Ysalone let her hand slip from the crook of his arm, doing her best to refrain from craning to peer around the woman who appeared at the door. There was such a sour look on the woman's face that Ysalone thought she had never before met such an unpleasant-looking person. It was rather stunning a sight, a woman's brow knitted so tightly she looked as if she might frown all the time. The girl shook her head.
"This madame, she is not looking very polite," she pointed out when the woman disappeared back into the house. Of course, Ysalone's world was far removed from this. Having been born into a position of privilege, she was accustomed only to the sunny - albeit insincere - smiles that graced her presence daily. Ysalone herself had long since mastered the overly bright, meaningless smile and it seemed to her that any smile was better than nothing.
"Maybe she needs to be thrown off more often, because she is not looking very 'appy with herself," Ysalone added with a small huff. She wasn't about to take personal offense at the woman's demeanor, but there was no denying that some great improvement was necessary.
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Posted: Fri Feb 28, 2014 11:45 am
Kade chuckled at the young woman and shook his head. He couldn't imagine what this all looked like to her from beneath a veil of wealth and entitlement. Then again, she did seem rather more grounded than the other nobles he had met in his time in Sunderland.
"I'm afraid you're a rare flower, Ysalone. very few people are so open to-- ah! Mister Kieslich." Kade bowed politely to the man standing in the door frame, clearly a person of some social standing. He had a well-coiffed mane of salt and pepper, a striking streak of the former across his temple. The two shared small talk for a moment: how are you doing? yes, the weather is just fine. this is the manuscript you requested. The stack of papers exchanged hands before a white envelope, which Kade tucked into his pocket. With a bow and a hand-shake, the door was closed and Kade motioned for Ysalone to continue with him back down the stairs and into the street.
"You didn't hear it from me," he offered, "but that man writes more sex into his stories than any other I've known. I wouldn't be surprised if they never made it to the publisher's desk." If he was going to tell anyone, it would be Ysalone. Perhaps he was testing her feminine propriety, with the way his brow rose and his smile tilted.
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Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2014 7:56 am
Ysalone waited - rather patiently, she thought - as the men conversed, throwing surreptitiously looks past Mister Kieslich and into the house behind him. Without thinking, she was already making judgments, as women in her position were wont to do. The house looked neat enough, but surely with a maid, that ought to be the case. There didn't seem to be much in the way of decoration though, and the house was less well-lit than Ysalone thought sensible.
When the door shut, she turned and followed Kade back toward the street, and her brow arched at the scandalous revelation. "Ai!" Ysalone yipped, tossing a glance over her shoulder and back at the house. "You should 'ave said something sooner, eh monsieur?" She said with a quick laugh. "So at least Monsieur Kieslich 'as at least two people in his audience."
It was all so hush-hush in Sunderland that Ysalone found it almost comical. There seemed to be a certain stigma toward the topic of sex, which perhaps explained why the people here were so prudish. They had a lot of rules and a lot of guidelines for following those rules, neither of which Ysalone took to fondly.
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