Spirits of the Earth

((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!"

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...

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."

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!

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. "

"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!

"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."

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.

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?"

"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.

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?"

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.

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. 

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!"

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.

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!"

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."

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!

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))

"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.

Laighean shook his head , "No, no. Ah think you misunderstood me. I said I wanted to get to know ye like in a friendly sort o' way, not that I wanted to court ye. That's- ah mean , come on now. Don't ye think courtship is a wee bi ' hasty considerin' we only joost met a hanful o' times?"

If Aella had been his little sister, he'd have been really concerned. Fortunately , Fi was not a hopeless romantic. Well, that he knew of? Was she...oh Guardian, he hoped not!

"And the reason ah'm uh... it's sort o' a long story. Truth be told, ah actually danne know 'ow old ah am or why ah look – I was in me prime when me home was cursed . The land, and everyone in it was sort o' frozen in time so ah've been around for a long time but not really livin'-" He noticed now that in her flustered state, she wasn't headed in the right direction.

"Er...the inn is that way." He pointed in the opposite direction which she was going.

Aella, not fully hearing everything he had to say, stumbled in her tracks before turning around.
"Right!"
ANd as she move to follow that direction, she paused to realize as she turned around, furrowing her brow.
"Wait, what? If you had no intentions then.. then.. why did you kiss me?" Though then might not have been the best time to inquire, considering- the guards were well on their way!

Laighean felt very much on the spot, " Ah danne. Ah joost...uh...well, it was joost a friendly peck on the cheek. It's nae like ah swept ye into me arms and planted a smooch on yer lips!" Although he was tempted! " Ah joost - well, ye know. 'Tis a friendly gesture. Me people kiss each other on the cheek all the time. Er...some of the time. Rarely. But ah mean they do ...on rare occasion?" Lame.

"Why are ye out here anyway? " The last thing he would have thought was that she'd been crazy enough to try and see him, but it was crazy enough that she was out here alone. "Ye could get attacked by robbers!"

Aella, blushing embarrassedly at his words, turned away from him. She couldn't look at him. Couldn't see him. She felt so foolish and at his question, she didn't know if she COULD answer him.
"I.. just I.." ANd her voice croaked in her throat, tears stinging her eyes, but before she could even consider a real response, the guards rounded the bed and were right before the pair, shining a light upon them.

"There he is!"

"And he's got a woman with him!"

"After them both!"

Her reaction felt worse than an arrow to the gut. He knew he'd said something wrong , but he couldn't figure out what. "Aella," he was going to ask when the guards caught up with them. 

"Hi there!" Laighean greeted the guards cheerily with a wave. "How ye doin' this fine, night my fine sirs? " He winced and raised his arm to block his view when the light was being flashed in his eyes, "Er. Would ye be so kind as to lower that? "

They did but then one of the guards pointed his mace at Laighean and snarled, "Put your hands up where I can see them, mage. "

"Yeah! And no tricks!"

"Or lies!"

Laighean did as he was instructed,raising his arms well above his head, "Alright. Ye got me, lads! Ah'll go quietly." Of course the swirling white mist gathering around his fingertips spoke otherwise.

"Shit! He's using magic! "

Laighean laughed, "That's right! Ah'm summonin' a fearsome army of flesh eating monsters that'll tear you limb from limb if you come another step closer!"

And the icy mist did swirl forth from his fingertips, forming into dozens of flitting icy little shapes.

"Butterflies? "

Laighean laughed nervously and blushed, "Oops. How embarrassing. That's the wrong spell. Give me a moment. "

"Enough of this nonsense! Grab him!"

Laighean snatched Aella's wrist, "Now's a good time fer runnin'!"  And run they did!

And run they did. Aella didn't have a chance to really register it all, her eyes beginning to blur over with tears as they did so- and the run itself was awkward at best, not just because of her confused, breaking emotions, but because as the torch lights were cast over them, from time to time, Laighean would solidify and they'd bump into one another none too gracefully as they probably appeared a pair of fools to the advancing guards.

"How are we going to out run the guards?" she asked, pathetically wiping at the tears falling down her face. "And what if they catch us and we both hang?"
Oh! She had never been a criminal before, and the more she thought about their situation, the more she wanted to cry.

"Calm ye'self, lass. They're not going hang ye. Ah'm sure your mother will find a way to blame all of this on me.  " Laighean reassured her. Really, did she have to cry now? Couldn't she hold it in and save it for later ? The tears were going to blind her and slow her down, if her emotions didn't blind her to her surroundings first that is.  But he knew he probably had himself to blame for this. If he had known what to say then she wouldn't be such a mess.

And this whole time he had denied all fault in what had happened but the truth was Aella would probably be somewhere else safer and happier if he'd just left her alone at that party. It's not like interacting with her had gotten him anywhere other than on a bad sort of path with his brother.

"I know joost the thing that'll get rid of them," He raised a hand and ,gathered the moisture from the air around them, willing it to solidify into an icy mist which he blew from the palm of his hand back over his shoulder. And the cobbles behind them turned slick and cold, causing their pursuers to lose their balance, slip and fall.

Unfortunately, Laighean was a little cocky in his display of ability and neglected to stop himself in time to preventing the ground beneath him and Aella to turn to ice as well and soon they too were slipping and sliding along. "Ach! This joost isn't me night!" 

With a yelp, Aella went down hard on the cobble stone, dragging Laighean with her- but where they were both positioned precariously over the slick cobblestone, the light suddenly went out as Aella shivered when Laighean turned back into a ghost. And for the life of her, she couldn't help but begin to sob just then. Oh, her mother was right! She was such a fool!

The situation made Laighean feel incredibly awkward because never, in all his years, had he made a girl cry before. As she passed through him, he moved away and , in his incorpreal form, he found it much easier to regain his balance. If he'd been solid, he would have offered to help her to her feet , but as it was he could do little more than look down at her and feel guilty. "Ah. Danne cry, lass. It's not the end o' th' world. " He tried to comfort her, having no idea what was wrong with her. He just assumed that she was afraid of being arrested or something which he thought was silly because she was a duchess's daughter , someone clearly too important to be seriously punished for being a wee bit naughty.

"Do ye wanna talk about yer...um....feelings or...something? Do ye need tea? A...stuffed bear?  Cookies?" He asked lamely, not really sure how to go about this. 

Scrambling onto the wall next to her, the girl finally managed to drag herself to her feet, all the while the guards were still lumbering and clattering away as the fought the ice themselves.
"No.." she said, still sobbing as she shook her head. "I just need to go back home. I've made a mistake." How could she be so foolish? She was devastated, and the pain was too much to bear. Now she felt an even bigger fool before, and now-t he only time she felt shame. And she didn't even feel like running anymore as she leaned into the wall and cried.

Laighean stood there stupidly, trying to work out in his mind how this had gone downhill so quickly. He mentally retraced his steps back to the conversation that had shifted her mood. There was something about him that bothered her. Was it what he was that caused her grief? She'd made a 'mistake'? What did she mean by that?  He shook his head and shrugged at her, "Alright. Uh...do ye need someone to walk ye home?"  He only realized how foolish that sounded after he'd said it. "Oh. Right. Well, maybe part o' the way?" 

By now, one of the guards had righted himself, and challenged the ice as he stormed across it, all the while Aella was shaking her head.
"No!... no," she said, turning her face away from him. "I can see myself home." And at that very minute, a torch light came dancing over them as the guard grabbed Laighean roughly by the arm.
"You're coming with me mage! By order of the Duchess of Hellvion, we will keep you under lock and key!"

"This just isn't my night," Laighean sighed and turned away from Aella and to the guard, " okay, I didn't want to have to do this, but ye leave me with no choice. "

And the guard shrunk back a bit, still holding onto Laighean's arm but half- expecting a terrible blizzard to rain down upon him...

Laighean wrenched his arms free, quickly grabbed the man's head in both hands and with a cry of "HIYAH!" he smashed his skull against the guard's and shook his head regretfully as the poor fool collapsed face down on the icy cobbles. Laighean bent to snatch up the torch and gave one last glance over his shoulder at Aella, "Right . Well, ah suppose this is goodbye then. Farewell, princess." And with that, he walked off quickly because the other guards were recovering and he had no intentions of being caught. Again.

"There he goes! Don't let him get away!" And the guards pursued him, leaving Aella cold, teary-eyed and very much alone. 

Aella watched in dismay as Laighean downed a guard using his head, and long after he left, she finally choked out a sob, and turned away from the area and began to rush towards her home. THe manor home wasn't too far away, but she kept getting turned around, and just as it was looming on the horizon (aka- just a few blocks away) she paused to catch her breath and lean into a wall, where there, she took the time to let herself cry more properly. She felt like such a mess. But who wouldn't? Her heart, after all, was broken. And she? She felt a fool!

