An Injured Captain (Aveline)

[severine]

Aveline let herself be pulled down further to rest beside him, her face darkened and red-hot from blush. This was very new and strange- once again something she had only read and heard in stories. He was very close, terribly, terribly close. She giggled as Roland kissed her forehead, murmuring her soon to be new name. “This is right.” she murmured in reply, sliding a hand up his arm, to his shoulder.

This man was to be her husband, Aveline thought with clear wonder. She looked up to his face once more, her head tilting against the pillow. With a trembling hand she reached back from his shoulder, pressing her fingers against the middle of his back, between his shoulderblades. The man was still feverish from his injury and the pure surge of magic in his veins and incredibly warm to the touch. She bit her lip, sliding her free hand into his hair, pressing against the back of his head. Aveline pressed herself forward against him, kissing him once more. Her legs tangled in her silken skirts as she lost herself in the kiss, not noticing the bandage over his stomach beginning to dot with blood.

[Roland]

Roland simply enjoyed the feeling of Aveline's hand on his back and as it traced up to his head and she leaned in he returned the kiss with everything he had. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in closer to him feeling her petite body and losing himself to the kiss as well. She smelled sweet despite the sweat he loved her, and she was here. This was right, finally something in this world was right.

As they continued to kiss he finds himself leaning forward and soon he was sitting with his back against the wall with his arms wrapped around waste.

All of the exertion caused the blood to begin to seem through his bandages and begin staining her dress.

[severine]

Aveline let herself be pulled fully against him, clutching tighter to him as he kissed her back. She couldn’t hear her mother’s shaming in her head anymore, it was too cloudy there. For once, her mind was clear. There was nothing but this and she let go of any tether, letting herself fall into the moment completely. So when Roland collected her up and rolled to where his back was against the wall, she went with him with gusto.

Her legs rested on either side of his hips, settled comfortably in his lap, leaning against him. For once she couldn’t think and she wanted it to stay that way, despite how rapidly indecent she was becoming. Her legs were exposed as her silk skirts were bunched up around her thighs, unstockinged in the heat of the castle summer, her shoes long since lost to the far edge of the bed. Aveline took his hand and pressed it against her hip, blindly trying to guide him in ways she didn’t quite understand herself. As she refused to break away from the kiss to pay attention to other things, she didn’t notice the red beginning to dot in the pale blue silk near her stomach.

[Roland]

Roland pulled Aveline in closer as she guided his hands to her hips he began to squeeze, as he begins to reposition something in the back of his mind asks him Is it okay to get blood all over her dress? Then after several long passionate seconds something finally click in Roland's mind as he realizes what was happening.

Despite this realization he lets the kiss linger for several most sections before breaking away and panting. “Aveline, my wound...your dress.” He kissed her again, but the fog slowly begins to dissipate from his mind and he finally pulls away. “That was amazing...” he began.

“...and I think we've reopened my gut wound.” He finished as he slumped back still holding onto Aveline. He was unsure if she could fix it herself or if he would need to close it with magic, but either way he figured he would let her decide what was the best next step, he had the feeling that was going to be something he would need to get used to in the coming months and years.

[severine]

A quiet sort of noise that she didn’t recognize escaped the back of Aveline’s throat as Roland grabbed her hips, one of her hands sliding down his back and ending at the edge of the bandages. Then Roland pulled back and she realized finally how light-headed she had become. Her breath felt ragged from the exercise and she opened her eyes, looking at him with his newly dark eyes and rumpled hair in a clear daze. He was talking, but she wasn’t sure what he was saying. There was only one real clear thought going through her mind- So that is what the Goddess Vennessa stood for. She would have to pray to her more often. Then he kissed her again and her mind cleared a little.

Enough to hear “Reopened my wound”.

Aveline blinked, lifting her head from his chest. She stared at him quizzically, then looked down between them. When she saw blood her mind cleared incredibly rapidly and she gave a small cry of shock, scrambling backwards out of his embrace and lap, covering her mouth with her trembling hands.

