Blakestown
August 13th, 9:27 AM
"I think that it's time we've come upon this decision now, don't you, Cavis? It has been a long time coming and you, a long time friend. Perhaps it will even help with the unification of our classes, I'd think. A measure in good faith." Radimus said, and wrapped an arm on the shoulder of his 'long time friend'. Quickly, he released, and found himself moving toward one of the lavish couches by the mantle and fireplace. Fondly, he'd taken a picture of Elleanore in his hand, and regarded it as he'd spoken.
"Your daughter is absolutely lovely, and my son is the hardest worker I've seen. Given the opportunity, he would be nothing less of a great man. Unfortunately, with the place he'd been set in life, he had not a chance."
The man set the picture down. Radimus. A poor man, whose only adornments came from the military he served in. He took the effort to wear clean clothes, and present himself kindly, however. He was kempt, though strong from the work he'd been put through. It was of no surprise he'd be in the company of richer men.
Cavis stroked his thin beard, watching Radimus as the man walked around his parlor. Radimus had a calculating gaze, a quick eye, one that assessed a situation and sought for the way that it could best benefit himself. He couldn't help but feel a distinct discomfort when the other man picked up the picture of his daughter, his precious Ellie, and fawned over her like she was some kind of a horse on the sale block.
He let none of this show, however. His smile was thin, but he made sure it was believable.
"I know Adrien." he said calmly, his voice smooth and low. "And it was never a concern that he couldn't make a place for himself in this difficult world. We all had to make something from nothing. Adrien is not lacking in those skills." He glanced to the stairwell, as his daughter in question descended. Her chestnut hair was done up in curls, blemishless face adorned with a blush as she regarded the pair of men who eagerly looked to her arrival.
The dress was her finest, yet still simple. A soft pink thing, as soft as baby's skin. Cavis continued to smile as her eyes met his.
"Papa..."
"Your future father-in-law, Elleanore."
The girl seemed surprised, but took it all in stride. She gave a delicate curtsy towards Radimus, clasping her hands in front of her as she rose to her feet. She knew of Adrien. He was a handsome boy, even though he was poor.
"Where is Adrien?" she asked, looking from one to the other.
--
"GAH! Yah ninny! Why the fuck'd you hit me straight in the kneecap!"
The dark-haired boy was swinging his stick around, lying flat on his back with his long legs sprawled awkwardly beneath him. "I can't feel me toes, mate! Yeh've made me a cripple fer life yeh have!" Then his face melted into the most pitiful expression, as he lobbed his stick at his scuffle-mate with no sense of remorse. He hoped it jabbed the other lad in the kidney.
"Because I very well know how to scrap!" said Adrien, whose hand held a stick of it's own. A juvenile sword, if you will. "Stop complaining! Maybe y'shouldn't've gotten into a scrap with me if you'd think it cripple ye --"
It would be then that the stick hit him square in the jaw, and he whined out while holding his face. His hand came from his face to the line of his eyes.
"Blood! You drew blood! S'at what you're looking for? To kill me, now? Are there any Blakes guards around? Hey, get up!" Adrien chimed, and with a hand, bent over to grab Xander's shoulder. In friendliness, it was, though his own stick was still pointed to the gut of the poor boy on the ground. "I'm a mad animal on the ground and I don't want to choke you out, so lets make it fair, yeah?"
"A'ight mate!"
And Xander's ropey arm wrapped around the back of Adrien's neck, jerking the other young man to his knees as he took his knuckles and rubbed them furiously against the top of Adrien's head.
"Say uncle!" he warbled, grinning like a lunatic.
"Hey! Get off! Y'll make me have bald spots and I won't get anywhere in life if I've those!" Adrien squealed. He swept a foot behind him, locking it behind Xander's, and hurled forward. Hopefully, not to choke himself, and hopefully, to send his scuffle-buddy flying over his shoulder.
By then, the sticks had been dropped. "Y'know y'can't win against me, Sandy. What happened last time, aye?"
"I know last time yeh didn't have a broad to romance, Dree."
This time the grin was just wicked.
"Ah, what?"
And then, the realization washed over his face. Oh, Radimus would kill him. He'd string him up tight by a noose. "Oh, you bastard, you knew, you knew! And I'm all mucked from fighting! By the gods, where's a bucket of water?"
