James
Vezda Nasaris
The Great Hall of the Nasaris Manor

When her father had asked her to come to his study and speak with him after the evening meal almost a fortnight prior, Vezda had a feeling she wasn't going to like whatever it was he wanted to talk about. When he announced to her that a suitor had finally been found for her, her worst fears were confirmed. Her father expected her to put down sword and lance and to settle into the life of a lord's wife.

The lord in question had arrived on her family's estate that morn, and was even now sitting across the table from her at the evening meal with her family. The two of them hadn't shared so much as two words since being introduced. Had he come all this way across Terresol only to find her not to his liking? 

That couldn't be it; he had been stealing glances at her throughout the meal, every time he thought she wasn't looking. William didn't act like the typical lovesick young man, though, perhaps that was why she couldn't discern his thoughts.

Finishing her meal and downing the last of her wine, Vezda was about to excuse herself to bed when she heard a sound that caused her to pause and glance over to William, who was looking directly up at her now.
Marvin
Lord William Guiscard
The Great Hall of the Nasaris Manor 

The answer that came from Terresol slightly surprised William. For all the intricate words that Robert had put in the letter, he feared that it wouldn't be enough, that perhaps he was still shooting far above his means. When the response arrived, he wasted little time. He assembled a guard of ten men, gathered provisions for the journey to Terresol and left Gerard and Robert in his stead, ordering them to keep the peace and write to him if anything demanded his immediate attention. 

And so now, here he was. The welcome he received was warm enough. The Nasaris family swarmed him, curious as to who he was, his character, his beliefs, everything was under scrutiny. William kept his cool. *The trader said that they were almost out of options. How badly can this go?*, he thought. Deciding to ere on the side of caution though, he tried to answer their questions and keep up with them in conversation. Vezda was always there, although respectfully kept at a distance. She was a beautiful girl with sharp cheekbones, blue eyes and cascading hair. *Lordlings are stupid like that. I wouldn't be able to ignore her much*. As if to prove his point, he was finding himself looking more and more in her direction.

The stories about her martial prowess seemed to hold some truth in them as well. She was certainly trained in the arts of combat. Her stance was that of a warrior and her arms, visible due to the sleeveless dresses that were the fashion of Terresol , had muscles that were toned from the training she had received. *Yes, lordlings are definitely stupid* 

The delicate dance continued through the day until they had finally reached the evening meal without exchanging a single word with Vezda. William wasn't under the impression that spending time with your spouse was a prerequisite for marriages like this to take place, yet he would try getting away with another small break in the traditions of the nobility. As soon as Vezda rose from her seat, he cleared his throat and addressed her father, his voice full of respect. Yet his eyes were fixed on her, a fact that she had clearly noticed by now. 
"My Lord, I see that the Lady Vezda is leaving. Could I possibly burden her with a walk through the gardens? I spotted a nice fountain when we were there and I'd like to install one in Eagle's Nest, so she can feel at home"
James
Vezda Nasaris
The Great Hall of the Nasaris Manor

Vezda looked over to her father, curious if he would oblige William's request. To her surprise, her father was looking to *Her,* Waiting for her reaction to William's request. Although not the most enthusiastic bride-to-be, Vezda would not be rude to William.

"Of course you may; come, I will show you around," She offered, pausing beside the high, arched entryway with an arm held out for William to take. When he did, she led him out into the much cooler night, following the gravel pathway from the manor into the gardens behind it. Arm in arm they walked, the sea breeze swirling around them as they did.

Suddenly, she felt like a young girl again. With all her youth spent in the training yard, she'd never had much time or energy to pay any attention to the opposite sex. Now that she was this close to a man- someone she would soon be married to, no less- she was lost for words. He was handsome and well-spoken, which had surprised her for a swainsblood man who had somehow come to clame a lordship.

"I hope my brothers didn't prod you too much. They can be a... Well, they're a bunch of brutes most days. Do you have any brothers?" She asked, glancing over at him in the moonlight.

Perhaps marraige to this stranger would be tolerable. Though they had yet to speak to each other, she had been watching him interact with her family and the servants, and he had been nothing short of a perfect gentleman, save for a few slip-ups that showed his lower-born roots. Vezda found them charming- he didn't have his nose in the air like other noble men, who found her ugly merely because she could defeat them in aswordfight.
Marvin
William Guiscard
The Great Hall of the Nasaris Manor

When she accepted, William shot her a smirk. "Thank you, my Lady", he said rising from his seat. William approached Vezda, a little more hurriedly than it would be appropriate perhaps and placed his arm on hers. He wasn't sure if he had done it properly, he hadn't attended many soirees in South Feyshore. 

