An Unlikely Pair [Private]

[kaissaj777]

Kais smiled to her, knowing she was teasing him a little bit. "Don't stick you tounge out at me, that has other purposes." He said teasingly a bit himself as he felt himself once again calming as he was in her presence. Maybe this would end up alright in the end. Kais though was having a hard time admitting it, for it would require him to have some semblance of agreement with the King's plans. And that was something he did not agree with at any level.

She seemed focused though on keeping his mind off the King, as she took his hands and looked at him discussing the party. He enjoyed their time together right now, but he was not exactly excited about the prospect of having to have some public displays of affection in front of other people. Everyone would be talking about the Lovette and the Avalon getting married, and Kais was still having a hard time putting that together. In moments like this he just simply forgot who she was, and that was why he could kiss her.

He did like the idea of her being there though to keep him under control. Kais really was a loose cannon, as was the Avalon way for the most part. If she could find some way to consistantly keep his temper in line it could only help him. Hell if his mother found out she could do such a thing she would probably have recommended her for Kais anyway. She always said that he needed to find someone who could deal with his tempered attitudes.

"It is weird that an Avalon and Lovette are engaged." He began, now straight faced. "It would likely not surprise people that we don't seem very happy, in fact..." He scratched his chin. "....if we were to ignore each other a bit, it would likely piss off the King a bit." Kais liked the idea and it have him a sly smirk. He assumed thought at Arianna would not go along with it. He would though in his own way try to, subtly tell the king he was going to do things his own way.

"Me a good person?" He asked jokingly. "I am insulted." He said with a laugh. "Anger is the only consistant thing about my personality my dear." He smiled to her again, wondering how dashing she would likely look in a dress. "Whether I go shirtless or not, you know the eyes will be on me." He winked to her. "Maybe I should wear a dress, that will likely turn some heads." he laughed again. "Got any spares?" He smiled to her and leaned in, kissing her once and then pulling away again. He could get use to this kind of interaction.  

[KagomeHigurashi08]

Arianna blinked, not sure what he meant by the tongue had other purposes, but didn't think to ask. He was calming again and teasing her back, which made her smile. She liked him much better when he wasn't raging at someone or something. When he wasn't angry, he really was a good guy that she would love even as a friend. He seemed to not mind her company, which she was glad, because soon they would be stuck with each others company for a while. He still seemed bothered by something, but this time Arianna decided to let it drop. He was making the effort to get along and she would too. She didn't care at all anymore that he was an Avalon, though knew that everyone else would. Seemed like they would be insects under a magnifying glass tonight. Not a pleasant feeling.

She listened to him speak and answered seriously. "Yes, it is weird, but I don't really care that you are an Avalon. I judge a person by their actions. Though you have a temper, you have done nothing but good to me. You saved me despite my foolishness. If you don't want me around and want to snub the king, that is your choice. But I will be there if you want me to be. I won't force you to stick around at a party with me, when you don't want to be there. Trust me, I can always find some corner to hide in and people watch." Her eyes went sad, realizing that even at the party, she didn't really have any friends, male or female. She didn't have anyone to socialize with, and so was left with whether Kais wanted to be around her or not. She really would hide in a corner if he wanted to be left alone, staying out of the public eye as much as possible. She hated society and its standards, prefering to be out in the fields with her horses.

He started joking with her, and took her mind off her sad thoughts. "You are not a bad person, just rough around the edges," she said with a smile. "And maybe a little conceited. Who knows, I may just surprise you, I clean up pretty well when I make the effort." She giggled again. "And I don't think you could fit into my dresses. I'm only 5' 2", and you are definately way taller than me. I think you'd be a little uncomfortable wearing one of my dresses." Before she could say anything else, for the first time he leaned in and actually kissed her. Her eyes widened, and she looked at him for a few moments, wondering what to make of his actions. When he moved away, she touched her lips. She rather liked him kissing her.  

[kaissaj777]

Kais smiled to her and chuckled a bit. "Ahh Well, I shall have to just settle with wearing a suit." He said with a smile and let go of her hands to begin to gather his things. "I had best head up and take a nap or something before the whole......party." He paused before party, because he did not expect this to be as fun of a thing. He leaned in, kissed her cheek. "Come see me before if you get bored, I will likely be doing nothing." He then walked back through the garden to head up to his room.


