Durion
Man
Gondorian Calvary
[Mo0:0]
Posts: 72
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Post by Durion on Apr 10, 2009 11:08:07 GMT -5
The look that passed over Faeldor’s face was enough to bring Durion into a state of pure bliss. He had, then, acknowledged that his family was avoiding him, even with their eyes. All but Beleth, though---perhaps with some persuasion on his part, Durin could sway her, too. Still, even if he could not, he and Miriel had certainly outdone themselves here.
Upon his comment, Faeldor immediately dropped the glass from his lips; greatly pleasing Durion once more. And the look he gave Narbeleth! Yes, he was quite in a fluster. This is ever so easy. he thought contentedly. “And what would you know of that, dear?” Miriel’s clear voice cued him to continue, though he did try to keep a façade up. Appearances, after all, were everything. He looked to Faeldor, almost as if he wished not to say anything, though his heart was truly thriving and willing him to speak. “I do not mean to bring up a topic so sore, Faeldor. Merely protect you from such a display again.” He paused and tilted his head slightly, narrowing his eyes in questioning. “Do you not remember?”
He would have laughed, if he did not wish to draw attention to the four at the table from the three that had gone to the kitchen. “I had arrived to the tavern to meet with a few of the other soldiers. They do fancy a good drink at times,” he flicked his eyes back to Miriel, instantly communicating to her, that had only been a half truth. Yes, he had gone to meet some soldiers. But hardly for their company. To offer them payment for a task he and Miriel had planned the previous day. “I saw your brother there, and it was clear he had been drinking ever so heavily---and,” he turned his attention to Faeldor now. “That woman, Gilwen, came in later it seemed to fetch you home.” His eyes were sparkling now, for here is where he would distort things a bit---oh, to watch Faeldor squirm.
“You, Master Faeldor, began to tear and beg her to stay with you there. She insisted ever so sweetly that you let her take you home. I am not entirely sure what happened that made you stand, but it seemed you were about to leave. Though, your intentions changed immediately.” Durion paused a moment letting this portion of his story sink in. “I did not hear what you spoke to her, but your hands…they did roam. She struck you, and moved away. It seemed she was not at all interested.”
“I am surprised you do not remember such things,” his smile was on the brink of crossing his face. “You seemed ever so intent to finish what you had started in the closet.”
Durion watched carefully his facial expression. It was sure to warrant quite the response. And even the smallest change, he wished to soak in.
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Faeldor
Man
Head Stablemaster
Do we walk in legends or on the green earth in the daylight?[Mo0:1]
Posts: 556
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Post by Faeldor on Apr 10, 2009 18:21:02 GMT -5
Faeldor’s eyes narrowed as Durion spoke to him. He glanced for a moment at Beleth, and his sister looked to him. She had told him that Gilwen brought him to the door, in quite a state, but that was all he knew of the evening. It was obviously all Beleth had known, for the young woman began to cover her mouth with her hand in surprise. She could not see her honorable Fael to do such a thing; then again, until four nights ago, she had never seen him so drunk, nor crying the way he had.
How shameful he felt, how humiliated, to hear of his actions. Durion was a manipulative man, but he surely had been waiting all evening to say this; and he would not have known that Gilwen had been with him if he had not seen it on his very own. Faeldor’s eyes had fallen to the table; he could look at none of them. Beleth was certainly horrified, and he could only guess the looks on Miriel and Durion’s faces, as the treacherous man continued to speak.
He had not only sent Gilwen away crying that day, but it sounded as if he had insulted her own dignity; just as everyone else. He might as well have simply called her a harlot like the others. He had even driven her to striking him! His face grew more morose as he thought on the issue. No wonder she had not come to him at the stables since then! He must have terrified her with his behaviors; she was such a timid and modest woman. The man had forgotten the other’s looking upon him for a time, and had again brought his hand to his forehead, as if he could cover his shame by doing so.
There was nothing that Faeldor could say; these were not the people he needed to apologize to, and they were surely reveling in how terribly upset those words had made them. At least he might defend sweet Gilwen though, for she had done nothing wrong, and he was entirely glad that she had denied him. “I am glad then,” Faeldor said finally, “That she would not disgrace her honor. To you, it should only prove the fact that she is a virtuous woman, and no harlot.”
The children, once again, had been quite attentive to the adult’s conversation, ever since their brother had risen and yelled at their guests. Marileth may have understood some of the conversation, though the others were too young to understand much more than the fact.
“Oh, Faeldor. It does sound that you had an unpleasant evening,” Rosiel purred to the man, touching his arm. “My Lord, Durion, you mustn’t keep the man from his wine. It seems that he is quite in need of a good drink.” She touched the man’s bearded chin for a moment, but Faeldor refused to look at her. Then she took his wine glass and moved it toward him, looking for a moment at Miriel.
