Magic of Books (Roland and Aveline)

[severine]

Aveline’s heart skipped at Roland’s grin, surprised in the sudden shift in his expression. She didn’t know he was capable of being playful, but here he was. She allowed herself to be pulled onto the carpet and sat beside him, still gripping his hands. When she was able to sit comfortable, she was barely able to raise an eyebrow at him at his remark about keeping a grip on him before they began to rise rapidly.

Aveline made a noise that could only be described as an ‘eep’ and wrapped her arms around Roland’s arm, holding on tight. She knew she was safe but she had never been this high up! This was so much different than leaning over a banister in the castle- there was nothing between her and the rapidly descending ground. Then it finally occurred to her that Roland was talking again. She looked up at him, alarmed.

“Change?! What do you mean- Ahh!” Aveline yelped as they began to fly faster, abandoning Roland’s arm to wrap her arms around his chest, holding on tight. She couldn’t look down at first, she had to know she was safe. Eventually she opened her eyes, one at a time, and looked out at the lights.

The city, sprawled out beneath her, was so much larger than she had ever thought. From her perspective in the castle she could see so much, but never this much. She was free, she realized suddenly as she looked down at the lights. So far above the city, her mother couldn’t watch her here. She would have no idea how to find her, and no magic to follow them above the city. Aveline relaxed her grip around Roland’s chest slightly, her heart pounding from what she assumed to be fear and wonder. “It’s… it’s indescribable. Do you see the city like this all the time?” she looked up at him.

[Roland]

Roland was not surprised when Aveline gripped his arm, but when she suddenly wrapped herself around his chest his arms went up in the air and he looks at her startled ...come on smart guy, what are you supposed to do now? he thinks unsure of what exactly was appropriate here. Aveline would be able to hear his heart thumping both from exertion and surprise, and he awkwardly puts a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to reassure her.

He lets out a breath as she releases him and he watches as she marvels at the city below. "No, I don't see it like this often, the job doesn't leave much time for things like this, and besides when I am up here I can't be doing my part down there." He says, as his grin turns into a more wistful expression. "When I was younger though, I used to love doing this kind of thing, how things change." He muses and then they begin to descend. They end up landing next to the second district's primary guard house.

Roland waves to a few of the guards and leads Aveline insides. "Excuse me I need to see the lieutenant. They are eventually led to an older man who was sitting behind a desk with several shieves of paper in front of him. "Hello Roland, and oh my, a lovely young woman." The man says and bows respectlfully.

"What can I do for you?" he asks curiosuly.

"I need a pair of plain cloths for myself and a pair that will fit her." He explains.

The man looks Aveline over ad after a few moments nods. "Yes, I've got just the set." He saunters into the back room and after a few minutes emerges with a set of cloths for Roland and Aveline.

"These will help you blend in better, I want to take you somewhere special, but it's best for us not to look like we just came from the castle." Roland explains and begins to take his shirt off so he can change. After he gets the shirt off he realizes Aveline probably wouldn't know where the privacy screen was and he points it out to her.

[severine]

Aveline’s expression softened a little as Roland talked, wondering what had changed so much. Maybe a broken heart, or a broken family? She wasn’t sure if the man had ever married before. She was surprised that he wasn’t already. They touched down in the second district and Aveline looked around, not quite ready to let go of Roland just yet. This place was so new, so different than the clean white walls of her home. It wasn’t scummy by any means, but it was clearly worn. She let go of him finally, pressing her hand over her heart briefly. It was still pounding.

She followed Roland inside, giving a quiet smile to the older man behind the desk. She curtseyed, keeping her mouth shut. It was better for her not to talk, lest she embarrass both herself and the man. She took the clothes with a simple thank you and a smile.

Then Roland’s shirt came off. And Aveline’s eyes went huge.

She looked up and down at the man, her eyebrows shooting up her forehead. She couldn’t quite recall the last time she saw a man without a shirt- it must have been in her childhood, in the swimming holes with her brothers. But that was certainly nothing like this. She could feel heat flush through her face again, and she knew she was staring. Aveline clutched the bundle of clothes tight to her chest, unable to move from the spot as Roland lifted his hand and pointed to the screen behind her. She rocked back on her heels as movement finally returned to her. Aveline stumbled back a little before rushing back behind the screen.