As he walked back he felt bad. He worried he had offended her when he had talked about ignoring her at the party. He knew there was no way to change the mind of the king, and at this point they needed to stick to this together. Kais found his mind a very confusing place, some moments he wanted her, others he found he did not. He constantly second guessed himself and he only hoped he was not going to do such a thing today.

He went back up to his room and saw the servants had drawn up a bath. He stripped down and slowly go into it, finding the stinging sensation slightly relaxing considering it sort of itched the spots on his back he was too afraid to try and itch himself. A couple of female nurses were there and helping out with the cleaning of his back, and Kais had to bite his tongue to once again prepare himself as the pain came.

Once done he got into some simple loose clothing and sat down to pull out his journal and write. He also planned on reading but he was mostly trying to let his mind out, and try to figure out what would be the proper method of handling tonight's party.  

[KagomeHigurashi08]

Arianna blushed as he kissed her cheak and watched him walk away, heading back towards his room. Realizing that she should probably head back herself, she headed first towards the kitchen for a quick snack. Thanking the kitchen staff, who were already really busy preparing for the party, she headed back up to her room. She realized she was tired, and curled up in bed, falling asleep quickly. She slept soundly, not waking up until a maid came in the room and started shaking her. She looked at the maid confused, then noticed a hot bad had been drawn for her and sitting up quickly, remembered the party. She needed to get ready as the party was soon.

With the maids help she quickly stripped down, and entered the hot bath water. It made her arms sting, but she ignored it and hurriedly bathed. The bath water felt so good, and she knew that she didn't want to leave. But she had no choice and quickly washed her hair. The maid helped her dry her hair and put it in a simple ribbon, before helping her into the ball gown. It was a lovely purple color, and probably her favorite dress. She caught herself thinking that she hoped Kais liked it. She blushed, then blushed harder when she realized that she had been blushing quite a bit in the last day around Kais. Realizing she was already late to the party, and knowing this would make the king angry, she left her room and headed down the stairs, careful not to trip on her dress.

She snuck in the side enterance of the ballroom, and searched for Kais. She hid a bit, noticing how many people were in the room, which made her uncomfortable. She did do well with crowds, and didn't know how to act around so many people. She had already made a fool of Kais and herself at the public whipping, she could only pray that she didn't do so again. She searched the room again, worried because she couldn't spot Kais. She started to wonder if he had decided to bail on the party. Arianna wouldn't blame him, she didn't want to be here either. She spotted the King laughing with some guests, but could tell he was annoyed. Perhaps it was because he hadn't seen her or Kais either.  

[kaissaj777]

He looked at the suit he had laid out on his desk. It was one of pure white, with gold trimmings and shoulder decor. He put it on slowly, finding it was surprisingly loose on his back, which was helpful for the fact that he could not apply too much pressure there. he then took his sword and tied it to his waist wanting to make sure he looked the part. The sword he had was not a ceremonial one, but since he did not bring his he thought it would have to do in accordance to the situation.

He waited a while and soon a butler came and told him it was time to attend the party. "It is my party is it not?" Kais asked the man. The butler nodded and tried to argue. "It is my party, and I shall show up when I desire. You run along and tell the King if he is planning parties without my consent then he should at least ask me when is a convenient time to start for my liking." Kais knew the King was not going to be happy about it, but he hoped the man did not take his anger our on Arianna.

Kais though was sure he would not do anything to the girl in front of such a public party. She had done nothing wrong anyway to his knowledge so his being late should not trouble either of them to this point. Soon though, once he felt himself tardy enough he walked down to the party. The butler who had run out of is room seemed to be running back with a message from the King. Kais waved him off before he could speak and the man shut his mouth as Kais then entered the ballroom.

He entered the main entrance, all the more to make his tardiness noticeable and began to glance around as eyes came in his direction. It took him a small while but he saw Arianna across the room and approached her with a smile. "Evening." he said turning his back to the public so nobody would see him smile. "You look lovely." he said, not lying either. She looked fantastic in a beautiful purple dress. It made her eyes pop and he felt his cheeks warm slightly. He did not greet her with a kiss though, so as to not please the King at all. Kais did not even acknowledge the man as he entered. "Hope you have not been waiting on me." He said in a charming voice.  

