Pleasured Distractions

[thegwaine]

Gwaine had thought at first that he had been misjudging this woman, but now he was completely sure that he had been completely right about Isabel. She was just like every other stuck up noblewoman in the whole of Albion. None of them cared about anything other than their own appearance and their wealth. Gwaine studied Isabel for a few moments, wondering how many people she had seen suffering in her time and not wanted to lift a finger to help. This woman had been born into nobility, and though Gwaine had as well, he felt as if he could take the moral high ground with such things as this because he had given it up. He’d rejected that part of his life and had taken up to work off his own back, and never rely on titles again. This woman had never known poverty, she’d never known what it was like to be starving, and she’d probably never seen mothers crying through the winter because there wasn’t enough food to feed their family. Gwaine had seen so much throughout his travelling that he no longer was surprised with any of the suffering that he saw, it just made him sick that people could live in manor houses while the peasants around them starved.

Really, Isabel had no reason to think highly of herself. As far as Gwaine was aware she was just a noblewoman, and not even a high noblewoman at that. She wasn’t a princess, or destined to rise above her station, so she had no real reason to look down upon him. He had probably had a higher station than her when he had a noble title. “What have you done to deserve a high opinion of yourself?” He asked carefully, his tone still quite calm, because there was no point in getting too angry with this woman. She’d probably enjoy it too much. Overall, if they went with where the mood took them then Gwaine would probably have already left by now. He shrugged softly, “I’m in your hands my Lady.” He was many things, but Gwaine was not rude, and he would treat this woman with a degree of respect, even if she didn’t deserve it.

[Isabel de Massard]

It was rather frustrating, not being able to answer Gwaine properly. She could hardly tell him just how much she had done, well, not unless she wanted to tell the world of her more...unsavoury past. No one would ever know about that, she made sure of that. Isabel was always careful, so careful not to let any of that become public knowledge. But this now, this was a matter of pride, and it angered her to think that she could tell him everything. She could tell him how far she had risen, and through her own merit, because of her own hard work, but she daren't. She'd lose it all, she'd lose her life. No, this not a place for her pride. She bit her lip, glaring at him. If only he knew just what she had acheieved. He would not be so quick to insult her.

But, as Isabel had learnt, anger was never a help but always a hinderance, and anyway, he wasn't important enough to be worth her anger. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself and think of an appropriate answer. Just because she couldn't tell him the truth didn't mean she was going to lie completely. The man was insulting her now and she wasn't going to let him get away with that. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." She replied, well, it wasn't a lie. Or maybe he would believe her. Maybe he would be impressed, or maybe he would alert the authorities. Either way, he would be shocked. It was a pity, that could have been rather fun.

His next words were quite surprising. Isabel was quite sure he had had enough of her, apparantly not. How interesting...maybe he liked to think himself a gentleman and this was just him showing that, by being polite and what he thought of as charming. It didn't matter what he thought to Isabel. The main thing was that he wasn't leaving so he wasn't ruining her fun. "That's better." She replied, looking him up and down again. He might be doing her a favour, saving her from an otherwise uneventful and boring day, but she was hardly going to show her gratitude to a peasant. "So...will you walk with me?"

[thegwaine]

Gwaine had convinced himself now that he had no interest in charming this woman. She wasn’t worth the time or the effort, and she wasn’t really doing much for the reputation of noblewomen at all. In Gwaine’s opinion, she was actually quite rude. Usually he was at least given the time of day by half of these women, they liked to flatter themselves, and think all his words were tailor made for them. Gwaine had no problem with feeding their ego’s, but Isabel didn’t even deserve that. If he cared, then he might have been bothered, but he knew she would never care about the way she was, so he wouldn’t. This woman had never known hardship, he could tell that much, and he was probably the closest that she would ever get to speaking with one below her rank, without giving an order out. It made Gwaine feel incredibly annoyed; he knew he was a noble by birth, but that wasn’t the point.

Her answer didn’t surprise him in the slightest, it was a line he had heard so many times from women, trying to pretend they were so unique and different. Well, a less seasoned man would be impressed; Gwaine however, was not. “Try me.” Was all he said; if this woman thought she was so impressive then it would be bad manners not to at least elaborate on the little story she was probably concocting in her head. Usually Gwaine wasn’t this cynical, or quick to see the faults in others, but he was in an unusually bad mood with this woman already. Perhaps that was what she had wanted, to dampen his mood. It was no matter, after her, he would find some tavern wench after this and forget all about Isabel, and her smug grin.

