darkwolf687

Reboot - Prized Bride

No problem, glad to have been of assistance. Out of curiosity now I know it isn't one, how many arrows did she shoot?

Reboot - Prized Bride

@RomanAria
"Last year, she tried to shoot the party of Drakken lords as they came to the castle, just to make a statement; she missed." Without clarification, most people take missed to mean missed once. The character sheet does not mention a specific number and only says that she tried to shoot and missed. Not missed the shots, just missed, which would imply a single arrow was loosed when most people read the sentence, not multiple arrows.

Reboot - Prized Bride

@ClocktowerEchos

I've thought of that. But they wouldn't suspect her, originally. Who suspects a Gem girl who's walking around with a loaf of bread on a platter and a big wicked serrated knife? :P

@RomanAria

Well, this is the rebel girl who shot an arrow at Drakken lord and became somewhat of an idol for the more rebellious gems, I know most Drakken aren't the sharpest tools in the shed, but I don't think they are drooling idiots either.

Reboot - Prized Bride

<Snipped quote by darkwolf687>

I don't think the Drakkens where face masks or eye armor

Although really love, @RomanAria, do you not think basically everyone there has faced something much worse than an angry Gem with a knife. Like, an actual professional army per say? :P

@ClocktowerEchos

I guess not to a banquet, good point (Though I imagine many would have some form of full helmet in battle)

Reboot - Prized Bride

@ClocktowerEchos @narcissisticpotato

I think this banquet maaaaaay wind up turning into a bloodbath.

don't let Asta even have a butter knife, much less a break knife or a steak knife, or there'll be three dead Drakkens before anyone knows what the hell is going on.

@RomanAria

Jesus Christ, have the Drakken Warlords who attend these banquets not invented armour or something 0.0

Reboot - Prized Bride

Zakroti watched Amaryllis with no small degree of amusement. He guessed what was coming from the way she looked at him after she had cleaned the floor but feigned ignorance. Best to let it play out. As such, he feigned a surprised grunt as the cloth hit him in the face, splashing him with the water. The cold that stung his face brought back memories, one's that were hardly kind either. Slowly, he raised his hand up to his face to remove the rag Upon hearing her words, he managed to suppress the small smile he was tempted to crack and merely stared at Amaryllis with a blank expression for a few moments, before raising his eyebrows and turning his head to the side slightly in an exaggerated expression of agreement, nodding.

"Not to worry, Amaryllis, accidents happen." He placed the cloth into the pitcher slowly and cast a sudden glance to the glass in his hand, then cranked his head sideways as he heard Miry speak and felt a gust of air carry across his face. So, she was trying to channel warm air around his face to dry him off it seemed. He gave a friendly smile and for those short few seconds a sliver of kindness came over his eyes "Thank you."

He paused for a few moments in thought and felt nothing but pity for the girl. She had been dragged away from home and forced to marry him because her sister had dared to stand up against the Drakken Lords. Astaelin had been an unbelievable fool to shoot an arrow at a lord without due consideration of the potential consequences to herself and her little sister but then all young people made rash decisions. It was part of being young to make rash decisions that weren't exactly the best long term. (You know that all too well) At least somebody had the balls to stand up and do something.

Miry though apparently had none of her sisters tenacity, none of her bravery or forwardness. He couldn't tell what exactly it was a result of, though he guessed to some extent that Miry had become used to hiding behind her sister. Perhaps she had never really had to defend herself and in the absence of her sister isn't entirely sure how to be assertive. She was tearful at the parting of her sister, that much was obvious, and the agreement between the two never to speak again clearly made this an horrific ordeal for her. In some respects he felt

His thoughts were interrupted by Miry falling onto him and then jerking away. "It's quite alright, Miry." Zakroti asked as he quickly ran his eyes over her and noted that while he would have initially deemed the action impossible she appeared to be even more frightened than she had been before. He let out a light chuckle as he watched her apologise profusely for her apparent offence. "You can relax, Miry, I don't hold it against you. You didn't do it deliberately and I am not carrying a pox so you can touch me without looking as though you think you will be killed for it." He flashed her a kind smile again and he lifted his hand up to wipe the remaining dirt from his face. "Are you alright? The fall didn't hurt, did it?"