[KagomeHigurashi08]

Arianna noticed Kais the second he entered, even later than she was. She had noticed the King noticing her in the back, and had started heading her way when Kais made his grand enterance. That made the King stop his direct path to her, and she looked at Kais. He was handsome in the white suit with gold trimming, and the thought made her blush. She wanted to hide, but Kais saw her and was now heading straight towards her, a determined look on his face. He completely ignored the King and she smiled slightly. He was still doing his best to do things his way, and who could blame him with the little choice he had in this matter.

He reached her and smiled at her, and that made her feel better. She wasn't alone to deal with the mass of people on her own. She blushed again when he called her lovely, and she could tell from his eyes that he meant it, even though he was trying to hide the fact from the public. "Good evening. You look pretty good yourself," she said with a small smile. "And I haven't been waiting too long, I kind of arrived late myself, but I snuck in the back." She wanted to tell him how glad she was that he was here, but she wasn't given the chance, as the King decided to intrude.

The King looked at her bare arms, the cuts that were not hidden and wanted to remark on it, but knew he couldn't in front of all of those people. "It is nice of you two to finally show up." He grabbed Arianna's arm, and she winced, as he pulled her towards the front of the room. He made it look like he was escorting her, but Arianna knew it was forced. He figured Kais would follow if he took Arianna, not willing to risk a physical confrontation with Kais with this many people. As he reached the front of the room, he waited for Kais to join them, only releasing Arianna when Kais approached. She looked like she was about to bolt and remembered that she didn't have much experience with such social settings and didn't know anyone. He felt bad for doing this to her, but it needed done.

"Allow me to introduce our honored guests for this evening's party. Miss Arianna Lovette and Mr. Kais Avalon. On Friday, you will all be witness to their joining in holy matrimony. Please enjoy the party." He said, then left to go talk to guests, leaving Arianna traumatized in the front of the room, not sure what to do. Everyone was staring at her and Kais, and she noticed quite a few stares pointed directly at her arms. It made her wish that she had bothered to wear gloves instead of refusing to hide them. She could hear the whispers about an Avalon and a Lovette marrying and the shocked voices. She took a step back and ran into someone. She murmured an apology, and realized people were coming to greet them as a couple. She looked at Kais, not sure what to do and not wanting to do something to make him angry.  

[kaissaj777]

Kais was fine until the King came within a few feet of him and took Arianna away with the swiftness of a fox. And with the snap of a finger, Kais' fury began to rise, as it always seemed to do in the presence of the King. This was likely a good thing because it would make the King look slightly foolish when he introduced the two. Kais knew he would have to follow and soon did, though not very willingly.

He stood near the King, and crossed his arms showing how he clearly was not happy with the King. This would make it seem as if he had not come to accept the match, even though he had come to agree to it. The people looked at him, the King and Arianna as the man spoke. The King glared at Kais as he walked by, and Kais gave him a smile, before turning to Arianna, and looking at her for a moment.

He was still furious, when Arianna was being approached he saw people coming to him as well. Soon, a familiar face came walking up to him, and looked at him with a smirk. John Sullivan, of the Sullivan clan, stood in from of him, a devious smirk on his face.

The Avalons never had a true issue with the Sullivans, like they did the Lovettes but Kais was never a big fan of Jonathan. They were of the same age, and Kais had always had to compete with him in various competitions when they were at the same school, many which Kais won, and many which he lost. He hated this man, almost if not more than he hated the King. Kais looked at him with a glare, not bothering to smile to him.

"Rock Brain" The Sullivan boy said with a chuckle.

"Cow s**t" Kais said to him, the two throwing their typical jabs at each others families and their professions. Kais felt his blood pressure rising even more, he would not be surprised if his tone was matching that of Arianna's dress.  

[KagomeHigurashi08]

Jonathan smirked then looked at the girl, Arianna. He remembered that the Lovettes and Avalons hated each other, but Arianna didn't seem to hate Kais. In fact, she seemed to be looking at him for guidance. And this bothered him. He didn't want to marriage between the Avalons and Lovettes to work. He had heard the rumors that the king was dying, and with no heir and this sudden scheme to force the Lovettes and Avalons to get along seemed fishy to him. He wondered if the rumor about the king dying was true, and if it was, was this plan to have the Lovettes and Avalons get together part of it. The only other family of similiar power and rank was his own, the Sullivans, and if Lovettes and Avalons started to get along, it could mean a power change, and that he did not want to see unless it was in his favor. Arianna didn't seem to be fighting it, and Jonathan wondered what Kais thought about it. He smirked again, only one way to find out.

