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Alegra was trying very hard not to be miffed at the guards' easy acceptance of him for two reasons; one being that she wished they would see through his facade and understand just how wretched he really was, and two being that she herself had spent months earning the trust and acceptance of each one as they were hired. None of them were so eager to accept that the young woman of the household would steal away or return in the midst of the night, or go riding like any boy would, or use their training grounds out back to spar. Of course, by now that was all old news, and they got along fabulously; but it still annoyed her that they give note to an outsider after less than a minute when it had taken them so long to do the same for their mistress.

At his "assumption" once they were indoors, Alegra snorted. "I think not," she said dryly. "The servants will tend to you, I have no desire to do so." Alegra waited on no one, man or woman, and he would not be the first. Even her friends were attended to by the servants. "Shall I show you around before I wake my mother?"

This was getting better and better as the night wore on, Alegra thought wearily. At this rate, perhaps she'd be missing a limb by morning! He wanted to stick around to meet Drake? Well, that could certainly be arranged... But then again, his latter offer was equally tempting. She could have him come back in a few days once she'd gotten the story straight in her head, right? "Wrong," her mind answered for her. He wasn't likely to return when she wanted him to; he'd come back whenever he felt like coming back, and there was a large possibility that he would do so after finding out when she wouldn't be there. The last thing Alegra wanted was him at her house and around her loved ones without her there to act as a buffer.

"Staying would be suitable," she said with a sigh. Or rather, it was the more suitable of the two; if she had her wish, he'd be across the sea by then and never return. Unfortunately, Alegra didn't believe in wishes. She led him around to the front of the estate, and when the guards straightened up and took several steps forward, she lifted a hand to them, her pale skin clear even in the dark. "At ease," she said, her voice shockingly kind compared to all of the other emotions that had run through it. "It's only me, and I've brought a guest." She gestured to him as they grew closer, and the guards nodded once, not seeming at all surprised that their lady had appeared at such a late hour; they were all very nicely acquainted by now.

Alegra was not ignorant to the implications behind his words, nor to the fact that they were somewhat true. At the very least, the virtue of her ears was not intact, and she know all about how intercourse generally went - with the women being submissive. It was expected, enforced even. Knowing that, it would probably be a better idea not to respond, she decided. However, she was not the kind of girl that simply went along with "better" ideas, and the opening was simply too much to resist. "I work hard at everything I do," she assured him with an air of obliviousness as she finished removing the saddle and saddle-pad, hanging them up in their designated areas.

"Follow me," she commanded curtly, and began walking out of the stables before considering his question. She wasn't entirely sure of the answer, herself. "Most likely not until morning." The information, however, was not entirely clear. He'd claimed that he'd return in the morning, but knowing Drake, it could be another day or so before he actually did, or even hours earlier. Part of her hoped he would already be home, and she could tell him all about how horribly terribly this man was and he could keep their mother from liking him too much. Not that she'd really tell him, she supposed with a sigh. But it was nice to dream about.

She smiled politely at his sort-of-bow, and gave a slight sort-of-curtsy in return. When her friends cleared their throats, obviously waiting to be acknowledged, she straightened out and put on an overly apologetic face. "Here we are, exchanging pleasantries, when I've yet to even introduce you all! How forgetful of me." There was nothing even remotely forgetful about her, of course. Her mind was as sharp as a spear and as hot as the fire used to make it; but they couldn't know that, of course. "Clarisse, Elizabeth, Anne, and Frederick," she informed him, gesturing daintily at them as she did so, and then turned to them. "This is Vlad." At their bemused expressions, she carefully explained, "Well, it's short for Vladimir. He prefers Vlad." She shot them a calculated don't-ask-me-why look that was supposedly intended for their eyes only.

"Yes, well, at our last encounter I didn't have hours of preparation beforehand," she provided, still smiling. There was a barest touch of sarcasm to her voice, of course. In reaction, she had had hours of preparation - it was simply for armor, not for a dress. Acting as the epitome of the modesty that she had so sworn to be against, she even managed to blush a little, her cheeks tinting a light pink color as she said, "Why, thank you. I don't know how the servants manage to do anything with this hair, it's a wonder they made me presentable at all."

