"Nakita"

[GrayOldFart]

Parr began to realize that she was going to be harder to recruit than he'd thought. He turned away from her for a moment, looking out the arrow slit to see just a slice of his lands below. He leaned a bit left, then right, seeing more; then turned and went to her, taking her roughly by the elbow and standing her up. "Come. Look at this."

He led her roughly to one of the room's full sized windows and, with an extended arm, popped the wooden shutter open. The bright light of afternoon blinded them for a moment. Once their eyes had adjusted, they could see for more than sixty miles out over the Count's lands and beyond.

From the base of the castle looking southward, there were pastures of sheep, fields of grain, and a thick forest, all atop a wide, gently sloped hill top. Beyond the forest was a valley -- some of it wild with natural habitat, some obviously being farmed -- and on the horizon, barely distinguishable in a light haze, was the vast ocean.

"This is all mine," he proclaimed, still gripping her elbow tightly. "Or ... it should be. My grandfather was the true heir to the kingdom. He was cheated out of it by, of all people, a wicked step mother. Yes, yes, I know ... sounds like a fairy tale spoken to children at bed time, but it is true. She killed my grandfather's own father, remarried a powerful Earl, lifting him to the nobility, only to die herself. Despite my grandfather's right to the crown, he was banished from the kingdom under the threat of execution, and these lands now belong to ... that man! And here I am, a Count...? With barely enough property to feed my people ... with no--"

He realized that as the anger within him was rising, his grip on Nikita's elbow was tightening; he was hurting her, and when he realized what he was doing, he quickly released his hold and stepped back a bit, saying with sincerity, "Forgive me, m'lady. I ... I meant you no harm."

He hesitated a moment, then turned his back to her, looking out upon the lands. "The current king is a tyrant. He taxes his people into starvation. He sends men ... boys even, to wars that have little to do with the safety or prosperity of our people. He--"

Parr half glanced over his shoulder, then turned back to the window. He was going to speak of the King's treatment of women -- of girls -- brought to him but stopped. They came to him as prisoners, as consorts, as slaves, as trade; and Parr himself was about to bring yet another woman to the King. He was conflicted about whether Nikita should know what she would be getting herself into now ... after she'd already trained and prepared ... or not until she discovered it herself, standing in the King's own bed chamber.

"He needs to be replaced, Nikita," he said, turning to face her. "Because of my known right of succession, I have been selected by a cadre of my fellow nobles to replace the King. But ... no one can get close to the king to ... to end his life. No one ... but a beautiful woman."

He looked toward the door of his bed chamber and called loudly, "Captain!"

The door opened almost immediately, the Guard having been just outside it, still concerned about his noble lord's safety. "Yes, m'lord."

Parr looked to Nikita, then turned back to the window. After a moment he said, "Nikita will be leaving us now. Take her to her family. Get a pound bag from the treasury, and direct the Teamster to take them to the Grove House. It is hers ... for as long as she wishes it to be ... until the King taxes her out of it, that is."

OPTIONS:

• Stay. The Guard will depart, Parr will turn with a pleased expression, and all will be well.
• Depart. The Guard will give you a leather bag of coins (worth about a years wages of what ever she was doing, until the tax man comes by) and turn you over to the Teamster -- a man with a cart -- and let you and your family leave for the Grove House, a small but very comfortable hut in the woods just barely out of sight of the Keep. It has a goat barn, a small plot of land within a fence. You can write up all of this as far out as you wish -- hours, days, weeks. Parr will not interfere or try to force you back.
• CYOR.

 

[jaynedixon]

I winced at the vice like grip he had until he let go and I took a step back rubbing my elbow and I looked at the guard. I knew of the kings tyranny, everyone did and she looked at the guard who stood by the door and so wished that she would just walk over to him and walk out of here but something was stopping her.

I still did not trust this man, the Count and he still had my family. I turned on my heels, my back to the guard and I walked up to him. "Take the pound bag and my family to Grove House and I will stay here. My family are not to be harmed." She said as she stood a few feet away from him. "I am no killer, I have never killed anything in my life before and I do not know why you have kidnapped me in particular and brought me here. Now, do we have a deal?"

 

[GrayOldFart]

The Captain looked to the Count for guidance, got the nod he was looking for, then looked -- even made a bit of a head bow -- back to the woman before him and said, "It shall be done, m'lady."

