Once Upon A Knightmare

[Vaughn Adeney]

::vaughn::

Luciana le Valois: Princess of Armorica. Vaughn had his sights set on her. Not in a perverted way. But more in the way that made him see gold coins. While Vaughn never overly planned anything he did in this life but this kidnapping had taken a bit more planning. Days; which had almost caused him to reach the point of boredom. But now that the day had approached, he found nothing but anticipation. He had to scour the kingdom to find men who were willing to take part on this ploy. He had of course found the most idiotic and brainless of men, but that was what Vaughn had wanted. He would use them as diversions, while Vaughn himself grabbed the money and made a run for it. After all, he was the only one out of them who was trained in combat. And their lack of intelligence made it rather easy to outsmart them.

So he had sent the men to the city, making sure to keep an eye on the princess. They had been keeping a very close eye on her for the past couple of days, and with the prince, and commonly known as her friend, was out of the city, she had no direct protection. Making her more vulnerable. It was a blessing for Vaughn that she did not have a swarm of knights surrounding her, and news of this had been affirmed when one of the messengers ran back to him to report. Now, the next plan of action. Vaughn sent him away, needing to take care of the most important part of this plan himself. He did not trust the others to do it for him.

Vaughn was constantly dressed in his darkly clad armor, with his two swords strapped on his back. So to conceal this, and lure her to him, he pulled on him a large ark cloak, pulling the hood up to make himself look a bit more shady. A bit more mysterious. He took the swords off his back and attached them to his sides to make them more inconspicuous. He then ripped a couple of holes in it, wanting himself to look disheveled. He got ready just in time too for he heard the heavy hooves of a horse fast approaching. They were not too deep into the woods, for Vaughn had to stay close enough to the entrance of the forest to make sure he could see which path she would take. When he saw sight of her, he ran a bit ahead, before stepping out of the concealment of trees. Alright,s o it was not quite stepping out as it was stumbling out. He forced an expression of desperation on his face, and his tone of voice being consistent with such a farce.

He stepped into the direct path of where he horse had been racing towards, expecting her to stop mere inches from him. Or, if she ran over him it would be all the more better. It would create more sympathy for him, but also, the guilt factor could come into play. He would just have to wait and see what happens. "Please! Help me!" He exclaimed, or begged rather. Vaughn would never use such words, but they were out of necessity right now. He needed her to get off her horse so that there was little chance for her to run away. He hobbled, forcing a limp to make it look as if he was severely weakened, or exhausted. Or, something other than strong and a man who was in no need of help. Who said that damsels were the only ones who could be in distress.

[[ Tag Luciana ]]

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[Luciana le Valois]

Alas Luciana was on her own this day. Arthur had spirited himself away in the middle of the night, she assumed to catch up to his servant, Merlin. The princess was not certain for the reason behind it for she had chosen to skip court yesterday, but she it had something about raiders attacking Merlin’s hometown. Luciana could not help but admire the Crown Prince of Camelot. Defying his father and going off to battle brigands without even a semblance of an army was quite brave, but she expected no less from the future King of Camelot.

Without the prince, the Armorican princess would be hitting the trails with no other company save for her horse. None of the other ladies of the court were as keen as riding in the early morning as she was, and the knights of Camelot had other duties to perform. They could not go gallivanting around with her all willy-nilly.

So as the rose over the grand city of Camelot, Luciana ran down the steps of the castle to the main courtyard, her feet moving faster than an Irish dancer’s. Her dress today was one of her less extravagant ones. Over a pure white chemise and full royal blue skirt, the princess wore a stylish crimson overdress with billowing poet sleeves and lacing down the front. She fastened the lacing a bit looser than her normal stomachers. She had to be able to breath after all. Around her tiny waist wrapped a black leather belt, and dangling in the center of her abdomen was a simple ruby pendent that hung from her neck on a long, thin gold chain. The hem of her blue skirt and crimson over dress floated above the ground, revealing her brown leather boots, as she practically flew down the white stairs.

At the bottom was her jet-black Andalusian stallion, Cavalier, waiting for her in the hands of a stable boy. As the princess strode up to the side of her steed, the stable boy asked, while handing her the reins, “Milady, are you sure you don’t want anyone to go with you? The woods can be dangerous.”

Luciana laughed as if the stable boy had just told her a joke and hoisted herself onto Cavalier. After positioning herself in her saddle, she took hold of the reins, and remarked with unwavering confidence, “I highly doubt that any thief or bandit has even thought about waking up yet.”