It wasn't difficult to lose people when you were ghost. All Laighean had to do was pass through buildings with ease at night. He reached the inn in no time, but paused and cursed himself for thinking about Aella. He hesitated , wondering what good it would do to go back and see her. What could he say to her when she didn't seem to be in the mood to talk or even so much as look him in the eye? Why were girls so damned complicated? And why did he feel like it was his fault for not understanding ? His mother had never been able to properly explain that one to him.

He sighed and turned away from the inn, "I hate myself." Ultimately, he decided that the least he could do was make sure that Aella actually did make it home safely because he had left her in a blubbering mess . But, hey , she had insisted on it so it wasn't his fault! Right? Right? Right. It wasn't his fault if something happened to her because she had refused his help.

His steps took him wandering back to where he'd left her and , eventually, by chance he did catch up with her which surprised him because he wasn't expecting to find her so easily. He would have assumed that she'd found her way home by now. Laighean considered going to her since she was crying, but he hung back in the shadows. No. He'd just make sure she'd get home safely. She probably didn't want to see him right now anyway but it wasn't easy for him to stand idle and listen to her cry. 

It took a lot longer for Aella to find her way back home than it had been to sneak on out. With tears blinding her and her mind just a mess, she eventually found herself on the street to her home, but before she even had a chance to sneak around back, a few of the city guards rounded the bend- a torch light upon her form. Flinching back from the light,t he lead guard called back towards the open front door.
"Duchess Melora! Here she is! We found your daughter!"
And before Aella had a chance to protest or even react, her mother was rushing down the pathway and out into the streets. Seeing her daughter in a soiled, velvet cloak, she frowned and took her into a rough embrace before turning her head back towards the guards.

"Thank Angsar she is safe."
And the men nodded towards her as Melora guided her daughter back into the home. Turns out, Melora knew of Aella's escape just moments afterwards, and was in a fit when the city guards took song long to come and question her- especially when the mordecai bells were ringing!

"So what you're telling me is that, that... mage is on the loose?"

The lead guard raked a hand through his hair and gave a shake of his head.
"Yes. It turns out his powers are immune to the mordecai. The men at the jail exclaim he turned into a ghost."

Melora's eyes went wide as she took in the news.
"Ghost!?"

The man hesitated, but nodded. "I can only report what they say, my Duchess."

Melora growled. "Insolent guards! What sort of time are we living in that a magical ghost can run amok in the streets?A re we are barbaric as the Adelans? As uncivilized as the Essyrni!?"
And the night went on like this, the guards swearing they'd bring the man in and long after they had left, Melora forced Aella into her room, keepng her under lock and key, and even adding a few enchanted charms around the door in hopes to ward the salacious ghost out.

Now stuck in her tower bed room, Aella threw herself back onto her bed. She had cried so much on her way home, she had no idea how to feel now rather than numb, and clung onto a tiger stuffed toy upon her bed- that was, until she realized what memories that brought up as she upsettedly threw the toy acrosst ehr oom, then buried her face into her pillow- hoping sleep would find her in this exhausted mess. Perhaps when she'd wake up.. it would all be just a dream....


And as Laighean was making his way after the girl- Draven stepped out from around the bend and stared down at his younger brother.
"Hello, Laighean. I assume those bells are for you?"

Laighean was only somewhat surprised to find Draven here, but his expression only showed bitterness and irritation at his elder brother's arrival, " Are they? Ah dannae. The only thing ah know is yer in me way. Excuse me. " He stepped around his brother and kept moving forward, not once looking at the man because he was so pissed. Not just with Draven ,but with himself. And the only person whom had suffered from so much failure was poor Aella. Somehow, he had to set it right again.

Draven sighed and turned around, following after his brother.
Laighean..." he growled. "You can't just walk away from me. I know you're upset about the Masked Ball, but I wasn't going to tell you about it because you'd get in the way."
ANd if the bells ringing now were any indication of that, Draven would be the first to point it out.
"Besides, where are you running now anyway?" And spotting the Avelon Estate, his eyes narrowed.
"Laighean... you didn't.."
Was his brother so terrible to have fooled around with the Duchess of Hellvion's daughter!? His head would roll come morning!

"Ah can and ah am!" Laighean shot back testily, keeping along his path and determined to not let his brother control him- no, to not let his loyalty to Draven control him anymore because he felt that his brother hardly deserved that anymore. "Ah'm glad t' know that while ah've placed me faith in ye, ye've none fer me. Thank you, brother. Now , get lost! "

Laighean laughed , " Running? Me? What for? " He twirled around , smirking as his form became incorporeal in the shadows, " C'mon Draven. Who can catch a ghost?  "  But there was something else he ran from and he was sure that Draven wouldn't understand it because Draven had never let himself experience women.

"What?" Now Laighean paused and spun around, studying his brother's face. Did Draven think that he'd fooled with Aella? Well, he really couldn't fault his brother for thinking that since he pretty much bedded every fair lass they'd come across. " What if ah did? It's none o' yer damned business! Or is the all-mighty Draven jealous because ah'm 'avin' fun an' yer too busy savin' the world? " Of course , he said this just to piss Draven off, to push buttons because he was frustrated with the man. Let Draven think he'd fooled with Aella. Laighean doubted that Draven would believe him if he'd told the man that Aella was the one girl he wouldn't just lay with. Poor Laighean couldn't explain his feelings for Aella even if he wanted to because they were new to him. If only mother were around. Hell, Fiona would be more helpful!

Draven narrowed his gaze upon his brother.
"By the Forest Guardian, Laighean, have you lost your mind? Don't you know you could compromise all of us by bedding that girl? All of our heads will roll if her mother finds out- and no small thanks to you, it's taken a lot of convincing for me to get even close to her mother. She has something that we need, Laighean, and if you mess this up, I swear by the Guardian I'll-"

"HALT! WHO GOES THERE!?"

Shit, the guards were there. Moving into the shadow, he stood as a ghost beside his brother and glared. "Let's get back to the Inn, Laighean. Before the entire town is after us both."

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."

"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."

"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. "

"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."

"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. 

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.

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 ))   

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!?"

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?"

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.

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!

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.

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." 

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!"

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.

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!

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 .

"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.

"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.

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.

"Rotten?" Laighean frowned. "Ah dinnae think ah was tha' bad..." He was completely missing what she actually meant by that and it was only when she continued on to hint at his intentions that he understood. "Oh."

Shit. So maybe she had fancied him then and wanted something different than he was accustomed to.

"Aella, wait..." He reached out for her hand but his passed right through hers. All she'd feel of him would be a chilling sensation through her arm,  "Please , let me explain."

Feeling him pass through her, she gasped and whirled around, and felt the full force of his ghostly form send chills throughout her body. Stumbling away, she shook her head and clung more tightly to her towel.
"Laighean! Please just go!" she begged, tears clearly streaming down her face. "Please.." she said, stopping just before her bed as she shook. "I already feel foolish enough as it is." And she gave a wipe to her eyes, but the tears kept coming.

Laighean backed away , looking as though he'd just been slapped. He averted his gaze to the floor and nodded, unable to find his words for a long , silent couple minutes as he listened to her sobs. His shoulders sunk down and he hung his head, his tone sounding somewhat deflated, dejected ," Alright, princess. Ah'll go if that's what ye want. " He moved away to make his exit out the way he'd come from. He paused before passing through the wall, "Yer right about one thing. Ah should nae 'ave kissed ye like that. " He paused, contemplating on whether or not more than that ought be said or if she cared to hear it, " Ah should nae 'ave lied t' ye either, but when ah asked ye if ye fancied me , ye said nothin' an' ah felt -  " he sighed and shrugged, "Ah dannae. Silly, confused. Ah joost...ah wish ah could be tha' kind o' man, Aella. But look at me. What kind o' future do ah 'ave like this? Ah dinnae want t' 'urt ye with false 'opes, but ah...ah'm sorry . Ah was selfish." 

Aella looked up into his eyes, the confusion obviously there as she asked, "What?"

What did he mean? She said nothing to what? And she felt herself growing angry as she was confused as more tears rolled down her face. How could he say such things? No way? But he had been alive before! Was there no cure for him? Didn't Draven and Laighean go on about something of the sort? In all honesty, she didn't understand it, but she DID understand love- or how she wanted to believe it worked and to her- love could conquer anything.

"And it's a little too late. You've already hurt and embarrassed me. I thought you had actually liked me, I thought.." And she tried to blink back more tears. "That.. that... you, you were actually different and despite being a mage and all that.. oh by Angsar's name. My mother is right! I'm a silly, silly girl!" And she spun away from him and began to sob.

Laighean stared helplessly at her back and flinched at her crying."Ah'm sorry. Ah know ah messed up and ah dinnae mean to. "He told her pathetically,  " Aella, don't say that. Ah do like ye. Why do ye think ah came all th' way 'ere t' check on ye? And yer mother's wrong. Yer nae silly at all. Yer um...a girl. " That wasn't insulting, right?

Despite his words and attempts to comfort her, Aella still sobbed.
"Please.. please just go. Before someone finds you here,"s he choked into her pillow. It was honestly too much for her, no matter how much poor Laighean tried to reason.