"Well, figures you'd be an idiot enough to end up saddled with your family's enemy. But at least she is a pretty piece of tail. If you decide you don't want her, let me have a go at her." Arianna took a step behind Kais, lightly touching his arm. This Jonathan guy bothered her, and he was saying some nasty things. People were gathering around them, seeming to look forward to a confrontation. Kais was know for his temper, and he had already shown it around Arianna before when he struck the whip man. She didn't want him to get in more trouble with the King and she lightly squeezed his arm from behind him. She had already seen the glare that the King had sent him, and knew Kais was furious with him. She didn't know if people saw her gesture, though she highly doubted it as they were all focused on Kais' reaction to Jonathan.

People started hovering closer to her, everyone talking to her at once, asking what she thought of the arranged marriage. They didn't see Arianna much in society as she usually avoided it, so she was already an enigma to them. On top of that she was here and going to be marrying her family's enemy. How could they not be curious. But that Jonathan man wasn't finished, he took a step closer, looking at her hand which lightly gripped Kais' arm, and grabbed her arms, pulling her slightly away and showing everyone the cuts. "But then again, looks like you got the tail wrapped around your little fingers. She even takes punishments for you." He wanted to make Kais look the fool in front of everyone, and he was doing a good job at it. Arianna would have slapped him in the face, but he held her arms tightly, painfully, to the point that Arianna let out a small whimper.  

[kaissaj777]

Kais fists were clenched as the man spoke. He could tell yes peoples eyes were watching them, but many were having just as much fun, specifically those in the Kings presence. Jonathan wanted Arianna for his own it seemed, or at least he wanted to deflower her just to spite him. Kais was not in love with Arianna no, but he would absolutely not let this man of all people touch his fiancee. He felt Ariannas grip on his arm and he tried to calm down but there seemed to be little use.

"Figures you still end up alone at parties cow s**t." Kais said to Jonathan. "Never were able to pick up a woman with the ugly-infested face of yours." Kais said, a rather childish jab but it was the best he could think of at this very moment. Jonathan had always anyway been rather sensitive about his looks.

When the man grabbed Arianna though, Kais felt his fury rise to a new level. He for some reason did not like the idea of his woman being touched by that man. It was the first time Kais had thought of Arianna as his woman though, and the feeling was quite new to him. When he heard Arianna wimper as he gripped onto her hands Kais leaped. With switness and ease he threw a fist at the face of Jonathan, hitting him square in the jaw and watching the man fall to the floor.

Kais repositioned himself between Arianna and Jonathan as he tried to get up. "You piece of ...." Kais did not let him finish though. "Shut up!'' He yelled pointedly. "Should you ever touch my fiancee again I swear it will be the last time you touch a woman. She jumped in front of my final whip against my will and you know what?!" Kais was taking deep breaths to control his fury. "She is braver than you will ever be because she did that. Your such a p***y Cow s**t, even a woman is braver than you." Kais knew the words bit to the core, and that is where Kais wanted to hurt him.

He knew he looked like a fool, but in many cases he actually looked ok, more like the protector of his love. People would probably see this as romantic, and Kais thought he actually saw the King smile from across the room. Jonathan got up and took a step toward Kais. Kais though had signaled the guard before hand. "Take him away, I do not want him at this party. Do you object!" Kais yelled toward the King. The King smiled and nodded, seemingly happy to see some sort of attraction by Kais to Arianna.

As Jonthan was pulled away he shouted to Kais. "I swear you will pay for this Rock Brain." And soon he was pulled through the door. Kais stood there with clenched fists and his eyes closed. He then rushed off the stage toward where he saw a drink, and went to pour himself a glass of Ale to drown himself in.  