Unfortunately, Luciana did not leave room in her statement for renegade knights.

So as soon as the servant released the reins, the horse and rider bolted off without a care in the world. They breezed through the fields that surrounded the city, the princess’s loose dark chocolate locks blow, waving about in the manifest wind. She was, of course, careful to avoid running through the growing crops as she enjoyed her brief freedom from royal life. It would be a terrible embarrassment if she damaged Camelot’s harvest in anyway.

As the Princess of Armorica and her regal stallion approached the woods, Cavalier flared his nostrils and propelled himself forward even quicker than before. Passing through the first row of trees, Luciana tried to slow her excited equine down to a grace canter, but Cavalier tossed his head and continued on at his desired pace.

“Oh you little brat,” murmured the princess, annoyed by her horse’s less than obedient attitude. As she continued to attempt to slow the stallion, something stumbled out of the trees that stopped Cavalier in his tracks.

Luciana was not quite aware of what happened for Cavalier skidded to a halt and reared at the sight of the dark clad stranger. The princess was forced to grab onto the equine’s thick black mane in order to remain in her saddle. As Cavalier returned to the ground with a long, almost threatening snort, Luciana immediately focused on what had spooked her horse.

"Please! Help me!"

Her pearl gray eyes widened in shock and concern as her gaze fell onto seemingly injured figure that had scared her steed only moments ago. Her focus shifted to his slashed cloak and his wounded gait. ‘Oh my god! What happened to this man?” wondered Luciana, getting over her initial astonishment.

Then without thinking, the Princess of Armorica dismounted her horse and rushed over to the mysterious man. Something in her gut told her to remount quickly and run back to Camelot as fast as she could, but the man looked so helpless. She could just abandon him. Then draping her arms over, Luciana tried to steady him, and said, her crystalline voice filled with worry, “Sir, what happened to you?”

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Tags:[/color] Vaughn
Words:[/color] 776
Outfit:[/color] Dress and Necklace
Notes:[/color]

[Vaughn Adeney]

::vaughn::

Vaughn was still waiting for her to get off that horse. Fortunately, he did not have to be waiting long. Excellent. The rumors and whispers he heard of Princess Luciana's kindness had not proven faulty. She gracefully, and without hesitation, dismounted and approached him. Pity. That it was so easy to take advantage of ones compassion. Maybe this experience would serve as a lesson; that helping people would only land yourself in trouble. Getting a closer look at her was a delightful feast of the eyes. Light eyes. Fair skin. Soft voice. Yes. She had everything that screamed royalty. It was perfect. This was all too perfect. And Vaughn knew, that he was going to have fun with this entire little ransom plan.

Her words held so much concern, her expression remaining consistent with this fact. Now, it was time to allow everything to reveal itself. When she was close to him, her arms out near him, Vaughn changed the game. He swiftly pulled out a dagger from his sleeve and put his arm around he princess. The dagger was positioned at a horizontal angle across her throat. He used his free hand to grab onto her wrist, twisting her arm behind her back. Leaning his head down a bit, so that his lips were right near her ear, he spoke in a low register. "You'll only make this more fun for me if you struggle," he said in an amused voice as a sadistic smile formed on his lips. He looked around, making sure there were no witnesses. He began to drag her back a bit, expecting full compliance, though would not be surprised if she struggled.

One of his minions came into sight, out of breath for he'd been trying to keep up with the princess. "Take the horse," Vaughn told him. He did not want to leave any evidence out right now. "What'll I do with it?" He asked, clueless. Vaughn didn't care. It would make for good coin though. Or they could use it to deliver the ransom note. Right now, it was just proving to be a nuisance. "Take it to where we are set up." It was not where he was taking Luciana right now, but where he would eventually take her. He just had to get a few things clear first. "Do you like horse meat My Lady?" Vaughn asked, not actually planning to kill the horse. It would be a waste. But sometimes, people were just so attached to their animals. "As you are our royal guest, we have it as a special on tonight's menu." Another lie. But Vaughn found it amusing. Any playfulness on the subject of death entertained Vaughn.

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[Luciana le Valois]

Luciana was not prepared for the unpleasant surprise that was about to be dealt to her. It all happened so quickly. She barely had time to register the events. Before the princess even had time to see the glint of steel from his sleeve, the dark clad renegade had ensnared her, holding her arm in a vice like grip behind her back. She drew a quick breath as his sharp blade met her pale, flawless skin. Never before had her life been threaten like this before. It seemed almost surreal.

“You’ll only make this more fun for me if you struggle.”