The fact that she refused to give him a chance , to listen stung more than her asking him to leave did. Whether he deserved it or not, Laighean felt the profound sting of her rejection and found the weight of that pain and guilt more difficult to bear than he imagined. He'd heard people speak of feelings like this and how devastating it could be to one's mind as well as the heart, but he'd never experienced it in-spite of all the women he'd fooled with. He'd cared about all of them , but never let himself become attatched to the idea of any of them...

and then there was Aella and...well, his thoughts and feelings were a mess.

He found his voice again around the tight lump in his throat and nodded, his voice quieter and joyless. Not like Laighean at all. "Yer tired and it's late. Ah- ah'll see ye another day , ah s'ppose." Maybe, maybe not. He turned to leave but paused and turned around and moved over to her bed. He leaned over her and placed something on her pillow, "Ah'm so sorry. Ah 'ope ye kin find it in yer 'eart t' fergive me." He said softly and ,turning, he left her room the way he'd come. And the object he'd left on her pillow was a rose made of ice.

~

What he wasn't expecting were the guards waiting for him right outside Aella's window below under the tree. "Aha! There he is!" One of the guards spotted him an pointed at the descending ghost and by the time Laighean noticed the man, he was close enough to get caught in the light of another guard's torch as he rasied it. The light broke the curse and Laighean fell several feet, landing on his back in the middle of the ring of waiting guardsmen. "Ohhh..me back."

"I don't need to explain why we're arresting you again, mage." The lead guard sneered at Laighean as he and his men seized him and forced him to his feet . Laighean said nothing and offered no resistance as his arms were twisted behind his back and he was led away in chains for the second time that night.

~

And he found himself back snugly in his dirty, cold cell once again. The crabby old inmate next door was snickering, "I knew you would be back. No one escapes!"

Laighean didn't seem to hear nor care about the old man or the guards taunting him. He took a seat on the floor quietly and sighed. He thought of Aella, lowered his head and buried his face in his hands.

((A rose which will probably melt on her pillow and make it all wet. Serves her right! Bwahahaha!))

Aella didn't bother to lift her gaze from her pillow. Sobbing into her arms for some time, she eventually bumped the chilly form of something resting on her pillow and she gasped ad shot up. Her heart now in her throat, she was surprised to find a flower made of glass (or so it appeared) laying on the pillow and she stared at it in fascination before reaching to grab it. Though she jerked her hand back with a blink. It burned.

"A rose of ice.."
Staring over at the window, she heard some commotion below and stared out in the night, watching as Laighean was taken away. Her heart fella nd her stomach, twisting into knots, but when she moved towards her door, she found it locked again and despairing, she collapsed onto the ground and sobbed well into the night...


But elsewhere, something worked in the shadows, and as the jail finally calmed down an the hours rolled well past midnight... a breeze swept through the hall- snuffing out the torch light. Though one still burned at the other end of the hall, the back corner of Laighean's cell went dark.


"Laighean.." The voice came as a sharp whisper, and if Laighean would have taken notice, he'd see Draven's face melting through the stone.

Draven may as well have been speaking to a wall. Laighean sat there in his cell with his back to his brother, head bowed and face in his hands. If the youngest prince of Aerona was aware of his brother's ethereal presence, he didn't acknowledge it. At the moment, he felt to wretched and past the point of giving a damn.

Frowning, Draven took a step out from the wall, but remained cloaked in the shadows there in. He had to be cautious- light loomed everywhere, and he didn't want to be trapped like Laighean was.

"Laighean..." he hissed again, before his hesitation subsided and he finally stepped out into the dim lighting. Noticing his brothers sullen form, his frown deepened as he placed a hand upon his shoulder
"Come on, Laighean. Why don't we talk about this when we get home? There was a portal, on the other side of town, near where Duchess Melora's city home is. I think we might be able to get back to Aerona from there. Things are... just to tense here and I think the grief of losing mother is affecting us all."
ANd after a moment, he paused to add, "And I'm sorry I haven't included you in somethings, Laighean. I just worry about your and Fiona's future."

Laighean didn't respond at first, but after a moment he swallowed back the tears and lowered his hands with remorseful shake of his head, " There's nothin' t' go home to but a cold, empty , cheerless an' ruined castle, " He replied bitterly, "Ah mighta ad' a chance at 'avin' a good thing fer once an' ah freaked out. " He covered his face again and fought hard not to cry in front of Draven, "Ah'm sooch a fool. "

Draven, not completely realizing his brother was heart broken (as that seemed inconceivable) moved to step forward before lowering himself onto his haunches.
"This world is not our own, Laighean. This place might look ten times better than Aerona, but that's because Aerona still has yet to be saved. You'll see. We'll be able to fix this, all of it, and then you won't have this home sickness looming over you. But you can't just rot in jail. I won't allow."

And at the noise of a guard, he frowned.
"Someone comes... " and he gestured towards the shadows. "We can escape back there. It's the way I came in through..." Though as he turned, he only thing noted his brother's tears.
"Laighean?"
Was he that upset over their mother? He supposed even he himself had shed a tear or two for her-but most of his emotions had been swallowed down, tucked away-
He could mourn another day. For now, he had to focus all of his energies on saving his kingdom from this seemingly incurable wrath!

Laighean didn't reply to Draven as the went on about Aerona. It wasn't that Laighean had truly given up hope on home so much as he was sinking into his guilt and shame deeper and deeper. He loved Aerona a hundred times more than Connlaoth. Of this there was no question, but there was one thing Aerona did not have. Rather, someone.

When Draven gestured to him to hide in the shadows with him, Laighean just sat there, " Ah've made sooch a mess fer 'er. Ah joost...should 'ave stayed away. An' nae 'er mother's probably going to- . Ah 'ad no idea. Ah thought she was jest bein' nice. No one's ever...liked me in that way before. Ah dinnae think anyone ever would."

Draven blinked.
What was his brother going on about?
"You mean Duchess Melora's girl? Are you're.... mourning over her? Come on, that's not like you, Laighean. Besides, she's probably promised to someone- though I know that doesn't mean much to you, but her mother isn't someone to trifle with. It took a lot of sugar-coated words to get into that woman's good graces, and don't think it was so easy. COme on now, we can talk about it when we get back to the Inn. The guards are coming..."

"Her name is Aella," Laighean spat a bit more defensively than he intended to. Shaking his head angrily, he sighed, " Don't ye think ah know tha' , Draven? " Everyone in the family knew Laighean's skirt-chasing nature. How he chased after the lasses, bedded them one or several times but seemed perfectly content not to pursue anything of a serious nature. Laighean was not the proper prince as his parents had hoped for. 

Sure, things had been different in Aerona but it wasn't as though he'd never encountered nobles from other countries before whom ran their courts much differently. And he knew well how parents could be extremely protective of their children. Especially their daughters!

Laighean sighed, " It wasn't like me, " but maybe something in him had changed over the years? "An' ah know what 'er mother is like. Ah talked t' the bitch, m'self. "He picked himself up off the ground and melted into the shadows. "Ah'm only goin' fer Fi. " He told the man stubbornly. Well, it was mostly the truth. 

With his.brother in tow, he moved like a panther, stalking through the streets and.keeping to.the shadows.
"Fiona had gone to the party," Draven brought up as they walked. "I remember you promising me she was safe and going to stay at.the inn."

Laighean snapped back as he followed behind his brother,"She was safe. Ah cannae 'elp it tha' she got curious. Ah'm sure she's fine , Draven. She's nae a child anymore.  Besides, ah remember you promising me a long time ago that we were a family and we were 'in this together' , but we never really were part of Draven's grand heroic plans. Ye kept leavin' us behind because you were 'protectin' us. If we need so much protectin' then why are ye leavin' us alone all th' time? Mother told us we 'ave to stick t'gether."

Draven was getting sick of.his brother's complaining. He didn't understand, or.they'd never be arguing right now.
Taking him by the arm, he jerk Laighean so he was forced to look at him as they passed beneath a lamp light.
"Laighean, listen to me.  We are working together. Just because everything can't be done with all three of us does not mean we are not all playing a part of this. What if Fiona was with me and got hurt? Or worse, killed.aighean. You need to trust me. Don't you trust me? We're brtothers. You know I would do nothing to harm.you or Fiona. Its why I can't tell.you everything. You won't listen to me since you're too stubborn but I need you to protect Fiona. Don't you understand? How.can I ever forgive myself if she were to die? Or even you? We've already lost the rest of.the kingdom. I don't want to lose the rest."

