Archery Of The Doom [open]

[Princess Miroesa]

A peaceful afternoon it was in Minas Tirith, everyone seemed to be nicer than usual with the princess, still trying to cheer her up, even if she was in a far better mood than she used to be a week ago. The young lady wasn’t wearing a dress or a skirt today, even if people would prefer her too; she was allowed to practice archery! For the first time of her life!! Well, not really, she had already practiced in the past, when no one knew about, it had been fun and now that she could do it with their permission it was even more awesome than it had been while sneaking out to practice!There she was now, in the palace's yard having a lesson with a real archery teacher!

Her teacher thought her the basics and she stood some meters away from the target as her bow and arrow were position to hit it. Yeah, if only she knew it took a few days of depression to get to practice such a mostly man reserved activity she would’ve done that before!

She nodded as the teacher told her to shoot whenever she was ready too, he took a few steps away, still finding it awkward to train a young lady instead of a young lord who would use those skills to go hunting in the future and use in fights.

She paused a few moments, concentrating on target, she would hit it’s middle! She just knew it. Once she was sure her shoot would be good, or at least, once she thought her shoot would be good, she shot the arrow and strangely didn’t hit the target but much much farther away. Some servants were with them and she blinked, wondering about why it had flew away like that; she thought she was position well to hit the target!

A servant was about to run and get the arrow but the teacher stopped them, inner fearing that Miroesa would end up killing the woman while doing her job. Of course, Miroesa wasn’t aware of such thing. “Try again my lady.” the teacher told her, he positioned her again, this time, hitting closer to the target but missing it again. She teacher sighed, mumbling a few things about how archery was more suitable to men than it was for women.

She positioned her bow once again, tempted to point it to her teacher but restraining herself from doing that. “I shall hit it now…” she said to herself before missing it once again, having no idea where her arrow disappeared too. “I don’t get it, why doesn’t it work!!” She said trying to shoot again, but missing the target; she thought it was going to be easy, but apparently she was wrong.

[Gilwen]

Laundry had been going fitfully slow all morning. The task that Gilwen used to believe was a freeing activity for the light conversation the washers were allowed to carry amongst each other had become anything but; and it always seemed to crop up in her routine far too often. Lately, the ladies did not offer her much in the way of conversation, nor did it appear that they had divided the tasks evenly.

Today, Gilwen had been stooped over the cold lye water for far longer than either of the other ladies. It was as if the other washers were hinting to her that she was uncleanly. However, the day was far too lovely to warrant much displeasure. The small young woman was taking solace in the fact that she was in the sun, and fresh air. Able to feel the light breeze on such a bright day. And she was not being ignored completely by the others. The conversation between she and the others was light, and short. Still, it existed; and it was not as if they were gossiping about her this time.

No, the lady was not in a bit of displeasure. Though, her hands were surely in a great bit of discomfort. It was likely that she would work herself to bleed soon, scrubbing the linens, uniforms and garments they were to take care of this day. And it would be of no use to stain any of the Captains’ or Steward’s personal things.

It seemed that someone did seem to notice the way Gilwen was routinely wiping her chapped and burned hands on her apron as she worked; and finally stepped in to take over for her and relieve her for a moment.

The small woman had offered a thankful smile and quietly took a basket of wet clothes into her arms and moved to the hanging lines. She reached for the cloth on top, a sheet, and raised to her tiptoes to hang it from the line.

She stooped to pick the next garment to dry when something whistled by her ear. Gasping lightly the woman raised her eyes to find a tear in the sheet. Gilwen’s face immediately frowned in confusion. In ten years of her washing and serving in the palace, never had anything ripped under her care. What on earth had caused this?

She raised her fingers to delicately finger the rip, before catching the cause with her brown eye. An arrow was stuck in the ground just behind the sheet. What on Arda? she thought. Surely they were not under attack. Why in the name of the Valar had one found its way out here?

She turned then, and squinted against the sun to see where it had come from. In the center of the courtyard a target stood, and so did many people who were gathering to watch something. A lesson? Surely it was not the Captains. Their aim would not have been this off.
She let out a small cry as she jumped to the side, another arrow sticking itself in the ground where she had previously been standing.

