[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-color: #171818; padding:20px; border-top: 10px #171818 solid; border-bottom: 10px #171818 solid;] Take a chance, take a risk, make a change and breakaway {WORDS } 754 {TAGGED } Barknel{WEARING} Fancy gown! "No! I won't!" With that one last burst of shouting at the petite older woman that stood before her, Aleia turned on her heel and fled from the house. The woman who had been engaging her daughter turned to another of her children. "Get her back, Liam." Without hearing that, Aleia slammed the door, picked up her skirt and fled through Solitude toward where her mare would be. If she could just get to her mare she could escape this - or so her irrational mind told her. Sprinting past citizens of Solitude, hair and skirts flying, she picked up her pace until she was running as fast as she could go in the clothing she had on. "Aleia!" Despite hearing her brothers voice, Aleia didn't stop or slow down, but continued on. No doubt he was supposed to bring her back, but she wouldn't allow it! How running away would help, she wasn't sure, but it didn't matter so much. She wasn't getting married for anyone! Not for her mother, not for her father, and certainly not the queen! And to someone she didn't even know? Preposterous! Weaving her way through various people, Aleia slipped through the back way toward the stables that her father had on the edge of the city. Fleeing past the city guards, Aleia nearly fainted in relief when she saw the stables with her mare poking her head out of her stall. "Aleia!" Oh Talos. Taking a quick peek over her shoulder, Aleia yelped under her breath and lifted her skirts once more to sprint to her mare, snagging her bridle off the peg at the edge while she did so. Quickly undoing the latch to the door of the stall, she slipped the bit in her mares mouth and placed the bridle on her. Once more she looked over to see Liam closing in on her. Muttering a word she was sure her mother would shout at her for using, Aleia flipped her reins over the neck of her mare and lifted her skirt around her thighs to get it out of her way. With a foot quickly placed on the side of the wall, she pushed herself up and easily swung onto the back of her mare. With a hiss between her teeth, Aleia pressed low against her neck and touched her heels to the mares sides. Unfortunately, the heavy fabric pressing against the legs of her young - and still flighty - combined with the man waving his arms coming from her side caused the mare to sidestep quickly to the left and buck slightly. Despite being a conditioned rider, the heavy weight of her gown caused her to pitch up her neck and start to fall off. Clinging desperately to her neck, Aleia couldn't quite keep her seat and so she was tossed off, bouncing in the dirt and hay for a moment before she lay still and groaned. "Thyra...", she muttered out in frustration, before she felt familiar hands clasping at her arms and a worried face hoovering over hers. "Aleia?! Hey, sis? Are you alright?" Realizing that she couldn't get away from her brother now, Aleia propped open an eye. "If I tell you I broke something, can I not go before a barbarian to be bartered like a cow?" His laugh, as strained as it was, told her what she needed to know. "Probably." "Oh...well then I broke my leg. Ow, Liam. It hurts so baaaaad.", she moaned out, before she was lifted to her feet. "I'm sorry, Aleia, but it's a decree from the queen. I'm afraid lying won't get you out of it." "Well damn the queen.", she muttered out the word she'd picked up from her brothers after so many years of tagging along with them. "And don't swear, mom's already ready to force feed you your own hair." She didn't doubt that... {NOTES} Mwuahaha, I figured I would give you a round to just get into it and then they could get it on-*shot*

table by CALIFORNIA DREAMING of CAUTION 2.0, lyrics by Chevelle

Tagged : Aleia | Words : 852 | Notes : I love this already. XD

Barknel was having a tough time thinking over all the laughing and loud voices from the rest of his warband, but though they all seemed to think everything was fine and dandy, he kept having one big question that he asked and nobody heard. Even the ones who were slapping him on the back when they passed him didn’t act like they knew anything about the really confused look on Barknel’s face as he wandered with them like he was drunk. He wasn’t, but he felt like he’d taken down three casks of mead this morning. He tried asking them again, but his voice was just as confused as his face. It almost sounded like a whisper to him, with everyone else being so loud. ”Why do I get married?” The question didn’t make much sense, since he kind of understood why. They’d told him why – it was all some politics that Barknel didn’t really care about or understand, but he did get that the warband needed to get in good with the queen so they didn’t get hunted by the Imperials the same as those Stormcloaks. But Barknel kept asking anyway. He wasn’t…he hadn’t really…all he knew about women was that they could give him a good romp sometimes, and that the ones in the warband were the greatest women he could ever hope to meet…even if some of them were about as hard-muscled as Barknel himself. He’d never thought anything about marriage, even with a bunch of the warband members being married to each other or people around Skyirm. But apparently he was the only one the right age for the women of Solitude…or the only unmarried one. So they told him he was to get married. He still didn’t really understand.

