• Closed • [Krome] Stains

[Rafael Warrick]

28th Ashan 717

His feet hurt. His soles burned like fire from all the walking he'd done that night, serving platters to pompous prats that only noticed him whenever he slipped or accidentally bumped into someone in passing. He considered it a small miracle that the other servants at the engagement party managed to keep their cool. Nobles, as they liked to call themselves, were nothing but nicely dressed cunts.

Whatever agitation he felt towards Xander and Celeste's guests had vanished after he'd vented his frustrations on the massive pile of dishes that had to be scrubbed clean. Perhaps his plan to disguise himself as a servant of house Andaris had not been such a good idea after all...

With cheeks red from a hard day's work, Rafael stepped out of the kitchen after the last dishes had been cleaned and dried. Armed with a cleaning rag he was just about to start scrubbing the floor when his name was called.

"Olston!"

It took Rafael a moment to remember that he'd gotten work here under a false name. He looked toward the source of the voice, an elder boy with long, curly blonde hair and keen blue eyes. "I'll do that," he smiled and casually strode over to Rafael, patting the youngest Warrick on the back in comradery. "You worked your butt off today. Why don't you just help emptying the side rooms, then you can go home huh?"

Rafael wanted to correct the elder boy for slamming him on the back. They were not friends! Oh, if the boy had any idea just who he was trying to butter up... with some effort, Rafael managed to stay his tongue and muttered a thanks before hurrying off into the nearest side room.

"Goodness," he sighed as he stepped into the room. It was a right proper mess and he realized he'd been tricked by the other servant. While he pondered where to start cleaning up, he noticed he wasn't alone.

Was that?

Yes. It was her.

At once he resumed his role. "Can I help you with that?" he inquired politely from none other than Celeste Andaris. "Please do not tire yourself too much, my lady," he added as he moved right over to her to help out.

He thanked the other servant for having given him this one chance to try and find out exactly what Celeste Andaris had in mind for the Kingdom. "You'd think that people who call themselves noble would not make such a mess..." he spoke tentatively, attempting to steer the conversation to the topic of his interest. His execution would have been flawless if he hadn't, in his excitement, bumped his leg right against the edge of the table. A string of profanities unbefitting of a servant rolled of his tongue before he quickly covered his mouth with his hand and begged Lady Andaris for forgiveness with his eyes.

[Celeste Andaris]

Her feet hurt, her back hurt and she wanted nothing more than to go and soak in a hot bath and then fall into her soft bed. However, there was work to do and Celeste did what she always did. She helped in the clean up. Not obviously, that would not be appropriate but the young woman was in the side room where the men had sat and smoked cigars in some kind of circle-jerk of self appreciation. Her beautiful lips twisted in disgust as she realised that she was glad her father had not attended. He would have got drunk and tried to sleep with someone, anyone who met his criteria of female and with a pulse and frankly, these trials, pulse was optional she thought. Xander had gone down to the kitchens to thank the servants for what they had done, the food they had prepared and Celeste had moved into the smoking room with the intention of tidying it up and saving the servants from at least one small job.

It was a mess, and a bad one, but she had seen worse after a night where her father and Peake had spent the breaks arguing. Shouting led to throwing and crashing and breaking, after all. It was how things were for the Andaris family. She should not think such, she knew, for Peake was dead. Their last words had been anger, her and the brother she adored and hated in equal measure and now that was set in stone. It could not be removed and so, she looked at the stain on the table and she determined that, whilst she would live her life with her pain and remorse and guilt, this stain had to go.

One of the ungracious bastards who had sat here had, knowingly or unknowingly, burnt the tablecloth. She had taken that off and it was not retrievable, she knew, but beneath it there was a stain where some spilled wine had mixed with the hot ash and was stuck on the wood like glue. Celeste had cleared the table and was scrubbing it when she realised that there was someone else in the room with her.

The young heiress to House Andaris looked up as one of the servants from tonight walked in and started to fuss. "Please, you are as tired as me if not moreso. Tonight, you and all the staff have helped Lord Krome and I to perform a duty. The least I can do is return the favour, wouldn't you say?" She smiled and lowered her head to continue to scrub away this stubborn stain when he made a comment. "I am sure that, should we have the fortune to be cleaning up after a party in Lowtown Andaris," what kind of fortune that was, she did not say. "We would be facing a similar scale of mess. It is a dreadful mistake to think that those born into certain families behave or are different from those born into any other." She smiled and then, of all things, he suddenly started to swear.