Laighean ripped his arm free of Drave and spat contemptuously in his face, "We? There's never been a we since ye started keepin' secrets from us! Don't ye DARE go wavin' words like trust in me face , brother. Ah may 'ave done some reckless things in me time, but ah'm nae th' one 'oo lies to me family repeatedly. Ah'm nae th' one 'o treats 'is brother like a fool in public regardless 'o his actions. Ah've 'ad yer back, always an' ye damned well know it. At the very least, if we're to be joost sittin' back and lettin' ya call the shots then  ye should 'ave respected us and trusted us enough t' tell us yer plans. What am I to do when yer plans fail an' yer th' one in trouble, Draven? It's all fine an' well to protect us, but who is going to protect you ? Where is Clan Flannchadh without its King?  If anyone is 'avin issues with trust 'ere, 'tis you!  " He poked Draven sharply in the chest with an accusatory finger. "Ye seriously underestimate Fiona and me."

"A king is worthless without it's kingdom," Draven snapped back, coldly. "My title would be worthless, and I would feel worthless, were I to continue to let it fade. This includes my family, Laighean. Besides, if something were to happen... the kingdom would at least have you."

Laighean sighed and threw his hands up in the air in exasperation, "That's why it's important that we ALL work together, ye great daft 'eaded fool! Ah been sayin' this from th' start! But ye joost danne get it! We 'ave a better chance if we're all searchin' fer answers, nae joost you!"

"Ah already know th' first thing yer after anyways an' ah know 'ow t ' get it. Let me do this. Ah'm already a friend of Melora's daughter. "Sort of. He wasn't so sure now. But maybe...

At least for his family he would try to persuade Aella into helping them. Surely, she wouldn't hold his foolishness against his siblings ?

But he really felt as though he should just leave her alone before he made her life any worse...

Blinking, Draven gave his brother some space, but couldn't help but smirk after the surprise wore off.
"I don't know if that's a good idea, Laighean. Aren't you meant to hang come morning? Getting near Aella means near Melora- and the duchess despises you."

Laighean waved a hand dismissively, " Yes but no. Ah 'ave me ways , brother. An' all ah need is t' talk t' Aella. She's- we 'ad a wee bi' o' a misunderstandin' but trust me. Ah joost need some time t' smooth things o'er. Ah danne need t' get anywhere near Melora . Ah uh..."Well, he was not about to tell Aella or Draven to what extent he'd stalked Aella. It wasn't as though he'd ever entered her room more than twice. And both times she'd been in a state of underdress or , well, a towel which she looked very good in! She'd look better without ....

Right. Focus, Laighean. "Ah talked to 'er earlier aboot maybe , oh ah danne...borrowing the necklace from 'er mother an' lettin' us 'ave it. She was a wee bi' reluctant at first but ah sorta told 'er it's magical and ye know 'ow Connlaothians freak out about tha' so she was all fer bein' rid of it. So ah'm fer thinkin' it's a good idea t' let Aella steal the necklace and , ah dannae, drop it out 'er window fer one 'o us t' come pick up at night.  If anyone can git close to Melora, it's Aella. "

And he sort of felt horrible for even suggesting this plan, but it seemed the least dangerous one even if it meant using Aella a little. But Aella had sort of agreed before so it wasn't really using her, was it? 

Draven stared at his brother incredulously.
"What?"
He couldn't believe this. Was his brother daft? Yes! He must be so! Shaking his head, he continued down the street, walking with his brother now in shadows and silence before he spoke again.

"So you'd drag that girl into our problems? What are you thinking? For all you know that girl is using you." Though he only met Aella for a short time, he wasn't certain about her- se was too... naive seeming. She was probably fake. Most kinds like her were.

"If anyhting, you should be wary of her. Look at her mother. Do you honestly think her daughter can be much different? What makes you think she'll just do what you say? Especially, since you're telling me you boht had some sort of misunderstanding. You didn't bed her did you?" And he glared at his brother. The fool probably lied about it and bedded her from the Hivan to Tuor.
"Laighean..."

"Nae, ah dinnae. Tha' was you, remember? You told 'er t' distract me so you could take the necklace from Melora from the party which ye failed at, by the way. " Laighean was quick to point this out and pleased that , for once, he wasn't entirely wrong about something or everything like usual! But when Draven suggested that Aella might be using him, the younger Flannchadh laughed, "Using me?! Oh ah really doubt tha' , Draven. Trust me, ah know the ladies better than ye do an Aella's about as sweet of a lass as they come. " Which was why he hadn't tried to do as he'd claimed, but let stupid Draven think as much! He would anyways!

"Ach! Her mother's a right ole witch t' be sure an' ah'm nae so sure about the duke. Seemed like a stern fellow,but ah'm thinkin' he lets the woman run th' show. " Not that he thought that strange. Aerona had been ruled by women. There wasn't much discrimination there. Whomever proved themselves capable of leadership found respect regardless of gender. He shrugged his shoulders, " Ah danne, Draven . Ah think she might 'ave a soft spot fer me. She did help me escape that time ah first went through the portal. And ah...think she might 'ave been tryin' t' 'elp me t'night. Ah was ...joost a wee bi ' confused and there was some miss-communication..."

He stopped suddenly and grinned wolfishly at his brother, "Although ah'm nae protestin' ifn' she was. She can use me all she wants." Oh yes, yes she could!

He sighed, "Ach ! Nae! Ah dinnae roll with her! Guardian's fangs, Draven ah joost gave 'er a wee peck on the cheek an' she thinks that means ah lov-" He laughed again and waved his hand, "Women! "   

Draven shook his head at his brother.
"So I was right." He could of rolled his eyes, but instead, he shook his head again. "Laighean, we can discuss more of this back at the Inn. Come on. It's just another block from here."

And as they moved on, Draven was quiet (for the most part) for the remainder of their walk, and once they got just outside the Inn, Draven's eyes went large as he sensed something.
"Laighean, wait, don't move. I... something feels strange, as if-"

And a terrible, soul-sucking noise tore from the sky above them. With a flinch, he jumped aside, just as a mass was dumped out from seemingly no where and tumbled into the unfortunate bystander- his brother.

A soft yelp was made, very feminine and very familiar as her soft, ivory and purple night gown ended up hiked half way up her, exposing her soft legs, ad her blonde hair- freshly scented from her bath-a nd even a little damp, entangled around the poor ghost prince (now turned solid thanks tot he nearby torches) when Aella Avelon conveniently fell ontop of him from the stars.

Draven was taken back, staring at both girl and his brother before he took one step forward towards Laighean.

"I think you need to explain this, Laighean," he growled, for he fully assumed it was Laighean's fault. And here, his brother was accusing HIM of lying! What a little con artist he was!

"Right? What does that mean?" Laighean wrinkled his nose , not liking the tone his brother was keeping, "Draven?" His steps quickened , moving swifter to match the other man's longer strides, "Draven? Hey! Answer me already , will ye?"

As they reached the inn and Draven paused, Laighean tilted his head and listened. He too heard the noise , but didn't move as quickly aside as his brother had and...something warm and soft knocked him to the ground. Lying dazed on his back for a minute, Laighean groaned and peered over at the scantily clad lass sprawled over him unceremoniously.

"What can ah say? Ah joost can't keep the ladies off of me. Hehe." Laighean was quite pleased for a moment but as he helped the girl to stand his expression was incredulous, "A-Aella!?"

And Draven demanded an answer, giving him the look that told him he didn't buy that Laighean hadn't been up to his usual antics.

And poor Laighean was at a loss for words for a couple of minutes before he blurted out, "What are ye-" he paused, "Draven, she's not decent! Give her yer cloak!" And then he turned back to Aella, "What? I...why are ye- ah thought ye ne'er wanted t' see me again." 

When violet eyes met to his, Aella found herself gasping as she jerked up within his arms and nearly stumbled back onto the ground from where she was now standing on the cobblestone.

"L-Laighean!?" she was just as surprised as he was, but shock melted away when he asked the last question- and anger replaced her expression, but then soon wrinkled into sadness as she suddenly began to cry.
"How- why... I... How did I get here!?" she finally managed to stammered, but could not, for the life of her, stop herself from crying as she hugged her arms around herself.

Sighing, Draven stepped forward and unclasped his black cloak and drew it around her shoulders. Once he felt it was secure, his glare returned to his brother.

'Laighean.." he said sternly. "This can not be a coincidence."

"Well, ah dannae know what else t'call it. Ah maybe be a mage, but ah cannae make girls drop from the sky. Ah wish! " Laighean exclaimed, throwing his arms up in the air and flailing them about animatedly.

"Ye know, maybe the magic o' the amulet the duchess is wearin' is reactin' to somethin'? Ah remember readin' in Morfran's tomb somethin'.  Anyway, ah danne think we ought t' stand out 'ere discussin' this . If Aella's nae 'ere of 'er own free will then ah...well, she would probably be in a lot of trouble regardless. " He turned to Aella, " At least come in with us and we'll see about gettin' ye somethin' t' wear. Wouldn't want t' go 'ome in yer unmentionables, aye?" And of course his eyes were soaking up her lovely vision hungrily. She really had grown into a fine woman!

