``I SIGNED UP FOR THIS GAME ; VAUGHN

[Alegra Silvertongue]

Alegra grimaced and wrinkled her nose. He certainly had a point; the man's behavior was about as abnormal as hers was. And, as ridiculous as it was, equally if not less detestable through society's eyes. She couldn't help but take a moment to bitterly consider this. What kind of world was it where it was more acceptable for a knight to stand by and watch a young woman be attacked by bandits - offer her up to them, even! - than for a woman to dress up as such a knight? And, at least in her opinion, she was a much better knight than he was - he was that in title along, as far as she could tell, and did nothing to maintain the stereotype. Then again, she was a noblewoman in title alone, too.

"True," she sighed, and fell silent as she thought about which servant to provide him with. Not one of the children, as they needed their sleep and she was not about to wake them in the middle of the night. None of the older ones for the same reason. Any around his age would probably be disturbed by his politeness or overly curious, and she most certainly didn't want them testing him. A teenager, then. She simply had to choose one. Her thoughts diverted instantly, however, when he asked about the history of it, and her eyes seemed to light up exuberantly. "I know the history," she announced with a shockingly excited smile. Alegra loved a good story, and the estate history certainly was one. Of course, she thought plainly, he may very well change his mind about wanting to know once he saw her elated reaction, but she could not help but hope he wouldn't.

[Vaughn Adeney]

::vaughn::

Vaughn was not blind to the excitement that appeared in her once she heard his question. He did debate changing his mind. But he wanted to know the facts of the estate. Why? Because it was knowledge. If there was one thing that Vaughn had acquired throughout his years of travel, it was knowledge and information. Some of which would be useful, other cases was the exact opposite, it was useless. But he would take the risk of knowing a few useless bits of information if it meant that one day he could learn something that would prove to be advantageous for him. This could be such a case.

"If you would like to visit my chambers later on tonight, it would indeed make a good bedtime story." He was once again, throwing out flirtatious comments as he could not resist. He knew however she would reject such a possibility. "Then again, saying it now could fill the silent halls. So tell me Lady Alegra, what is the history of your estate and title."

[Alegra Silvertongue]

She waited anxiously, watching his face as she waited for the verdict of sorts. When he suggested that she should visit his chambers to tell the story, her face transformed instantly into a pout. Of course he would twist it into something like that! But she couldn't help but be tempted to accept. It had been so long since she'd been able to tell anyone... And surely if she visited his room, he wouldn't try anything, right? Not when they were in a house full of people that he was probably trying to charm? If he screamed, that would ruin his plans, which he had to realize... She chewed on her lower lip, knowing deep down she probably couldn't accept but considering anyway.

Her debate was ended, however, when he went on to suggest she tell him now. Her face re-lighted, and she almost seemed to resemble a little girl on her birthday. "It was built several generations ago, my grandfather's father. My family was still at the top of the social class, and the Silvertongue estate at the time was very nice, but he had an older brother that was to inherit it." By story, she really had meant story. Her entire face was animated with delight as she spoke, her lips moving more dramatically than before, her eyebrows raising and her cheeks flushing slightly. "They had a smaller state not too far away, but he wasn't interested, and decided to leave it to the youngest son..." She paused and looked back at him to make sure he was paying attention.

[Vaughn Adeney]

::vaughn::

It was probably a good thing that she had checked to make sure he was paying attention. While he practically listening to every word, the fact that he was not looking at her may have suggested he was not actually listening. He was however, remembering every single word. She seemed so excited and practically beamed when explaining this story. Her family, and their history was clearly something she took a great deal of pride in. It was not the shallow pride either; it was more the genuine kind. Of course, pride was pride, one way or another.

When she looked at him, feeling his eyes on her, he turned his head to look at her. "Carry on," he said in an emotionless voice, smirking at her enthusiasm for telling this story. He thought it was rather amusing. If ever asked about his family name, he would tell the story, but have no pride in it. If he had any, he would not have left them in the first place. He would have cared that he was disinherited. But he did not, and he never would. Perhaps one day he would return to see if there was anything left of the Adeney estate, but until that day, he would forever leave it as a memory.