And now they were telling him he was going to go see the queen. She was…setting things up for the marriage for the warband, since they hadn’t been having much luck before. The people in Solitude still called them barbarians even though everyone respected them, so the rich people weren’t really sending their daughters out like they were going out of style to get married to anyone in the warband. Barknel had to talk to the queen about what he was going to be doing about getting his marriage set up. That’s what the rest of the warband told him, at least. They’d told him the queen was a pretty woman, too. They’d even taunted him a little that if he played his cards right, he’d be marrying her and getting to, as they put it, “conquer the royal palace.” They were lying, but…he couldn’t say their talking didn’t put thoughts in his head. Barknel had never seen her, but he figured that if she really was as pretty as they said and he got it fixed in his mind to start conquering the royal palace, talking to her would go even worse than it normally would with him not knowing anything to say to a royal or a noble or anyone important in Skyrim.

He still drunkenly kept walking with the rest of the warband, not realizing that as he’d been thinking, they had shown up at the gates of the palace and a few of them were being let in. He finally tried to pay attention to what was going on when they walked inside, led by some man in very fancy robes, but his mind wandered constantly. It wasn’t that Barknel didn’t like the idea of getting married. He loved women in a bunch of different ways, but he’d just never really…gotten hold of one to settle down with…even if he’d gotten “hold” of plenty. He still remembered the new woman in the warband from a few years back who had almost chopped his arm off from his giving her even a little smack on the rump – accidentally, too, since she was so brawny he’d thought she was a man and he was trying to be supportive. But anyway, Barknel did really like the idea of what was going to happen with this marriage, even if…he didn’t know…really…who he was going to be meeting to marry or how to deal with having just one woman in his life all the time or…well, anything about marriage. He was so used to his “sisters” in the warband that he couldn’t really imagine what anyone from Solitude would be like. Hopefully, when he met with the queen, he would get it all figured out…

And that was going to be soon. ”Barknel…act like you’ve got some sense, alright? This is the queen after all.” Just as he turned to look at the older woman speaking to him, Barknel noticed that everyone suddenly seemed to stop in place and be bowing their heads. Snapping back to attention, he looked ahead and suddenly did the same, the woman nudging him forward until he slightly staggered to the front of the little troop of warband members and tried to figure out where they were from only being able to see everyone’s feet.

He was going to really ruin this, wasn’t he?

