(1874-07-03) Feeling Abandoned
Feeling Abandoned
Summary: Ludovic doesn't respond well to the news that there wont be more reinforcements. Imogen helps calm him down.
Date: 3rd July 2018
Related: Qatunaxstories stuff
NPCs: {$npc}
Players:
Imogen  Ludovic  

Ludovic's Study, Daemon's Hall, Mount Hadres, Hellsmouth
A room partly walled in cut stone and partly natural with a big desk and everything tumbled about onto the floor.
1874-07-03

It starts as a faint tremble, almost imagined rather than genuinely felt but then in a single pulse it goes up to a full blown earthquake as the rock about you flexes. A tapestry tumbles from the nearby wall.

Imogen was just going about her business, settling back into their home after the trek of a pilgrimage and the wedding. It still hasn't really set in that she's a countess yet, but she's trying not to think about that. Thankfully there's a plethora of distractions, like pseudo son, unpacking….and earth tremors. Well she knows /exactly/ who might be responsible for that and goes to check on Dovi.

From just outside the study it gets fairly obvious that it is likely to be Dovi. For one the tremors are stronger here and for another you can hear him shouting and trashing things. It's fascinating how the tremors tend to be in perfect harmony with those sounds of rage.

Imogen sighs patiently when she hears the telltale sounds of dovi having a tantrum. She's concerned of course, but for now it's only tremors, so she just goes about it like she would if dovi was having a normal fit and opens up the door a crack to get his attention. "Dovi, what's wrong?" she asks softly, not fully coming inside until she can be sure he's not going to chuck something hard at her on accident.

Ludovic essentially just ignores her in favor of hitting the desk with a fist who's knuckles are already bruised and bloodied and giving an incoherent shout of rage. He'd throw something but it seems everything throwable is already on the floor.

So he kicks something instead. Hah! Take that ledger!

Imogen waits a moment until she ascertains everything throwable is indeed on the floor and then toddles in and walks up behind him, wrapping her arms around him and snorting bemusedly when he kicks the ledger. "Dovi, come now, what's wrong?" she murmurs softly

Whilst it would be wrong to say that Imogen's touch calms Ludovic instantly it does stop him from physically attacking things. She can easily feel the shaking of his body under her hands as he clenches his hands against the wood of the desk until the stretched skin over his knuckles is bone white. "They aren't coming."

The earthquake eases away as well but for an occasional tremor in the walls immediately around them.

Imogen doesn't need to ask what, only one thing not arriving could anger dovi that much and so she just sighs quietly and nods. "I'm sorry," she murmurs quietly as on of her hands trails down to his bloodied knuckles and strokes them gently to try and ease them off the desk. "The archduchess sent 500 troops though, and they arrived safely, maybe i could write to my father, if he rallies the valley lords we could get an extra five hundred?" she tries quietly

Ludovic gives a hollow laugh. "Whats another thousand men against the qatunax." He takes a long shuddering breath. "Dont even know why I'm surprised. At the senate it was obvious that the PRINCEPS had more sympathy for his taking Paras than I do for defending the place."

Imogen rolls her eyes and just keeps holding his hand in her own. She knows Dovi and how he gets, so she lets him get it out of his system before opening her mouth. "No one likes the princeps, even less his 'diplomat'. But with qutanux at our borders and raiders on the coast, we really don't have the resources to deal with the princeps as well, that's the only reason people act as though they have any sympathy for him," she points out quietly

Ludovic finally lets her coax his hand loose from the table. He gives another of those shuddering sighs and then turns to bury his face in her shoulder. His arms going tight about her, pulling her into him as if she's the only rock of sanity in the whole place. "I dont see a way out." He mumbles into her shoulder. "How am I supposed to take it all back without support?"

Imogen smiles softly as he pulls her close and just wraps her arms tight around him in return. She knows he's vulnerable right now, she knows he's weak, and so, like she's sworn to, she'll shelter and protect him until he's ready to face things. "You have three thousand men dovi, you have me, you have Cervantes, I know you feel alone, but you're not," she murmurs

"Three thousand men." Ludovic says sullenly. "Led by men who all think i'm a naive child."

Imogen rolls her eyes and grins. "You're not the first leader no ones believed in, look at the betrayer, or hell, look at me. We've all led forces and we've all won, even though no one thought we could do it. So will you, and then you can tell anyone who's ever doubted you to shove it up their arse," she murmurs with a small smirk.

"When did anyone ever doubt the betrayer?" Ludovic asks petulantly. Theres a hint of a smile though when she makes that final part. "Would like to prove i didnt abandon nobody."

Imogen chuckles softly and grins, she doesn't answer his question about the betrayer, that's not what he should be focusing on, instead she stays to the bright side he mentions. "Then you can't give up, we'll go out there ourselves, lead the men, and show everyone we haven't abandoned our people," she murmurs gently.

"But." Ludovic complains. "We don't have enough men. We could fight for years and years and lose thousands of men and for what? A few scraps of land. What if I throw it all away chasing the east and lose Hellsmouth too?"

