Garden Walk

[Trillian]

Dagger led Ara (who he knew as Miss Emily Green) into the courtyard and towards the gardens as he\'d promised her.  Beyond the gardens at the front awaited many carriages to whisk away the visitors to their homes.  He wondered if she\'d come in one or was escorted on foot by a guard or a family member - her non-existant father, perhaps.

If there was one thing Lord Dagger did, was to check on the backgrounds of the people he met, and when he\'d put Emily\'s name through the system, he\'d received almost nothing in return, just a few cover stories and no real evidence.  It had stunk of deception, but he\'d pursued her anyway, to see if she was as interesting in real life as she was in the mystery she represented.

He, apparently, wasn\'t her focus, perhaps he was a passing interest - whatever it was, she felt no spark with him, nor he with her, and now he had his mystery woman on his arm, heading towards the gardens and the royal pond that had a bench upon it, with a lantern post behind to keep them from being shrouded in darkness.  He didn\'t trust her, he knew that much, though he doubted she was a threat to him he wouldn\'t let his guard down.  Speaking of guards, they were stationed all over, for the Royal Banquet screamed for armed protection, to ensure any drunken nobles didn\'t get rolled on the lands by trespassers.

"This way," he encouraged, leading her towards the garden near still water.

[MissusHow]

Ara herself was feeling less cautious than Dagger was, not only because she didn\'t know that he had checked her background, but because she saw no reason to in a general sense. He had no reason to turn her over to the law, and even if he did he would be turning her over as \'Emily Green\', he did not know who she was, did not suspect that she was related to the thieves in any way...what had she to fear from him?

Indeed, what had he to fear from her? She knew he had scewered more than one of her thieves without regrets or second glances. It had won her respect, though not her favor. In a fight, would she be able to beat him? Only because of a few tricks up her sleeves that he might not know, but in a battle with only her and her daggers she doubted she would best him. He was noted for this skill alone...perhaps they would remain equal.

It was a dangerous overconfident stance that she had taken, but she did not look at it as such...she did not see this mission as the suicide that it surely was. Recent events had opened her more to the thieves attacks, and as a wounded animal who has given up, she dove into this new danger with no inhibitions, or second thoughts. But the most dangerous thing about this situation was that she did not recognize it as such, she did not see the wound, or the cliff...she saw herself as she usually was, walking in the arm of a noble with the dark blue sky ahead.

"The gardens are beautiful, Lord Dagger." she said lightly, seemingly oblivious of all the guards around...as if she had nothing to fear from them, as if she didn\'t fear them. "You must pay your gardeners a very high amount of money."

[Trillian]

He was surprised by her comment.

"I don\'t live at the palace," he declared, for the gardens belonged to Royalty, the same way the palace was.  It was possible her ethnic background had fooled her on that one (because it was obvious by her exotic features she was not of this land), and warmed him to her a little.  Ignorance he truly could deal with, but not when feigned.  If she was lying about her misunderstanding, she was covering it very well.  "I have my own estate, my own land.  The taxpayers of Oberon pay for this garden, so that you and I may enjoy it now."

He smirked, for he was on the taxpayers income, being the Lord he was and relinquishing much of his land to the throne.  A small percentage that it was but still a healthy one, and he could be frugal as much as generous with his staff wages.

[MissusHow]

Ara glanced at him, "Oh, I meant that in a general way." she told him, looking around, a little dismayed at her slip. She had been thinking of the nobles as a whole body, perhaps a little unaware that they existed as individuals. "Then again, I suppose that\'s wrong also." she murmured, smirking a little at the taxpayers part. She taxed her thieves, but that was for all of their benifits. Not to build a frivolous garden. She amended her earlier comment, "I\'m not very acquainted with the system here, as you may have guessed."

They passed close to a guards view and Ara didn\'t flinch. It was as if she were numb to all the dangers around her, in a bubble. "Father only taught me the way of merchants." she added, stoping for a moment and bending down to pick a pretty yellow flower. She placed it in her hair and it reflected onto her face because of the pretty glow of the castle.

[Trillian]

He listened to her reasoning then watched her pick a flower and put it in her hair.  Most ladies would ask him to pick a flower for them, and for him to put it in their hair, so watching her do it herself was quite liberating.

"I understand women are not considered equals in other parts of the world," he explained, "and that politics are kept from them.  It\'s quite different here, where women can not only join the Guard, but can be Captain."

Now, why would he bring that up?

[MissusHow]

"The captain of the guard is a woman?!" Ara asked with false surprise, glancing at Dagger dubiously, "She must be very...strong." There was a short pause where the only thing heard besides their footfalls were the crickets, "Do you know much about her?" she asked, her voice genuinely curious this time. What would he tell her about his on and off mistress? Not her secrets...and he wouldn\'t reveal his attatchment to her...would he? She doubted it, but maybe he would surprise her.