Draven glared.
"Laighean!" Really, his brother had no manners! And Aella was a red as a tomato. She was too stunned to speak, but upon realizing how she was dressed, she gasped and hugged the cloak tighter and turned away from Laighean and his brother, (after slapping Laighean for looking- and THOSE WORDS, of course!) just as something dropped onto the ground and bounced away- something that looked vaguely familiar tot he amulet. And as it rolled and settled beside Draven's boot, the King blinked down at it and snatched it up.

Smiling, though his back was to the others he gave a laugh
"Would you look at that. THe amulet..."

He was slapped! He should have expected that coming, but he didn't! He looked confused now,"What? Ah was joost bein' 'onest!" Laighean sighed. By the Guardian! Why was everyone so uptight? "It's nae like she's naked..." And a shame that she wasn't! Well, no. Maybe he didn't wish for that kind of embarrassment on the poor girl. Poor , Aella. She was already mortified enough as it was! He could see this in her flushed and awkward expression. "Aw, c'mon , princess. Ah was joost pullin' yer leg. Ah'm sorry."  Well, not really! The view had been spectacular and it was definitely worth getting slapped over! "Aella, ah'm..."

He saw the amulet drop from her hand and stared at it for a moment and then looked up questioningly at her. Why did Aella have that? But she wasn't intending to be here , it seemed so perhaps she'd taken it earlier? Was that why she'd been out alone earlier? Had she meant to find him and...?

"Aella?" 

Aella was in shock. And the rest of the world drowned away- for she could hear nothing. Though when her name was called out- she blinked and felt her mind melt back into reality.
Oh! The amulet.

And out of reflexive instinct, she gave him another slap before flinching away.
"Just stay away from me.." she said, fearfully backing away from him.

Draven's glare narrowed upon his brother.
"Laighean!!" He knew it! He slept with the girl! That cad!

Another slap. Laighean's expression shifted from surprise to hurt. He rubbed his sore cheek and muttered, " Why do ye keep doin' tha'? Ye dinnae 'ave t' slap me t' get yer point across, princess."

More tears welled up within her eyes, sparkling across the surface as she let out a sob.
"What's going on? Why am I here? I.. I don't understand." And she felt herself begin to tremble, hands clutching together and pressing into her chest as she took a step from Laighean.
"Was this... this...magic?"

Draven frowned. THis girl, despite having procured a piece of what they needed, was more trouble then she was worth.

"Yes, magic," he told her flatly- "Ancient magic more powerful than you can imagine."

And it appeared as if she were about to faint.
Oh wait..
it was just delayed.
And down she went.

Laighean caught the girl in his arms, looking every bit confused by her reaction, " Oh sure, nae she decides t' faint!"He gathered her up carefully into his arms and turned towards the inn door, "  We cannae carry 'er 'ome at night. Maybe she should stay wi' us fer a spell. Ah s'ppose we could try t' see 'er 'ome at dawn. There'll be enough light then but it's nae so busy then.  "

He stepped through the door and grinned at the innkeeper who gave him a peculiar look. "Poor sis! She 'ad a wee bi' too much t' drink, ah suspect! " He carried Aella to their room and waited for the man to open the door. Once inside he set her down on one of the two beds and stared down at her.   

He looked up at Draven, "Well, tha' was easier than ah expected it would be. Ah dannae though. Ah feel sort o' a wee bi' ...bad for her." His expression as he looked down at Aella was remorseful . Melora was going to be SO pissed!

Draven wasn't going to argue. They really had no choice but to take the girl with them.
"Come on." And once they were situated inside the inn, Draven grabbed Laighean by his shirt roughly.

"Laighean! Do you realize what sort of trouble we're in now? This is Duchess Melora's daughter. She'll see all of us hang and everyone in this inn if we keep her here. We should find a way to sneak her back into her place. If she is found missing before morning, do you know how many guards will be crawling through the city during daylight? And we won't be able to turn into ghosts..."
He shook his head. "We don't need to wait for her to awake- why dont' I take her back as she is? I'll have no problems carrying her and you.." and he gav ea stern look to his brothe rbfore releasing his shirt. "You can stay here and wait for Fiona." Someone had to.
"I just can't believe I offered ot bring here here to begin with." He raked a hand through his hair. "I don't know what I was thinking."

Especially since the girl was in her night clothes and he had seen the way Laighean was eyeing her!

What was this now? Draven was changing his mind? For a man whom was to be king, he sure was indecisive!

"Don't be sooch a worrier, Draven, "Laighean sighed irritated and rolled his eyes , "Ah said first light o' dawn. Nobles in this country are too spoiled 'n soft t' get up that early!  It'll be fine. Why can't you joost trust me fer once? " He shook his head , "Ah'm nae unaware o' th' risks, brother, but ah really think yer bein' a bi' overdramatic. An' yes, you WILL 'ave problems carryin' 'er in th' dark. There aren't enough light sources near the Avelon estate for ye t' carry 'er all th' way. Even if ye did , ye won't be able t' get 'er inside an' ah'm nae in favor of ye dumpin' 'er in the lawn an' leavin' er outside t' catch a cold. " He shook his head again, "She'll stay 'ere til dawn an' tha's tha'. "

Had he just made a decision for them? Yes, yes he did and he was sure the King wouldn't like that. 

Draven glared at his brother, his hands clenching into fists, but after he digested what he said, he released some hot air through a growl.
"Alright, but she is not staying near you. Perhaps she can stay in Fiona's bed. Though we should see to it to get her more respectable clothes." Though even Draven had to take a peek at the girl. She did look rather stunning in that little silken thing...
But he hadn't time to consider women right now. And if Laighean bedded her... he'd hardly want sloppy seconds.

Laighean chuckled, " Yer nae seriously thinkin' ah'd stoop so low as t' try anythin' on an unconscious lass, are ye? " Laighean frowned, looking slightly hurt and disappointed, "C'mon, ye surely know me better. Ah've only e'er fooled wi' th' ones tha' can't resist me charm. " He grinned broadly, " Or is tha' what yer afraid of? " He caught Draven eyeing her up, "What's this nae? Is me brother showin' a wee bi' o' interest in th' ladies? " His grin became devilish, " A bonnie lass, t' be sure, aye? Sorry, Draven,but ah danne think she'd be able to 'andle two Flannchadh men at th' same time." He winked. Yes, he could be so crude but of course he wasn't serious. (Though Draven, knowing how uptight he was, would probably think so!) "Personally, ah'd rather leave her like tha'. Ah like the view. Hehe. " 

Draven glared at him.
"Seeing as we don't exactly have a spare dress, at least pull the sheets over her!"
Turning away from Laighean, he shook his head.
"Can you behave yourself while I'm gone? I should only be a few minutes. I'm going to inquire about Fiona's where abouts."
And he cast a warning glare his way.
"And I mean it, Laighean. You need to be careful around that girl." And he partially closed the door as he left.

Laighean sighed, "Yeah, yeah. Ah know, ah know. " Laighean found a chair near the window and pulled it close to the bed so that he could keep a better eye on Aella, " Aye, ah'll be good. Unless she wants me t' be otherwise." And a hard glare from his brother made him laugh and he shook his head and pull the sheets and blanket over Aella's unconscious form. "It'll be fine, brother. Trust me."

And when Draven was gone, Laighean sighed and leaned back in his chair with a pouting expression on his face. He wasn't too happy that he couldn't play , but at least the view was nice. Even if most of her assets were lost under the covers, she was a beautiful young woman and Laighean found himself captivated by her countenance alone.

She may have looked pretty, though the drool now dribbling down her chin did not. An it was that tickling sensation that roosed her as she tapped her tongue inside her mouth and stretched awkwardly upon the bed. Though as her eyes fluttered open and she noted the figure before her- it took only a second for her to let out a small yelp as  as she sat up int he bed, the sheets falling down as she leaned away from Laighean.

"L-laighean!" Her eyes went wide. "What.. what am I doing here!? Where are....we?" And she looked around the room. This was certainly NOT her bed room! Oh, Ansgar's saints, what was going on!? Was this the work of magic!?

Okay so the drool was a little bit less attractive but it WAS amusing to him to see her do it. If she could have seen herself now, she'd probably be mortified! Laighean crossed his arms over his chest as she came awake with such a fuss and grinned at her a little, "Welcome back t' the world o' th' conscious, princess. Yer in an inn cause ye sort o' swooned o'er me an' fainted in th' street. Ah wasn't gonna leave ye there so here ye are. " He held up his hand, " Look, ah 'ave no idea why ye followed after me , but ah wanted t' thank ye for 'elpin' me family out. T' be 'onest, ah thought ye were so mad at me tha' ye'd 'ave a change o' 'eart."

He really had no idea how she'd managed to find and catch up with him!
 

"Follow you? But I..." Aella was at a loss of words. What did he mean?!
"I hadn't left my room. Infact I had gotten out of bed to check on that amulet-"
And with a gasp she realized, hands to her cheeks, "It's gone!"

"Oh..." Laighean couldn't mask the sound or look of his disappointment , " well, ah guess it really must've been th' work o' th' amulet then." He shrugged, "My brother took it. He tilted his head, "But didn't yer mother 'ave the amulet? What were ye doin' wi' it?" He looked at her curiously.

