Imprisoned! Again! (Spice)

[Paradox]

((This is a continuation from Apple Fritters and First Kiss Jitters. It's not an open thread so skidattle D:< ))

Laighean didn't resist his captors. He left , much to the surprise of the guards, in a fairly peaceable manner. He didn't want to cause any more trouble for Aella than he already had. Surely, they weren't going to lock her up too for something so silly as talking to a strange man...

The cell door slammed in his face and the warden of the prison leaned forward to sneer at him through the bars, " Any trouble from you and I'll gut you like pig , rip out your innards and hang you with them, understand?"

Laighean nodded, " Aye, ye make a clear point, sir.  Ah'll behave meself."

The warden looked at him dubiously , but nodded , seeming satisfied with Laighean's cooperative attitude. With lantern in hand, he stomped away, leaving Laighean alone in a cold, barren, dimly lit cell. "Well, this looks somewhat familiar." Laighean sighed and found a place to sit down on stony ground. "Me brother's probably going to want to kill me, ye think?" He looked up as if to inquire the goddess. "Well, ah say this is better 'n joost sittin' around an' waitin' fer somethin' t' 'appen."

"Sssh! Pipe down , boy! " The grumpy old codger in the cell next to him snapped. "I need my beauty sleep!"

Laighean peeked curiously through the bars at his neighbor and wrinkled his nose, "Aye! Ah'm not disagreein ' with that!"

"Sssh!"

[visualspice]

Aella had been dragged to her family's manor home they were staying in within the city of Reajh. It was all the fashion for the dukes to take up a home there so when events such as the masked ball happened, they had a place to stay and be able to mingle with the high society. But now, Aella and her family had retreated to their manor home much earlier than intended, and her mother was fuming mad.

Aella remained, her head down in reproach, as both of her parents took turns to tell her how disappointed they had been. And talk about her unmarried state came up, which made Aella's ears perk up when her mother talked about an arranged marriage.

"But mother.." Aella gasped. "I don't want an arranged-"

"But nothing! You are the daughter of the Duke of Hellvion!" her mother reminded. "And to be unwed and without children at such an age is a crime in itself. Let alone what happened today... Aella, do you not realize what potential you have for greatness? How is it that all of the training we've put you through you have yet to find a man to court you?"

Aella, not being able to put her two cents in until now, was growing frustrated and upset.
"Well if you would have let me explained the last situation, Laighean wanted to ask you if we could court-"

"You would DARE even consider courting a mage!" her mother spat back, eyes flaring with madness. "I should strike you I am so mad!"

Terrified, Aella recoiled, and the rest of the ride had gone by in awkward silence. Once in their manor home, she was sent to her room. With only a candle to light the place, she was already in her night dress and in bed, but tossing in turning for several hours, she found she could not sleep. Sighing, she sat up, and found her parents still discussing things outside of her door. APproaching it, she listened in with an ear pressed to the wood and frowned. They were still talking about her unmarried state, and the longer she listened in, the more upset she became.

Her parents were talking about her as if she were some sort of fool. And were already making plans to set her up with a betrothal. Finding herself quite upset, she threw herself into her pillows and cried while clutching onto one of her stuffed bears, hoping that when she'd wake up- this would all just go away...

[Paradox]

The cold , hard floor of his cell wasn't all that comfortable but Laighean managed to find sleep briefly. He had been confident that he'd be released with a warning come morning. Afterall, he hadn't done much harm. Sure, he'd nicked a drunk's clothing and masqueraded as a duke's son, but the silly bastard should have known better than to be so careless. Really, it was all just a bit of fun!

"Captain's orders. The mage's head rolls in the morning. " The Warden was saying quite loudly and he grinned across the room, staring right at Laighean. When the mage sat up and looked, the Warden made a gesture across his throat.

Laighean glared at the man. These people seemed to be offended by magic and everything related to it. They seemed to want to eliminate him for that very fact alone, " Look, ah'm sorry for the wee trick ah played. Ah meant no 'arm by it. Really, if ah wanted to 'arm anyone ah-"

The Warden stormed over to Laighean's cell and stuck at the bars with his mace, "Shut up, scum!"

"No. Ah won't. This is silly. Why are you people so afraid of me? Magic is not that bad. Maybe if you'd joost give me a chance t' show ye-"

The Warden snarled and struck the bars again, aiming for Laighean's hands . Laighean quickly released the bars and stepped back in time to avoid the crushing blow, "I told you to shut your blasphemous mouth!" The Warden spat nastily. "Open your mouth again, mage and I'll come in there and kill you myself."

