Imprisoned! Again! (Spice)

[Paradox]

Well, it worked. Draven was pissed and Laighean only took small and childish satisfaction in that. He rolled his eyes at Draven though, " Oooh . Ah'm so scared o' ye. What will ye do, Draven? Patronize me some more? " He sneered. " Go ahead because ye got no room t' talk!"

He refused to let his brother get a word in edgewise and ranted on, "And ye think Melora is going to be easily duped by ye? Ah see 'ow she keeps 'er jewels, Draven. An ' ah see 'ow she keeps 'er daughter. Ye aren't gettin' anywhere near that amulet unless ye 'ave Aella's 'elp which reminds me...what did ye tell 'er about us anyway? Why did ye tell 'er me life was in danger? Are ye tryin' t' use 'er?" After the lies he'd fed Draven, it made him seem every bit as much of the hypocrite. "Wait... does she...?"

His thoughts were interrupted by the approach of the guards. "Reajh is a city, not a town and ah doubt th' whole city is gonna be fixin' to go ghost 'untin'. " He shook his head, "Ye go back to the inn. Ah've got somethin' to do and ye can yell at me til yer blue in the face but yer not changin' me mind."

[visualspice]

"Typical Laighean, always arguing," Draven growled. "But now is not the time to be fooling around with girls. I said for us to get back to the Inn and I mean it!" And the sound of the guards approaching fast made him swear.
"Come on, before Fiona gets worried."

[Paradox]

"Ye mean typical Flannchadh! We all argue! " Except maybe Fi because she wasn't a hardheaded dummy like Laighean and Draven clearly were! Laighean kept moving onward, "And ah meant what ah said, ah'm not goin' with ye! Joost get it through your thick skull!"

Maybe he should have told Draven the truth ,but even so...he had a feeling that Draven wouldn't have changed his mind. "Ah'm goin' t' see 'er. Ye go back to Fi . It's about time you played the babysitter fer a change since yer the one who thinks she can't take care o' 'erself. "

[visualspice]

"Laighean.." Draven growled, but as he reached for his brother's arm, it seemed he could not grip onto him in their ghostly forms. Swearing under his breath, he moved to stand before him. "Don't you think you've made a big enough mess here? Come on. We've got to find a way to get back home anyway. We've been in this world for too long. And if you keep after that girl, things'll be worse than just a few mordecai bells ringing in your name."

[Paradox]

"Me? ME!?  Maybe , if ye'd told me what ye were up to - maybe if ye 'ad included us in on yer little plan, maybe if ye trusted yer own family and stopped tryin' t' play the god damned 'ero then maybe ah'd give a shit! " Laighean snapped at his brother. " WE were worried about YOU. Ah came lookin' fer YOU. Mother told us to take care o' each other! Do ye unnerstand what that means,Draven?" He laughed bitterly and shook his head, " No, ye really don't. An' ah'm done talkin' to ye. Ye wanna follow me, then fine because ah'm not goin' where you want!  " He passed right through Draven.  Ah the convenience of being a ghost. 

[visualspice]

Draven began to chase after, but was quickly swearing through his teeth. Melora couldn't see him like this- nor could the guards, and angrily he stared at the back of Laighean's disappearing form.
"Laighean!" But what more was there to say? His brother was practically at the front gates, and the guards, coming up around the bend. Growling, Draven took off, slipping through a nearby wall and hoping the guards wouldn't capture his brother. Didn't Laighean realize this was just all too dangerous? Why couldn't he just be patient so Draven could formulate a plan and explain?

And Draven wasn't the only one upset with Laighean, as Aella remained, face down in her pillow. Though after the tears had long dried she sat up, finding she couldn't sleep and rang for her maids. A nice warm bath always made her feel better, so she had them draw her one up and soon she was slipping out of her night clothes and disappearing behind a privacy screen ad into the warmth of the steamy bath-
But even in the comfort of the tub, she found tears again and lightly sobbed as she contemplated what she ought to do with herself. Her mother was upset, she had mis-read the affections of another boy-
And to make matters worse, the said boy could be killed, he was a mage and right now- her mother was already going through potential suitors for her for an arranged marriage!

And as the events rolled over inside her mind, she only found herself sobbing once again.

[Paradox]

Of course the gates would be closed and of course there had to be guards there standing vigilant. He thought of the city guards that were likely not so far behind him and sighed. At least Draven had finally given up on him.

Laighean paused very briefly to weigh his options. It would have been easy to just walk through the gates and past the guards except...they held torches which meant he probably shouldn't try his luck. He circled around back and passed through the gate. As he stepped onto the lawn and neared the estate, light from the torches resting on the walls fell over him, causing his form to become solid once more. " Well, ah guess that's convenient since ah seem t' be the only ghost in the world that can't levitate. " With a sigh, he looked up. "Alright. Duchess's daughter...probably in one of the rooms on the uppermost floor. Right. How to get up there?" He glanced over at the large oak tree and his eye followed the trunks and branches which stretched out to one of the windows. But whose window? Ah well. He'd figure it out when he got up there.