He rushed around the stable. Soon, he'd come upon the delapidated well which sat with bucket nearby. Quickly, he laced his hands around the rope and drew water. In that time, he almost ignored Xander's presence, dedicated on cleaning up before he'd meet at the mansion, late indeed. A bucket full of water would present itself to poor Adrien, who would haphazardly shove himself face-first into it.
"For someone who doesn't like the uptight powdered wigs we like to call 'women' nowadays, yer sure awfully intent on impressin' the young lass." Xander said unhelpfully.
"We all know what you
really do with them sheep in the woods, Dree."
"You're a dolt! Not even Ellie I care for, really. You know Radimus! By the gods, he's even tried to rough YOU up a few times for muckin' with me in good spirits! I'm supposed to be at
Cavis' manor, for gods sake, and you know how important it is for us t'leave an impression on the powdies. At least, for him." Adrien explained. Then, he approached Xander quickly, as if he were about to collide into him. His face was sopping wet.
"Alright. Give me your shirt. It's not as dirty as mine, and god knows the fact I'm bleeding from the face'll leave a good impression."
"Don't hurt meh!" Xander cried pitiously. "Just don't make it last long, mate. I need my dignity!"
He ripped his shirt off, giving Adrien a shove before throwing the shirt at him. He flexed then, tanned skin stretching over a chest that was more bone and sinew rather than muscle.
"I rival the sun, mate! Lookit!" Then, he seemed to debate that, and added, "Ahh get the hell outta here. Don't buy the cow until yeh get a chance to drink the milk!"
Adrien caught the shirt and quickly replaced his for Xander's. It was a little tight on him, as his frame was a little larger than Xander's, but it fit. He threw the dirty shirt in Xander's direction when he'd gone so far as to flex. "Cover it up, Sandy, y'stringy dolt."
"N'trust me. I'll make it last as little as I very well can."
He looked between the stable exit and Xander, before taking off running.
--
"I don't..." Radimus looked about, as if his son were hiding someplace. Then, he brought his hand to his face and squeezed the bridge of his nose. "Promising as he may be, he's still a boy, and I can make confident bets that he's still hard at work and forgot our date."
Hard at work. Radimus didn't believe those words himself. A hard worker was he, but his free-time was only spent doing menial things. Impatiently, the man tapped at his own crossed arms, his gaze piercing through the door in which Adrien would enter by.
And Adrien had. A bit too quickly. A slam, and the door swung open in an arch to reveal the long-awaited Adrien. He'd looked unkempt, at best. His hair was wild and dirty blonde, and his skin tanned from the sun outside. A worker's tan. When he'd found himself in the staring presence of the others, he quickly adjusted himself, and gave a neat bow at the door. His shoes were left at the mat, before he'd come jogging to meet the three.
"I'm deeply regretful about my lateness. The date escaped my mind." He said, almost earnestly. Oh, but he was putting on a show, if only for his father and 'Ellie'. He bowed toward the lady, and looked to Cavis and Radimus with worry. "Fillin on what I missed?"
"Not a whole lot," Cavis said, clearly amused. Elleanore was staring, her cheeks flushed with sympathetic embarrassment at the way Adrien was presenting himself. When the young man turned her way, she inclined her head stiffly, her lips pulled into a thin, white line.
"Good to see you again." she murmured, clearing her throat for a moment before lifting a hand to touch her knuckle to her bottom lip. "Perhaps we were not communicating the time well enough?"
"I'm sure he had better things to do." Cavis said with a sudden laugh. "Come along now, the lot of you are as tense as if we were at a funeral."
Ellie looked distinctly uncomfortable. She tried not to sigh, keeping her thoughts to herself as she forced a smile for Adrien. Better things to do than meet your fiance? Oh dear.
Adrien, as dense a boy as he might have seemed, then, was not a stranger to Ellie's discomfort. He warmly smiled her way, and perhaps his smile was laced with a little bit of vindiction. They were powdies, after all. What could he really expect? Soon, though, he addressed Cavis.
"Nothing better to do? Nay, I'm simply a miss with times. There could be nothing better than existing in Radimus', yours, and lady Elleanore's presence." He said, with a chuckle. In all actuality, though, he looked for his own father's approval. His father, who stared at the floor and shook his head.