Laighean rolled his eyes at the man , "What difference does it make if ah'm t' die in a few hours anyway. Ah say come in 'ere and try yer luck but ah'm willin' t' bet ye danne 'ave the stomach fer it.  "

The Warden's face turned bright cherry , but then his expression brightened and he laughed, pointing at Laighean. "I see what your plan is.  You thought you'd trick me into opening the door and using your powers to escape, eh? You don't have me fooled, mage. I have heard all about you from the Duchess.

They say your magic works in the presence of Mordecai. So why not just use it now to escape, eh? Or was the Duchess exaggerating ?"

Laighean tilted his head, "Oh, well ah dannae know what Mordecai are."

The Warden burst out laughing, "How is that, mage?"

Laighean shrugged, "Ah dannae. Ah come from Aerona."

"Aerona?" Another guard inquired, his expression confused. "My mother used to read me stories about the place. It's just a legend. "

"No, it's real, lad. Ah assure ye. " Laighean replied with a shake of his head.

"He's mad. Don't listen to the silly git. " The Warden spat.

"No, really. Ah am from Aerona. "

The guards were amused.

"Oh yeah, and next you'll be telling us you're the King of this myth?" The Warden sneered at him.

Laighean shrugged, "Nae. That's me brother. Ah'm joost a prince. "

"Really? You're the prince of Aerona? So , then the whole ghost thing?"

"Well, " Laighean wondered if they really were that stupid. It was certainly worth a try, " Ah danne if ye boys could 'andle me real form. "

The guards looked at each other, all doubtful looks but they were amused enough by their insane mage captive to humor him. "Go ahead, prince of Aerona. Show us your true nature."

"Very well, but ah need ye to do joost one thing fer me. "
"And what's that?" The Warden smirked, confident that the crazy man was doomed to failure.

"Open the window behind ye. Ah need a connection to th' outside for me powers to work. "

The Warden nodded and waved to one of his subordinates, "Do it. "
Window open , Laighean nodded, "Thank ye. Now, a little bit of magic..." He raised a hand , palm extended out towards the window, he focused his mind and sought to connect with the energy outside . Finding a source of water wasn't difficult in Connlaoth as the season left the air particularly damp. He drew the moisture to him , and his hands gradually grew cold as ice . He grinned and blew a breath to his palm, spraying an icy blast across the torch just outside his cell, chilling it and snuffing out the flame.

Swathed in shadows, the man became ethereal.

" Ansgar! He-he's not lying! "

The guards jumped back.

"Idiots! Shut the door!"

Laighean chuckled and passed right through his cell. "Thank ye, boys. Ah'd love t' stay and 'ang around with ye but ah've got places t' go an' people to spook. Hehe! See ya!"

"You're not going anywhere, you monster!" The Warden snarled and drew his blade. He charged for the ghost , slashing first. He gasped when he passed right through Laighean , his blade cutting little more than air. The sensation left him chilled and stunned. The crazy mage wasn't so crazy after all.

"Well, ye tried." Laighean chuckled and walked right out the front door, leaving the guards to sit there in stunned silence.

Now free, Laighean wandered around the streets of Reajh and did his best to stick to the shadows and more secluded areas to avoid being seen. There was no doubt in his mind that he'd either wander his way back to the Grand Palace and try to regroup with Draven or head to the inn and hope that Draven might think to go back there . Ultimately, he decided that the inn was probably the wises t choice and he slowly made his way there. The quiet walk home had him thinking of Aella and how livid her mother had been. He hoped that she wasn't too hard on the poor lass because she hardly deserved it and he would have eagerly taken every ounce of punishment for her if he could.  He'd thought about trying to see her again to apologize but no. He'd probably only make things worse . "Bah. Ah'm doubtin' she'd want t' see me right now anyways."

[visualspice]

And see him again she did, though neither probably expected the reunion to happen so soon, the moment Laighean stepped beneath a lamp light and solidified, a figure, cloaked in pretty velvet, (and perhaps some bed sheets loosely entwined?) smashed into his form as a girl let out a cry.

"Oh! I'm so sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going..." and as the woman turned around from where she and the man now lay sprawled upon the streets, she gasped when she realized, "Laighean!?" And he too, was probably just as surprised as she! For the poor girl could not take any more of what her parents had done- and though it was blasphemous, she let her emotions get the better of her as she snuck out of their city manor home and was making haste towards the jail.

