no more mister nice guy!

[isadora]

It had been months since Isadora and Alistair had been married, and since then, things had been going so well. Despite her fears, none of the nobles had declared war or attempted a coup after learning who their future king would be, and things had been peaceful in the Kingdom of Gwent. Alistair was Prince Alistair now --a title he utterly despised-- but he was far too busy enjoying bossing Sir Garrett around, when he wasn't hovering over her like she might shatter into a thousand pieces at any given moment. As her pregnancy progressed and became more obvious, he only got worse, to the point where Isadora had to order him out to do patrols and the like; pretending he needed to check up on the knights to make sure the castle was secure. But really...she just needed some space. It was sweet, really, but it was driving her crazy.

That was how she came to be alone now, for the first time in what seemed like weeks. People were constantly checking up on her, even people besides her husband, and it was getting annoying. She was as big as a house now, her belly so swollen that she couldn't see her feet any longer and she had trouble getting up on her own, even getting out of bed or just out of her chair. And absolutely everything ached. The healers kept telling her it wouldn't be long now, only a month or so, but she was really starting to get tired of this pregnancy thing. But even so, she loved the child growing within her; she just wanted it to hurry up and get out of her.

She was sitting in one of the smaller reception rooms, the one with the most comfortable chairs, and she was unsuccessfully attempting embroidery on a blanket. She had been trying to get the crest of Gwent onto a blanket for her baby for a few months now, but her lack of expertise with a needle was causing her some trouble. She frowned at the frayed gold threads, her wheat stalks looking more like limp noodles gone terribly awry, then gave a sigh of frustration, leaning back in her chair. She set aside her needlepoint, and placed one hand on her massive belly, wondering about the kind of mother she'd be. She couldn't even decorate a blanket for her child; how could she hope to be everything her baby would need from her?

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tag; Vaughn

[Vaughn Adeney]

It took a lot to annoy Vaughn and drain all the amusement he saw in anything and everything. But right now; he was utterly annoyed. Agitated beyond belief! And it was all thanks to that bloody damn druid. Vaughn had cursed him with every word, both under his breath and to his face, yet he still remained. His arse had been dragged to Gwent, unwillingly, and he had been trapped here for days. Days! He may not be in the dungeons but he still felt like a prisoner. It was in a far worse way than Vaughn could have ever predicted. For it had to do with his conscience. Something that Vaughn had been trying to escape. He had taken that damn arrow for Alistair and wished he could regret it... but the fact that he did not only made him more angry. For Alistair acknowledged it too. Now, the man who once [or many times] tried to kill him, was calling him brother.

And it got worse. He had informed him that he, Vaughn, would be the godfather of his child. Instead of finding extreme honor in this, Vaughn found immense anger. He did not want to be a man regarded as suitable for such a title and position. Godparents were often those related by blood to the parents, or bonded by the heart. They held great strength and affection in character; expected to protect the child and offer both the baby and parents support whenever needed. And Alistair wanted him to fill this role?! The bastard. Had the situation been different, and Vaughn come here by choice, with everyone dreading his presence... he would have self appointed himself this title. He was granted with it through, as a gesture to show how close he and Alistair apparently were. Vaughn wanted to kill him for him. Ironically.

Vaughn's desperation had finally gotten the better of him. Alistair had offered him a position as knight of Gwent; he had offered him as the child's god father. It had to come to an end, now! There was one person that Vaughn had still not seen. Who he knew still detested him and he would use this to his advantage to get her on his side. It was none other than the Princess of Gwent: Isadora de Caerleon. Their last meeting had been interesting to say the least. He had broken into her chambers, threatened her, upset her... and Vaughn had a bloody good time doing it. But now, the nature of their interactions would be quite different. At least in the beginning. For if there was anyone Alistair would listen to, it would be her. Right? It had better, for this was Vaughn's last chance to break out of this hell that Alistair put him in.