That, before raising it, clearing his voice, and correcting Adrien. "You mean, your
father's presence."
"That I do!" Adrien cheerfully replied. "Now, what was it we were to?"
"The Governor's coming back." Ellie spoke up, her voice as soft and delicate as her dress. "There was an announcement he was meaning to make, and he wanted the whole town to come together to hear it."
"She's right." Cavis said with a sigh. "I have a feeling it isn't good news either, just so you're all prepared." And it was true. Colonists who had strayed from the walls of their towns had been brutally attacked. There had been one fatality, and one of the tribesmen had been killed in a previous raid attempt on a pair of hunters who were coming in with fresh game. The violence had increased so dramatically in the last three weeks that it had alarmed most of the more well-informed folk.
"I'm certain he'll have a plan." Ellie added. "He must. Its his job to keep us safe."
"The Governer
is coming back, and I plan to aide him. Governer Ormond and I were at the treaty site when the conflict had initially started, and so, I will be aiding him with his speech. He is a strong man, but surely a timid one, and perhaps not the best at speaking. But, at that, I have no doubts that he will keep us safe from the
savages in the woods." Radimus quickly added, his tone so regal it would come a surprise he wasn't a high-class man at all. Still, they were laced with poison when mentioning those who lived in the forest.
He continued on.
"I expect Adrien and Elleanore will be attending together, and our Cavis, if he feels the need?" The man asked.
"If only to educate myself." the man replied, obviously bored. He took a deep breath, heaving a sigh before waving a hand to Elleanore and the others. "May as well start walking now, otherwise the crowd'll be too big for us to see."
--
The town square was a spread out, nearly empty section of the town, located near the very center of the collection of houses and buildings. In the distance, the wall that separated the colonists from the tribesmen stood tall, like a grim reminder of the violence that lay in store for anyone who went too far away from the safety the town provided. Cavis came to the edge of the crowd, rising to his tiptoes to peer over a few thicker heads. He smiled, however, relaxing as the Governor ascended the platform.
"Easier for us to see." he explained to the two younger companions. Radimus, as it were, had decided to go to the podium itself.
The crowd quieted as the governer ascended, as well as Radimus. Taking the platform as well was Gerald Mason, whose timid, background position would come to show that he was only there to complete the trio of those who were there on the fateful day that war was waged.
Illiam was a quiet man, now, though his face was wrecked with distraught. He was pale, with a tight bowtie, that of which he loosened rather quickly. On him, he bore war medals, and the outfit of a commander. It was not the outfit he'd worn that day, but then again, none of the three had worn the same. Quickly, Illiam cleared his voice, and fixed his jacket. All eyes were on him. He began to speak.
"It is on this day that I regale to you the news of which you all have probably assumed the worst of. I thank you all for attending, even if it be such a grim spectacle. A grim spectacle this is, though it was not nearly quite so grim as the day I had presented the treaty to the Vanduo tribe that borders us; that we build so high of walls to keep out." Illiam had started. He gestured to the gigantic walls; those which confined the colonists in, and kept those tribemen out.
Suddenly, however, he glanced to Radimus. The man, white as he may have been, grew only paler in the face. He clutched his heart again, as if continuing only made him weary.
"Excuse me for a moment."
He stepped back, to consult with Radimus. Their whispered words could surely not be heard by even the crowd directly in front of them.
Meanwhile, Adrien had taken to the side of Ellie. His face was calculating; a strange look for a boy so rough. He couldn't draw them away from Illiam, and particularly, his father. When they stepped away to speak, he looked to Ellie and Cavis.
"Do you think Governer Ormond is right? I mean -- Right for us. Well, I mean... Well?" He asked, garnering for the opinion of the two.
"He should have killed the tribesmen where they stood." Ellie said, the words unusually harsh for someone so, well, delicate. Cavis glanced to her, his brow wrinkling for a moment, before he turned to Adrien.
"I don't know that any of us expected so much trouble coming here." he said. "Ormond has always been a good leader, even now. Every man has his breaking point, and if what I heard was true.." he sighed. "He has a right to be as upset as he is. What he saw was no easy thing to witness."
"That's pretty easy to say when you're not the one having to brave the forests to feed our people meat, huh?" Adrien countered, though his voice didn't carry a tune of aggression at all. "Even if you kill them, there's going to be more, and starting a feud with a bunch of forest people isn't such a good idea when we need that place to catch game."