He raised an eyebrow at her and managed a little chuckle. She certainly was bold, and proud, so it would appear. Gwaine couldn’t blame her, she was a noblewoman, so pride would have been taught to her in the crib. It was a trait that Gwaine was familiar with, and he knew he could be a proud man when the situation demanded it, but his time as a nomad had taught him to tone down those obviously noble traits, and adopt a more carefree outlook on life. “I will my Lady.” He said, offering her his arm with a grin; interested to see whether she would actually take it or not, “And while we walk, perhaps you could recommend a good tavern for me to get an ale and a room; the journey has been quite a long one after all.”

[Isabel de Massard]

Isabel bit her lip. He really was the most insufferable man, but if she said that he'd probably be happy about it. He was probably happy about the fact that she was so obviously annoyed by him so she'd have to do something about that. In her head, she counted to ten and managed to calm herself down slightly. She was well aware what her temper could be like and she definitely didn't want to cause a scene - that sort of thing would never do, and Gwaine would only think it was caused by him when he was only one factor, or the best example or something. Disrespectful peasants were becoming more and more common - people like Gwaine who thought it was appropriate to behave like this in front of someone like her. Isabel may not have been born into nobility, but she had every right to be where she was. She had every right to command the respect of those below her.

Her counting had been rather effective, so instead of sighing or rolling her eyes and saying something along the lines of "Oh do be quiet you smelly peasant" or worse, actually telling him the truth just to see his reaction, Isabel was able to simply smile and say "Surely you don't expect me to reveal all my secrets on her first meeting? There would be nothing interesting for the second." Not that she had any intention of meeting him a second time but that wasn't the point.

She was quite surprised when he offered her his arm. Surely that sort of thing wasn't done by men like him? And certainly not to people like her. Surely he'd be making some sort of point? Obviously not. Well, she had no choice but to except, anything else would have been rather uncivil. She did, however, give him a definite look at his question. "And how many times do you think I have been in a tavern?"

[thegwaine]

Gwaine was starting to enjoy winding this woman up, which was a rarity. He never usually bothered with winding women up, as he was usually preoccupied with other things with them. This woman however didn’t really deserve such attention; no doubt she would end up with a stuffy husband who didn’t know how to please anyone but himself. The thought almost brought a smile to Gwaine’s lips, and he brushed his hand over his mouth, disguising it until he could rid himself of it. Isabel knew nothing, she really didn’t. Her naivety was what irritated him most of all. It was the fact she thought herself so superior, and that she really thought she knew it all. She wasn’t unlike most noblewomen or noblemen he had come across before of course, but still, it irked him, and Gwaine had already annoyed himself to the point of no return.

She was seriously considering a second meeting? No, she could not be serious, surely? Gwaine looked on at her, and creased his brow at her. There wouldn’t be a second meeting if he could help it, he would be off before then, if they ended this meeting without one of them killing each other, that was. “Alas my Lady, I am afraid I leave in the morning.” It was a lie which was quickly becoming truth, “So I fear this will be our only meeting.” He grinned a little, locking eyes with her, “So, indulge me a little.” She seemed like a woman who wanted to seem like she was interesting, and that she was so unique from the other noble ladies that Gwaine had come up against. Perhaps she was, but if she was, then she hadn’t show any of it yet.

Really, she had a good point; no doubt she spent her days lounging in the most luxurious apartments that she could find. He had expected her to take his arm of course, she was a lady, and anything else would have been indecent. “Well, now is as good a time to start as any. Which tavern should we sample first, my Lady?” He grinned at her, knowing this was going to go one of two ways.

[Isabel de Massard]

Oh was leaving? Well that was a pity. How Isabel was going to cope without such a man in her life was beyond her...anyway. She didn’t match his grin, but she did smile rather sweetly at him. “Nice try.” While she wasn’t suggesting that his words had been merely a lie to try to get her to tell him what he wanted, she also wasn’t going to just tell him everything because she might not get another chance. What little part of her that had been tempted to divulge the truth had quickly stopped talking. It had been a ridiculous idea and just seemed to prove what Isabel had been trying so hard to ignore. She almost told someone who she really was just because she didn’t like the thought of them thinking themselves superior. Well, that wasn’t going to happen again.