After a lot of asking around, he finally discovered her whereabouts. Now that was something else Vaughn hated; how friendly and open everyone was around him. It was not doubt thanks to their conversation with Garrett, about him being Alistair's brother-like friend. Vaughn had never thought that conversation would come back to bite him in the ass. But it did. Finally reaching the room he had been told she was in, Vaughn saw a couple of guards standing in front of the closed door. Casual enough, but the nomad knew who was in there. "Good god men! Prince Alistair is looking for you! Chop chop!" He made sure his tone sounded desperate enough to make it seem like Alistair had been searching high and low for these two useless guards. They looked confused, but did not argue and quickly ran into some random direction. Idiots.

Without knocking, Vaughn pushed open the doors, and immediately saw her sitting there. Her and her massive belly. But he paid no attention to that right now. He casually turned and closed the doors, acting as if he had the right. If the doors were closed, it either meant that no one would disrupt her implied desire for privacy. Or the lack of guards outside would indicate that she was not in here. Either way, Vaughn required them to speak with no other listening ears. Besides, with her being so far along, she could not exactly run very far or fast. Once the doors were shut he turned around to face her. His expression was very different from the one he usually had when seeing her. Gone was that constant smirk and gleam of sadistic amusement in his eyes. Gone was the grin of perversion he gave her as his eyes leered over her body to make her uncomfortable.

These things were replaced with, nothing really. There was no amusement in his eyes, no smug smile, no inappropriate lingering gazes. There was an unusual seriousness. "We need to talk." A blunt statement, but a necessary one. He had not said a word to her since he came. When he thought he would return to Gwent, he always planned for her to be the first person he greeted, for he knew how much she disliked him and he knew how much Alistair disliked him being around her. But this time, the air was very different. They did share one thing in common though: neither her nor him wanted Vaughn to be here. And it was this commonality that made him seek her out.

[isadora]

When Isadora heard the door opening, she assumed she knew who it was. The only person who ever entered without knocking, the only person who could get away with it. And she rolled her eyes and gave a soft sigh of frustration. Why couldn't he get it? "I told you, I don't want to s-" She stopped dead when her eyes fell on the man who had actually entered unannounced, the man who was definitely not her husband, the only man in the world who she really, truly hated and wanted dead, and the very man who was never supposed to be alone in a room with her ever again.

She'd hated the idea when Alistair had wanted to bring Vaughn to Gwent...which was probably the exact reason he hadn't told her about it until he had already brought him here. Since she'd married Alistair, she'd left all the details of the army and the knights to him and Garrett, because she'd never really been much good at it anyways and she thought Alistair would do a better job of it. But that was why she didn't know about the contingent he'd sent out to 'find someone', until they returned with that someone. And he'd been here ever since, in her castle, and she and Alistair had been fighting ever since.

She hated that he seemed to think he owed this loathsome man something, and she hated it even more that he seemed to think that something should have anything to do with her baby. She had no intention of letting the maniac anywhere near her baby. But it was only after he arrived that she learned about his introduction to Sir Garrett, as Alistair's brother or some such nonsense, and she knew she couldn't just throw him out of the castle without bringing suspicion down on her own husband. And Alistair knew that too, and she was all the angrier with him for it.

"Get out! She ordered, but she knew she had no power to enforce it. Clearly, the fact that he was in here meant he'd already done something to get rid of the guards, and she wasn't even sure she could stand up on her own, let alone run away. She didn't want to talk to him. After all he'd done to her in the past, she had no idea why Alistair thought she'd be okay with being around him, even if he had saved his life. It was probably a damn accident! Besides, Isadora had knights who had saved her life dozens of times, men who could be trusted to do so again, but no, he wanted the bloody murderer and rapist around. And now he was around her, something that Alistair was supposed to prevent, and where was her damn husband? Off doing patrols, like she'd told him to. Why was it that he only ever did as she wanted at the worst possible times?!

