Big Yellow Taxi (Closed; TG for Entry. Warning: Mature )

[Hittanryan]

Fire engines, police cars, and ambulances pulled up to the front of the building. A helicopter hovered overhead, scanning the building. It was all a very convincing display. Between the noise and the panic, you'd think there was a fire or something. Rob had Karl positioned very close to the fire escape, there was a chance the target would slip by him. Rob himself had a good view of the oncoming crowd, while Larry was ordered to carefully keep track of who got funneled out the front door, in case Demodand got by him.

Sure enough, Karl thought he saw Demodand, identified his clothing and relative position in the crowd and relayed it up to Rob. Rob managed to get a positive ID and steered Tom in the right direction, who had been making a convincing confused performance with the man at the front desk. Tom, after being ushered into the crowd, locked onto Demodand and started pursuing him from a distance. He was relieved that he didn't see Mara with him, though she may have simply gotten lost in the shuffle.

Firefighters were rushing into the building by now, with police outside to keep things under control and EMTs ready to receive any injured. They herded the crowd out of the way as more equipment made its way into the building. The rush slowed to an orderly filing out of the building, and Tom managed to pick Demodand out, looking up at the building in mock-awe while moving slowly towards him. Finally, he addressed him with a genuinely surprised tone.

"Wait a second...Prime Minister? That you? Not sure if you remember me from the bar, Tom Alvarado? Republic of Adiron? The hell's going on? Is there a fire up there somewhere?"

As he saw Tom address Demodand, Rob radioed to the other agents, "Contact confirmed. Keep eyes on the target."

[New Edom]

Mara frowned, as Kurt began swearing, shoving her around, stumbling into his trousers, and was baffled as he simply--began to leave. "Wait a sec--" she began irritably. Mara pulled on her dress--which was all she had to wear apart from her high heeled sandals--and slung her purse over her and turned her phone on. She went down the stairs with him, annoyed by him yanking her, and pulled her arm away, saying, "Chill the fuck out, Kurt." Holy crap, he was like an hysteric or something...as she encountered the milling crowd she found a courtesy privacy phone booth and stepped into it. "I think I need my car," she told the staff member she got on the phone.

Coming back out, at first she had no idea where Kurt was. She then finally saw him--talking to Tom?! What the hell was Tom doing here? And in fact that was what she said as she shoved up towards him, her chestnut hair disheveled, her dress not quite buttoned up properly, exclaiming, "Tom? What are you doing here? What's going on?" Mara was acting like there was no fire drill, as though they had met at a party.

[Radiatia]

"Hello Tom." Said Kurt briskly. He was still pissed off that the fire alarm had completely ruined his night. Not only that the Princess - who apparently had no sense of urgency due to years of royal inbreeding - seemed annoyed at him.

Who am I kidding? She's too young for me. He thought to himself, with an uncharacteristic tinge of sadness.

He continued talking to Tom. He was far too drained and strained to bother pretending to be charismatic. "There fucking better have been a fire up there. If it turns out to be a false alarm I'll set this place alight myself.

"What the hell are you doing here? I don't mean to sound rude but you know, I was trying to relax for the night and now all this." He managed to flash a smile, to show he wasn't all unfriendly.

[Hittanryan]

Tom felt a lurch in his stomach, though he kept his poker face up and managed to not be struck dumb. Matter of national security and all that. Damned if Mara didn't look fine as hell with her hair mussed like that though...and damned if she didn't look at least a little suspicious. "Need to play it cool, no, not cool, need to play it professional."

"Wait, Mara? Are you staying here too? Did you see anything? Is there a fire or what? Are you two all right?" He seemed to get a couple of responses in the affirmative before he started explaining himself. "I'm here on graveyard shift embassy business. Friedman sent me over to give Mr. Demodand a message, but all of a sudden the damn fire alarm goes off while I'm at the front desk. Didn't expect to reach him under these circumstances though," he explained to Mara before turning to Demodand.

"The Radiatian ambassador to Adiron was suddenly recalled tonight, and you have been reassigned as the interim ambassador to Adiron. Got the letter right here," Tom said, handing Demodand the letter. "I figured it could wait until tomorrow, but, well, Ambassador Friedman disagreed. Something about the circumstances under which the former ambassador departed. Prime Minister, I'm afraid you'll need to come to the Adiran embassy right away to sort some things out. Doesn't look like you'll be going back to your room anytime soon by the looks of it, anyway."

[Radiatia]

"How very convenient," Said Kurt, rubbing his face with his hand while Tom smiled at him. He took the letter but quickly took out his smartphone to check something.

It was 2pm in Xerconia.

Story checks out. Thought Kurt with a nod, as he tore open the envelope.

"Let's see...

"Blah blah blah We've been trying to reach you for four months blah blah urgent transfer blah blah please contact the Adiron Embassy immediately."

He tore the letter in half, scrunched it up and threw it at the ground.

"Alright then. Let's go."

He paused and looked back at Mara.

"One moment please Tom." He said.

He gently took her hand and looked in her eyes.

"Mara, no matter what there will always be something between us. I like you Mara. I know we can't stay together, but... you'll always be in my thoughts."

