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Post by dj1678 on Dec 29, 2009 2:52:33 GMT -5
Bad weather seemed to follow Aurem and Arieta wherever they went recently. Monsoons and heatwaves in Eastern Asia, impossible blizzards in the arctic, and now a downpour in Malta. They took shelter from the rain beneath a flimsily constructed tarp canopy eating their MRE's. Or at least, Aurem was eating. Arieta occasionally took a bite, but mostly chattered away at Aurem, happy to be back on better terms. She never really seemed to give Aurem an opportunity to speak anymore, but he tried every now and again to interject something more meaningful than "uh huh."
Arieta was just transitioning from talking about teddy bears to talking about kittens, topics she deemed safe for conversation, when a well dressed butler-looking type guy approached carrying an umbrella. Arieta pretended not to notice and continued talking.
The man cleared his throat more loudly. "Mistress Marius. And...You are...Lieutenant Senaiha, I hope?"
Mistress? Lieutenant?!? Aurem thought to himself, confused, as he stood up from his meal. Arieta only frowned as she stood.
"No sir, I am Private Senaiha. I'm not aware of a Lieutenant Senaiha." Aurem answered when Arieta failed to as she usually did.
The man also looked a little confused, but quickly recovered. "There is little doubt that the woman next to you is Mistress Marius, so I suppose the mix up in rank was our mistake. My...apologies." The man said with slight sarcastic emphasis on his last word.
"Then I suppose you have found me." Aurem said extending his hand, receiving a sealed envelope with his name written on it instead of the handshake he had expected. When Aurem stalled, waiting for instructions, the man merely nodded impatiently toward the envelope, waiting for Aurem to read it. Arieta's frown deepened and she began to look slightly nervous.
Stupid awkward formal types. Never did get along very well with the upper crust with all their frivolous formalities. Aurem thought as he opened the envelope. It read:
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Lieutenant Senaiha,
Forgive me if this is sudden, but it has come to my attention that you have
my daughter under your command. I have also heard that your operations
have brought you nearby. I should very much like to meet you, if you can
spare the time. And if it is not too much trouble, please bring my stubborn
daughter with you as well.
Sincerely,
Valentin Marius.
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Aurem looked up from the letter, still looking a little confused over what he'd read earlier. He noticed Arieta frowning to his side, but not quick enough to prevent her from taking the letter from his hands. She certainly looked the part of the stubborn daughter as her frown deepened the further she read.
"Shall I escort you there now?" The man asked once Arieta had finished reading, managing to sound both stuffy and impatient at the same time.
"Now?" Aurem asked, even more perplexed than before. "The letter said if--"
"We have already arranged it with your superiors. You have been given the day 'off' so to speak. Now please follow me to the car. The master really does hate waiting," The man urged, feigning politeness, his master's impatience still bleeding through in his attitude.
"Typical," said a very resigned looking Arieta as she began to follow behind the man.
Aurem sighed and also began following the man, walking alongside Arieta.
At least the scenery fits the mood. Aurem thought looking up at the dreary rain before getting into the car with Arieta.
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Post by dj1678 on Dec 30, 2009 1:18:36 GMT -5
The car drove for what seemed like hours out into the countryside near Malta through the continuing rain. To Aurem it felt even longer since Arieta was no longer chatting away happily. Instead she sat there gloomy, introspective, and seeming to grow more nervous the closer they got.
Aurem himself got a lot more nervous when the car finally pulled through the front gates to a massive estate. He suddenly noticed the mud on his shoes and did hi best to clean them. He also buttoned the collar to his uniform and thanked God that he'd worn his other uniform instead of his flight suit. Arieta gave a weak smile at his attempt to clean himself up, but made no attempt on herself, despite having more mud on her than Aurem. She had tripped earlier covering her bare knees in mud. Tripping in the mud was unusual for her. She was usually pretty graceful. Aurem thought she had been looking rather distracted today though, and now believed he had found the source. At the time though he had wanted to help her clean up, but she brushed it off, counting herself lucky that she had chosen to wear the skirt with her uniform instead of pants in the warmer weather. Warmer at least compared to the arctic.
The car pulled to a stop in the circle that Aurem supposed was a driveway for such a large mansion. Two people stood with umbrellas on the steps waiting. One was an aging woman, who looked like she was trying her best to contain her excitement and worry. She was having marginal success. Aurem supposed this was Arieta's mother. To her side was a very stiff older looking man with a mustache. Aurem thought he wouldn't have looked terribly out of place with a top hat. He also supposed this was Arieta's father, Valentin, author of the earlier letter. Aurem's nervousness grew.
The man from earlier, who Aurem now knew to be the family butler, opened the door for Arieta. Aurem opened the door for himself and tried to catch up with Arieta to take her side.
"Arieta!" Her mother exclaimed, dropping her umbrella so she could hug her daughter. Arieta said nothing, but returned the hug warmly.
"Sarina! Don't spoil her. Look at her, she's a mess! Arieta! Go upstairs and clean yourself up." Her father ordered to both his wife and Arieta.
Arieta started to protest, but her mother smoothed things over before she could get started. "You know how your father is. Go on up and get cleaned up. I've laid something out for you to wear when you're done."