"So they let you go?" She was quite surprised, considering she had over heard her mother condemning him to death!  "I.. I.. I just thought... thought that they would.. you know.." and she cringed at the idea, worry and relief evident within her violet eyes. ANd slowly she picked herself up off of the cobblestone, still too dazed to believe what was happening!

[Paradox]

It was an entirely unexpected thing that he'd bump into someone else this late in the evening. He'd thought he'd been careful enough and aware of his surroundings, but apparently he'd missed something because someone's slight form crashed into him and he grunted, "Ach! " The force of the smaller body colliding with his hardly moved him , but it did enough to slightly startle him. He stumbled backward a couple steps and tried to steady her, but in his surprised state he clumsily tripped over his own feet and fell over onto his back with a lass draped over him.  "Normally, I'd give me beard to be in a situation like this, but uh...this a wee bit awkward and embarrassing. Ah dinnae see ye either, lass. Me apolo-"

As they were both apologizing at the same time, he hadn't quite heard her voice. He stopped himself and grinned cheekily, "Ladies first." He listened and blinked. And he uttered her name at the moment  that she did his, the shock clear on his face.

"Well ah..." Laighean grew slightly nervous at her question. Tell her the truth and sound like a total criminal or lie to her and feel like one? Mother always said he'd been a horrible liar so probably not a good idea to even try, " Not exactly." He chuckled nervously, "Ah might have used a tiny bit of magic." And then he added  hastily , "No one was hurt. I joost spooked the guards a bit, ah think. "

[visualspice]

"Oh!" Aella said with a wilted sigh of relief. "Thank goodness you're ok! I was afraid to wake up hearing you've been hanged!" And she looked awfully frightful of that as the lamp light illuminated the pair. But then as the facts sunk in, she looked around before gasping and looking at him, hearing the alarm bells beginning to ring.
"Are those..  those bells for you?" And it was only then fear and reality caught up to her. That's right! If he was ok and had escaped, he'd be a convict!

[Paradox]

"Actually, they were talking about beheading, but that's all in the past and here I am all in one piece. " He grinned, quite pleased with himself. He frowned at the mention of bells and strained his ear to listen, "Bells what- oh. Nevermind I hear them. " He shrugged, "Ah danne. Maybe? But Aella um. There's something ah should probably tell ye because once I leave the light , things could get a little uh...confusing." He ran a hand through his hair, "The thing is I... I'm a..."

They could hear the rush of clanking metal against the cobbles. "Oh crap. You should probably go. I dannae want t' get ye into any trouble."

[visualspice]

Aella strained her ears in hopes to hear him say the three words she had been waiting to hear her entire life- and if it were to be true, to come from the lips of the man who wanted to court her...
But oh! The sound of guards frightened her so but at his talk of her running off alone, she refused and shook her head.
"No, I'm not going with out you! We should run away together! Besides, how well do you know these streets anyway? I thought you weren't from around here? Come on! We haven't got the time to discuss this anywyas!" she said, growing fearful as the guards neared and.. taking him by the arm, she dragged him with her down the street until she realized, quite suddenly, his arm was no longer in hers.

"Come on, Laighean! We can't fall behind or they'll-"s he pressed, turning around and then- halted dead in her tracks as she peered at the ghostly form of her 'could' be suitor and she turned about as pale as the moonlight.

[Paradox]

Why was she looking at him funny? Laighean took a nervous step back, not quite sure why she seemed so eager all of a sudden to know what he had to say. He had a feeling that what she was expecting and what he wanted to say didn't go hand in hand. "Er..."

He blinked when she said she wouldn't go without him. "Run together?" Well, that wasn't going to be so easy for her once the light was gone. How would she react to that? He could picture it now. There would be fainting or screaming. "Aella, ah dannae think that's a good i-" Too late, she grabbed him by the arm and dragged him along behind her. And he ran , but as soon as they left the light, his form grew cold and her hand lost grip of him as it passed right through his now ethereal figure.

Now she looked at him with an expression that he wasn't sure that he was comfortable with.

"Ah'm sorry. Ah should've told ye sooner but ah dinnae know 'ow. Please don't freak out?"

