♆ galene's gates

@♆ : nathan l 。 he was right. she did want to learn for self-defense. however, with how quickly he guessed, she was a bit taken aback," partially, there was an incident earlier that caused me to become interested, but i won't bore you with the detail," her smile faded as she recalled that ill-fated night, “i thought i would a good skill to have. i always wanted to learn but my parents didn’t approve. spent all this time learning how to knit, play piano, and who knows what else but it’s hardly helpful when there a gun pointed to your head,” she feigned amusement with a short laugh that was more forced out of he nose than ,” i was thinking we could begin tomorrow evening if that works for you.” aurora stated as she pulled off her ivory gloves, finding them rather bothersome.

@♆ : aurora b 。 after the party had ended and a little conversation from here and there with his comrades from the military, he went to the gardens as the other had told him to where they'll see each other and continue what they were talking about if it weren't for them gathering unwanted attention from the guests around them. the garden seems like a good choice of a place for them to meet up, on his opinion that is. there aren't much people that visits by the garden with the exception of couples who can't really control themselves nor they can keep their own hands to themselves, nathan wouldn't be so surprised if he stumble upon lovers making out by the corner and he did found a pair but he decided to ignore and go along his way, finding the diplomat's daughter to which he still has no idea on what's her first name is — that might as well be asked later on.

"oh, there you are." nathan said as he found miss brishon by the garden. "so, like i asked earlier before we got interrupted from the guest themselves, when do you want to start? but more importantly, what's the purpose of it? self-defense, i assume?" is there any other reason for someone like her to want to learn about combat skills? surely it's what nathan already had said but if there's another, he wants to know what it is. "i don't mind on whatever it is." he smiled with his head tilted to the side and his hands inside the pockets of his charcoal black pants.

@♆ : nathan l 。 "how-" she was about to suggest a time when he directed her attention the curious celebrants sneaking glances their way. aurora couldn't help but be amused, letting out a laugh, which only made the prying eyes more intrigued. what had he said? had she taken a liking to him? a liakos and a brishon, what a truly unusual match. she saw the concern flicker in their gazes as they contemplated whether one was even worthy of the other. sure, he was a liakos, the son of an ex-commander in chief, but currently, he was only a lieutenant. despite his "lack of accomplishments", he was already extremely narcissistic. if they brishons were going give their daughter away to the liakos, they should have obviously picked the older son. and her, she was pretty, came from wealth, and had a good name, but she was spoiled and sharp-tongued. would the liakos want such a daughter in law? off doing frivolous things like trying to run a ngo. would she give that up to raise children? along with the concern, though, was relief that they finally had tidbit of gossip worth passing around.

"i hope you don't aren't too bothered by the attention," aurora was used it. every since she had struck puberty, she had lived under the scrutiny of the elite; mostly by the pompous women but the men had their moments. "you're right about my speech. i should go, but we can continue in the gardens. meet me there."

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perhaps, it wasn't her best suggestion, considering the gardens were usually where intoxicated lovers slipped away to share heated kisses away from judgemental eyes. however, she didn't know where else to go. the grounds were large and she was sure they could find their own little corner away from bold couples making love behind the topiaries.

@♆ : aurora b 。 nathan couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the gesture, looking down on the hand clenching on his arm then back to the woman's mien. he was about to speak but she beats him to it, his head tilted to the side, well isn't this getting interesting? "oh?" her words only fed up his ego that grows and grows 一 never stopping and never will it ever feel full because of it. "those aren't rumors then, they're nothing but the truth." he takes pride with his unmatchable skills though for his parents, his older brother will still be at best and that's something nathan wanted to surpass. "teach you?" he's a little surprised, a diplomat's daughter wants to learn the arts of fighting? sounds... what's the word? yeah he doesn't know, but he wasn't against it 一 he assumes that it's for self-defence.

"sure, when do you want to start? i doubt it'll be on this day itself seeing how both of us have things to attend to. aren't you going to deliver a speech later on?" he nodded to the direction of the stage that's empty right at this moment, the host of the night would be appearing anytime soon. "how about we talk about this more after this event? find a place where we can talk about it privately." he leans in to her ear to whisper out his words to her, "because seems like we already caught some people's attention." he stood up straight as he eyed the people staring at them, some looked away when nathan caught their eyes on them.