William let her lead him around her home. He was content watching the same grounds that he had walked through during the day, the moonlight giving them a pale silvery color. Vezda was pulling him slightly when he was lagging behind. She was stronger than any woman he knew, lending even more credence to what was said about her. Then, she interrupted his thoughts. 

"Oh no. I've been around mercenaries since I was 16. Mafalda damn me if I can't handle a few Lordlings", he answered before quickly realizing what he had called her brothers out loud. *Oh well, it's out now. She might like it*. William pressed on as if he had named them the most polite princes on the world. "I have three myself, although I don't know what became of them. I left the North Shore before the whole messy affair"
James
Vezda Nasaris
Nasaris Manor

Vezda couldn't stop herself from chuckling when he called her brothers lordlings. Others might feel slighted by such a thing but she was reassured by his candor. It was a rare trait, particularly in the suitors who were so rare for her. The second he mentioned the war and not knowing of his own family, though, she stifled her amusement.

"I'm sorry. I hope that you're comfortable on your recently acquired holdings. Is that... Is that why you came all this way seeking to marry?" Vezda asked, the question having been burning in the back of her thoughts the whole day. As a new lord, an heir would help legitimize his claim to his new holdings, and heirs only happened one way.

A brief flash of them together in the marital bed flitted through her mind as she looked into his eyes, causing Vezda to flush. Was she *Actually* Entertaining the idea that she might do this for more reasons than to please her father? He intrigued her, that much she knew. Growing up among mercenaries, leaving his family, being granted a lordship over his own estate...
Marvin
William Guiscard
Nasaris Manor

"Yes. Believe me, marriage was the furthest thing from my mind. I was content with sharing my fortune with me, myself and I. But new positions carry new burdens. An unmarried Lord is an oddity, distrusted, not as he should be. There was a rumor that I preferred men at one point", he told her. Beating around the bush wasn't going to help and, if he had gauged her well, wouldn't particularly please her. This one liked directness. 
"You face a similar predicament, don't you?", he posited the question rhetorically. "Your position, that of a noble lady, doesn't entail swordplay and jousting, yet you like it so much". Stopping abruptly, he disentangled himself from her hand and gave her look from top to bottom, trying to imagine her in armor. *Only in armor, Willy?*
"Are you any good? Stories can be overrated", he continued, trying to get a rise out of her.
James
Vezda Nasaris
Nasaris Manor

Ah, she had guessed correctly. Knowing that made her both disappointed yet also pleased that out of all the marriageable ladies he could have picked, he'd traveled the length of Terresol to wed her of all people. And, if his challenge was anything to go by, he'd done it knowing full well what her 'little secret' was, the one that had caused nearly every other suitor to turn his nose up at her year after year. Grinning, Vezda stopped to look over at him, meeting his eyes.

"Would you like to find out in earnest?" She asked, raising a fine brow as she stopped on the path, ready to show him the way to the training yard should he actually take up her offer. Her father would disapprove mightily if he knew- what if she beat William and he called off the wedding, embarrassed at being bested by his soon-to-be bride?- but Vezda wanted to see what *He* Was like in the ring as well.

It had nothing- *So she told herself*- to do with the fact that she wanted to see him out of the frippery of the evening and in something more practical for sparring, something that would give her a better look at him. She'd sparred with many, many men and never once ogled them. This would be no different. Right? Except she'd never been betrothed to any of those men, and none of them had smirked at her with the same playfullness as William had.
Marvin
William laughed. Not a chuckle or a smirk that the rules of propriety prescribed but a genuine laugh. Vezda rose to his challenge eagerly, raising her eyebrow as it all suddenly became very personal. He had called her ability into to question and she was bound to defend it.

"Why not", he said, moving his shoulders nonchalantly, as if he was dismissing her, trying to play a little mind game with her before their probable fight.
"It would be unfair though. That lovely dress of yours doesn't seem comfortable. Not what I would wear in a fight"
James
Vezda Nasaris
Nasaris Manor

Dropping the more 'proper' embrace with his arm, Vezda took him by the hand as she set the course for the training yards she was so familiar with. As she did, she hoped he wouldn't see the slight blush his little comment about her dress had earned- she'd worn this one specifically in the hopes of earning his attention, hoping to get him to speak to her after a long day of silence. Apparently, it hadn't been necessary.

"Then it's a good thing I shall be taking it off, though you shan't be watching I'm afraid," She teased with a wink, "Do you *Really* Think I would fight in my best dress? Well, second best; the best is still being sewn for the wedding."

A wedding that, the longer she spent in his presence, the more she was sure was the right path to have chosen. She had turned away suitors before, had denied men with much better prospects than William's, but her father's pleading had worn her down of the years and this time she had agreed to simply be done with it. Perhaps the gods had planned it this way?

