| Accidental Allies |
| Summary: | Imogen heads to the Sokar Manse for a quick checkup with her midwife Lianna, instead she finds herself making an unexpected friendship with the Sokar heir himself. |
| Date: | 07/20/2018 |
| Related: | [http://eternalcrusade.wikidot.com/log:1874-07-17-rhone-updates |
| NPCs: | None |
| Players: |
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| Four Corners - Grand Canal - Sokar Manor - Grand Hall |
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The heavy doors that frame the main entrance creak inward to a large central hall, the floors composed of smooth stone that is polished by the passage of time and softened by rugs in pleasing colors. There are fine touches of style and a hint of subtle grace conveyed through the detailed woodwork that edges the windows and door frames. The main foyer is a deep chamber within which sounds echo a bit unexpectedly at times, the walls themselves are white washed above the dark wood paneling, the pale expanse of walls serving as a broad palate upon which the artwork of various artists is displayed. Portraits, landscapes, tapestries and banners are arranged to catch the light cast through the windows or flickering light of torches and candles. Two hallways lead to the east and west from the central hall with a broad staircase leading upward to the second floor. The kitchens are accessed by a short hallway immediately north of the front entrance, a generous expanse of space from which the most delightful of aromas drift during meal times. The hallway to the west leads to the main dining room, heavy wooden doors leading inward,candlelight drips from from chandeliers that cast the formal dining room in rainbow hues of light. A single long table graces this room, chairs arranged along the length of the table that is draped with a long linen cloth. The polished floor gleams in the light and provides ample space for dancing and entertaining the guests of the house. A pair of glass paned doors open from the dining room to the veranda and the gardens found on the western side of the house. A formal parlor, adjacent to the dining room, beckons guests to linger in the warmer weather, a fine breeze drifting through the tall windows, a large fireplace also stands ready to warm the room during the depths of winter. The eastern hallway leads to the library and the day salon. The library offers a modest selection of books and has several heavy wooden chairs arranged beside tables, a handful of sofas and a pair of arm chairs arranged before the fireplace. The day salon is a sunlit room that is decorated with a selection of tables and chairs, chaise lounges and sofas. One corner of the salon, nearest the windows, is given over to a piano kept perfectly in tune year after year. |
| 1874-07-20 |
It's been a rough day or two since Imogen has, in her mind, 'woken up'. Days, maybe even a week occurred without her making any conscious decisions, and they alienated alot of the people she cared about. Safe to say that's a lot of stress for young shoulders to handle, and she's not only young but pregnant! So off to the Sokar Manse she went, mere hours before she was supposed to catch an Airship to Chevaise, to go visit her midwife and friend, Lianna, cousin to the main sokar family, and thus a resident in the grandiose ducal manse in four corners.
It was easy enough getting inside with her reasonings, her coat was left at the door and a servant sped off to find the currently unfindable healer while Imogen herself settled down in the sitting room, very much out of her element and likely wanting to get this appointment done with and over ASAP.
It would seem there are someone present in Four Corners that seldom tends to be visiting the city. Not too long after the guest has settled herself down in the sitting room, Sir Jarret Sokar enters, speaking with one of the guardsmen. "What do you mean, you can't find him? I got the word he was needing to speak with me, and so I took the trip here, and now he's gone? FIND HIM!" The last two words spoken a bit forcefully, sending the other man almost running back out to do as instructed. The Sokar Heir looks around the room, blinking for a few time as he spots Imogen. He watches her in quiet for a few seconds, before offering a smile and a polite nod. "My lady… wait… you have one of the lovely titles now, don't you?" There's a few brief moments longer, before he grimaces momentarily. "Err… Please forgive me for the lapse in etiquette. I just got to the city…" Another brief pause, before he adds, "What are you doing here?" Sounding a bit curious, the words come out a bit softly.