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-color: #171818; padding:20px; border-top: 10px #171818 solid; border-bottom: 10px #171818 solid;] Take a chance, take a risk, make a change and breakaway {WORDS } 923 {TAGGED } BARBARIAN MAAAN {WEARING} Fancy gown that's a biiit dirty XD "Liam, I need to put Thyra away.", she said when he started to lead her away, desperate for at least a moment of stalling. The look he gave her said that he didn't trust her not to attempt running off a second time. Though the thought had passed through her mind in the few seconds, she had ultimately decided against it. Liam was her brother, and she loved him and was sure he didn't want her to have to go through with this just as much, but he was also less emotional about this and it was his duty to drag her off her mare if she tried it again. And if she had to be led through Skyrim to her death - alright, so she was being a bit dramatic - she would rather it be on her own two feet and with a little bit of dignity than dragged through the streets kicking and screaming. "Sis, if you-" "I won't run off, I promise.", she said somewhat in defeat, before he nodded and released the gentle grip he'd had on her arm. Brushing off her gown slightly, she picked up the skirt and made her way back to where her mare had stopped and was cropping at the Skyrim grass some feet away. With her skirt bunched up in one hand, Aleia snagged the reins from where they trailed behind her and pulled her head up to lead her back to her stall, releasing her from her bridled bounds and hanging it back up on the nail outside her stall. And so she was ready to go face her death. Walking pridefully back to her brother, Aleia followed him while he was leading. "You have hay in your hair.", he mentioned in an amused voice, to which she snorted in an unladylike fashion. "I'm going to be bartered off to a barbarian, I highly doubt anyone will care that I have hay in my hair." Her voice was mildly frustrated at that. "Mmm, good point." AND HE LAUGHED. "I'm glad you find this so funny.", she muttered out and poked him in the ribs. She waited for an entire minute before she said anything more, but when she did it was in a desperate voice. "Liam, I don't want to get married to anyone! Let alone some barbarian that will probably eat me when he gets tired of being married or when I do something to upset him. I can't help that I speak my mind, I'm going to be eaten within a fortnight!" She could tell because she looked so distressed that he was attempting not to laugh, but it also didn't take an intelligent person to realize he was highly amused by her worries. "Liam Snow-Proud! Don't you dare laugh at me. What happens if he eats me? Will you just eat me along with him?" "Now Aleia...nothing says he's going to even pick you. Perhaps Rakel will be chosen." Aleia thought of her prissy older sister and said a "Mmm.", in response. If anyone would be eaten alive by a barbarian, it might be her two days of constant complaining about her gowns having a smudge of dirt on them. "We can only hope Helga was chosen as well. There's more meat on her bones, wouldn't he rather marry her to eat later?" He couldn't contain his laughter then, and his booming laughter caused her to giggle along with him - which in turn helped release a bit of her tension. But when they stopped laughing all the nagging doubts crept back in. "I wish Iain were here." Her brother would be able to fix this - even if it meant challenging this barbarian to a duel. Iain was powerful, and he'd been training with weapons since he was a boy, he could win! Then again...all her brothers had been trained from that young, and she didn't see them jumping forward to challenge this guy. "There isn't much Iain could do, Aleia." She realized that, but it was still a bit more. "I know.", she said glumly. And then the blue palace was looming in front of her. With one last burst of rebellion, she dug her heels in and balked slightly, and Liam slacked off to allow her a moment to adjust to the situation. It took that moment for her to walk again, fear squeezing at her chest. Why did she have to be here in this situation? Why couldn't just Rakel have been and she gotten off? It wasn't even proper for both her and her sister to be here, was it? When she got there, Liam disengaged himself from her, gave her one more pat and a look of sorrow, and then continued in to probably tell them that they were all ready. Her sister was there, which Aleia wasn't sure if that helped or didn't to be perfectly honest with herself. "Aleia...", the snooty was already starting. "You...are filthy. What did you do? Take a dirt bath?" The look she gave her sister while she marched over was one of annoyance, but stubbornly she refused to wipe the dirt smudges from her face and gown, or pull the hay from her hair. "I thought I should make myself presentable to a barbarian." The word 'barbarian' sent her sister over the edge again, and caused her to break down and wail again, to which Aleia sighed. They were in the courtyard, while this barbarian and the group were apparently being presented to the queen up above. That was fine with her, they could stay up there forever for all she cared. She also noticed that Helga was indeed there, along with a few sturdy nords from various family. Oh good, he'd have a chance to see all the sturdy nords and pick them to eat when he got upset with them. But still...there was always a chance. And so, perhaps from pure instinct, when she heard the doors start to open, Aleia ducked down behind where Helga and her sister were standing side by side to hide behind their large gowns - and in Helga's case, large everything else. Surely he would pick before he even saw her, and she would be safe to live her life as an old maid forever! Perfect idea, now...if she could just... Inching forward, she attempted to cover herself as best she could with the gowns. "Aleia!", her sister snapped, which made her momentarily stop her wailing. "Shhh, Rakel, I'm trying to...uh...fix my hair before he sees me.", she lied, but that seemed to placate her sister. {NOTES} Oh my goodness I had far too much fun with this XD

table by CALIFORNIA DREAMING of CAUTION 2.0, lyrics by Chevelle

Tagged : Aleia | Words : 899 | Notes : Oh man I love this. XD

Barknel hadn’t been ready for the nudge he got from the side while his head was bowed, so he looked at the warband member without knowing what she wanted before he saw that everyone was standing up straight again. Barknel did the same thing, jerking his head straight up. Now he could look and see who was standing around him. Aside from the warband, a bunch of people in fancy robes and jewelry talked off to the side, a few of them looking like they were whispering about the warband. Barknel didn’t waste time guessing what they were whispering about. After deciding none of them were worth looking too long, he turned ahead, seeing a woman in the fanciest dress he saw in the whole room giving the warband a hard stare. No, wait…giving Barknel a hard stare. His eyebrows raised up, with him trying to figure out why this woman – this really pretty woman, even if she did seem too…fancy – thought he was the best-looking thing in the room. Then it hit him. She was sitting on a throne. This was…the queen. It didn’t take any time for Barknel’s brain to take off in fifty different directions, like a rabbit after someone through a rock at it. He couldn’t really get what she was saying to him into his brain while she stood up and walked over, just because she did look really good and Barknel had no idea what someone said to a queen. The warband…could have told him about this ahead of time….