He backed a step, looked again to his lord, and departed, closing the door behind him.

When she turned his way, the Count was wearing a pleased expression upon his face. He gestured her forward as he stepped over to a waist high table, upon which a large, leather bound book sat. "Come. I have something that will answer your question."

She seemed hesitant still, which Parr understood. She was taking a great risk, with her life and with her family. But when she did finally come near him, he opened the heavy cover to reveal a charcoal pencil portrait ... of her.

"You see," he said, touching his fingers to the thick parchment just below the bountiful breasts of the woman's image. "The eyes, the lips ... the breasts. You are her. Or, you could be."

He could see the confusion in Nikita's eye's. He gestured her to a nearby chair, then crossed to the fire place and filled two mugs with steaming coffee as he talked. "You see, the king has had many a woman, much to the chagrin of the queen, of course. But the only one he was ever truly in love with was that one ... Nikita. She was from the Dayla highlands, the daughter of a peasant herder of all people. He fell in lust ... he fell in love ... and then ... she disappeared."

He set the mug on the table before her, warned her about the extreme temperature, and continued. "Some people thought it was the Queen's doing. Others thought royal rivals were behind it. Others, who know the king and how he treats women--" He hesitated, remembering that he wasn't going to go into the man's cruelty and fetishes. "They assumed she simply slipped away in the night."

He looked to the drawing again, then back to the new Nikita. "She was 18 years when that was drawn. She disappeared ten days later. That was four years ago. And for all of that time, the King's rage -- against the peasantry, against the nobility, against other nations -- has only increased."

He scooted forward in his seat, close enough to reach out and take Nikita's hands in his own. His tone became emotional ... desperate. "But ... if the king was to see you ... if he was to believe that you were his Nikita ... he might lower his guard long enough for us to ... well ... to bring an end to this madness."

He released her hands and stood, moving back to the the window to stare out upon what should have been his and, with a great deal of luck, would be again. He turned back to her, and now his expression was solemn. "I will not deceive you ... Nikita. There is a great deal of danger involved in what we are attempting. You could be harmed. You could..." He didn't finish his thought; she would know by his tone and words that he was saying she might not return. He moved closer as he continued. "But I promise you ... your family will forever be safe and prosperous. They will have fertile land and a dry home and the protection of my Guard, always."

He knelt on the floor before her, sitting back upon his haunches. "I will teach you what you need to know. You will learn all about the king ... his family ... his confidantes ... his Aides. I will teach you how to defend yourself and ... how to end the king's life in a way that you can live with. A dagger to the heart while he sleeps is final and certain, but if you do not think you can do it, there are other ways."

The comment while he sleeps, of course, implied that she, Nikita, would be in the king's bed. They'd already discussed her becoming his lover, so the Count knew that that would not surprise her. He considered telling her what steps would be necessary to prepare her for reaching his bed, but decided it would wait until she was a little more invested in the venture.

"We have twelve days before the ball," he said, rising before her. "We have a lot to do and we must start now. Our mission ... your mission ... requires a full commitment. Anything task I ask of you, you must be ready and willing to accept and complete."

He offered out his hand.

(She pretty much has the same options as last time, so feel free to post regularly. We can exchange some quick short posts for a while if you wish. There really aren't any CYORs for a bit.)

 

[jaynedixon]

I allowed myself a slight smile at the bowing Captain as he left before turning back to the count as he said he had something to show me. Walking over he opened something to reveal a picture and I have to admit that even before he said anything I could see that the resmeblance between myself and the picture I was now looking at was striking.

At the mention of my family it instantly caused me to take a step back to thnk of them and soon I felt that feeling of my eyes becoming wetter. Quickly thinking of something else I looked back at the picture.

"So where has Nikita, where have I been all this time? Will the king accept me back? You cant know that for sure he might kill me there on the spot." I stated as I looked away from the picture and walked back over sitting on the edge of the bed. "I have many questions and lots to know. But I will do as you ask of me." I looked up at him across the room at him and tried not to look as frightened as I felt inside.

 

[GrayOldFart]

(OOC -- A little "god moding" on my part". Hope you don't mind. Just trying to get us to the next day. Oh, and the descriptions below you already read in a link, but I wanted to put them here, edited, with a description of the second floor, which she hadn't seen yet.)