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[Vaughn Adeney]

Her words did not surprise him. Nor did he find amusement in the harshness of them. He found no humor in any of this situation. Which was why he needed to get out of here. To distance himself from Alistair. To be the man that he once was. Not one who was asked to be godfather to a child. Not one who was asked to protect the druid's wife and child should something happen to him. And take them to Maboony. Or whatever the hell that place was he told him to take them. Vaughn was not wasting any time right now though. He took a few steps towards her. "Shut up." His words were once again blunt. Not a yell. But a strong coldness to them. He did not care if she was a queen to be, a pregnant princess. He would give the orders here because she, she had ruined his life.

Had she not seduced Alistair then they would have continued to remain partners in crime. Nothing more than that. But now, Alistair was calling him brother. Asking him favors. Acting as if he was his best friend. It was sickening. And because she caused this, she was going to fix this. "I am here to talk about your bastard of a husband." Yes. He was angry. And was making no secret of this with his choice of words and tone in which he spoke them. Of the expression that held no sinister entertainment. "I assume you know what he asked me to do." He was not going to waste any time either. Ordinarily, he would tease and harass her. Not this time. This time, it was straight to business.

[isadora]

He told her to shut up, and Isadora scowled. "You come into my home and speak to me like that? Get out or I'll have you flogged!" She amended; no, Alistair wasn't here to keep Vaughn away from her, but neither was he here to keep her from ordering this punishment...or worse. Never mind that she didn't have anyone handy to actually do the flogging; if she could stand, she'd be pleased to do it herself! She'd be happy to have someone to share her agony with, so much the better that it was someone so repulsive.

Of course, her words did nothing to get him out of the room, much less the castle. Damn impotent threats! She rolled her eyes when he got to the point, of course he wanted to talk about Alistair, what else did the two of them have in common that he might like to discuss? "Don't you mean your 'brother'?" She said the word derisively, so he'd know what a crock she thought that whole delusion of Alistair's was. He was so desperate for a friend that he'd created one based on his own delusion, because the fact that Vaughn was standing in front of her right now was indication enough that he wasn't the friend Alistair imagined him to be.

"I suppose that would make you a bastard too, wouldn't it?" She wasn't amused as she insulted him, but there was little else she could do to him right now, so insults would have to be it. Whatever he wanted to discuss, she simply didn't care. She was somewhat surprised that he hadn't already tried to insult her, but he didn't appear like his usual self...he wasn't swaggering around like the cocky bastard he was, leering and trying to take anything of value and threatening her and all she held dear. No, he wasn't doing...anything. In fact he seemed kind of empty.

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[Vaughn Adeney]

Flogged? Really? He knew that was probably the best she could do. Considering Alistair would... 'protect' him. Son of a bitch. It made Vaughn despise this situation even more. He needed to get out of here. As soon as possible. Though she seemed to pay little attention to his lastly spoken words. Instead returning his insult towards her precious husband. Calling him a bastard. Even when she used the term brother, he inwardly cringed. She seemed no more pleased by this situation. And she best not provoke him right now. He wondered if threatening her and the baby's life would get Alistair to get rid of him. Hmm. That would be a possible solution.

One he would have to explore later. Right now, he had the rare opportunity to speaking to her alone. Usually, she was swarmed with guards. Or worse: Alistair. He kept a cold expression when she returned the insult. "A whore should not be one to talk." This time, he was not insulting her for the sheer amusement. He was doing so because he was angry with her. And her idiotic husband. He hoped she went crying back to Alistair and tattled on him. Just as she had done when Vaughn had broken into her chambers. Another way to slip from Alistair's favor. "As much as I enjoy your pathetic threats and insults, I come with another purpose."

He was not enjoying anything right now. This should be the ideal. Having her alone. Being able to provoke her. Threaten her with a child. But currently, he was far too consumed with anger and frustration. Emotions he had not experienced for many, many years. "To speak of the druid. And what he has asked of me." To be the godfather of his damn child. "I do not want this any more than you do." She was the only other person who didn't want him here. Surely, they could both think of a way to cross Alistair and thus, grant Vaughn his freedom.

[isadora]

It seemed like she wasn't going to get rid of him with words alone, and since she wasn't in a position to get rid of him any other way, she'd just have to...tolerate him until he went away, or someone else showed up to make him go away. Her eyes narrowed when he called her a whore, the word striking a nerve with her. How dare he! She was no whore! "If you wish to speak to me, you will be civil and respectful." She didn't really care what he wanted, but she wasn't going to listen if he was going to call her such vulgar things.