Zakroti turned his attention back towards Amaryllis and looked at the floor, before running his eyes back up Amaryllis "It looks much better now, doesn't it? Perhaps I should ask you to clean the floors of my estate too, my... Servants would be glad of an extra pair of hands to bear the load." He flashed Amaryllis another wry smile. He was quite clearly taking enjoyment at her rebelliousness rather than annoyance.

"You should really watch yourself, Amaryllis. I trust you do wish to return home one day and you are doing a remarkable job of convincing me not to let you go." Zakroti gave a small chuckle before pausing for a moment to let the words he had just said sink into both girls. He glanced to Miry for a moment, realising that even if he did let her go, her sister would still be in the hands of Edoric. He wondered precisely how she would explain it to people regardless; Would they simply believe she had run away rather than been dismissed? No, she probably wouldn't even explain it and would just meekly agree with everything the local constable said to her, whether it was true or not.

Was it cruel to dangle the possibility of freedom before their eyes? He supposed he was being somewhat misleading in commenting that they might return home. After all, they would not be released soon for certain, his grandfather would gut him if he ever tried to do so and unfortunately for the two girls Zakroti was nothing if not pragmatic. The pair had a value to his plans for certain even if he wasn't exactly satisfied with the value they had... but then again he wasn't outright lying. He had no desire to kill Miry or Amaryllis and their usefulness to his family would in time fade with age, such was the nature of looks and wombs. A waste of the prime of their lives, certainly, he had his suspicions that even Amaryllis could have, if she had desired, snared most Gem boys should she of cleaned herself up a little, but it was better than what most gems could hope for. Returning at age 40 was better than returning in a coffin or disappearing into the abyss of memory, that was for certain. 20 years was a long time, to be sure, but their situation could be far worse.

Yes, brides didn't tend to last long after they finished being pretty and giving children, if they were lucky enough to make it that far. None had ever returned home from what he could recall (Again, he made a mental note to find some information on the subject when he returned to his estate), but just because something was unprecedented didn't make it impossible, even if the... disposition of certain lords meant those who past their age would meet a gruesome end to satisfy their needs.

Zakroti cast a subtle glance to the floor, letting sadness creep into his face for a moment and claim the smile that formerly lay across it, replacing it with a solemn and almost forlorn gaze. Some met a very gruesome end indeed. He masked his face and by extent his emotion as best he could by raising the glass up to his mouth again to take a short sip from it, taking a moment to harden his face again behind the glass. He wasn't trying exceptionally hard, it didn't much matter whether the girls saw him give a momentary mournful glance but he wasn't inclined to give Amaryllis anymore ammo to use against him than she already had.

Speaking of which... He snapped his head straight again, steeling his gaze again and turning his attention back to Amaryllis. He lifting the damp cloth and slung it at her head in retaliation. It was almost a soft throw and the cloth hit her head without even so much force as to make her stumble forwards, more as though he was playing with her than attempting to punish her or even cause her some discomfort.

"Sorry about that. It just slipped." He repeated to her with an amused smile on his face, raising the glass as if in toast before finishing the contents. "A very slippery cloth it seems." He steeled his face again a moment later and continued with a fake seriousness to his voice "Now, are we done with the antics for the evening or do you have more entertainment planned for me? I must say you have done very well in making what I feared would be a boring trip rather amusing. Perhaps I will pay more mind to the pair of you than I planned after all."

He glanced up to the clock on the wall and gave a sly smile as he raised from the chair and crossed the room towards the door "Come on. Onwards to the feast with some haste. Don't want to miss the spectacle." He raised his hand as he approached the door and the metal latch creaked as it swung backwards the wooden door swung open to let him pass, humming a rather sombre piece to himself which echoed down the hallway.

Reboot - Prized Bride

Oh, if only we could zap people with lightening. The sith lord feels would be palpable hehe

I am considering having Zakroti make stone statues of people... I assure you they will be extremely accurate, you'd almost think he'd just covered the person in stone! Oh and, just ignore any little whimpers that can be heard through the stone... Probably the wind. *gives a totally not evil and sadistic smile *

Reboot - Prized Bride

Zakroti gave a kind smile towards Miry as she spoke and nodded slowly "Well, while I realise that I am not going to be regarded as a friend, if you will let me I would be glad to call you Miry." His said with a nod, his voice more relaxed than the authoritative tone it had taken before

He took his own glass from the platter and laid the silverware platter on the set of chest of drawers next to him. He raised the glass carefully and placed the crystalline edge to his lip and tilting it upwards to drink the cold water, letting it run past his tongue and down his throat. Better, he thought to himself, at least my throat no longer feels like a desert.