"I\'m only asking because my father said that I am a strong woman as well...I want to see if how he describes me mirrors her." Again her curiousity was genuine. She had heard much about the captain, but nothing from anybody who know her so well. She stopped a wolfish grinn from possessing her features and only looked at Lord Dagger blandly, her eyes wide with curiousity in the schoolgirl look she had mastered years ago.

[Trillian]

Dagger smiled lightly at her surprise, but the humour didn\'t reach his eyes.  Rather, his smile was indulgent as it had been before on example of her ignorance.  As soon as she spoke about her father to compare her strength against that of the captain\'s, Dagger\'s smile left his face and his gaze hardened enough for him to pull it off the woman at his side.

At first he said nothing, his initial comments would be inappropriate.  After awhile he knew that she wouldn\'t understand anything he said anyway, due to her failure of knowledge on the matter.  He was surprised that she didn\'t know, for nobles talked, and he\'d been the topic for some time now - especially considered the banquet tonight had been very obvious there was trouble between them.

"I don\'t know her well enough to comment," he said, and left it at that.

[MissusHow]

"Oh." Ara said, glancing at the path. She was obviously missing something...something must have happened between the two that she hadn\'t been informed about yet. Recently. Her spies were not as good as Teresa had bene, or as snappy. She breathed out through her teeth, annoyed at how sullen he was being. They walked a few more steps and Ara finally stopped, letting her arm jerk his back as she turned to face him, her eyes searching his face.

"Allright. What is it?" she asked, in a voice that was similar to a mothers impatiently worried voice. It was gentle enough that she hoped it wouldn\'t offend him, and it was edgy enough that she hoped it would get an answer out of him. "You wanted to talk to me back when we first met. I saw it in your eyes, and the way they followed me through the room. And now here I am, in the flesh, walking with you. But not a word has been uttered." she demanded this, aware that she was treading on dangerous ground and yet again ignoring her inhibitions.

Her mind screamed at her to stop, but Ara was too steamed to listen. "Was it something I did? Did I fall short in some sort of...some sort of expectation chart?" she asked, folding her arms. Her arms were a little tense, as was her face. The thief lords eyebrows were raised and her lips were clipped together in an annoyed fashion. "I apollogize, Lord, if this is so. I really do..." she trailed off her expression was that of a person who is a little lost in what to say next. "I\'m sorry." she finally said simply. Her feet were grounded. Perhaps had she been another lady she would have run off in a huff, but Ara\'s pride refused her.

[Trillian]

When his arm was tugged, Dagger stopped and turned to look at her openly, not hiding the intensity in his cool grey eyes as he looked her over, querying her maneouvre with just his stare.  When she demanded his conversation, he slowly blinked at her, though had an answer.

"I wasn\'t aware that being in each other\'s company required a set amount of chatter," he told her drolly.  Dagger was not a talkative man, and if she wanted someone to talk for the sake of it, then she\'d chosen the wrong fellow.  In fact, he believed most women were pleased to be on his arm because he wasn\'t like other nobles, full of huff and puff of inane subjects, talking for the sake of it, and nothing to do with knowledge but rather supposition.

Did she fall short?  She was querying his expectations?  His direct gaze sought out what she might be after, but he couldn\'t read her that well.

"Would you prefer I invite m\'lady back to my house and into my bed?" he asked confrontingly, which would either earn him what he asked or a slap in its stead.  "You talk of my following gaze on you, and then of my expectations.  Did you want me to...?" his stare fell from her eyes to her lips.

[MissusHow]

Ara grinned at him, raising her eyebrow, "No. Maybe later." she told him simply, thinking on what Lady Rosaline used to do to men. "Maybe." she added, glancing back at him and walking a little ahead. Always keep them wanting, one of Teresa\'s more humorous letters had read about Lady Rosalines late night drunken advice. She didn\'t really think that Lord Dagger would bother with her that much longer, but that didn\'t bother her (much) either. The less interest in her, the better...if there was interest though, she wouldn\'t stop it.

She waited for him a little further on, looking back at him expectantly. If he would get offended and leave in a huff, that was his own fault. There wasn\'t much of a possibility that she would be leaving with him tonight...or any night in the following week. But later, perhaps. Perhaps.

[Trillian]

She was right to think that she would only be quick entertainment for him.  When she declined his offer he was only half surprised, and he didn\'t believe the \'maybe\' she threw in.  He half suspected she wished for him to pursue her on that maybe, but if he wished a conquest tonight there were many ladies who were willing enough for him, in the hope that it would lead to something more.  Even the woman he loved hadn\'t managed that, so how could anyone else?

He joined her side once more, but beyond the gardens lay the carriages, and this was to be his goal.