November 17, 2012

In Which Tavrin Presents the Agreement

May 4, 1180
The first thing Tavrin noticed about the duchess was an improbable appearance of youth. She was the same age as Raia's father, so Raia had said, and given what Tavrin knew about who had been in Naroni for how long, that sounded about right. Raia's father had aged well for a human, but he hadn't escaped the occasional grey hair or the lines around the mouth or the bags beneath the eyes--not like this lady, for whom such signs still had yet to appear. Her only aged quality was her worry, in her eyes, in her mouth, in the way she held herself. In face, she was a maiden; in being, she was a mother.

And that was exactly why he'd come. "My lady."

The duchess frowned, but not impolitely. It was not disdain upon her lips, but a question. "Good sir. Forgive me, but if you are who I think you are, I understand you don't speak the language well?"

"Oh, that's not a concern. I actually mastered the language a couple years back, and I've grown bored with pretending I don't speak it."

He winked; she gave him a polite smile for his trouble, but nothing more. "I see. Is there something I can do for you?"

"Yes, actually. I'm here on behalf of my grandfather."

"Uh..." The corners of her mouth crept downward, one shoulder shuddering. "Your grandfather, the homicidal maniac?"

"Yes, him." The duchess swallowed. Tavrin figured it wasn't entirely undeserved, but pressed on anyway. "It turns out that the two of you could possibly do each other a favor."

Her discomfort reformed itself into a prominent bend in her eyebrow. "No disrespect to the messenger, but I don't think your grandfather has any right to ask a favor of me. He did kill my first husband."

"Yes, well... that certainly is awkward." She blinked, as if to reply with a muttered 'I'll say'. "But please let me explain; no harm will come to you should you decline, but I'm sure you'll find the agreement to be mutually beneficial."

Just looking at her, he wasn't sure if she believed him. But she sighed and handed him the benefit of the doubt. "I'm listening."

"Thank you. You see--"

"You!"

Oh. It seemed that he'd been followed.

"Mind explaining why you can't steal someone else's clothes for a change?"

NEXT CHAPTER:

6 comments:

Van said...

Today, I have nothing to say. Except that my wrist is being weird. :(

Ann said...

Squeeeeee! Shirtless Florian!

Now I wonder though, is there something unusual about Celina's parentage as well?
And what could she possibly do for Deian?

Anonymous said...

Hmm, Deian has to do one good deed ... and Celina has a son who could really use a real body ... I think I see the beginning of a mutually beneficial agreement! ;)

And FLORIAN!!! Always getting his clothes stolen, poor guy. LOL!

Van said...

Ann: I figured it's been a little too long since we've seen Florian ;)

If there's something out of the ordinary about Celina's parentage, it might be worth checking out some of the other nobles as well. Her mother was sister to both Roderick's father and Medea's mother, so their descendants would likely also be of note. She only has two cousins on her father's side, only one of whom (Garrett and Valira's mother) is still alive; her other cousin (first wife to Alina's brother Koradril) does have living kids too.

Morgaine: That does seem like a convenient arrangement. XD

At least he doesn't seem to have any qualms about chasing thieves in his underwear? :P

Penelope said...

Florian is looking better than ever, what with that new shiny hair. Have we seen him since you got the new machine?

LOL, can't Raia just give Tavrin something old of her husband's?

Hunh, I wonder how conflicted Celina is bound to be about this offer. I mean, why help Deian with anything? But then, how can she possibly deny her son a body?

Van said...

There is a nice healthy shine to that recolor, isn't there? Now I just wish someone would do the alpha edit that Aldhein is wearing!

From the looks of the pictures, we've seen Florian twice(!!) since I switched computers and expanded my game, once talking to Pandora and Thallie, then again talking to Sparron and Camaline after they got back from the orgy. I think this is the first time we've seen him with the new hair, though.

Ha! Well, Falidor has been wearing the same thing for the past twenty years. But really, Falidor's clothes would fit Tavrin better than Florian's would. I guess Tavrin just likes bothering Florian.

It is a pretty crazy decision to be making, all things considered. :S