675-05-25 - Secrets in the Dark

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Secrets in the Dark
Summary: Sir Baldwin visits Mistress Rayne in the dungeon late one night.
Who: Baldwin Ivounel and Rayne Devantry
References: {{{Refs}}}
When: 675-05-25
Related Logs: All logs surrounding Rayne's arrest
Date of RP: 2014-05-26
Where: Dungeons of Castle of the White Dove
Room Desc: None


Things have been a bit tense between Baldwin and his sister of late. She has more or less relieved the guard she had assigned to watch over his steps before of his duty. Baldwin meanwhile had insisted he'd keep the man, as he said he had nothing to hide. However. A man needs sleep now and then. It is after the knight had had the chance to speak with both Ottis and Marcus over dinner at the inn, that the guard had excused himself, looking weary indeed. Baldwin had dismissed the man for a few hours of sleep. Although he knew he had to pay someone a visit, urgently.

And so it happens that this knight leaves the inn on his own, after debating with himself for a long moment, aware that, if he goes to pay Rayne another visit, this time on his own, he'll lose some of that integrity he has been so proud of. But then again. She needs to know. It will be during the later hours of the evening that the door to the dungeons opens and Baldwin enters, again carrying a torch, that fills the hallway of the cells with a dim flickering light. "Miss Rayne?", inquired with some urgency in his tone as he casts a glance towards the cell that holds the healer.


It has been countless days since her imprisonment - well perhaps not countless - but for Rayne she simply was not aware when it was day, night, or somewhere in between. Not that it would truly matter, for even as she lies in that bed in her cell, she has not had much sleep since first coming here. Too many worries, too many possibilities. It was becoming painfully obvious that either she was going to wind up being falsely condemned for the crime or die in the dungeon waiting for such a thing to happen. It had been a bit since she had been visited as well, and as such, more of her fears would manifest in her mind.

So when she hears the familiar voice of Baldwin, her eyes open and she glances over to the Knight. Shifting to sit up in bed, she then moves towards the cell doors, gripping them gently. Something about his voice, the fact that he carried a torch, was it so late in the evening that one was needed. A hand would shift briefly to rub at her eyes before they find his own. "Sir Baldwin. It is lovely to see you..." Though she glances to where his guard -would- have been standing and with raised brow would look back to him. "You're...alone?"


A torch would be most defintiely needed during the day as well down here. "Miss Rayne." A bit of relief there in his tone when she rises and approaches the bars from her side. "Lovely... may not be the right word for it," he almost smiles. "And yes I am. I've spoken with my sister, repeatedly. She more or less relieved the guard of his duty to watch over me, while I insisted to keep him, in a way. He's resting now, these last days have been busy for him as well..." Looking slightly guilty as he admits that. "It's not that I sneaked away, really." When in fact that is what he did.

Brushing her fingers as his free hand moves to grip one of the bars of the cell door, he leans closer to study Rayne attentively in the flickering light of his torch. "Are you okay?" noticing her weary gaze. "I just had to see you," he continues after a moment. "I've spoken with the Duke Alajos Fennim, he said he would write a letter to the Queen." The voice is but a hoarse whisper. "As for Ottis and Marcus,... they are doing what they can to gather evidence. It's not that easy, obviously."


Rayne would blink, worrying on her lower lip slightly. "To see a familiar face.. a friendly, familiar face...is lovely to me regardless of the circumstances surrounding the visit." She would speak that, but softly so, listening as he explains about how he has been speaking with his sister who dismissed the guard. Perhaps thinking that Baldwin was safe since Rayne - herself - was stuck in a dungeon. Though at his last words regarding sneaking away she would pull her lips into a small smirk. "Of course not, that would be unfitting of you, yes?"

When his fingers brush over hers as he grips the bars of her cell doors, she shifts her gaze to meet his own. Her eyes are tired, features set with weariness, and still she would give a nod to his question. "I am fine, Sir Baldwin, and I pray you are well also?" Though his next words cause her to shift enough to lean forward and press her forehead against the bars of the cell door. "Have you? I'm supposed to be getting another visitor soon, but I know not who....Something about my being moved somewhere.." A shrug of her shoulders then before her eyes close and a few tears slip down her cheeks, perhaps betraying the words she spoke mere moments before. "I owe you all a debt I can never repay... as for speaking with the Duke? I hope that whatever comes of this happens soon...I do not know how much longer I can fare here..." Locked away in a dungeon, awaiting something that seems to never come, and she takes a shaking breath. "Have you spoken to Masters Ottis or Marcus lately?" Hoping one over the other and for a particular reason.


Baldwin raises a brow at her smirk. "Are you making fun of me?" Shooting her a baffled glance, but he cannot be wroth at her, as the hint of a smile apears on his face no matter how hard he tries to fight it. It fades soon enough when Rayne continues and speaks about another visitor. And being moved soon.