Imogen chuckles and just rolls her eyes more at that. "then don't be stupid and do that. I know you want your lands free but just take your time, seize opportunities, hell, let darius do most of the work then swoop in to claim the glory. There's plenty of ways to do this carefully that won't have you losing hellsmouth," she points out calmly

"Nothing I have enough men for." Ludovic repeats. "We needed at least three thousand more." He flattens his hand against her lower back. Probably a good sign that he's stopped raging. "Do you really think its worth it? Darius said nobody even wants to be part of Aequor anymore."

Imogen rolls her eyes and grins at that comment. "Really now? You honestly believe any of the shit Darius says? The fact is, if he gets kicked out of paras he has nowhere to put his army, he needs you to not even try because he needs that land and he knows he's pissed you off to much to be allowed to stay there if you're in control," she murmurs softly, relaxing a bit as she can feel dovi relaxing against her. "I'm pretty sure they're only vaguely aware their rulership has changed at all,"

"Probably told them that they were free to leave anytime they wanted." Ludovic says slowly. "Feel free to leave safety anytime you want. Thats no real freedom at all." He gives a huff of a sigh. "But. The Baron. He wasn't exactly a man of the people."

Imogen giggles softly and nods with a small 'told ya' smirk, though she doesn't rub it in right now for obvious reasons. "The baron was amidst qutanux territory for years, fighting it off by himself, frankly i'd be suprised if he was alive anymore," she points out with a shrug. "If the title is empty though, first thing we'll need to do it fill it when we get it back, we can"

Imogen giggles softly and nods with a small 'told ya' smirk, though she doesn't rub it in right now for obvious reasons. "The baron was amidst qutanux territory for years, fighting it off by himself, frankly i'd be suprised if he was alive anymore," she points out with a shrug. "If the title is empty though, first thing we'll need to do it fill it when we get it back, we can't run the entire county ourselves," she muses with a shrug.

Ludovic goes rather quiet at this information from her. "When the Qatunax attacked at the end of 1872" he says in a matter of fact way thats almost like he's not himself. Dreamlike almost. "Baron d'Mollari, Baron Rogers and Lord d'Melloni made the decision to negotiation with the Qatunax. They siezed the entire party, killed them, and used their blood to awaken Mount Tharsis. As the mountain covered the land with ash and smoke they fell upon the houses to the east and destroyed them almost to a man." He gives a slow blink and looks at her. "Thats the incident that I told you about that killed my wife and brother. There is no Baron d'Mollari. He died at the start. And Darius holds his holding. So there can't be a new one. Not unless you think I should offer it to the princeps."

Imogen laughs and shakes her head with a grin. "Oh hell no you're not giving that job to the princeps, but theres plenty of others who could hold the title, your niece for one. I know she's heir to the county right now, but you could have her take up the position of baroness just so we can say there's a leader for the place when we claim it back from Darius, then we can worry about finding a true ruler for the lands, or the county, whichever," she murmurs with a shrug.

"Maybe." Ludovic says slowly and almost reluctantly. He lets go of her and steps back, moving a little drunkenly until he's leaning against the nearby stone wall. "I didnt think..maybe we could."

Imogen follows him quietly and tilts her head as she keeps him from toppling over. "What's wrong dovi?"

Ludovic gives her a slight shake of his head. "Tired. Just tired."

Imogen sighs and takes his hand in her own with a small smile. "Then come to bed, these problems will still be here when you wake up," she murmurs gently

Ludovic accept her hand. "And I could eat a whole cow."

Imogen grins and winks playfully. "Fine, we can eat some food too," she agrees playfully

Ludovic cracks a little smile. "You are going to be the death of me Countess."

Imogen giggles softly and slings an arm around his shoulders. "You were warned, you still signed the document Viscount," she teases with a wink

Ludovic leans in to kiss her "You, my little minx, are like a hot bath on a cold day." His own arms go to wrap about her and then he walks them back into the room until she's pressed up against the desk. "Hard to believe you're really mine."

Imogen blinks a bit at the sudden change in tone, but she's not complaining either! "Well I am, i'm yours, i'm here to help you and ocassionally to even put up with your shenanigans," she teases playfully as she runs her hands down his chest and around his waist before nibbiling on his lips in return.

Ludovic's response to getting upset usually is rather along these lines. Rather than actually dealing it it is so much easier just to tip it into the pot and let the lust sweep it all away in that single moment of release. Healthy? Probably not. But it works for him. "Shenanigans?" He asks with a little smile. He's usually more playful than this when thinking about fun-times but then he's still feeling drained and a little upset. Even the movements of his hands as he allows himself to enjoy the feel of his wife are subdued and languid. "Who said anything about shenanigans? When did I ever do shenanigans?"

Imogen giggles and rolls her eyes, she's not pushing it, she's not expecting anything, because by now she probably has realised that's why he's doing it, and if this is what he needs to get it out of his system, then she's happy to oblige. "I mean, if causing earthquakes in the house isn't shenanigans, what is?" she asks with a playful arch of her brow as she tilts her head.

Ludovic winces, his hands going still. "An earthquake?"