Arieta gave her father a stubborn glare before sighing and adopting a more pained obedient look. She took one last worried glance at Aurem before disappearing up the stairs into the mammoth mansion.
Valentin and Sarina then turned their attention on Aurem, who now felt as if he were about to be interrogated.
"You must be Lieutenant Senaiha. Welcome! I do hope my- erm...our daughter hasn't been giving you too much trouble?" Valentin said with faux politeness, extending his hand, and correcting himself mid-sentence after a stern look from his wife.
"Actually sir, it's Private Senaiha. And Arieta has been..." Aurem hesitated, remembering that his relationship with Arieta hadn't so far been perfect. He decided they probably didn't need to know that right now. "She's been nothing but a blessing to me."
Which is still the truth on the whole anyway. Aurem reasoned to himself as he attempted to return Valentin's handshake.
Valentin frowned when he heard Aurem's rank, and though he didn't withdraw his hand, he did not look like he was pleased to have offered it anymore and went silent.
Sarina broke the silence after retrieving her umbrella. "Shall we go inside where it's not so wet?"
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Post by dj1678 on Jan 2, 2010 15:34:10 GMT -5
Aurem felt like he was walking into a trap. He hoped Arieta would return soon to help him as he still wasn't exactly great at conversations yet. More than that, he wished she had at least mentioned that she was from such a wealthy family.
Once inside, Sarina excused herself to go dry off after hugging her daughter in the rain, and promised tea later. Valentin led Aurem into the living room, poured himself a drink of Scotch, and sat down on one of the chairs in the room. It was the sort of fancy looking room with ornate furniture that you'd expect from someone with a house larger than some football stadiums. Aurem waited to be invited to sit, but the invitation never came. After a short while, Aurem seated himself, wondering what the cause of Valentin's sudden shift in attitude could be. The silence was becoming awkward, even for Aurem.
"The letter made it sound like you had something you wanted to talk to me about." Aurem said slowly, trying to break the ice.
"There was. There was when I thought you were somebody." Valentin replied flatly.
Aurem thought for a moment, not terribly pleased about the implications of Valentin's last statement. "I'm not sure I understand what you mean."
"I wouldn't expect someone of your rank to be able to think so deeply." Valentin said betraying some heat in his voice.
"Rank? Rank only means so much in the middle of a war. Heroes can come from any rank." Aurem countered more calmly than he felt.
"And you think you're a hero? I should have known that you'd believe in such fairy tales. Only with rank, can you gain respect, status and prestige. Someone like you would never be able to comprehend such things, let alone be worthy of my daughter!"
Lightning flashed outside, followed by the slow rumble of thunder a moment later. Aurem stood dumbstruck trying to comprehend what he'd just heard. Valentin had evidently said more than he meant to, as he muttered several foul curses under his breath.
This is about Arieta? Aurem thought.
Valentin wasn't about to allow Aurem to recover from his shock. Mistake or not, he had Aurem off guard for the moment.
"You didn't know did you?" Valentin began feigning sympathy. "She's been sending Sarina letters regularly for a while now. She wouldn't talk to us when she first enlisted, but the letters slowly started to come in. They talked of her training, the food, the war... and her partner. I had such high hopes for you when I heard she was partnered with a Senaiha. I knew your father before the war. Business contact, and a damn good one. Didn't know that either did you?"
Aurem sat trying to process all that Valentin was saying. The rant continued.
"I thought it wouldn't be so bad to give my daughter to his son. After all, he and I were alike in a lot of ways and I had met his son before. I thought he'd make sure you grew into a fine young man. What I didn't know was that he had a bastard of a son like you aside from the other son. Xenos I believe his name was. Perhaps I'll go find him instead. I'm sure he'd make a much better partner for Arieta."
"NO!" Aurem yelled standing quickly with hands and teeth clenched, his ability to control his temper fading fast.
"I see I've finally hit a nerve." Valentin said smiling smugly as though he'd just won a major battle. "Yes, I think I'll--"
Aurem lost it. Valentin was blindsided as Aurem slammed his fist into Valentin's jaw, cutting short whatever it was he was about to say.
"You... Have no idea... what he's like... anymore..." Aurem said through gritted teeth, struggling to reign in his temper. He turned toward the door to leave.
Valentin wiped the blood from his lip. "Running away? Wonderful! I've arranged for you to be shipped back to the arctic. Do be sure to write Arieta and let her know how that is, won't you, Mr. Hero? Or is that Private Hero? No matter, Arieta won't be joining you, I've already arranged for that as well."
Aurem wasn't about to grace Valentin with a response, and instead slammed the door on his way out toward the front door.
"That was mature." Valentin said to himself, downing the remainder of his Scotch.
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Post by dj1678 on Jan 4, 2010 4:37:05 GMT -5
Aurem only made it as far as the front steps before realizing he didn't have a way back to base. It was still raining, but starting to subside. Aurem sat down on the steps in the rain, not really caring if he got wet. It was better than going back inside anyway.