He didn’t really hear anything she said once she was only a few feet away from him, so he just stared at her…at her lips, mostly, and decided they were pretty too…even if he didn’t know what they were telling him. But she’d probably said something that had meaning to it, because she stared back at him like he was supposed to say something. Barknel, deciding it probably wasn’t..the right thing to do to stare at a queen’s lips, stared off anywhere but at her and coughed a little, trying to think of something to say. ”It…” It what? What it? ”Yes.” Wait, didn’t queens need some kind of title when someone talked to them? He thought so…it would help if the warband had told him something about how to talk to her. ”Lady queen.” Barknel didn’t really look at her straight-on, but he thought she looked kind of okay with him saying that, so maybe he’d guessed right. Now he had to try to listen…and not….look at the lips…. ”We are set to begin. I will not be attending, but the nobles are…present in the courtyard. I hope to hear of your success.”

And just like that, she turned around and went off to some side hallway, a big dress rubbing on the floor behind her and…well, she didn’t look happy about anything. Barknel knew enough to know her husband had died because of Ulfric Stormcloak, so she probably wasn’t really happy about that and having someone…else get a husband. Well, Barknel wouldn’t say anything about it, but if she wanted him for a husband like the warband had been joking about, he would “conquer” her…a lot. Those lips too…

Stopping his thoughts from going wild, Barknel turned around and smiled awkwardly at the warband before the fancy people started pushing them in the direction of what Barknel guessed was the courtyard where all the noble daughters would be. His muscles tightened up when he remembered what he’d be doing. He’d be…picking a woman – a woman who he’d probably be with a very long time, sharing a bed with, protecting, and…and…well, he didn’t know much more about marriage. So picking out a woman from a bunch of daughters didn’t seem like something that would be really easy to do. What…how did he….what did he look for? What would they look like? Would he find one as pretty as that queen? Would they be more like the woman in the warband? Barknel brought a hand up to his head to run it through his hair and let himself figure out…how he was going to make this choice. Everyone’s eyes would be on him while he did this, too, so how long was he supposed to take or…ah…damn…the courtyard. They were already here. The older woman nudged him again before he could stretch up and try to see past the fancy people at who was outside waiting. ”Pick well, now.” Barknel was sure he didn’t look very much like he’d be picking well as he looked at her with his eyes wide open. He…well…he should just see who was out here.

He saw…women. Lots of them. Well, some of them could probably be called girls. A lot of them seemed to be Nords – big, beefy women who knew how to hold a greatsword like Barknel did. Some of the other ones looked more…more like the queen, but not as good. Maybe like they needed a good meal…they were probably Bretons or Imperials. Barknel’s eyes probably widened more, but he didn’t know it, when some of the fancy men led him on ahead and put him in front of all those women and girls, patting him on the back and saying something to him about how he could get started on his search. And Barknel stood there, staring into faces. Where did he even start?

