A Lesson in the Law [Jaelyn]

by **Victor Lark** on July 30th, 2011, 11:15 am

She knew more about the situation than he thought, but the expression that accompanied her admission could be used to his advantage. Secret desperation fastened his hand to her waist even as she moved beneath his grasp, trying to stir up at least one more iota of affection or sympathy. Otherwise, his mouth was curled with the same old flirting complacency. “I suppose that’s fine,” he said, as the back of his mind screamed silently in protest, “But I swear there’s been a mistake. We might as well search you, too!” He said to Jaelyn. A teasing smile accompanied the suggestion, but he did not indulge it.

Instead, he heaved an exasperated sigh and assumed the posture which the suspicious authorities of his home town seemed to prefer, swaying and lacing his fingers atop his head. Even as his eyes rolled facetiously, his heart pounded like the wings of a hummingbird. His mind neared panic, but somehow the Ravokian found a straight line in the chaos. He whispered in her ear as it neared his mouth, “Do be gentle. Wouldn’t want to cause a scene.”

Then her careful hands moved too close to his prize, and his precarious composure strayed. Perhaps he should have let her take it; he could have tried to convince her that he was not all that bad. But there was a pride in the novice thief that refused to give up what he thought had become rightfully his. The pulse of adrenaline rippled visibly through his tensing muscles, and he fled.

Through the thick crowd he sprinted as fast as he could, pushing civilians without remorse or precaution until they began to part for him, staring. He pulled the mirror from its hiding place and clutched it between his hand and the bend of his elbow. The exit that had almost been his now eluded him. He was beginning to regret the choice to run, to cause a scene. As he passed a fruit stand, an idea struck him: forgetting to glance around to be sure he had outrun the squire, he buried the item in a large basket of oranges. Hopefully he could retrieve it later, and in the meantime he could peruse the pomegranates...

by **Jaelyn Baroth** on August 3rd, 2011, 3:19 pm

"If that would make you feel more comfortable, then I would allow it," Jaelyn softly replied to Victor's suggestion, not quite picking up on the teasing nature of it, and her stomach fluttered at the idea of Victor's hands moving along her body.

Before her thoughts could go any further down that thoroughly embarrassing path she gave a faint shake of her head as Victor took an easily searchable stance. As she turned to search him she felt his warm breath upon her ear, and his words caused a faint shiver to run along her back. Her duty and desire to find the truth pushed her forward though, and her hands began to slowly move along Victor's body, starting at his ankles.

As Jaelyn's hands neared Victor's lower back she felt him tense, and was about to softly apologize to him for making him uncomfortable when he broke away from her and started to run. For a brief, confused, moment she stared after him as he dove into the crowd, but then her jaw clenched and her eyes narrowed. He had stolen the mirror, and had been using his charms and lies against her to try and get away with it! Without any more thought Jaelyn took off running after Victor, her hand upon the sword at her hip.

She didn't call out to him as they ran, her determination and focus on just catching him, and after a time of following Victor through the wake of people left behind Jaelyn saw him shove the silver mirror into a container of oranges, and then stop in front of the stand to look at the fruit available. With grim determination she smoothly withdrew her sword as she came upon him, and her blade quickly moved to point at his throat.

"Victor," her voice was hard with contained anger, but the tears that were starting to swell in her eyes betrayed her hurt at the betrayal of her trust and feelings, "You will come with me to return the mirror to the merchant. If you do not I, as a Squire of the Syliran Knights, will not hesitate to use force to maintain law and order."

Most of the nearby crowd quickly noticed the confrontation and backed away, leaving an open space around the two of them, and a few voices raised up to call for the Knights. Jaelyn's gaze remained steadfast and hard as she glared at Victor, waiting for his reply.

by **Victor Lark** on August 6th, 2011, 8:58 pm

Before he could gasp with surprise, Victor found his head lifted by the cold end of a longsword. If he was any less aware his throat’s danger, he might have gulped. Instead, he lifted his hands in surrender and looked through his raised nose at her stern face. Moisture glistened over the freckles of her irises, and for a moment any reason for her tears escaped him. Then his groping mind thought it recognized the sentiment beneath her outward anger; if he had any less control, he might have smiled with the triumph of witnessing—nay, creating—such a unique arrangement of emotion and duty.

