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[Ariana Lenoir]

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The evening had started out so normal, but as fate usually dictates, normal was not to stay in fashion for her that evening. She had gone to one of the local taverns to mingle with folks and catch up on the news from the locals. It had started out pleasantly enough as the faces of Sia and Yia greeted her with the bright exuberance of their impending motherhood. She always enjoyed seeing them and their growing belly that swelled with the health of her unborn godsons. Afterwards, she smiled as she scanned the faces of the other patrons, lightly pausing on Ronin and a beautiful female drow. She watched as Ronin's hands rested upon the woman's. Ariana's eyebrow had arched slightly as she if unable to contain her puzzlement over the scene. Ariana didn't know whom she was and as her mind mulled over it, a loud announcement rng out that there was to be an auction.

Ariana was intrigued. The young man to be auctioned was Shalcross. She recalled that name all too well and Ariana had felt a tiny spark of inner mischief at the memory of how much he had seemed to dislike her at their last encounter.

"How amusin' it would be if he had t'tolerate my company f'an entire evenin'. It would 'ave served 'im right if'n he had t'do that considerin' his attitude last we met, " she murmured softly to herself.

After she had won the auction, Shalcross suddenly began to backpedal and soon had sought his escape from the tavern. Ariana wasn't sure if some mannerism had given away her ill remembrance of him, but was convinced partially that it was the case that caused him to flee so hastily. The gold was refunded with a private apology by the auctioneer and the evening carried on. The gentleman as if he sought to recoup the loss, tried to find another man who would step up. Lord Ronin after only slight coaxing by the man, finally agreed. Ariana had been shocked and appalled at this, although she kept it carefully hidden under her traditional pleasant demeanor.

"He's a Prince. Royalty. They simply aren't made t'be purchased like some common slave. What the hell is he doin'?" she thought to herself as she watched as Ronin stepped into the circle. "He's being paraded around like a cow at a meat auction. He's nay actin' like the Prince he ought t'be. I cannae allow 'im t'insult 'imself like this."

Fifteen million gold pieces and a rather heated bidding war with the female drow and she succeeded. She fetched the checks and turned them over to the auctioneer with a polite nod, trying to keep control of the anger that bubbled.

Ronin approached and stood next to her, completely oblivious to the situation and the firestorm seething inside her. She continued to smile politely as she curled her finger at him trying to coax him to lean close to her. She had silently chanted her meditation mantras for control, and it took every bit of her willpower to keep her composure. He smirked, appearing to take her curling finger as a sign she wanted him really close and came and sat down on the stool. Ariana turned to him, using her body position to help disguise her actions. She reached out, grabbing the front of his doublet and pulling him firmly against her, positioning his ear next to her lips. She had kept her face pleasant and composed, but the sharp harshness of her tone betrayed the anger that seethed inside her. She didn't care if the other tavern patrons thought seedy or immoral things about the closeness of their bodies. If anything, Ariana surmised that such talk might aid in the dismissal of the entire auction incident as nothing out of the ordinary.

She had whispered harshly into his ear, "Donnae' ever do this again. Yer a Prince, nay some piece of frakin' meat t'be bid on. A Prince should ne'er be bought f'any reason." She felt his body tense slightly under her unexpected criticism. She kept her face completely pleasant and warm, a facade to the verbal scolding she was laying upon him.

He stammered a moment and then tried to distract her, "I thought I'd go for more than fifteen million. "

"Ye should ne'er 'ave been placed in a position t'be bought in the first place. It was stupid an' reckless on yer part, " she hissed harshly into his ear.

"It was for a good cause... , " he retorted, his body tense at the unexpected harshness of her tone.

"I donnae care if'n it was t'frakin raise money t'smuggle orphans out o' a wench house. Yer a frakin' Prince an' ye need t'start actin' like it, " she snapped and then pulled away and looked up at his face. With a smile as sweet as candy, she patted him on the chest and then smoothed the wrinkles out of his doublet with her hand. She kept her voice to a whisper as she said, "Now get off my frakin' stool like some goddamn lapdog an' stand next t'me like the Prince ye are."

Ronin stood slowly, moving to an empty stool next to her and sat down. His face was sullen as he looked around the tavern with a slightly sour expression. Ariana looked up as Shane approached, his strides full of his boundless energy. He tried to speak to Ronin, to which Ronin didn't respond immediately. Ariana smiled pleasantly at him as she leaned forward. Her lowered voice back to her normal sweet tone, "Ronin cannae talk right now. He's havin' a time out." Shane's face contorted with a brief puzzled expression before bounding off across the tavern.

Ariana and Ronin sat quietly for a long time, only the occasional harsh whispers interrupting their silence as each leaned back and forth to the other to continue the argument. At one point, Ariana excused herself briefly and told him to stay there. When she came back, he was as she left him although the gloom on his previously sullen face had diminished. She eyed him suspiciously, but let the matter drop.

As the evening continued, the tavern patrons thinned out and the tavern became much quieter. Only a few small groups bantered back and forth. At one point, Shane came up and pelted Ronin with a lump of sticky rice. Ariana leaned over to whisper for Ronin to beat the hell out of him for that, but to her surprise he stood up and handled it. Although it lacked the ass beating Ariana would have encouraged, he did at least make his point.

