Revenge On The Panty Snatcher

[Vaughn Adeney]

::vaughn::

Vaughn was not so ready to change the subject. That was part of the reason he was here in the first place; to boast a little about how much he knew. Her reaction was surprising cool and calm. Perhaps she was not letting on that it was true, because Vaughn knew it was and his stubborn ways would disallow his mind to be remotely changed about such a thing. He grinned. Still leaning against the door, no matter how much he wanted to step towards her, to try and make her feel uncomfortable all over again. Perhaps he could achieve it with words though.

As board as she was, Vaughn did not find this the least bit dull. In fact, he practically ignored every word of denial she had spoke and instead, asked one question. He did not know if she would answer it, but it was not meant to be rhetorical. It was presenting a scenario that she surely must have thought of after it happened. Surely, she could not be that irresponsible. "And what happens if you are pregnant?" His expression still wreaked of amusement and humor, at thinking of such a thing, and asking such a thing.

[isadora]

Isadora wasn't going to let him get what he wanted. He wanted to bother her, that much was obvious, so it was clear to her that all she had to do was not let him see how much his words bothered her, and she would win. But then he had to go and bring up the one thing that had been clawing at her mind ever since it had happened, and she had to consciously clamp down on her physical reaction in order to keep from giving herself away. What if she was? She still didn't know how she was going to deal with it. But now wasn't the time to think about that.

She sighed with visible irritation. "Are you still harping on about that? You really will believe anything, won't you?" She didn't care that she would be calling Alistair a liar. He deserved worse, for telling a man like this what had happened between them, as though she were just something for him to boast about. If he had told someone like this, how many others had he shared the story with? No, he wouldn't be that stupid; if there were a man going around claiming to have bedded the princess of Gwent, the knights would have no trouble finding her kidnapper. So he was only trying to impress this one, despicable man. "I suppose you'll also believe it if I were to tell you I've a pet unicorn penned up in the stables."

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[Vaughn Adeney]

::vaughn::

Vaughn was still not going to let it go. He was absolutely determined. This was not the last she was going to hear of it either. Before, Alistair had been the one preventing Vaughn from doing or saying anything to her. But now, he was locked up. It was a little contradicting; Vaughn being here to try and draw information from her regarding the fate of the druid, yet he also took advantage of the fact that he was in fact locked up. Oh well. There was only so much Alistair could protect her. He was imprisoned now; the guards would recognize him as a threat. How much could he possibly skulk around Gwent?

"It is not a matter of what I believe My Lady. It is a matter of what I know." He did know. He knew because contrary to popular belief, he was not an idiot. He continued to ignore her denial, a bit disappointed that she had not reacted more to the thought of potentially being pregnant. Or the fact that he had basically called her promiscuous. No matter. He would keep going and going, to see how far he could go in this conversation. "And it matters what other people believe. What I will tell them." That was threat, and a statement for he was planning to start spreading rumors about her. Why? Because it was fun. He only had one thing personal against her and that was that she was turning his partner in crime into a softy. Still, he was not the overly vindictive type. He caused havoc in other people's lives because it was fun and amusing; it could very well be considered a hobby of his.

[isadora]

He certainly was sure of himself, wasn't he? That could be a problem. If she could make him doubt what he 'knew', make him think that Alistair had exaggerated whatever he'd told him, that would be something. But he was completely convinced. And with that kind of conviction; people would believe him, regardless of what the truth was. Dammit. "Or rather, what you think you know. What you actually 'know' is nothing." She replied icily, wondering what it was going to take to keep him quiet.

"Finally, you get something right. So what will it take to keep you from spreading these vicious lies?" She knew he was right about what people believed; it was ridiculous to link a woman's ability to rule to her 'virtue', but that was how it was. Her people might adore her, but rumors could tear even the most well-loved leader apart. If her people lost faith in her ability, they would demand her father step up in the roles she'd taken over, and then they'd realize how weak he really was; not to mention it would ruin Isadora's credibility as a ruler in her own right. She just hoped he'd be willing to take some kind of pay-off...money she had plenty of.