Now, Celeste was no shrinking violet and she had heard that and worse, but the surprise of it took ahold of her and she blushed. Her hand moved up to her mouth, as though to catch his words but that was not it. It was the sight of his eyes, large and beseeching her and she felt laughter welling up inside her. She swallowed it down though, because this young servant might well find himself in all sorts of trouble were he to repeat that behaviour with the likes of Ebony Venora, for example. "Whilst I would suggest that what you just said were the most honest words spoken here since the first guest arrived." Her tone was friendly, there was no reproach there. "I would suggest that you try to ensure against such outbursts. Most of the people here tonight would not hesitate to have a boy whipped for such." Not her, though, never her.

Instead, Celeste frowned down at the table and then looked at Rafael critically. "There is a stain here which I am simply not strong enough to shift without scratching the wood. Do you have any ideas?"

[Rafael Warrick]

28th Ashan 717

Relief washed over him as his slip up was forgiven and forgotten. In truth he was surprised to find her so lenient. His last encounter with an Andaris was still burned into his mind and the mere memory sent a shiver down his spine. The likes of Peake would not have had him whipped for such a mistake. No, for such unwanted behaviour the like of Peake would certainly have beaten him black and blue.

"My apologies, my lady. As you said, it has been a long night." It was no act when he idly rubbed his eyes before moving over to the table to inspect the stain.

For a few trills he simply stared at it while his eyes grew soft and out of focus. He awoke a trill later as another involuntary shiver rippled through his frame. "Sorry miss," he mumbled. He hadn't been so tired in seasons and only barely resisted the urge to simply lie down on the floor and fall asleep. Surpressing a yawn, he sent a sheepish look at Lady Andaris. What was he to tell her? He hadn't the faintest idea how to clean the gluey goo without damaging the woodwork. He was doomed...until, suddenly, the light in his head switched back on. "I have an idea, just a moment please!"

He returned half a bit later armed with an old knife and carefully tried to pry the mess loose. While progress was slow, the result wasn't too bad. More importantly however, he'd also managed to arm himself should more violent means of interrogation be needed...

"Please, sit," he said over his shoulder. "I won't be able to sleep tonight knowing I let you do all the hard work, my lady." It was a plain lie for she would undoubtedly see how narrow his eyes had gotten and just how exhausted he looked. Nevertheless, Rafael kept at his job.

After a few bits he spoke again; softly this time, his voice sweet and innocent; laced with youthful uncertainty. "At the risk of..." he paused for a trill, choosing his words carefully, "inviting punishment, may I ask you a personal question?" If she approved, he would cease his efforts to pry the gooey mess loose and focus all his attention, as much of it as he could muster, on Lady Andaris. "I was wondering," he said with sleepy eyes, "if you really," he hesitated and bit down on his lips, "if you really love him. Lord Krome I mean. He's a good man," Rafael added quickly, "but I've heard...rumours..."

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[Celeste Andaris]

If this boy, who swore and yawned and called her 'miss' was a servant of any kind of experience, then Celeste was a commoner and her father an avid teetotal. It was, frankly, ridiculous. She looked at him and shook her head. "It is no bother, please, do not apologise." However, it was possible that they had been so short staffed that they had brought in a servant with all the skills of a poorly trained dog, but she truly doubted it. Xander's parents had spent an inordinate amount of money on the party this evening and such details were important. More than that, such details were not overlooked by Xander, by his manservant or by any of the staff she met here. It was much better run than she had thought it would be and this young man with his swears and his yawns simply did not fit the bill. Celeste looked at him with a smile and wondered, as he left, what he was going to return with.

And he returned, of all things, with a knife? Celeste looked horrified and then, as he started hacking at it, soft hands closed over his. "Please, the polish on a table such as this has been built up over decades, longer. If you use a knife, it will break the polish. As I said," she reminded him, with a soft and yet determined voice. "I do not wish to damage it. Thank you, but I fear that your technique is somewhat lacking."

As for his plea for her to sit, Celeste shook her head. "I would suggest that you would sleep should we peg you out to dry. You are exhausted, young man. If you insist on working, then tidy the bins, but I would prefer that you sat." He looked like he was going to drop, after all. He wasn't used to parties like these, not at all. Celeste realised that as she got back to the slow and careful scrubbing.

Then, he asked her if he might ask a personal question, at the risk of inviting punishment? Celeste smiled a gentle smile and nodded. "Of course you may ask. I make no promise to answer or not, but asking is fine." If he feared punishment, why would he ask? If he genuinely feared it, he would not remind her of the possibility, certainly. No, this young man did not fear punishment, not for a moment. His question, though, it took her by surprise and Celeste did not answer for a full bit.

