Topic: Known, Unknown

Luciana

Date: 2010-02-18 17:48 EST
((Scene posted with permission.))

Looking at your own back in a mirror is not the easiest thing in the world to do, especially when said back is sore. Luciana twisted this way and that, trying to get a decent look at her healing back, heedless of her naked upper half. Sharenne kept hiding clothes from her, insisting that she not wear anything, and today was the first time she had been allowed anything to wear, even if it was a rather loose toga-like affair in admittedly the softest cloth she'd ever felt. Still, she felt ....unsettled, being kept naked in the house of the man to whom she belonged now, whether either of them truly wished it or not.

"See, you'll be right as rain very soon." Sharenne walked into the room and held out a golden belt for Luciana. "This might go well with that sheet that you're wearing." Her smile was as broad and sunny as a new morning. "The Mister has been gone for a few days, but he said he'd be back today."

Luci smiled at Sharenne. She'd become quite attached to the chatty, bubbly girl in the last couple of days. "I wouldn't have to wear a sheet if you'd given me clothes," she pointed out with a playful laugh, pulling the sheet in question up over her torso and securing it with the belt Sharenne gave her. "Is my back truly healing well" It does not hurt so very much except when I move awkwardly now."

"Clothes are for when the scabs heal." She gave a cheerful smile and wandered over to the dresser. A silver mirror was snatched up and she brought it over to Luciana. "Here, look for yourself." She adjusted the mirror behind Luciana so that she could see that the scabs had almost healed and all that were left were bright pink lines criss crossed across her back. The scars from before were already gone. "See?"

She couldn't quite believe it, her jaw dropping open with a happy gasp of amazement. "How -" Sharenne, you are a gift from the gods!" Luci leapt up and hugged the girl, laughing happily. "I never thought I would ever be free of the marks my father left on me!"

She hugged Luciana tightly and then leaned back, stepping away. "Gift from m'mum, not the Gods." She giggled and brought her hands to her mouth. "M'mum's a white witch, and taught me a lot. But I'm still learning. And Mister is going to be so pleased. He really cares so much for you."

At this mention of the master of the little house, Luci's smile faded, and she released Sharenne, turning away in an attempt to prevent the girl from seeing her confused apprehension. Even after their talks on the subject of love - Sharenne talked, Luci listened - she was still uncertain of herself, and had hoped to put off even glimpsing Cesare for several more days yet.

As Luciana turned away, Sharenne's smile faded into a look of concern. "What is it?" She gently lay her hand upon Luciana's shoulder. "You're still not doubting Mister's intentions, are you?" Her mouth bowed into a slight frown. "I wouldn't lie to you about such things, dear. He does care, very much."

She glanced over at Sharenne with a half-decent attempt at a reassuring smile. "It is myself I doubt, Sharenne," she assured her new friend, patting the hand on her shoulder gently. "Since my mother's death, I've known nothing of love, and even less of what I am expected to be in my heart to a husband. I will not be a favourable addition to his household, I am sure of it."

"There, there." She smiled again, just as bright and cheerful as ever. "Do what your heart tells you to do," she urged with a gentle squeeze to Luciana's shoulder. "Mister already knows you, and how mischievous you are. If that didn't scare him away, nothing will."

"Nothing will what?" Cesare appeared in the doorway. Debonair and dapper as always in his black Armani and dark curls slicked back just so. "Sharenne, please give us a few moments?" He smiled charmingly for the girl.

Sharenne jumped slightly at the voice behind her. Bright red blooms on her cheeks as she quickly dropped her hand from Luciana's shoulder. "Yes, sir, as you wish." She bowed quickly and rushed past Cesare.

Luciana

Date: 2010-02-18 17:49 EST
It wasn't only Sharenne who jumped, Luci too scrambled to regain her composure after the sudden interruption from 'the master'. Automatically, her hands went to the covering of the sheet she had draped and secured about her, making sure she was at least decent, before she looked over her shoulder at him. Her mouth dropped open a little as she stared, as though seeing him for the first time, and again, she hurried to check herself, glancing away as she turned to face him, forcing herself to meet his eyes like the defiant Norse princess her mother had been.