His words sent shivers of disgust down her spine. They reminded her of something a storybook villain would say before he abducted a maiden and stole her innocence and honor. However, she was not in a fairytale, and she could not wait for a knight in shining armor to save her just in the nick of time. At first Luciana was terrified out of her mind. Then adrenaline rushed through her body as her heartbeat quickened in apprehension. As her assailant began to drag her away, the princess’s defiant and rebellious attitude surfaced.

Irate, she struggled and squirmed in her captor’s grip, kicking furiously at his legs and clawing at him with her free hand. Her gray eye glowered as an angered growl escaped from her lips. Who this man was, he was going to rue this day for the rest of his life.

As Luciana kept kicking and screaming in attempt to escape, another man, who was far less intelligent that the princess’s captor, emerged and took hold of Cavalier. The black stallion reared, snorted, and neighed, not liking the situation he was in. The equine was putting up just as much of a fight as his rider. Luciana inwardly smirked at her horse’s actions. Perhaps he would be able to break free and run back to Camelot. Then the knights of Camelot would know something happened to her. However, Vaughn’s minion held fast to Cavalier’s reins, making it impossible for the equine to escape.

If that was not enough to upset her, Vaughn then threatened her horses like, claiming he was going to butcher her beautiful Andalusian and feed it to her for dinner. With that, the princess redoubled her efforts to escape or at least to hurt the dark clad man. No one threatened Cavalier’s life and got away from it. Swiping the back of his neck, Luciana dug her sharp nails into his flesh.

Then the princess shouted, enraged beyond measure, “If you harm one hair on him, I’ll see you hanged, drawn, and quartered!”

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Tags:[/color] Vaughn
Words:[/color] 440
Outfit:[/color] Dress and Necklace
Notes:[/color] Sorry, I didn't mean to make Vaughn sound like a rapist.

[Vaughn Adeney]

::vaughn::

At first, he was able to manage her struggling. He had expected as much really. No woman ever silently complied when getting kidnapped. It was easier to knock them out and just drag them away. But, where was the fun in that? As Vaughn enjoyed irritating people, giving them hell, this was such a great way to continue this little hobby of his. If she was unconscious, the entire scene would be far less entertaining. He tightened his grip around her, continuing to drag her back so that he could get her to where he needed. Where he could tell her to shut up, or make a far worse threat on her life. Or another's perhaps. Like its owner, the damn horse was also getting all worked up. "If you can't control it," Vaughn began to say to his minion. "Then kill it." These words were meant to provoke her further, to get a rise out of her.

But his offer of horse meat was all that needed to be said. It was so strange. When someone threatened a person's life, they often did not listen. They pushed it to the limit, continuing to struggle and such. Yet, as soon as a threat was made on another person's, or in this case horse's, life, one that they cared about...they suddenly went crazy. What were these people trying to prove? That they would sacrifice themselves for someone else? That they would make threats only to honor the other person or creatures life, but not their own? Vaughn never understood this, and scoffed when people claimed it was 'self sacrifice'. It was just plain stupidity. But, it was stupidity that he would use to his advantage. For when she dug her nails into his neck, clearly as hard as she could, he had no choice but to release it. It hurt like hell, and he could feel the blood coming out, but even amidst this pain, he laughed. He laughed because her reaction was just so hilarious. Who got attached to their horse to such an extent?

It was as ridiculous as people who got attached to each other. He would have to do something though to make her cooperate. So before his minion could ride off with the uncooperative horse, Vaughn quickly went to it, grabbed onto the reigns with one hand, and pulled out one of his blades with his other. He held it at an angle across the horse's throat now. Vaughn was not above killing an animal, just as he was not above killing a human being. "Run My Lady, and the last sound you will hear from this area is the squealing of your animal's pain. For I swear, I will kill it in the most agonizing way that a horse can die." His words were said with amusement, but the threat was not one to be taken lightly. To further add to his point, he slowly pressed the blade into the horse, not enough to cut it...not yet. "Now, will you cooperate?" He asked. If this was not enough, he would kill the horse so that she knew to take him seriously, and then find another way to catch her.

