Apple Fritters and First Kiss Jitters

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Aella remained, still in shock, beneath the couch before reality caught up to her and she went to move, but cracked her head off the bottom of the settee. Wincing, she sat now on her knees beside the couch and rubbed at her head.
"I.. I guess I don't know. I didn't think I'd have to hide away from my mother... that's all."
Yet, the idea of stealing some of her mother's jewelry was just fine! Clearly, Aella knew her priorities well!

[Paradox]

Laighean winced with her when bumped her head. Because that must have not been a pleasant feeling. Certainly didn't sound like it! At her words, he simply stared at her, " Me an' me big mouth. " He put his hands on his hips, "Well, ah feel pretty rotten aboot tha' closet incident. From what ah heard, tha' dinnae go over very well with yer mother. Ah would nae want t' put ye in a worse position than ye might already be. Maybe Draven could...or ah..."

No . There was no way that he'd be able to impress Melora. She hadn't even given him a chance. Maybe he was doing something wrong? He still felt silly for asking, but why not? "Aella, what sort of man do ye think would impress yer mother? Ah'm joost curious. "

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Aella was still rubbing her head as she blinked at.the question.
"My mother?" She blinked again. "Oh, I dunno, but she always likes to have things in order. And she loves to entertain. Before the.war all happened we traveled a lot and held balls nearly every week."

[Paradox]

Laighean frowned and shook his head, "That's not very informative for an answer." Was she serious? Did she spend so little time with her mother or was her head in the clouds too often to take notice?

"Ye don't know? 'ow can ye not know? Well, ah guess for starters she's not impressed by mages. Ah...maybe she doesn't like me lack o' facial hair? Am I too short? Or...is it me freckles? Or did she think me clothes were too loud? Or...maybe she's a cat hater! " It bothered him that Aella's mother didn't like him without even knowing who he was more than he cared to admit. "Was she e'er attacked by a cat cause that would make sense."

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"Cat hater?" Aella blinked. "I don't think so, though animals aren't really allowed inside the castle.."
Frowning again, she thought over what Laighean said, and hesitantly, found herself asking in a sheepish tone.
"Are you thinking... to court my mother? Because if you are... erm, she's married."
She wasn't sure, but felt it needed to be said, for it seemed Laighean was trying so hard to impress her, clearly he must have had his eye on her mother! And she was beautiful, after all, her own looks easily coming from her, but still..
she felt odd to bring it up, but didn't want to be the one to tell him that were it to break his heart....

But in all honesty, she was still too naive to realize what he was really asking, and her confusion, showing how simple the poor girl could be!
Yes, she was truly that naive!

[Paradox]

((lololol! Oh ,Aella.))

Laighean couldn't have looked more more confused, "Me? Court yer mother?" He wrinkled his expression with disgust, "No way! She's nae me type an' she's too old fer me!" Actually, if he paused to consider it, it was very well likely that he was way too old for her! He smiled at her, " Where ah'm from if a lad likes a lass, he has to seek the approval of her parents. If they dannae like 'im, then they cannae be. Dae ye ken?"

He sighed and shook his head, " Oh ne'ermind. Th' thing is tha' ah'm sorta...fond o' ye an' ah was wonderin' if maybe ye'd like t' give me a chance t' know ye better. If yer mother knew who I really was an' what ah am, she'd be - well, ye know." 

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Aella, who normally took some time in digesting what Laighean said through his accent, stared at him for a while with interest, lips pursed as she nodded rhythmically as to what he was saying, that was..
until she realized what that was! And her cheeks heated to pink, her violet eyes went wide, (the color small, the whites, large) as she cupped a hand over her lips. Did he just say... D-did Laighean just mention he wanted to court....her!?

And before she even had a chance to react, the door swung open and Aella found herself surprised once more as a tall man with a long, gold and silvered beard stepped in, blue eyes and long wavy hair now regarded them as she stammered, "D-Daddy!?"

For it was assumed he would not attend this event (as he rarely ever attended such events), Aella continued to stare, still uncertain as what to make of this situation as Duke James Edmund Avelon regarded the pair, his eyes narrowing like a lion (such as the costume he wore) and growled.

"Melora. She's in here." And a tight lipped expression made Aella tense, as the shadowed figure of her mother approached, high heeled boots clicking against the floor, and once her father stepped aside, she saw the fury that was her mother's gaze flash over the pair dangerously as she commanded,
"Our servant told me you looked familiar! It's him! The mage intruder from before!"

And quickly a pair of mordecai in full armor rushed into the room.

"Arrest that man!"

And before Aella realized what was going on, her father stepped in, as did her mother, and Laighean was soon surrounded. She hadn't known when she was plucked from Laighean's side, but her mother had a fervent grip upon her, and her father's normal warm gaze looked as cold as stone as he witnessed the handcuffing of one of Aella's potential 'suitors' (and well, friend!)! All all the poor girl could do was gape!

[Paradox]

When the door burst open, Laighean immediately hid (well, tried to hide) behind Aella in fear that the intruder upon their conversation was her mother. Much to his horror, not one parent showed; both did.

"Hey there,  Missus and Mister A." Laighean laughed and forced his joviality in spite of his growing anxiety. "How are y-"

He flinched at being accused of being a mage and then he flinched again at the idea of being arrested. Again.