Aella's mind was in a whirl.
"What do you mean it was the amulet!?" ANd she clung to his arm and looked desperately into his eyes. "Are you saying it was magic then!?" By the gods, NOOO! She felt so.. so.. dizzy, and light headed and... "I think I might faint again!"

Laighean nodded, "Aye. Ah told ye before. Tha's why me an' me siblings are 'ere.  Ah danne know what else would be causin' these portals to pop up at random so ah'm guessin' it's the amulet reactin' t' somethin'.  Th' magic is old, unstable. Tha's why we're 'ere t' collect 'em to prevent sooch things from 'appenin' an important that we take it and th' other Aeronan artifacts back 'ome . They're not safely kept in ignorant 'ands. Portals are th' least damagin' thing that they're capable of.  "

It was so much to take in, the poor girl found herself just about ready for that second faint, and clumsily fell onto Laighean, landing painfully on his lap, taking some bed sheets with her. Thoughit might have appeared as if the girl was throwing herslf at him, she had really just been trying to stand up, believing she needed some fresh air but her body was just so full of fail.

So.
Full.
of fail.

Laighean gasped as Aella sat up and...fell over him. With her head resting in his lap like this , he was sure that Draven would probably get the wrong idea and want to murder him if he walked in right now. Gently, he lifted her up and aided her to lay back down on the bed, "Easy there, princess. Ah know ah'm irresistible an' all but let's joost take one thing at a time, aye? " He couldn't help making it sound just a little bit mischievous , but he meant that more or less in the sense of the situation rather than to imply that she was actually trying to throw herself at him! If only!

He stood up from the chair and leaned over her, smoothing his hands over the sheets, " So ah'm fer thinkin' this business o' magic is a wee bi' testin' yer nerves. Ah'm sorry fer bein' 'onest wi' ye, but ah felt ye should know. It's dangerous magic, Aella. Ye needed to know 'ow important it is because if tha' amulet remained in yer mother's 'ands , it could hurt 'er , or you or someone else. We 'ave t' take it away from Connlaoth and give it back to its rightful owner. "

"Anyway, ah'm nae sure 'ow ye want t' go about th' business o' goin' 'ome- " he paused, "Er...are ye needin' some water?"

She wanted to cry, she wanted to faint, she wanted to scream! This was unbelievable! Draping a hand dramatically over her face, she let out a sigh as tears welled over her eyes, then sighed again in frustration.

"I must be dreaming. Clearly I'm dreaming! Yes, that's what's happening. I - I... I'm imaging all of this. Ghost boys, appearing in random places in the middle of the night, stealing from my mother-"

ANd a broken heart...

Blinking back a few tears, she composed herself and gave a laugh- though it was so fake and forced.

"I'm going to sleep through this dream!!" and she threw herslf underneath the covers and appeared a lumpy bump beneath the bedding. "Good night, Laighean!" ANd the last part was said through an angered huff.

Laighean blinked and stared at the trembling blanketed lump of distraught lady curiously. He tried to imagine what she must have been feeling, living in a world that denied the existence of magic and all things that the mundane logics couldn't explain. At the very least, it must have been confusing and a little frightening , but he hadn't truly considered it because he thought his intentions were harmless enough. But , he'd missed one thing. He hadn't expected Aella to take much fancy in him or he in her.

Frowning, Laighean rose from his chair and leaned forward, "Er...well, alright but ah really dannae think it's very comfortable to sleep like tha'. Oh c'mon, Aella, stop bein' dramatic. Ye know ah'm real. " He grabbed the blanket with one hand and tried to pull it off of her , "Joost come out o' there an' let's talk, okay?"

((lol...))

Aella clung to the blanket- and gasped through it, giving him a defiant, "NO!" As she yanked the blanket out of his grip and tried to burrow herself deeper to hide away from this 'dream'.
"This day has been too awful to be real!" He might have heard a sob. "Magic is outcasted, the new grand duke is fixing all of that... and you can't be real. Ghosts aren't real and and... and.."
She sniffled trying to control herself but stopped herself short from revealing anything else. No, she didn't have to repeat or reopen the wound of her breaking heart as she  sat over top of the sheets and held the rest down she could not sit on in hopes to keep Laighean out.

Oh boy. She was going to be difficult about this. Women....

"Outcasted? Magic? Oh , that's ridiculous!" Laighean snorted at the very idea of it. " What is so bad about- ?" Ah. Right. He hadn't exactly demonstrated any of the good things that magic was capable of . He's used it to engage in questionably criminal activity and then there was the amulet making random portals everywhere and , of course, the curse that affected him which was definitely black magic. To a person ignorant of magic like Aella and seemingly all Connlaothians, it would be easy to blame every problem on magic. "But they ARE real, princess. If none of these thngs were, it would be pretty silly t' 'ave laws against them, aye?"

"But nevermind tha', ah'm no fool Aella. Ah know yer avoidin' me fer a different reason. Please, come out. Ah joost want t' talk. " He pleaded with her.

Aella listened to what he had to say and grew quiet. Sure, what he said made sense and some of it made her contemplate over all that had happened... but she was NOT about to leave her blanket.
"No!"

It was easier this way. And what did he mean by avoiding him for a different reason!?
She thought back to why he made her angry the first time and 'hmphed' under the blanket.

"You'll see. I'll just wake up an this will all be over! Just a bad dream!"
All of it!!

Hopefully... or else... yeah, this would be silly indeed!

"Being in denial doesn't make problems go away , princess. It only makes them worse. Ach! An' there's a lesson ah learned a few hours ago." He gave the blanket another sharp tug, " Ah'm nae leavin' ye alone til ye come out o' there an' speak t' me face to face!" He gave another pull on the blanket, harder this time .

((something silly could happen to her or him...idk. You decide the outcome. xD))

Aella pulled back and resisted him.
"NO!" And found surprising strength in her defiance.  "Just leave me alone, Laighean!"
He was the LAST person he wanted to talk to, besides!

"Dammit, Aella! Ah said come out! Yer bein' child-" He was caught completely off-guard by the sudden surge of strength in Aella's defiance and so when she pulled back he went stumbling forward, losing his balance and toppling over on top of her. " Alright, that tears it! These are comin' off right now!" Laighean growled.

At that moment a maid walked in with a tray of tea, " Mister Flannchadh sir , I brought you some-" And she saw two people getting frisky on the bed and froze in the doorway, blushing furiously. "Oh dear me. I am SO sorry, sir. I had no idea you were um...yeah. I'll just um...I'll be leaving now." She turned her head away and backed out of the room, closing the door hastily behind her. 

Aella let out a long winded yelp as Laighean fell over top of her. ANd at his threat, she gasped and clung more desperately to the sheets.
"No!" But upon feeling his ands all over her (but not entirely on purpose) she gasped again and swatted and smacked at him from underneath the sheets.
"Laighean, get off!"

and then there was the awkward pause when the maid walked in- and Aella's face beat red underneath the sheets. ANd her yelp came again.
"LAAAAAAAAAAIGHEEEEEEEEEAN!!!!!!!!!!"

Grunting and wincing with every fist that pounded his chest and shoulders, and with every kick to his shins or knee to his middle, Laighean struggled to force Aella from her blanketed palace. "Sssh! Stop yelling! Ye 'ave nae idea 'ow naughty yer makin' this seem!" Good guardian! Her cries were louder than most lasses he'd had a roll in the hay with! It almost made Laighean blush. Sighing her gave one last powerful tug and ripped the sheets clear off Aella but as he laughed in his moment of triumph, Laighean went toppling backwards off the bed and hit the floor in a tangle of sheets.

"So, now that ye're exposed, might we talk face t' face like mature an' responsible adults?" He inquired, his voice muffled from the sheets which he fought now to unravel himself from!

Aella gasped, laying there, completely exposed in her pretty, purple night gown before realizing with a scream, how indecent she was just then. The scream was enough to finally alert Draven, who returned quickly and paused, blinkingly, to find Laighean on the floor.

"Laighean..." came his brother's lecturing tone. "What is going on here?"

Aella tried to adjust herself on the bed to keep herself more modest, but it was difficult to do- as her entire, milky white soft legs were exposed, and even some of her cleavage, and the softness underneath, in certain angles of light- made her night gown positively see through...

"Laighean was just discussing his desire to escort me home!" Aella said promptly, and decisively.

And Draven looked down questionably at his brother.

Laighean freed himself immediately and rose to his feet, standing between Aella and his brother and feeling every bit on the spot under Draven's glare. He looked back over his shoulder at Aella and couldn't help but stare. "Aye, desire..." But not to escort her home!

Crap! His mind was wandering into the gutters again. He grinned and nodded, "Ah aye, th' lass speaks true! 'Tis nae safe fer th' lass t' go 'ome on'er lonesome so ah was thinkin' o' joost takin' her t' th' outside o' th' estate and ah...well, ah won't 'ave any trouble keepin' me person hidden. "

Draven shot them both a glare.
"Are you crazy? You know how dangerous it is out there right now, Laighean! If you're caught again.. who's to say the guards won't shoot you on the spot?"