Pale blue eyes watched the girl leave the room, then they turned back towards Luciana. The color of his eyes was bluer than normal, brought out by the sudden on rush of emotion when he gazed upon her. She looked every bit the part of the Norse heritage she'd inherited. He couldn't take his eyes from the way her hair fell about her shoulders. That soft, ivory skin that begged to be touched. And, finally, her eyes, how they captivated him. When she turned back to look at him, his smile faded. Was she glaring at him' His arms folded over his chest and he scowled. "Feeling better?"

"Much, thank you." She inclined her head to him, her arms wrapped tightly around herself more for comfort than any real wish to hide herself. She didn't know what was wrong, why his smile had become a scowl on looking her over - was she so hideous to him now" Or was he simply remembering that she was not his mistress but his promised wife, and fully intending to be faithful even if he was not' Her chin lowered, the ice blue of her eyes darkening in shy anger at being the cause of his anger, and she glanced away, grasping for a conversational topic. "Did ....did your trip go well?"

"Was fine." A twitch of a jaw muscle as he grit his teeth. He'd come back with such hopes. The trip had been to find the ring that he thought would be perfect to display his new found emotions for Luciana. He had visions of her smiling, crying tears of joy. Instead, he found her loathing him just as much as when he left. "Got you this." He put the small pouch onto the dresser. Inside was a gold ring with a large heart shaped diamond, surrounded by tiny rubies.

What a sudden change the unexpected can bring. Luci, who had never before been given a gift simply for the giving of a gift's sake, turned to look at Cesare in astonishment. All anger flown fromher face, to be replaced with an almost sweet cast of surprised delight as her lips twitched into a smile. She did not even glance at the gift itself, caring more than he had thought to bring her something than what it was. "You ....brought me a gift' Truly?"

He watched her facial expressions change and he nodded slowly. Was this the face of Luciana when she was truly happy' He wasn't sure and he kept himself guarded. "Your betrothal ring. I.." he bit his lip, contemplating his next words. "I hope you like it."

Her eyes then turned to the little pouch, hands reaching hesitantly towards it as she glanced back at him, as though asking permission to touch what he had brought for her. Forgotten in that surprised delight were her fears of loving him, or that he did not like or even want her but for her dower. No, she was genuinely pleased, and even more so when she saw the handsome ring, stroking her fingertip over the setting in keen appreciation of the artistry. "It is beautiful," she breathed with a soft smile, almost out of place on a face that he had only seen angry or twisted with shameful tears. "You have excellent taste."

He approached her slowly, as he watched every emotion cross her face. He could barely believe what he was seeing. She had been beautiful before, in her thunderous ire. But now, stunning didn't even come close. He couldn't even begin to describe the feeling in his chest as hope sprung back to life. He took the ring from her and dropped to one knee. "Luciana, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?" Clear blue eyes gazed upon her lovely face as the ring was held up between them.

As he dropped to his knee, Luci jumped back, startled by the sudden, unfamiliar movement. In her experience, in her lessons, she had been told of no man ever asking his betrothed to marry him; women were bought and sold, as it had always been. She stared down at him for a long moment, her eyes wide with confusion ....and more than a little liking for what she saw. She had known, seen at a glance, that he was handsome, but now, having the leisure to look at him without anger or concern clouding her thoughts, she found him quite the handsomest man of her acquaintance. Words ....there were words"

"I ..." She stopped, pausing to wet her throat almost nervously, glancing from his eyes to the ring and back again. "I am yours, my lord, as I will always be."

Luciana

Date: 2010-02-18 17:49 EST
Her answer illicited a deep scowl. Rising quickly, he placed the ring in the palm of her hand. He turned away, placing his hands in his pockets as he paced. If she didn't want him willingly, then he didn't want her at all. Contract be damned. Moving to the doorway, he glanced back at her and shook his head. His heart contracted painfully and he set his jaw.

Her confusion deepened as he pressed the ring into her hand and turned away, shocked and thrown by how quickly his moods could change. She never thought to liken him to herself. "What is wrong?" she demanded, unaccountably hurt by the way he seemed to blow hot and cold. Evidently all he wanted was to bed her, and even that was not enough to keep him civil. If he wanted trouble, she could certainly give it to him. "Am I not simpering and swooning enough for your delicate ego to cope with' Was I supposed to throw myself onto my knees and thank you whole-heartedly for proposing to marry me?"