[KagomeHigurashi08]

Arianna stumbled back as Jonathan's arms released her as he fell backwards, the crowd moving as fast as they could away. Her eyes were wide, but she took a deep breath to calm herself. Kais was furious, and she went to move towards him but saw that he was actually controlling himself. No need to hurt his pride by stepping in when it wasn't needed. She looked at him carefully, listening to his words. Not only was he claiming her as his own, but he was defending her, protecting her with his own body. She wondered if he had even realized that he was doing such a thing. He probably wouldn't be happy if he knew it, and noticed that the King to was noticing an approving. Which is why he had Jonathan escorted from the party when Kais requested it it. Well at least Kais wouldn't get in trouble for this particular fight.

Arianna watched Kais rush off towards the alcohol, and would have followed, but a swarm of people came rushing towards her. "Well aren't you a lucky girl?" "I wish my man would do that for me." "You two makes such a cute couple." All of these comments rushed around her, and she gave a small smile, not sure how to respond. Kais' actions changed the topic from the 'hey look at this, the enemies are marrying,' to 'they make such a good couple." The king was pleased, and Arianna couldn't deny that she was a little pleased as well, though she wouldn't tell that to Kais. The group that surrounded her seemed to forget she was there due to her lack of responses, and started talking among themselves. She took this chance to find Kais and head towards him.

He was making a good effort to try and drown himself in the alcohol. She slowly stepped towards him, knowing alcohol sometimes made men mean. "Kais?" she said hesitantly. "Thank you ... for earlier. I should have stopped him, but I couldn't and you had to step in. I'm sorry." Even the thought of the Jonathan guy made her start trembling and she took a deep breath trying to calm herself, though her hands still shook. Her family had no issues with the Sullivans, but Arianna could be very glad that she was marry her family enemy, an Avalon, rather than that Sullivan. Kais was a much better man. She wasn't sure if Kais was okay with her company, so she just stood there awkwardly, ready to leave if he asked it of her. She had needed to thank him though.  

[kaissaj777]

Kais was rubbing his temples as people were approaching him and trying to speak to him. He ignored them all, and noticed some of them were actually a little frightened if he told them to leave. He apparently had made the impression he had wanted to with the attack on the Sullivan. Kais had two glasses of mead, and was feeling a tad bit better, but still had some fury in his heart.

He was having such a tough week with the fact he was getting angry on such a regular basis. He often got angry when he was at home, but for the most part he and his family had found ways to keep there cool on the home front. Mainly because Kais did not want to deal with his mother or his fathers anger.

Soon he heard Arianna say his name, she sounded a little. He wondered if he had scared her a bit when he had his explosion. He had this odd feeling that he wanted her to grab his hands like she did in the garden, because he knew it would help him calm down.

He turned around to her, eyes closed, not really sure what to say. He took her hands in his and had his dark brown orbs gaze into her emerald green eyes. She could probably see he was still mad, but he wanted her to know it was not directed at her. "Are you ok?" He asked. "He did not hurt you right?" He asked with a stright face, ignoring her comments.

He was glad she did not step in, and he knew this was something he needed to do. At this point he did not care for petty squabbles between families. Kais did not even know why they hated each other anymore. He looked at Arianna and leaned down resting his forehead against hers, and holding her hands in his. "Sorry.....I....I am trying to keep calm." He was really struggling with his anger, and he knew Arianna did not like it. "It is really hard to stay calm."  

[KagomeHigurashi08]

Arianna's eyes widened again as he grabbed her hands and looked straight into her eyes. She was surprised by this public show of affection and could only meekly nod for a few moments before she found her voice. "I am ok. It hurt a little when he grabbed my arms, but that would have happened if anyone grabbed them." She could see around them that people were paying a lot of attention to them, and that made her nervous. "Thank you though. That man scares me." she whispered the last comment, not wanting the others to hear. Kais didn't like weakness and it was bad enough that she knew her hands were still trembling a little inside of his. She gave him a smile and listened as he continued to speak.

Kais leaned down, his forehead resting against hers. She figured that he must be so exhausted from everything that had happened in the last few days, and the anger that always seemed to be on the surface. For him to show any public attention to her when he wanted to defy the King was shocking. She could see the King's smile getting wider, and was glad Kais was facing away from him. He was already apologizing for having no control over his anger, and she wanted to help him, but knew that by doing so, it may make him look weak or foolish. Figuring she'd take the consequences, she shifted her hands out of his, moved in closer and hugged him, leaning her head on his shoulder. "Yell at me later, ok?" she whispered. It was the only thing she could think of to help him.

