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rpg_palace2005-05-17 08:39 pm
ex-tarnishe.livejournal.com) wrote in rpg_palace2005-05-17 08:39 pm
Entry tags:
Sneaky; it’s in the jeans, err, genes.
.
"It's very kind of you to fix it on the spot." Gwyn told Jared, her . . . mechanic. She tugged at the jeans she was wearing, mightily uncomfortable but trying to be discreet, and wondered at how easily she was pulling this off. She didn't know what was wrong with her car, she only knew that her bodyguard had fiddled under the hood before reluctantly staying behind around the corner and that the car had produced clouds of black smoke as it sputtered and jumped its way into the yard of the Guild where Anna's boyfriend worked. Now she had him under the hood trying to fix it, his Guild boss having given him permission to take a look at the young lady's vehicle. Gwyn eyed the handsome young man expectantly, still feeling rather exposed and naked without her bodyguard and her usual immaculate outfit.
"It's no problem. What we're here for. And it's not really that much that needs to be done." Jared nodded at the woman. "If you want, you can wait inside. There's a little cafe for the customers. Or there's one around the corner."
"No, I'm fine, thank you." Gwyn smiled. "It's a lovely day and I'm in such a thankful mood. Thankful that my vehi . . . car chose to play up right outside. I'd hate for it to have broken down out in the suburbs somewhere." Gwyneth imagined the suburbs to be full of all manner of dangers and couldn't think of a worse scenario. She leaned on the side of the hood. "Your Guildmaster must think highly of you." she commented, trying to get a conversation going. "Letting you work unsupervised like this. Is it your final year?"
"Not quite. I'm a journeyman right now. How long it takes to get to being a Master depends on how fast you learn and how ready they think you are. But I'm trying to make it go by as soon as I can. And with any luck won't be much longer." Jared moved to slide under the car.
"Ahhh." Gwyn fell silent, firstly because she didn't think Jared would hear anything she said anyway and because she was frantically trying to think of some other conversational gambit. Eventually, he came back out from under the vehicle, not, Gwyn hoped, having fixed the problem quite yet. "So?" she said quickly. "Are you from around here? Balize, I mean?"
"No, I’m from the South. I-ah. I moved here after my parents died. My uncle lives in the city, besides the Guild House being here. I've been here bout half a year" The twinge of remembering his parents was getting easier. "Have you been here long from Dnara?"
Damn! She'd not thought about her accent! "No," she said quickly. "I'm visiting relatives. I'm sorry about your parents. Mine are . . . split." Well, it wasn't exactly a lie; Gwyn just didn't want Jared suspecting anything. "Balize is lovely. The people are so nice. Do you find it so?"
"I suppose so. About the same as are nice anywhere. There are some who aren't nice, but yeah. Most of the people I've met are nice. Course, almost all of them are my uncle's friends, so that might have something to do it with." Jared got inside the car, turning the engine and listening for awhile before turning it off.
Again, Gwyn had to wait. Suppressing a sigh of frustration at being forced to give way to circumstance, she was once more quick with the questions when Jared re-emerged. "Surely a handsome young man like yourself has more than just his uncle's friends?" she said prettily. "A girlfriend, perhaps?" Jared gave her a look and she was forced to add, "I'm not in the market myself." she showed her wedding ring. "Nor do I have a sister in need. I'm just curious."
"I have a friend who is a girl. But she's not my girlfriend. And if you wish to know, yes she is one of the nice ones. She's from Dnara too, that's how I knew you were. Think she's the first person from there I ever met." Jared retrieved some tools from the tray and went back to the engine.
Oh? Discretion, that was promising. Gwyn changed tack, determined not to arouse suspicion. "That's nice." she said. "Your uncle? What does he do?"
Jared stopped what he was doing, looking her full in the face. "He's a libertine at Palace. The East Wing." It had become almost a game, seeing the reactions that would come from saying that. The older he got, the more annoyed he got by what people thought his uncle must be like to be there.
"Oh!" Gwyn was a little flummoxed to say the least. Not that she had any objection to his employment but Jared's confronting her with it made her blush. "That must be fascinating work. I'm sorry, I'm asking too many questions, aren't I? I don't mean to be nosy, it's just I get so little opportunity to chat, you see? Being new."
