The seven Duchies of Central Rynmere and their respective baronies, cities, towns, villages, and landmarks each overseen by a Duke of one of the seven noble families and ultimately controlled by the King of Rynmere.
“Scary?” Velaine mused playfully. She kept forgetting that he worked with criminals, tasked with keeping them in line – especially when they were standing so close like. Imagining him as an intimidating figure wasn’t a difficult thing to do. She did get a glimpse of his aggression. “Is it going to worse than you pinning me to a tree and nearly stabbing me with a spear? It’s going to take a lot to scare me.”
The young Krome laughed lightly at his jest. “Cocky, aren’t you?” Seemed like Nathaniel was slowly getting more comfortable around her. That was a good sign. Not counting the kiss, they had always been stiff and somewhat awkward with each other. It was normal, but considering that they would be spending a lot of time together in the future, she would rather be able to have an actual conversation with him. He was certainly more unaccustomed to playing the game of socialization compared to her. “I suppose you have no qualms with me being much younger than you?”
Nathaniel gave her a rather charming smile. “I suppose we should get to learning. Do you know how to waltz? I am not trained in the art of being a gentleman on the dance floor.”
Pressing her lips together, Velaine nodded slowly. It had been a long time since she danced with anyone though. “I think so. Vaguely.” The young woman straightened and squeezed the Endor’s shoulder lightly. To say they would fumble and stumble would be a sore understatement. “As I recall, you start with your left foot stepping forward and my right foot will step back.”
Carefully, the young woman instructed the Endor and if he paid close enough attention, he would notice that Velaine was quite unsure of what she was doing. She was clearly no dancing teacher or a dancer of any kind. After he stepped forward, Nathaniel was to step to the side with his right foot and bring his left foot there too. “Did you get all that?” asked Velaine, trying to discern whether she was going too fast. She wasn’t even sure that she got it all right. “That’s only the first part. The second part, you’ll start with your right foot stepping forward.”
"I was not angry with you then, Velaine. I was irritated. Being tempted with something I cannot have is not a favorite past time of mine," Nathaniel stated firmly, adding only a small bit of warmth to the statement. She could read into it all she wanted; she probably would be correct. The carnal need in him was stimulated that day and had been a nuisance since. It would probably be unfitting for a man in a betrothal, but he would have to scratch that itch when he got home in some fashion. Then again, what she didn't know wouldn't hurt her right? Until then, he would keep her safe and comforted in his arms. No man could have her. She was his. Period. Whomever felt like trying to claim hers would see the real monster out of him.
Nathaniel had shaken his head to her comment. He did not care of her age and had no inclination to ask. Even he could feel the sting on his cheek from the countless times he had asked women their age. It was apparently not appropriate for men to do that.
His attention was drawn to her guidance. With his eyes directed on his feet, he took a step forward with his left foot. She mirrored his motions and, under her direction, he moved his right foot through and to the right before bring his left foot in to meet. Long, short, short. Long, short, short. The motion reminded him of a memory where a maid had been teaching her young daughter how to dance like a noblewoman. Nathaniel had watched from the alcove, unseen. His curiosity had gotten the better of him that day and it seemed to be coming back to him. "I think I understand the gist."
He moved his right foot forward stiffly. It came ever closer to her toes and fancy shoes; however, his eyes remained directed to the floor so he never officially stepped on them. Again, he moved his foot through and to the left with a small step to finish the motion. Nathaniel stood there, lifting his gaze to smile triumphantly at Velaine. "I'll certainly learn more from you than I ever will from my own mother. Did Baroness Sophia teach you to dance?"
Nathaniel continued the motion slowly, ensure that his gaze was on his toes whenever they moved. When he started to feel confident, he lifted his gaze so that he could look at Velaine and hold his torso up. His shoulders had gotten a bit tired from looking down the entire time. This overconfidence claimed him quickly. Since he was no longer sure of their step size or where his feet were, he managed to step on Velaine's toes. This brought him down immediately because he attempted to correct himself. Nathaniel was starting to fall on top of her as his weight shifted forward. "Oh shi-"
“Being tempted with something I cannot have is not a favorite past time of mine.”