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[Vaughn Adeney]

::vaughn::

While she was still not owning up to the lies, she was accepting the fact that the rumors could indeed massively negatively effect her reputation. After all, she was the sole heir, expected to be queen after her father died, which by the looks of it would not be too long now. Part of him was still trying to get her to admit that the words he spoke were the truth. At least he was managing to get one thing out of her at a time. He was rather pleased with himself; blackmailing royals and nobles seemed to become a specialty of his since Isadora would not be the first he has blackmailed.

But accepting that money would be sufficient and move on was not at all fun. He wanted her to feel somewhat helpless. Though she did seem stronger than most; she was not caving him, begging him not to stay a word. She was staying cold and strong. Interesting. Something that her and the druid had in common. "Maybe it will take nothing. Maybe I will spread such rumors just to tarnish the Caerleon name. To see your family's reputation tainted in the books of history, giving you all a scandalous image." Would that mean anything to her? "Or maybe," he looked at her intently, a sinister smile forming on his lips. "The question should be how much you are willing to do to silence me." His tone and expression when saying that should express what he was suggesting, and it definitely was not money.

[isadora]

He wanted something, he had to. Otherwise he wouldn't be bothering to come here and harass her. But she couldn't vindicate what he thought was true, even if it was. If she let him know he was right, who knew what he would do? She rolled her eyes at his dramatization of her 'sins'. How ridiculous. Did he really think he was going to scare her with stories about history books? She cared about her family name, yes, but not more than she cared about her own well being, or that of her father. If all she had to worry about was people in a hundred years calling her a whore, she could deal with that; she'd be dead by then, what would she care?

His net offer disgusted her, and she didn't bother to hide it. "Hold your tongue, cad." She spat the words venomously, there was no way he would convince her to do anything that his tone was suggesting, even if it meant he would smear her name across all of Albion. She'd pay him off with gold or jewels, but she would not sell herself to buy his silence. "I will not make your lies true in order to keep them hidden."

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[Vaughn Adeney]

::vaughn::

Her reaction was great. It forced laughter out of Vaughn, but he ensured the volume of it was low, so it ended up being deep, demonstrating more amusement than just a mere chuckle. He had not expected her to accept her offer, and he would not do anything, forceful. The fact that others think he would though, gave him that control of uncertainty as to what to expect from him. In this case, he had not done otherwise to prove that he was not that sort of man. Nor would he do anything to show that he had any redeeming qualities what so ever.

"You act as if I am so vile; I am very upfront. I unleashed a pack of hungry men on you, but I did so openly. And yet, you condone a man who seduced you in the woods." Now, he was talking about Alistair. "Unless you are a woman easily infatuated, I must wonder what he had possibly said or done to you to make you so willing and eager to engage in such intimacy with him. You know nothing about him and could not have known a great deal in a matter of days." Now, Vaughn was just acting like he knew something massively significant about Alistair, when in reality, he did not. He just thought it impossible to fully know a person in a matter of days, and was using this belief to fuel his words.

"Besides, the man barley says more than three words at a time." Now, he was mocking Alistair. But he really was a man of lesser words. He was not saying this because he was remotely jealous by the relationship they shared. He was saying this to try and impersonalize her relationship with him. He hoped Alistair got slapped for this. He deserved it after letting his emotions cloud his judgment. "I pity the citizens of Gwent who must be under the authority of such a naive, weak, easily seduced Queen."

[isadora]

Was he honestly trying to argue that because he was honest, that made his actions any more decent? He was a horrible, evil, disgusting person and nothing about how he was 'up front' made that any better! "You honestly believe that there is something redeeming in a willingness to admit that you would stand by and allow a woman to be violated and do nothing to stop it? To, in fact, encourage it?" She replied with cold disbelief, disregarding whatever else he might say about Alistair seducing her. She wasn't about to admit that she was really the one who had teased Alistair into making a move, let him assume she was a braindead ditz for all she cared.

She scoffed when he pointed out that Alistair didn't speak much. "You say that like it's a bad thing." If Vaughn was the exemplar of what a chatty man was like, Isadora definitely preferred her men the strong, silent type. Like Alistair. Then he had to go on to speak about her kingdom again...and she was about finished with his diatribe. "Well I did manage to turn you down, so if I'm all of those things, what does that say about you?" Let him connect the dots, she didn't even need to say her insults aloud to turn his insults back on him.