Victor could not savor it for long, if he did not want to discover what this so-called city of peace did with petty thieves. He tried to morph his countenance into an expression of panic and apology that would fit between the folds of her grief. There was a repentant rhythm in his words, but he could not quite muster the tone to match. “I’m sorry,” he stuttered, his stare unrelenting, “I… You… you made me nervous. I didn’t know what to do. I... I didn’t want you to leave.” He was not apologizing for disobeying the law, the squire might realize, but for offending her.

Nonetheless, he dared to slowly lower his arm towards the concerned fruit merchant’s wares, where a glimmer of silver peeked out from between the oranges like a cowering mouse. He procured it without replacing those fruits which tumbled to the ground with its removal, sober and shrewd. “Here,” Victor said as he rose again, “Here it is; will you put down that sword?” He managed a laugh as he held out that emblem of vanity to her. He itched to see exactly how many eyes were on him, but his own steely gaze did not part from hers.

by **Jaelyn Baroth** on August 17th, 2011, 7:06 pm

Victor's reaction to Jaelyn's words caused her heart to flutter with the urge to relax and believe him, but duty and the sting of his previous lie kept her sword firmly in place, "I do not believe you," she said slowly, her voice tight and clipped with barely controlled emotions, "You lied to me before, and, Tyveth as my witness, I will not be fooled again."

While still maintaining the position of her sword the Squire carefully retrieved the mirror with her left hand. Her gray eyes briefly flicked down to make sure it was unharmed, but then quickly returned her gaze to Victor, "You will come with me to return it to the merchant, and then we will see about making amends for your actions."

Before she could start to lead Victor back the crowd parted for a pair of Knights in full armor, with swords drawn. They took a moment to look over the situation, and then roughly called out, "What's going on here?"

"Ser," Jaelyn began, her gaze still on Victor and her sword held still, "I am Jaelyn Baroth, Squire under Ser Raynard Darcy, and this man attempted to steal from a merchant and then tried to trick me into helping him get away with it," she held out the mirror for the Knights to see, "I have retrieved the item, and was just about to take him to return it to the merchant."

The Knights turned their gaze from Jaelyn and towards Victor, apparently wanting to hear his side of the story before taking any further action.

by **Victor Lark** on August 21st, 2011, 7:13 pm

The taste of defeat made his tongue feel thick and dry. It clung to his teeth like a mollusk to its shell, uncertain whether to spit more lies or concede the truth. He did not want to admit to himself that there was little room for deception. He had fallen too far, and the only hand that could help him up was all but lost to him. His lips grew tight as his mind raced for an answer, but as soon as they loosed to speak, a pair of her friends encouraged them closed again.

As he suppressed his fidgeting fingers, a hasty smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “That is not entirely true, sers,” he said, eyes darting between sword points before they settled on her dappled grey eyes. He did not know a lot about her, but he could use what he did know. “Jaelyn has been dutiful and honorable. I could not have tricked her into anything if I tried. But it is true that I…” am a thief. He sighed, then looked down at the mirror. As sickening as defeat was, humility nearly made him gag. He would not lose what little control he had left.

“Shall we, then?” He offered instead, gesturing with the flick of his gaze towards the general direction of mirror stand. He would let the guard assume their squire was right; there was no need for the redundancy of his admission. Victor gulped, trying to avoid the steady end of her blade without straying too far from its power. The stability of his tone strayed as he added, “Let’s not allow my folly to cost a good merchant any more distress. Perhaps I’ll buy it, after all!”

by **Paragon** on December 15th, 2011, 12:43 pm

Victor :

Jaelyn :

I really, REALLY enjoyed this thread! You both played your parts so well, and I think both your characters learnt some lessons for future (though I'm sure Victor will continue his life of crime haha) - if you have ANY questions or concerns about this grading, don't hesitate to PM me.