The young woman tilted her head slightly at his reply, needing a moment to take it in. A startlingly honest answer and Velaine didn’t quite know how to react to that. She wasn’t so innocent not to catch on what he was saying, but she couldn’t be entirely sure either. Nathaniel Endor was still very much a mystery to her. Still, she gave him a knowing look. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
Fortunately, the topic went by them quickly enough as her betrothed began busying himself with the dance steps. Velaine kept light on her toes, her feet trying to react match his movements. Nathaniel caught on swiftly enough and it didn’t take long for them to move about the room. He still kept his gaze on their feet, but it was understandable. “Maybe we have hope not to embarrass ourselves in a middle of ball after all.”
Velaine shook her head at his question. Unlike Maderson, Sophia Krome did not bother to waste her time for silly things like teaching her daughter dancing. “My mother hired an army of tutors when I was younger to make sure I was the flawless example of a noble lady.” It had upset her – when she was basically a child – that her mother spent so little time with her. Now as a grown woman, Velaine couldn’t look back at the memory with a bitter taste on her tongue. It made her plan so much easier to carry out.
After a few more tries, the young woman squeezed her partner’s hand so that he looked up to her. “Maybe it’s time you try to keep your eyes on me.”
Turns out, they weren’t ready for that.
Immediately, Nathaniel stepped a bit too far, too fast. When he stepped on her foot, her first instinct was to pull it away – which only caused her to stumble precariously. She did not even have the chance to right herself when the Endor’s body surged forward, pushing her back.
The Krome yelped as they both tumbled onto the ground, Nathaniel’s weight on her. Her back hit the ground first and she groaned in response. As Velaine tried to reorient herself, she heard it. A pair of hurried heels clacking against the wooden floor. Before the newly betrothed pair could make any move, the door swung open with a bang.
There must have been someone or something playing with them at that very instant. How else would one explain the convenience of a man falling atop a woman just as both mothers arrived? The peach dress had provided such a beautiful wave of soft fabric about him as he collapsed forward, brought down while trying not to crush Velaine's foot beneath his bumbling boot. Unable to recover an upright position, Nathaniel did the one thing no one should do when falling forward.
He put out his hand.
With the right still holding the space just beneath her shoulder blades, Nathaniel tried to stop as much of his weight as he could with his now free left hand. This caused him to slump over her to right as he did not have nearly as much support. A grunt escaped him as he bore the pain in his now sprained wrist. His head had landed on his chest, and he remained there for a trill or two. Long enough for the real damage to occur.
"Nathaniel!" Maderson's exasperated scream could be heard throughout the Kingdom if one was listening hard enough. Dazed, Nathaniel lifted his head from its soft pillow to see how bad this really looked.
The way they had fallen had put his face practically in her breasts with one hand pinned under her body. When he picked himself up, it looked even more aggressive given that he was holding her so close. One knee had hit the floor between her legs while the other was kinked at the knee over her hips. This could only look worse if they were naked. Nathaniel slowly disentangled himself, offering her a hand to help her up once he was standing.
"Mother, this is all a simple misunderstanding," Nathaniel, despite his racing heart, tried to relay calmly. "We were practicing the waltz just as you had asked wh-"
"Enough you womanizing brute! You dishonor yourself. You dishonor your father. You dishonor me! Do you intend to dishonor your betrothed and her family! Tighten your lips and hold them shut."
He wanted to yell at her, to tell her to stop calling him things that hurt his feelings. Nathaniel wanted to understand why she had been so aggressive during this outing. She had been nothing but cruel and unforgiving to him this entire time. It was drawing a string of hatred he had never felt before towards his mother. Yet, he held his lips shut as he had been commanded to do. If he started yelling, he really would be an animal. All that time, he would not have let go of Velaine's hand.
On the contrary, he would have tightened his around hers.
Last edited by Nathaniel Endor on Thu Dec 21, 2017 5:45 am, edited 1 time in total. word count: 453
Still, Velaine also had her fair share of an overreacting mother and she had to say that Maderson’s reaction was far more severe than it should be. She didn’t even give Nathaniel to explain, already shrieking abut dishonor. Saints, if this was what Velaine had to go through for the rest of her life… As if to prove her point, Sophia simply stood behind the female Endor, looking at her daughter with a raised eyebrow.