He had done everything according to what his traditions and his heart had told him to do. Well, as far as the ring and the proposal went. But she still did not want him. His temper matched hers, easily. He snapped, lashing out at the pain in his own chest. "I have never once wanted you to be a simpering, swooning fool at my feet. I've had my fair share of beauties that think a battering of eye lashes or a dab of rouge to their cheeks is all that I require to keep my attention." He growled and narrowed his eyes to icy blue slits.

"Then what do you want?" she snapped back, clenching her fists and marching up to stand nose to nose with him just as she had the day he had cornered her into agreeing to his proposal in the first place. "You want a wife, I see that clearly enough. You just as obviously do not want me; your fits of temper are quite enough to show me that. So what, then, do you want' To cage me for the rest of my life as my father did?" She glared up at him, her chest heaving beneath the unheeded thinness of her improvised garment.

The unmitigated gall of the little chit! She dare yell at him, nearly press her body to his and spew that foulness" His brows lifted and he took a step back. Back into the icy facade. "I will burn the damn contract. You're free to go." Another step taken backwards and he bowed with a sarcastic grin. "As you wish."

"You do not answer my questions and blame me for your temper," she growled as he stepped back, shocked again, hurt deeply by how quickly he gave up his right to her. Sharenne could not be right; there was no way this lusty man cared even the slightest for her. She should not show him how it cut her to be thrown to the wolves at his hand, and yet ....she could not help it. She backed away herself, her fire dying, and turned her back to him, biting her lip unhappily. "Is there nothing about me you would be glad of marrying?" she asked, almost inaudibly. But her tone was gentle, and touched with the sorrow she didn't want him to see. He would only use it to hurt her further.

He could see the fire dying, the fire that he treasured in her eyes, going out. As she turned and her shoulders slumped, he sighed heavily. Walking towards her, he gently lay his hands upon her shoulders. "If only I had your heart."

Her shoulders stiffened under his touch, though not from any aversion to his closeness. No, indeed, the jolt of heat that swept through her was echoed in the sudden darkening of those ice blue eyes that lifted to look over her shoulder at him, even as she snorted in faintly sad laughter. "We will kill each other before the year is out," she predicted with amusement. Their tempers were both quick and easily riled, and from the little she knew of them both together, what riled them the most was one another.

He felt her stiffen and another sigh escaped. He had poured his heart out in those six words and the glare she gave him, the words she said, had him dropping his hands and admitting defeat. Stepping back from her he lowered his eyes to the ground. "You are free to go, if you want to go. I won't hold you back from finding the happiness you desire."

"I don't want to go." They were spoken in a peevish manner, those words, but no less true because of it. His insistence on not seeing what was right in front of him was infuriating, reigniting the anger in her as she turned on him again, all fire and ice and fumbling words. "If I wanted to go, I would have gone, you foolish man. You can't even see what is right under your nose!"

Luciana

Date: 2010-02-18 17:50 EST
Blue fire raged in his eyes as she, yet again, turned her fire onto him. "Then tell me, what is it in front of my nose. All I see is an angry little girl that doesn't know what she wants. Too afraid to leave and be on her own, too prideful to accept what was given to her so freely. So, please, do enlighten me, Luciana. I would so love to hear it." He scowled, a sarcastic sneer on his face. Arms folded once again as he leaned on the dresser.

Luci glared at him, lifting her hand to slap his arm like the child he'd described her as. "I want you, you stupid, inconsiderate oaf of a man! I am a little girl, I've been kept a little girl all my life, and now thrown onto your mercy, and all you do is insult and bully and snipe at me! How am I supposed to know what to do or say when you ask for my heart, am I supposed to know what that means" I won't be treated like this, I won't!" To her shame, she actually stamped her foot, her rant ending with her again standing close to him, her cheeks flushed in anger and her eyes flaming mad.

Her display of anger actually had him forcing back a laugh. He did smile, however. In her own way, she told him everything that he needed to know. "Do I have your heart, cara mia?" He spoke softly and reached out to touch the warm blooms upon her cheek. "It is all that I ask."

Her outburst over, she was almost afraid to speak again in answer to his question, the anger draining from her expression to be replaced with the fear that came with admitting her feeling for him. His touch on her cheek did not help, making her tremble with the heat it produced in her. "For what little it is worth," she managed finally, even the sudden softness of her voice trembling, "....yes. You do have my heart."

