Notebook.ai

@Null-Gravity September 08, 2023

Payne gets up, laughing at the glare Lillian was giving him.

"Sorry for tackling you, wife," he calls over his shoulder as he wanders over to the water's edge, taking off his tunic as he does so, seemingly forgetting that Lillian was, in fact, a woman, and probably didn't enjoy random men stripping in front of her.

Though, in this scenario I suppose it's safe to say that they're less strangers and more playful rivals with a flair for being overly flirty at times. And in context with what Lyanna did for money, well. . . she was sure to have done plenty to get close to some of her harder to reach marks.

Back on topic, however, it was clear that he did remember, as he kept his pants on as he waded into the pool of water.

@ElderGod-yellowqueen September 08, 2023

Lyanna snorted to herself. She highly doubted that he was sorry otherwise he wouldn't have started any of this in the first place. She moved to reach for both of her daggers and strap them both to her. She did have more hidden on her, these were just the two that she had unsheathed. Not that she would tell him she had more. She never let anyone know just how many she had on her person.

As she raised her head after cleaning her daggers from the sand that had stuck to them, she noticed that Payne was not by her side and had walked across this little beach and to the water's edge. his shirt had been discarded but, unfortunately, not his trousers. A shame.

She was not as modest as those at court were and certainly did not hold on so tightly to virtue and things of that nature. And even though she was supposed to resemble a woman of good virtue, she couldn't help but take a peek at the muscles and sculpted back he had to offer. She would never act on these urges, of course, but it didn't mean she couldn't look.

She found a spot closer to the water's edge and sat down. It was safe to say that the sand she had gotten all over her back from being tackled wasn't going anywhere, no matter how hard she tried to clean it off. She might as well sit in it. She outstretched her legs and crossed them at the ankles. She leaned back on both her hands and just watched him.

@Null-Gravity September 11, 2023

Payne wades ever further and further into the lake, making it clear that it was, indeed, quite a bit deeper than it looked.

Actually, in a few seconds he'd completely submerged his head.

Looking at him currently would make him seem so damn big, yet so ridiculously tiny at the same time.

Like a really, really buff baby.

He breaks the surface once more, shaking out his hair, turning and grinning at Lillian, walking over and splashing some water on her.

"Come on, come in," he says playfully.

@ElderGod-yellowqueen September 12, 2023

Lyanna watched quietly from the sand, letting her heart rate cool after their little tussle. She was still quite irritated with herself that she went down as quickly as she had. She had let herself get distracted. If her master ever found out, she would be punished dearly for it. She was thankful there were none of his spies here. Not in this cavern where it was only them.

She made a sound of disbelief as he splashed some water on her. She gaped at him. Had he really just done that? She couldn't believe it. She looked down at herself, water now soaking her front. She huffed, then smirked. Two could play this game.

She was not as modest about her appearance and her level of undressed as Payne had been. She untied her laces and pulled her boots off, taking off her socks and unstrapping the dagger that had been hidden there. She pulled her blouse over her head, leaving her only in her chest binding. And then she proceeded to remove two more daggers. Her trousers were next, another two more hidden daggers were added to the pile.

Dressed in only her binding and underwear, she turned to the water and slowly stepped into it, dunking her head as soon as the water reached her chest. As she reemerged, she smirked at Payne. "Is this better?"

@Null-Gravity September 12, 2023

Payne's face turns cherry red as he quickly looks away.

"You could've kept your pants on," he mumbles, following it with a few more indistinct words, mainly about, you know, common sense.

He quickly dives under the water, quick, powerful motions propelling him away from Lillian. Mainly for his own good. And also because he was trying to be respectful. Even if she had undressed herself, it would ruin them both if it were known that they'd been undressed together.

The thought made Payne flush even brighter.

He hadn't even noticed the absurd ammount of weapons Lillian had pulled from her personage.

He eventually has to resurface for more air.

His hair long hair, wet, looked like burnt gold, with liquid sunlight running off it: water reflecting the base color of his skin and hair.