[Alegra Silvertongue]

Alegra was the slightest bit put out by his lack of enthusiasm, but also knew that he was probably doing it on purpose, a fact that placated her. Regardless, she wasn't going to let it affect her. With his answer, she continued, "Well, after that, he decided to make something on his own. He still had ample funds as an inheritance, and he became a knight - a rather egotistical one, at that - and all the while, he was staying at an inn, as the estate was slowly being built." She paused, gesturing to a room and commenting, "That's your room, but we'll finish the tour first." She then continued on, "Of course, he wasn't the only one staying at the inn. There was another, a young woman that claimed to be nobility, and he found himself incredibly taken with her." Alegra knew that this was more the history of him than of the estate, but as far as she was concerned, it all pertained to the matter. If he wasn't going to listen, so be it; she still enjoyed telling it.

"He began courting her, and even asked her hand in marriage when the estate was nearly finished, but a couple of weeks before they were to wed, he discovered that she was the daughter of a craftsman and a peasant. He was furious, of course, and out of spite, told her he was going to have her hung for impersonation and deceit of a knight. However, she had something on him, too. He was the first of what was to be a long line of males with the ability to 'blink,' as we call it - well, until now..." She broke off and frowned, considering the fact that she'd just admitted what was a huge felon in Camelot. Of course, her father was dead, Drake didn't have the ability, and she'd only hinted at her own, so she supposed it wasn't so bad; after all, he was already blackmailing her, he could do little else with further dirt on her. And she doubted he cared. "Magic wasn't banned at that point, but his was a secret, the reason he was so esteemed a knight. To give it away would be to give up his advantage. So, they married anyway to keep each other silent." She paused again, this time to point to gesture to a large, open room. "Upstairs parlor," she explained.

[Vaughn Adeney]

::vaughn::

Vaughn was aborsbing all of this information. He did not even glance towards the room he would be staying at. He kept his gaze forward and continued to listen. Had she just said her family had a history of magic? Interesting. "So you have this ability as well then." Just another thing to use her against her, but she did not seem to care. It was not as if he was going to drastically increase the amount. His motive was not to make her bankrupt, as he had previously established. It was merely to make some money, and have fun while doing it.

When she explained that they married to keep the other silent, Vaughn found himself chuckling. It was a bit closer to laughter than most of the other times. He just found it incredibly entertaining. "Your family seems to have a history of blackmail," he pointed out, still chuckling over that fact. "Perhaps you will follow in his footsteps," he added, suggesting that he would make her marry him just to keep her secret. Of course, he would never do such a thing. Marriage was he further thing from Vaughn's mind. In fact, it was not something he ever considered doing in his life. Still. To wed with someone only because you felt trapped, that was downright hysterical.

[Alegra Silvertongue]

She couldn't help but grin a little. It wasn't every day she could tell someone about the ability without consequence - after all, if he reported her, she would be killed for it. While he might receive a handsome reward for his service, that would be much less interesting for him. Instead of responding, she did exactly what she promised never to do. One moment she was there beside him, the next she was just over a yard in front of him, the faintest shine of silver existing in her silhouette where she had been for the barest of moments - her namesake. "I can," she confirmed, regretting the action in the slightest because of the fatigue it brought with it. However, she was still on her feet, and still too excited to let it steal away too much of her energy. She ignored his comments about blackmail - the idea was inconceivable, and she was certain he knew it - and continued.

"That wasn't to say they cared for each other, however. He felt betrayed, and she felt as if he had only cared for her title. To establish as little contact between the two as possible, he built an entire second half to the estate, which she was to live in. He cared enough to want her to be comfortable, but he wanted nothing to do with her. They had two sons, fifteen years apart, and the latter died before he was four years of age. She killed herself out of anguish, and realizing that he had come to depend on her, he followed within a year." The entire thing seemed silly to Alegra; she could not imagine any man would be worthy of killing herself should she be forced to exist without him, though there were certainly men - or rather, one man - that she would die for in his place if given the option. "It was passed down, oldest son to oldest son, ever since then - along with the ability, which has yet to leave our blood for even a generation, though at most there were only two brothers who had it at the same time."

[Vaughn Adeney]

::vaughn::

Vaughn's glance was averting to different locations that she randomly appearing in, and then disappearing from. It amused him. He was not shocked by her actions, even though he had not expected them. He had seen a great deal of things in this world, none of which fazed him and this would not be the exception. Still, it was an interesting gift and ability to possess. He wondered how she used that. Or if she used it. She had not utlized this ability when she was sorely outnumbered with the bandits, so maybe she tended to keep it to herself. Vaughn smirked when she came back from her disappearing act. "This certainly gives me more leverage against you." He just had to say it. He was not going to spout words of admiration or act impressed, though it was without a doubt fascinating.