Arianna could hear a collective sigh of relief from people and even heard a few cheering them on and saying good for them. She just stood there and hugged Kais, allowing his anger to seep away. The King, for once, was useful and had some entertainers start up a performance, which directed the attention away from them, though he continued to watch from the background. Arianna took a deep breath, feeling her fear slip away as well. Somehow, despite their families being enemies, it worked for them. And for that, she was glad.  

[kaissaj777]

He felt himself going soft, but at this point he did not care. He had been whipped, forced into a marriage his family would hate, was forced to do things he would never do against his own will. Kais was exhausted, sick of being angry, he just wanted to settle down for once, and the only way he was finding some sort of peace with Arianna.

He felt himself calming down, and he did not care at this point if he was showing too much affection. Kais needed Arianna by him, otherwise he may lash out at someone else. Frankly this would likely bode well for him in the Kings eyes, and maybe he would lay off a bit.

"I don't want to yell at you." He whispered honestly into her ear. "I want you to yell at me for being so stupid." He said pulling her closer into the hug. He rested his chin atop her head which rested against his shoulder. "Feel free to hit me too, maybe it will kick me into shape. I know you don't like it when I am violent." He was progressively finding himself worrying about what Arianna thought about him, and it was hard for him to come to terms with that.

He looked up in time to see that the band was playing the music and people were beginning to dance. Kais was a surprisingly decent dancer. His mother thought it was important for he and his siblings to learn it, so the four of them had to suffer through the teachings. Kais hated when his brother reminded him though, but he was probably the best of the four.

He let go of the hug and took her hand in his. "You mind if I have this dance?" He asked in a sweet voice. HIs expressing was a half, relaxed smile. Being around her was having its typical calming influence on him, and he now wanted to think only of being around her.  

[KagomeHigurashi08]

Arianna felt him relax in his arms and she smiled softly. He was coming to accept her, and she knew this boded well for this forced marriage, which she was starting to look forward to. Like she thought before, Kais was a good guy, and despite his rough edges, he had also become her protector. She liked his protective instinct. He pulled her closer, allowing her to rest against his shoulder and relax. She sighed, needing his comfort as much as he seemed to need hers. He started talking to her and she listened, smiling at him as he berated himself for getting violent.

"Though I'm glad you don't want to yell at me, I can't yell at you this time. I wanted to punch the guy myself. He scared me a lot, and was down right degrading as he spoke of me. So for hitting him this time, I can't yell. Just don't make a habit of the violence, because no I do not like it. But thank you for defending me and protecting me. There is a difference between violence due to anger, and fighting to protect someone. I know the difference ok?" She smiled at him, glad that he wasn't mad at her for hugging him.

She was a little sad when he let go of her and took her hand instead until he asked her to dance in this incredibly sweet voice. Though she didn't dance often, she could dance well, and when she nodded, she was surprised to be swept off her feet. He was an excellent dancer, and she settled into his ryhthm easily. They both were good dancers, and it didn't take long for the crowd to notice them again, and watch as the two danced so well together. The King smiled in the background, and went back to enjoying the party. At the point, he knew that he didn't need to watch the couple so hard, and didn't even care if they left early. They had come, and had got along, and that was what mattered in the long run.  

[kaissaj777]

Nothing else mattered to him at this moment as they danced away. They seemed to me in synch with each other as they moved, and it seemed to captivate some of the observers, including the King himself. At this point Kais was accepting his decision, if only for the moment to try and enjoy his time with Arianna. Sometimes good things can come from the bad, and it seemed that this time they were going to get along just fine.

As the night winded down, Kais took Arianna by the hand and walked with her out of the party, slightly early. He was tired, and his back was beginning to frustrate him from the sudden moves of the dance floor. "You quite the dancer." He said laughing slightly and wiping a bead of sweat from his brow. "That was actually.....fun." Kais did not even think that word was in his vocabulary.

He was planning on walking Arianna back to her room, and then retiring to his. He thought it would be proper to escort him, and in fact he simply was having a hard time trying to leave her side. He enjoyed her company, and they were becoming fast friends. If his mother was right, and friendship was the key to a successful marriage, then they would end up just fine.

The only question was......what would their families think of everything.