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Post by Alain de Mauvais (D) on Mar 12, 2011 23:17:15 GMT -5
The world was falling apart and I could feel myself cracking around the edges. Well, more than the edges to be honest. Jess dead, Avive attacked and her husband dead, the Queen…. It was all so very much too much.
All my progress into responsibility was fading and more often than not I found myself drunk. My body had slipped easily back into these old habits. All that had been missing to make my fall complete was a woman or women in my bed. If I kept it up that was sure to happen eventually.
Tired of drinking at home, I headed out to Night’s Doorstep and let my feet take me wherever they would. Once inside, I sat at a table and ordered a bottle of brandy. Once it arrived, I filled my glass and began to sip.
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Post by Cosette de Manon on Mar 13, 2011 0:36:49 GMT -5
I had never been in a tavern by myself after dark so I was a bit nervous but, as I walked in, I felt it melt away. I was curious to see what one was like. So, I'd dressed in my blue dress that showed off my eyes so nicely and that was my most comfortable-- and showed a rather expansive amount of cleavage-- and set off toward an inn I'd seen in my daily meanderings.
This one was lit enough and not quite as loud as I'd epected, but there was enough noise to make me startle a bit as I stepped through the door and pulled my hood from atop my head. Glancing around, I saw the tables occupied-- one by a gorgeous lone man with a bottle and a glass. Frowning, I moved toward the bar and asked for a mug of mead, which was brought with quite a bit of alacrity. I picked it up and moved toward the man at the table. As I stood off to his side and smiled down at him, I noticed he was drinking brandy.
"May I sit with you?" I asked politely. He looked so lonely. Maybe I could help him to not feel as alone as he looked.
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Post by Alain de Mauvais (D) on Mar 13, 2011 3:01:48 GMT -5
So lost in my own mind had I been that I'd not even noticed the girl approach me. At her question I glanced up, eyes moving over blue cloth and smooth flesh until I met her gaze.
"Oh, of course," I said, shifting until I was actually sitting again and not just slouched in my seat.
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Post by Cosette de Manon on Mar 13, 2011 9:43:50 GMT -5
I sat in the chair next to him so that, if he were inclined to carry on a conversation, we would be able to speak in normal tones without having to shout to each other over the noise of the other patrons. As I looked at the man, I realized he looked like he was falling apart. He was handsome, to be sure, but he looked an awful lot like something was tearing him apart. I wanted to help him, for some reason. Bedding him didn't even have anything to do with it, although I'd not turn it down. He just looked so alone. As I had been feeling a bit like that myself, though clearly not as much so as this man, I felt as if we could perhaps relate on some small level. Maybe if I couldn't help him with his problems, I could simply help him take his mind off of them somehow.
Putting my hand out toward him to shake his own, I said softly, "My name is Cosette. You can call me Coco, if you like. May I have the honor of making your acquaintance, messire?"
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Post by Alain de Mauvais (D) on Mar 13, 2011 16:08:45 GMT -5
I took her hand, shaking it gently as I continued to drag myself back out the mire of my thoughts.
“My name is Alain,” I told her. “It is a pleasure to meet you Coco.”
She was quite lovely, I noticed in some part of my mind. I wondered a little at why she’d chosen me to approach, but I wasn’t going to send her away out of hand. If anything, she was a respite from my own mind and for that I was already grateful to her.
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Post by Cosette de Manon on Mar 13, 2011 18:01:27 GMT -5
I smiled as he shook my hand and used my nickname. He seemed awfully sweet.
"It's very nice to meet you, Alain. Please forgive me for prying, but I couldn't help but notice that you look like you need a friend. May I be your friend?" I asked him softly, my smile turning warm and sweet. I would never dream of prying into the man's thoughts, but everyone needed someone sometime.
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Post by Alain de Mauvais (D) on Mar 14, 2011 16:24:22 GMT -5
She hadn’t struck me as a prostitute to begin with, but her words in this setting made it hard to think otherwise.
“Oh, that’s very kind of you,” I said, my voice kind and not at all upset. I just wasn’t what she was hoping for. “I wasn’t quite looking for a bedmate. You are more likely to find a customer in one of the others here, I’m sorry.”
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Post by Cosette de Manon on Mar 14, 2011 17:32:58 GMT -5
I blinked, and then snorted, and then had to cover my mouth to keep my laughter from ringing out. I laughed rather hard for a moment, holding up one finger in a gesture for him to please give me a moment.
"I don't know if I should be offended or flattered that someone thinks I'm capable of acting like a prostitute, but since I do not think you meant it to offend, I will settle for flattered," I said through my giggles. "I am certainly not a prostitute, messire! I am actually a rather unemployed ladies' maid."
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Post by Alain de Mauvais (D) on Mar 15, 2011 19:32:58 GMT -5
I watched as she laughed, my eyebrows going up a little.