"This gift of yours could serve many purposes." Sneaking in rooms for one. "There must be a downside," he added expectingly. And now, it was back to story time. Little did he know how much he shared her thoughts on not understanding why one would end their life over someone they supposedly loved. It was a ridiculous notion. How could someone allow themselves to be so foolish, as to truly believe they were in love with a person and therefore, could not exist without it. Ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous.

"Such a dramatic history," he commented, still not even bothering to understand why someone would go through all the trouble for someone else. It was not worth it. Especialyl since in the end, they both wound up dead. "And then what of your father?" The question was asked assuming that her father was one of the older sons, and in addition to that, he was questioning what happened to him and why the estate stayed in their name.

[Alegra Silvertongue]

(ooc: She actually only did it once, haha.)

Alegra rolled her eyes at his claim that he now had leverage against her, and didn't bother responding. She knew it, but she also knew that once you had a certain amount of leverage over a person, any more didn't matter. They had reached that point. He wanted to know the downside? Normally, she wouldn't admit to any sort of weakness, but this was the exception. Knowing wouldn't do anything for him, as she rarely used the ability and it wasn't anything he could use to his advantage; it was simply a natural side affect. "It's very... draining," she explained in a mutter. It was still very embarrassing to concede to the fact, but she was much smaller and much less built than those the ability had been intended for - namely, the men of the family. "Twice is hard. Three times is... a bad idea altogether." She shrugged.

"My father was the only son," she answered. "I have two aunts, but they never liked my mother much so we haven't seen them in four years, since my father died." Alegra was fighting back emotion now, and all things considered, doing a very good job of it; but the air around her still seemed to get thicker as her mood changed to melancholy. "It now belongs to my brother."

[Vaughn Adeney]

::vaughn::

That would explain it. If it was draining then it would make sense for her not to do it that much; and therefore, why it had taken Vaughn so long to know about it. Interesting. He seemed to learning a great deal of her secrets. Then again, what was one too many? He was already blackmailing her. It would not get much worse than that. All that would change is how much he blackmailed her and what he asked for as payment, as he would still entertain the less, innocent forms of payment.

"If you are tired now, I can escort you to your chambers and help you, relax." Yes. Even in a moment where she was explaining her special gift to him, he would still throw out suggestive comments. Surely she would expect them by now. But he brought the conversation back around. "And you are the only one in your family who has the ability to do this?" Curious indeed.

Vaughn knew that most people were upset with the death of a family member and she would definitely be one of those people. She had already displayed strong ties to everyone in her family. Unless she was not close to her father, then she was upset over the thought of his death. Yet, it was something that Vaughn was going to question. He was not a compassionate or sympathetic man. He would keep bringing up subjects even if they made the other person uncomfortable. "How did he die?" His voice lacked any sympathetic tone. In fact, it was asked with no emotion and far too casually.

[Alegra Silvertongue]

Alegra snorted. He really did only think of one thing, didn't he? Typical man, she thought decidedly. Of course, most men were a lot more secretive about it, but in her opinion, that was worthy of less respect than being open about it... though in a decidedly less rude way than Vaughn was. Not that he would care who respected him or not, she thought ruefully. "I think I'm all right," she said dryly. It took her a moment before she replied to his next question, as she wasn't entirely sure if she ought to tell the truth, then decided she should. After all, even if there were others in the family that possessed the ability, she would not have wanted them to be subject to the same blackmail she was. That would simply be cruel. To lie about it and put them in such a position would be even worse. "I'm the only one," she said honestly. "It managed to skip Drake and went to me instead."

He wanted to know how he died? Alegra bristled, and several emotions ran across her expressive face like snapshots. First, annoyance that he could be so callous about the matter. Then, rueful, as she wouldn't have expected anything less. Resignment, considering that he would probably blackmail her into answering him if she refused. Anger that he would do such a thing like that, rueful again, and then she finally landed on an emotionless, hollow expression. There was no point in keeping it from him; it wouldn't be worth it. But she couldn't help but wish - and that made her laugh internally - that the man who was asking about it cared just the slightest bit. "We don't know," she said flatly, but again, honestly.

[Vaughn Adeney]

::vaughn::

She could be lying, but whatever motives she had for it, he would not understand. So for now, he would believe her. "Rather odd, since you said it went to the males. Perhaps your brother is more feminine than you, and the genders were completely switched, somehow." He was kidding of course. Though she did display rather masculine qualities. First of all, she dressed as a knight. That was enough for her to be mistaken as a male.