He glanced towards Amaryllis as she spoke. He hated to admit to but he was beginning to rather enjoy her attitude. He found it more amusing than annoying, truth be told, though oddly he couldn't quite place why that was. With a slow nod, he turned his attention back towards Miry.

"Do not say that, I am sure you play beautifully, Miry. If you would, perhaps you would care to play for me at some point the future? I would very much like to hear what music you know from across the mountains." Zakroti kept a soft smile on his face as he spoke to her in an almost friendly voice. He looked down to the empty glass in his hand and glanced to the platter, but decided against putting it down.

Slowly, Zakroti turned towards Amaryllis. He kept the same soft smile on his face as he watched her pour the water down onto the floor behind her "Well, that's not quite what I had in mind when I offered you the glass but yes, I suppose the floor could do with a wash." He found himself unable to supress a smirk at her antics. He wasn't entirely sure on whether he wanted to break her, he would very well enjoy having someone around who wouldn't resign themselves to whatever order he gave, he had Miry for that it seemed... Though on the other hand, unpredictability could prove infuriating as well as amusing given the right circumstances.

He shook his head slowly. He'd leave that decision for another day. For now, he may as well enjoy her as she came.

"You wish me to guess? Very well. Let me first say that, when last I checked, the Amaryllis did not have thorns." His smile changed from being friendly to being wry and his head perked up slightly. There was a subtle change in his eyes as the pupils dilated slightly and his right brow cocked upwards in amusement. If there was one thing he enjoyed, it was having his mind stimulated, even if it was in such a minor way. He was glad of the challenge

"You, my dear, are as stubborn as that which you claim as your own. Good, determination shall serve you well, but you would also do well to remember that with a shovel dirt is drawn from the ground, wood gives way to the axe and with the right tools even the rocky roots of the world will crumble."

Zakroti paused for a moment in consideration and opened his mouth to speak, but thought better of the comment and closed it again. He would save that for another day.

"I would return the favour, Amaryllis, but I doubt you would play the game. If either of you cared, which I would understand if you didn't, I am of fire and earth." He approached the small table in the corner of the room once more and sat down on a wooden chair beside it. He reached across and grabbed the pitcher from the table, pouring himself another glass of water before carefully replacing the pitcher and holding the glass firmly in his right hand. He took a small sip before continuing.

"Now girls, there will be a gathering tonight here in the Wroth. Miry, I understand you will likely wish to take it to see your sister one last time. You may do so of course, but be careful not to slip from my sight; If my memory serves correctly the one who has your sister is called Edoric and from what I know of him I believe he would not hesitate to steal you away simply to butcher in front of Astaelin. I don't want to see that happen and I am willing to wager an entire castle that neither you nor your sister would like to see you gutted either." He grimaced slightly in consideration "Other than that I cut the pair of you lose to talk and to do whatever you please. Enjoy tonight, I am afraid to sat that after tonight you will not see many more Gems for a while."

Zakroti glanced to the small pool of water just behind Amaryllis heels and after a moment of consideration, took the cloth from the table and examined it for a moment. He shrugged slowly and balled it up, taking the pitcher and pouring the icy water on the small table cloth to damp it, tossing it to her and setting the now empty pitcher down onto the table "Well, as you have started the job I suppose you should finish it. Thank you for offering to clean it, I will ensure the staff know to thank you as we leave." He motioned to the chair opposite his the glass in his hand before drawing it back slowly "Miry, would you like a seat while Amaryllis finishes up? After this I will take you both down to the great hall to regroup with the others for the feast."

Reboot - Prized Bride

Sorry; I could have changed if you wanted.

Reboot - Prized Bride

I concur, I loved that post. I guess that is one way of marking the brides...

Honestly, I've loved all the posts so far; Rynek's introduction especially was outright terrifying. You wouldn't think you'd end up feeling sorry for the Drakken guards in this but man, those guys really need to sue on the grounds of mistreatment by their employers after that.