“Gilwen, what is the matter?” A cool voice came, as one of the other washers stepped about the line of drying things to eye her curiously. “Honestly, you have lost quite a bit of your ethic. If you keep behaving as this—“

“Try again my lady.” While Gilwen was not one to interrupt; those words had prodded her tongue to speak, with a fervent glance back to the people. They were faint, merely carried on the breeze, and in truth, Gilwen could not tell if she had rightly heard or not. “Get down!” She urged.

“What? Do you think you are high enough to give orders? I dare say, that one of your standing—“ The woman began again.

She did not get to finish that thought either for Gilwen had rushed to her and shoved her to the ground, once more urging her to get down. The woman’s eyes flared dangerously at the brashness, but soon turned to surprise as an arrow flew over them both and into the ground not but two feet away. Gilwen began to right herself, tacking on a quiet apology for the roughness.

“It is quite alright,” the woman added breathlessly as she stood and righter her skirts. “I do believe it best if we cleared the area.” Gilwen nodded quietly, and they gathered the remaining three women and joined the group of people.

Gilwen’s guess had not been off, and indeed the person standing with the bow was not one of the Steward’s sons. Rather, it was the Princess from Dol Amroth who seemed to be quite new at the idea of archery.

She let herself give a sharp look to the instructor. Surely it was not as if he could not see the women working, what with the ample things that were hanging to wash. Still, she quelled it quickly and lowered her eyes. None had been hurt. But that sheet would surely have to come out of her own pay.

And more than this, it was not proper for a serving lady to give such looks; nor was it truly acceptable to raise her eyes to the face of any. But three arrows had been enough to disrupt this young lady's own work ethic for some moments.

[Dervorin]

A lovely day, no doubt about it! The breeze is wonderful, the sun projecting the perfect amount of sunlight, and... a gathering of people? There is no festival today, is there? There is no way I could have forgotten something like that...

A crowd was nothing unusual within Minas Tirith. However, Dervorin was absolutely sure no events had been planned for the current day. Dervorin had extreme amounts of faith in his memory, nothing escaped the grasp of his internal calendar. So, it was understandable that the Knight of Gondor was puzzled by the gathering of towns people in the courtyard before him.

He strode up to the group, and poked his head over them. Bless his height. If nothing else, Dervorin's height served him well, especially on occasions such as this. Without it, many things he did would never have been accomplished, such as spying the Princess Miroesa attempting and failing at shooting a target with a bow in the center of the courtyard.

Dervorin chuckled to himself. Miro had no business using that bow. It wasn't that he didn't think she did because she was a woman, but rather because it endangered everyone within shooting distance. Perhaps her instructor should have found a better place to teach her, rather than the middle of a courtyard. Much less the Palace courtyard.

Pushing through the ever growing group of people, Derv reached the center, far enough back so any accidental shots wouldn't hit the people. He smiled as he watched Miro struggle a bit with the bow. He'd help her, but the bow was never his strong point...

Glancing to the side, Derv noticed a familiar face amongst the group. Gilwen! He grinned in her direction, hoping she'd notice.

[Princess Miroesa]

Miroesa sighed and looked around; a crowd seemed to have gathered. She wasn’t not used by them, oh it was the other way around, she always had, once in a while to entertain people by singing or playing the piano, which was mostly for nobles when they were invited to spend the evening at the castle.

Her teacher became even more annoying than before, repeating her constantly not to throw her arrows everywhere in the palace; hey it wasn’t her fault if she didn’t get what she wasn’t doing wrong. Wasn’t a teacher supposed to show you what you were doing wrong instead of complaining about how wrong you do?

She couldn’t help but glare as he muttered other things about how women were unsuitable to do that sport and at this, she felt like pointing her bow and arrow at him and get him down. Of course, she pointed it at the target, and shoot, which by an unknown miracle, she finally touched it, and in the middle at it!

She gasped, amazed by what she had done. She did it! She finally did it! It was no thanks to her teacher though, well maybe only a little-she wouldn’t have shot that target if he hadn’t pissed her off like that.

“I DID IT!” She exclaimed happily jumping a little around. “I DID IT. I DID IT, I DID IT!” She added with her usual bright smile. She hadn’t smile ever since she had come back to Minas Tirith.

“See! Even a woman can do that! It’s so much fun!” She said to her teacher, restraining herself from glomping the man. He twitched a little at her words. “That could’ve been simply luck, try again and you’ll see if you really finally understand.”

She glared again at his words and shot an other time on the target, close to the middle. She grinned. “Luck uh?” She snapped back to her teacher.