He shakes it out, and sighs.

"Alright," he says, resolved. He swims over to the lake's edge and pulls off his pants, leaving him in just his briefs. He dives back into the water.

@ElderGod-yellowqueen September 13, 2023

Lyanna let out a laugh that was all too unladylike. She didn't particularly care wither. Not with the blush she had been rewarded with on his face. She had caught it before he had dipped under the surface and was grinning to herself because of it. She wouldn't tease him just yet, if only for fear of him drowning himself so she wouldn't see his blush.

She waited all too patiently for him to resurface, her grin having faded into a small smirk. She watched him as he treaded back to the bank, shedding of his trousers before stepping back into the water. Her eyes might have wandered a bit too much than what was acceptable. While his back was turned of course. She wouldn't let him know she was ogling him. It was not ladylike at all.

"Now that wasn't too hard now was it?" She asked. "Though, your trousers will still be wet when you put them back on so I guess it doesn't matter now." It did matter. It mattered that she got to see a little more of him.

It was curious to her that he let her see that much skin when her own had him blushing like a young girl in school. He was very curious to her. And she intended to explore this curiosity. "How long do you think we have before they start to come looking for us?

@Null-Gravity September 13, 2023

Payne rolls his eyes, contemplating making a very dirty joke in response and sighing.

"So will your panties, sweetheart, especially after that pin-down you just went through," he mutters, just loud enough for Lillian to hear.

He shrugs at her question, considering it.

"They're used to me disappearing, for entire days at times. They'll assume that you followed me or something. Or maybe that I kidnapped you. Who knows what the courts might say?" he chuckles.

"Besides, it isn't like it particularly matters. If need be we can stay here until nightfall and sneak back under cover of night," he adds.

@ElderGod-yellowqueen September 13, 2023

(is shookith)

Lyanna couldn't contain the giggles that had erupted from her. She slapped a hand over her lips, trying to quiet the noise. That had been the last thing she had expected to hear come out of his mouth.

As her giggles subsided, she waded in the water until she was standing only a couple of feet away from him. She tilted her head slightly as he spoke. "Do you disappear often? May I inquire as to why?"

She didn't particularly care what the court thought of her. She did care about what got back to Eleric. That would determine her fate when she returned back to the guide. And while some punishments were worth it, it was not for this. She would rather get in and get right back. The sooner she was done the better. But she had a feeling a certain prince was going to cause some complications.

@Null-Gravity September 14, 2023

(I laugh silently Unexpected joke?)

Payne looks over at Lillian, and starts to chuckle along with her. Somehow, being near this woman made him feel reckless - and strangely happy. Rather, he felt carefree, unburdened.

He shrugs and smiles.

"You'd find out eventually. Knowing you, you'd follow me one day. I go into the village and work in the fields often, or in the smithy. I. . . donate. . . decent amounts of money to those in need, who are going through a tough time or who have a sick child," he explains.

He watches her face as he explains, checking to see if she was weirded out or anything.

@ElderGod-yellowqueen September 14, 2023

Lyanna smiled at him and she did not fake her happiness. There was something about her that made her feel light in her chest. He was dangerous and yet she found herself drawn to him like a moth to a flame. This was becoming trickier by the second.

"Follow you? I would never do that." Her grin said the exact opposite. Even by just mere curiosity, she would follow him out. She would have to be very careful where she went, however. Too many people might recognize her.

"That is awfully kind of you. And something most would never bother themselves with in a position as high as yours."

She didn't like what that did to her stomach. The fluttering made her nervous. It was strange to know he paid so much attention to the gutter rats of his city. She was surprised she had never really seen him out in the city, then. She was a very observant person, she should have noticed should they have been in the same vicinity.

@Null-Gravity September 25, 2023

"Wouldn't you though? The way you wield a dagger isn't the trademark of a good little girl who stays home all the time, wife," Payne chuckles.

He was. . . way relaxed. It was a mystery really, considering he knew how easy she could kill him if she really tried. But if he died here, he figured it would be his fault. He'd had a pretty good run. War hero and all, he could go out in a blaze of glory to be proud of.