Imogen bites her lip as she instantly regrets letting on what happened outside the room. "The ground was shaking a bit yeah, it wasn't that noticeable, but i know you," she murmurs reasurringly

"Alright." Ludovic says dubiously as he lets his attention sink back into Imogen. "I think this hurts worse than when my father died."

Imogen smiles weakly and rests her forehead against his own with a soft smile. "What hurts dovi?" she asks gently, she knows, but she's trying to get him to say it, for his own sake.

"The fact nobody is helping." Ludovic says. "I feel betrayed." A hestitation. "No. Not betrayed. The crown and aequor did just enough to fulfill their duties but not an ounce more. I fought a demon for them. I've sacrificed everything to hold the qatunax back. They dont respect me as a general but they wont send anyone better. They wont even send a token force from their own forces. Why should I care about them when they so obviously dont care about us?"

Imogen chuckles softly and nods with a small smile at that, of course she's not going to protest his logic, she doesn't exactly have any reason to be loyal to Aequor after all, she's only just become a member of the country. "You don't have to care about them, forget about the country as a whole, they don't care about you enough to do anything non obligatory. You could talk to Darius, see about an alliance and then focus on the qutanux and ignore Aequor as a whole. But you'd have to deal with darius, is that something you can manage?" she asks softly

"Just me and Hellsmouth." Ludovic lets his forehead drop to rest against hers. The tone of his voice and the fact he just gave up on sexy times both indications that he really did exhaust himself with that earthquake. "And you." He gives a small, tired, sigh. "I can deal with Darius. Just so long as he doesn't go out of his way to insult me again. We duelled.. it's all forgiven."

Imogen smiles softly and nods, she's quite content to let the sexy times go, it's dovi, there'll be plenty of other opportunities. "Then let's go to paras and talk with him, we all have a singular goal, the destruction of thw qutanux, surely even he can see that, and as weak as we are right now, we could still offer him alot of the help he would need," she agrees with a small smile.

Ludovic just sighs and lets his shoulders slump. "You know he's going to make us pay for this."

Imogen tilts her head and blinks. "Make us pay? Dovi he /needs/ this alliance. Of course he doesn't like us, but his empire is crumbling beneath the qutanux, if we don't help him he won't be a prince much longer," she points out

"But he still will." Ludovic says. "He's gonna make us pay because we asked him. What do you think all this has been about?" he sighs. "Coming here with a huge force and demanding my surrender, insulting me, making me look weak. Its all so I can't come to him equal."

Imogen laughs softly and shakes her head. "But you /didn't/ surrender, and we're not going to /ask/ him for anything. We'll offer an alliance between us, but if he says no, we walk, then we don't look weak and he's left without the support he needs, whereas we still have a fighting chance, with or without him,"

"We are weak though Imogen." Ludovic says. "We're not equals in this. He marched over just to introduce himself with more men than we can muster between us, Cervantes and I, and that cant even have been his whole force."

Imogen rolls her eyes at that and chuckles. "Or did he march his entire force over and /claim/ it was only part? Even so, do you really think he's got the resources to be feeding and housing those men so they don't desert? You're right, we're not equals, we have less forces but we're not struggling to provide them with the basic things they expect, whereas he can't be providing them enough with what little he might have access to in that barony,"

"That barony." Ludovic points out sullenly. "Is one of the most bountiful agricultural regions in the world."

Imogen looks at him eye to eye. "And are they not a free barony now? How would it look if Darius pronounces them a free people in court and then takes all their food?"

Ludovic gives a wry laugh. "I don't believe theres any such thing as a free people no more than I believe that my own people feel oppressed and victimised. I'd die for any damn one of them and they know it."

Imogen laughs softly and shakes her head. "And how long do you think the people will tolerate an imperial coming in and taking everything they have? Darius can camp their for now, but winthin a year i suspect the people will rebel against him hording their supplies and land,"

Ludovic rubs at his nose. "I dont know.." He says slowly. "If he's treating them how he says hes treating them and with the supplies that four corners are sending them and everything.. they might be ok.." He furrows his brows. "But I'd like to talk to them and let them know that i wouldnt overthrow their republic, or whatever it is they claim to have, just because I could. I'd raise the baron from amongst them if they really had it setup like he said."
Imogen nods softly and smiles. "Exactly, let's just go and talk, after we do that we can worry about our next move, but help isn't going to come from the country, so we might as well go to our natural enemies right?" she offers playfully

Ludovic gives a tiny little smile at that. "Wouldn't exactly call them natural enemies. They were trading partners for generations." He pushes back and away, rubbing his fingers through his hair as he seems much happier. "Think the chef will forgive me if I eat everything in the kitchen?"

Imogen laughs softly and grins as she moves away from the desk to follow him. "Well then, i think our chances for an alliance just increased," she remarks calmly as she falls into step beside him before grinning at his comment. "I think the chef would be flattered," she comments with a small smirk, still amazed she has someone to cook for her these days.

Ludovic says "You dont know the tyranny of the average castle chef."

Imogen laughs softly and grins. "Well then why don't you go show me?" she teases.

Ludovic steps out into the hallways, takes one look at the tumbled furniture, and turns to look at Imogen. "Nobody noticed huh?"

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