“Well then, my job is done, to both of our pleasures.” He bowed slightly and left. Aw man! That sucked!!! She frowned a little but grabbed her bow and arrow; she was still proud to have hit the target twice! She glanced at the crowd once more, noticing a tall man, woah he looked like a giant! Also she spotted that servant who had came to watch her. She smiled and ran toward the crowd to see Gilwen. “Did you see? I hit the target!” She exclaimed excitedly. Those pants things were also really comfortable, more suitable than dresses and skirts when doing sports! “You should try those things, they are really comfortable” She then mused with sparkles in her eyes.

[Gilwen]

It seemed Princess Miroesa had not even noticed the short graze with death she had just gifted Gilwen and the other ladies that had been merely minding their own and taking care of the laundry. However even the bit of irritation that the serving woman felt ebbed away quickly, now that she saw how difficult a time the Princess was having up close.

She pitied her for a brief moment. In front of all of these people! She was sure the beautiful young girl had not intended to broadcast herself in such a way when she had come out here to try her hand at something new. If only there was a way to dissipate the crowd.

Whispers swept through the gathering of people, but it was now hardly directed at the horrible aim the Princess displayed. Rather, it seemed something else had caught the interest of the bystanders.

“He is the tallest man I have ever seen,” one of the ladies chirped beside her, and for a moment Gilwen tossed them a glance.

“He is handsome.” Another added. Curiously, Gilwen turned to find exactly of whom they were speaking. It certainly did not take long to spot the source of the murmurs and exclamations of disbelief and interest. And the mop of blonde hair was certainly familiar.

Dervorin tossed her a smile, having picked her out of the crowd, and she returned it. It amazed her that he had even noticed her amongst the sea of people. She was, after all, below average height. Still, from his vantage point he could probably see anything.

The young woman startled out of her quiet contemplation on the matter as the blonde-haired young woman bounded over to her quite excitedly. “Did you see? I hit the target!” For a moment, Gilwen’s doe-like eyes went wide, and she certainly received many strange looks from the others standing around her.

Quickly she recovered herself, and dropped into a curtsy. “Yes, my Lady, I have born witness.” She murmured quietly. She would have offered a further compliment, but the girl was far too excited to allow for more words.

“You should try those things, they are really comfortable.” She was, Gilwen concluded, speaking of the tunic and leggings she was wearing. It did look as if she was much more uninhibited in her movements. However, Gilwen had not the stature to emerge unscathed from running about in leggings like that.

Was she supposed to reply to that? It seemed the Princess was lingering. Oh, Blessed Eru! Gilwen wrung her hands before her and finally resigned that her speaking was probably what the girl was waiting for. “I do imagine so, my Lady.” She tacked on a second curtsy for good measure; so her words were not seen as too bold, nor her acknowledging the Princess out of place.

She had not raised her eyes to look at her in the eye. To a well-trained eye, it was not hard to speak to someone without seeing more than their feet. And it was there she stared. The courtyard was full of people who would see her! Oh, how she wished she knew what to do! Gilwen lightly chewed her bottom lip. Ten years of working in the service of the Steward, and there were still situations that the little lady was entirely uncomfortable in.

[Dervorin]

Dervorin sighed. Like usual, those that had never seen him up close were astonished by his height. Yes, he was almost as tall as the Kings of old. If it were not for his blonde hair, he could probably pass as being from Numenor. It never failed. He just simply couldn't avoid it.

But what Dervorin could do was ignore it, which was what he did.

A minute before, he was getting ready to make his way around to Gilwen. However, Miroesa bounded right up to, her, something Derv found incredibly amusing. A princess, talking to a servant, and not ordering her to do something? Incredible, incredible. But the amusement only lasted so long, because he noticed Gilwen's discomfort. Miroesa was quite an energetic one, and Gilwen was not the same as she used to be years before. He never knew why, exactly, as Gilwen was reluctant to speak of her experiences serving the Steward, and he never pushed.

He decieded to at least attempt to save Gilwen from her predicament. He called over the voices of the crowd, and began walking across the square to where Gilwen and Miroesa were. The last few people in front of him parted, more intent at marveling at his height then impeding his progress.

"Madam, I do think the lady Gilwen does not quite have the energy for conversation right now. After all, she has obviously been quite hard at work, not to mention her brush with a few stray arrows."

