Rowaini Musketeers: One For All and All For One

[Rystil Arden]

OOC: Hyacinthe is leaving the room and explore the manor, starting with teh servant quarter, as he doesn't want to go where he shouldn't go for now.

*Hyacinthe heads upstairs, and he looks around, trying to find the servant's quarter. Instead, he comes across a sitting room, where a number of older noblemen and their wives are sitting and talking, sipping wine as they do. A nobleman spots him as he looks in*

"Don't just sit there gawking, wine boy. Get me another Pirandel," he holds up his glass in waiting, obviously mistaking Hyacinthe for one of the servants here, though it seems inevitable that he will eventually notice that the livery doesn't match.

 

[Velmont]

Not being his place to correct a noble, he will nods and simply search quickly with his eyes if there is a bottle of wine near. If there is one, he will go and take it and serves the nobles without more words. If there is none but remember he has seen one downstair, he will head down and fetch a bottle and come back to serve the nobles.

 

[Rystil Arden]

Not being his place to correct a noble, he will nods and simply search quickly with his eyes if there is a bottle of wine near. If there is one, he will go and take it and serves the nobles without more words. If there is none but remember he has seen one downstair, he will head down and fetch a bottle and come back to serve the nobles.

*Hyacinthe sees a platter with several varieties of wine on the back wall. He scans it to find the Pirandel and pours it out for the noble, who doesn't acknowledge or thank Hyacinthe. The others seem to simply ignore him, as they go on talking.*

"Ah yes, and your Elise is quite the lovely and charming young lady, Milord Viscount Lyrelle. We are honoured indeed to have you both with us this evening."

"Your hospitality and the quality of the guests here are both as fine as ever, Dulirand. Did you see the lady in the mask?"

"That I did. She came with no retainers or servants to announce her. Isn't she something?"

"Well, I'm just wondering why someone like that is here. She clearly isn't hoping to mingle and make connections, since she isn't revealing her identity or her name."

"Do you think it's possible that she's some sort of fluke born to a commoner. I've heard it possible...I mean, Debreuil, your Ann is an incredible beauty considering that you are a mere Baronet."

"Did you see this girl? She makes my darling Elise look like nothing more than a pretty commoner! She is a peer to the Princess Althea."

"Could it be she?"

"No. I'll never forget the princess's features. It couldn't be her."

*And then Hyacinthe has finished serving and gets his opening to leave the room and look for the Servant's Quarters--*

(OOC: --I assume he wants to leave. Let me know if he leaves or tries to stay)

 

[unleashed]

"Well, you have a good eye," Elise laughs, clearly in jest, "No, not really. I'm not that vain. No woman can be with whoever-she-is in the same room. Of course, if flattery's your game, you'd do better with Ygraine over there. She's a beautiful woman, but I think a tad insecure. She likes to hear people telling her how beautiful she is. Lives for it, almost. For me, that's no way to be."

*Elise frowns.*

"Gambling? A dreadfully bad habit. It keeps sweaty men locked in rooms together for hours on end and away from their ladies, the endless call of gold bewitching them, or maybe they just like men more than women...I'm afraid I don't much care for gamblers, Gabriel. That's why that man over there with Ygraine, Julien Sorel, I just didn't care for him when I met him tonight. I think to him, his entire life is some big gamble."

"Well, I think it's important to distinguish between a little risktaking and gambling, you know? A little adventure can be fun."

"Of course, Zoe, that's not what I mean. Risktaking and excitement are one thing. For me, gambling implies that you're playing some sort of game that includes the people around you, and that for you to win, the other people have to lose. It may seem social at first when you see men gambling and talking together, but I find it to be intrinsically antisocial at heart."

"Can't fault you on that one, and you can afford to be choosy, Elise--heck, if I was a man, I'd totally want to marry you. You'll find someone wonderful, at least unless you wind up with an arranged marriage."

“I suppose that’s what I get for being honest,” Gabriel says with a chuckle, “though it wasn’t empty flattery, Elise, as you did ask about the things I’ve seen during my travels, which haven’t been overly exciting thus far in my time with the musketeers.”

“Well, that might be the way for some, though I certainly prefer the company of ladies to gambling, if there is a choice,” he adds with a grin. “As for the consequences of the game itself, the outcome is much like most other parts of life ... for one to win another must lose. Never is that more evident than when you have sworn to put other lives before your own, like we in the musketeers do. Though it is applicable even for you, my dear Elise, if not in quite so deadly a fashion. Consider for a moment what would happen if you were to marry ... how many men do you think would feel they had lost to your husband? And much like being on the wrong end of a blade, they don’t have the recourse of trying to change the outcome by simply courting you again. While with a friendly game of cards, you can simply play again and perhaps be better off a moment later than you were before.”