Oh, how Alegra hated social gatherings. Loathed them, in fact, to the point where she was not above throwing a rather childish tantrum at her mother if she thought that it would gain her any ground towards not going. In this case, it hadn't, and she had bitterly and unhappily was prepared for the Introductory Ball. Even Drake was going, and he disliked them nearly as much as she, which placated her some. Of course, the two had entirely different reasons. For the most part, he simply disliked being around people he didn't know, as it felt it made the entire social scene awkward.

Alegra, on the other hand, had much more violent distaste for it. Her instincts were that of a knight, having trained like one, matched up with the paranoia of a person with a very big secret and the unease of a person that was easily the smallest one there, and obviously so. She hated to think that there could be someone in the ground with a sword tucked into their pants, just ready to pull it out and go after someone. Since all she owned was a sword and there was obviously no place on the form-fitting, low-cut dress she wore to store something of its size, she was defenseless. Alegra Silvertongue did not like being defenseless. There was something to be said for having her older brother around, but considering she hadn't seen him in quite some time, the comfort was rapidly wearing off.

In fact, he'd fairly abandoned her. One moment, the two of them had been standing beside each other, approaching a familiar group of friends; the next, she turned to ask why he was being so rudely quiet, only to find that he had disappeared into the crowd. In fact, minutes later when she spotted him and he noted her pointed glare, he had the gall to smile and wave at her! Inside, Alegra was fuming, but on the outside, she was every bit the serene, elegant, lovely woman that society expected her to be. In fact, she even managed to pull it off better than most other women who really did aim to live that way, namely because she'd observed them all and taken the best parts from each.

To her dismay, she felt herself being watched. The hair at the nape of her neck seemed to stand on end, but she didn't move, simply kept speaking, laughing at all of the appropriate moments, until finally the person who had been watching her seemed to be much closer, and then he spoke. Her night abruptly grew much worse, and she found herself wishing very intently that she could disappear behind the drapery. The friends she was speaking to regarded Vaughn interestedly; the three females looked flattered, though he had not spoken to them, and the male appeared to be sizing him up. Alegra, however, caught the double meaning in his words.

"Thank you," she said graciously - a bit too graciously, almost mockingly, though the others would hardly be able to pick up on it. "You dress up quite nicely." There was more, there, of the returned underlying tones that she was confident he would pick up on, but that she could not make too obvious lest she upset their company. Stupid, nonsensical, utterly ridiculous ball!

Her chambers? Well, she couldn't say she was surprised in the least. "Am I to be giving you a tour of the place, then?" she asked dryly. "Or is it simply my bedroom you're interested in?" Briefly, she wondered if he had a place to stay the night - or a plan to stay the night in any one place; for all she knew he could plan on traveling - and resolved not to ask unless he mentioned it. If she offered when he already had other arrangements, it would no doubt result only in extreme mockery, and knowing him, he could change his mind just to make him uncomfortable. Frankly, she didn't want him in her house in the first place, much less staying the night, but Alegra had a rare considerate side that was rarely shown because she was equally rarely introduced to a situation where it needed to be.

"Generous," she muttered suspiciously when he claimed he wouldn't force her. He wasn't just going to relieve her stress to be a nice guy, she knew that much; he had to be getting something out of it. When he iterated exactly what that was, Alegra's stomach felt like a frigid stone had dropped in it. "If you're going to do that," she said simply, "I will wake my mother up and introduce you now." She wasn't trying to provoke him, but neither would she allow anyone to threaten her family, much less follow through with it. She didn't know that he planned to harm them, of course, but that was not a chance she was willing to take.