"What should ah say to 'er? Hm . Aella, um...ah'm sorry that ah dannae understand what's wrong with ye. " He wrapped his arms around the trunk and proceeded to climb up, wrinkling his nose at his own words as he went, "Ach! No, Laighean. That sounds horrible! Damn, let me try again. Uh...ah joost came t' check up on ye cause I was worried about ye. Yeah. That's better, right? " At the top of the tree , he leaned across the small gap to peer into the window and of all the rotten luck his foot slipped and Laighean fought to maintain his balance....

but he might as well have just jumped because gravity won over and he went falling backwards , knocking down a torch and falling....

And Aella might not have noticed it first , but slightly above her head the hindquarters and legs dangling out from the wall. And she might have heard the muffled voice of Laighean just on the other side , "Oh you have GOT t' be kidding me!"

Poor Laighean! He was stuck!

((Sorry if this doesn't make sense. I tried. loool ))   

[visualspice]

Aella hadn't even begun to enjoy her bath when suddenly part of a man came through her.... wall? Blinking, her lips fell open as she gasped and tried to hide herself to keep modest, but at the sight of legs dangling, her now gaping lips suddenly let out a scream-
but at recognizing the voice, she found herself blinking as her hand slapped over her screaming lips to silence herself.

"L... Laighean?"

Was... was... STUCK in the wall? Or, she supposed in this case, partially stuck as it were. Though it was mortifying to be caught in such a way (and she was sure he felt the same) she rushe to grab a towel and partially stood in the bath with it over her.

"Laighean- what are you doing in the wall!?"

[Paradox]

If the window to his left hadn't been open a crack, Laighean wouldn't have heard Aella as well as he did. She wanted to know what he was doing in her wall and he didn't think the obvious answer was the type of response that she expected. Covering his face with his hands , Laighean sighed heavily. "Believe me, this wasn't exactly 'ow ah'd planned t' make me grand entrance." Actually, there really had been no grand entrance planned at all. The plan had to been to find an open window and slip in through that , not fall through a wall ass first and the get stuck there. Thank the Guardian Draven wasn't here to see this. This was...pathetic.

He tried to wriggle his lower half, hoping that maybe he'd be able to pull himself out but no . He was held fast in place . " Ah...uh...well, ah felt sorta bad about leavin' ye in a bi' o' a mess, lass. Ah joost came to see 'ow ye were doin'. "
He wiggled again and no luck. He could feel his other half , his legs flailing about on the other side. "Okay, this might sound a wee bit creepy , but could ye uh...maybe blow out th' light sources in yer room so ah can get oot of 'ere? Th' light makes me ...solid. " And then he added, "Please?"

[visualspice]

Aella's head was reeling. This was just too much, but as his request sunk in, she realized what was happening (sorta) and her face twisted as she hastily moved out of the tub, but gasped as she clung to her towel.
"Just promise you won't peek when I do!" She said, bath water dripping down her legs and her heart pounding in her chest.

[Paradox]

Laighean quirked a brow, "Peek? " Was she ...? He grinned devilishly, his tone somewhat giddy, " Are ye naked? Aw, c'mon nae lass. Ye 'ave nothin' ah- er ah mean, yes. O' course. Ah promise to keep me eyes averted. Cross me 'eart." And he meant it too. He always honored a lady's wishes. Besides, he was already treading on thin ice with Aella as it was. Best not to do something foolish and break it or he'd have Melora throwing his ass in a cell again or just cutting his head off right on the spot!

[visualspice]

Aella still flushed, even though he said he'd comply. Quickly wrapping her towel around her as best she could, she made quick work over to the candle before blowing it out. Turning around, she blinked when she didn't see Laighean through the darkness.

"L.. Laighean?" And she took a few hesitant steps forward, her eyes barely beginning to adjust to the dark while she left a trail of wet foot prints in her wake.

[Paradox]

When the light was snuffed out, Laighean felt the feeling in his other half numb and the rest of him slipped through the wall and down into the tub but , of course, because he wasn't corpreal he also fell through the floor and - oh shit! He'd fallen into the kitchen and could see a group of servant women hard at work below , cleaning. The women were too busy at the moment talking to one another in hushed whispers about the duchess's daughter and her rumored mage lover. Wait. What? Where had anyone got that crazy idea that he and Aella were...?

Surely, her mother didn't think that! Or maybe she did. Well, no wonder she wanted to murder him! 

In his panic, he learned how to levitate quickly. Up he went , coming back up through Aella's floor to hover beside her. "Here. Oh... right." He'd almost forgot not to look at her directly. "Thank you. Fer a moment ah thought ye were so upset ye'd make me 'ang there all night. " He laughed nervously, "Ye can put the light back on if ye need. Ah'm good nae." 

