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Post by Ringulf on Nov 9, 2010 0:36:45 GMT -5
She wrapped her arms around him and rested her chin on his shoulder as she looked at the leather tube from over his shoulder. “Anything interesting?”
"Yes My Angel it is written entirely in Gaulican as well but seems to be from his Excellency the Barron Rathbone to Sir Valentigne and it is giving him direct orders to pay a very large sum to this Thornbury chap in the name of the..."Dark Lady"?!
He does not go into details as to who that is but he does say that he has secured her favor and that Valentigne is to conclude his business with Thornbury, and board the L'oiseau Nior docked in Araluen harbor on the ...mmmm Tomorrow late morning. As she is his fastest ship it might be possible to be their for his old friends arrival.... The captain will be looking for you and will take your signet as proof of your authority...it seems we are in luck Angel..." he said as he raised his hand up before her face back handed so she could see the large gold ring with the black two headed eagle crest on it's crown.
"Now the only questions left are:
Would you like to accompany Sir Valentigne on a sea voyage? And will your commander allow you to actually trust a foreigner to rescue Duncan?
I mean you are going to rescue the king of Araluen are you not? And you do work for a paramilitary unit of the Araluen Army don't you or am I just guessing wildly here?
Lea...my Darling I must tell you honestly that originally I had no intention of falling in love with you, but since That ship has already sailed and another is about to, I say we join together as we have a common goal even though we serve different masters and retrieve your king." He had turned to her and looked deeply into her eyes. "If we are still alive when he is safely returned perhaps we will be free to follow our true hearts concerning our relationship."
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Post by Brandwyn on Nov 9, 2010 21:30:50 GMT -5
Lea listened with interest as he deciphered the letter and showed her the ring. This Lord Thornbury certainly seemed to be at the center of things.
"Now the only questions left are:
Would you like to accompany Sir Valentigne on a sea voyage? And will your commander allow you to actually trust a foreigner to rescue Duncan?
Lea stiffened for a moment. She should have realized he would be so perceptive, but she didn’t answer him right away because she was trying to figure out just how much to tell him.
“I mean you are going to rescue the king of Araluen are you not? And you do work for a paramilitary unit of the Araluen Army don't you or am I just guessing wildly here?
Oh he was hitting way too close to the mark for comfort. Lea moved so she could look into his eyes, trying to determine what his motives were exactly. Still she didn’t answer him.
Lea...my Darling I must tell you honestly that originally I had no intention of falling in love with you, but since That ship has already sailed and another is about to, I say we join together as we have a common goal even though we serve different masters and retrieve your king." He had turned to her and looked deeply into her eyes. "If we are still alive when he is safely returned perhaps we will be free to follow our true hearts concerning our relationship."
Lea had several thoughts running through her mind, but the one she latched onto was that he was saying he was in love with her. So she had heard him right earlier. The question now was, since he admitted he was working for another country, could she trust him or was he just playing her?
She couldn’t believe that he was acting. The connection between them was too strong. Still, she couldn’t tell him anything about the SWC. “You really are falling in love with me?” She asked him. “I hope that we can follow our hearts, but I am not sure that will be possible,” she said sadly. Lea fervently hoped that it would be, but she knew that having a real and permanent relationship could be a liability in her job. Her greatest asset to the SWC was her ability to gather intel by means of her feminine wiles. Dougal probably wouldn’t let her stay in the SWC if she were not able to do that.
“So, I thought you were a bit more than a minstrel.” She eyed the arsenal of knives sticking into the four poster bed frame. “Can you tell me who you are working for?”
She knew that trust was a two way street, still, she had been sworn to secrecy about the SWC and could not tell him anything. “I am working for the Araluen government.” Lea confirmed, “but I cannot tell you any more than that, other than I am trying to find out who kidnapped King Duncan and if we could rescue him, well it would be a very good thing.”
She considered his other questions as she sponged off his back again. The water was cooling down now and she shivered a bit, thinking it was probably time they got out of the tub. “Fortunately I have a lot of latitude when it comes to my assignments. I think perhaps a little masquerade would be just what we need to find the culprits behind Kidnapping the King.” She grinned at him. “Although I would dearly love to just stay here with you, I know we can’t do that.” She stroked his cheek with a fingertip, swirling it across his lips.
“Let us prepare to catch that ship in the morning.” She smiled at him and then moved around in front of him so she could kiss him deeply. She filled that kiss with all her feeling and held him tightly. Maybe if she didn’t let him go, the night would never end and they could have their forever together. When their lips parted, she whispered, looking straight into his eyes and unflinching, “I love you, Omensinger.”