Laighean tilted his head and elevated a brow curiously, "Is that a serious question?" He grinned and then winked at his brother mischievously, "O' course ah am. Ah'm a Flannachadh! We're all a wee bi' unhinged!" Waving a hand dismissively he grabbed up the sheets and drew them about his person like a cloak , "Oh come on, Draven. Stop yer fussin'. Ah'll be fine! Ah always am in the end. The lass misses 'er 'ome an' we're gentleman, aye?" He glanced at Aella, "'Tis the least we can do in exchange for the amulet."   

Draven shook his head.
"No, my mind is made up. She has to remain here until we know it's safe enough to escort her back. Do you even understand what could happen to you, Laighean, if the guards find you again with her? The duchess will be furious."

Aella kept her mouth shut. She didn't know what to say as she peered at the two brothers arguing about in circles.

"So.. there.. really is no way I can go back?" she asked, timidly, a bit afraid to interject her thoughts. She didn't want them to get into trouble but....
she was also afraid of what she had just gottne herself into!

"Oh ,Melora be hanged! The woman hates me and she's always angry anyways! " ((lol))

"And what 'appens when they come looking for her? 'tis better they find me than coming to sniff around 'ere . Fiona is still out there! Which reminds me, why aren't you looking for her? We don't both need to stay 'ere and watch Aella."

Really, why was Draven still here when he had been the one freaking out over their missing sister and when he was the one who seemed to think that only he was capable of doing anything right!? What was he so afraid that Laighean was going to do to jeopardize everything?

"If you're so damned paranoid, we'll wait. " That was a lie, but at this point it was pointless being honest with his brother. Draven didn't trust him no matter what.

 

"Please.." Aella began, but it seemed the boys could not be torn apart. Really now! How childish!
"Please stop!" And by the sudden raise in her voice, it seemed both men had as Draven took his glare and looked over at Aella.

"Please... I did not mean to cause any trouble. THis... this magic, whatever it is, I do not care, but I... there will be problems if I can't get home soon. So please..."

Draven shook his head.
"The answer is no. And I need to find Fiona. Laighean- just keep a look on her. I'm going to ask the inn's down the street to see if she is not there." And he narrowed his gaze. "And don't you dare think of leaving. Be smart, Laighean. You could risk both your life, and hers."
Andwithout so much as another word, Draven stormed out the door.


Aella was left gaping, staring at the frame.
"Your brother is kind of scary." She said after a time.

Laighean was all smiles and nods until his brother departed. Hearing Aella's comment about his brother brought a broad grin to the prince's lips and a mischievous glimmer in his eyes, "Aye," he said with a nod," he can be." And then he reached over the bed and snatched her wrist up with a giggle, "All the more reason t' be naughty! C'mon! Let's get ye 'ome, Princess."

Aella gasped and her entire face went pink, but then the second gasp was for a completely different reason than the first.
"But your brother just said..."

Laighean's grin only became ever the more mischievous ,"Oh c'mon! Where's yer sense o' adventure, Princess? An' 'ere ah thought ye were different!" He suddenly released hold of her and spun away   , tossing his hands up in the air and sighing quite dramatically, " Ah s'ppose ah was mistaken!

Aella only stared at him with a blink.
"Hey!" she placed her hands on her hips. "I never said I was adventurous!" Though her stealing from her mother certainly proved that just at least a little bit wrong!

Laighean grinned wolfishly at her, "Ye don't 'ave to. Ye've already been a bad girl. Sneakin' off in the wee hours o' the evenin'." He stepped closer to her, happily invading her personal space. "C'mon, Princess. Ye know ye want to go an adventure with me. " He made the puppy dog eyes at her as though he might have been begging pathetically for her to go. "Or is it that ye don't want to go 'ome because you want to stay with me longer? Ah dannae object to that." He winked at her mischievously.

Aella's lips fell open at such a suggestion.
"I... it.... wha.... you..."

She snapped her lips closed and stared at him.
"Ok, fine, let's get going. Before you get into even more trouble."
But was that even possible?

Laighean laughed heartily. He knew that tease would prompt her to move forward. Of course , he knew that she was still upset with him and the idea of staying and leading him to think that she wasn't still very angry with him was something she would not bear enduring. She'd much rather be home and away from him and if she had to risk a bit of ire from Draven, so be it. She wouldn't feel the brunt of anyone's rage. Melora would blame Laighean, Draven would blame Laighean. The worst Aella was going to get...

He'd rather not think about how her parents were going to punish her since there was nothing he could do about it. He took her hand, "Great! Off we go  , then!" Having taken his hand in hers, he made his way towards the door but then...he stopped quite suddenly and whirled around on her, a fresh blush on his cheeks . "Ah almost forgot tha' yer nae exactly uh..." He looked down. My, she had grown up quite a bit since he'd first met her. He shook his head and grinned stupidly, " Properly dressed. So..." He removed his jacket and put it about her shoulders. "There, a little better and..." He found his cloak by the door and draped that over her shoulders as well.

"Right. Hrm..." His eyes roved over the lower half of her body for longer than was appropriate and he spun away, "We need to find you some pants." He went over to one of the dressers and opened it, rummaging through what few articles of clothing his brother had purchased for his sister. "Yer about the same size as me little sister. She likes dressed but...ah." He tossed her a plain pair of brown linen trousers. "There. That ought t' suit ye outside , at least."

 

Aella blushed as he looked over her body in her thin night gown.
Laighean!" she chastised, a slap lightly finding his cheek. "Watch where those eyes are looking!" and she angrily planted her hands to her hips.

Though at the idea of trousers.. she hugged the cloak and jacket around her tightly.
"Er... pants?"
She made a face.
Did he honestly expect her to dress like a man?

"Oh ah'm watchin' alright. Gladly." Laighean replied playfully

Laighean rolled his eyes, "Ach! Don't gimme tha' look, princess. Yer common gels wear pants all th' time. Ye too good fer pants or somethin'?" And then he grinned at her and winked mischievously, "Well, ifn' ye want t' go 'ome dressed th' way ye are, then ah'm nae fer objectin'." He rubbed his sore cheek, "'Tis well worth a couple slaps. Hehehe."

Aella's lips fell open again.
And this time she clobbered him with a pillow.
"I'll show you what it's worth!" she said, and hit him again- and again.

((best response ever. loool))

Laughing, Laighean held up his arms to shield himself from the blows, " Oof! C'mon nae, there's nae need t' be violent. Ah was joost payin' ye a compliment!" He let his guard down for one moment and took a pillow. To the face. "Oof! Ye got more o' fightin' spirit in ye than ah'd wagered. Ah like 'em with fire in 'em. Hehe."

"I'll show you fire!" And she continued to beat upon him, literally throwing herself into each pillow whack when she threw a bit too much of herself into it that she found herself twirling around in a tangle of her own legs before tumbling to the ground with a yelp. And before Laighean could get a chance to check on her or inquire if the blonde girl was okay...

Whack!
The pillow met across his face again.
"LAIGHEAN!" Whack! Whack! "You're terrible!" And by now, feathers were starting to spring out from the pillows from all of the abuse they were receiving. Perhaps Laighean was lucky his head wasn't full of feathers, or he'd surely be losing his mind! (or.. brain.. feathers? ooc: lol I dunno)

Laighean's laughter grew louder with each blow . After a few seconds, he was laughing so hard that he couldn't have been bothered to raise his arms to properly defend himself and as the poor lass lost her balance and tumbled to the floor, Laighean doubled over laughing hysterically until his face was bright red and he was almost too sure that his sides were going to split open.

"S-stop!Yer killin' me!" He he managed to gasp between further fits of laughter after receiving a pillow to the face.

Aella gave a huff at his snickering. His laughter seemed so frantic, the young man appeared about to burst!
"Go ahead and laugh! I'll get back there by myself!" And she moved to turn away from him, fully intending to.storm off into the night... By herself... In her night gown.

It was more difficult to control his humor than even he'd expected, but he managed. Barely. Spinning around quickly, Laighean reached out after Aella and caught her wrist in his grip, "Oh, c'mon nae. Ah'm nae meanin' no 'arm. An' ye aren't intendin' t' go oot in nothin' more than yer unmentionables, aye? It's cold ootside an' ye might catch yer death. Yer mother wouldn't be too 'appy, ah'm thinkin'. " He stared at her and then suddenly made a ridiculous face at her, "C'mon, smile, aye? Ye'll get 'ome safe 'n sound and yer mother'll be none th' wiser."

Of course he was not aware of the sort of trouble she was already in and part of it WAS his fault.

"Hey! Let go of me!" she protested, trying to twist her wrist out of his grip. She glared at his expression, finding no humor there, as her mood was already soured and he'd be hard press to win her back over. "And I can do what I want! Just let me borrow your jacket and I can hurry back to my room."
Never mind, even in the short time she'd be out there, she might freeze to death.