Shortly thereafter, Ariana told Ronin it was time to go. She had paused at the door, whispering that he could say his goodbyes if he wished. He paused, murmuring to Kal'iksix in quiet conversation. His face was tinged with annoyance and almost an underlying anger as he glanced over in Ariana's direction briefly. Ariana stood quietly, patient as the stars as she waited for him. Eventually, he turned and moved to follow her as she went outside. Opening up a runebook, she conjured a portal to the Blood Spire and gestured him through.

They walked in silence towards the Cappadocian Manor. Ariana taking the lead and Ronin stalking behind her as he trailed reluctantly. She shook her head slightly to clear her mind of the uneasiness she felt as if she could feel his hard stare focused on the back of her head as they walked. She could see the tall rooftop of the Manor peeking through the treetops and she quickened her pace slightly. His heavy footsteps quickened behind her immediately, almost as a wolf in intense pursuit of his prey. She silently chanted her mediation mantras, attempting to calm herself and not give into the urge to run. She was playing a very real game of cat and mouse and she definitely wasn't the cat here. She kept her physical composure, quickly moving up the steps to Ronin's office.

Once inside, she turned to face him as he stalked towards her purposefully, stopping abruptly in front of her. She took a quick breath, raised her hand and tried to slap him across the face. Faster than she could even see, his hand lifted and grabbed her wrist, stopping it before it reached his face. His eyes narrowed as he said in a low tone, "Very few would have lived for trying that." His voice was low and strong, the predator side of his nature beginning to come out now that they were alone.

Ariana winced slightly as she felt his hand flex, tightening his grip on her wrist. She looked up at his face, his calm and steady demeanor was gone. In it's place stood the beginnings of the predator he really was, a brewing rage and haughtiness drunk with his power over her. She studied his eyes, her pale blue eyes trying to gauge how dangerous he was in that exact moment. For the first time that evening, she fully realized just how lethal the path she walked. Her actions and words had to be precise and exact, if she pushed him too far or misspoke, he would kill her where she stood. She debated for a brief moment of running, but held fast to her plan. If he killed her tonight, than she deserved it. They were in a mental battle and this was her special arena. Physically she was weak and insignificant and she knew if he tried to kill her she would have absolutely no chance of survival. She had to get him to see the harsh reality of the situation he had gotten himself into. Failure to do so would bring her quick and permanent death.

She had to catch him off guard, divert his mind from its current seething desire to crush her and bring her to her knees. Her mind worked quickly and she gritted her teeth against the pain in her wrist. Attempting to give him the impression of her own strength as she silently challenged him by looking directly into his eyes as she spoke, "So do ye love 'er?"

He released her wrist abruptly as if taken aback by her question, "What?"

She pushed the topic, trying to continue her advance now that she felt she had shoved him off a mental cliff of uncertainty, "I asked if'n ye love 'er because ye are goin' t'get 'er killed with yer attentions." He looked at her, the rage the subsiding slightly in his eyes as she continued, "If'n ye do ye need t'handle it another way because they way ye are precedin' with it is goin' t'get 'er killed. If'n ye jus' want t'frak 'er than do so if'n ye are still ablet', but if'n ye are lookin' f'love yer goin' about it all wrong."

He glared at her a moment as if uncomfortable with the topic. His hesitation coupled with unspoken irritation at the realization she had just turned the tables on him and once more had him on the defense in their game. He scoffed, intently watching her eyes for her reaction, "Love... . She's a leader in the alliance. I try to stay on good terms with all of them."

She continued, trying to press the advantage and distract him from his previous unspoken desire to kill her, "I wasn't aware ye held the hands o' all the leaders as ye did 'ers. If'n ye feel somethin' more f'er there are ways f'us to make that happen without ye gettin' 'er killed in the process. Yer enemies are everywhere, ye need t'remember that. Nay all o' them are goin' t'attack ye so directly with a physical assault. "

He looked at her a moment, his own sharp mind attempting to think of a way to regain the control of the conversation. She took full advantage of his delay and continued to push the point, "If'n I wanted t'hurt ye, she'd be dead. Nay all yer enemies are gonna plot the same path ye'd take. They will see 'er as yer weakness an' use it against ye."

He grinned slightly, countering, "If she is killed, than she is weak and wasn't worthy of me. Love is a game for mortals, not us."

Ariana nodded, seeming to shrug off the cold logic of his statement, "Agreed. " She continued to study his blue eyes, searching them as if trying to read his emotions. "Ye were a fool t'night. Ye put yerself an' yer clan in danger by allowin' yerself t'be bought at the auction like a piece o' meat. What if someone else had won ye t'night?"

He kept his steady gaze fixated on her eyes. His lack of bodily functions removing even the need to break his stare with a single blink, "If some other cow had bought me than they would probably be already dead." He grinned slightly, his fangs glinting faintly in the light of his office with the veiled threat and insult to her.