"What good fortune indeed, I came to see you then, Miss Rayne." His mien clouds despite his words though. She will be moved? "I... might not be able to visit you there." His hand moves up without thinking, when he notices the tears on Rayne's face, his fingers reaching through the bars to gently wipe her cheeks. "Don't... don't cry. You will be alright. I swear. The Duke seemed to be pretty wroth at how things are handled. And you don't owe me anything... Just... stay strong, through all of this.", he says softly, but with a certain urgency to his tone.

"Yes, I have spoken to both of them, briefly. Ottis gave me this...?" He pulls back his hand to show her the necklace, he wears around his neck beneath his armor and padding. "From you. I don't know what to say." He inhales. "As for Marcus,... he has been investigating in Piradin, obviously. There are leads he is following, maybe pointing to some religious cause. Ottis says the innkeeper didn't tell him who rented the room at the inn beside yours. But don't worry. They have no proof that you did it, apart from you being there when the body was found."


"Maybe a little bit? Some self-provided entertainment at your expense so I can feel a little more at ease?" Rayne would speak, putting on a smile as she says such. Of course, she sees the smile that teases his lips before it seems to fade away and the gravity of what was possibly going to happen unfolds.

"Yes, yes it is good that you came to see me tonight. Though...you did sound as thought you had something on your mind when you first came here. An...urgency to your voice perhaps?" She would say that much and then shakes her head a little, sniffling gently. "I'm sorry, Sir Baldwin, that you have to see me like this. I don't wish to cry...but I'm tired and I'm scared, and I have no idea what's going to happen." She would say as much, her face tilting into his hand just so. "I shall strive to stay strong, I keep hope of seeing you and the others again." Something else, another longing, or perhaps a last wish type of thing, but she didn't want to request it...to put Baldwin in a spot that he wouldn't be able to easily get out of.

"Good...and oh! He did, how wonderful.." Despite everything, the fact that Baldwin wears her necklace gives her a peace of mind, and brightens her up considerably. "It's a bloodstone. The green with the red splotches? It looks like blood spots on a mossy stone, yeah? In my line of work, stones are sometimes worn for their healing purposes. This one in particular, should instill courage and strength. It improves physical strength, enhances self-esteem and self-appreciation, and calms anxiousness...So I ...I thought it might aid you..." Though it seemed silly all of a sudden. "Well. I still trust in you all, and I am hoping this all ends soon..." Saying as much more before taking a breath to let out slowly. "By the gods if it weren't for these bars and status symbols...Baldwin...I am sorry I put you in such a bind. Over everything."


Hearing her reply about providing entertainmaint has Baldwin smirk right back, odd as it seems. It brings a bit of relief, but only momentarily. His gaze clouds again and he shrugs. "I... don't know, it's a feeling. Something's odd here. Things may sister tells me, accusations... of witchcraft that may be brought before you, she said she's heard rumors about such things. Lies perhaps, she has made up to make me turn away from you. But I fear maybe they are even more than that."

Then the talk turns towards the pendant and the knights listens to Rayne's explanations nodding slowly. "Aye, that's the meaning Ottis was kind enough to explain to me. I thank you, and will treasure this gift always." Stowing the pendant away beneath his padding Baldwin's hand moves back to pat Rayne's cheek gently. "Of course we will see each other again.", he murmurs softly, leaning in a bit closer to her. Suddenly aware of that thing she may wish but does not dare to request, his eyes drift to meet hers. Hesitating. But not pulling back.


Rayne would blink, shaking her head slowly. "W-witchcraft? How could it be deemed that I perform any such thing?" Though she would scoff just so. Having half a mind to spurt out that it's probably his sister who started the rumors, but she had more respect for Baldwin - and oddly enough his sister - than that. "What do you mean? Are you saying they may be more than lies? What could possibly make them more than that? Sir Baldwin... I am -not- a witch. That was not witchcraft which tended your wounds...otherwise I would have rightly healed them yes?" Still she clenches her jaw and shakes her head, perhaps wanting that idea dropped altogether.

"You're welcome. It...it's actually been mine for the last five years...my mother wore it before I did...." Perhaps so on and so forth, a family heirloom of sorts - and coming from a line of healers it made sense. Watching as he stows it beneath his padding once more, when his hand moves back to pat her cheek she smiles to his words and one hand shifts to place against his own there. "I know we will, but in case we don't..." She whispers, her eyes shifting to meet his own even as she takes note that he's leaned in closer, and he hadn't moved back. So she would move in then, and perhaps in a move that might surprise the both of them, presses her lips against his for the briefest of moments, long enough to have the sensation of a kiss but nothing that would ruin a Knight's honor.