[Princess Miroesa]

“Yes, my Lady, I have born witness.” Miroesa smiled brightly at the servant, not minding much about the other’s reaction at such an odd scene; who would have thought that a princess would start a conversation as if nothing happened with a servant? Sure some whispered about that but from what she had seen those days, well, she got used to this kind of attention, even if at times, it made her feel uncomfortable. Still the woman looked rather shy talking to her. She was sure it was because of her status; or else, she had high doubts that the girl wouldn’t mind talking to her…what was her name anyways? She would have to ask whenever she had the time.

“I do imagine so, my Lady.” She frowned a little, as her gaze didn’t reach the servant’s. What a silly rule it was not to stare at royalty. Who cared if they were staring at you anyways? It’s not like if they were some kind of pets or slave or anything. There were a few notions that Miro didn’t get quite right with her status. She slowly began calming down as she noticed the giant coming toward them. She blinked, amazed by his size.

Wow, he looked twice tall than she was! It was almost scary, not to mention that he was a knight. She guessed. She was intimidated by this at the same time, wondering about what he wanted with both of them. "Madam, I do think the lady Gilwen does not quite have the energy for conversation right now. After all, she has obviously been quite hard at work, not to mention her brush with a few stray arrows." Oh? Gilwen was her name? It was a pretty one…though she didn’t have the time to think about this as her cheeks turned in a light shade of pink.

What?! She had almost shoot her?!?!? She felt like falling backward at the words; she didn’t know where her arrows ended up at being to far from where they landed. “Oh! I am so sorry!! I hope I didn’t hurt you!” she blurted out. “Really, the only one I would have wanted that to happen to is the instructor…” She added rubbing the back of her head, being shy around the handsome blonde that was standing beside both of them.

[Gilwen]

Gilwen liked to care for herself. She was a proud woman; molded and shaped by both her five and twenty years of life, her social stature and her dear Papa. She always liked to believe she could hold her own, and most people let her try. Though, most people understood the pride of the lower class. They worked hard, did not complain and did not ask for help.

That, of course, had never been something Dervorin had understood. His chivalrous nature prevented him from letting anyone try and deal with their own problems. This instinct he seemed to have flared once more as he made move to cross the courtyard. The crowd parted before him, and his long strides got him there quickly. In truth though, Gilwen did not notice his approach until she heard his voice.

She glanced up at him quickly, eyes flashing a somewhat doe-like surprise before she blushed shyly and dropped her eyes once more. Oh, her pride had gotten in the way of her gratefulness. She was quite capable of caring for herself. Dervorin was younger than she; it was a great sign of weakness to accept his aide in such a matter.

And then, all it seemed to do was spark a flurry of concern from the Princess. Instantly she began to prattle on with apologies that Gilwen did not know how to respond to. Still, some of the pressure had begun to lessen. The princess was no longer performing archery, and as such many people had begun to dissipate from the crowd.

“No, My Lady. I am not hurt,” Gilwen mumbled in assurance gifting yet another courtly curtsy of respect. The washing ladies had slowly begun to retreat to their posts again, and Gilwen eyed them for a moment. Still, she made no move to return with them, for the Princess was still with her. And to turn away from a member of the upper class was frowned upon. To turn from royalty was detested.

[Dervorin]

Dervorin frowned. Apparently, his attempt to divert the Princess' attention away from Gilwen had just failed miserably. Instead, she was attacking Gilwen with apologies, obviously something Gilwen was not responding well to.

For once, Dervorin was unsure how to proceed. His previous attempt had only focused more of the Princess' attention onto Gilwen, which was definitely not what he was aiming for. Perhaps....

"My lady, what exactly did the instructor do to make you wish to inflict harm upon him?"

Well, it was worth a shot. Changing the object of the Princess' attention would hopefully produce the desired effect. Hopefully. Plan A had already backfired, Plan B might as well. Which would suck... because he definitely did not have a Plan C.

----
((ooc:// Short post, sorry.)))

[Princess Miroesa]

“No, My Lady. I am not hurt,” Miroesa sighed of relief as Gilwen assured her that she wasn’t hurt. Good, she wouldn’t have this on the conscience anymore. Still, she worried about why the girl was always so quiet. She didn’t have to, but then again she could understand she wasn’t that free because of the job she was having; the lady was a servant and she knew they weren’t allowed to do much with royalty like she was

. It sucked, that’s for sure; she had the feeling that she could get along quite nicely with the girl. Did she even know her name? She blinked, she would have to ask her…

She was about to ask her, but was interrupted soon enough by Dervorin who questioned her.

