The Shining

[Vaughn Adeney]

::vaughn::

It was a good thing Vaughn was a bit of an insomniac. It was very early in the morning and he needed only a couple hours of sleep to feel rested enough to cause further mayhem in the world. He had been wandering through the countryside, discovering many miles back that he was in Camelot. Where exactly in Camelot, he was unsure. He had just kept walking forward until a massive estate came in to view. The home of a noble family. A wealthy noble family. A wealthy noble family who would have a great deal of money and a horse in their stable, just waiting to be stolen. Yes. Vaughn would gladly enjoy taking a few things from this lovely estate.

Speaking of lovely, something other than the thought of money and a horse suddenly captured his attention. A young woman was making her way into what could accurately be described as a very large hedge maze. Vaughn enjoyed games, but not these kinds of mazes. Never the less, he had the perfect incentive to enter into it. She was walking at a quickened pace, clearly familiar with this hedge maze. While he had not gotten a full look at her, he knew enough to recognize her grace leading him to assume that she was part of the noble family who owned this estate. She was no longer in his sight, but he still followed. He walked aimlessly, and cluelessly, through the greenery. The mist created an ominous atmosphere, making it more difficult to find her through this complicated passage. He had no choice but to move forward though, for while he would not admit it, he was lost in this ridiculous maze.

[Tag Lady Marian Engel]

[Lady Marian Engel]

Marian's aunt was the type of woman who kept country hours and town hours, and they were very different. When in the large and vast main city of Camelot, you were often up til all hours of the night so you did not have to rise til noon. When at home in the country you were up early and to bed early! Marian often served as her aunt's companion since she was the only other female (noble) with in a few days ride of the estate. So to get some free time, Marian often was up hours before her aunt was, and she would spend it out side when the weather was beautiful!

It was cool outside and the mist and gray of the sky said snow would come by afternoon, so Marian sought out the garden maze so she could enjoy the sun before the snow came. She hurried down the halls of evergreen while she made her way to the hidden gazebo with in. There tucked into a sharp corner was a secret garden, with a hidden gazebo in it. It was hidden though a design in the hedges that caused people not to see the entrance unless directly facing it but it was int he corner, were no one sought out.

Along her way there she crossed paths with a small rabbit. Animals often got lost in the maze, so Marian already knew just how to help the animal home before the snow hit. Using her shall, she draped it over the bunny before lifting it into her arms and hurrying the back of the maze. It opened in the back so her father could sneak out to hunt, and her uncle had yet to gate it.

Once the rabbit was let loose at the edge of the woods she smiled brightly at her good deed, and the knowledge that the bunny could get to the safely of it's warm home before the cold truly set upon them! She turned to half run and half walk back to the house, before anyone noticed she had once again left the safety of it's walls. As she got to the walls she turned to look back at the woods with a bright smile but it froze on her lips when she saw the dark figure in the distance.

She felt her back stiffen as a sliver of fear trailed down her body. She turned to hurry a bit deeper into the maze but noticed that the darkness was coming her way. She could tell it was a man, but did not need to know more to know to hurry. She could try to run for the house but the center of the maze was open and she knew she wasn't fast. So she pressed against the side until she knew that he was following her inside the maze. When he entered, she turned to corner and hurried until she could turn another. He had been close enough to see that he was armed, and that he looked wild and dangerous. Frightening. She looked back at the way he was, before looking toward the house that was too far away and then hurrying deeper in the maze where she could hide.

[Vaughn Adeney]

::vaughn::

Vaughn enjoyed certain kinds of games, but hedge mazes were not one of them. Then again, the prize at the end of it may make this tedious task of running through the greenery, worth it. Truth be told, he did not know where he was going. And he was not going to do this all day long. While he had nothing better to do, he wanted to see the woman that had made him enter this ridiculous maze in the first place. He had tried to follow her but lost direction. It seemed that she knew where she was going. Either that or she just frantically ran about with one purpose in mind: trying to stay away from him. He could not exactly blame her for that either. Even if it did slightly annoy him.

And so, he did what he always did when something annoyed him. He drew his sword and began to cut through the shrubbery. "Come out, come out, wherever you are," he said in a taunting voice, almost like a cat call, trying to instill some sort of fear in the woman, hoping that she was close enough to hear the lashing of his sword. She could of course be one of those woman that the world seemed to be filled with: strong, argumentative and stubborn. Or, she would be the exact opposite which quite frankly, were the kind of women Vaughn had more fun toying around with.

[Lady Marian Engel]

This was proof alone for Marian that this dark shadow of a man was indeed evil! She thought back to every idea of white knights that she had, and the darkness of this man seemed to be everything they were not. He wore the clothing of a knight, only missing the seal of loyalty that knights proudly displayed; but it was clear that he was no knight in shinning armor! He was a villain disguised as a knight!

Marian wasn't sure how she knew so much, so quickly but she knew--knew in her heart--that this man was not here to greet her as a knight would and that if she failed to hide then her life or worse would be forfeit. She ran down the halls of green as quickly as she could. She knew these halls as well as she knew the halls in the home of her birth; and it was the only reason she was able to keep away from him. When he began chopping down the hedges she ducked into a corner and sat down while all but holding her breath. She almost jumped she when felt the warmth of tears on her cheek, and she brushed them away quickly.

She knew the odds of a real knight showing up to help her were a long shot. She lived on the edge of nothingness; and visitors were few and far between. Still, as she stand there curled up to try to hide in the shrubbery, she could not help but to think of the real knights, and the real heroes! It was the thought of one knight in particular that caused her to want to be braver and want to be stronger. Pushing from the ground, she ran with all her might deeper and deeper into the maze, hoping to be able to loop around and get to the house.

[Vaughn Adeney]

::vaughn::

This was getting old, very fast. He was growing impatient to seeing who exactly it was that he was chasing after. The deeper he went into the maze, the more she would be straying from him. Perhaps it would be best to remain in one place so that he could try and get some sense of direction as to where she was. Where she was going to. Where he could continue to follow her. He would have to get to her before she got out of the maze, that much was for certain. It may help if he put his sword away. Not out of sympathy for her feelings. But because he did not want to lose this game of cat and mouse.

He stopped chopping the hedges, noticing that it made little different. The greenery was thick enough and the only sign that they had been tampered with, were the few twigs and leaves that had fallen victim to his blade. He stopped walking for a moment. Trying to mask his voice into something less sinister and something more, friendly. "I will not hurt you," he said in a slightly raised voice, only to ensure that she could hear him. "I am a traveler, lost, tired and hungry. I only wish for aid." Vaughn had nearly choked on his won words, but managed to get them out with some sort of composure. Whether she believed him though, was an entirely different matter. Only time would tell as he awaited her response