@♆ : nathan l 。 she didn't even have a chance to respond before he suggested accompanying her. if they were not in such a formal setting, she would have scoffed at his presumptuous assumption. as if she needed to request anyone to accompany and, moreover, required the likes of nathan liakos to do so. however, aurora entertained his egotism for the sake of smoother negotiations,"wonderful." she crossed the space between them and took his arm.

perhaps, it was inappropriate to jump directly to discuss what she had on her without the formalities of small talk, but she didn't like wasting time and nathan didn't strike as one to take offense to her being candid,"i actually didn't approach you in hopes of an of the evening. rumor has that your expertise in combat is unmatched," her voice as muted to keep other guests from eavesdropping in on their conversation, "if it's true, i was hoping you would teach me."

@♆ : aurora b 。 required to attend an event, nathan wasn't one to not attend any of them 一 it's a part of being a liakos to always attend and socialize in any form of events but nathan isn't the one you can call as 'friendly', with an aura like his that surrounds the vicinity, only a few would really dare to approach and talk with him. speaking of which 一 as he listened to the conversations of his friends, drinks on hand, they all cacchinated when one of them brought out a joke though their laughter stopped and all of their attention now by the lady that went before them especially nathan who was being specifically called for. he eyed her in a way just to be familiar with her, to remember who she is 一 ah, he remembers her now, she was a lower classman of his from a school that they both attended to.

nathan isn't the kind to remember someone just because of that, no, he remembered her because of her achievements especially in being on top of her class but he remembers her as well because of her family, the brishon family.

"well, if it isn't miss brishon." a mischievous simper splits by his tiers as he steps out and walked towards her until they were merely a meter apart from each other. he didn't called her by her family name just to be formal but it's because he doesn't remember her first name 一 funny, isn't it? "what may be the reason for you to call upon me? perhaps, you want me to accompany you? i can do that." glass rim raised on his lips, he drank down the last bits of his drink before placing the empty glass on the table near them.

@♆ : nathan l 。 her father, having become terribly ill, had asked aurora to step in for him and deliver his speech at the annual military ball. it was her first time speaking before the armed forces. she wasn’t going to lie. compared to the customary speeches aurora had to given at stuffy company meetings for stockbrokers or bankers, she rather enjoyed these military engagements. even if it were due to her beauty, their eyes remained on her, unwavering as if she were the first women they had seen in ages. for older rich men, there was no reverence for young women; in their minds, females were easily bought with designer bags and jewels. for the soldiers, they didn’t have means to purchase women; they had to rely on their charm. they had to play the game, so to speak.

even if it were all out of lust, it made her feel powerful. she could have anything she pleased for a sweet laugh or a graze of the arm. the attention was hers to give and they were starving for a feminine touch.

she weaved around black, medal embellished suits till she spotted the man she had been looking for. he was among a small group of friends. their conversation was interjected with boisterous laughter as they enjoyed their drinks. with simper on her roseate lips and a graceful carriage, she approached them. one by one, as they caught sight of her, their chatter diminished to silence. she gave them an elegant nodded, ”good evening, gentlemen,” she greeted them before turning to nathan, “lieutenant liakos, may i have a word with you?” while her gaze didn’t shift from nathan’s cerulean eyes, in her peripheral vision, she could see the astonishment and confusion crossing the faces of his companions. they all slowly shifted to look at nathan’s countenance as if he would be able to telepathically convey to them what she desired with his audience.

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@♆ : rielle h 。 What happened afterwards caught Nathan off guard, it was sudden enough for him to be a few seconds too late to react to which he both felt disappointed and frustrated at himself because he was trained to be prepared and aware of all times yet he had let his guard down. The sound as well as the movement around him had indicated that someone was charging towards him, he turned but was met with a blade placed by his neck 一 visibly gulping with his adam's apple bobbing that was a mere centimeter from the sharp weapon. He didn't really thought that Rielle was around the area nor did he thought that she would just attack him like this because she wasn't the kind to do it or so he thought. It was even more surprising when she spat at him, he never thought that he would ever hear her cuss at anyone.