Then, she spoke. At first, of course, it might seem that her words were not answering him, though time would reveal that they were. "This stain is a dreadful thing. The table is old, it has been built up over time and is seeped in history. The stain marks and harms it. We could cover it up, we could hack at it with a knife." Her slight smile in his direction was half accusation, half rueful. "Or we can work slowly to remove it and hope that we do well." He had heard rumours? Well, so had she and many more than him, she had no doubt. However, those rumours had power and Celeste considered how to address this situation.

"Lord Krome and I met only a short time ago. I do not know him, not yet. No one here tonight doubts that. Our wedding, our marriage has been arranged by our parents. Such is the nature of nobility." She looked at him and her gaze was determined, her chin lifting slightly in almost defiance. "I do not know what rumours you have heard, but everything I have seen of him has told me that Xander Krome is a rare, rare man. A good one." With a smile as she rubbed her shoulder for a moment Celeste considered the absolute truth of what she said, "I am sure that there are a hundred rumours. It is those words which are not widely known which are the enemy. However," Celeste looked at him and smiled.

"I answered your question, so perhaps you will do me the same honour back? Would you answer one question honestly?" If he said yes, she looked at him with a calm gaze and asked, quite simply, "Who are you?" She didn't seem tense or nervous for her physical safety, she simply looked at this boy who swore and called her miss and she wondered if he dared to answer.

[Rafael Warrick]

28th Ashan 717

Her touch was gentle as she urged him to stop and he complied at once, even though part of him still thought using the knife was a good idea. He withdrew his hands and spinned the knife around in his hand, a little tick he'd never unlearned, and yet another sign that Celeste was not dealing with a cookie-cutter servant here.

At her request, he took the nearest seat and slumped back in it. It wasn't proper, but he was tired of pretending to be someone else. Yet, if he was to reveal himself now, she would have no reason to believe him. While she chatted, he mulled over his options in his head. He could continue to pretend and hope to steer the conversation towards the questions he wanted to answer or he could get the same result more quickly if he...

Suddenly, he wasn't so tired anymore. He had a weapon, she did not. He had questions, she held the answers. He knew her, she did not know him. The more he pondered about it, the more he realized just how many advantages he had.

He'd made up his mind.

Perhaps her story about the stain was an allusion to how she felt about Xander, but he had not use for mere analogies, he needed cold, hard facts.

It wasn't until she asked him who he was that he looked up again, a fresh determination in his eyes. The urge to sleep had disappeared for a moment as the thrill of the moment kicked in.

"I am," he spoke quietly as he moved the knife effortlessly through his fingers without cutting himself, "a most concerned citizen." He granted her two trills, no more, to let the words sink in, then he moved. He was fast and she was unprepared. One moment he'd been seated, the next he was right behind her and his hand covered her mouth and nose while the knife threatened to cut her throat.

"You are not feeling well Lady Andaris," he breathed into her ears, "and I will escort you outside so you may catch some fresh air in private. Do you understand?"

"But should you make but one noise..." he continued, "one sniff, one breath even..." he let the blade speak as the sharp edge tested her skin. "We wouldn't want a wedding with a corpse now would we? Let's go." Carefully, he lifted his hand from her mouth, it was a test, to see if she had any intention to scream for help, for if she did, he kept his hand close enough to shut her up in a moment's notice.

OOC: Someone's gonna get kidnapped o.0 If it works out, hold a few trials after the 28th available please

[Celeste Andaris]

Celeste spoke about the stain and she hoped that he understood who she actually spoke of. Surely, any idiot would, but apparently, this particular one didn't. He looked at her, flopped there in a chair whilst she worked and he had cast off any idea of pretending to be a servant. In fairness, Celeste thought, he was young. Young and therefore rash and so he was bored of playing whatever game he had played. But this game, this game was one where people died. Politics was a place for dragons and wolves, not children and this child played it like he belonged. Was he really so foolish? She had thought Cassander the only child who played at man but here was another.

He was a concerned citizen? Celeste frowned and then, he moved. His movement was a blur to her and she knew nothing until he had his hand over her mouth and there was a knife at her throat. Why, she thought, did men always feel the need to go for the woman's throat? As he wrapped his arms around her, Celeste's body tensed. He whispered in her ear, and she nodded, just one.

"I will not fight you." Celeste's voice was just a whisper. "But know this. If you do this, you are making a choice and it is a rash one. I am the heir to Andaris. My fiance is Lord of Krome. If we step outside here, you and whatever house you represent," did he represent a house? She thought so, but she could not be sure so she had to take this gamble, "You will be breaking all relations between your house and both of the ones I am linked to. Venora too, for my fiance and the soon to be Baron are close friends. Is that what you want? Is that what your house would desire? Or are we, perhaps, having a misunderstanding?" Celeste stood and she did not fight him, but equally, she did not comply.