“Forgive me,” I said. “When you asked if you could be my friend, it just sounded like a proposition. I did not mean to offend at all.”
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Post by Cosette de Manon on Mar 15, 2011 19:51:26 GMT -5
"Oh no no, not at all," I said through my giggles. "I can see now how you may have thought that! But no, I'm not one, and I'm also not offended. May I still be your friend?" I asked him. "I realize we don't know each other, but I suppose this is how people meet... Randomly starting up a conversation." I smiled encouragingly at him. If he actually wanted me to leave, I would go, of course. But it was always nice to make a new friend.
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Post by Alain de Mauvais (D) on Mar 15, 2011 20:04:44 GMT -5
She seemed so sweet it was almost hard to believe it wasn’t an act. Somehow though, I had the feeling that was who she really was.
“Thank you Coco, I would like to be your friend,” I said, smiling. “And yes, this is how most friendships start.”
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Post by Cosette de Manon on Mar 15, 2011 22:04:54 GMT -5
I smiled and squeezed his hand companionably. "Well good, then!" I said as the fingers of my other hand absently swirled around the rim of my mug of mead.
"May I ask why you're sitting alone, looking like someone's murdered your dog and trying to drain an entire bottle of brandy by yourself?" I asked him softly, my smile muted a bit. "You don't have to tell me, of course, but sometimes, it's simply nice to let it all out."
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Post by Alain de Mauvais (D) on Mar 16, 2011 23:48:00 GMT -5
I wondered if this girl realized how impossible she made it not to answer her questions? There was just something about her that would make me feel like a cad if I hadn’t.
“The woman I loved was killed recently, and then my cousin was attacked after her wedding and her husband was killed,” I answered, my voice soft as I toyed with my glass.
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Post by Cosette de Manon on Mar 17, 2011 11:20:34 GMT -5
My smile left my face in a flash, my lips parting in dismay. Gods above, well now I knew why he had an entire bottle of brandy. What a heartbreaking situation. I squeezed his hand where mine was still resting on it as I looked into his eyes, moisture welling in mine at the horrible situation and how he must be feeling.
"I know no words could possibly make it better, but my heart breaks for you, my new friend. I can't imagine how painful it was for you to speak of, much less endure. I'm sure there isn't, but if you think of anything I can do that may help, please tell me." My own voice was quiet as I looked at him, hoping to convey my honesty.
I hoped he didn't think that I meant we should jump into bed. As I'd thought fleetingly before, I'd not turn it down, and sometimes there was a beauty in the release that made it into a form of healing. But I was not about to pressure a man who'd just lost his love to go to bed with me. All the same, if it would help him, gods knew I'd be more than willing to help him to have even a moment's respite from the pain. Either way, though, I was content to simply sit with him and offer companionship.
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Post by Alain de Mauvais (D) on Mar 18, 2011 15:25:36 GMT -5
“Thank you,” I said after another sip of brandy. “There’s nothing anyone can do and that’s part of what makes it so hard.”
I sighed and shook my head a little before looking at her again, a soft smile on my lips. “Tell me about yourself, Coco. What brought you here tonight?” I asked. Anything that would keep my mind from devouring itself was blessed relief.
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Post by Cosette de Manon on Mar 21, 2011 13:25:27 GMT -5
"Oh... Well, I guess I simply came in because I'm rather lonely; the only friend I really have in the City is my horse Michel, and since I sleep in his stall, I thought I'd come in here simply so that I would spend the least amount of time possible in there."
Shrugging, I smiled at him once more. I wasn't trying to gain pity; indeed, I felt rather safe in Michel's stall and, while it wasn't the most comfortable, it was comforting.
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Post by Alain de Mauvais (D) on Mar 22, 2011 0:18:56 GMT -5
My eyebrows shot up when she told me about her living arrangements. “You sleep in his stall?” I asked. “I love horses, and have myself slept in their stalls occasionally, but not every night. Do you not have a home?”
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Post by Cosette de Manon on Mar 24, 2011 19:09:54 GMT -5
I blushed a bit. "No, not at the moment," I said quietly, a smile on my face. "But I'm sure I will find employ rather soon, and until then I am content to sleep in there."
Shrugging once more, I continued to toy with the rim of my mug. "So," I said brightly, hoping to change the subject, "You must have a horse then, if you say you love them? What's your horse's name?"
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Post by Alain de Mauvais (D) on Mar 27, 2011 16:50:10 GMT -5
“I have several,” I said, following her lead and letting the subject shift slightly, though not forgetting. “In fact, I breed them. My main mount here in the city right now is named Aros. He’s one of the new line I have been breeding; blending Tsagano mounts with Aragonian ones.”