He heard footsteps behind him, hurried ones 一 did his friend just run away just now? His eyes glanced to his side and saw the fleeting figure. You coward! He though to himself before his attention goes back to the blade and Rielle who was holding it against him. One wrong move and he's good as dead if she managed to hit his jugular vein but slitting his throat is already enough to do any damage. He's supposed to scared at this kind of situation, have fear on his side for once but of course, he wouldn't 一 he's Nathan Liakos for goodness sake! Fear should not lurk in any form within his life, fear should not be a part of him because all fear does to a person is make them weak and vulnerable and he's not any of those traits.

The corners of his lips curled into a mischievous simper, one that would probably piss the other off even further. "My, my... I never thought I'll get to see this side of yours, tell me is this your true color finally showing up?" He said before he tried to be quick to grab her wrist with the use of his gloved hand, upper body slightly backed away to be kept away from the blade before he starts twisting her arm until it was behind her along with him, his other hand holding firmly on her shoulder to keep her in place. "Did I hit a nerve or something from what I have said earlier?" Nathan chuckled softly.

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@♆ : nathan l 。 It was never in Rielle's personality to be holding back on anything she wanted to say. If you were in the wrong, you were in the wrong. It didn't matter who you are. You could be a peer, a higher-up, and underling and she'd still treat you the same. Naturally, it was the same for Nathan. He'd made a mistake, calling out a rookie for something he didn't do and what's worse? He was a lieutenant himself. He should've known whether or not there was something wrong. How could he lead an army when he, himself didn't know the rules, the tactics, the art of fighting? The army would simply crumble under his hands and that was something she wasn't willing to see. She knew her tongue would get her in trouble one day but she didn't have any plans on changing it, not yet.

That day, Rielle was stationed at the gates, alone. The higher-ups trusted her enough to be able to handle herself plus there weren't any signs of threat lately. It was just peace and quiet. She sighed as she put her hands behind her head, stretching her sore muscles from the endless amount of training she'd just done with the squad and on her own.

"Hey, are you aware of a certain rumor about Rielle?" It was Nathan's voice. Almost automatically, she hid herself behind a pillar without the intention of eavesdropping on his conversation but she did anyways. Wordlessly, she listened as he spoke to his companion about Erina's death, the very kryptonite to Rielle's steel walls of a heart she had. She was well aware of the fact that the entire army- no, the entire city had thought she was the reason behind Erina's death but she wasn't. As he continued talking, tears started to well up as her hands balled into fists. She was sick and tired of everyone accusing her for something she hadn't done. It didn't matter how many times she denied it, they still thought ill of her.

Just earlier that day, Rielle had encountered the same type of conversation but it was between the recruit whom she'd helped and the recruit's friend. Fake, they called her. As memories rushed through her mind-- memories of how everyone was unhappy it was her that made it back and not the beloved Erina, memories of how everyone shunned her, called her a , called her unworthy and how the people she'd thought were her friends and family abandoned her, the sense of impulsiveness stemming from anger and frustration grew inside of her and she found herself running towards the male's back, unsheathing her knife that was strapped around her waist and holding it against his neck. Her eyebrows were furrowed and her breathing, heavy.

"If you know what's good for you, I suggest you shut the up." For the first time in what seemed like years, Rielle had cussed.

@♆ : rielle h 。 "Who does she think she is for calling me out like that." Nathan muttered out, his countenance contorting into a look of annoyance. Eyebrows furrowed and hands by his sides curling into fists, he's mad and annoyed from what had happened earlier during training by the Army Barracks. "You're a lieutenant yourself yet you couldn't couldn't tell whether or not he was right?" He quoted Rielle with exaggeration and mockery within his tone, obviously not having the way that he was called out like that. Yes, he does acknowledge his mistake but there was no need for her to just go in the scene that she wasn't even supposed to be in and straight up just tell that to him — her voice was loud enough for everyone to hear it and fortunately enough, no one dared to laugh at him nor agree with her. "Like, how dare she?" He ended his rant just like that before he turned his head to look at his companion as they walk pass the Galene's Gates. "Hey, are you aware of a certain rumor about Rielle?" He asked and the other shakes his head, oh, he's not that updated with this kind of things, huh? "Some said that she only got the spot as a lieutenant because she killed Erina. Replaced her after she was pronounced dead, sounds like something she would probably do." Nathan chuckled, it sounded like he was joking but he's being serious about it. He's one of those people who believes that Rielle killed Erina just to gain a position, that's just low and how is she still in the army if that's the case?