“Oh Gods, I’m so sorry!” she looked incredibly fretful, looking down from his bleeding bandage to his face and back again. “M-my hands are too- should I call for a healer?”

[Roland]

As the separated and Aveline stared at him with something else in her eyes Roland found himself tempted to just ignore the gut wound, he'd had worse. However he was already calming down and starting to realize that one should probably not try to do anything more until he figured out if that burning feeling in his belly was passion or his leaking gut wound.

As Aveline suddenly started panicking Roland let out a rasping laugh and shook his head. “No, I don't think so, if we call in the healers they're going to ask questions and then we'll need to start explaining things and I'd like to at least figure out what we're doing next before I have to explain why the bottom of your dress is covered in blood.” Despite the pain he found himself in the best mood he'd been in, in well...as long as he could remember.

“Give me a minute.” He grunts and then slides back down onto the bed. His eyes emit a dull glow and his wound stops bleeding, though his eye widen as he feels his paths strain. His eyes turn back to brown and he grins at her. “Well that was fun, but let's not do it again until I'm a bit better, I really can't fix myself again.” He admits then nods towards the counter. “Mind dressing my wound?”

As they go about the task of fixing his injured body Roland asks Aveline “so, on this note, what do we do next? I somehow feel Severine will be less than thrilled if we tell her about this. Any suggestions?”

[severine]

Aveline’s face burned hotter at the remark that she would have to explain why she was covered in blood and she looked down at her dress. She rather liked this one too, but now… now it was ruined. One of her finer dresses too, with it’s pleated pale blues and soft golds. When she saw him lay back down and glow with mana again, she grit her teeth. It was going to take him much longer to recover now.

She nodded as he pointed to the counter and she moved to grasp the bandages, returning to his side to begin her work. She changed the bandages, wrapping the clean cloth around his middle and over the wound that would undoubtedly scar. She knelt on the bed behind him, making certain he sat up so she could wind the bandages. Aveline leaned her head into the space where his neck met his shoulder, letting out a quiet sigh as she tied off the bandage.

Her mother. The biggest hurdle.

“...she cannot know. Not until… not until after.” Aveline sighed quietly. Despite her mother’s intentions she had always dreamed of a lavish wedding. Darkness was beginning to creep into that vision and she closed her eyes against it. “Not until after it’s… it’s officially consummated. She will do everything she can to separate us if she finds out beforehand.”

Aveline slid around Roland, her eyes soft as she took his hand again. She lifted it to her cheek, pressing his palm there as she closed her eyes. “You must promise me. If I disappear, no matter what anyone else might say, I did not leave on my own. You have to come find me.” she opened her eyes to look at him, clear pain in her expression. “She’ll send me someplace far away to keep me away from you. And I want you to know right now that this is what I want. I want this.” she nuzzled against his palm, trying to keep her voice even.

“I love you. And if we are going to… we will have to go over my mother’s head for official approval. To the King or someone in his family. Or we will have to elope with permission from the gods and deal with the consequences when we return.” Aveline turned her head to look back to Roland, a small smile dawning on her face.

“I don’t care what my standing in court will be now. If I lose friends… then they were truly not my friends if they did not wish me to be happy. I will withstand scandal for happiness. For you.”

[Roland]

Roland chuckles again softly as turns bright red. “Sorry to bleed over the dress, don't throw it out, I'll get the blood out once I've healed. Or you can make one of the mages from the guard do it.” He suggests with a wry smile then he raises his arms to allow her to dress his wound. It hurt, more than he expected in fact, but when all was said and done he reached out and kissed her once more, though he was careful not to mess up the dressing.

When the separated this time his expression shifted from adoration to solemn contemplation and it darkened when Aveline mentioned what her mother might do. He had known that Severine was not kind to Aveline and that she would react badly to this, but kidnapping her was a level above what he expected. Looking at Aveline he quickly decided locking up of restraining Severine was probably also not the best course of action.