Once she was hidden, Aveline pulled off her gloves and slapped her cheeks hard. She patted them a few times, sinking a little towards the ground. Oh, Goddes. Oh, oh, oh Goddess. He was a bit oblivious, wasn’t he? Or was that on purpose? Oh Goddess, what if that was on purpose?! She peered around the screen a little again and then quickly jerked her head back, shaking her head hard. No, it wasn’t appropriate.

Aveline went about trying to remove her dress but it was difficult- it had taken two servants to stitch her as tightly as they could into this dress, and now she had to remove it herself. She tugged hard on the lacing until it came undone enough for her to shimmy out of it, leaving her in her undergarments. She pulled on the much plainer, rougher clothing and the texture felt strange and itchy against her skin. She looked down at the plain brown and cream colored fabric, wondering if this was how all common people here dressed. It was terribly dull, and she suddenly felt guilty looking down at the fine silks bunched on the ground. She took the shawl and wrapped it around her head to hide her hair- there would be no luck trying to pluck all of the jewels hidden there- and scooped up the dress.

When she walked around the screen and looked up at Roland she looked… normal. Very soft and pretty still, but normal. She could have been a miller’s daughter, or a shop girl. She smiled up at Roland a little, the fabric itching against her skin. “I will have to change back before I return home. Where should I leave this?” she lifted up the dress slightly.

[Roland]

As Aveline's eyes go huge Roland looks at her confused for a moment. He meets her eyes as she stares at him with obvious puzzlement, though then he realizes she was confused and points her to the changing screen. As he puts on the more normal shirt he shrugs at the older man who replies by saying. "Sometimes my boy, you know nothing of tact or delicacy."

Roland grunts and finishes changing which draws a smile out of the older man, the two seemed to be on good terms. When Aveline emerged Roland looked her over. "That'll work." He says as he walks over and inspects her. "The shawl was a good idea." He says, calming down a bit. In truth he'd worried that Aveline would not be able to blend in, but though she was an attractive girl he decided that she would probably be fine.

"..." After inspecting her Roland stares at her for about a second and then says. "I know this is going to sound weird after all you just changed out of your nice cloths, but those look good on you." He says. "Well then Aveline, lets get going, and while we're dressed up like this make sure not to use any titles, it'll make us stand out." He explains as he puts on a hat and tilts it down to cover his eyes from obvious view, though he looked quite different from normal since he was cleaned up.

"As for your cloths and the rug we can leave them here, Sam will take care of them." He explains and the older man nods.

Roland finally walks over and takes her arm. "Well then, I guess it's time fore you to see the second district, it's not the castle but as long as you stick with me you'll be fine." He says and then leads her out the door and into the street, walking purposefully.

[severine]

Aveline tugged on the shawl self-consciously as Roland studied her, feeling awkward in these clothes. She smiled a little up at him at the compliment, feeling like he was humoring her. She didn’t want to call him out on it, though. ‘Nice’ wasn’t the word she would have used describing herself in that moment- more like frumpy or awkward. But she nodded at the instructions, looking down at the dress in her arms. “Of course.”

She walked over to leave the dress with the rug, quietly thanking Sam again before returning to Roland’s side. The man walked quickly once they were out of doors and Aveline clutched his arm tightly, having to walk faster to keep up. She looked around, letting out a nervous breath and tugging her shawl again to make certain her hair was hidden. It was strange enough being in the second district, but being here at night alone with a man sent a familiar feeling of guilt through her. Her mother would be furious when she found out. Sullying her reputation, and here on the ground her mother’s spies might find her. Aveline looked up at Roland again- looking at him was easier than facing the street. He said he wanted to take her someplace special… where could that be in the second district?

“Ah, Roland? Where are we going, exactly?”

[Roland]

As they walk through the street Roland notices that Aveline seems to be having some trouble keeping up and he slows down. Remember you're not walking a beat, you're escorting a lady. He scolds himself, this was harder than he thought it'd be. "It might seem different and a bit rough, but the second district really isn't such a bad place." Roland explains as they continue down the street. Though as they walk he notices Aveline's hesitant and nervous expression and asks. "Is there something other than the newness that is bothering you?" He asks curiously.

As they walk a stranger seems to be watching Aveline, though Roland looks at the man and his eyes begin to glow menacingly from under his hat and a distinct air of menace surrounds him which causes the man to leave in a hurry. After some time they arrived in front of a small building and Roland looks around a bit then pokes his head inside.

