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Post by Crystal on Mar 14, 2020 17:48:11 GMT
Annalena let a soft sigh slip from her lips as she made her way down the corridor of the castle. With her father ill at home and not as many sales or requests being made at their small merchant shop she decided it best to take on another job in the castle. She was very versatile when it came to the tasks she could help within the castle so she found it a better way to obtain money for her family currently than other forms. She let a shiver run up her spine at the thought of the other ways she could obtain money and shook her head, nose wrinkling slightly. Her task today was to bring food to a person being held within one of the castle rooms. She was told he wasn’t allowed to leave and she was curious why, though she knew it wasn’t her place to ask. She felt bad for the man, although it was better than a prison cell, he was still being locked up inside the castle. Annalena didn’t know what she would do if she had to be cooped up in a room all the time. While in thought she almost missed the man’s room, quickly stopping before she walked too far past it. She stood at the door and stared at it for a moment before knocking on the door. “Excuse me, I have some food for you. May I come in?” She asked softly, opening the door slightly but not entering until given permission.
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Post by starrea on Mar 14, 2020 18:13:23 GMT
Knox was a mess. Besides briefly speaking to Alister, who gave him the same bullshit story as Nadia, no one had been by to see him. Despite asking the guards and maids who periodically checked on him to send for Nadia, she didn’t come and he wasn’t sure why it hurt him so much.
Luckily for them, Knox had been trained to follow authority and besides his poor attitude, hadn’t tested the boundaries of his imprisonment at all. Instead, he spent his days pacing his room or staring out the window, his thoughts occupied with the mess of trouble he’d be in when he got back. He would never desert his kingdom, but at this point, the option was tempting. He would surely never be let off of castle grounds again and the world would come to forget that Knox ever existed. He would spend the rest of his days proving his faith in the Royal Family, a task that he had barely survived the first time and probably wouldn’t survive a second time.
Knox didn’t even hear the door open and it wasn’t until a voice cut through the horrifying scenarios playing out in his head did he turn to face the girl in the doorway. She wasn’t one he recognized but then again, they were all just faces to him.
“Come in,” He waved her in, as if he had a choice. The maids had more rights than he did. He averted his eyes from her western, loose way of dressing. Normally, despite his opinions, he didn’t comment on the way women dressed in this kingdom but it felt more intimate and taboo that she dressed in such a way in his bedroom.
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Post by Crystal on Mar 14, 2020 19:22:54 GMT
As Lena entered the room she couldn’t help but glance around at the surroundings, it certainly wasn’t like her small room in the cottage she lived in with her family. “Um, sorry for intruding,” She commented as her gaze finally landed on the man. Her brow raised slightly as the man averted his gaze and glanced down at her form. True she didn’t look as nice and tidy as the other women in the castle, but she didn’t think she looked that dirty today. She had made sure to clean her clothes so she wasn’t covered in dirt from working in the garden at home but maybe she hadn’t cleaned up as much as she had thought. She then walked over to a small table nearby and placed the covered platter she was carrying on it. “I’m Annalena, Lena for short, what’s your name?” She asked curiously as she turned to face the man once more, a slight smile forming on her lips.
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Post by starrea on Mar 15, 2020 1:31:55 GMT
Knox watched her put the plate of food down but didn’t move towards it. It was hard to have much of an appetite when he spent his days doing nothing. He couldn’t help but think if this was Nadia’s plan all along. Maybe she was deliberately creating tension between him and the Royal Family because then it wouldn’t matter what he said when he returned. They wouldn’t believe him and the only person who would be able to exonerate himself would also be himself. And if that hadn’t been her plan, then she was just extremely lucky.
Knox was pulled from his melancholy thoughts once more by the maid. He moved to sit on the bed, only looking at her in short intervals before averting his gaze out of habit. He hadn’t missed the way she had looked over her own outfit and he felt a twinge if guilt but he wasn’t sure why.
“They didn’t tell you my name? I’m Knox.” He paused but the opportunity to talk to someone was becoming harder to come by so he kept going, “I apologize. In my culture, women dress much more modestly and I’m unused to seeing women so... exposed.” Knox had always been tactless and he didn’t even realize that what he said would probably come across as insulting. He was just telling the truth.