"Ahem." spoke a voice, from up front. It was Radimus'. Illiam had stepped back for a moment. "I apologize for the intrusion, but it comes that it would be better if every one of you knew the events that happened the treaty day, gruesome as it is to retell." He breathed in.
"We took our horses to meet them. Earlier on, Governer Ormond had made reconciliations with the tribe leader of the
Vanduo. It was brave; we encouraged men to go with him, but he declined, in hopes that he wouldn't come off as a threat to the tribesmen."
And so, he met with the tribe leader. All went well, until the date when three of ours and three of theirs were to meet and sign the treaty. But we did, and Illiam -" Radimus stopped to correct himself. "General Ormond had presented the document. The Vanduo turned it down."
The first lie.
"They were to use a ... rune? Is that what they called it? I expected it in good meanings; they had not shown violence as of then. When our dearest Governer was to accept the rune in good faith, an arrow strung out from the canopies."
The second lie.
"These ...
people turned against eachother, for such crude reasons. No; they did not want peace. They did not want to come into terms with ours. It was simple enough; they wanted to be left alone, and they would assault their own kind to do so. It was in their plans. The tribe leader fell, and they put us to blame for such an act, nearly killing us in our escape. It was then that our war had started. We all escaped without harm, but Governer Ormond had taken a threat to his life in the process."
These people do not want peace. They don't want the harmonies of our people. They want to stick to their ways of witchcraft and devilry. It is to Governer Ormond how we will deal with that thus."
Ellie had remained silent, her brow knit together in disapproval as the crowd began to shout, crying out in their indignation at the behavior of the tribesmen. Various calls echoed, anger mounted. The scene began to get more rowdy than it was before.
"Well it was our own damn fault wasn't it?"
Xander's voice echoed louder than the rest.
"We did kinda, y'know,
invade their homeland didn't we?"
"Papa I want to go." Elleanore said to Cavis, who glanced down at his daughter, and then to Adrien.
"Begging your pardon, sir." he said, tilting his head before offering his arm to the young lady. She all but clung to him as the pair exited the square.
"We did not invade. We settled." Came Radimus' voice, which grew in anger. "We settled on lands flat and unclaimed, and all we ask is that we use the forest for game hunting. To feed our people! As if the forest had belonged to a single man! And, we stayed in our own. We built walls. Then, when we ask for peace between us all, who mutually share the land, they spit in our faces. Is that not injustice, Xander?"
The crowd roared.
Oh, yes. He would put the boy on the spot. As would he with anyone who did oppose his reasoning. A man powerful was a man frightening. Adrien nodded toward Elle and Cavis as they released themselves, and jabbed Xander on the elbow.
"Just don't." He harshly whispered.
"Yeh remembered my name!" Xander said, his grin wicked. It was clear that he didn't care one bit what this man thought of him. "I happen teh know yours too, so now that everyone's been reminded, why don't yah tell us just what we're supposed to do now? Go out into
their forest and kill em all?" He sighed, turning and shaking his head before tossing a hand in Radimus' direction.
"Feckin stupid, the whole lot of yah."
"And this is why we must educate our youth. We came peacefully, but again, they spat in our faces. And we are to take it? Nay, we have not even came to a decision about the tribesmen yet, and yet the youth assumes that we're set on
killing them! A violent youth! That is not what we are!" Radimus explained.
Illiam only sat in the background, with wide eyes. These were lies. He knew it, Gerald knew it, but neither of them dared speak up against a man so charismatically powerful. The crowd spoke out.
"That boy'll learn!"
"Those savages'll learn too!"
"Yae, what is it ye'll d', Governer Ormond?"
Adrien grabbed Xander's arm. "What say we get outta here? Let you take out your frustrations on me if y'like. Before the crowd starts taking theirs out on
you, or you get a rock thrown at your head."
Xander's look was sharp.
"I'll say what I like, cuz I mean every word. I like you, Dree, but I don't like yer old man. I know a lyin face when I see one, and he's about as slick as the serpent was in Eden." He jerked his arm free of the other young man's grasp, and stormed off.
"C'mon! It's just politics anyway!" Adrien mimed, and took off after Xander as well.