"I know very well what I'll be expected to do," she said with a grin. "Doesn't mean I will, though. And I agree; I pity the poor man, too." Alegra was more than just aware of how incredibly difficult she was to deal with; she almost embraced it. It wasn't so much that she was proud of it as that she was accepting of it - though, in a way, there was also pride there. Pride about the fact that every other noblewoman in the world, at least that she knew of, had submitted to a man and allowed herself to be tamed, something that Alegra would never allow. When and if she found a man worthy of marrying her, she would surely make him miserable, but he would be too embarrassed to leave her. However, she was not so cold that she would simply allow it; she'd make it clear to him far ahead of time that that was the case. If he didn't listen, his mistake.

"I'm the only one who thinks a lot of things," she muttered under her breath. And of course she knew the meaning of it (though she was certain he hadn't meant it literally), she simply saw no point in it. Why paint a rose gray when it would be so much prettier, so much easier to enjoy, if it was vibrant, blood-colored, and demanding attention? If you've got it, flaunt it. There was little point in anything else, especially since it wasn't like it would affect the lives of others if you agreed with their compliments. If they were annoyed, it meant that they hadn't expected the person to agree; meaning either that their compliment had been a lie, or that they did not truly want the person to enjoy it to its full potentional.

Regarding his advances again, she shrugged and said serenely, "Indeed, you could... But I'm afraid I'll have to hold off on that offer, at least for now." She winked at him, the whole thing completely over-dramatic on purpose as they got incredibly close to the estate. Alegra, of course, had no intention of taking his offer at any point in his life, but where was the fun in saying so? She knew she wasn't teasing him; he wasn't the type of guy that she could send into a tizzy with such suggestive responses. But it was more fun for her and probably more interesting for him if she did not outrightly refuse or grow defensive, and considering how utterly disastrous the situation had turned out for her, she considered that a good aim.

"Yes, compliments centered entirely around my physical appearance, which is mostly out of my control." To Alegra, those were not considered compliments at all; far from it, in fact. "You have yet to compliment me on anything regarding my mind or capabilities yet. Perhaps it's because you had no reason to, or perhaps because frustrating me is amusing, or perhaps even because you do not believe me to possess any such qualities were complimenting - but regardless, it's very different."

She slowed the horse to a walk and considered what he said, slightly dumbfounded. The amount would be less if her wealth was less? Surely that wasn't compassion that he was showing? Alegra refused to believe it. Obviously there was an ulterior motive - that or he saw no point in demanding more than her family could remain comfortable with. Either way, she decided not to spend time mulling over it. The money itself was no bother to her whatsoever, though she briefly wondered if she ought to have led him to a friend's estate instead, one that was smaller. She dismissed the idea within seconds of thinking it, of course. Alegra was no coward, and she certainly could never put someone else in danger like that simply to save money that she would never even miss. After all, should he decide to steal from the estate, it would be horrid of her to put a companion in the position to be stolen from instead. No, she would face the consequences of her actions on her own; no one else need be brought in on it.

"I'm not being modest," she argued simply. It wasn't that she had a problem with being viewed as modest; she wasn't so petty in her demands of what people viewed her as. However, it was incorrect. "I was stating the truth; we are well off. Not bragging about it does not mean I'm being modest." She shrugged. "If it's what you want to hear, then yes, we're rich senseless and we haven't a clue what to do with most of it. It's really more about appearance than anything, anyway."

"Because Vladimir fits better than any other," she reasoned. "Besides, since it fits so well, it might be your actual name, in which case a lot of people probably call you by it. But judging by your reaction, I'm the only one to call you Vlad." Alegra grinned. "In case you haven't noticed, I have a need to stand out. I can't simply call you what everyone else calls you. Wasn't that the point of not telling me your name in the first place?"

Strenuous? "Terribly so," she boasted with an air of sarcasm, though her words were not as much. "For a rebellious little hoodlum like myself who has rejected society's standards, it really takes a toll on the mind. After all, we females are rather ignorant, you know." She squinted her eyes as if it would help her see through the darkness, certain she could see the estate up ahead though they were still very far off, and was correct. Even from such a distance, the building was obviously massive, with a pasture off to the side that was used for the horses. Its walls were made of a mostly gray and pinkish sort of stone, towering upwards flawlessly, and it nearly resembled a smaller version of a castle.