It was embarrassing, really, to think that she could have told Gwaine everything just to soothe her pride. This was something she was going to have to work on. The people of Cantia respected her because they thought she was who she said, and they knew the family she was pretending to be a part of. She’d forgotten the rest of the world did not hold the family name in as high regard as her fellow Cantians. There would be others like Gwaine who would see nothing than the spoiled, proud noblewoman. It was something she was just going to have to get used to, instead of giving into the temptation to prove them wrong. She’d come too far, and had too far to fall.

She really wasn’t sure why she was now about to enter a tavern with this man, well, apart from the fact that she had otherwise nothing else to do. It hadn’t occurred to her until now that someone could recognise her and wonder why someone such as her would be seen with someone like Gwaine. Then again, if her previous conversation had taught her anything it was that she needed to learn to ignore what others thought of her. Unsurprisingly, she didn’t have an awful lot of knowledge when it came to taverns but luckily they didn’t have to walk far to find one that didn’t look completely godforsaken. The White Horse...a popular name for taverns of Cantia, it was the symbol of the royal family after all. “I suppose this place will suffice?”

[thegwaine]

Gwaine granted Isabel a small grin. She might think his words were a lie, but because of the nature of Gwaine’s lifestyle, and that he was a nomad, it meant that he could pick up and leave whenever he wished. So he could be leaving tomorrow morning for all that she knew. However, he had to grant that she was a lot sharper than he had been willing to admit. “Some of us aren’t restricted by the daily grind, I can leave whenever I wish.” He said with a pleasant grin and looked around him. Gwaine couldn’t imagine settling down, not ever. He hadn’t lived under a proper roof or with a structured family around him since he had been a little boy and nothing more. Gwaine never regretted leaving his home to become a nomad, it had been a lifestyle choice that defined him and that he was proud to have. He could come and go as he pleased, and he didn’t have to answer to anyone or worry about the opinions of others. If he wasn’t liked in a town or city he could just up and leave as quickly as he came. Now was no exception.

He really had little idea why he was still continuing this conversation with Isabel and why he hadn’t just upped and left by now. He could be occupying his mind with more deserving, well rounded women. Isabel was nothing in truth. Gwaine had met many noblewomen in many different kingdoms, and she didn’t differ from the worst of them. They all thought they were so unique, but they all had the same underlying quality of pride. It was there in all of them, no matter how small or unique the flare was.

The tavern that Gwaine was being directed to looked simple enough. Any place where he could get a good ale would be a start. Perhaps he could get so drunk that the woman in front of him might start looking attractive inside and out. Heh, now that was a thought and a half, “Anywhere with ale will do.” He grinned and opened the door, stepping back and letting her go in first so that she could step in before him. He was a gentleman after all, if nothing else.

[Isabel de Massard]

Was he trying to make some sort of point? If he was, it was entirely lost on Isabel. She happened to appreciate having somewhere permanent to call home. Perhaps if Gwaine had worked as hard as she had to require one he would feel the same, but no, he was one of those irritating peasants who seemed to find something romantic, something ideal in wandering aimlessly. While some might see it as a good life, an adventurous life even, Isabel thought it showed a lack of ambition and desire – a waste of one’s abilities to be content with so little. He saw restriction; she saw status, a place in the world of her own making. “And yet you remain...” She muttered, just loud enough for him to hear. In all honesty, his company was rather refreshing, even if he was irritating. No one spoke to her so openly any more, it was probably good for her, reminding her that she wasn’t as invincible as she liked to think, not yet anyway. But for that all she needed was an influential husband and there was plenty of time for that.

He was grinning again. Isabel didn’t trust men who grinned too much. It probably meant he was hiding something, or he believed his smile was his most attractive feature and this was a pathetic attempt to charm her. He really didn’t need to try. The only thing that charmed Isabel (if “charm” was the right word) was money and a title, and as Gwaine had neither any attempt at a seduction was just a complete waste of time. A grin and a wink might work on some women, but Isabel was made of stronger stuff.

She just gave him an unimpressed look before walking inside the tavern and locating a table far away from most of the customers. It was bad enough that she was socialising with a peasant without anyone else seeing her. She spent a few moments trying to make herself comfortable – these chairs really were appalling – before looking up at Gwaine. “What are you buying me then?”’