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-color: #171818; padding:20px; border-top: 10px #171818 solid; border-bottom: 10px #171818 solid;] Take a chance, take a risk, make a change and breakaway {WORDS } 823 {TAGGED } Barknel {WEARING} Dirty but fancy dress Scooting further behind the gowns of the two girls she was now hiding behind, Aleia silently begged that her sister would take her lie about fixing her hair to heart and then be so terrified of said barbarian that she didn't say a peep about Aleia's hiding behind them. Not that...she was arrogant enough to be sure that she would be picked. No, it wasn't that at all, but on the off chance - and it really was an off chance if what her mother had told her for years about never being able to attract a husband - that he would have picked her, she was assuring the fact that she would remain manless and unmarried for the rest of her life. Sounded like an excellent plan to her. If only they would stay quiet long enough... She begged to Talos internally that it would go that way, her fingers gripping the hem of her sisters skirt while she did so. And yet still, she couldn't quite resist the urge to peer out from behind and see this man that they were being bartered to like cows. Oh Talos, he was...well they were all big. Aleia felt that same fear take hold of her when she saw how many there were - and how big they were. Why...any one of them might eat her in a fortnight if she angered them. She supposed she should be used to nords being large, but these seemed...to be double that of other nords she was accustomed to, and three times more terrifying. Why were they all there staring at them? How ridiculous. And almost instantly the fear turned to anger. How dare anyone - the queen especially - do this to them! They weren't cattle to be bartered with, and how could she treat them like that? Why...if she wasn't hiding, she would spit right on her feet and see how she liked being put into such a lowly and humiliating status. Still, despite talking big, Aleia knew she wouldn't actually spit on the feet of the queen...not that she couldn't fantasize about it. Perhaps if she ever got away from Solitude she would do so before she left. Now that would have been satisfying after what she was putting them through this moment. See how she liked it! Unfortunately, her hiding couldn't have gone on forever. Perhaps because of her nerves, Helga let off gases that could have, as her father had always said, choked a mongrel off a gut wagon. And boy did that saying pop back to mind while she remained where she was, trying desperately to breathe through her mouth instead of her nose. Probably going to harm her internally either way, but at least she couldn't smell it quite so bad. On her hands and knees behind them, Aleia tried not to choke and give herself away, but a slight shift must have alerted her sister and brought her out of the stupor she had been placed in at the sight of the barbarians. "Aleia," she hissed between her teeth. With her mouth still open and lightly gasping for uncontaminated air, Aleia was too late to move with her sister when she stepped out of the way, instead toppling over with a gasp again until she was on her hands and knees. At least the smell wasn't so bad in this- Oh no. Realizing that her cover had been blown by her inconsiderate sister, Aleia slowly brought her foot beneath her and pushed up until she was standing in the middle of her sister and Helga - who towered over her. With hay poking out of her hair and dirt covering her gown and body, Aleia placed her hands on her hips and glowered across at the barbarians who were staring at her - one of the older ones even laughing in a voice so booming she thought it might knock her backwards. "Loud mouth.", she snapped under her breath at her sister to her side, before scanning to the right and left - her blue eyes finally settling on the man she decided just had to be the one picking. Oh Talos...he was big. {NOTES} I could not contain her muse...

table by CALIFORNIA DREAMING of CAUTION 2.0, lyrics by Chevelle

Tagged : Aleia | Words : 727 | Notes : Ahh I love it. XD Poor her.

So…how….what was he looking for? Barknel didn’t know anything to do but stare at all of them, their faces and bodies all running together when he moved his head right and left because they were just…everywhere, and they all...well, they all had good things about them and bad things about them. Some of them were…well, they needed to…not have wrestled cows with their bare hands sometime not very long ago. They also had really big frowns on their faces. Some of the women in the warband that he knew and liked a lot were women who could definitely wrestle with cows, but they did try to be…happy a lot of the time. Barknel blinked at one who was the largest in the row and also the angriest looking. He never thought…he would be ready to run away from a woman, but he frowned back at her because she made him feel like she would eat him. Time to…look at one of the other ones. He skipped over the really tiny ones that he could break just from trying to…touch them at all. They didn’t look like women anyway – more like little girls. If he was going to get married to someone, it would be a woman, not a girl. He liked a little…something to a woman. Not the…heaviness, but maybe…maybe…well, he didn’t know how to call it, really. Something of worth, but soft.

So that left him with only two or three women that kind of fit that mold. Still looking lost and knowing people were getting bothered because he was taking so long, Barknel shifted a lot in place while he took them in with his eyes, arms just hanging at his sides. One of them…she was taller than some of the girls, but he might break her too. Another one had that…what was the word they used? That snooty face that made it seem like she thought she was better than everyone else around her. Barknel frowned again when he saw her, and decided that whoever this last one was, she would probably be the one that he picked-

A peep came from the snooty one, though, and Barknel decided to look back in her direction, confused. She had moved, and…well, there was a woman on the ground now where she had been standing. Where had she come from? Barknel turned to see what the warband did in reaction, and got a bunch of different reactions, from one of them laughing to the others smiling or shrugging. The fancy men didn’t act like they were very happy. Getting no help from any of them, Barknel’s head and eyes went back to the snooty girl and the new one, who was standing up and staring back at him like she…wasn’t that happy or comfortable with what was going on. Barknel couldn’t stop himself from scouting her from head to toe. She was…pretty, and he dumbly smiled when he realized it. She also wasn’t really small like the tiniest girls, but she also wasn’t anything like the big ones. Just kind of…healthy and thin...and soft. Was this right? Were these the things he was supposed to look for? What was…that in her hair? Barknel’s eyebrow twitched while he tried to figure it out. H-hay? It looked like hay in her hair…which was also long and pretty, even if it didn’t look as fancy as the other women’s hair. Barknel could not stop staring for anything, forgetting there were other people around.