It was only when Nathaniel tightened his grip that she realized that they were still holding hands. The gesture made her turn to look at him. The man was wounded up and tense, grudgingly keeping his mouth closed after being snapped at by the baroness. It hurt him, she could tell.
The young woman smoothed her face into a more neutral expression, meeting her future mother-in-law’s furious gaze. Five trials of being treated like a brat – she had quite enough, actually. The Krome already had her own mother to deal with, she did not need another reason to regret re-entering the nobility. “Baroness Endor, forgive me if I sound too brazen, but Nathaniel and I are adults. I think we deserve to explain ourselves rather than being reprimanded like children.”
Just to make sure things didn’t go too out of control because of what she said, Velaine let her spark come to life as she spoke. It flared easily, greedily taking in all the strong emotions in the room. It was almost enough to disorient her. She shut out Nathaniel’s tangle the best she could – the emotions nearly took her entire attention because they were touching. The empath focused on the tangle in front of her instead.
Unsurprisingly, the scarlet red of anger jumped into her vision. There were more threads wrapped around it, but she didn’t have the time. If she could have, Velaine would want to explore what had caused such fury from the older woman – but that was for next time. She took the threads and wove them with each other forming a mesh – something Elrik had called Hemming. One thread over the other, a twist here and here. As long as she kept her grip on the lattice, Maderson’s tangle would be unable to form new anger threads.
Squeezing his hand, Velaine gave her betrothed a meaningful look. She wanted him to be the one speak up. A part of her was saying that she shouldn’t get involved in their family drama – the meddling would get her in trouble. It wasn’t wise. After all, it was crucial for Velaine to prove to the Endors that she would be the wife they imagined. Yet, she wanted to. He deserved better than getting told to shut up by his own mother.
Maderson knew better than to reprimand Velaine and had hoped that Sophia would come to her aid. Nothing was said. Instead, she could not even muster up the anger any further. She would have yelled at the both of them equally, but something had taken hold of her. Her anger, instead, simmered. It was unable to get stronger with Velaine's abilities tying them up. The threads that Velaine had not taken the time to investigate included worry and sadness. A lot of her anger and mothering had been brought up by the fact that she was losing her son. Maderson had seen them keeping a distance; yet the subtle glances were enough to tell her that this was going to be much more. Nathaniel was her only child. She had loved, and would continue to love, him since birth. Maderson let out a refined breath before nodding.
"Alright. Explain yourself my boy. This better be good."
Nathaniel was taken aback but relaxed his grip on Velaine's hand. No one had ever been able to divert Maderson's rage before. He looked to Velaine. This seriously had to be some kind of witchcraft. Or Maderson just liked Velaine. He turned back to his mother, beginning his explanation. "I am not good at dancing. You know that. Velaine was showing me the waltz, just as you had asked. I had tried to lift my gaze when I stepped on her foot. She fell backward and naturally I fell forward. There was no stopping it."
He was carrying his left wrist a bit odd because of it. "I respect my betrothed. I respect the bonds that our families are trying to create. I do not take this lightly Mother. Now, if you will excuse me, I am done with this. I need to go ice my wrist."
Nathaniel let Velaine's hand go, nodded to Baroness Sophia as politely as he could before storming for the door. There was no way to tell who would follow him. Maderson was certainly taken aback to the point that she did not follow. Baroness Sophia was already beginning to console the other Baroness. Inside, his own anger was boiling. His temper was just as bad as his mother's and if he continued attempting to explain himself, he would have become her. Once outside the door, he stopped to lean against the wall. His fingers touched his wrist lightly, causing him to wince.
It had worked. Somewhat. Velaine wasn’t sure how long she could hold on, unsure of what the consequences might be. If she was lucky, Maderson wouldn’t piled up too much anger before the empath finally released her influence. Something caught her in surprise, however. Another emotion, creeping up around her grip. Stronger. The color was blue, steel blue. Sadness… bordering on grief. Odd.
Nathaniel had looked down on her with surprise, clearly expecting something entirely different from her mother’s response. If it was enough to make the Endor notice something was slightly off, the mage would keep in mind not to try anything similar any time soon. Perhaps it had been unwise of her to use her empathy in such a trivial manner, but Velaine did not want to see Nathaniel’s face if Maderson was to continue.