"If you take me out of here now, you start a war. Stop a moment, just a moment, and think about that. I have seen your face, but I am not the only one. Xander will not stop until he finds me or avenges my death. Is that what you want? Is that what your house wants? Or is this a misunderstanding and we should simply step back now, and start again?" Her voice was calm, quiet and reasonable with an undertone of terrified. "I do not wish to die, please believe me. But if you do this, you know what you are doing and you are making a choice." Celeste had no fighting skills, none at all, but she knew what she knew and she understood what was important.

"A man once held me by the throat and then raped me. So believe me when I tell you that I want to scream right now" Her voice was calm, but yet it shook. How could that be? "If you let me go now, then I will not scream. I will do that from loyalty to my people and a desire to not start a war. If you do not, then I do not accept any responsibility for what happens to you when they find you and they will find you" Her next words were delivered calmly and held no fear. "Whether I am alive or dead, when that happens, I pray that Vri has mercy on your soul, for no one else will. Now let me go and tell me what this nonsense is about."

[Rafael Warrick]

28th Ashan 717

She whispered and he could hear the fright in her voice. His heart thumped against his ribcage as he secured her tightly against himself, denying her any possibility to move. She whispered, because he did not allow her to do anything else and the sharp knife he held under her chin was a stark reminder that he would not let her try anything else either.

"Shut up," he hissed into her ear. "You know nothing, just like the rest of you nobles in your ivory towers." She was not as terrified as he thought she would be. There was stil a clarity in her voice, a strength that he had to snuff out before she could even think of resisting him further.

While his first mask had cracked and vanished, Celeste would find a second mask hiding underneath. Rafael did not confirm or deny any suspicions she might have, but he knew exactly what she was thinking because she blatantly told him. "The people of this country suffer while you and that fuckwit Krome hold lavish parties." His hand covered her mouth again and he pinched her nose between his thumb and index finger, starving her of any air. "The house I belong to is that of Rynmere," he whispered into her ear. "If you do not wish to die, then you must do exactly as I say." He waited a few trills until she would be desperate for air before he released her nose and allowed her to suck in sharp breaths.

"Now. Move."

Unwilling to take the risk of uncovering her mouth, he simply pushed her forward with the knife still pressed to her throat. The party had been over for some time now, there were not many servants left, and those that were...they'd be fools to attack. If they did, they would risk the death of Lady Andaris. Still, he dearly wished he would encounter any servants on the way out.

He pushed the door of the side room open with his feet and forced Celeste to move outside with him. To his relief, there was no one left in the hall, though he still heard some noises from the nearby kitchen. Still, if he was fast enough, they could slip out through the hall unseen and then, soon, they'd be out of the building and walking into the wild. "Not a whisper," he hissed into her ear as he started to cross the hall towards the exit.

[Celeste Andaris]

As he held her nose and mouth, Celeste felt the familiar panic rise in her and she felt her head being dunked, once again, into the bath as Peake had tried to drown her. The whimper which rose from her was of terror at that, as the panic attack gripped her and Rafael could feel, undoubtedly, that her whole body started to tremble. Panic gripped her and her skin turned clammy. She gasped, gulping in air as he allowed her to breathe again and, as it had previously and so many times before, she felt panic completely overwhelm her.

And then, just as her brother had before, he whispered in her ear. Celeste tipped over into total panic and she lost all sense of what was around her. "Please, no. Please, no." She repeated the whimpered beg and he would feel in every inch of her just what terror she was in the grip of. She didn't hear what he said, only that he was whispering in her ear and she moved where he moved her. Her feet stumbled and her heart pounded in her chest so loud that she thought it might burst out. He was cutting off her air and he was whispering to her and she was boiling and freezing inside. Peake had done that, and then he had taken any last vestige of human love from her with his brutal assault. She was there, back there and there was nothing she could do to leave it.

Sometimes, she thought she would always be there. In that room. In that place where the light was taken from her.

Xander, somehow, had managed to start to break down the walls of that room, but this man with his knife to her throat, whispering in her ear and controlling her breaths threw her back there and she stumbled forward as he pushed her. She recognised the hall and yet it was swimming, moving around like it never had before. Celeste's eyes widened as she saw Xander. He was turning the corner to come and find her, she suddenly knew. To tell her that he was glad it was over as he was sure she was. Maybe he hoped that the two of them could spend just a little time together now, talk it through, but she was going to die. He could undoubtedly see the terror on her face, he'd seen it before after all, when she was attacked in the village. But this time, she was going to die. That was what the black dots in her vision meant, she thought, as they transformed from dots to a black tunnel and then, Celeste Andaris, first in line to House Andaris, daughter to the Baron and grand-daughter to the Duke fainted in Rafael's arms.