"Well. . . I don't particularly like my position. I'd rather be a full-time soldier. It's why I spend so much time with the less well off and all my troops. The more time I spend with them, the better I can lead them. One cannot be expected to follow the orders who's never risked his life beside them. In that way, because of my position that I never wanted, I cannot be a truly good king without having lived alongside the lowest of us," he murmurs.

@ElderGod-yellowqueen September 26, 2023

Lyanna was anything but. If she had been born of a noble family here, instead of being a street rat, she likely would have jumped off the roof just to be rid of that life. She was content with her life, though she longed to be free, that would never happen. She had learned to make the most out of her life a long time ago.

"I never said I was a good little girl," she purred. She gave him a smirk before wading in the water until she was able to sit on the sand bank with the waves crashing over her. Her nudity didn't particularly bother her, it never had. She leaned back on her palms before slowly laying down, her hair splayed around her. She would have to dunk her head before they left to get the sand out of her hair.

She rolled her head to the side, watching him as he spoke. She didn't like the way her stomach fluttered at his words. "That is… very radical of you. I have heard of no monarch willing to go to such lengths." She paused for a moment before continuing, "Be careful, not everyone would like to see you on the throne, and even more so because of what you are doing."

@Null-Gravity September 27, 2023

Payne's chuckling turns into full laughter.

"That is very true," he replies through his laughter. He was really laughing because of how she'd said what she'd said, and the smirk. And also her lower half looked like a very strangely proportioned toddler's body.

"Is it really so radical to have empathy for the people that you will one day be sending out to die in pointless squabbles over land and resources? Over the shape of one's face, the religion they practice or the pigment of their skin? Is it 'radicality,' truly, or is it ruling with kindness and compassion rather than my father's tactic, which is to drive people into the ground? After all, he did it to magic, that force he found to be quite 'brutish' and 'barbarous,'" he asks, locking eyes with Lillian.

@ElderGod-yellowqueen October 05, 2023

Lyanna tilted her head as she watched him. Her own lips had lifted at his laugh. It was a beautiful sound. And nothing that she would ever admit to. She enjoyed his company perhaps a little too much than she should. It wouldn't distract her from her mission. Not with that lump sum that she would gain from it, making all of this worth it. But, she would perhaps feel a touch of guilt at betraying this prince.

Her smile fell as their conversation turned to other matters.

"Many would think it strange. Most people wouldn't want to dirty their hands with the poor." With herself. She was covered in mud and blood. If only he could see it. Could he? She held back her flinch at the mention of magic. It would always be a sore topic for her. "You tread in dangerous waters. Be careful, is all I ask."

@Null-Gravity October 05, 2023

"My hands are already hundreds of times sullied by the vigors and hatreds of battle. My eyes are rotting from my head with the hate I have seen, and my ears ring with the clamor of blades and the sounds of a brother, a son, a father, being cut down like chaff before the storm. If I am to take a life, I must work like the people I take lives for, in order for some amount of repentance to happen. To work beside the very people who I take livelihoods from, happiness from, knowing that I must eventually do so again. . . it is the only way to cleanse the stains from my hands, my clothes," Payne murmurs. After a moment, he breaks eye contact and looks down.

"I will be as careful as a warrior can. But I'm sure you know well how difficult it is to stay safe when fighting is second nature. . ."

@ElderGod-yellowqueen October 06, 2023

Lyanna nodded her head. "I think you will make a great king, whether you believe it or not. I hope to see the day you take the crown from your father."

Hoped that he would be alive to take it. And hoped that she would be as well. She had already accepted she would have to watch form a distance. Once he discovered her betrayal, he would never want to see her again. That was alright. She could live with that, if it meant she had a chance of freedom. Nothing was more important to her than that.

"Perhaps we should be going back soon. I think your mother might be missing me. I am hungry. I haven't eaten in ages. Carriage rides don't really stop for food."

The Flame in the Dark (OxO Closed)