It seemed like all the women was frozen as Nathaniel left swiftly. The young woman’s gaze followed him, unsurprised that the man was quite upset. What should have been a simple dance lesson had spiraled into an uncomfortable direction.
Before the tension in the room could grow, Velaine lowered her head and curtsied in front of the two baronesses. There was no un-awkward method to walk away from this. “Forgive me, Baroness Endor, Mother. Perhaps it is time for me to take my leave, if it is to your pleasure.”
Sophia sighed and waved her daughter away. Velaine could at least trust her mother to smooth things out. After all, she was the one who wanted this betrothal to go well. “Just go.”
She needn’t be told twice. As soon as she stepped out, the young woman broke her hold on the baroness’s.
The Krome found Nathaniel resting against the wall, looking at his hand. She had not missed his cursing and hesitated for a moment, wondering if it was a good idea to approach him. Velaine wanted to, needed to ask if he was alright – and she couldn’t say why.
The Endor was wounded, because he tried to stop himself from falling onto her. The least she could do was help him a bit. Pushing all her worries away, the young woman walked over to him with stormy blue eyes. “I’m sorry. I hope I didn’t make things worse. I thought…” Even Velaine wasn’t sure how to finish the sentence. Better to change the subject. Slipping a strand of loose hair behind her ear, she reached out for his forearm gently, careful not to touch his wrist. “Let me see.”
Nathaniel was angling his arm a certain way, clearly trying to not worsen what might have been a sprain on his wrist. It must have hurt, receiving the brunt of his entire weight on only one hand. Velaine hoped it was nothing too bad.
The Krome scanned the room, fortunately spotting an older servant, Willem, standing at the other end. He was watching them silently, probably heard everything that happened in the other room. It was fortunate he was the one around, the servant was not one to gossip. “Willem, can you please get me some ice? Maybe some bandages too?” The young woman was no healer, she wasn’t quite sure what things she might need.
“Of course, my lady,” the man replied swiftly with a bow. “Where should I bring it?”
Velaine considered it for a moment. She would prefer not to it here, where their mothers could walk out any second. After the stunt she pulled with Maderson, there was no telling if the anger she had held at bay would come rushing back. It might not – replaced by the sorrow she had sense earlier – but she would rather be safe. “To my study. Be quick about it please.”
Glancing sideways at Nathaniel, Velaine began leading him. A part of her wondered if he might protest.
Nathaniel was wounded, but in more ways than one. He rarely ever raised his voice to his mother and he knew that would be a hard bit for her to swallow. He had heard footsteps coming up behind him, but he did not really react to them. Velaine came up on his side. Of all the women in that room, he was barely relieved that it was her and not his mother. He could not bear to see her pain at that moment. His face was blank, and he let her take his arm and summon help. Ice and bandages; the swelling at his wrist would appreciate those items. Nathaniel followed her quietly, lead along by his forearm delicately. Whispers from the maids would get back to his mother, he was sure. He would pay for this on the way home in some form or another. If he was lucky, his parents would cast him from the carriage to ride a horse home.
When they arrived to her study, Nate found himself moving over to her desk where he turned around so that he could lean his backside on the edge. His good hand was placed on the desk and he set his injured wrist on his leg while he watched Velaine close the door behind them. A private room, for another private room? What did she have in mind? Nathaniel certainly could not be expected to be a perfect gentleman if she put him in a predicament.
"It's not your fault. She must like you not to blow up at you. I have been caught with, er-" Nathaniel cut himself off. Speaking of past rendezvouses was probably not appropriate. "Nevermind. She is just losing half of her world. Father and I are all she has left. She is now trading me away in hopes of a better life; for her, my father, and me. Maderson doesn't like to lose, and I suspect she feels like she is losing right now."
There was a knock at the door as the older servant stepped in with ice and bandages. He handed them to Velaine before giving Nate the look that stated 'don't do anything to the lady'. Nathaniel had no plans to do anything of the sort, even if his body would have been more than willing. "I am sorry. I really am not good at social niceties. Dancing, bowing, kneeling. I work in my mine and manage criminals. That's what I do. I serve the Crown and my House."