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[Vaughn Adeney]

::vaughn::

Vaughn did not feel that sense of obligation to justify his actions or personality to her. "I never said it was redeeming. I merely stated that I am honest and open." He smiled while saying this, not that he stopped smiling at any point during their conversation. "Besides, it should have taught you that you should not be running through the woods. Alone and vulnerable." Of course he understood her circumstances, as they had been the ones to kidnap her in the first place, more specifically Alistair, but he was mocking her, targeting her helplessness and basically saying, not in so many words, that she had it coming with her attempt to escape. Had Alistair not warned her that there were other people involved in this ransom? Out of the very few things he said, that should have been one of them.

"I suppose you were not interested in much talking with him," he said, suggestively, assuming she knew what he meant. "It says nothing about me. It only says that you enjoy a more, wooded setting." He was not going to take her criticisms to heart, just as she was not taking his. "My Lady, you are those things and so much more. Have you not thought of the good of your kingdom? How will they react to a pregnant future Queen, with no husband, and no stable family life." He paused, shaking his head in a false demonstration of massive disapproval. He did not care about her kingdom, but the question was, did she. "I did not know royals had the liberty to sleep with whoever they wanted, without thinking of the consequences of their actions. Seems rather selfish ad irresponsible."

[isadora]

She quirked an eyebrow, folding her arms over her chest at his excuse. "So then what do you want? A medal? Congratulations, you may be an ass, but at least you're willing to admit it?" Clearly, he did think that his honesty improved his actions somewhat, or he wouldn't feel the need to point it out to her. She rolled her eyes, she was tired of playing the helpless victim in this drama. He wasn't going to let this go, and she was tired, so it was time to fight fire with fire.

She laughed when he said that she preferred a setting in the woods. "Because I'm clearly a rustic sort of woman." She replied, smiling ruthlessly. "Tell me, is the reason you insist on being so lewd because all women find you as repulsive as I do? I wouldn't be surprised." He'd made it obvious that she wasn't going to talk him out of spreading lies about her if the urge hit him, so now she just wanted to give a taste of his own medicine. "I mean, even if your irritating habit of repeating yourself weren't bad enough, there's the hair to consider." Her eyes flickered up to his hair skeptically, completely ignoring whatever he was saying about her kingdom and her possible pregnancy; did he really think he was going to get her to break down? She didn't give a damn what he thought.

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[Vaughn Adeney]

::vaughn::

She was getting bolder and bolder. And Vaughn was growing amused at this unexpected retaliation that she was taking. "Yes," he said in response to her first question. "All men are asses, but not all readily admit it." He had no problem admitting such a thing, for he did not try to impress others nor did he value the opinion of people he would probably never see again. He did not even care what Alistair though to him; if he did, he would not be in his lovers bedroom tonight. If only he would be able to see the expression on the druid's face when she told him of this, assuming she would. He hoped the man would be overcome with rage, and he did hope it caused some tension between the obscure couple.

He chuckled when she threw out an insult regarding his hair. "I did not think you were so shallow My Lady," he said still chuckling a little. "If you are going to criticize me, may as well do so regarding something deeper, such as my personality." Was he offended? Not at all. He was absolutely amused by this entire thing! "Unless course you can not think of anything wrong with it because you see it as flawless," he suggested smirking.

[isadora]

Isadora raised her eyebrows when he accused all men of being asses, then shrugged and nodded in agreement. "You just don't seem to realize that all women already know that." Yes, all men had the capacity to be just as asinine as this man, and then some, but what was it they said about women? Hell hath no fury, or something to that effect? She yawned pointedly, hoping he'd understand how truly tedious this whole exchange was getting.

"Well, I am noble," She said simple as explanation to her apparent 'shallowness'. "I'm sorry, I thought I'd been doing that all night, and thought I'd mix it up a little. Apparently, you and I have very different ideas of what would constitute an insult." She replied with mock sincerity, entirely bored of him and his games. "If you're going to kill me anyway, could you get to it sometime soon, please? Before I die of old age." He truly did have a lot to say...too bad none of it had any substance. Maybe that was why she preferred Alistair. He didn't speak much, but when he did, he had something of value to say.