Isadora did not reply to anything else he said, folding her hands together before her with an uncaring expression to show that she wasn't going to respond or react to anything he said unless he treated her with the proper respect. If Alistair wanted this -she hesitated to even call him a man, but for lack of a better word- man in his life, he had better teach him to mind his manners. She was not going to let this vicious man anywhere near her children unless he could prove to her that he could behave.

"And I'm not listening to anything you say until you apologize." It was win-win for her. On the one hand, she wouldn't have to listen to Vaughn. On the other, she would get an apology out of him. After all, he had come here for something, and she wasn't going to give it to him unless he was going to be nice. Or at least pretend to be nice.

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[Vaughn Adeney]

Civil and respectful?! Who the hell did she think she was dealing with. He had unleashed his dogs of men to do as they pleased with her during her kidnapping. Or well, what was supposed to be her kidnapping. Before she bewitched the naive druid and softened him to become a pansy and pathetic excuse for the man. But if these words were not enough, she went on to say that he....... was to apologize. Had Vaughn not already been in a fowl mood, he would have erupted in a fit of laughter. But there was no amusement about this. Nothing to be laughed at. For once, he did not wish to provoke her or give crude and vulgar comments. As he had done in the past. No. Right now, he was just angry. And he needed to get the hell out of here while he had his sanity.

In fact, she was provoking him. Which was what perhaps led him to his next actions. In one quick motion, he advanced toward her, his hand going around her neck, squeezing her throat. Not enough to actually kill her, but enough to suggest what he had the power to do. Besides, surely this was not a good position for a pregnant woman. He moved himself a bit closer so that their faces were close. This time, his intent was not to make her uncomfortable with his perversion. But to be more, threatening. So that she could look into his eyes and see that there was no jest there. To know, not to test his patience. "You listen to me, I have more reason than ever to kill you right now." Because killing her would provoke a reaction from her idiot husband. Granted, not a good one.

But he would kill her, and leave. And Alistair would know not to come after him. Unless it was for vengeance. Hell, Vaughn preferred being hunted for that reason, than being sought out to be some damn baby's godfather! "Do not test my patience. For it is at its end thanks to your idiot of a husband." Just thinking about it made his grip on her throat tighter, hoping that his fingertips at least left a bruise. "Now, are you going to behave and stop making ridiculous demands? I wish to make this as quick and painless as possible." Because if she kept being stubborn, then they were never going to get anywhere. Vaughn was not in the mood for this.

[[Slightly god modded her. Let me know if you would like me to edit!]]

[isadora]

Isadora wasn't exactly in a position to get away from him when he lunged at her, but she wasn't helpless either. She had known that he was in the castle, after all, so she wasn't about to go around completely defenseless. He grabbed her throat, and she pulled out one of the daggers Alistair had given her; pretty, ornate things, but still deadly enough for her purpose. He took a hold of her throat and she placed the cold, sharp steel against his; even if he tried to choke the life out of her, she'd have time to slash his windpipe.

"You'd die trying," she answered, she wouldn't hesitate, whether he was Alistair's friend or brother or whatever...it wasn't just her life he threatened, after all, but that of her child as well. She wouldn't even regret it, and Alistair would forgive her eventually. Even if he never did, she would still never let Vaughn or anyone else hurt her child. "You speak as though you have been grievously wronged, when he tries to bestow honor beyond your measure upon you."

Vaughn did not deserve to bear the mantle of godfather. He was proving that right now, by threatening the life of the child Alistair thought he would protect. If they entrusted their baby to him, he'd probably toss it to the wolves at his earliest opportunity. "Are you going to release me, and pretend to be a man for five minutes, or do you wish to continue raging like an overgrown child?" She answered his question with one of her own in a cold tone, and raised an eyebrow critically.

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((It's fine, I did a little of my own so I can edit that if you want!))