[Rafael Warrick]

28th Ashan 717

Fear gripped his heart the moment she started to beg. Adrenalin surged through his veins as he forced her to keep moving. The exit was close now and after they'd left the hall, it would just be a few corridors until they were back out in the open. He knew they would encounter guards along the way, but he did not expect to see-

He froze. Celeste sagged in his arms like a sack of potatoes and it required all his strength to keep her upright. But far more problematic than having to drag the dead weight around was the sudden arrival of none other than Xander Krome.

"Stay away!" Rafael barked, "or I'll slice her open."

For now, he had the advantage, but he knew he could not maintain it for long. There was no way he was going to drag Celeste outside. He simply didn't have the strenght. Yet, he still had one trick up his sleeve. One final attempt to undo the klutz he'd caused. "We are everywhere, Lord Krome. We are in the homes of every noble house, you nor your wife, nor your highborn friends will ever be safe...the citizens of Rynmere have suffered enough. What price are you willing to pay, Xander?"

It was a diversion. He understood all too well that he was not in any positon to make demands. Yet, if he caved in now, he'd only weaken his position further. Slowly but surely he approached Xander, dragging Celeste along with him. Immortals, she was heavy. Stuffed with pies and pastries no doubt. All he really needed was to get on the other side of Xander so he had a clear shot towards the exit.

As he shuffled past Xander, if the man would let him, he noticed one more advantage. "You're unarmed," he sneered. It was however an advantage that would soon be rendered null for he could already hear armour clattering in the distance. His brows furrowed.

[Xander Andaris]

Xander looked on in horror, his eyes fixed with Celeste's before they suddenly closed and she fell down fully into the boy's grip. "Stop!" He yelled at the boy, it was in reflex and he had no hope the boy would listen. He was smaller than him, much smaller and his complexion showed his young age. At first Xander did not recall where he recognised him from, but then it hit him. It was the servant from the party, the one who had served them snacks early on. Xander felt his stomach knot. His stupid parents, they truly were useless not only at politics but apparently also at hiring servants. Xander's hand curled into a fist, his nails pressing against his palm as he looked over at the boy.

Somehow he was managing to hold her entire weight himself, it was impressive and Xander was surprised at the boys strength. In fact he seemed to keep his control and grip more like a well formed and exercised adult. His words, however, suggested a still young and inexperienced mind. He expressed no wishes or wants just a threat which felt strangely empty. If he was trying to kill her he would have done so already, why would he waste time trying to take her? Now Xander was sure this was not his original plan and now he was in a predicament he was just throwing any threats he could find.

Still, Xander stayed where he was, young boys could be rash and foolish, he himself having almost killed another boy when he must have been a similar age to this one, knew just how easy it was to lose control. So he listened to the boy and new something was amiss. Xander knew every person in his household and not a single one of them would betray him. He had known them since long before the Citizens Alliance had ever existed. The boys words were like poison an attempt at instilling fear but Xander had the antidote to this. This antidote was knowledge of the truth, the truth that he knew many of his servants better than he knew himself. They were loyal and he had treated them with more kindness than anyone else in the whole of Rynmere, this treatment secured their loyalty and friendship.

"You speak like a man who has seen more than a boy such as yourself could have, you are clearly not working alone.
Those who use children to do their biding are worse than I ever could be, you are delusional and you have been misguided in your endeavour here." His own distraction now came into play, maybe he could hold the boys attention while he circled him holding the future of his family line, his future wife. During this time his eyes scanned for a weapon, anything he could use if he needed. Of course there was nothing, not even a single sword on the wall. He knew there was a reason he hated how the place had been decorated in stupid paintings. "You have made a mistake making an enemy of me, if only you had opened your eyes. Maybe you would have not acted in such a foolish manner." Xander's face was straight, his emotions controlled but inside he felt rage. It bubbled and boiled hotter than anything he had felt in a long time.

He had not felt this kind of anger since his sister died, this urge to rip the guts out of someone. Yet, as he watched this boy hold a knife to the woman who was finally giving him happiness he wanted nothing more. He wished he had it, the sword he kept by his bed, the sword he always took out with him. Alas, of course he had convinced himself he would not need it in his own home. The sounds of guard's boots were nearby and the unmistakable clinking of armour. "Let her go." His last request of the boy, a request to avoid him having to hunt down and murder the child. If the boy didn't leave soon things would get even more crazy.