Imogen nearly jumps out of her seat at the sudden increase of volume between master and servant, but she tries to keep her head down and go unnoticed. Alas, that doesn't work out, because jarret, unsurprisingly, notices the awkward muscly lump that is Imogen in his drawing room! She rises to meet him and offers him an awkward little curtsey before sitting back down, don't worry Jarret, if you haven't figured it out yet, you're in good company for being awkward!
"Countess, I married Ludovic d'Korbina earlier this month my lord," she clarifies softly, even as referring to him quiet visibly darkens her expression, she tries to move on for the sake of the poor Sokar heir. "I came to see your cousin, she usually stays in the manse," she explains, hoping to leave off the fact she's been pregnant four months and only married for about a month of it.
"Ah yes…" It's said after a few moments of pause, before Jarret adds, "I think both my sister and my cousins were in attendance. I must apologize for not being able to go myself." He pauses, before he offers her another brief smile. "I would say congratulations, but judging by your expression, I'm not entirely sure it's the right thing to say?" He moves over to find a seat near where she's seated, nodding a little bit. "I see. Like I said, I have just arrived in the city, so I'm not entirely sure where any of my cousins are, or what trouble they are causing." That last part is offered a bit lightly, before he seems to remember something. "Wait… you sent a note, didn't you About… that creature…" He doesn't mention Teleko by name, as he studies her a bit carefully, looking a bit concerned.
Imogen chuckles softly and smiles with a shake of her head. "While I was glad your cousin made it, that your sister took the trouble to come all this way for the wedding of a couple she didn't know flattered us, truly, you needn't feel bad for not attending yourself. I've run both a village, and now a county, I understand how busy that can be," she remarks with a rueful little smile, likely of more pleasant days, since the dark expression lifts somewhat. "Oh don't mind me, husbands and wives have their problems, I still love my husband," she offers with dismissive ruefulness when he notes the change in her expression upon bringing up Dovi. "It is simply our job to forever stress and aggravate each other, until one of us finds ourselves in the grave, and if your wife is not doing her duty in that, then I am both jealous and sorry for you," she teases good-naturedly, as she seems to realise the ducal heir is much less scary than her own duchess.
But all that mirth and good nature disappears as Jarret brings up Teleko, how can it not, when she knows just what that man did to her and her husband? She tries to be polite, but if Jarret's even mildly observant he can see how the young countess huddles into herself upon reference to the man. "Yes, he attacked my husband and I shortly after the wedding, Dovi lost an eye and…..well, after that he asked me to send that note to a list of people, you were one of them, he said the list was of the people who last fought the monster,"
"Ah, yes. She does, although I'm afraid she might have gotten the worst part of that. I mean, someof us men can be very hard to deal with," he offers, before he pauses again as he hears the last part. Watching how she huddles into herself, he winces a bit. "I'm so sorry… What happened?" It's asked a bit quietly, one hand almost instinctively reaches out to her shoulder, if she lets him.
Imogen is stiff at first, it's not unperceptive, but it's very clear that this is a girl who is only touched occasionally, and that while Jarret touching her is not unwelcome, it is unfamiliar. "I don't know, what happened that night defies description. Teleko just calmly looked me in the eyes and told me to scream. I refused at first, but then there were these….appendages that came from him and went into my eyes, i could barely think but for the blinding pain. Dovi tried to save me, first Teleko just….grabbed his fucking warhammer, and then when Dovi kept fighting, he /backhanded/ him with the spike, in the eye," she states in the quiet, hushed little voice of a child reciting the description of the monster under their bed.
Jarret winces again as he hears her description of what happened, the hand stays where it is for now, in an attempt to offer some kind of gentle comfort. "While I know I can't understand what it must feel like, that pain, I can at least say I know how the helplessness of watching creatures of evil doing things with people you care about feels…" It's offered very quietly. "Is your husband in the city as well?"
Imogen laughs bitterly when he asks about her husband, it's a hopeless, utterly hollow, and brokenlaugh. It would almost sound insane if not for the tears that hint to utter broken sorrow as opposed to insanity. "No, my husband and I are at odds, I came here to hide from him. The fact is, those tentacles didn't just cause pain, they, they left something, something that took over. That night I fell asleep in my husbands arms crying, and two days ago I awoke in our Four Corners Manse, with memories of actions I would never take, and yet I did, to both my liege and my husband," she continues in that same quiet, scared tone. Though now there is far more emotion brought into it.