At her command, he released his hold on her. He still had an amused expression on his face, "As ye wish." However, he elevated his brow at her proclamation of being able to do as she pleased, "Oh aye, princess, yer a grown lass. Ah'm nae fer debatin' tha', " he removed his coat (which wasn't really his anyways) and held it up in offering to her. "Joost one question though. When ye say ye're meanin' t' borrow me coat, 'ow am ah t' be reclaimin' it?"

His eyes roved over her again appreciatively and he chuckled, "Ah really think ye ought t' put some pants on. A coat's nae quite gonna do much fer ye. "

Aella opened her lips to reply, then promptly shut them as her cheeks turned pink. ANd she whirled away from him, back to him as she 'hmphed!'
"I'd have to somehow borrow pants, too!" she reminded, still not about to give him the answer to his first question, her back still to him as well.

"Ye want t' borrow mine?" Laighean inquired cheekily. It was really more of a jest than it was a serious question. Although if she'd requested it of him, he wouldn't have argued against that either!  "They're nice 'n warm. " He added , teasingly. But he knew he was getting out of hand and had to reel himself back in before she beat him to death with that pillow or slapped him so silly that the silly would be literally slapped out of him (assuming that was even possible) .

"Ah'm kiddin'. Let's see." He moved away and rummaged through one of the dresser drawers of the small guest dresser on the far end of the room. He held up a pair of plain, brown woolen pants (ooc: we're still in winter season with this thread, if memory serves) that had been purchased for his sister . "These were me sister's . Ye ken borrow 'em. She's got another pair." 

Aella made a face, expression going long, eyes wide. It wasn't so much the fact he was now offering her his sister's pants (and before that, his very own!) but the fact that she would have to wear them- and certainly a daughter of a duke had no place to wear such a thing! And as she opened her lips to speak, her voice was lost to her as she made a noise ebfore clamping them shut.

No, no.. unfortunately for her... this was the only safe way to get home. Sighing, she stared down at the pants and accepted them with a haughty grab.

"Can I have some privacy?" She wasn't about to change in front of him!

"Are ye sure ye dannae need any assistance with that?" Laighean inquired cheekily, but was turning his back to her and trying not to laugh as he did so because that would have been rude given his treatment of her. He knew better than to stir the pot further. Kind of . "Ah'm joost sayin' ifn' ye're a stranger t' pants , might be a wee bi' a trick t' put on. So , what do ye 'ave against pants anyway? What 'ave they e'er done t' wrong ye?" 

Aella gasped at such a suggestion.
"Laighean!" she scolded. "I do not need your assistance!" ANd at his inquiry about her trouble with pants (or dislike there of), she gave a 'hmph'.  "It is... it is not of the fashion." She simply stated, only then realizing how silly it may have sounded- considering it was simply not of her mother's fashion- considering she had seen plenty of women wearing pants who were noble ladies. But never her. Aella would not be caught dead wearing them! Or so her mother would scold her so for poor choice of fashion! And now here she was, not having a choice.

"You.. you should leave the room. Give a lady some space when she changes!"
But seriously, why was he just smirking at her and not leaving!? Did he not know how angry she was at him?

Laighean's expression was quizzical, "Eh? Ye dannae trust me? Ah'm a man o' me word!" He was ! Sort of! Mostly. "It's nae like -" Oh. He really should not mention their initial meeting. She'd kill him. Probably. "Er, ah mean as ye wish, m'lady." He half-turned, bowed and wisely left the room.

He did not venture far, however. Once the door shut behind him, he leaned against it and spoke to her through it, "But honestly, what's wrong with pants? Fashion seems a wee bi' silly o' reason, don't ye think so? Ah think ye'd look good in pants." Or anything , really. Or nothing! Ooops...bad Laighean! No dirty thoughts!   

Aella waited until he was good and outside of the room before she moved to swiftly dress. Slipping into the pants was awkward, and so was adjusting it with her silk night gown. But it was what it was, and now that she had pants secured on her person, she peered over at the door where Laighean was still talking through-
and then over at the window...
And got a terrible idea (well to her, it seemed fitting..)
For she wasted no time in opening the latch, grunting and pushing the door up and open - and before he could get inside the room to question her (for she spared but one glance back at the closed door) she slipped outside.

Wearing Laighean's coat (that was two sizes too big) and her tangling silk night gown skirts mixed with awkward pants had Aella slipping out of the window and crashing onto the cobblestone below. Thankfully, they were on the ground level floor of the place, so she hadnt fallen that far..
but it still hurt- and she still made a noise of it-
and only then realized- oh shoot! Someone may have heard her!

A minute went by and Laighean noted her silence. He shrugged and went on talking about how people wore pants where he was from for a good three minutes before he finished and again noted how Aella had said nothing at all. He tapped the door lightly with his knuckles , "Ye're awfully quiet in there. Ye alright? " He waited half a minute on her and still got no response. Concern gripped him when he thought her heard a sound. A gasp?  "Aella?" More silence and he frowned, "Oh, c'mon! Ah know ye're mad at me, but ye could at least say somethin'." Still no noise. Finally , and with a sigh , he slowly pushed the door open"Alright , ah'm comin' in..."

To his surprise, he found an empty room and an open window. Aella must have run off on her own. He went over to the window and peered out.

By the time he peered out, Aella was finally on her feet- and peering up and looking right into his eyes. With a gasp, she whirled around and began to race away from the place

Laighean gasped as well because he hadn't expected her to be right there. "Aella!" He called after her and had every intention of pursuing her. No WAY was he letting her wander the streets at night alone. The question, really, was how to exit the room. He looked at the window and it seemed a bit small for someone his size to squeeze through. "Damn!" He ran out of the room as fast as his legs would carry him, down the hall , through the inn and out the door. He rounded the corner of the building and nearly ran right into her but halted just in time to avoid a bodily collision. " What do ye think yer doin'!? "

"What do you mean where am I going?" she huffed. "You already know where!" And with a huffy glare, she decided to ask back, "But just where do you think you're going?" Really! She wanted to avoid him as an escort, even if it wasn't the wisest thing to do!

"Ah dinnae ask ye where ye were goin' , ah was..." Laighean shook his head. Ah ,well. Same difference? He studied her curiously when she asked him where she was going. Really? He hid his smile. She must have known, but if she wanted to play ignorant then he could too. He shrugged and adopted an innocent look, " Ah'm joost oot fer a walk. "

Aella turned pink cheek. She was so flustered, she could not believe what she had said! But then at what he said she gasped, glared at him then huffed and walked away.
"Well, you can walk alone because... because I'm walking alone!" And she began to storm off, hoping she didn't sound as lame as she felt.

Shrugging, Laighean followed her, "Sure. Go right ahead, but what if we're conveniently headed in the same direction? Kind of difficult to walk on yer own in that case, aye? "

Aella didn't even dignify that with a response. Keeping her back stiff and to him, she continued to walk away, and as briskly as she could-
and it was only when she made it to the end of the alley that she realized- she had walked into a dead end.

Laighean shrugged and followed along in silence until they reached the dead end street. "Ye know, ah could help ye a wee bi' if ye let me." He offered, expecting her to ignore him or snap at him.

(ooc: omg I posted something. Short, but it's a start.) 

Aella, rarely a girl who was allowed to seeth, was simply ready to boil. But she kept her temper on simmer and as he predicated, brushed past him and began to storm off the other way.

Laighean sighed.

Women.

He followed along behind her. "So, ah've been wonderin' all this time....'ow did ye manage to slip out th' first time? Is this normal for you?" He inquired. 

((We might need to discuss what to do here in PM or something. ))

Aella tried to ignore him, but her tongue wouldn't allow for silence.
"Things like this might be usual for a man like yourself," she went on, nose to the air. "But as a lady and a daughter to the Duke of Hellvion, rules are to be upheld, there is a certain etiquette and-" As she rounded the bend her words got gargled inside her throat as she nearly ran, quite literally, into another person.

"Oh, forgive me I-" But her words fell short when the taller, burly and heavily bearded fellow turned around. And she was so close she could smell the alcohol, even over the heavy scent of body odor, urine and smoke. And the way the man's grey eyes looked her over, like some starved beast...

She found herself taking a step back, her heart fluttering with a chill of fear as her mind went completely blank.

"I take apologies only in the form of payment from one's body." Again, his eyes took her in with hunger. "For men.." he went on, looking up into her eyes, "I take fingers, toes, or if they're unlucky, their heads. But women.." Here, he smiled, exposing a row of rotting teeth. "Women I only wish to sample but one piece." And before Aella knew what was going on, his large hand closed over her smaller one and she was drawn clean up against the nasty, scratchy and awful smelling ratty clothes of his as his other hand went south and was shoved between her dress.

And Aella had absolutely no idea what to think or do, frozen in the moment as the man just about hefted up her skirts.