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Vale of the White Horse
Topic Started: 5 Jan 2010, 13:03 (19,283 Views)
Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
'I would offer to lead you around the caer, but growing up a chieftain's daughter means that you must already know everything there is to know about places as these, am I right?' Rufus said.
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
‘Yes,’ she agreed, untangling her arms. ‘And it seems Two Lakes is somewhat larger than Caer March. Ah, you don't really...have to enternain me if you don't want to. I'll manage.'
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
'On the contrary, it'd be my pleasure to entertain you,' he said with a bit of a twinkle in his eye. To him, entertainment had a lot of different meanings, and the one he was thinking of right now was the most pleasurable sort.
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
‘Hm.’ By now, she had learned what to expect from this man, she thought. He was both ruthless and persuasive, but he did seem genuinely fond of her. At least he liked the way she looked. ‘I’ve been wondering, my lord. Do you intend to stay in our lands for the rest of your life of do you want to return to Rome one day?’
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
'I don't mind travelling between the two,' he answered. 'I thoroughly enjoy meeting new people and other cultures, you see. I've been in more lands than I can conveniently count - perhaps in every part of our Empire.' That was perhaps exaggerating a bit, but he was like that sometimes. 'Why don't we go sit somewhere more comfortable?' he then suggested.
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
‘Sure,’ she said. Morcant had told her not to do it, but why not? Asking questions was easy. Perhaps he’d lie, but maybe he’d tell her some true things about himself. It was worth a try, Essylt decided. But she must relax then. Not too much – he wouldn’t expect her to. Just enough to flatter him, if that could be achieved. ‘You once said you were lonely here.’
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
He didn't answer before he'd seated himself on a fur-covered bench and tapped the spot next to him. 'That I did,' he said, 'why?'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
She sat down gingerly next to him, feeling the warmth of his arm radiating against her own. ‘It seems odd to me that you are willing to stay here if you are,’ she said. ‘If Rome is where you belong. Or any other part of the…Empire.’ She didn’t like the word. Didn’t like how it seemed to include their own lands these days.
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
'Ah, I believe I already told you that self-imposed loneliness is rather more bearable,' Rufus said slowly. 'And that I do not mind the peace and quiet over the hustle and bustle of Rome for a while.'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
‘That’s true.’ She nodded her head, bowing it. ‘Perhaps you were born with a natural lust to wander. I’m not sure we have that so much in our own blood. But your kind must have, or the empire would not have expanded so. Or am I wrong?’ She looked at him sideways.
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
'Could be.' Rufus looked at her, feeling slightly amused. It almost sounded as if she was trying to wheedle information out of him, instead of the other way around. Well, let her. He didn't much feel like going through that sort of trouble today, he realized. 'But it might just as well be a sense of superiority.'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
‘I think from one grows the other,’ Essylt said mildly. ‘I have heard it is an honour to be called a citizen of Rome.’
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
'You've heard correctly,' he said. He himself wasn't alltogether sure about it, though. Rome was a fine city and all that, but also a bit of a cesspool of festering nastiness - the senate every bit as depraved as the lords of the underworld. 'But Romans pride themselves on their cities, not just those living in Rome.'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
‘But Rome is where your heart beats.’ She looked down to the floor of the caer. Her own people could not compare themselves to the magnificent cities of the Roman Empire. She’d probably be overwhelmed by such a place. ‘Is it true that you let people fight each other and wild beasts in arena’s?’
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
Rufus gave a quiet snort. 'All fun and games,' he explained. 'It's entertainment for the people.' His own amusements ran in other directions, but he had been at a gladiator fight a couple of times. In both cases had he employed the victor in his services, after a bit of behind the scenes-work.
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
‘Hearing that makes me wonder that it is we who are called barbarians by your people, lord Lentulus,’ she said, feeling slightly unsettled. ‘Aren’t they imprisoned slaves? It seems cruel.’
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
'Hardly cruel,' he shrugged. 'They're well taken care of and besides, the people doesn't like to see only death. Once a gladiator earns sufficient fame, he'll have earned his freedom as well. It's not so different from employment in our army, or indeed not so very far from your own people's warriors.'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
‘Our warriors desire what they do!’ she objected. ‘I do not think it is entertaining to play with a human’s life.’ She averted her face. ‘Well, nevermind. It’s likely I don’t understand these matters very well. I’m not a warrior, and I’m not a Roman woman.’ She forced herself to smile as sweetly as she could. ‘And I don’t mean to offend your people or your homeland, Rufus.’
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
'Most gladiators opt for the life out of free will,' he said calmly, neglecting to mention that though there was a large part that did in fact volunteer, the rest did not have a very good choice. Usually, it was the arena, or immediate death. 'It pays better than being a soldier. And don't worry yourself, it takes more than words to insult me.'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
‘As you’ve told me before as well,’ she said. ‘You’ve always been this stoic?’
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
'It's a professional deformation,' Rufus declared lightly. 'Politics, you see.'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
‘Not really,’ she admitted. ‘I’ve seen politics, such as they are, at my father’s house. Chieftains are often proud. Not unreasonable,’ she added quickly. ‘But stoic? No. We’d think that…uncommon. Frightening.’
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
'You know, most of the senate tends to agree with that.' He pulled one corner of his mouth up in half a smile. 'Which is why I'm not exaggerating when I say that there's no other politician in Rome equal to me.'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
She didn’t know what to say to that. Though he was probably not lying. Essylt wondered if she could try and ask more personal questions. She didn’t really dare to. He might snap her head off.
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
'Does it unnerve you?' he asked when she remained silent.
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
He must have been able to read her face, she thought. And there was no use denying it. Besides he wanted her to be truthful and she had didn’t like the times he had guessed that she wasn’t. Essylt nodded. ‘It does. You do.’
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
'Ah, I apologize. Sometimes it spills over the edges where I don't want it to,' Rufus said.
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
‘And sometimes you allow it,’ she said slowly, carefully, while looking up at him. He must know what she meant. ‘Don’t apologize. I’d rather know with whom I am involving myself.’
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Sonja
Red & dangerous! Rawr!
He suddenly wondered if she would believe him if he told her the whole truth. It wouldn't be a smart idea, though, considering with whom she involved herself other than his person. 'Well then, is there anything else you'd like to know?'
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Marieke
Lief! <3 (and powerful!)
Was he offering her an exchange of truths? She thought it was unlikely. ‘Did you tell me you don’t know who your father is?’
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