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[Vaughn Adeney]

::vaughn::

"Kill you?" Vaughn ignored everything she had said and focused on these two words. He then laughed, aware that he had to keep the volume of his voice at a minimal. "You think I am going to kill you?" He said, chuckling at this, as if it was the most obsurd idea he had ever heard. In actuality, it was not that odd for anyone who knew of his lack of morals and care for others would know his desire to kill someone would be a legitimate fear. But in this case, he had no intention of killing her.

"My dear Lady, what would ever give you the impression that I would want to kill you," he asked, a bit sarcastically for he did know the answer to that question. "Where would the fun in that be." He would not get to harrass her anymore. That would be a great loss for him indeed. "I would much rather do something that would cause you to deaden inside, not physically kill you." He then pretended as if he was in deep contemplation, when it was already at the front of his mind of how to do this. "For instance, killing your father. Though that would not be much of a challenge, especially since he is on his way to death already." Meaning, he was not well, and he was old and Vaughn did not care enough to kill him. So he just continued to list suggestions, well, one certain person.

Alistair." He was not going to do this either, but rather, entertain the idea. "Now that would be far more interesting to see than simply killing you." Back on the subject of the druid, not that they had strayed far from it. "Unless you plan on killing him already." He was not sure how deep their relationship ran, well at least on her part for in his opinion, Alistair was too far gone. That was only according to Vaughn and he only believed this because of the way he had softened up and warned him not to take any of her personal things. Unfortunately for him and Isadora, he had something very personal of hers still tucked in his pocket, and was waiting for the perfect time to reveal it.

[isadora]

So he didn't want to kill her...but what was his goal here, then? To annoy her? It certainly seemed that way. She hadn't stopped glaring at him since they'd started this conversation, which was getting increasingly one-sided, and pointless, in Isadora's opinion. Then he mentioned that he wanted to deaden her inside, and she took another step back, as he went on to speak about killing her father. She had been right before...he was a monster. Why was he so amused at the thought of causing her pain? Why did he find hurting others to be such fun? It seemed so wrong to her.

Then he threatened Alistair. But...weren't the men allies? If not friends, then at least they worked together on more than one occasion. He was willing to give up what could be one of the only people that had met him more than once and didn't wish him dead, only to hurt her? What kind of a twisted man was he? "Why are you so entertained at the thought of killing and hurting others?" When did killing people get fun? She understood that it was sometimes necessary...but never a source of enjoyment. And yet so many people seemed to derive some sick pleasure from it.

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[Vaughn Adeney]

::vaughn::

Vaughn chuckled at the question. Death was not something he hesitated in discussing. "My Lady there is very little in life that does not amuse me," he said. Surely those who have one conversation with him knew that. A smirk was never far from his expression and he often chuckled at just about anything. Of course, there were many who did not share his morbid, twisted, sense of humor and that was what made it all the more funny to him.

"It really depends on who I am killing and hurting," he began to explain, not expecting her to understand his motives. Truthfully, he had no motives. None what so ever. He did what he thought was fit for the moment, and went on from there. Just as now for instance. He had no real purpose of being in her room, other than hoping it was effecting her in more ways than she was letting on. It might not be, and Vaughn would be lying if he said that would not disappoint him. He would still try to push his limits and see how far he could go, and that was by attacking the people he knew she was close to. Family, and lovers. It was why Vaughn had neither. They always created a weakness. "It is interesting to see the reaction of those that person's death effects. You for instance, have no reaction, other than that beautiful deadly glare you are giving me," he said a bit flirtatiously. "Which leads me to believe that you may already be dead on the inside." He paused for a brief moment before continuing. "Besides, what would life be if we did not find ways to amuse ourselves and have a bit of fun."

[isadora]

Why did she not find it surprising that he found most things in life amusing? Because he didn't seem to have any morals whatsoever? No sense of right and wrong, no care for others, he only gave a damn about himself and what might bring him pleasure. She still didn't understand why it was fun to kill others, why he would enjoy killing as he seemed to, but maybe he would explain that particular point sometime in the near future; or he might just leave, as she would prefer that option.