[visualspice]

Aella gasped when he fell through the floor, then when he floated back up, she found herself gaping. And she was so much in shock by it, she couldn't even talk! She just gripped onto her towel, water dripping off her form. But as reality came back to her, her eyes fluttered as she took a hasty step away from him. "Oh, n-n-no, I'm fine with it off I just-"

And a knock at the door had her gasping again.

"Aella?"

"Oh no!" It was her mother!

"Aella, I'm coming in!"

whirling around to look back at Laighean, she hissed out a whisper, "HIDE!"

[Paradox]

Hearing Melora's voice made Laighean's heart leap up into his throat and his eyes widen . Oh shit!  He nodded at Aella ,but he had no idea where to go. Outside would have been the logical choice but Laighean floated over to the nearest and first place his eyes settled on. Her closet. In he went and there he waited and held his breath.

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Storming behind the privacy screen, Melora looked down at her child with wild eyes.
"What happened? I heard you scream!"

Aella flnched back at her mother's expression. Her mother looked frightful and when she peered over her shoulder, Aella hung back. "Mom! Did Dad follow you up here, too?"

"Yes, we had both heard the screaming and came immediately. Did that boy show up?"

"What?" Aella was taken back.

"The one from the party. The mage boy- did he come in here and try to harm you?"

"What? NO!" Aella went on, suddenly growing angry as she shook her head. "I just slipped in the bath tub. I used too much soap."

"Slipped?" Melora looked appalled, and not quite satisfied with the answer. "Aella, darling, you're far too young to be able to take a bath without servants- but do I need to call one in here to aid you with the rest of one?"

Aella, panicking, shook her head fervently.
"No, I should be alright. I just need to finish rinsing and then I'll be able to get back to bed."

Melora, keeping her eyes sketpically upon her daughter, finally conceded with a nod.
"Alright... but do call if you need anything. We have two guards stationed out front of your door."

Aella grimaced. "Guards?"

"Yes, that mage is on the loose and we are not taking any chances!"

Chances from what? She dared not asked and stiffened as her mother gave a hug and kiss to her head.
"Sleep well, Aella- or at least do the best that you can. This week will be a busy one for you."

"Oh.. okay..." Not daring to ask WHY, Aella just watched as her mother left before standing there, quietly in the room while loosely holding her towel. Great... now what? She had just defended Laighean- and she was upset with him! Grimacing, she turned back to the bath and contemplated finishing her tub- but then recalled- right..
Laighean was still looming around. She blushed at the thought of him seeing her bathe. No way! He wasn't allowed! Especially not now! Now that she disliked him very much!

[Paradox]

As soon as he heard the door close and the duchess's retreating footsteps, Laighean breathed a sigh of relief and cautiously poked his head out of the closet, "Phew. Tha' was close. " He looked at Aella and ...uh oh. That expression on her face when she looked his way felt a wee bit ....angry. What had he done now? "Uh...okay. Ah'm nae really sure why yer lookin' at me like tha' but yer makin' me a wee bi' nervous." Not that she could hurt him when he was like this but he still shrunk back .

[visualspice]

"Oh, as if I'd be happy you'd show up, Laighean!" she told him in an angered whisper. She didn't need to alert her mother, after all. "Why did you come here?" And she turned away from him, gripping her slipping towel a bit more tightly so he wouldnt ge ta show, then smoothed it down to save some face. "I was hoping we'd never see each other again."
Ok, so it was a bit dramatic, but she really would rather wish he hadn't come. This was awkward, at best.

[Paradox]

"Ouch. Ah already told ye tha' ah was joost worried about ye. " Laighean's humor was gone because she was genuinely upset and he wasn't sure how true her words were , but he only needed to know that she wasn't all that pleased to see him. And that fact stung a bit, because he still didn't understand why she was so mad with him. 

"Alright, so somewhere between now and me last escape, ah've said somethin' that's upset ye an' ah'm tryin' t' understand what. " He crossed his arms and stared at her back, "Are ye upset because I kissed ye?" She'd made such a big deal out of that and when he'd asked her a simple question, she couldn't answer him.

[visualspice]

Aella was taken back by his forwardness and gasped, clinging to her towel even tighter.
"NO!" Then she realized.. "Well, maybe. Partly so! But kissing me was a rotten thing to do!" she said, tears now stinging her eyes as she looked back at him, her upsetness beginning to make her tremble. "Especially when... when... when you don't even care for me that way!" And as much as she tried to be strong and hateful in that moment, after she spat the words out with anger, she began to suddenly sob right afterwards. Turning away from him, she began to hastily make her exit. "And I'd rather we not talk about this. I need to go to bed. You should be careful when you leave, the whole city is after you." And she tried to brush away her tears as she made her way bck to her bed.