Miriel could hardly contain her laughter at the situation, and her eyes urged Rosiel onward. Rosiel, was in fact, tactless enough to continue; though if it was simply her desire that urged her, or her spite for her brother’s former refusals, Miriel could not tell. With the exit of her mother, and grandparents, Miriel’s hand had wandered itself, up from Durion’s leg to his arm, and then over his shoulder to the back of his neck, where her dainty fingers moved about in small circles as she watched Rosiel and her brother.
“Come, Faeldor, do drink up,” the provocative Rosiel urged. “You might have offered to pay her, and I’m sure she would have been inclined in that manner. Perhaps tonight you will ask your bed favours of finer company, and they are sure to not refuse you as that that poor servant girl did.”
Narbeleth was horrified at the turn of the conversation, and the actions of their guests. And with the children in the room! She pushed her chair back and stood from her seat, glaring at Durion, then looking to Miriel pointed. “You will tell your company to hold their tongues while there are children present.”
Miriel said not a word to her little sister, and simply watched Beleth go, grasp little Haliel from her seat, and shoo the other children off to their rooms. Then with a swish of her skirts, and not another look at her elder siblings, nor the guests, she left.
“Do choose your partners with class, Fael.” Rosiel added after paying no mind to Narbeleth. She leaned close to him, and her hand pressed low against the man’s stomach. Miriel’s smirk pushed her onward, and Rosiel’s hand dropped ever lower.
Faeldor jumped from his seat in pure anger, the force of it again sending his chair backward onto the floor. He picked up his glass of wine, took a small sip of it, and then dumped the full glass on the woman sitting next to him, the liquid seeping through her cream colored dress. His anger got the best of him, and he grasped Rosiel by the chin roughly, forcing her to look at him. He studied her face for a moment as Rosiel began to panic, unable to escape his crushing grasp. “I am not so very fond of harlots. Nor are many, it seems. What a dreadfully poor prospect for you. If Miriel is willing to share though, I am sure that your Lord Durion would be quite willing. Do give Miriel a bit of wine as well, and perhaps she will join you.” He said this spitefully, and through gritted teeth.
With that, Faeldor released the woman, and allowed her to pull away. Though Faeldor did not push her, she fell from her seat, and held the side of her face, starting to cry upon the floor.
“Durion, I suppose I do not know how to speak to women properly. Please see to this one. It seems that she could use some care,” he said. After all, Durion had been the one to notify him of the fact that his behavior was inappropriate. Certainly it must be, with the way he had treated Gilwen both in the stables, and at the tavern, and now with this. Though he did not regret such behavior with dreadful Rosiel.
Faeldor turned, and left the room. He would have assaulted Durion if he would not have been within his own home. The man could not stand to be in his house any longer, and he went through the hall and to the back door, searching for the peace of his gardens, taking a deep breath. He seemed composed well enough, yet as he descended the few stone steps to the walkway, he spotted a little blue flower, which had been plucked earlier, but dropped and forgotten upon the ground where it now lay wilting.
This small sight seemed to sit the man off, and he dropped down to sit, picking it up, and buried his face in his hands; the little flower held between his fingers.
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Durion
Man
Gondorian Calvary
[Mo0:0]
Posts: 72
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Post by Durion on Apr 10, 2009 20:16:36 GMT -5
By the look upon both Beleth and Faeldor’s faces, it seemed that his recount had been ill received, which was precisely what the man was searching and aiming for. Yes. It does seem as if your brother is not quite the man you thought him. He thought paying special attention to Beleth’s display of disbelief and horror. It was all the better; it seemed Faeldor had been deified in this household. And by no reason should he have been. He was still just a man, with deep carnal desires---ones that would show themselves given the right situation.
And it seemed that giving him enough to drink did well to unearth them. Durion’s nefarious smile finally made its appearance as Faeldor spoke of Gilwen’s honor and dignity. “I am glad then, that she would not disgrace her honor. To you, it should only prove the fact that she is a virtuous woman, and no harlot.” Of course he would try and see the good of it. Well, Durion would not let that stand. “Perhaps you did not offer to pay enough.” The statement was haughty, though at such a level that the children would not hear the words, no matter how intently they were listening. Not that he would truly care if the wretched things did hear him, but he did wish for Miriel’s family to trust his words---if the children thought of him poorly, surely they would be able to convince others of their pesky ideas. By simply making them think poorly of their eldest brother and his harlot, Durion kept himself in a position to further manipulate matters down the road.
The entire show of the evening increased tremendously when Lady Rosiel, whom Durion had found quite daft as the evening bore on, seemed to take advantage of the situation at hand. Durion turned his cool gaze to her as she began her own manipulative ministrations, and while finesse was lacked, the result was sublime. Rosiel needed to work on tact, but she did have quite the hold on Faeldor’s nerves. The only thing going for this woman, it seemed, was her outward appearance. And all the while, Miriel was egging her on.
Eventually Beleth chased the children from the room, and Durion could tell that the young woman now thought of him in quite a different light. She might get along well with Anira. He thought absently. It seemed both of those women had caught a glimpse of his true nature and disapproved.