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Post by Ringulf on Nov 10, 2010 0:27:40 GMT -5
“Let us prepare to catch that ship in the morning.” She smiled at him and then moved around in front of him so she could kiss him deeply. She filled that kiss with all her feeling and held him tightly. Maybe if she didn’t let him go, the night would never end and they could have their forever together. When their lips parted, she whispered, looking straight into his eyes and unflinching, “I love you, Omensinger.”
He kissed her again deeply sensitively with as much tenderness and feeling he could give. then he looked intensely into her eyes and began to speak.
"My name is Douglas Ap Owen. I was born to minor nobility in Celtica. My mother was killed under mysterious circumstances and my father drank away most of our fortune, all but what I had secreted away to make my escape to the university. I found my studies quite easy and unchallenging so I started to develop my music and dramatic talents I showed an aptitude for linguistics (but you already know I have a clever tongue) so I was encouraged to enter the diplomatic corps and started to study for that. I had some singular vices though. I get bored when I do not use my mind and when that happens adventure and excitement are the things I crave.
My habitual solution for this state was not drink or drugs but the pursuit of otherwise unobtainable women. This vice honed my skills as a lover but even more so my skills as a duelist. I made many enemies along with bedding many conquests until I finally found the one opponent I could not beat. I was rescued from that final duel buy a powerful noble in the Celtic government and whisked away to Gaulica to study under some of the best swordsman in the world. I too can not reveal who it is that I work for within the Celtic government but I have in the past been on loan to King Duncan to solve special ah...problems. I am right now here on my own behalf, of my own accord, to rescue him, a free agent so to speak.
Have no fear, I will not ask you to tell me your secrets and your life is your own Avaleah Goldsmith, just allow me to love you and share what life we can together and it will be enough for now."
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Post by Brandwyn on Nov 10, 2010 15:18:11 GMT -5
“It will have to be – for now.” Lea agreed, but she was very touched by the fact he had shared a bit of his background with her. She tried out his name and found she liked it, “Douglas ap Owen… Douglas… that rolls rather nicely off the tongue.” She smiled at him.
“You are very good, Omansinger. My name is really Avaleah Goldsmith, but most just call me Lea as I said eariler. But my background is not nearly so glamorous. I am afraid that I truly have been a member of the seedier side of life.” She confessed, impressed and a bit worried that he knew who she was. Did he know about the SWC as well?. “I don’t remember much of my parents and I was forced to make my way in this world as best I could. There are not a lot of options for a young girl living on the streets and thievery never appealed to me, though I must confess that I resorted to even that for a time.” She remembered those days with mixed feelings.
“Anyway I was forced to join the army. It was either that or jail. I sometimes wonder if jail wouldn’t have been the smarter choice.” She grinned at him. “They tried to teach me sword-fighting, but I seem to have very little aptitude for that. However I was able to hone my skills with knives a bit over the last few years. I am now a special agent with a fair amount of freedom most of the time.” She informed him. She was skirting the issue of being a member of an elite branch of the army, but she wasn’t about to divulge that information. That would land her in prison, assuming she survived Dougal’s wrath.
“I have been tasked with investigating the King’s kidnapping and may go wherever that leads and perform whatever tasks are required to get him back home.” She winked at him mischievously, “and if that includes falling in love with a secret agent from Celtica, well, so much the better!” She grinned and then abruptly stood up, the water streaming from her body.
“I am cold, My Love. Take me to bed or loose me forever!” She laughed as she reached for a towel to dry off and stepped out of the tub full of cooling water. They had at least one more night together before they would be in harm’s way again and she intended to make the most of it.
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Post by Ringulf on Nov 10, 2010 15:37:34 GMT -5
“I am cold, My Love. Take me to bed or loose me forever!” She laughed as she reached for a towel to dry off and stepped out of the tub full of cooling water.
"Goodness, gracious! Show me the way home Honey! Omansinger said in a kinda countryfied accent.
He grabbed her in a bearhug just below her buttocks lifted her in the air and dumped her uncerimoniously upon the big, soft, four posted bed. He proceeded to tangle her in the mass of covers as he playfully ravaged the beautiful spy.
They had at least one more night together before they would be in harm’s way again and (they) intended to make the most of it.
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Post by Brandwyn on Nov 11, 2010 16:57:06 GMT -5
So ends the tale of the Gray Lady in Araluen. The story picks up in The Ocean with The Angel, The Bard and the Blackbird.
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