[ Haha! That is quite alright. I don't think his words could have been taken any other way. He is rather crude, so apologies to Luciana. ]

[Luciana le Valois]

Luciana felt the warmth of blood against her fingertips as the outlaw released her. Without a second thought, the princess pushed herself away from the villainous man, skittering a good distance away from him. His crimson blood stained her pale flesh of her fingers, and with disgust, the princess wiped the red liquid on the skirt of her dress that camouflaged the mark. Heavy breaths escaped from her lips as the burst of adrenaline passed. A proud smirk danced on her lips for but a moment until she noticed the dull pain that throbbed in her arm that had been twisted behind her back. The Armorican royal pursed her lip in a scowl intended for the howling hyena who was attempting to steal her away. ‘Ignore it.’ Luciana told herself, not wanting to show any weakness. So in order to discreetly coddle her injured limb, the princess crossed her arms over her chest as she glared daggers at Vaughn. She doubted that there was a single man in the world that she despised more that him right now.

However the visage of defiance did not stay on Luciana’s face for long. Her light gray eyes grew wider by the moment as the dark renegade took hold of her poor Cavalier. She nearly cried out in desperation as one of the deadly swords met her stallion’s thick, muscular neck. The unyielding princess hitched up the skirt of her gown, planning to more or less charge the villain and reclaim her beloved equine, however her plans changed dramatically as his words resounded in her ears.

"Run My Lady, and the last sound you will hear from this area is the squealing of your animal's pain. For I swear, I will kill it in the most agonizing way that a horse can die."

As she was moving toward her captor, Luciana froze on the spot with terror evident in her lovely features. Surely he was not serious! However, Luciana was not going to put anything past Vaughn. Everything about him seemed merciless. How she hated him and anyone like him! Those without do not deserve anything but the hangman’s noose tight around their necks.

"Now, will you cooperate?"

“You’re a coward! An absolute coward!” shouted Luciana with as much bravado as she could muster as tears threatened to escape from her eye. With a final insolent smirk, she continued, “But you know that. For why else would you threaten a helpless animal.”

With that all of her boldness and audacity left her. Her mind was focused solely of saving the black Andalusian. She knew it was an odd thing to sacrifice one’s self for the life of an animal, but Cavalier was practically family. He had been a gift from her father who deemed his daughter better suited for a warhorse and a docile palfrey. None in Armorica saw the partnership unfitting for the equine and the princess seemed to share the same spirit. As the images of the stallion’s demise swam through her already distressed mind, the princess face contorted into a visage of despair while minute rivulet of tears streamed down her pallid cheeks.

Sinking to the ground, Luciana stated, her voice cracking at times, “Now take me and leave him be.”

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Tags:[/color] Vaughn
Words:[/color] 541
Outfit:[/color] Dress and Necklace
Notes: Sorry this took forever.[/color]

[Vaughn Adeney]

::vaughn::

Ha! It worked! How...sad. She truly was one of those sensitive women who was over emotional when it came to the well being of something like a horse. Quite, pathetic really. But for the present, it was going to save Vaughn some time. Rather than forcing her away and having her claw at him again, she would at least come willingly. Well, a bit more willingly than before. He slowly withdrew his sword from the animal's neck and motioned for his minion to take it away from here. He could always call it back should the princess decide to be uncooperative. He listened to her call him a coward, see the tears escape from her eyes, and then witness her fall to the ground. He could only chuckle at her, over emotional ways. Why were women always like this. While it was humorous, it made them far too predictable.

"You are right. I am a coward. I will gladly admit it." He was not above insulting himself. He did not care how others perceived him and if this deemed him as a coward, then so be it. "What else. Am I also a vile man? Crude? Selfish? Appalling for threatening the life of the princess of Amorica?" He was chuckling between words, wondering if she would check every trait as ones that defined him accurately. He went over to her and grabbed her arm to pull her to her feet, pulling her around so that she was forced to face him. And the distance between them not very far. He was in her personal space and it was yet another way to attempt to make her feel, uncomfortable. Though threatening the life of her beast seemed to be the best way to do that. "Misbehave, and you have find your horse's head slipped under your blanket whilst you sleep."

Another threat, a warning to her. "That is, if I decide to give you a blanket." Just to remind her that he had control in this situation. He moved his hand forward, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as he allowed the back of his hand to graze her cheek, a sadistic smile on his lips and a sinister gleam in his eyes. "There are fates worse than death Princess Luciana. Do not make me show you what they can be." He was of course only speaking of one thing; the root of all women's nightmares. While Vaughn would never do this to a woman, his decision not being due to compassion, he had his men who would be all too glad to take him up on his offer. After all, Luciana was far more beautiful than any woman that had ever been within their reach, hell, within their gaze. They would most certainly be willing to force her into acts against her wishes. And Vaughn would only encourage them and walk away so that she could learn her lesson the worst way possible, yet perhaps the most effective.

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