Jared relented, nodding. "It's okay. And you're not really asking too many questions. Usually customers just stand there, staring at us. And I've had people get more nosy than you, so you're fine." He smiled as he turned back to the engine.
"Thank you. You're very . . . kind." And he was, too, which was surprising. Gwyn found herself in the strange position of approving of this polite, well-mannered and obviously discreet young man. Anna, it seemed, had chosen well, despite his lack of title. Gwyn made a little moue of satisfaction to herself for a job well done. Christian could not possibly complain about her behavior or her methods in this instance. She'd have to file it away for future reference. When Jared emerged once more from under the hood, she was ready with a smile. "I've lied to you, I'm afraid." she said, her smile warm and genuine.
"Come to you under somewhat false pretences and now I think I should confess."
"You have?" Jared frowned. He looked around. "This isn't something that's going to get me trouble or anything, is it? Like with the Guildmaster, or the police?"
"No." Gwyneth laughed. "But I might get in trouble. With Anna." she said, holding out her hand. "I'm Gwyneth," she told him. "Anna's sister." It was the most informal introduction she'd ever made in her life and while it certainly felt strange, it didn't feel bad.
Jared automatically reached for her hand, freezing as he realized what she was saying. "Anna's...Gwyn..." He paled, becoming nervous as he bowed. "Your Highness, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get so...I don't...forgive me for not knowing you were you. All of Anna's pictures of the five of you are up in her room." He flushed. "It appears I never realize I'm about to meet one of you until I have."
"That's perfectly alright, Jared. I was being . . . sneaky." Now there's a word I don't apply to myself all that often, Gwyn thought. Seems I have more Csokas blood in me than I realized! She smiled suddenly. "I'll call my bodyguard, shall I? She broke the car, she can fix it. Perhaps your Guildmaster will let you have a short break? We could have a cup of tea and chat?"
"Umm . . . it's fixed, Your Highness." Jared blushed as he closed the hood. "It's okay. There's no charge. I was going to go on my break after you left anyway. If you come this way," Jared bowed again, pointing her towards the cafe.
Well, that was easy, Gwyn reflected as she followed Jared inside. Maybe tonight would go as well with Christian and Johnny? Perhaps it was the jeans?
"It's very kind of you to fix it on the spot." Gwyn told Jared, her . . . mechanic. She tugged at the jeans she was wearing, mightily uncomfortable but trying to be discreet, and wondered at how easily she was pulling this off. She didn't know what was wrong with her car, she only knew that her bodyguard had fiddled under the hood before reluctantly staying behind around the corner and that the car had produced clouds of black smoke as it sputtered and jumped its way into the yard of the Guild where Anna's boyfriend worked. Now she had him under the hood trying to fix it, his Guild boss having given him permission to take a look at the young lady's vehicle. Gwyn eyed the handsome young man expectantly, still feeling rather exposed and naked without her bodyguard and her usual immaculate outfit.
"It's no problem. What we're here for. And it's not really that much that needs to be done." Jared nodded at the woman. "If you want, you can wait inside. There's a little cafe for the customers. Or there's one around the corner."
"No, I'm fine, thank you." Gwyn smiled. "It's a lovely day and I'm in such a thankful mood. Thankful that my vehi . . . car chose to play up right outside. I'd hate for it to have broken down out in the suburbs somewhere." Gwyneth imagined the suburbs to be full of all manner of dangers and couldn't think of a worse scenario. She leaned on the side of the hood. "Your Guildmaster must think highly of you." she commented, trying to get a conversation going. "Letting you work unsupervised like this. Is it your final year?"
"Not quite. I'm a journeyman right now. How long it takes to get to being a Master depends on how fast you learn and how ready they think you are. But I'm trying to make it go by as soon as I can. And with any luck won't be much longer." Jared moved to slide under the car.
"Ahhh." Gwyn fell silent, firstly because she didn't think Jared would hear anything she said anyway and because she was frantically trying to think of some other conversational gambit. Eventually, he came back out from under the vehicle, not, Gwyn hoped, having fixed the problem quite yet. "So?" she said quickly. "Are you from around here? Balize, I mean?"