"What do you wager if you win?" Vezda asked as they entered the training yard, pausing before entering the barracks tower where she would shoo away a few of the pages in order to change into something more appropriate.
Marvin
"What in the... ", exclaimed William as Vezda grabbed him by the hand and started leading him somewhere, probably to the training yard. Managing to surprise him, William found himself wearing a youthful smirk, a silly expression really that came all too naturally.
"Eager to lose, aren't we?", he said as they reached a building that was certainly the barracks. All of them, it seemed, looked the same around Marin.

"Oh come on. Now you are being all ladylike", with a faux displeasure in his tone, bordering on the dramatic. "Oh well, I suppose I'll have to wait for the big day"

"That's an interesting question", said William, a hand moving on his chin as if he was deep in thought. *Oh, to hell with it*
"I think I want a kiss",he said, turning to face her. "Although that might give you some incentive to lose. I want you to do your best". His teasing was incessant now that she had reacted well to it and it seemed that she was capable of giving as bad as she got.
James
Wait for the big d-
Oh. *Oh.*
Vezda swallowed as her cheeks grew warm, about to retort with something clever when he named his wager. *A* ***Kiss?*** She thought to herself, mouth agape as she continued to turn deeper scarlet. She'd really gotten herself into it this time but she wasn't about to back out of a challenge, nor would she show him any mercy on the field.

"A kiss, is that all?" She asked, doing her best to feign disbelief at his deceptively simple request. "I accept."
But what did *She* Want? It took her a moment of thinking, standing there at the doorway to the guard barracks tower, but finally she settled on something that she felt was a fitting reward.
"If *I* Win, you must tell me one secret."

Turning and entering the barracks, she exited not but a few moments later wearing the same simple outfit as many of the household guards, carrying a pair of wooden wasters to spar with. Vezda felt strange allowing a man who was not one of the family or someone in their employ see her dressed this way. It felt vulnerable, standing before him in clothes that left little of her form to imagination, designed not to get in the way of work or war- unlike dresses.
Marvin
"A secret?",replied William. It was his turn to raise an eyebrow. *That's far more useful than a kiss. I would have gotten that anyway*
"You're clever, has anyone told you that before? Alright, Lady Vezda. A secret"

William waited patiently for her to return, pacing in front of the barracks as she changed into something more fitting for combat. She returned in the garb of a guard, carrying two wooden swords. Her form was far easier to study now. Whomever taught her hadn't gone easy with her. She was in excellent shape. 
"Wooden swords? Is this recruit training?", said William as he unclasped his cloak and set it aside. "When we return to Eagle's Nest, we'll train with steel ones".
*When we return to Eagle's Nest*. Would she even like it? It couldn't hold a candle to this place. At the moment, it wasn't much but he had plans for it. And she would be there to help him make them come to life.
Now though, he had a fight to win and a kiss to claim. Or perhaps, a secret to share
James
"Yes, I have been told that," *Among many other things* She thought to herself but did not add. "I would have chosen steel but I did not think it wise to risk injuring you before we are to be wed. Next time, I will remember your preference."
Vezda rolled her shoulders to relax them as she entered the fighting ring, trying to clear her mind and focus on the task at hand: winning this duel. Even if he didn't make the best effort, even if he treated her with kid gloves, she would damn sure show him that every rumor he had heard was true.
Marvin
William Guiscard
Nasaris Manor

"Wouldn't that be a sight? Our wedding would be the gossip of the year", said William as he assumed a balanced stance, good for either attack or defence. *It'll still be gossiped about but that is to be expected*. William was sure that a lot of people thought that Vezda would be marrying below her station. But that is their issue. They should have snatched her first if they were so concerned about it.

They begun circling each other, gauging the style and angle of attack that would be the most suitable. William started off with a few simple strikes, indeed what a recruit would be taught in his first few days of training. Vezda parried all of them expertly, not missing a beat. *Time for something else then*, he thought. He begun with strike towards her lower body, aiming to force her to lower her guard and then proceed to pummel here from above, utilizing his height against her.
James
Vezda Nasaris
Nasaris Manor

All thoughts of weddings and gossip vanished into the night breeze as William advanced on her. Years of hard training in this very yard- this very arena, no less- came forward as she answered each strike. His style was unfamiliar, nothing like that she had grown up with or had encountered among the tournaments she had entered. Even more, he did not patronise her by pulling his blows- each one, should it have landed on flesh, would have left a bruise for sure.

Vezda's respect for this man doubled even as she caught on to what he was attempting to do. *Sneaky,* She thought with a silent smirk, *You're not the first, though.* Many opponents had done this to her, seeing her height and he slighter frame as an opportunity to use brute force and stature to conquer her in the ring.
*Let him think he can do it,* She mused, leaving herself defenseless and waiting for him to try to take advantage of the opening.