She was- she…he liked this one.

He…what did he say to let someone know that he did? Barknel blinked to wake himself up from his staring at her and looked around again for someone to help him, but he couldn’t really keep his eyes off the woman for that long. She was…different. She didn’t come out here to look like a clothing prop that breathed. And something…Barknel liked that, and he didn’t really care if it was the right way to make a decision. He was pretty sure he had just made one…and…she…well, he…was going to pick her. She was the only one that smacked him on the side of his head. ”Her,” he said, turning around to look at the warband and fancy men while he stuck his arm and finger at the hay-haired woman. Was that how he did it? Ahh…he hoped so.

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-color: #171818; padding:20px; border-top: 10px #171818 solid; border-bottom: 10px #171818 solid;] Take a chance, take a risk, make a change and breakaway {WORDS } 1043 {TAGGED } Barknel {WEARING} Fancy dress Once Aleia had stopped glaring at the men - and though she knew some of them were women but couldn't quite bring herself to call them that - for laughing at her tumble forward on her hands and knees into the dirt, Aleia turned her attention to who she assumed was the one that would be picking one out to eat for his future meal once the girl did something to displease him. She wasn't quite sure she had ever seen anyone so big in her life, to be perfectly honest with herself. And while she wouldn't exactly jump to calling what she was feeling fear, she definitely had to admit that she felt a little bit of apprehension for the man she was now facing down. What had his mother put in his diet as a child? Whatever it was, it must have been potent, because he was very broad...everywhere. It wasn't with great courage that she realized he could squash her like a ripe berry if he wanted to. And he was staring at her. Why was he staring at her? Battling between wanting to stand there and glare defiantly at him to show she didn't appreciate his staring or the situation she'd been placed in and wanting to dive back under Helga's skirt and brave her stench to get away from his gaze, Aleia supposed she looked exactly how she felt. "Shut your mouth, Aleia.", came her sisters hissed voice. It was at that moment she realized her mouth had dropped open a little bit, and she quickly snapped it shut. Her sister couldn't have told her that before? Well wasn't that fantastic. Why wouldn't he stop staring at her? Things were happening quickly that day and Aleia couldn't quite get a grasp on where they were in the events right at the moment. Oh dear, was it hot outside or was it just her? She was taken aback by the smile too...or was he bearing his teeth thinking about eating her for supper when she disobeyed him the first time - and Talos knew it would happen. Probably bearing his teeth at her, but despite that subconsciously her own lips moved into a little bit of a smile. When she realized what she was doing, she quickly substituted that for a different look, sure he would take that as an open invitation. Men were funny that way...and the last thing she wanted or needed was a man anyway, so if she could just avoid thinking about him or looking while he chose one of the more meaty of the women, things would be perfectly alright. Having pressed herself a little closer to Helga - and getting soured air as a reward - Aleia felt her shoulders droop in relief when he picked Helga beside her. Obviously that was the wiser choice. If he got angry, there was plenty more to eat on Helga than her by far, so when she turned to the larger girl, it was with a look of sympathy. "I'm sorry, Helga. He should at least fit in when it comes to family dinner-" "He meant you, Aleia.", her sisters frustrated - and relieved - voice said from the side. No... She was sure that he had meant... "But he pointed to Helga." "I don't know why he would pick you, but congratulations. You found a man after all." That was just about enough from her snobbish sister, and a burst of just anger burst out to the point where Aleia couldn't quite keep her temper contained. Lifting her skirt and sending her shoe into her sisters shin, she was rewarded with a squawk as she got off balanced and flopped ungracefully into the girl beside her. Served her right. But she had other matters to attend to. Like...clearing up that he had really picked Helga. "Helga, he picked you, right?", she loudly whispered in desperation, clinging to her arm and wrenching it lightly in her despair. "Nay, Lass, he picked ye." With a hand on her elbow, Aleia was pulled forward by a gruff, hairy older man that was obviously with the barbarian band, though his voice created an odd illusion with the gentle, nearly understanding tone. "Can I speak with Liam?", she pleaded lightly, her eyes scanning the crowd in hopes of finding her brother and having him tell her that there was a way to get out of this. Oh! There he was! She nearly fainted in relief when she saw that he was walking forward with a set jaw, and yet she was being pulled in the direction of the giant of a man she was sure was going to squash her if he even touched her. This wasn't happening. {NOTES} Oh my goodness I had so much fun with this XD Also I failed at my Naariko post...since I decided to post Selina on Pandora. I shall get to a Naariko post for you tomorrow baby :3