"Well, I can say for certain that most men will tell you that they would wish to do better by the ladies than that. But how many would wish otherwise if not for the social constructs of our society. Imagine, for instance, that you could pick your ten or twenty favourite women from this room and keep all of them as passionate and loving mistresses with absolutely no averse consequences. Are you saying you wouldn't do it?"

“That would be some trick indeed, Julie, though I fear if such a thing were possible I would never get anything else done,” Gabriel laughs.

"That could be quite helpful--how can I embarrass the young lad, do you think?"

“Oh, anything that plays on his shyness around women would do, I think, though I hope you will take into account his naivete and not embarrass him too badly, as it might negate all the progress he’s been making in that regard recently.”

 

[Rystil Arden]

“I suppose that’s what I get for being honest,” Gabriel says with a chuckle, “though it wasn’t empty flattery, Elise, as you did ask about the things I’ve seen during my travels, which haven’t been overly exciting thus far in my time with the musketeers.”

"Wow, you must have the most boring musketeer missions ever. No princesses to save? Dragons to slay? Pirates to battle? To hear him tell it, Aric does all these things every week or so. Of course, he's making those stories up, but still."

"But seriously, tell me, what is it about that you find so striking, sir gallant Musketeer?"

“Well, that might be the way for some, though I certainly prefer the company of ladies to gambling, if there is a choice,” he adds with a grin. “As for the consequences of the game itself, the outcome is much like most other parts of life ... for one to win another must lose. Never is that more evident than when you have sworn to put other lives before your own, like we in the musketeers do. Though it is applicable even for you, my dear Elise, if not in quite so deadly a fashion. Consider for a moment what would happen if you were to marry ... how many men do you think would feel they had lost to your husband? And much like being on the wrong end of a blade, they don’t have the recourse of trying to change the outcome by simply courting you again. While with a friendly game of cards, you can simply play again and perhaps be better off a moment later than you were before.”

"I don't think it's the same. With a marriage, the two who are married are not taking away from the other. The loser is somehow who isn't involved in the marriage, not the two who love each other. With those sweaty men in a back room gambling, your peers are also people from whom you are taking--there's something dishonest about the camaraderie used as a tool, like a snake, to lull others into comfort and part them from their coin."

"But enough of that. So you like music too, you say? What's your favourite song?"

“That would be some trick indeed, Julie, though I fear if such a thing were possible I would never get anything else done,” Gabriel laughs.

"So you admit it," Julie smiles and shakes her head, "See, but it's not your fault. It's just how males are of any species. Or that's the theory, at least."

“Oh, anything that plays on his shyness around women would do, I think, though I hope you will take into account his naivete and not embarrass him too badly, as it might negate all the progress he’s been making in that regard recently.”

"Well, that's nothing very specific. I shall have to think of something then...Hmm...Let me think."

 

[Velmont]

Hyacinthe put back the bottle where it was and move aside the wall, in sight of the man who has requested his service. He wait there amoment, making sure he has no more request and also to overhear the discussion, a little curious about that masked woman. If everyone ignore him for a moment or dimiss him, he will leave.

 

[unleashed]

"Wow, you must have the most boring musketeer missions ever. No princesses to save? Dragons to slay? Pirates to battle? To hear him tell it, Aric does all these things every week or so. Of course, he's making those stories up, but still."

"But seriously, tell me, what is it about that you find so striking, sir gallant Musketeer?"

“Yes, well quite often the missions we’re sent on sound more interesting than they turn out to be. For instance, the mission which brought us here involved rumours of strange shapes in the forest, but in the end it turned out we were just chasing shadows.”

“Oh, how do I choose, Elise, your luxurient long red-gold tresses which first caught my attention, your gorgeous figure, your graceful movements, the list goes on ... simply, you are the most exquisite lady I have yet met in my travels as a musketeer.”

"I don't think it's the same. With a marriage, the two who are married are not taking away from the other. The loser is somehow who isn't involved in the marriage, not the two who love each other. With those sweaty men in a back room gambling, your peers are also people from whom you are taking--there's something dishonest about the camaraderie used as a tool, like a snake, to lull others into comfort and part them from their coin."

"But enough of that. So you like music too, you say? What's your favourite song?"