But of course he wouldn't leave. He was having fun. Maybe if there was just some way she could make all this dreadfully boring for him...refuse to give him what he wanted. Since he didn't want to kill her, he wanted to see her reaction? So she wouldn't react. He had already guessed that she might be dead inside --she had to fight not to bite back that she wasn't the one who so clearly had no soul-- why couldn't she let him just believe that? Would he have fun taunting a corpse? Well, he just might. She shrugged impassively and gave a quiet, bored sigh, using all of her practice as a diplomat and a liar to hide her emotions, shoving her anger and fear away to leave her carefully blank. "How much longer do you think this will take? It's getting rather tedious."

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[Vaughn Adeney]

::vaughn::

Tedious for her, still highly enjoyable for him. He looked at her, still not discouraged by her clear disinterest in the subject they were talking about. Even if she had asked him the question, he answered, and she did not reply. He could expect nothing more than that. After all, his goal was not to have a scintillating conversation with her. It was to annoy her and annoy Alistair in the process. Again, his subtle revenge.

"I remember the last time I was in here," he said grinning, wondering just how much Alistair had told her about that. "I found many interesting things in your room I must say. Things of great, value." And he was not just talking about the gold. Did she know what he had taken? Had the druid spoiled the enjoyment of Vaughn showing her with her having no previous knowledge of it? Still, to dangle the fact that he had stolen things from her room was a fun thing to boast about. And soon enough, he would get to what else he had taken from the castle. But her bedroom without a doubt had been the more entertaining chamber in the castle.

[isadora]

She sighed, still feigning disinterest in everything he said. Then he spoke of items of 'great value' and yes, she had an idea what he meant. She had noticed everything that went missing following the break-in, even the items they'd taken from her wardrobe. Alistair had been carrying some, too, although he claimed he wasn't the one who had taken them, and was merely trying to return them; she hadn't been sure she believed him, but now, meeting this man, she changed her mind. Yes, he was definitely the kind of man who would rifle through a lady's underthings without a second thought.

"Given the lewd expression on your face, I can only assume you are referring to the undergarments you pilfered." She rolled her eyes. "Keep them, sell them, do...whatever it is your sick mind wishes. I would only have them burnt as it is." She certainly had no intention of wearing them again, after this man had been doing God only knows what with them. There was an expression of revulsion on her face as she spoke, trying not to imagine why he would possibly want something like that.

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[Vaughn Adeney]

::vaughn::

Vaughn smiled. So she had noticed after all. And it only made sense since he had not exactly been trying to make a secret out of it. "Burn them. What a waste for I do believe I can get quite a bit of monetary gain from selling them to a lonely, drunk man who longs for nothing more than the company of a woman." Sadly, a pair of undergarments would give that man some sort of company. Vaughn was a man; he knew how they thought. "Or if you have a child, perhaps I will use it to boast to others about how I am the father." Now there was an entertaining thought. Who knew there would be so many things to do with a woman's piece of clothing apart from the most obvious and practical function.

He continued to smirk, amused by the ideas, and even more amused that she had such strong knowledge of the fact that he had violated her privacy. Did she know what else he took? Not from her bedroom necessarily, but from the rest of the caste? Oh well. He would deal with one stolen possession at a time.

[isadora]

She snorted with laughter at his assumption. "No more than a whore would charge for an evening in her company, and I assure you that is not much." Why pay more for some silky underthings when you could have a real woman, even a cheap harlot, touch you instead? And as far as Isadora knew, such services were available on the cheap, if you knew where to look. If they had enough coin to be getting drunk, she assumed they'd have enough to buy a whore.

She just raised her eyebrows at his claim of 'proof'. "I'm not going to have a child, and even if I were...How would you prove they're mine? Or that you didn't just steal them, as is the case? The people know that the castle was broken into." Isadora wasn't sure that she wasn't pregnant, but she wasn't going to tell him that. She was still planning to deny everything he presumed to be true. He'd made it clear she wouldn't be purchasing his silence, so she'd have to live with whatever rumors he decided to spread, but she would deal with that eventuality when she came to it.

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