^^^^^^^^^^^​

"So where has Nikita, where have I been all this time?" she asked. "Will the king accept me back? You cant know that for sure he might kill me there on the spot."

Parr doubted the King would do anything so rash, but he couldn't guarantee her any such thing so he let it go.

"I have many questions and lots to know," she went on. "But I will do as you ask of me."

The Count smiled broadly, pleased; he'd won her over, he was certain. Of course, that meant their work was to begin now, and there was lots of work to be done. He moved to her, gesturing for her hands and lifting her to her feet. "Come. I will show you around my home, show you the things you will need to know of ... and tomorrow, we will begin."

He gave her a slow tour of the keep, an yet even slow, it didn't take long. The keep looked descent sized from the outside, but when you considered that the walls at its base were nearly ten feet thick, narrowing to three feet at the roof, that left far less space inside than one would have imagined.

The main floor that they'd spent their time together in was roughly 15 feet square. One wall featured the entrance and Dorissa's small room, which was accessed from the hall outside the room. The second wall opposite, featured the massive fire place, surrounded by mounted deer, boar, and jack rabbit heads, upon which horns and fangs had been added to make them appear fierce.

"Were-jack-elope," he explained with a smile. "Cross between a wolf, jack rabbit, and antelope. Vicious ... all fangs of horns. Killed more people in the County last year than ... oh, I just can't talk about it, it's so horrible."

He laughed as he walked her to the stone stairway. It rose up one wall, with arrow slits every few steps for the keeps defense, then arrived at a landing that opened to the keep's upper floor ... the bed chamber. The second floor was only half as wide as the one before it; from here, one could see down to the large table in the middle of the room, the fire place, and the seats about it. The entrance to the keep was directly below, and in the floor above it were Murder Holes, gaps in the thick, hard wood floor through which arrows or spears could be delivered to an enemy bursting through the entrance.

Along the wall, between yet more arrow slits, was a huge, oak wardrobe, its doors open wide to show rods and shelves crowded with the Count's elegant clothing. From wooden pegs extending out from between the wall's stones, Parr's Day Clothes and and leather armor type clothing hung, not needing any particular care. There were a pair of cushioned chairs around a table, a small fireplace with a smoldering fire, and other amenities.

But the most noticeable feature of the room was, of course, the bed. It was huge, at least 7 feet square, under a sturdy oak canopy from which hung the more elegant of sheer and semi-sheer curtains. Gold trim decorated its corners, and carving of animals were deep in the wooden rails.

"You will stay here," he said, gesturing his permission for her to move closer. "I will sleep downstairs. If you wish, Dorissa's daughter can stay with you. She comes to help her mother at times, and she can come here, too ... sort of a ... what's that word ... chaperone?"

He looked upwards, toward the peaked roof at the sound of a bird's claws as it loped its way across the the peak. "Blue jays. You'll get used to that."

He looked her over for a moment -- it was an ogle, but a soft one compared to what she was likely used to from the village men -- then said, "I will leave you for now. Dorissa will come up. She has been to town to buy clothing--" He smiled, seeming a bit embarrassed. "I ... I was counting on you staying, obviously."

OPTIONS:

• Let him go. Dorissa will come up with clothes -- from everyday peasant dresses to tunics and dungarees, which she will say (with doubt and disapproval) are for her "training", meaning with a dagger or sword, she doesn't know.)
• Say thanks of ask a simple question that you can answer yourself, after which the above will happen.
• Or ask/say something that I need to respond to, in which case I will post.
• CYOR

 

[jaynedixon]

I walked around the room, occasionally running my fingers over the stoned walls and taking a second to look through the narrow windows that scattered the walls. Looking all around. The bed was very ornate but very beautiful and I walked over running my hand over the carvings on it. I turned back looking at him. "I wont be needing a chaperone...thank you" I even allowed myself a little smile. But that soon disappeared as I heard the noise above and looked up at the roof.

"Oh ok, well I hope so" I said looking up at the roof as he explained the noise. I saw him looking at me, he had done this numerous times already. "Thank you for the clothes" I said the only thing that I could think of at that moment and then turned and sat down on the bed . "I guess I cant go to the king dressed like this now can I" I said and for the second time smiled as I ran my hand over the gown I was currently wearing.