“Not quite the same no, but marriage does take the object of ones affection permanently beyond their reach ... whether that person loved them in return or not is inconsequential to the one who has lost their chance to be with the one they love, or at least believe they love. As for these sweaty men gambling in back rooms, I don’t know too much about those ... I usually play cards with gentlemen in well appointed rooms, where the coins are more about adding an element of risk to a game which would otherwise have little.”

“As for music, my favourite song at the moment is the Romance of the Rose, which has been quite popular at court revels recently.”

"So you admit it," Julie smiles and shakes her head, "See, but it's not your fault. It's just how males are of any species. Or that's the theory, at least."

“Well, I’m only young still, so who knows how I’ll change with time,” Gabriel says with a wink.

"Well, that's nothing very specific. I shall have to think of something then...Hmm...Let me think."

“I’m sorry Zoe, but Jacen is fairly new to the musketeers, this was his first mission and his first time out with Tristan and myself, so there’s not really much I can tell you beyond my own observations and the little he’s told me.”

“Hmm, would knowing that he’s probably still a little tender in the hindquarters from all our recent riding help at all?” Gabriel whispers in her ear.

 

[Fenris]

"Not mostly. The land mainly isn't right for it. Too rocky. We do have a small orchard, but the prize of our land is the quarry. We have access to some of the region's highest quality marble, which is used in beautiful sculptures, religious icons, and architecture, like in churches."

"Indeed, the marble of the land has seeped into the veins of the DeChevre family. That would account for the alabaster complexion of his lovely daughters." replies Tristan with a smile and a small bow. 'I shall remember DeChevre marble for my new commission. The small valley where I am from has no such mineral wealth, though the sun is warm, and the land is rich for growing things. It is always amazing to me the wealth and beauty we can extract from the very soil, be it marble, vine or grain."

 

[Rystil Arden]

"Indeed, the marble of the land has seeped into the veins of the DeChevre family. That would account for the alabaster complexion of his lovely daughters." replies Tristan with a smile and a small bow. 'I shall remember DeChevre marble for my new commission. The small valley where I am from has no such mineral wealth, though the sun is warm, and the land is rich for growing things. It is always amazing to me the wealth and beauty we can extract from the very soil, be it marble, vine or grain."

"It is all a part of the Angels' design. For they have smiled upon us and blessed the land with bounty and richness, so that we, their children, could reap their blessings from the land, grow fruitful, multiply, and create things of beauty to please them," Angelique assures Tristan.

 

[Rystil Arden]

“Yes, well quite often the missions we’re sent on sound more interesting than they turn out to be. For instance, the mission which brought us here involved rumours of strange shapes in the forest, but in the end it turned out we were just chasing shadows.”

“Oh, how do I choose, Elise, your luxurient long red-gold tresses which first caught my attention, your gorgeous figure, your graceful movements, the list goes on ... simply, you are the most exquisite lady I have yet met in my travels as a musketeer.”

"Hmm, that's very charming, Gabriel. Sweet. Really. But as I said, I'm not quite the same as Ygraine. No, Gabriel, I have a challenge for you--it is one I give to any man who pitches woo my way: Go seek three women more beautiful than I, take in the fullness of their beauty, talk to them and learn who they are. If you still prefer me best of all, then I find that far more romantic, a testimony stronger than mere words."

“Not quite the same no, but marriage does take the object of ones affection permanently beyond their reach ... whether that person loved them in return or not is inconsequential to the one who has lost their chance to be with the one they love, or at least believe they love. As for these sweaty men gambling in back rooms, I don’t know too much about those ... I usually play cards with gentlemen in well appointed rooms, where the coins are more about adding an element of risk to a game which would otherwise have little.”

"Shhh," she puts her finger to his lips as he starts his explanation, "I said no more of that right now."

“As for music, my favourite song at the moment is the Romance of the Rose, which has been quite popular at court revels recently.”

"That one is nice, for a ballad. For dancing, I prefer the Lunar Etudes of Ronsan, or Saliani's Capriccios. For just soft listening music, Chordin's The Sea Maiden is hauntingly beautiful."

“Well, I’m only young still, so who knows how I’ll change with time,” Gabriel says with a wink.

"Everything changes with time," Julie agrees.

“I’m sorry Zoe, but Jacen is fairly new to the musketeers, this was his first mission and his first time out with Tristan and myself, so there’s not really much I can tell you beyond my own observations and the little he’s told me.”

“Hmm, would knowing that he’s probably still a little tender in the hindquarters from all our recent riding help at all?” Gabriel whispers in her ear.

"Hmm, yes. That could be helpful."