When Aveline assured him that she would not leave of her own accord and that he should come find her if she disappeared he nodded. Then he reached over to the stand and opened his hand to reveal a blank ring that looked as if it was forged from obsidian. “Not much of an engagement right, but this is a lifeward ring, I can use it to find you if you are in danger. Or if you need me to find you, but aren't in danger then you can break it and I will know where it was broken.” He explains seriously.

“Aveline if you want guards I can call in some favors and get you set up in a secure location with a dozen good men to protect you.” He offers, though in truth he hoped she had a better idea. “I am sorry, dealing with the politics and subtleties of this kind of situation are outside my area of expertise. He apologizes feeling slightly ashamed that he was not particularly helpful for their first problem as a couple.

He reaches out and takes her hand again. “I will get Jeon's approval and I will try to get Mysteria's.” He tells her seriously. “Then once we've set it up so your mother cannot steal you away we will hold a larger ceremony, even if it means we end up holding two of them.”

[severine]

Aveline looked more than a little stunned when Roland offered her the plain obsidian ring. She took it, looking down at the small band sitting in her palm, the rock suddenly feeling much heavier than it truly was. It wasn’t an betrothal ring, but it truly felt like one. The heaviness of the gesture made her eyes water and she tried to blot it out, unable to keep herself from crying. This was real, it was really happening. She was going to marry this man. She had nearly lost him a few hours ago and now she was going to marry him.

Aveline pushed herself towards him, curling up at his uninjured side, crying helplessly into the back of her hand. Her hands were shaking too much to get the ring on herself and she held it back up to Roland. “I-I- I can’t get it on.” she sniffled, her hands shaking. “Help me.”

At the offer of guards she shook her head. “Any- any ch-change in my schedule or if I move my- my mother will know something has happened. We- we have to move quickly.” she nodded, wiping her eyes harder. “We will- ah. We will have to elope. And quickly. As soon as you are well enough to move.”

When Roland took her hand her shaking calmed and she looked back up at him, her shining eyes wide. At the mention of a larger ceremony, her big eyes filled with tears again. A real wedding? After the first? It seemed impossible! Roland didn’t seem like the type of man who would enjoy such a large ceremony but it was what she had dreamed of. And she didn’t even have to ask him for it. She leaned her head against his chest, careful of his bandages, shaking with tears of joy.

“I’m happy. I’m happy. It’s just-” she repeated, trying to reassure the man she was leaning against that she wasn’t breaking down for any reason of sadness. She looked back up at him, cupping his cheek in her hand once more.

“I almost lost you.” Aveline repeated, wonder in her voice, choked by emotion. “Never frighten me like that again.”

[Roland]

As Aveline suddenly bursts into tears Roland almost sits up, he found himself at a loss for what to do. He takes her hand hoping that it would help in someway,but when she pushes in closer to him and continues to bawl he begins to realize she was not crying because she was upset. “Here,” he says softly as he opens her hand an guides the other hand that was holding the ring and places it on her left ring finger. Then he closes his hand around hers unsure what to do next.

When she turns down his offer of guards Roland's expression turns to one of worry. He looks at her dress and asks “do you have any idea how you're going to explain that?” He asks her genuine concern in his expression. He was not used to feeling powerless and he did not like the feeling, especially not when it was for something as important as this. As she says they will need to elope quickly he nods.

“As soon as I can walk around,” he promises, “I am sure Jeon will help as well.”

Roland again found himself at a loss for words when Aveline started crying again, but this time assuring him that it was because she was happy. His expression softens and he reaches out a hand, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her in close. “ I will make my first vow as your husband now, that I will do everything in my power to make you happy. You deserve to be.” He tells her a firm resolve in his tone, but also something more, there was power in the words. Power he did not yet understand.

He leans into her hand, the beginning of his stubble scratching her palm. “I promise to be more careful in the future.” He closes his eyes and again enjoys the moment, they would need to figure out a plan for Severine, but not right this moment.