table by CALIFORNIA DREAMING of CAUTION 2.0, lyrics by Kelly Clarkson

Tagged : Aleia | Words : 800-some | Notes : There were so many inadvertent innuendos in this...

Barknel was happy to hear he got a bunch of cheers from his warband at the choice, so they probably agreed with the woman he picked. He smiled widely at them, not moving while the fancy men bowed a little, apparently happy too, and started to talk between themselves. Barknel...well, he thought he'd done an okay job. She looked like she was the kind of woman who would fit right in with a Nord from a warband, with all that weird hay in her hair and her...well, she might have already been in a fight and just gotten back from it to put on a really...really pretty dress on her pretty body. Well, Barknel hadn't screwed up yet. He'd probably do some screwing later, but that would be a...totally different kind of thing, since he now had him a wife, apparently. Barknel almost couldn't look back at her when he thought about it. It wasn't that he was ashamed or anything, but he was getting a stranger for a wife. How did he...how did he even start talking to her? He couldn't think of anything to say. But he did look back at her, because she was...well, really a pretty one. And he looked back just in time to see her kick one of the really fancy and annoying-looking women beside her who might have had the same features but didn't look quite as good as the girl doing the kicking. Barknel stood there, confused about her kicking but slightly smiling as the warband broke out into laughter. She just...kicked that other woman, for who knew what. And she was so...soft and pretty despite it and despite the fact that she looked a little ragged. Wow...that...uh, yes, he'd made the right choice then. Now he really knew.

But Barknel didn't really know what to do beyond what he'd already done, so he stayed in place and just watched the woman talking to someone beside her - the really beefy woman who looked like most of the ones from the taverns and places Barknel had been to who were great women, but not really...really...soft. He didn't really know how to...move forward, since the fancy men were still doing their happy whispering. Good thing one of the older men from the warband went forward to...lead the young woman forward, Barknel guessed, and the barbarian - who had fought every foe in Skyrim with nothing but his sword to defend him and a battle cry to rally him - felt sheepish again right as soon as he thought about getting a closer look at the woman and get to speak with her right up close and personal. He'd...he'd had a lot more close contact with women than this before - really close - but there was some kind of difference between having a wife and just those random women that made him want to be more...more...well, more nothing, but maybe less of what he usually was around women, which was a little rowdy and loud. He'd seen a bunch of men in the warband get married while he was a member, and he knew they stopped being so..wild around women when they did. And they had a really great marriage. Barknel wanted to do that, too, so he needed to...be calm, he guessed. It was kind of hard when there was such a pretty woman that he was meeting, much more one he was marrying.

She didn't come forward, though, apparently wanting to...talk to someone? Another man? Barknel stood there, confused, while he looked into the crowd where she looked and saw some other Nord man walking forward. Oh...well, they were kin, that was for sure. So she had a brother and this girl beside her who looked so prissy who was probably her sister. Not...really knowing what to do as she talked to this brother of hers, Barknel just stood there until the warband wandered forward and gathered around him, giving him slaps on the back and playful blows to the chest and an occasional hug on the arm, congratulating him on the choice. Barknel grinned, though he didn't know what worth there was to just...picking a woman out of the crowd, but maybe he was good at it. Even though they gathered around him like that, Barknel still looked at the woman, unable to stop picking out what about her made her so nice-looking. Long legs? No, some women had that that he'd known before. Nice colored hair? Well, lots of Nords had that. She was getting out of his sight now, though, when she talked to the male, and Barknel finally took his eyes away from her to laugh with the warband for as long as he could.