"Come on," he gestures for her to come with him inside, his expression lighting up a bit. Inside there were a large number of children and a man standing on a make shift stage. The man was dressed in a flamboyant outfit and a mages staff sat in the corner.

After a few minutes he creates several balls of fire and begins to juggle them. Roland takes a seat and pats the one next to him to indicate Aveline should join him. "This is a show that I used to watch a lot when I was younger, and one which I still consider one of the best in the city." He explains. As she watches several others come on stage and seem to begin casting synchronized spells that created an aurora effect of lights, and Roland watches the show with an almost boyish smile. As he watches his hand rests on Aveline's.

[severine]

Aveline shook her head, looking back up at Roland. She forced a smile, once again hiding her worries with a flawless expression. “Nervous, is all. Silly, isn’t it?”

She kept her eyes on the road after that, thankful that Roland was walking slower now. She looked up at the building as they wandered in closer, watching him as he poked his head inside. Aveline nodded at his urging and lifted up her skirts slightly, following him inside. The lights were much brighter here and she blinked, adjusting vision to the lights. When the show began, her expression lit up- more magic! How on earth were they doing that? She followed Roland to the seat and sat close beside him, enraptured in brilliant display. Roland’s voice was barely registering in her ears as she watched, just nodding as he spoke. This, this was much better than sitting in a dark library. The goddesses needed to do better.

Aveline looked down at their hands as Roland’s hand rested on hers. She looked up to his face briefly, unable to look too long, then back down to their hands. His outright boldness was surprising. She turned her hand a little in his and threaded their fingers together, squeezing his hand a little. His hand was warm, she could feel that now without her gloves on. Heat touched her face again and she forced herself to look back to the stage, smiling again at the dazzling display of lights.

[Roland]

"Being nervous is nothing to be embarrassed about, a strange man is taking you to a place you've never been before. It would be surprising if you weren't a little worried." He assures her, he wanted to try and help her relax, but unfortunately he had no clue how to do that.

When they were in the show Roland looks on with great interest, though while he seemed to be enjoying it he was also watching with a critical eye. He'd been a Mage for longer than he could remember so be couldn't help but evaluate the skill of others in his trade.

They're pretty good, but nowhere near as good as I thought they were when I was a child. he realizes as he continues to watch a pair of twins create shapes and figure with water floating above a bucket. He had been so focused that he hadn't noticed that his hand had been on Aveline's, but when she suddenly squeezed his head turn in surprise. He froze for a moment as he saw their hands, making a terrible attempt to hide his surprise, but instead of drawing away he returned his attention to the show.

As the performance begins to wind down he finds himself curious and asks "so what did you think Aveline?"

[severine]

“It’s lovely.” Aveline turned her head back up to Roland a little, then back to the show. “How does that… is there some sort of written spell? Or can you just perform it without speaking? I don’t really know how that sort of power works.” she wriggled her fingers a little on her free hand, tapping her chin as she thought.

“When did you first discover that you had the gift?” she looked back up at him, leaning back a bit. “You know a lot, so it must have been when you were really young, right?” Aveline’s smile turned shy and she tugged at her shawl again. “We don’t have anyone with the gift in my family, on either side. My brother Benoit’s wife has a cousin with the gift but… that’s as close as we’ve ever gotten.”

[Roland]

Roland was surprised to hear Aveline start asking him about magic, but it starts him talking. "Well the water trick they're doing up there has a verbal incantation, they're just saying it under their breath, but since they are using a synchronized spell, one that they both need to cast at the same time to make it work it is impressive that they can do it without hearing each other." He explains, though as he talks his voice grows more animated.

"The requirement for spells varies a lot by spell, and the individual's talent. For instance strong wards, those are defensive spells that protect an area within themselves are normally inscribed into something that surrounds the area. Often times it will take the form of a rune carved into a wall, but conversely things like my force control just require concentration. This is partially because of how the spell works but mostly because if you want to give a spell and the energies associated with it permanence it is usually best to somehow anchor it with something like an inscription or binding it to an object." Now he had let go of her hand and was gesturing excitedly.

"Spells that do not require incantations often require some kind of movement and..." He freezes and trails off. "Sorry, you probably weren't looking for an entirely lecture," He apologizes, his cheeks slightly red with embarrassment and his hooded eyes averted. Smooth move, what kind of dashing guard starts giving a lecture on magical permanence in response to a simple question? He scolds himself and looks back at her sheepishly.