"No, I’m from the South. I-ah. I moved here after my parents died. My uncle lives in the city, besides the Guild House being here. I've been here bout half a year" The twinge of remembering his parents was getting easier. "Have you been here long from Dnara?"
Damn! She'd not thought about her accent! "No," she said quickly. "I'm visiting relatives. I'm sorry about your parents. Mine are . . . split." Well, it wasn't exactly a lie; Gwyn just didn't want Jared suspecting anything. "Balize is lovely. The people are so nice. Do you find it so?"
"I suppose so. About the same as are nice anywhere. There are some who aren't nice, but yeah. Most of the people I've met are nice. Course, almost all of them are my uncle's friends, so that might have something to do it with." Jared got inside the car, turning the engine and listening for awhile before turning it off.
Again, Gwyn had to wait. Suppressing a sigh of frustration at being forced to give way to circumstance, she was once more quick with the questions when Jared re-emerged. "Surely a handsome young man like yourself has more than just his uncle's friends?" she said prettily. "A girlfriend, perhaps?" Jared gave her a look and she was forced to add, "I'm not in the market myself." she showed her wedding ring. "Nor do I have a sister in need. I'm just curious."
"I have a friend who is a girl. But she's not my girlfriend. And if you wish to know, yes she is one of the nice ones. She's from Dnara too, that's how I knew you were. Think she's the first person from there I ever met." Jared retrieved some tools from the tray and went back to the engine.
Oh? Discretion, that was promising. Gwyn changed tack, determined not to arouse suspicion. "That's nice." she said. "Your uncle? What does he do?"
Jared stopped what he was doing, looking her full in the face. "He's a libertine at Palace. The East Wing." It had become almost a game, seeing the reactions that would come from saying that. The older he got, the more annoyed he got by what people thought his uncle must be like to be there.
"Oh!" Gwyn was a little flummoxed to say the least. Not that she had any objection to his employment but Jared's confronting her with it made her blush. "That must be fascinating work. I'm sorry, I'm asking too many questions, aren't I? I don't mean to be nosy, it's just I get so little opportunity to chat, you see? Being new."
Jared relented, nodding. "It's okay. And you're not really asking too many questions. Usually customers just stand there, staring at us. And I've had people get more nosy than you, so you're fine." He smiled as he turned back to the engine.
"Thank you. You're very . . . kind." And he was, too, which was surprising. Gwyn found herself in the strange position of approving of this polite, well-mannered and obviously discreet young man. Anna, it seemed, had chosen well, despite his lack of title. Gwyn made a little moue of satisfaction to herself for a job well done. Christian could not possibly complain about her behavior or her methods in this instance. She'd have to file it away for future reference. When Jared emerged once more from under the hood, she was ready with a smile. "I've lied to you, I'm afraid." she said, her smile warm and genuine.
"Come to you under somewhat false pretences and now I think I should confess."
"You have?" Jared frowned. He looked around. "This isn't something that's going to get me trouble or anything, is it? Like with the Guildmaster, or the police?"
"No." Gwyneth laughed. "But I might get in trouble. With Anna." she said, holding out her hand. "I'm Gwyneth," she told him. "Anna's sister." It was the most informal introduction she'd ever made in her life and while it certainly felt strange, it didn't feel bad.
Jared automatically reached for her hand, freezing as he realized what she was saying. "Anna's...Gwyn..." He paled, becoming nervous as he bowed. "Your Highness, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get so...I don't...forgive me for not knowing you were you. All of Anna's pictures of the five of you are up in her room." He flushed. "It appears I never realize I'm about to meet one of you until I have."
"That's perfectly alright, Jared. I was being . . . sneaky." Now there's a word I don't apply to myself all that often, Gwyn thought. Seems I have more Csokas blood in me than I realized! She smiled suddenly. "I'll call my bodyguard, shall I? She broke the car, she can fix it. Perhaps your Guildmaster will let you have a short break? We could have a cup of tea and chat?"
"Umm . . . it's fixed, Your Highness." Jared blushed as he closed the hood. "It's okay. There's no charge. I was going to go on my break after you left anyway. If you come this way," Jared bowed again, pointing her towards the cafe.
Well, that was easy, Gwyn reflected as she followed Jared inside. Maybe tonight would go as well with Christian and Johnny? Perhaps it was the jeans?
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