She raised her voice an octave, "Ye should ne'er 'ave allowed a cow t'buy ye in the first place. Yer a frakin' Prince an' this sort o' behavior does nay become ye. Ye -are- a Prince, no one should own ye. Ye allowed this... cow...." she smirked very slightly with the derogatory term of herself, "... to buy ye. What does that say 'bout ye than that ye would allow such a thing t'happen? This is nay the order o' things. Ye are surrounded by predators an' such mistakes are goin' t'get ye killed. Predators prey on the weak. If'n ye act as such they are goin' t'jump on ye like a pack o' dogs."

His eyes narrowed in silent warning, "They would never do such a thing."

"Then ye donnae know them well enough. Ye act like a frakin' cow an' they are gonna take full advantage an' 'ave ye put down. Ye aren't the first Prince t'rule the clan I'm sure. What happened t'the one before ye?" she said, raising her voice another octave, attempting to once again drive his anger to the surface.

His eyes intensified slightly at the mention of Marius. He kept his tone steady, but there was a coldness to it as if she had struck a nerve, "He went to sleep. He grew tired of ruling and passed his throne to me."

Ariana studied his eyes for a brief second, her training allowing to catch the faint signal that others might have missed, "Princes do nay simply give up their power so easily." His whole body tensed, his hands flexing deliberately at his side. She took a breath and continued to push, "Why donnae ye jus' go down and drag 'is corpse up 'ere so I can berate 'im t' f'being weak as well."

Time seemed to slow for an a brief moment and Ronin's body began to tighten as he spoke through gritted teeth attempting to control his rage, "Watch yer tongue. little one." His fangs were fully extended as he towered over her diminutive form, the whites of his eyes darkening.

Her heart was racing, pounding in her chest although she barely maintained her appearance of strength as she pushed the fear down. It was as if an invisible big red button hung between them that read "Danger. Pushing this button will cause your immediate death", complete with flashing bright lights and neon arrows pointing at it. She took a breath, stood on her tip-toes to get in his face and pushed that invisible button, "If he gave up 'is throne so readily than he was weak and ne'er deserved t'be the Prince an' ye are followin' in his footsteps."

That did it.

Ronin's rage bubbled over, coming to the surface as his eyes turned so dark a red that they appeared almost black in the low light of the room. "Fine! You want to know what happened to him?" he said as she started to back away, her facade of bravery faltering as he pursued her purposely, still yelling. "He put all of us in danger with his incompetent decisions. He was not fit to lead this clan. He was weak so I killed him and took his place." He continued to pursue her, his body shifting fully into the stalk of a true predator. He was both terrifying and beautiful the way a panther was right before it ripped your throat out. He shouted at her as the rage peaked, "Now you tell me why you shouldn't die for knowing that?"

Ariana mustered her last ounce of bravado and planted her feet on the floor. She stared up into those deadly eyes, leaned herself to meet him, as if it were a last act of defiance. Her face turning a dark rose with the exertion as she yelled with all the volume she could muster. "Because I jus' saved yer frakin' life. He was weak an' ye killed 'im f'it. If ye continue t'act weak, someone will do the same t'ye. Ye need t'frakin' learn that!"

His hand pulled back as he growled as he advanced the last couple feet. His sharp fangs and nails glinting their intentions to rip her throat out and bathe in her blood. She cringed outwardly, squeezing her eyes tightly as she waited for the strike to fall upon her and her young life to be squelched out of existence. Seconds passed and time seemed to stand still as she waited for her execution at the hand of the one she was trying so desperately to save.

It never fell upon her.

A minute passed and then she heard Ronin's footsteps move past her and the quiet creak of the chair as he sat down at his desk. His voice broke the deafening silence of the tension between them, "You're probably right." She slowly opened her eyes, her heart pounding hard in her chest. Cautiously, she turned around, her pale blue eyes carefully appraising his posture and body as she tried to read him. He was looking at his desk, the rage slowly leaving his eyes as they returned once more to their brilliant blue. She moved cautiously, the adrenaline still coursing through her veins as she approached him. She slowly and deliberately kneeled next to him, her mannerisms silently acknowledging his status and reassuring him. His eyes showed a coldness and emptiness as he sat still in quiet contemplation. She reached out and laid her hand lightly on his leg. He just gave a slight nod and repeated, "You're probably right."

The night passed as they quietly spoke at some length on several matters. At one point when she judged it safe, she stood and carefully hopped up on the edge of his desk, her legs nestled to one side. She listened as he shared with her his own inner thoughts and she gently advised as he listened in kind.

After awhile, she gave a gentle nod as she silently judged the best thing now would be some time alone so he could sort this all out. She extended her hand with her palm down and waited with a quiet expectation. He looked at her hand and then up into her eyes for a long moment. He gently took her hand in his own and helped her down from her precarious seat on his desk. She dropped into a formal curtsie, lowering herself respectfully before him as her hand stayed lightly upon his.

As she slid her hand from his and raised herself once again, he said softly, "I hope that we will have a chance to talk more soon. "

"Whenever ye wish, Yer Majesty, " she said softly. She turned and walked out of the office as his eyes watched her leave in quiet contemplation.
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