Just before he could, she pulled a small rondel dagger from within her tunic and deflected the first blow so that she could continue to defend herself, this time from the top.

"Ah, William- you are a typical man, are you not? Wanting to be *On top."* She teased, laughing heartily.
Marvin
William Guiscard 
Nasaris Manor 

William's plan was working well. Perhaps too well. Just as he was ready to transition from one hit to another, Vezda pulled a dagger. She blocked the hit, her defences standing as tough as ever forcing him to pull back and reassess the threat. *A dagger, huh? Stacking the deck in her favor*. She might have been trained properly but the woman knew how to fight dirty as well. Couldn't blame her, fighting was indeed a dirty business. You couldn't expect your enemy to play fair

"Why yes, we are all the same I am afraid. Terrible brutes", he retorted. Brute force wouldn't work so easily with her and now that she had two weapons, Vezda had doubled her avenues of attack. *Let's even things, shall we?*
William would allow her to enjoy this for a bit, bringing himself closer and closer to his discarded cloak. When they would be close enough, he would attempt to throw it at her, a technique he had witnessed in the Southern Isles. *It was a net, not a cloak but it will have to do. At least, it'll give me an opening*
James
Vezda Nasaris
Nasaris Manor

"I did not say you were a *Brute,"* The lady corrected with a grunt as she danced aside, barely out of reach of a trike that surely would have smarted if it had landed. "I merely said typical. I also did not say that I did not *Enjoy* It."

Vezda was curious what he was up to as he walked them around the ring. Now that she had shown her hand he was sure to do the same but she couldn't be sure what his plans were. There were no walls with which to corner or pin her, and no other terrain to use to his advantage. What was this former mercenarie man playing at?

"What say you? Does the truth live up to the story the rumors of a maiden who dons a man's armor to put men on their asses? Or should I end this and claim my prize?"
If her mother or father overheard her speaking like that, they would surely faint, but William seemed to take her- *All* Of her- in stride.
Marvin
William Guiscard
Nasaris Manor

William only grunted in response. Teasing was a fine thing but winning a fight was even better. *Especially with the prize that's on the line*

Hit after hit, step after step, Vezda was falling for the trap that William was laying for her. *Your tutor didn't teach you everything*, he thought, careful not to betray what was about to unfold. 

Vezda, probably assured of her victory was now increasing her verbal attacks as well. William received them in silence, preferring to let his actions speak but he couldn't hold a chuckle down. This new, furious and boisterous Vezda, thirsty for victory, was to his liking as well.
Finally, he was right where he wanted to be. Instead of parrying her attack, he moved out of its trajectory. The wooden sword cut through the air as his hand found his cloak. Vezda had a few precious seconds to react but his attack proved too random and unexpected. William followed it up with a hit to her wrist, forcing her to drop her weapon before dropping his own and charging at her, tackling her to the ground while his free hand went for her dagger.
"Oh the truth lives up to the rumors, alright. You are indeed a maiden", he said with a smile, even though she couldn't see it with her head being under the cloak.
"Do you yield, my Lady?"
James
Vezda Nasaris
Nasaris Manor

When realization of what his plans were materialized at last, it was too late. William had the agility and swiftness of a snake when he struck, startling a cry from her when he knocked the waster from her hand. Before she could attempt to fend him off with it he'd taken her to the ground, knocking the wind from her and snatching away the rondel even as he threw the cloak over her head. After catching her breath at last, Vezda let out a snort of laughter, grinning beneath the cloak.

"If I do not yield?" She challenged, tensing her body as if to attempt to wrestle him off. It was a bluff, of course; she knew when she was defeated. Yet, a small part of her wanted to see if he would take the bait, if he would allow her to goad him into it as many others might have. *What am I* ***Doing?*** She questioned herself, never one to be so bold with the men.
Marvin
William Guiscard
Nasaris Manor

"I am doing you a favor my Lady. I am not accustomed to letting people yield being a lowborn ruffian and all", said William as he started loosening his grip. His hands would be needed elsewhere. He went about it carefully, as Vezda could try to surprise him and he couldn't allow her to do that. His left hand trailed downwards until it rested just above the small of her back. Instead of lashing out, she moved to accommodate him, a pleasant surprise. With his right hand, he took the cloak out of her face. Her light blue orbs locked with his own brown ones. His hand moved to caress her left cheekbone. *So sharp you could cut yourself*. William was so close that he could smell the wine in her breath. With his hand moving behind her neck and becoming lost in her hair, he closed that distance too. 
*I swear that I had something clever*