Seeing her array of emotions, he did not bother pin pointing every one. He just waited for all of them to eventually leave so that he could hear the answer to his question. Which, was not very satisfactory. But Vaughn did not care about limits. He did not care about asking what could be classified as inappropriate. Nothing he said showed that he had any decency. "Under what circumstances did he die then? Surely you must know something." Really, it was to satisfy his own curiosity more than anything else. "Under what circumstances did he die." In battle? Random disappearance? A strange illness?

[Alegra Silvertongue]

She flashed a cheeky grin at him at his comments regarding her gender. Of course, as the doting younger sister she would refuse to believe that her brother was anything less than the most manly of manly men, but that didn't mean she had to take offense to his jabs. After all, that was exactly what they were. He was trying to rile her up to amuse himself and, consequently, he amused her. She'd met evil men before, but somehow Vaughn didn't strike her as evil, exactly. A selfish, horrid, uncaring, unfeeling, manwhorish pig, perhaps, but not evil. "I am rather manly," she agreed, almost in a boasting manner, even striking a pose as she stated it. It was as far from the truth as it could possibly be, naturally. Aside, mayhap, from her mental status, there was nothing about the petite woman that in any way made her distinctive as masculine.

"We know nothing," she said with a sigh. "He left one day for battle, four years ago, and never returned. He was seen fighting, but his body was not found among the dead." She wouldn't cry in front of him, absolutely not. He wouldn't care, anyway, and there was no point in giving him another method of exploitation or another thing to tease her about. So, instead, she stated quite simply, "I'm sure your opinion would differ, but he was a good man."

[Vaughn Adeney]

::vaughn::

Vaughn showed absolutely no sympathy when she explained the absence of her father. Whether she was showing it or not, his disappearance surely affected her. If she was as close to her family as he assumed, hearing her speak and defend them, then her father would be no exception. Had he had any ounce of compassion, he would have paid his respects, stated his condolences, and changed the subject. But unfortunately, Vaughn was not that kind of man. He decided to remain on the subject, and talk about it as much as he could. If she reacted, then he had been able to break her; if she did not then it would only encourage him to keep going.

"Perhaps hen was burned to death, so only his ashes would remain." Vaughn spoke this and the statements to come in a completely emotionless tone. In fact, the only emotion evident in them was amusement as he was mocking her father's disappearance and absence from the rest of the bodies, finding it almost comical. "Or he got eaten by some sort of strange creature that I am sure would have surrounded some of the corpses." That was a humorous though. "Or he ran away, like a coward. And had not gathered himself to show his shamed face. Maybe he is out in the world, living in a cave." Vaughn chuckled at this thought.

[Alegra Silvertongue]

If it was a game of will he wanted, it was a game of will he was going to get. After all, if Alegra had nothing else in the world, it was her will power. No one could break it; she would not let them. In her mind, it was a choice, and put simply, she chose not to allow it. She listened to his statements without any sort of reaction on her face, though inside it was like he was slicing her stomach into pieces, then shreds. As if she hadn't thought about many of those before? As if she didn't frequently wake up screaming for her nightmares about what might have happened? But he wasn't going to be permitted to know that. He wasn't going to get anything out of it - not this subject.

"Perhaps," she agreed amiably, putting a finger to her lip as she considered the possibilities. "I should hope he ran away, really. I daresay he'd find himself in a more fortunate position than if he was dead." Alegra had pride, yes, and even honor; she would sooner be slain than leave in the middle of a battle. However, she would not think poorly of someone she loved doing the same. Her father's life was more precious to her than his valor, and if him running away, tail between his legs, kept him the former but lost him the latter, so be it. "Or perhaps," she reasoned, tilting her head, "he became so wounded that he crawled to the forest, and was no sooner eaten by a ravenous pack of wolves?"

[Vaughn Adeney]

::vaughn::

Vaughn let out a bit of a snicker. "Not necessarily," Vaughn corrected when she suggested that he would be in a better position if alive. "If he did run away, he would have no honor, no courage; his reputation would be forever damaged and he would lose any respect that he has ever gained. Your family name would be tarnished. He would be best left in a secluded area so that others could redeem from his cowardly actions." Vaughn paused in a false pensive moment. "On second thought, that is not a bad thing at all. It would give a new reputation to the Silvertongue name."