"Ah'm pretty sure that your servant needs to have their eyes checked, your grace. Ah'm nae who ye think ah am. " He eyed the guards moving in slowly towards him with their weapons raised. He held out his hands helplessly, " Oh c'mon nae. Ah'm 'armless, really. Ah was joost 'avin' a wee cha' wi' yer bonnie daughter. Nothin' weird 'appened, ah swear it on me mother's crown. Ask 'er, y'self. Aye, Aella? We were joost 'avin' a talk. Tha's nae a crime, is it?"

"Put your hands down, mage!" One of the guards barked the command at him venomously. 

"Nice and easy or we won't hesitate to skewer you!"

Laighean slowly lowered his hands and dropped them to his sides. He was grabbed and roughly searched.

"There doesn't seem to be anything on him , your grace. "One of the guards informed Melora.

"Not so. " Another guard replied and held up a pair of women's panties. "He had this in his pocket."

"Okay, Ah 'ave no idea where those came from." Laighean told them honestly.
The first guard grbbed his hair at the back of his head and slammed his face up against the wall, " Silence, lech, or I'll cut your tongue out here and now!"

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Aella, finding it too much to bear, was wringing her sweaty hands (but thankfully, she was wearing gloves!) as both of her parents, and then the Grand Duke's guards, of all things, rushed into the room and a fanfare of un-pleasantries unfolded before her.

"No, please! He's right! We were just talking!" Aella tried to protest, but the bark of the guard and the growls of her parents seemed to be drowning her out. "Please, father, he hasn't done anything wrong." But  as she tugged on his arm, a most unnatural glare fell upon her. She had never been beneath her father's scorn before and this time, it seemed, would be the first.

"Aella! Do control yourself. You look like a fool."

"But really, father-"

"And still your tongue!"

Her father might as well have locked her in a tower and slammed the door in her face, for that's how she felt as she tensed on his arm before her mother pulled her away. Tears warmed within her eyes, bubbling up and blurring her vision as she tried to fight off the sobs.

"Oh, mother! Please! Don't have him arrested. He's not a bad man!"

"Aella, shh, darling, we've heard enough."

And the chill in her mother's voice was like ice. She clutched onto her and turned just as the guards began to yank Laighean away, tearing off his costume mask and searching him a few more times. And as they found something to identify him with the poor Ardalian man he had left drunk in the streets, Aella tore away from her mother and threw her arms around Laighean, hoping to deter the guards from dragging him away.

"Please! He hasn't done anything wrong! Let him go!"

And the guards growled, looking about ready to throttle her, but they knew better as they glared over at the duchess.
"Control your daughter so we can control this despicable fiend!"

[Paradox]

"Okay, I admit that I can understand where you're both coming from about the whole strange man in my daughter's bedroom thing. If it were my daughter, I'd feel pretty concerned too.  But the mage paranoia is just a wee bit silly ,don't ye think so? Ah mean, ah ne'er 'urt anyone. It's against me beliefs. Ah'm a lover, nae a fighter."

In spite of his protests , he was roughly handled and shoved towards the door. However , when Aella put her arms around him and tried to defend him he shook his head,"Dannae worry, Aella. Ah'm gonna be alright. Ah'm sure it's all joost a big misunderstanding. They'll probably cut me loose in about a day or two. " Nah. Melora probably going to kill him if that was even possible!

Laighean looked down at her and leaned close to her and kissed her cheek, "Can't end a date without a smooch, aye?" He winked at her right before one of the guards struck him in the back of the head and knocked him down to the floor. Laighean lay still there, possibly unconscious.

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OOC: XD woo, she gets a kiss at the threads end

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Aella, stunned by the kiss, was stunned even more when she was yanked away and witnessed the poor man being clobbered over the head. When he went still, her eyes prickled with tears.

"Thank heavens for that, but you couldn't have done that act elsewhere? Really, there are women present," Melora said, seemingly between her teeth as she held onto her daughter which might have appeared in a manner of comfort, but  was really just to keep Aella back. And as Laighean was dragged away and it was promised he'd rot in Reajh's finest prisons, Melora sneered. "Just take him to whatever prison will hold such a fiend. Send him up North or hang him for all that I care. He's swindled my daughter and is trying to make a mockery of our name." And she looked towards husband, and it was hard to say if the stern look was directed at him or the situation as she tightened a grip around Aella's hand.

"I suppose this is our moment to bow out. The evening has taken a most unexpected turn and I'm not about to stick around to have others get the chance to whisper about our daughter. Come along, James." And without so much more as a passing glance, she dragged Aella away.

Though the ball was still going on, as evident from the music echoing out into the lawn as the Avelon family awaited their carriage and valet, Aella spared one last look towards the Grand Duke's palace, seeming not to hear her mother's snake-like hisses over Aella's conduct. Once seated inside, her mother yanked off her gloves and threw them onto her lap.

"Are you even hearing me girl? You will promptly be punished when we are home. To think.." and she looked her daughter over scrutinizingly. "You're proclaimed the most beautiful woman in Connlaoth yet at such an age, unwed!"

And the echoing heartbeats of pain that followed mimicked the fading clopping noises of the horse drawing away their carriage towards the heart of the city, while the palace remained a looming figure at their rear.

OOC: thread end! I'll start up another one later, unless you want to start something in Reajh prison XD

This thread is continued here.