 

[GrayOldFart]

Go to the King...

It affected him, remembering that all of a sudden. Sometimes, Parr could almost forget what this was all about. His mind could almost trick him in to thinking that this was about bringing a peasant girl in from the cold, giving her what she needed, protecting her ... having her. And then ... he would remember why she was here.

"No ... I don't suppose you can," he confirmed. He told her she would get every thing she needed, from a gown and shoes suitable for the king's ball to a stylish make over of her hair and face. "Given the right materials, Dorissa's daughter can make a pig look beautiful--"

As soon as he'd said it, he realized how it sounded. "NO! That wasn't-- I mean ... I just meant that given a pig ... which you're not, of course ... Eloissa could ... you see what..."

He finally just gave up, hoping that she understood he hadn't been implying that she actually needed makeup to look beautiful. His new Nikita was a wonderfully, erotically beautiful woman, far more than the King deserved.

"I will excuse myself, m'lady," he said, giving her an overly dramatic bow to make up for his earlier faux pas, and headed for the stone stair case just as Dorissa was reaching the top, her arms full of clothes of a variety of colors and styles.. He asked if her daughter was available -- which, for the Count, her master, she would be -- and after getting his affirmative answer, said he would send a Guard for her. Then, giving Nikita one last glance, he said, "Good evening, m'lady."



It was pitch black out side when Count Parr returned to the keep. He had the smell of ale on his breath and woman on his groin; he'd left for town simply to check in with his Royal spies, but once in the tavern surrounded by the wenches eager to be the one stocking away coin at night's end, he couldn't help but think of Nikita back in his keep, removing her clothing and donning ... what ever it was that Dorissa provided her.

He ascended the stone steps and crossed the wooden draw bridge, but once through the outer door he only stared at the inner one, which would take him inside and put him in the same room, more or less, as the woman he truly lusted for and yet was going to hand over to the king.

He turned left instead, ascending to the basement, to the greatest innovation since the cross bow. Stripping his clothes off and tossing them into a pile for Dorissa to deal with later, he pulled on two ropes and hooked the knots in into the crotch of a metal hook; high above him, the ropes pulled iron covers away from two different iron cisterns, allowing water to pour out into a bucket above. The bucket had holes in it, and the water -- a mix of cold collected from the roof in one cistern and hot from the cold cistern heated by the fire on the floor above -- now came down wonderfully warm in what was called a hygiene shower.

Parr stepped onto the loosely woven reed mat below the shower -- below it was a sewer drain that would take the water out to the creek below the keep -- and shivered. He reached to a third rope and pulled it, and a minute later he felt the increased temperature from the added hot water. He stood below the shower for a bit, simply enjoying the sensation; like all great inventions, each time he used this one he found himself asking, Why didn't we think of this centuries ago?

He grabbed up a cloth rag, soaking in a thick mix of herbs and natural soaps, and washed away the smell of the woman on his groin and life on the rest of him. He finished cleaning, but continued to stand under the water until the it was obvious that the water in the hot cistern was running dry.

He dressed in a long, luxurious robe and ascended the stairs to the main floor.

OPTIONS:

• If Nikita is in bed, just post her rising in the morning to find the Count stretched out upon a make shift bed on the stone floor before the low burning fire.
• If she is waiting for him when he comes up, post what you want.
• CYOR.

 

[jaynedixon]

I let myself smile at the Count as I watched him fumble for his words. I think I even saw his face flushed with color before he bowed and made his exit.

The bed was the most comfortable I had ever felt and as soon as I laid down I closed my eyes and slept. Having managed to put off Dorissa until the morning I slept easily until a sound woke me. My eyes flicked open and all I could see was the darkness all around me. I had heard the Count leaving earlier in the night and told myself he was returning from whereever else he had been. Nevertheless I got up and still looked through the holes in the floor and saw as he walked in.

I should have gone back to sleep but instead I lay there awake and eventually getting back up I went over and opened the door, going down the stairs slowly I stopped as I heard water and then I heard the water stopping. I stood frozen on the stairs until I heard footsteps coming up and even though I knew the Count was coming I still jumped in fright as I saw him round the stairs and stand there in his robe.

"I heard water" was all I could say as we stood there on the stairs.