The very wealthy, very powerful Silvertongue name. Vaughn almost wanted to try and discover the mystery of her father's disappearance. He traveled the ends of the world so maybe he could try. But only if he found himself extremely bored, and it certainly would not be a favor to her. "The wolf possibility sounds likely. Very excruciating indeed. Maybe you will find a hand, leg or foot lying somewhere near the battle ground." What a funny thought. "Have you ever gone to look?"

[Alegra Silvertongue]

"Hmm," Alegra noted, as if considering his question. "No, I have not. In fact, I'm not even sure where it took place." She tilted her head rather curiously as she continued walking. "Perhaps I ought to go investigate? Though I daresay finding a hand or a foot is far less likely than finding his bones instead. Do you really think a pack of hungry wolves would leave leftovers?" Her stomach was rolling viciously, but it didn't show in any aspect - not her face, eyes, even her voice or the color of her skin. She was good at this.

"And of course, it would have long since decayed by now, don't you think? Even if it had managed to remain whole, regardless, it would be most difficult to determine whether or not it was his. Though he did have unreasonably large feet..." She walked on, continuing the tour as if entirely unaffected by their conversation. "This is the secondary parlor." She hesitated briefly as they went past it, knowing the next room was her own bedroom. Did she honestly want to tell him its whereabouts? No, not really. But it seemed she had no choice, as the room was large and rather noticeable; if she did not explain it, he would inquire. After all, he could not possibly intend to approach it with so many other people in the house, right? "This is my bedroom."

[Vaughn Adeney]

::vaughn::

"Perhaps. But how will you know if you never look? You may just find a bone of is. Or even his head." Now there was an interesting thought. "Then you will never forget while he looks like. Even if it is a skeleton, the bone structure will be there." He thought that was comical; maybe he would get her a skeleton head one day and see if she could tell the difference. He would have continued his morbid comments but then the subject of her bedroom came up. He smiled. Smirked. Grinned devilishly. Whichever words were chosen to describe the smile, it was one that should be expected of Vaughn when such a subject was raised, to those who had engaged in a conversation with him for more than 10 minutes.

He did not ask her permission. He said nothing, he just opened the door and walked right inside. What would be in here now? Something worth taking? No. He could get whatever he wanted, though there would be something rewarding from stealing a personal belonging of hers. Then again, that personal belonging did not have to be gold or jewels. He was in her room. A place which was a reflection of who she was. This was going to be interesting, and very fun for the knight.

[Alegra Silvertongue]

Bone structure? That was a stretch. Alegra lifted a brow. "If you could recognize a person by their bone structure, you are certainly very worthy of envy. Unfortunately, I don't possess that talent." And what an odd talent, indeed. "Would you be able to identify mine?" she asked impishly. "Perhaps my cheekbones would stand out especially clearly, or the shape of my eye sockets?" She watched warily as he walked into her room and, of course, followed him in. As he absorbed his surroundings, she sat down on her bed, which was obviously the centerpiece of the room.

It was massive, canopy-style, luxurious at the very least, and cream-colored except for emerald pillows. The rest of the room followed the color scheme. Her walls were that same shade of off-white, but there were wood patterns up and down the walls in a vibrant green color that one might not expect of a young lady's bedroom, which was supposed to be relaxing. The vanity had a massive mirror drilled into it with similar wooden patterns as decorated the wall, with the addition of fairy-like creatures decorating it. Though it couldn't be considered prim, the room was fairly neat, with a hairbrush on her nightstand and a dress over the back of the chair that sat before the vanity itself. Surprisingly, Alegra loved her room. "If you intend to sift through my closet and retrieve a pair of undergarments as a prize, I will save you the time and inform you they are not in there. You won't find them."

[Vaughn Adeney]

::vaughn::

blockquote]Vaughn began to ignore her again, thus ignoring her question. He was distracted by having granted himself access to her room. He did however catch the last part of what she said, and looked at her. "What would ever make you think I would so such a thing?" He asked in an overly exaggerated shocked voice. Was he planning on doing that? No. If she had not been with him, then maybe. But the fact that she would be here, would make it seem less like a violation if he did indeed plan on stealing her undergarments and things. But, her presence changed that. Though that did not mean it would be any less fun.

He went towards her dresser and began to sift through her jewelry and things. He was not going to pocket any; why would we? The thrill of stealing was to walk away with something that he could later tell the person about stealing. If she was here, watching him, where was the fun in robbing her of anything? "A very quaint room indeed," he said, through he was still rummaging through her things. And it was only because he was nosy, and hoped to find something interesting.

[/blockquote]