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Post by Cosette de Manon on Mar 27, 2011 17:59:11 GMT -5
"Oh, that sounds lovely," I said with a smile. "My mama and papa breed horses back in Namarre where I'm from, they have Aragonians as well. My Michel is Aragonian, and a bit too proud for his own good." I rolled my eyes indulgently. "But Aragonian and Tsingano, oh that would be quite a beautiful specimen. May I see him sometime when you're not too busy?" I asked him earnestly. My love of horses knew no bounds and if there was a new cross-breed, I wanted to see it.
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Post by Alain de Mauvais (D) on Mar 27, 2011 19:07:08 GMT -5
“Of course,” I said with a smile. Her enthusiasm was endearing. “Any time you’d like.” A thought hit me. “Would you like to see him now? My home isn’t all that far from here.”
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Post by Cosette de Manon on Mar 27, 2011 19:34:56 GMT -5
I gasped, my eyes going wide. "Oh, could I? I would love to!" I exclaimed, excited at the prospect of getting to see what sounded like such a beautiful horse so soon. Glancing at my mead, I drank a deep pull of it, throat working before I drained the cup and set it back down on the table. I was never one to be wasteful.
"I'm ready when you are, my lord!" I said brightly.
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Post by Alain de Mauvais (D) on Mar 28, 2011 19:47:54 GMT -5
I couldn’t help but chuckle as I watched her down her mead. I finished my glass and decided to take the bottle with us. Laying some extra coin on the table for the server, I rose and offered Coco my arm.
“Then let us go,” I said, smiling more easily than I had in a very long time.
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Post by Cosette de Manon on Apr 4, 2011 10:22:40 GMT -5
"I follow your lead, my lord," I said happily as I rested my left arm comfortably through his right, noting the smile that adorned his handsome features. It was a relief to see the smile, rather more genuine than the small grins I had drawn out of him during our conversation. I stayed close to Alain as we moved through the crowd, which had gotten quite a bit more rowdy and loud as we had talked. I hadn't even noticed, so involved in our conversation was I. But now, I was glad that I'd taken the initiative to sit with him. I had a feeling from the way some of the men looked at me that I would have not been left alone and, had I capitulated against one of them, things would have probably gone downhill quite quickly.
As it was, though, I walked practically pressed against Alain's side simply to avoid any hands reaching out to touch me where they shouldn't have. One man, much to my chagrin, got a handful of my rear and I turned around without thinking, my left arm slipping from where it was hooked around Alain's and my left hand reaching back and cracking solidly across his face with enough force to make his head jerk to the side.
"No one touches me without my permission," I said quietly and glared at him. He stood up and glared right back, not willing to be shown up by a woman in a pub full of men. "I don't take directions from whores," he spat and grabbed me by the arm, yanking me away from Alain so hard it was a wonder my shoulder wasn't wrenched from the socket. It was my instinct to call for Alain but as this wasn't his battle, I kept my mouth shut and instead used my body as well as I could, twisting out of his grasp and stomping my foot down hard on the man's instep. He howled in pain and I swore I felt some bones snap, but I didn't get the chance to reflect on that as the back of his hand connecting hard with my face sent me sprawling across the floor of the pub, stars behind my eyes.
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Post by Alain de Mauvais (D) on Apr 4, 2011 15:50:37 GMT -5
At first I let Coco handle it, she seemed able and willing to stand up for herself, the slap she’d given the man was hard enough it echoed through the crowded room. When he wrenched her from me and struck her, well that was far too much.
The man made as if to go after her and I grabbed him, spinning him towards me with my right hand while my left flew towards him and connected in a punch hard enough to send a spray of blood across another man standing close. I wanted to punch him again, but I knew that at the moment Coco was rather vulnerable to any of the other letches in the crowd.
With a long stride, I moved to where she was, reaching down and helping her up, holding her against me with one arm as I turned to face our aggressor once more. My free hand reached for where my sword would normally be, but I had left it at home. All I had was a long knife in my boot, better for combat in these quarters in truth. I didn’t reach for it just yet though, keeping my eyes on the man as he spat a tooth onto the floor.
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Post by Cosette de Manon on Apr 4, 2011 17:23:25 GMT -5
Dazedly, I saw Alain punch the man who had touched me and I was grateful beyond measure for his presence at that moment. He held me against him and I rested my head against his chest and tried my hardest to collect my bearings. I was so relieved that he was holding me up; I was still a bit dazed from the blow to the head.
I looked up at Alain and tried to focus and, after a moment, his handsome features came into view, something I was relieved about. I moved my head, which was beginning to ache insistently, and looked to the man who had struck me, focusing on him as well after a moment.
"She your whore? You should teach that bitch a lesson," The man said to Alain, mumbling through his thick lips and mouth half full of blood. What it sounded like was, "See uhr 'oar? 'Oo sood teet 'at bits a 'esson."