"I know there is no truth to the rumors, Miss Rayne!" Baldwin replies, shaking his head. "You are a healer, and I am grateful for what you did to tend to my wounds. "It's just... a feeling. I don't know... So maybe... maybe she really heard about that, which would make them still lies, but not hers..."

He'll fall silent, his lips curling into a smile when the healer tells him about the history of the pendant. "I feel honoured that you would bestow such a gift upon me," he whispers, his gaze flickering as it takes in her face that is suddenly so close to his own. When that other gift is bestowed it is not so much the surprise, as he certainly must have felt it coming, but the sensation that overwhelms him for a moment, and emotions, that have been carefully kept under control until now threaten to break free. So it may be a good thing after all, it is as brief as it is, his face trying to follow hers when she pulls back until it is stopped by the bars.

Then pulling back himself. Straightening. His eyes wide as he stares at her, a bewildered smile adorning his features, before he lowers his gaze to the torch he had dropped - in the moment it had happened. Baldwin kneels down to pick it up, luckily enough it hasn't gone out, clearing his throat as he straightens again. Standing there for a moment in stunned silence.


"Forgive me for saying so, Sir Baldwin, but it is about damn time someone believe something other than the rumors. I only wish we could quell them...I wish...sometimes I wish I never got on this delegation. You...you are the only thing keeping me from not believing this entire ordeal has been a complete loss." Rayne would admit, shaking her head and just letting the idea of withcraft and rumors die away for now.

The conversation turns towards the pendant she bestowed upon him and she smiles at his words. "Well, in case I do not make it out alive...when you have children...you can pass it along as well." It had been a side thought of hers, as she felt her continued life was almost moot at this point. Then, the kiss would happen, and while she felt him returning it, following her back only to get stopped by the bars, she would smile faintly. Watching him pick up the torch and then her head angles a bit.

"It may be unorthodox, completely sudden, and perhaps without truly warranted merit, Sir Baldwin....but I will never forgive myself in this life or the next..." She stops herself then, her own hand reaching out, gentle fingers touching his cheek. "If I do not confess... that perhaps my only crime is this. That I love you, Sir Baldwin. All else aside, as it doesn't exist in my mind or my heart. If I do not survive this...just know... that you were loved by me - at least for a little while."


His breath may have picked up a little bit, those grey-blue eyes have acquired a new sparkle, as if something within Baldwin finally has awakened. Staring at her still as she reaches to pat his cheek, his hand will rise and place itself over hers as if willing this moment to last forever. His brows twitch slightly at the candid confession of her feelings. "Miss Rayne,...", he begins, his voice a hoarse whisper. "Don't talk like this is the last time we speak with each other... It is not! You will survive! We will get you out of this perilous situation." He pauses, his gaze locking with hers. "As I could not stand to lose you. Ever. Miss Rayne. I..." There he lowers his gaze, his hand slowly letting go of hers. "I was not prepared for this, but... my feelings for you are... too strong to allow you to..." His voice trails off. As does his ability to form sentences that make sense. And so he pauses again, trying to gather his thoughts. "...to allow you to be made to rot in a cell forever or even... get killed for a crime you did not commit!" He'll probably help her even if she were guilty of the crime, but that is a fact Baldwin yet may not be fully aware of, let alone be able to voice aloud.


Silencing herself, Rayne listens as Baldwin tries to put together his feelings into sentences. It is, perhaps, the most endearing thing she has ever witnessed, watching him speak. The words he chooses, perhaps as close to matching her own as she would get in this moment, but she was fine with that. At this point she was glad he was beyond the sort of stammered, stuttered speech - though that had been endearing as well. "I trust your resolve, Sir Baldwin...in all things. I will take heart in your words, and keep them alive in my mind and my heart, and upon tip of tongue. I will survive this...and then the sooner we are off this Island the better." She would quip and then shakes her head, offering a smile once more to him. "Still...you should go get some rest, perhaps. Wouldn't want anyone to wake up in the middle of the night and find you gone. I will be fine, Baldwin, as you said and as I perceived." Stating that much before pulling her hand back to rest upon the bars once more. "The day will break sooner than you think, as the hour grows. If I do not see you before, I will see you after the trial, when I can be before you a free woman."


A smile that shows both warmth and a last bit of bewilderment appears when Baldwin nods to Rayne's words. "We will soon be travelling home," Gods willing ,"and yes, I will... return to the inn and try to get some sleep." Hard as that may be, given his current emotionally turbulent state. "I will check with Marcus in the morning, as well as poke the local authorities. Miss Rayne." he takes a steps backwards, and offers a light bow to her, this more in reverence to his feelings for her than her actual status. "Rest well." There, his grey-blue eyes flicker again, as if he were suddenly becoming aware he might not be able to see her again. What if there will be no trial after all? Straightening he'll offer her a last smile, before he moves off towards the stairs that lead up and out of the dungeons.