[visualspice]

"Wh... I... uh.... huh?" Aella, still gaping, fumbled over words that entangled upon her tongue- and though under ordinary circumstances she should have fainted, her eyes blinked a thousand times before she tested what she saw, waving a hand through him before giving a yelp.
"You're... you're .. you're..." but she couldn't finish that thought, violet eyes growing terrible wide at the realization, even as the sound of armored boots drew near.

[Paradox]

Laighean quirked a brow at her, waiting patiently for her to finish stuttering. He took a single step towards her , grinning sheepishly and offered helpfully when her words failed her, "Yer eyes be not playin' tricks upon ye. Ah'm a ghost. Aye. In the absence of light, this is what ah am. So, are ye gonna scream, faint or flee now?"

[visualspice]

Aella's eyes remained as large as pinwheels.

"I.... think... a few of those options? But definitely I think fainting might be in there, oh ..And there go my legs." And on cue, she began to fall towards the ground.

[Paradox]

Laighean tried to catch her, but of course, being an incorporeal being doomed him to failure. Aella fell right through him, probably feeling a rush of freezing cold as she did so,  and landed on the pavement with a dull thud. Laighean flinched at the sound and looked down at her with a frown, feeling guilty. "Er...y might want t' get up . Ah dannae think yer parents are going t' be thrilled t' find ye out 'ere. " He nudged her belly lightly with his boot which passed through her, doing little more than making her feel cold. 

[visualspice]

Shivering,s he peered up at Laighean with a wince.
"I... I don't think I can. My legs feel useless!" But at the sound of the guards coming around the corner, she gasped as their shadows advanced upon them.
"Okay, time to make these useless legs work!" And using the nearby wall, she pushed herself to her feet and began to run, and as she passed beneath a lamp, she turned back to Laighean to tell him to hurry up, when she suddenly collided her nose painfully into his shoulder.
"OWE!"

[Paradox]

For a moment, he thought she was just going to lay there. And there was no question in his mind that he wouldn't leave here out here alone. As he was, the guards couldn't catch him anyway unless ,of course, they had some way of catching ghosts that he didn't know about! When she finally was up, he followed behind her closely. Well, he had to make sure she got home safely! That was the thing to do, right? He was sure that's what mother or Draven or his sister would expect. And who knew? Maybe he'd get a little ....

Now was not the time to be thinking about that! Aella stopped suddenly as they passed beneath a streetlight and turned around, making the mistake of moving towards him and smacking into his now solid form.

"Sorry. Eheheh. Ah'm right behind ye, lass. But , ah...where are we goin'? " Because he honestly had no clue.

[visualspice]

Aella rubbed her now throbbing nose.
"I don't know! I'm just running! Come on!" and she grabbed ont his hand and once they were running again and no longer beneath the light, she gasped as his hand faded through hers.
"OH! I'm never going to get used to this!"

[Paradox]

Well, that was...reassuring. Having nowhere else to go, Laighean shrugged and resumed following her.

"Give it a couple hundred years and ,trust me, ye will!" Laighean replied with honesty and just a little humor.

"Well, ifn' ye 'ave no destination, might ah suggest th' inn me an' me siblings were stayin' at? Ah mean, th' streets be no place fer a lady, ye know. " Laighean offered and pointed westwards, "Ye joost turn down th' street tha' way."

[visualspice]

At his words, Aella stopped dead in her tracks.
"Wait, how old did you say you were? What do you mean a couple hundred years!?"
It seemed she hadn't even heard his last suggestion, either!

[Paradox]

Laighean stopped a few seconds too late but since they weren't in the light, he passed right though her. "Oh, well , ye know. Joost a couple hundred years old give or take. " He said this so casually as if it didn't mean a thing and he shrugged, " Ah dannae know. It was sorta - ah lost track of time, ye know? Ah joost know from the moment we cursed t' now, the world is a lot different than ah remember it so ah was thinking a couple hundred years must 'ave gone by or somethin' like that. Maybe a thousand. Ah'm not really sure, but ah'm not sure why we're talkin' about this now. It's not like it's a big deal, right? "

((lulz))

[visualspice]

"A... couple... thousand?" her jaw hung open as she nearly ran into another lamp post. Shaking it off and keeping her feet moving down the street, she called back to him. "But you're so much older than me! Why did you want to ask my mother if you could court me if you were.. were.. so .. so old?" She scrunched her nose. "But how is it that you look so young?" It was so confusing! "You look barely older than me!" And the turn she made she had no idea had her running in the opposing direction of the Inn Laighean was staying at rather than towards it.