He attempted to calm himself down, but his mind kept wandering back to thoughts of Arieta and his brother. Whenever the two thoughts met, with Aurem imagining Arieta and Xenos together, Aurem lost hold of his calm all over again.
From somewhere in the house Aurem heard shouting. It was a female's voice, but he couldn't tell whether it was Arieta or her mother, nor what she was saying, whoever she was. Aurem decided it was none of his business and returned to his own thoughts.
Instead of dwelling on Arieta and Xenos together, Aurem tried thinking about something else Valentin had said. Still frustrating, but a bit better than before. Slowly but surely he'd calm his mind and find his way home.
What was it he had said earlier? Something about rank and status? And that I can't be with Arieta without it? But Xenos can? ...Augh!
Aurem cursed under his breath as he realized he had fallen back into the same mental hole. Behind him he heard a loud crash that sounded like dishes breaking and more yelling. It barely registered with Aurem.
His anger started spiraling into self-doubt. He began to wonder if maybe there were some truth to what Valentin was saying. Not just about Arieta and Xenos, but about rank, status, and 'heroes.'
"Maybe... I am a nobody..." Aurem said quietly to the rain.
"You're not a nobody," A voice said behind him.
Aurem looked back and saw Arieta standing behind him. He had been so wrapped in his own thoughts, that he hadn't heard her come through the front door.
She was wearing a pretty blue dress, probably the one her mother had laid out for her. It was a little more formal than most people would wear for everyday use, but then again, the whole mansion was like that. She still had her white ribbon hairband that she always wore, despite it being much simpler than her dress. Ordinarily Aurem would have been at a loss for words at Arieta's new appearance, but he was already deep enough into his depression that it barely phased him.
"You're not a nobody!" Arieta repeated more firmly. "Not to me anyway." She blushed a little as she finished speaking and sat down very close to Aurem on the steps.
She seemed to be waiting for Aurem to open up to her, but with his new depression, he'd slipped into his old habit of not speaking unless he had to. They sat in silence with the rain starting to thin. Aurem's thoughts continued to circle about the same depressing subjects. Or at least they did until Arieta leaned her head onto his shoulder.
"You shouldn't keep everything bottled up. I'm with you." Arieta said quietly.
"You are now, but I've heard I am to be reassigned to the arctic again. Without you." Aurem replied gloomily. He'd forgotten about that part of his 'conversation' with Valentin.
Arieta lifted her head when she heard this. "What? Oh, did you hear that from my father? I wouldn't worry about that so much. He can wave money around at officers to get a certain couple of privates a day off at his convenience, or other such minor favors with the military, but in the end he's just a rich businessman with no real authority over anything. So I'm coming with you. No matter what."
"Even if it means we're going back to the arctic?" Aurem asked feeling relieved she wasn't being forced to leave.
The rain had stopped, but both were now fairly wet from the rain anyway. The wind gusted, chilling both of them, as if to remind them how harsh and cold the arctic could be.
Arieta shivered and moved in closer to Aurem. "I suppose we'll just have to stick closer together for warmth." She said blushing again. As an afterthought she added, "Is that all that was bothering you?"
"...No." Aurem said gloomily remembering his depression after almost forgetting about it. He probably would have remembered sooner or later anyway, but had been more focused on Arieta and her warmth at his side.
"I'm still here." Arieta encouraged after a few minutes of silence.
"Valentin... Your father... He doesn't see me as someone... worthy of you." Aurem finally admitted.
"So? What does that matter? I'm choosing to be with you. My father can't stop that, just like he couldn't stop me from joining the military either. And even if the military tries to separate us, I'll quit and follow you anyway."
Both blushed after having each confessed, without thinking, to wanting to be with the other. Aurem recovered first.
"I don't want to tear your family apart. I've already lost mine except for my brother." He said doing his best not to think about his brother any more than he already was.
"I didn't know you still had a brother. I thought they all..." Arieta trailed off not wanting to touch a sore subject anymore than she already had.
She changed the subject quickly. "Well, if you don't want to split my family, you'll just have to be a 'somebody.' More of a somebody than you already are."
"How can I?" Aurem asked gloomily.
Arieta was silent. She probably hadn't thought that far about it and was only trying to cheer him. Her face looked like she was thinking as hard as she could for an answer, but she knew as well as he did that there wasn't one. He had her with him, and that was all he needed right now. Aurem decided he'd be in a better position to fix Arieta's family problems once he'd come to terms with his own. He put his arm around Arieta and waited for her to relax and stop trying so hard to think of a solution that didn't exist.
They sat on the steps silently for a while after. It was a bit of a surprise later when a car, the same car from earlier, pulled in front of the steps. The stuffy looking butler got out and walked over to them.
"I've been instructed to return you to the base." The butler said gesturing toward the car.
"Mom sent you?" Arieta asked.
The butler nodded. Arieta and Aurem turned back toward the house, and in one of the second floor windows, they saw Sarina waving to Aurem and her daughter. Arieta waved back. Aurem bowed, trying to express his gratitude to her as best he could nonverbally. They then allowed themselves to be ushered into the car.
At least Arieta can still trust her mother. Aurem thought taking one last look at the window as the car left the driveway.
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