[severine]

Aveline shook like a leaf and her hand shook worse as Roland slid the solid black ring onto her finger. She blinked rapidly, trying to clear her eyes of tears as he gripped her hand firmly. Her mind reached for an explanation, an excuse for why her dress was covered in blood.

"Ah- maybe- I went to where you were stabbed. Got blood on me there. Or I got it here and assisted in your healing." Aveline nods, leaning her head against his shoulder. "That sounds.... Yes. I could say that."

She wiped her eyes again, smiling a little. "You think Jeon will help us?" She sincerely hoped so and she sat back up. "Ah- that mission from his majesty. I can go in your stead, today. Take the Mage guard with me. I'm not you, but... Surely his majesty will understand." Aveline leaned forward, kissing him again. She reached around her waist, untying a string of pale silk that was not dotted with blood. She pressed the cloth to his hands.

"It's not much of a betrothal gift but for now... Hold onto this for me."

[Roland]

Roland smiled at Aveline again when she came up with an idea for the explaination. “Not bad, it's even true.” He points out with a grin.

“Jeon will help us, I believe in him. I've known none better.” He assures her, he really did believe Jeon would support them, though he had no idea how much pull or weight his support would provide. Hopefully between him and whoever else Roland could gather support from there would be enough to at least prevent Aveline from being disgraced by this union, and there was another person he was going to need to talk with.

At mention of his mission Roland perks up and blinks a few times. She was right, he was going to have to deal with that. He'd planned on sending out investigation teams, but Aveline was one of the best investigators he had anyways so sending her out would make a lot of sense, and he needed to make sure they acted naturally, at least until all the pieces were in place.

“Yes, you going sounds like a good idea...Garza should stay here to investigate the attackers and as a defender of the castle..” He says thinking to who in the mage guard he absolutely trusted. He'd have liked to have sent Ilta, but she was currently away on a different mission. “Bring Lilith with you, and any of the mages Garza is willing to spare.” He instructs.

“Also would you mind brining me some of the reports from me office, they'll know something is up if I do not insist on at least that much.” He points out then on further reflection “can you also send the house golem to the infirmary, I can make it write and move stuff.”

Further instructions and lists were cut off as Aveline bends down and kisses him again. “This...is going to take some time to get used to.” He admits, but as she gives him the silk he looks at it fondly. He could feel power in it, a gift given in love had significance and he smiles softly at her. “I'll take good care of it.”

Though a new problem faced him and Roland found himself trying to figure out how to explain something. “A-Aveline, I'm glad you like the ring...but wearing it outside of here is going to be very quick way of revealing what's going on won't it?” He asks, trying to be delicate as possible.

[severine]

Aveline nodded at the instructions, smiling as he was quickly returning to his usual self. He seemed to refocus when she kissed him again, though. “I know you will not listen to me if I ask you not to work, but please try to relax a little.” she leaned in once more, kissing his cheek. “You will not heal as fast if you work too hard. That is what the rest of us are for.”

She looked down at the plain black band on her finger, color returning to her cheeks once more. “Ah- you’re right.” she reluctantly removed the ring from her finger, turning it over in her palm. “I’ll… I’ll find a place for it. For now.”

Aveline moved to stand, collecting her shoes and sliding them back on. So much had happened so quickly… she looked back down at Roland, smoothing back her braids from her face in a familiar nervous tick. She leaned back in, kissing him once more. “Is there… anything else before I go?” she asked quietly.

[Roland]

"Keep the ring on your person." He instructs as he did not know what Severine had heard or would do.

And when she turns to leave he calls over "have a safe investigation and..." He pauses for a moment, slightly embarrassed.

"...I love you." He repeats one more time before she goes.

[severine]

Aveline smiled, pushing his hair back from his face. “Get some sleep. Some real sleep.” She gave him one last kiss before pulling away. She moved to the door, her skirts flowing behind her as she walked, her hand reaching for the door when he called out to her again.

Aveline turned her head, a smile coming back over her face. She looked shy and she brushed her braids back again, trying to keep herself composed. “I love you too.” she replied before opening the door, leaving Roland to recover on his own.