"Cara mia." he whispered softly as his hand trailed across her cheekbone so delicately. "It is worth a great deal." He kept his voice low, his touch gentle. "Far greater, than you'll ever know." He moved then, a step closer. Strong hands moving to her shoulders. "Such a stubborn and willful woman. Don't you see you've had my heart from the start' Simpering and swooning fools with no minds of their own hold no attraction to me. I do not want an idiot who can only say "yes sir, no sir" and raise mealy mouth brats."

"Then you are a fool," but she was smiling as she said it, her clenched hands rising between them to rest against his chest. "You should have an obedient wife, someone who will do as she is told and cause you no trouble." Luci sighed, looking down at where her hands lay against his shirt. "I am too proud, I will cause you no end of difficulty, just as my mother did for my father. He only put up with her because she was a chieftain's daughter, and I ....I don't want you to have to put up with me."

"I am a fool." he smiled and then stepped back, releasing her. "I should have a wife with no troubles, one that will see to my every need and never have a word to say about it. You sound like my mother and father." He shook his head with a laugh. "I do not wish to have a quiet household, Luciana. There will be discussions, laughter, tears and love."

"There will be fights, and angry words, and even angrier silences," she added, watching him with a warmth in her eyes that had been missing before now. "But I will be a good wife. I know my place most of the time, and I can run a household well enough. I will keep you in comfort, if not in good temper."

"I look forwards to it, cara mia." he smiled and reached for her hand. "The ring?" A slight lift of his brow as he slowly dropped to his knee, once again. He waited for her to place the ring in his palm, before he took her left hand. "Cara mia, you've my heart, now please, say you'll share your life with me, of your own accord and free will."

Her fingers uncurled slowly, and she gently placed the ring he had given her into his palm, marking how the imprint of it remained in her skin for a long while after she relinquished it. Again, she stared down at him, still confused by his kneeling to her, by his asking for what he knew he already had, even without her new-found affection for him. But she remembered his response to her formal answer of before, and didn't want another argument so soon. "Yes," she nodded simply, biting her lip with an innocence that doubtless wouldn't survive long once he got his well-trained hands on her, "yes, I will." Her right hand reached out tentatively and touched his cheek, marvelling at the warmth of his skin.

His smile was warm and the icicles in his eyes melted. He leaned into her caress as the ring was moved onto her finger. Rising from his kneel, he leaned forward to gently press a chaste kiss to her lips. He released her quickly then and started for the door. "Letters to be written, arrangements to be made, and we've got to find you a new wardrobe. You won't be meeting my parents, parading around nude."

Luciana

Date: 2010-02-18 17:52 EST
"I am not nude!" she protested indignantly, looking down at herself critically. "Aside from that awful dress my father made me wear the day I smashed your head in, this is the most cloth I have ever worn!" As if to prove that point, she took a handful of the sheet draped around her and pulled it outwards, displaying one long leg to the hip, and inadvertantly pulling the cloth tight across her bosom.

"NO!" he flew across the room and pulled the cloth down so that it was decent. "We must convince my parents that you are of noble birth and that not some whore I picked up off of the streets."

"Whore"!" There was that blue fire again, flashing up at him from icy eyes as she drew herself up proudly. "I am the daughter of General Paulinus Lucius Scapula, and Brunnhild of the Norse lands. There is no man alive or dead who would dare to call me a whore. You can have me examined to prove my innocence, if you must."

"It is not I who you have to convince, cara mia. Calm down." He turned to her then and smiled. "They will never believe either of us if you come dressed in a bathrobe. And that's what they'll see you in." He shook his head and reached out to her. "Do not worry. Once all is said and done, we'll move to Greece or wherever you're from and you can run about naked if you like."

Her eyebrow rose, even as her hand lifted to meet his as he reached out to her. "You do not know who my father is, do you?" she murmured. perplexed by his ignorance. "I thought all the Roman Empire knew of his Governorship of Gaul, and the brutality he employed in subduing the Rhineland tribes." Her head tilted curiously. "Have you really never heard his name spoken of? And you, a Roman?"

He gave her a very confused look. "You speak of ancient history, mia cara." Canting his head he placed his hand on her shoulder. "Are you feeling well?"