"My lady, what exactly did the instructor do to make you wish to inflict harm upon him?”

She turned to stare at him, shaking her head slightly. “Nothing really big, I’m used to those words, he just kept repeating about how such things as archery was inappropriate for a woman. Though, I think we can be as good as men, if we practice.” she finished with a grin.


((ooc: mine is shorter *kills self* Dx))

[Durion]

OOC: No dying. I thought I would spice it up by bringing in Durion. He can rile up any situation. =]


It seemed that even though Dervorin’s interception had caused an opposite reaction than what the Knight had desired, he worked quickly to fix it. He had always been one to be chivalrous. And this was one of those times that Gilwen was utterly thankful.

She assumed, partly because he was so comfortable speaking with the princess, that being a knight gave you a right to address the nobles. If not, he would surely be working himself into a position to be chastised himself. Inwardly, she hoped that no reprimands would come to the gentle giant. He was merely trying to keep her job in place!

Miroesa’s response played at Gilwen’s lips a bit, and she felt a smile begin to creep across her face, but that she stopped it midway. She was slightly amused that the princess was so adamant about such a thing. Gilwen, finally concluded, she had never really paid much attention to gender roles. Or, perhaps it was that she paid way too much attention to them.

She had never questioned her role as a woman. Nor dared try and do anything abnormal for a young woman. When she was younger, perhaps, she would play sword fight with her father. But he had stopped such things to instill lady-like qualities in his only daughter. Half for propriety and society, and half so she would have no trouble earning herself a suitor later.

Archery, then, would probably prove to be something that both genders could excel at, given the time and practice. But most women, between being lovely daughters, and becoming loving wives and mothers had very little time to sneak away and try such things. It was the men, then, that trained more readily.

With practice, the brunette thought, Miroesa would blossom into quite an archer. The servant only hoped it was not around her the practice would take place. She could not afford any more ripped sheets. The woman stood quietly, then, for a few moments before she glanced over her shoulder to the ladies who had retreated to finish the wash. That was where she was supposed to be at the moment.

Her duties were indeed long today. For after the laundry was to be finished, she was to move off and clean a hallway in the palace. It would take her until late into the evening. A sadness clouded her doe-eyes for a moment, though she quickly dispelled it, reminding her of the blessing it was to still have a job. Of the honor she should feel for being able to provide for her family.

She glanced up at Dervorin, for a moment. She had not seen him as often as she would have liked, recently. Perhaps her wave of silence had driven him away as well. She could not tell for sure though; for the days were indeed dark, and he was a coveted Knight of the White City. Surely his training had been heavy as of late. He seemed well, though. He did not look as worn as she felt she did. His smile was still quite bright, and he did not look as if his body was growing any weaker by hard work and toil.

Though, she was so small compared to him, that no matter what he would always look strong and solid.

It was then the woman caught the movements of another figure. The crowd had dissipated, so it was easy to spot the lone man. But who it was set Gilwen into a frown. Durion was crossing the courtyard, heading right toward the princess, Dervorin and herself.

She glanced away, and back to Dervorin, to see if the tall man had noticed the presence of the other man. Fleetingly, she wondered if he knew anything of him. They were both members of the cavalry. Surely he would know of the horrible man he was in reputation and personality.

The handsome man was tall, though hardly looked it in regards to Dervorin’s presence. “Master Dervorin,” the man greeted, while flashing his most charming of smiles. “Lady Gilwen. Princess,” he bowed to the young blonde, as was only right. Still, something in the man’s movements were hardly genteel.

Gilwen curtsied back, though did so merely out of etiquette. She was a woman of the third tier. She had no grounds to refuse a noble lord of the sixth. In her heart though, Gilwen was a bit nervous. What had he come over for?

“I saw you practicing your archery, my Lady.” He continued, with a great façade at being human—at least in Gilwen’s opinion. He was a charmer, certainly. Though Gilwen knew the truth. He was foul. About as foul as they come. His looks, though, made it incredibly hard to see for most women. “I do believe you would thrive with a different teacher,” he added thoughtfully. “Yours seemed incredibly chauvinistic.” He was being very implicative. Not that he was sublime at archery…but it really wasn’t what he had in mind.