Nathaniel was awfully quiet as she led him to her study. When she snuck glances at him, Velaine couldn’t help notice that there was nothing on his face, nothing for her to read. Still, he followed her without any protest and leaned himself against the desk once inside. Velaine wasn’t sure what she could say, but fortunately the Endor was the first to speak up. She noticed his pause as he changed his mind about saying something, but didn’t question it. Before Velaine could respond, a knock interrupted them.
After thanking the servant, the young woman returned and placed the supplies beside him. It seemed like they had given her a clean cloth too. Velaine wrapped the chunks of ice in the thin cloth as she stood in front of him, hoping that it would not be too cold. “Give me your hand,” she instructed, extending her arm so that his could rest on hers.
She didn’t really get it – having never experienced such a motherly love herself. How could Maderson fear losing his son so much? “Why? It’s not like I’m stealing you away and you will never see her see again. The distance between Krome and Endor isn’t that far and she can see you whenever she pleases. Besides, the wedding is still a long way off. You’ll still be with her,” Velaine assured as she rested the ice atop his wrist. It didn’t even occur to her yet that the problem was probably not the distance or the visits.
It must be nice, knowing that someone cared about you so much. So much that he or she might go a little mad at the thought of losing you. The thought suddenly flowered inside her head. Velaine had to look away, reaching for the bowl of ice as an excuse not to look the Endor in his eyes – or he might catch the flash of jealousy there. Sophia wouldn’t have cared if her daughter was to be shipped away to Endor never to be seen again. On the day she was to depart to Ne’haer, neither of her parents had even bother to see her off at the docks. And once she was there, they barely sent her any letter – not at all even on the last two arcs. Not until their heir, Xander, decided to marry an Andaris.
“You do know that you’re saying this to a woman from a house that is known to be brash and uncouth? I suppose there is some truth to that, since I find pretentious noblemen boring, if not outright vexing,” the young woman offered lightly, meeting his green eyes. While having a husband that could navigate would navigate the court have its perks, Velaine had found herself slowly appreciating the way Nathaniel carried himself. She wanted to believe that everything he had done was genuine. And it was true what she said about Krome. Kinder comments about them included the word wild or spirited – unfortunately a lot people weren’t so kind.
Sophia Krome had been driven to chase away the uncivilized blood within her children. Make them more like the rest of the nobility, all prim and proper. It was why Velaine was hammered with etiquette lessons in her every waking hour. Nothing else had mattered. Titania Krome was supposed to be her greatest creation – a beautiful, refined young woman. Now, Velaine wondered if perhaps she might be the most unruly in their family. Sure, she could pretend to be the good lady, following every little rule. But, if she was to be honest, she felt no shame or guilt as she stood in this room with Nathaniel. A proper lady would have already shied away from the idea alone.
“Besides, in just a few trials, we have already broken a lot of proper etiquette rules. At this point, you shouldn’t worry too much about social niceties. In front of me, at least.”
Nathaniel was a large, intimidating man by all standards. Yet, even as he leaned there, Velaine need only to ask him for something. He gave her his hand, wincing when she applied the ice and slight pressure. She was correct in the fact Maderson's fears were unsubstantiated. He shrugged at her statements. "Endor and Krome may be closer than most places, but it is still further than she would like to have me. To her, the ideal situation is that I live in her home and remain her puppet forever. The distance will do her some good."
Nathaniel had heard all of the commoner rumors regarding House Krome. Wildlings and untamed men and women that wore furs and ate meat raw. So far, none of the rumors had been upheld. They could be called spirited and potentially a bit uncharacteristic for a noble, but there was nothing he had seen that suggested them to be feral or monsters. With his good hand, he pulled her chin up so that he might look into her eyes. "There is not one thing about this place that would lead me to believe that you and your family is brash and uncouth. You are simply you."
He shouldn't have even considered what he was about to do next, let alone actually do it. He reached forward with his injured hand, scooping her up underneath her backside so that he was holding her somewhat off the ground as close to him as her knees would allow. Her last statement had only been a reason to urge him on. If he could be himself around her, why shouldn't he be? Nathaniel leaned in close, but not to close. The green of his eyes were highlighted with a few flecks of brown. "Well, I can be a gentleman in front of others. If you do not want me to be a gentleman in front of you, then I can certainly break a few more 'proper etiquette rules'."