She frowned back at him, confused by his confusion. "Ancient history' How can I be speaking of ancient history when I am standing in front of you now, a citizen of the Empire of Rome under his Imperial Highness, Claudius Caesar?" she demanded to know. "And I am quite well, Cesare. I think perhaps it is you who are unwell."

"Rome is ruled by Napoleon, Luciana. All but the Vatican, which is, of course, ruled by His Holiness, the Pope. The bump to my head was not so great as even I would forget that." he chuckled softly. "Why must you play these games" Do you find it funny to try to confuse me" After you bashed in my head?"

"Pope" Who is this Pope, and why do you seem to think he rules Rome" I assure you, Rome when I left was in the hands of Claudius Caesar of the Roman Empire. I must have done more damage to you than we either of us thought." Gently, but with the firmness of her Norse ancestors, Luci drew Cesare to the bed, pushing him down upon it. "I will call for Sharenne, she will know how to cure you."

"The Pope, the Roman Catholic church's leader." He bat at her hands. "Silly girl, I do not need to lay down. It is you speaking in riddles about ancient Caesars and the like. Next thing you know, you'll tell me your brother was a Senator!"

"Three of them are, and Caesar is not so ancient as all that," she stated calmly, continuing to push him down towards the bed. Perhaps she should play along with his delusions, she thought. "What is a Roman Catholic church?" she then asked curiously. "Which god do they worship?"

He hooted with laughter, the things she said! Grabbing her arms, he spun her around so that it was she that was closest to the bed. "What?" His eyes went round and his hands left hers. Quickly making a sign of the cross over his chest. "Blasphemy! We worship the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Blessed Virgin Mary..?"

Luciana

Date: 2010-02-18 17:54 EST
"What is this gesture you make?" Luci blinked, leaning back from what to her was merely his frantically waving arm. "Who are these Father, Son and Holy Ghost' Is this Mary skin to Diana, the virgin goddess of the hunt?" She really was genuinely curious, completely unaware that what she knew was nothing like what he was accustomed to.

"You really do not know, do you?" He canted his head, looking at her curiously. "Diana, and the Gods of the Roman Empire are nothnig more than stories told to children to get them to behave themselves. They were never real, Luciana."

"Now who is the blasphemer?" she accused him, sitting again onto the bed in a mixture of shock and admiration for his bravery in speaking so of the gods. "The priests will kill you for saying such things about their gods, you know."

"What?" He laughed and knelt down before her. "The priests would not kill me, or anybody else. With the vows they take, they can't harm another soul. And there is only one true God, Luciana. To take any others or to worship graven images is a quick trip to hell."

She watched him in real confusion now, reaching out for the solid reality of his hand in hers. "You are a Christian?" she asked him worriedly - after all, his insistence upon this made her lifetime of worshipping the goddesses of her father and mother's cultures a mockery. "You truly believe that priests do not kill" And what is hell, for that matter" I don't understand."

"Yes, I am a Christian, Luciana, a Catholic." He nodded with a smile. "Do you know how to read in Latin?" He reached over and opened the drawer to the bedside table. In it lay a Roman Catholic Bible. He pulled the tome out of the drawer and brought it over, to lay in her lap.

She nodded in answer to his query - he might as well have been asking her if she could count to three; Latin was the common language throughout the Empire. "What is this?" Her hand touched the book almost reverently, but if he noted the look in her eyes, it was one of complete befuddlement.

"The Bible." He got up then and turned away for a moment. "Read it. You'll understand everything after you've read it." He shook his head in bewilderment. "Where did you say you were from, again?"

"No, I mean ....what is this?" She held up the book in utter confusion. "Do you not have scrolls, like civilised people?" As he rose and shook his head, she watched him, completely thrown by their conversation. "I was ....I was born in Gaul, in Belgica. I am a freeborn citizen of the Empire."

"Scrolls?" He couldn't take it anymore. Sitting down, he held his stomach and laughed out loud. "Alright, what is this? Stop playing games, Luciana. Nobody uses scrolls. Those are in museums under lock and key."