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Post by Crystal on Mar 15, 2020 2:19:51 GMT
Annalena watched the man carefully as he walked over to his bed and sat down. Her gaze was still filled with curiosity as she looked over his form, she had met many people being a merchant but not many like him. Her slight smile grew into a full one as he introduced himself and she nodded her head in greeting as she spoke, “No, I’m knew to the castle and I just pick up whatever jobs they need me to do. I’m usually a merchant in the city and work in the garden at my home. It is nice to meet you Knox.” Lena’s brows then raised a bit at his comment about her clothes and glanced down at her form once more. “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t know. Would it be better if I tried to cover myself more? I’m not sure of what to use but I certainly don’t mind, I don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable,” She stated as she hesitantly walked towards the bed and stood at the end of it, leaning against it slightly.
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Post by starrea on Mar 16, 2020 22:23:33 GMT
Knox was a little surprised that she seemed to be trying to engage him in conversation. It seemed that no one around here really cared about him except for the fact that he knew the truth. He supposed the only reason he wasn’t dead was because he knew Nadia.
“No, it’s alright,” He insisted but still averted his gaze. He wasn’t the type to force his customs on others. “My culture is just very... different, and I’m not quite used to this.”
The thought of homeland and native customs sent a wave of homesickness crashing through him. He didn’t understand how Nadia could so quickly abandon her land and her people. Everything here felt strange and wrong.
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Post by Crystal on Mar 17, 2020 0:02:13 GMT
Lena watched Knox carefully as he responded and slowly nodded her head in understanding. “If you are sure, I understand. As a merchant I have met a few people from other cultures, each unique in their own way,” She commented and glanced around his room once more, “I’m sure it is hard getting accustomed to other cultures.” Her dark gaze continued around the room until it finally landed on Knox once more. Her brow raised at his expression and her head tilted to the side slightly. She then let out a soft sigh as she looked down at her feet and awkwardly pressed the ball of her foot into the ground, twisting it back and forth slightly. Lena’s chocolate eyes blinked as an idea came to mind and she glanced towards the window. She let her gaze bounce between the window and Knox for a moment before hesitantly making her way to the window, opening it. She leaned out the window slightly and looked at the surroundings below, forming the plan into her mind.
Lena noticed a small area not too far from the castle that was perfect for her plan. Her dark eyes closed as she took a deep breath to concentrate and held her hand out the window towards a small area of open land. As she focused on the soil in that area, she took in another breath to calm herself and began to pull the sand from within the soil. She pulled what she could and used it to cover the floor of Knox’s room with sand. Once finished she opened her eyes once more and looked to the ground below her, a small triumphant smile forming on her lips. Lena then looked up towards Knox and gave him a warm smile. “I hope you don’t find this too forward, but I thought I would try something. I have only met a small handful of other people from your culture and I remember hearing your homeland is more of a desert land than here,” She explained to him and walked towards the bed once more but stopped halfway then sat with her legs crossed on the floor as she continued, “I know this sand isn’t like the kind found from your home but I hope it is something that might make you feel a little more at ease. I don’t know what I would do if I was in another country away from the soil here that makes me feel at home and not allowed out to even feel the land beneath my feet of the new country I was in.” Lena’s gaze averted Knox’s form towards the sand beneath her and gently picked some up in her hand, letting it fall back to the floor from between her fingers.
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Post by starrea on Mar 18, 2020 15:33:51 GMT
The audacity of the situation was so surreal that Knox was stunned into silence as the whole thing transpired. There were so many reasons that this was inappropriate that Knox couldn’t just focus on one. First of all, Knox couldn’t believe that she had just desecrated a castle garden with the flip of a hand. Such actions would be grounds for arrest and prosecution back in his homeland. Secondly, who the fuck wanted sand in their room? And just a little bit of sand, but enough to cover the entire floor with a thick layer. It would be impossible to clean up and now Knox would be shaking sand out of his things for weeks.
It took him a couple of seconds past when she sat down to really digest what she had said and done and his face screwed up with rage. He was so tired of people doing things with no regard to his feelings, and ignorance was not an adequate excuse. “How dare you.” He seethed, “Just because I’m from a faraway land with a different culture, I must live in dirt? I live in a castle, not the fucking dirt. Just because I live in a more arid climate does not mean I wish for there to be dirt everywhere. How dare you assume such things about me and my culture. You didn’t even know my name. You know nothing of who I am and where I’m from and your blatant racism or ignorance or both is insulting. Your culture might accept such gestures but I will not.”