That reaction, and the words, is not what Jarret would have expected. "That is…" He trails off,trying to figure out the right words, before he goes silent again for a long while. "I'm so sorry…" A brief pause, before he adds, "What kind of actions?" It's asked quietly, as he offers her an encouraging smile. While he doesn't know what the actions are, and that they might be hard to talk about, he knows much about how bad it is to keep things inside, letting it consume you.
Imogen chuckles weakly and bites her lip as she fumbles some letters out of her pocket and hands them to Jarret. "I got these in reply to letters I sent, what I said well deserved the tongue lashings. As well, I told my husband he forced me into our marriage, I vowed I would never let him see our child, and I locked myself away in the four corners manse," she explains quietly
Jarret takes the offered letters, frowning as he reads through them. His eyes narrow briefly, before he lets out a bit of a breath. He keeps silent for a little while longer, looking from the letters, to her and then back again. There's a pause as he lets out another breath, before he looks to her. "This is what… that creature made you do, isn't it?" It's said a bit quietly, before he adds, "I have seen how other… creatures I didn't think existed just a few years ago, how they affect people." There's a brief pause, before he adds, "First during the sealing of Rikton, when one of those vampires attacked Myrana d'Armaz, and then again…" He looks around a bit carefully, to see if there's anyone else present in the room. "Then again more recently…" There's a brief pause as he looks to the letters again, before he adds, "It looks bad, and I know the world probably looks quite hopeless right now, but I'm sure this is not irreversible." A brief sigh, before he adds, "I think you will have to apologize top them both, though."
Imogen looks up at him with something between stubborn determination and brokenness. "Apologize? For actions that were not mine? Even as my husband /saw/ the creature attack me!?" she demands tearfully."If I apologize, am I not just…taking responsibility for what that creature did, even though it's no fault of my own?" she asks more quietly, more brokenly at the prospect of having to own up for actions she had no part in making.
"It is not that I do not want to apologize, especially to Dovi, he is my husband and I owe him respect and love….not hateful words," she begins quietly once more. "But if I apologize then the creatures actions become mine, I am no longer a victim, but a perpetrator, my husband could have us divorced and the archduchess sent back to Galenthia, and my only crime is not /abandoning/ my husband when the vampire attacked," she protests weakly. "I want to stay with him, I want to be with him, even if he meant what he said, even if he only married me for the child, if this is all one great duty, maybe i can still make it up to him," she's broken down completely now, not sobbing, but tears are running down her face freely as she speaks and her face has sunken into her hands.
Wincing again as he sees that reaction, Jarret lets out a bit of a sigh. "Maybe apologize isn't the precise word," he offers, after a few moments of pause. "I did not mean you should take responsibility for the creature's actions." He tries to gather his thoughts a bit better, before he gets to his feet and moves over to get hold of something. Returning, he sits down next to her, offering the thing he went to get, which turns out to be a handkerchief. "I think… I think what I mean is that you need to explain, without lashing out in defense. I know it's very hard, but there are times when doing so just causes more problems." He goes silent again for a few moments, before he speaks a bit more quietly. "I know I believe your actions were not your own. As for your husband… in a few ways, I can understand him as well. Losing a part of your body takes a lot to get used to… And I only suffered this, I can not imagine how it must be to suffer from the loss of an eye." As he speaks, he holds up his right hand, the one with the missing finger. "And your husband is a man with a temper, from what I know of him. Not different from myself when it comes to that."
Imogen is already embarrassed about the fact she's crying, a fact made more obvious when she quickly wipes her face with the handkerchief and tries not to cry anymore, and her face seems more red with embarrassment than red with grief or anger. "But what if they don't believe me, what if they think I'm just trying to blame convenient circumstances?" she asks unsurely, and it seems they've gotten to the root of why, even herself again she has not left four corners.