He then took a moment to look between Dervorin and Gilwen, and something glittered in his brown eye before he spoke again. “Master Dervorin, I had not known you kept company with dear Gilwen.” He seemed rather amused. And, he was. For this was something, perhaps, the manipulative man could use against the poor woman later.

It seemed Gilwen knew this and caught her breath. The way he had said her name sickened her, but she kept her eyes lowered and mouth shut. She bit her tongue though, in an attempt to make sure she stayed silent. She would allow herself to do nothing that would worsen the situation.

[Dervorin]

"Really now? Well, I believe he is extremely wrong. I, for one, would rather see more women then not working at things like archery and the like. In times such as these.. The soldiers of Gondor will need as much help as possible. Keep at it, dear lady."

Dervorin smiled at the princess, before glancing down towards Gilwen. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, a wave of negative vibes rushed over him. Only one man in the entire city could do this to Dervorin. And this one man was spotted by Dervorin, crossing the courtyard and approching the trio now. Durion.

Durion.

Dervorin had dealt with Durion more times then he wished. As a Knight of the White Tower, Dervorin and his comrades drilled as a detachment of the calvary, of which Durion belonged. No matter the circumstances, Dervorin always had a bad feeling around Durion, and so far, he had no explanation for it. He seemed nice enough on the surface, but beneath it, there was something much worse. Dervorin may have been a knight, but stealth and spywork was not below him. He'd seen Durion's attitude when he though no one was looking....

And his flirtatious nature... that alone would have pissed Dervorin off.

So, as the calvaryman approached, Dervorin scowled. At his question, Derv's anger flared. Dear Gilwen? It was laced with sarcasm, albiet hidden. There was also a hint of malice...

"Yes, Durion, I do."

Had any normal man spoken to Durion with out adding an honorific to his name, he would be liable to suffer repercussions. But Dervorin was a knight. Although techinically one social level below Durion, being a Knight was not something easily attained, and that granted him huge amounts of respect. As a result, more room to act as an equal.

"Not that its your buisness who I spend my time with. Tell us, why are you really here?"

Durion, randomly walking up to one of the most odd looking trios in the city? Yes, because there was nothing suspicious about that. Just by walking into the conversation made Dervorin suspect Durion's motives. Mind you, he'd suspect them anyways....

[Princess Miroesa]

Miroesa smiled at her two new friends; they seemed to get along quite well to her dispite though-she had to admit she was a little jealous of the attention Gilwen was getting from the handsome giant knight. Ah well, looks like she would have to look out for someone but still, she couldn’t help but gaze at the blonde man that was so imposing-were knights all like him? She hoped yes; she would have to give a closer look at them.

Besides, the servant was too nice for Miroesa to do something like trying to do stupid things to get the knight’s attention; not to add that she already had it and not to forget the fact that they had only met. Then again, she didn’t even know his age and well, she wasn’t just the kind of girl who would do anything to separate two nice people who seemed to get along quite well. She let out an inaudible sigh thinking she would have to get over that silly crush and gave them all a warm smile, not expecting that someone else was coming, until she saw the two staring away from her.

What was that? Who else had gotten most of the court’s attention while she was around? She blinked and looked at where they were staring at only to see an other man making his way toward them. He was quite handsome himself she had to admit. She was curious about what had brought him to them and so waited for his arrival along with the knight and the servant.

“Master Dervorin,”

“Lady Gilwen. Princess,”

She smiled at the newcomer and nodded at him, still remained silent; she didn’t know who he was unlike he who seemed to know the two others.

“I saw you practicing your archery, my Lady. I do believe you would thrive with a different teacher, yours seemed incredibly chauvinistic.”

Her smile only grew brighter at his words; wow, he was nice….at least from what she had seen yet. She didn’t know of what kind of reputation he was having and well, she couldn’t tell he was an hypocrite. Still something told her to be careful…a little.

“Yes, I know but who else would want to teach archery to a lady?” she asked back placing her words carefully not wanting to sound like a child in front of two handsome men whom probably didn’t know about her old mischievous self (which still was there).

“Master Dervorin, I had not known you kept company with dear Gilwen.” Miroesa frowned at his words there was something she didn’t like about those but still shut her mouth, he wasn’t talking to her and it would only make things worse if she did or so that’s what she thought. Besides, that’s what she had been though; to remain silent because she was a lady and was supposed to obey to any kind of stupid rules.


"Not that its your buisness who I spend my time with. Tell us, why are you really here?"