"Well I guess to answer your other question, I don't remember when I awoke to my gift. I've had it since I was born, as far as I can tell." He admits, he had a hunch as to the reason for this, but he did not want to share it at the moment. His parentage was a sensitive topic.

"It's a shame that there are people without the gift, but the alchemists are getting good enough to mirror some of what the mages can do with non-magical means." He says as the show ends and he looks back up at the stage, almost as if he wanted to go up himself.

[severine]

As Roland’s voice got more and more excited, Aveline looked up at him, distracted from the display as he explained. It was strange to see him so enthusiastic, but it was nice. There really was more than one side to this man. Her friends would not believe it when she would relay the story to them later. She let go of his hand as he began to gesture as he explained, lacing her hands together in her lap.

Aveline laughs and shrugs, raising an eyebrow up at Roland as he flushes. “It’s fine, it’s interesting.” She reached up and touched the brim of his hat, pushing it up slightly so she could see his eyes better. He looked spooky with his eyes covered like that. “I figured you must have always known.” she tilted her head a little. “...so why are you working for this Majesty and not at the Academy? I mean…” she grimaced a little, that question wasn’t the right one. “...I mean, why are you working for his Majesty when you can use your talent anywhere?”

Aveline went a little red at the alchemy comment and looked back to the stage. “I’ve seen a few of those… they are close, but it’s not- not quite there yet.”

[Roland]

Roland looks relieved as she tells him that his little lecture had been interesting. Though he is startled when she moves up the brim of his hat to reveal him amethyst eyes and he quickly averts them as if embarrassed, but when she asked him about why he was working for the king instead of the academy he scratched the back of his head a looked a little sheepish.

"Well to be honest there are two reasons, but I suppose the main one is that a guard is what I have always been." He admits "to be honest I never actually attended the academy, Sam found me in a walking wicker basket that I had apparently brought to life and he decided to raise me."

Roland hadn't really talked about his past like this before, it was a little refreshing to tell someone else, but also a bit scary. "You know the saying 'it takes a village'? Well that was kind of true for me, I grew up in the guardhouse so I naturally fell into becoming one. I get a sense of fulfillment from my job and protecting the city feels like a much better use of my magic than trying to use it academically." After he finishes Roland stays silent for a bit and doesn't make eye contact, for the first time in a long time he felt almost vulnerable, it made him uncomfortable.

Deciding to try and change the subject he finds himself asking. "What about you? You're interested in medicine right? Are you going to try and become a doctor or an herbalist? Or perhaps an alchemist yourself?"

[severine]

Surprise came over Aveline’s face when she learned that Roland was never formally educated. It seemed so strange with his abilities that he was never pushed into the Academy. Despite Roland’s insistence, Aveline still had an inkling that his current position was a waste of his talents. She elected to keep that opinion to herself though. The thought of him being raised and naturally falling into that role felt normal to her, much like her it didn’t seem like he had too much of a choice in the matter.

Aveline gave Roland a strange look at his question about professions. Despite her love of her hobby, there was no chance for her to actually pursue it was a career. It simply wasn’t done. Her job would be to marry into the court and have children, and perhaps better hide her hobbies from her husband. She twiddled her fingers a little, looking back down at her hands. “Ah, you mistake me. It’s simply a hobby, nothing more.” she shifted the subject once more, looking out towards the stage.

“Where to now?”

[Roland]

When she says it was just a hobby Roland looks a bit surprise, he knew that the court tended to pigeon hole young women into being a type of trophy wife, but he had not expected that of Aveline. He couldn't help but push the subject a bit more out of curiosity. "I can't imagine it's much fun just being a noble lady, why do you want to do it?" he asks though quiets down as he wonders if he has said too much.

Though when she asks him where they are going to go next he gets up and overs a hand to help her up, "well we can talk about this on the way, I'm getting kinda hungry, what about you?" He asks her.

[severine]

Aveline stares up at Roland oddly, raising an eyebrow at him again. He spoke as if she had a choice in this matter. “...it’s not a matter of wants, Roland. It is a matter of family and duty. You have your duties and I have mine.” She was surprised by this- Roland had spent enough time in court to know how it worked for women like her. Perhaps being around the commoner women had warped his idea of what life was truly like for all women.

Aveline lifted her hand up and took Roland’s, standing. She smiled a little, softer. “I could eat. I will try not to embarrass you terribly.”