Then, Faeldor whirled into a fit of fury. It was as if by removing the children from the picture, a quite different side of the man could be seen. This was closer to the Faeldor he had remembered as a child. One that had quite a show of brute force if need be. Durion was quite thankful he was not on the receiving end of such actions now. Though, to see the degradation of Faeldor’s newfound proprieties caused him a quiet chuckle. ”If Miriel is willing to share though, I am sure that your Lord Durion would be quite willing.” This was, undoubtedly true. After all, such a game would be quite nice---it seemed he had already won with Miriel.
Still, Durion did think that Rosiel would probably not prove much more of a challenge. In which case, he would make no motions toward her. Faeldor stormed out of the room, leaving Durion to “care for the woman”, who was now pitifully crying on the floor with a ruined dress. He sighed, and looked to Miriel for a moment. “Perhaps we should pick her from the floor.” He muttered quietly, and finally stood to raise the sobbing woman from the ground.
Perhaps if the others returned from the kitchen to find such a scene, they would think higher of him than their own dear Faeldor. He walked about the table to her and bent down to be at her eye level. “There, there. Do not let him trouble you,” he flashed her a small smile, and offered her a hand to help her stand. “Perhaps all he needs is a bit more wine in him.” He offered pointedly.
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Faeldor
Man
Head Stablemaster
Do we walk in legends or on the green earth in the daylight?[Mo0:1]
Posts: 556
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Post by Faeldor on Apr 10, 2009 23:54:44 GMT -5
Rosiel was set off more by Durion’s words, and cried all the harder. “There, there. Do not let him trouble you.” Was he mocking her? She had only been trying to win the man’s affections for five years, and now look, he had ruined her dress, and her face was sure to be red where he had grabbed her! And Miriel didn’t even care! The woman had gotten up from her chair and was simply looking out the window, all but ignoring her.
Though Miriel had been amused by Rosiel’s actions towards Faeldor, she was never amused by the woman’s crying fits. She simply did not have the charm that it would take to win a man such as her brother. She sighed, looking over at Durion as he offered his hand to Rosiel, and she took it to stand up, and thankful that she would not have to consol her.
The woman began to smile to herself as she looked out the window.
“Oh, Durion, dear, please do come over here. The view of the city is quite excellent tonight,” Miriel smirked, oddly amused by something outside the window. It was dark now, and one couldn’t see far down the street at night, but the faint glow from the window seemed to set enough light on the street to see something.
“And Rosiel, compose yourself, I’m sure you would enjoy it as well.” Miriel stood to the edge of the window, barely letting herself be seen against the backdrop of the room, and Rosiel sniffled a few more times but wiped her eyes upon her sleeve, which was stained with the red wine, and finally came to join her friend in front of the window. Her bitter look turned to a bit of a smile though, when she saw what Miriel had spotted.
There she was, little Gilwen standing outside their house, presumably on her way home from work. She looked pale and weak in the moonlight. “She must be thinking of poor Faeldor,” Miriel muttered, now stepping in full view of the window. The shadows of the two women fell out upon the street. Finally it seemed that Miriel caught the womans eye, and she raised a dainty hand to wave at the servant, a cruel smile curving over her lips.
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Durion
Man
Gondorian Calvary
[Mo0:0]
Posts: 72
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Post by Durion on Apr 11, 2009 0:05:28 GMT -5
Durion pulled Rosiel from the floor, though not at all amused with the woman's tears. It was quite grating, really, to hear a woman cry in such a manner. Still, he did not have to deal with it long, it seemed. Miriel called them both over to the window for a view of the city, though inside, Durion knew Miriel would find nothing of the city appealing enough to draw them over.
Curiously, he went to her, looking out the window. His stoic face blooming into a smile once more. "Well, now. The little dog seems to be wishing for some attention." He mused darkly. My, the girl did look worn and exhausted. The moonlight seemed to be bringing out the worst of the petite mess of a girl.
Oh, how completely lovely of an evening.
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Outside, Gilwen had stopped in front of Faeldor's house. Her ankle was bothering her, and that was the excuse she had given herself. Still, she could have very well pressed through it. Perhaps she had wished that by standing that close to him, she would feel some sort of peace. Or more simply, perhaps she wished he would rush out of his front door to speak with her. By this time, though, she was certain he would have tucked himself to bed. He did work so hard in the stables, after all.
But there she stood anyway, a worn and pitiful excuse for what the young woman had been simply five days ago. It seemed she had been wasting away, in truth. And Gilwen could feel it. Her attention was drawn to the movement in the window---and instantly, the girl began to move away, but not before catching a defiant gaze from Miriel and Rosiel, and a taunting wave to send her on her way.
She could stand there no longer, for she could feel tears well up inside her, and she did not wish for them to see her cry. She simply turned and finished her descent to her home, intent on putting her little body to rest for the night.
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