She blinked staring at the knight. Why didn’t he seem to like Durion’s presence? She didn’t get it…what was going on? She felt as if she had missed an episode.

[Durion]

It was clear the two knights had crossed paths. At least once or twice, though probably more. Gilwen could see in the very way Dervorin held himself as he approached that he loathed the man just as much as she did. Or, at least loathed his presence. She would not have minded him, in truth, if Durion had the sense and decency to simply stay clear from her path. Though, this was something that the foul man certainly had none of.

“Yes, I know but who else would want to teach archery to a lady?”

Durion’s brazen smile flashed once more and he dropped his gaze to the young girl and just studied her for a moment. She did seem to have loads of energy; as if she had been one of the girls to run with the boys at a young age. Still, she was of high breed and quality, so he doubted she had gotten much play from any. This was, undoubtedly, why she was so sprightly. Normally, Durion was not interested in such personalities. Even for his games, they were too childlike, which made such fun and games seem more like babysitting. Oh, Durion did dislike children. Still, her stature as a princess of Dol Amroth intrigued him, and for just the few short moments when he didn’t speak, he debated on making this encounter a small little game as well.

“I am sure, my Lady, that plenty of the knights would be more than willing to teach you. We do spend a good amount of time practicing the bow and sword.” He might as well have a bit of fun with it, after all. He could always end the game early. Still, he did not wish to be too brazen. Dervorin was right there; and though this normally bothered him very little, Durion was quite uncomfortable around those that could possibly prove to be stronger than he. Something he spoke very little of was his cowardice. Faeldor, the Stable Master, had oft given him bruises and sent him home a loser of a scrapple or match. Dervorin would certainly be no different. So, his response was masked and veiled. Though, to Gilwen it was quite clear that he was seeking the Princess’ attentions and perhaps an inquiry as to when he was available to practice.

"Yes, Durion, I do. Not that it’s your business who I spend my time with. Tell us, why are you really here?"

Miroesa seemed a bit perplexed by such a comeback and answer. Gilwen did so wish to explain, though knew it was not her place to do such speaking. Durion simply laughed; a velvety and light sound that took the serving woman a bit off guard. For such a foul man, he certainly did not sound terrible from his laughter. Clearly, he was amused at Dervorin’s forcefulness.

And he was. Greatly so. Dervorin, for lack of better interactions, had always been perceived as brash by the upperclassman. While his heart was far fairer than Durion’s, it was somewhat amusing that the man had no patience, or even a façade to keep up appearances. Durion was quite gentlemanly, which was ultimately working for him well. Few understood his twisted heart or shadowed soul; and none would ever claim he was not well mannered. Dervorin, though, was working his way into seeming plain rude and disrespectful. Something Durion rather enjoyed.

“Why am I here? Well, I dare say that we had the afternoon off.” His lilt held much amusement. “I saw you, Master Dervorin with Lady Gilwen and I did wish to speak to you both. It would have been quite unkind for me to simply pass you by,” he tossed Gilwen a rather taunting glance. As if such things could truly pull the attentions of a devil.

Gilwen clamped down a bit harder on her tongue and clenched her skirts in an attempt to keep herself from speaking out. He was ever so foul!

“And I had not yet made acquaintance with the Princess.” He offered the mentioned young woman a bow here, and then continued, “and many others did gather to watch her archery.” He tried to put on a face of mock confusion and a hurt, though his eyes seemed to sparkle a bit with mischievousness. “Why ever did you think I came, my Lord?”

[Dervorin]

Dervorin's eyebrow's rose at Durion's comments. Without saying it, he had almost made himself seem like a knight...

"Indeed. You speak the truth. We knights do spend much time practicing. After all, we wouldn't want an accident to befall us... as it does so often to calvarymen such as yourself." This could be taken as a threat, or a reminder. In this case, Dervorin meant both.

He snorted. The afternoon off? Durion, noble of Gondor, would spend his afternoons simply conversating with the rabble? Of course, the facade was obviously for the Princess' benefit, not his nor Gilwen's.

At Durion's bow, however, Dervorin decieded to place his faith in a more physical threat. He leaned slightly, and placed his hand on the pommel of his blade. The citizens, and the princess as well, would only see him resting his hand there. But Durion, a man of the sword, would be able to see it as it truly was... a dare to do anything stupid.


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(ooc:// bleh, short post. I don't have much for Derv to say, sadly, at this point. Gah.))