By the time he had finished, he was almost out of breath. He watched her with a deathly glare. She had finally pushed him over the edge and he wasn’t backing down or rolling over.
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Post by Crystal on Mar 18, 2020 20:28:48 GMT
Annalena flinched back as if she had been slapped and blinked her eyes at his response, true she had not fully thought her idea through but still. Her eyes narrowed for a moment at him with mixed feelings swirling inside her at his comment; hurt, confusion, anger. She then stood from her spot and began to clench her fingers into a fist and release them as if trying to grab onto the right thing to feel. The sand beneath her began to shake slightly then swirl as if mimicking her feelings. “Excuse me for trying,” She snapped back then crossed her arms over her chest as she continued, “and what do you call averting your gaze from me as if you stared at me for more than two seconds your eyes may catch on fire? It is rude in my culture to avoid eye contact when speaking to someone and hurtful as well. Also the castle you lived in will one day turn to sand, you will always be surrounded by the bounties of the land whether you truly live in dirt or in a castle so I find that offensive to call what is beneath your feet dirt as if it were nothing.” She snorted and looked away from him as she let her thoughts return to the words he spoke. How dare she? She only wanted to make him feel less homesick and moving the particles in the soil was the only thing she could think of. Besides she loved the earth, to her it is where everything comes from and where everything goes back to in the end. Being out in her garden surrounded by nature and the land beneath her feet always cheered her up.
She then blinked as the realization truly hit her and the sand settled around her. It was what made HER happy, this gesture is something she would enjoy. He was right, she hadn’t really thought of how he would have reacted to something like this or perceived it since she didn’t actually know him. A soft sigh soon left her lips and she looked down at the sand on the floor for a moment before she closed her eyes, mentally slapping herself for being impulsive. She then walked back to the window and opened it once more, concentrating on the sand in Knox’s room. She took in a deep breath and focused on every inch of his room, pulling all of the sand towards her. Lena then held her hand out towards the area she had pulled the sand from the soil and returned all that she had taken.
Once she was done she stood by the window and stared out at the view. It took her a moment before she spoke to him in a soft voice, “I’m truly sorry. I acted impulsively and didn’t take into account how you would have perceived this gesture or whether you would even like it. I don’t really expect you to accept my apology, but if you do I hope there is something I could do to make up for my actions.” As she stood staring out the window, a bit afraid to look back at the glare she could feel burning a hole into her, another thought came to her mind now that she had calmed herself. A small smirk formed on her lips and she glanced back at Knox as she spoke with a hint of teasing in her voice, “Though, I suppose you are finally looking at me now instead of averting your gaze. True it isn’t in a good light due to my actions but still.”
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Post by starrea on Mar 18, 2020 20:56:26 GMT
Knox was bewildered by her response but it only fueled his rage more. The longer he stayed in this land, the more he despised it. He couldn’t imagine why Nadia wanted to stay here. He went to speak but she started up with her magic again and he kept his mouth firmly closed to avoid breathing in the sand. It didn’t work and he coughed a couple of times before his lungs cleared.
His eyes narrowed into any slits and if looks could kill, she would have burst into flames by now. “Oh, you’re personally insulted that I called dirt dirt? You honestly think that is on the same level of insulting an entire culture and way of life? I didn’t ask for your help or your opinion. Your job was to bring me my food and that task was completed.”
He didn’t mention her apology. He didn’t accept it but it would be pointless to say that out loud. Even though the sand was gone, the anger had rooted into him and he wanted to be alone to stew in it.
“There is something you can do. You can leave.”
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Post by Crystal on Mar 18, 2020 22:52:19 GMT
Her dark chocolate eyes narrowed as she fully faced him then walked towards Knox and stopped right in front of him. She stared deep into his dark eyes, challenging his deadly glare, and placed her hands on her hips. “It may not be on the same level to you but the land is my way of life just like your culture is yours and the soil beneath is what helped in creating cultures and ways of life,” She retorted between clenched teeth. She glanced towards the covered platter with his food that she had brought earlier then looked back to him. “You’re right, my job is done. I’m sorry for taking up your precious time with my ignorant ways. I’m sure you are very busy pacing the floors of your castle room,” She snorted as she stepped away from him and walked towards the door to his room then paused for a moment before she left as she continued, letting her voice trail off at the end, “I’ll be sure to only do my job next time and avoid speaking. I don’t know why I even tried, this is why I don’t talk to people. Working on the land is so much easier than trying to interact with others.”
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