Her lips thinned, pressing together in irritation as he laughed. "Do not laugh at me," she warned him in a dangerous tone of voice. "I am not playing any games. I am Luciana Iona, daughter of General Paulinus Lucius Scapula, and citizen of the Empire of Rome as held by Claudius Caesar. I only know of the Christians as a small cult with rising popularity, and I'll point out that, of the two of us, you are the one who sustained a blow to the head most recently. I am beginning to wonder if I have fallen in love with a madman."

"Something is not right." He swallowed his laugh and went to the door of the room. "Sharenne!" He called for the girl, then glanced back to Luciana. "She's been in this town a lot longer than you or I. She'll be able sort this out." He noded confidently.

"Perhaps I should hit you again, to knock your senses back into your head," Luci suggested sweetly as they waited for Sharenne to respond, raising her eyebrows in a startling display of impishly teasing good humour.

Luciana

Date: 2010-02-18 17:56 EST
"As fun as that sounds..." He raised a brow and smiled as Sharenne presented herself into the room. "Perhaps you can sort out our little dilemma, Sharenne." He smiled warmly for the girl who blushed and curtsied and smiled back. "It seems that the Rome I remember is not the Rome that Luciana remembers. Can you set us straight?" He smiled then, to Luciana as if to say, "See, it's simple."

Luciana rose as Sharenne entered, returning Cesare's smile almost shyly but for the continued quirk of her brow. "I seem to recall a Rome that he seems certain is ancient history, and I know nothing of what he talks about," she explained to the girl. "What does it mean?"

Sharenne glanced to the both of them, hands clasped behind her back. She began to rock on her feet. "Well, this place that we're living in now, it's different, and special. It's like a cross roads, people from all sorts of places, worlds, and time periods live here. You have your cavemen that live mostly in the Glen, to the strange young men who have orange and blue hair that wear pins in thier noses." She giggled at that and brought her hands around to her mouth.

Luci blinked, wrapping her hand around the post of the bed as she glanced at Cesare. "You mean to tell me that ....Rome, my Rome, is Cesare's ancient history?" she asked in utter bafflement. "That we are both right in our recollections of home?"

"Yes'm" She giggled then looked over at Cesare who looked as bewildered as Luciana. "If that'll be all, I'm making a right good shephard's pie for dinner." And with another giggle, the girl left the room.

Cesare stood there, contemplating and in shock. Of course, he wouldn't show it. A slow grin crossed his face. "Told you it was ancient history, to me."

Luci stared at him, unseeing for a long moment, before again thumping down onto the bed, pale in face. "Then ....what will you tell your parents when they ask who I am?" she wondered aloud. "How am I to convince them of my parentage, when they know my father as a historical figure, nothing more" And our religions ..." She broke off. That problem seemed insurmountable - his life devoted to one god, and hers to many, both Roman and Norse.

She was throwing too many questions, too much reality at him all at the same time. Staggering back, he flomped down onto a chair and stared at her, stupidly. "I don't know." he sighed and put a hand through his hair. Good at figuring out puzzles, his mind was already whirring.

"Perhaps we are too different, after all," she murmured, looking down at her bare feet, unable to conceal the unhappiness in her face and voice at the thought. Still only barely accepting of her warm feeling for him, now Luci faced the thought that she was too different, too alien in her culture, to be able to be Cesare's wife, and it actually pained her to think it. "The Fates are unkind."

He was thinking, hard. He frowned in confusion and waved at her dismissively. He'd find a solution to the problem, soon enough. A plan was forming. Yet, he remained quiet with his thoughts. That's just how Cesare was. Until he had it all formulated, he'd remain quiet.

So, too, did she, but for quite different reasons. Her own mind was turning back on the situation she found herself in. Unmarriageable in the Roman world she knew, promised now to a man whose world was so very different from her own, Luci could not see any hope of ever managing to fool Cesare's peers and convince them of her nobility and suitability to be his wife. Which left her with nothing. No home to return to, following her father's display of temper, and no husband to cleave to. Perhaps Cesare would keep her here, as a mistress, to be visited infrequently while he spent his life with some foolish girlchild who cared nothing for him.

Luciana

Date: 2010-02-18 17:59 EST
Snap of his fingers and he was up out of that chair like lightning. "Letters of marque." he nodded quickly. "We'll get you some letters of marque made up. A new wardrobe and you'll be ready as ever. You've got the natural grace and charm, when you want to," he gave her a pointed look then, "to pull it off." He leaned back, rather pleased with himself. "Of course, they'll insist on a wedding in the cathedral, officiated by the cardinal, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. And as far as religion goes, I've not been the picture of sainthood, myself. Once all is said and done, we can live anywhere you like and worship one God or a thousand."