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-color: #171818; padding:20px; border-top: 10px #171818 solid; border-bottom: 10px #171818 solid;] Take a chance, take a risk, make a change and breakaway {WORDS } 953 {TAGGED } Barknel {WEARING} THE FANCY DRESS Aleia couldn't do this. Tugging on the arm of the brute that was taking her to her doom, Aleia moved toward her brother with a slightly panicked look in her eyes. This was all happening much too quickly. Yesterday she hadn't thought she would ever marry, and now today they were telling her not only would she do so, but to a complete stranger - a barbarian at that - who would snatch her away as quickly as he desired and probably eat her within the fortnight. She'd always prided herself in being a woman not faint of heart, but she would admit that even now she felt like flopping to the ground and screaming her lungs out until someone told her that she didn't have to do this. Only by sheer force did she hold back from doing so, instead reaching Liam and clinging to his clothes like they could hide her as she had in her fathers armor when a small child. "Liam!", she croaked out. "Please don't let him take me away and eat me." The plea was there in her voice. "Hey, shhh sis. It'll all work itself out." "Work me into a stew pot.", she argued instead, burying her face in his chest and feeling the urge to cry working itself up. Instead she bit her lip and refused herself the luxury. If he saw her crying he would really plunk her in a stew pot and...do whatever a barbarian did over it in amusement while he watched her slowly cook. "The lass should be introduced to Barknel.", the aging barbarian finally said in interruption, to which Liam gave him a stern look over her blond head. Barknel. Even the name sounded like he would rather use a wife to eat than to do anything else with. That was fine, she might rather be eaten than have to live with a brute like him for the rest of her days, or bear his children. Oh Talos. She didn't want anything to do with that - even though children in themselves were very nice. Another round of panic seized her, though she quickly battled it down while Liam disengaged himself and held her at arms length. "Look at me." The silent command was obeyed and she looked into the same eyes she had known her entire life. "It'll be alright, you'll see." "Will you miss me after I've been eaten?" The booming laugh to her left nearly made her jump, to which her eyes swung to once more rest on the aging barbarian. "Lass, he'll naught eat ya', we've got plenty of meat for that." She wasn't so sure, and the look she gave him said so. "Ye ready lass?" "No.", she answered honestly, which made him chuckle again. "Am I going to have to live in a hut made of sticks?" "Y-" "And cooking. I refuse to cook over a flame supplied by dung of any sort." "Las-" "And if you think I'm going to wear sabercat skins, you're entirely wrong. I refuse to wear sabercat skins." By that time the man had given up and just watched her in amusement. "And I refuse to kill anyone simply to loot them, and I will not let you do so either." "We don't-" "Do you keep falmer as pets? Please tell me you don't." Instead of answering, the older man simply took her arm, nodded to her brother and started leading her back toward the man. "Do you?!", she demanded after he hadn't answered. "Because you must free them at once, or do something else with them. I will not have a falmer running around.", she said firmly. "We don't have falmer, lass." "Oh thank Talos.", she muttered out under her breath, that was at least one thing they didn't do or have. By that time they'd gotten close to this Barknel fellow. Not sure whether to hide behind the aging barbarian or run away screaming, Aleia's gaze went up and up and up until she was actually looking at the back of his head. Talos, he was huge. And entirely not paying attention to her in favor of his band of men. With a scowl on her face, Aleia decided she didn't like that one bit. Rearing her foot back, she kicked him lightly in the back of the calf and placed her hands on her hips while waiting for him to turn and acknowledge her - earning a strange look and then a smile from the aging man. She figured that had to be the way barbarians got each others attention, and so since he was displeasing her by ignoring her, she would get him to pay attention. {NOTES} This is so ridiculous XD I love it

table by CALIFORNIA DREAMING of CAUTION 2.0, lyrics by Chevelle

you are my shooting star

you give me love and light through the shadows of the night

IUHSDF :IUDHSF LIUHDS FLIUH DSFLIUH DLSIFU LISDUF HLIUDSHF LIUHDF LIUDH FLIUDHS FLIUDH FLIUDHF LIUDH FLIUDH FLIUHD FLIUDH FLIUHD FLIUDH FLIUDH FLIUDGF LIDUGF LIDUFH LDIUFH LIDUFG LIDUFG LDIUH LDIUF LDIUH LDIUHF LDIUFH LIDUHF LIDUFH LIDUFH LIDUHF LIDUHF LIDUHF LIDUHF LIDUH FLDSIUHF DLISUFH DLIUFH DLIUHF ISLDUHF LIDSUHF LDSIUFH LDSIUFH LDSIUFH LDISUFH LDISUHF

words: amount • tagged: whoever • outfit: link

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