"A while back…" Another look around from Jarret to check that they are alone in the room. "Me, and three of my cousins found ourselves trapped in a burning building, fighting a very strong enemy…" He grimaces a bit at the memory, before he lets out a breath. "I knew we had to beat that creature to get ourselves, and the others trapped in there with us, out before it was too late. For some reason, I found a bit of comfort in knowing there was nothing else I could do than fight on, even if it might lead to painful death." He pauses a little, as he seems to realize that comparing this to that would need a bit of an explanation. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that there comes a time, every now and then, where things might go very bad, but all you can do is one thing. It's not certain that the thing works, but all you can do is try." There's a brief pause, before he adds, "But if you want, I can write to them both about this meeting, and how bad I know you are feeling about this whole thing. I'm not sure if it helps, but I'm willing to try if you want me to."
Imogen looks up a bit uncertainly at Jarret's offer, it's pretty obvious people doing things for her isn't really uncommon, because she seems rather confused. "I, would never /ask/ you to get involved in my personal squabbles and yet….I find myself backed into a corner, if you, someone who has dealt with Teleko, would tell them you believe my story, it might help things," she agrees, but notably, she never totally tells him to do it, likely wanting to leave the decision up to him.
"I've recently taken charge of a local courtesan and her younger siblings, Teleko saw her father murdered and home destroyed. She's scared, so i'm bringing her back to chevaise with me," she explains, and if Jarret knows his geography, he'll know chevaise is the d'korbina horse holding, where their warhorses are born and raised. "Once i'm settled in…..then i'll talk to them i guess."
Jarret offers her a bit of a smile. "I will do so," he replies, pausing as he watches her expression. "The mind is a lonely place, belive me, I know." There's a pause as he hears the mention of the courtesan and her younger siblings. "Susanna?" he asks, after a few moments, expression a bit unreadable.
Imogen nods a bit as he seems to recognise the name. "Yeah, Susanna, she was the first to talk to me, pulled me back from a really dark place," she admits quietly, and though her expression is grateful for his offer, she seems so reluctant to say anything, as if afraid to accidentally influence him.
"I must admit I partially blame myself for what happened to her home and family…" Jarret replies, quietly, his own expression a bit distant now. "I should have… We should have been able to defend them…" He goes quiet again for a few moments, before he places a hand on her shoulder, attempting to look into her eyes, if she lets him. "Promise… Promise you will take good care of them. And if they need the help, let me know at once, okay?"
Imogen smiles softly and takes Jarret's hand in her own, perhaps a bold move, but she has clearly grown comfortable with the sokar heir, and it is only done in a companionable way. "you are no more responsible for her lands destruction, than i am for not abandoning my husband to grab my lightsilver sword," she states gently with a soft chuckle. "as for them, I gave them each a crown to buy clothes, the two younger girls will have tutors and their own rooms in my manor. Susanna insists on working for their keep, but i'll try and give her work that develops useful skills at least," she offers with a small grin.
Jarret sighs, "It just feels that if I had tried dealing with Teleko one of the first times I had the chance, it might have caused him to show who he truly was back then, and we would not have had the war. But I see your point." There's a look to her hand in his, and he offers her a small smile. "Thank you, for giving them the chance they deserve. And for some people, working for their keep is an important part of who they are."
Imogen chuckles softly and grins with a nod. "Oh i know! I was my husband's consort before I was his wife, and even then I never let him give me a crown until I was sworn into his service as a knight, so I can understand where she's coming from. But unlike me, she's barely had any education, and i'd like to see that remedied. I know our social order relies on some unfair tactics, but I'll defy the order itself for these three commoners," she teases with a grin, letting his hand go when the serious moment passes, so as not to imply anything.
Jarret nods a bit as he hears that, offering her a smile. "You'll have to make sure that she keeps in touch with me as well," he offers, with a smile.
Imogen chuckles softly and smiles with a nod. "Of course Lord Sokar, I wouldn't dare have it any other way," she murmurs in reply.