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[Ditto Armunn]

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*I stayed awake all night. I didn't want to take the chance that I might miss any part of Daerauko's visit. He sleeps peacefully now, in his bed. The sun is quickly coming, and in just a few hours I must again say goodbye to him.
There is so much in my life that feels wrong now. I should not be having to say any goodbyes to my son. I wish the three of us could forget this place of Sosaira. Leave it far behind and just live our lives together in the Young Kingdoms. Without war. Without so much danger.
Daer is beginning to awaken, and now I must get him ready for his trip back to my father.*

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Ditto slowly turned away from the ship. She had watched it sail towards the horizon, until it was just a blur on the water. The wind at her back tossed her white hair into her face, hiding her tear-stained face from her guardsman, Slash. She had tried to talk say her farewells to her son to make it seem as though he was going on a grand and fun adventure, and tears then would not have gone over very well.
Brushing her hair out of her eyes, and lifting her face up to the sky, she shook off the sadness and concentrated on matters at hand. She needed to keep busy. Get her mind off the sad things and work on the present and the future.
There was still the planning of the upcoming dinner-meeting to be done for Tarothin. And she still hadn't pinned down a timeframe with Lord Balbanes.


Later in the afternoon, arrangements to talk to Balbanes had been made and he'd agreed to meet her at the Garden. They sat at the large table in Poet's Garden. The lighting and his evil helm made it difficult to see his eyes, and he seemed to be in a fouler mood than usual. 'Well, it's just to be a quick talk to get a timeframe from em'. It shouldn't be too difficult', she thought to herself.
Ditto couldn't have been more wrong. A little while later and he had gotten into an argument with Slash, and had left in a huff before she could get her questions answered. Now what was she to do? Tarothin would be arriving home in a day and expected everything to be set so that he could get on with other business. She couldn't exactly go chasing off after him, and another matter needed her attention in Dark Cove.

Early evening saw her alone in Armunn Keep, trying to figure a way to speak with Balbanes about the dinner. A simple letter wouldn't do in case there were a few questions. So far, it was herself, Tarothin, Lord Balbanes, and an armed guard from AA. Ditto frowned. Armed guard....it was seeming to be more of a military conference than a friendly dinner. It hadn't even gotten started and already she could imagine the tenseness. Perhaps Tarothin wouldn't mind if she invited Silent Poet and Cat to come along. That would relax the mood a bit.
Her thoughts were interupted by a servant running despretly from down the hall towards her, out of breath. "My Lady, he just walked in. Should we alert the guards, or offer him wine?"
Confused, Ditto started for the hallway to see who her servant seemed so concerned about, and ran right into Lord Balbanes.
After straightening herself up, she nodded quickly to the servant with a smile, to let her know she would accept their guest. Balbanes and Ditto walked into the dining hall to talk. Apparently the Overlord had something urgent he wanted to tell her. A confession of sorts it seemed. Ditto leaned in, observantly and listened. Just as he was about to speak there was a knock on the door. Leaving to see who it was, Ditto made her way back out the dining room and into the hallway to see her guardsman, Sir Hummer. He was on patrol and stopped by to check on the house security. As Hummer made his way upstairs, Ditto ran into the dining room. If the DarkOrder found her with Balbanes, alone, without guards, there would be trouble for everyone. Upon entering the room however, Balbanes was no where to be found.

After a somewhat odd encounter with a town crier delivering the latest DarkCove news, Ditto decided she was in need of a drink to try to figure out the dilemma at hand, so she and Sir Hummer went to Poet's Garden. She still needed to figure someway of speaking to Lord Balbanes about the dinner, and there was also that mysterious confession of his that peaked her curiosity.
A shadow appeared over the table and she looked up to see the Overlord himself, asking if he could join her at the table. It seemed as though pleasantries had not even been exchanged when an argument broke out between Lord Balbanes and Sir Hummer.
Having lost all patience at so much unpleasantness, yelling, tables being knocked over, and threats, Ditto left them both.

Alone in a patch of her favorite woods, the Lady Armunn paced back and forth, barefoot on the grass. She was calming down and began to reason things out to a degree. She had business with Balbanes. He was too impossible to speak with around guards. He too had needed to speak with her. She had agreed to the new guard order Tarothin had put in place, but.....she hadn't promised him anything. Slinging her hands up into the air and chanting the magical words, Ditto left the forest.

The Overlord's home was dark and cold when she entered. Her way inside, was as he'd once told her it would be....unbarred to her. Checking about the house, only one room was left where he might be, and so she went. She knocked on the door. After at first mistaking her for someone else, Lord Balbanes welcomed her inside the room. There was some discomfort that his dining area also served as his bedchamber, so, after being seated, Ditto got straight to the point. The dinner party arrangements. All of her questions were ansered in no time and she was left with a feeling that if only Tarothin could speak with him like she was now, then they all might have a very fine and trusted friend. The dinner meeting offered her a glimmer of hope for the future.
After they were done discussing the dinner, Balbanes immediatly began to speak upon an entirely different subject. The way he felt about her.
His words to her were kind and sweet. A very charming and romantic man when he wanted to be. She honestly liked him and found him incredibly attractive. But, she didn't love him. She loved her husband, plain and simple. A certain sadness settled over her. She felt as though Balbanes was a wonderful friend, but this cnfession could change it all. She didn't want to lose the friendship they shared, But she also didn't want to be responcible for causing him pain. Her head dropped down to absent-mindedly star at the table and for a moment, contemplated a confession of her own. A tremendous ammount of guilt surrounded her like a tight, suffocating blanket. She wanted to warn him....to tell him....
Ditto left his home that night and went to her own. She'd had kept silent and now the guilt of that silence began eating away at her. If only Tarothin were home. She could lose herself in his eyes and in his smile. Should she tell her love of Balbane's feelings? No. It would only serve to cause even more tension. Ofcourse, she would keep nothing from him if he were to only ask, but there was no need for the subject to even come up, and she certainly wasn't about to bring it up. No. The best thing now, would be to just concentrate on Tarothin's arrival home, and then the dinner, and she could only hope that Taro had had a change of heart.
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The Dark Lady, Ditto Armunn, D|O -(hawk# 232286048 )
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Quote: "Oh Great! First I get stabbed and now I'm bleeding!" - Ditto
[quote="Tarothin Armunn"]I know and I have mood swings like a pregnant woman at times. :/ I'm very random.[/quote]