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Post by Alain de Mauvais (D) on Apr 5, 2011 15:08:05 GMT -5
“She’s no one’s whore,” I replied. The words weren’t out of my mouth before I realized how funny that was considering I’d mistaken her for a prostitute earlier. The memory made me grin wryly, which made the bloodied man only glare at me harder.
“And I think you are well into the lesson that needs to be learned here. I am more than willing to finish it if you’d like,” I told him, fully confident in my ability to kick his ass.
He glared at me and I could see him weighing his options. His eyes slid to Coco where she was still clutched to my side. “She must be some piece of tail if she’s worth me killing you,” he mumbled before spitted a glob of blood onto the floor.
“She’s certainly worth me killing you over,” I replied. I could see a couple of large men, presumably his friends standing behind him, their eyes moving lewdly over Coco. I held her tight still as I slipped the blade from my boot, not brandishing it yet, but letting them see it.
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Post by Cosette de Manon on Apr 5, 2011 17:11:48 GMT -5
I felt a rush of surprised pleasure as he spoke of me being no one's whore and as I looked up at him, a grin lit his face and I knew he was remembering the beginnings of our conversation, when he had thought me one himself. A grin ghosted about my own lips at that, but I bit my lip on it lest the expression on my face start another bout of violence. I felt wretched that Alain had gotten into a fistfight over me, but I would have to apologize to him later. For now, I was simply happy that I had sustained no further injuries than an aching head. My vision was fine and, although I was shaking just a bit, I was strong enough to stand solidly and defend myself if need be. I was not stupid enough to pull away from him and so instead I pulled closer yet to him, my fingers fisting in his shirt as his arm stayed around me. I was relieved that he had not let me go but had, in a way, taken possession of me in the eyes of the men in the pub. The man who'd grabbed me leered a bit at me and mumbled something else before spitting a rather disgusting-looking bit of blood.
"She's certainly worth me killing you over" was Alain's response to the man's mumble and my eyes widened. That was certainly a compliment, in a strange way... Especially since he had no idea whether I was worth him killing a man over. At least, not in a carnal sense, and that was what the other man had been referring to. I felt him shift slightly and the glint of a blade shone from his boot. "Alain," I whispered urgently, meeting his eyes for a moment before he looked one more to the crowd that had assembled in case the man or one of his friends decided to fight dirty. "I am most certainly not worth a man's death, there's no need for this, we should just leave, truly I should have just kept walking instead of taking offense. I... I should have... There was no need for you to...." Feeling rather miserable about the whole thing, I felt tears begin to stream down my face and buried it against his chest, not wanting to draw any more undue attention to myself than I already had.
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Post by Alain de Mauvais (D) on Apr 6, 2011 13:50:54 GMT -5
“Shh,” I murmured to her, my eyes never leaving the men in front of us. “None of this is your fault. You should not have to take being grouped just to leave a room.” I held her close, hoping she believe my words for they were nothing but the truth. Even in my most debauched days I had never treated a woman like these men had treated her.
Her assailant drew a breath and started to say something just as the burly owner of the establishment burst in between us.
“Enough!” he roared. He pointed a thick finger at the other men. “Tabin, out! You and all of your friends, you’ve been warned before! Get out and you are no longer welcome here. I’ve sent for the guard so you best be well clear of this place before they get here!”
The other man, Tabin, seemed ready to argue for a second, but then the owner raised his hand and showed the large cleaver he was holding. Tabin spat something unintelligible and bloody before turning and heading out, his friends trailing behind him
The owner turned towards us. “You’ll want to wait for the guard to get here, sir,” he said. “Otherwise that group is likely to jump you as soon as you step outside.” Then he forced his way through the crowd back to the bar.
Finally feeling safe enough, I drew back just far enough to look at Coco. “Are you alright?”
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Post by Cosette de Manon on Apr 6, 2011 18:07:09 GMT -5
I sniffled lightly at his words. He was very sweet, and I hadn't been this relieved to have a man's presence near me since ... well.
I startled as a man yelled loudly and, when I looked quickly to see who had roared so, an extremely large man waving a cleaver was pushing his way through the crowd and I squeaked a bit, fear momentarily radiating through me. But he yelled at the man who had accosted me, and not at Alain and myself, and my relief knew no bounds. Then he spoke to Alain about waiting for the guard, and the other men left, and I felt safer.
I felt Alain shift and glanced up to find him already looking down at me. Wiping the tears from my cheeks, I nodded in response to his question and lifted my hand to the left side of the back of my head. "Yes, I'm fine, just a knot on my head that will likely go away in a few days, and a bit of a headache," I said with a good-natured smile. It was not the worst pain I had endured, and I would definitely survive.
"Are you all right?" I asked him, my brows raising a bit. He had been very brave, and I was impressed.
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