Her eyes followed his movement out of the chair, listening to his solution with a faint frown on her face. She didn't understand half of what he'd said, but he seemed confident of it working. Perhaps he was right. "What is a letter of marque?" she asked, though, curious as to how it could affect the way people of his time would look at her. She rose from her own perch, moving closer to him.

"Papers, heralding your birthright as a noble. They can be faked, been done before." He nodded and gently grasped her shoulders. "This can work. But you've got to learn to curb your acerbic tongue."

She gave him a flatly amused look, her lips quirking. "I am hardly likely to speak out of turn to anyone of import," she assured him. "I will not speak at all, if you would prefer it. And I will only speak my mind to you when we are alone." She smiled up at him, feigning a confidence she did not yet feel. "Will your mother require proof of my virginity?"

He was most pleased at the thought of her not speaking to the others, except that she would become a social pariah if she did that. "No, you can speak to the others, just...watch what you say. They're stupid, the lot of them, but they love to cause trouble. Much more trouble than you can imagine." He frowned slightly and cant his head. "I do believe Mother and her maid will check, yes. With a priest in attendance."

"Will it hurt?" No, she hadn't intended that question to be spoken aloud, but now it was out there, hanging in the air between them and illuminating her naivety for him even more so than before. Luci blushed, glancing away with a shake of her head. "Never mind."

"I don't know if the inspection will." He spoke quietly, he could see her nervousness and wanted to calm her. "But our wedding night will hurt. I can ply the wine, but that will only dull the pain."

She nodded slowly. "They will want proof of the bedding," she agreed, lifting her eyes to his with a brief smile. "I am not afraid. If you believe this will work, that you family will allow you to wed me, then I am happy." It took a lot of courage, but she did, then, lay her hand on his arm and lean up to him, pressing her lips to his cheek in a warm kiss.

"It will work, cara mia," he whispered and lay his hand over hers as she kissed his cheek. "Now, it's been a long day and I am tired. We both could use the rest." He had glanced at her back in the mirror and smiled wanly. "You are still healing."

"Yes, meus diligo," she nodded obediently, smirking a little at a remembrance of a comment he had made about 'yes sir, no sir'. "The scarring is near gone." She stepped back from him, turning towards the bed, before she paused, lifting her head to glance his way with a nervous smile touching her lips. "If I were to swear to you that I have not touched any garlic for three days ....would you kiss me?" she asked softly. Talk about bravery from a Roman virgin.

He raised a brow, even in Latin he knew what that meant. "I am Cesare to you, not sir, not meus diligo. Cesare." A soft smile as he walked over to her. "I noticed the mint when I walked into the room. Sharenne has been playing the little matchmaker, no?" His hand reached out to gently grasp her chin. "Of course I would." His nostrils flared as he sucked in a breath. In a single fluid motion, his lips were pressed to hers.

She let out a little squeak, a little surprised by how quickly he answered her bold request, but that surprise was short-lived. It was quickly out-stripped by a sense of melting, her hands creeping up to hold to him as her lips softened and moved beneath his on instinct. As he drew from her, her lips parted, and she breathed out softly, slow to reopen her eyes. "Cesare ..."

His hands moved to the back of her head and the small of her back to support her as they kissed. And when they parted, he glared into her eyes intently. "Cara mia ..." breathed out softly as he made sure she had her footing before releasing her. "Sleep well."

Even the slight sting where his hand had rested against her healing skin was not enough to bring her out of the odd torpor his kiss had sent her into, making her smile to him dazedly as he released her. "Fair slumber, meus diligo," she murmured impishly, raising her hands to undo the belt at her waist even before he had left the room. What did it matter if he saw her" He was going to be her husband.

When she grasped the belt, he quickly turned and stepped out of the room. Some things, as they say, are meant for the wedding night. He would not disgrace her with seeing her ....then he turned after having that thought. He'd already seen her. He peeked his head into the room and in a rare display of playfulness, blew her a kiss and winked a dark eye. "Good night." A smile and then he turned to head to his own chambers.