He kissed her on the lips.

"Goodbye for now, fair princess."

He smiled the famous Demodand smirk and followed Tom away.

[Hittanryan]

"Four months, yeah, that's about as long as they said they've been trying to let you know about this transfer in advance. You don't check your mail all that often, do you, Prime Minister?" Tom asked. Rob had been making his way closer, and managed to hear that Demodand agreed to go quietly. As Demodand laid it on real thick, Tom could swear he saw Rob gagging out of the corner of his eye. For his part, Tom knew that Kurt's little display was probably a show for him. "No matter, I know something you don't know..."

"I had a car waiting, but they likely had to move to make way for the fire trucks, I'll give them a call," he said, raising a phone to his ear. "Yeah, we're outside the hotel...no, we're all fine...looks like whatever happened is under control...circle around and pick us up." He looked at Mara, not knowing quite what to think. "Sorry Mara, duty calls, let's catch up in a bit though. Should be free in about 15 minutes. If Friedman interrupts us one more time, I'll start a diplomatic incident."

As the car pulled up, Rob, Karl, and Larry legged it back to where they had parked their cars. Rob made an extremely brief call: "Kasumi, Glenn. Target in transit. Be ready to receive." The rest of the agents would follow suit shortly. They were all indistinguishable amongst the gathering spectacle, and followed Tom's lead vehicle towards the embassy.

"You know, I gotta admit, you know how to bend opinions," Tom said to Demodand while en route, "You even had me going there for a while. Oh well, all's fair in love and war, right?" He didn't know why he said that. "In all seriousness, sorry about dragging you off fresh from a fire. I have no idea why this couldn't wait until tomorrow, whatever's going on is need-to-know. Never told you my position back at the bar, I'm basically just an aide, hence all the legwork."

[New Edom]

Mara suddenly stormed off. "You know what, screw the BOTH of you, you diplomatic creeps. Damn it to hell, I'm not a fucking mannikin or something you can just talk over the head of." she walked away, absolutely fuming, and went to call a taxi. She didn't even wait for her car, she was so angry with the both of them. Idiots, stupid men. Never letting her get a word in edgewise, always just staring at her, mentally undressing her, then treating her like some kind of idiot. She was fuming, she snapped out instructions about how to get to the New Edomite embassy. On the way, on top of that, she discovered that in the regional elections she had lost her position as Delegate, and had been relegated to a regular Ambassador. Some Riemaian royal would take over, which was lunacy, since they didn't care about the international scene anyway. She kept it in as best she could the rest of the way, so as not to take it out on the cab driver, and when she got out gave him his money and walked in as though nothing had happened.

[Hittanryan]

OOC: Radiatia's likely gone to bed, and New Edom's reaction wasn't up yet, so I'll probably continue the rest of the arrest plot later.

Tom had expected accusations and suspicion, not a full-on temper tantrum. He wanted to stay, to try to explain, but he couldn't, not in the middle of the operation. Somehow Tom knew he would regret going along with the whole thing. Unfortunately, he was stuck seeing Demodand to the embassy, even as the man made some asinine comments that were obviously false bravado. He remained silent as he waited for the cars to arrive.

After dropping the target off, he washed his hands of the matter with a nod to Rob and bidding farewell to Kurt. It was the spooks' problem now. As Demodand stepped foot in that building, he was as good as extradited. Now, Tom would try, possibly in vain, to fix a problem of his own.

Royalty or no, ambassador or no, Mara was obviously unraveling. "What happened up there? If the slimy bastard was telling the truth, he basically used her. Does she think I'll do the same thing?" Conflicting emotions circled through Tom's mind, until finally he did something he'd probably otherwise find irrational: he called Mara, and he dropped the pleasantries. Time for a little Adiran bluntness. Nothing to lose at this point anyway.

"You mind telling me just what the hell that was all about?"

[Radiatia]

[OOC: I'm still up. (By some miracle!) This will be my last post before bed though.]

Kurt watched Mara storm off, his jaw slightly ajar. With every angry step away from him she took, Kurt felt his old self return just that little bit stronger until finally he was chuckling.

"Ha-ha-ha, women!" He laughed. "All upset because they can't understand man problems. How aborable." He turned to Tom. "You know what mate? You win. I've had it with that in-bred, stuck-up little bitch. She's all yours. Lousy lover, but nice to look at if you get my drift..."

Kurt watched Tom's face turn slightly pale. "Oh relax, Tom, you win some you lose some. And believe me, with that one you and I have both lost."

He continued chuckling along the way to the embassy, little tears forming in his eyes, although deep down it was to hide the hurt. He felt betrayed. For the briefest of moments he thought he felt something. He thought he'd found the female Kurt, his missing piece.

He calmed down and was back to talking diplomatically soon enough.

"The problem with reading mail from the government is they're so... boring. That's another reason I'm Conservative. Big government is boring. Small government is fun. Big government is boring old bureaucrats. Small government, you shag the office clerk and she also turns out to be a Minister of something. You know I can't stand civil servants."

Not long after he said that, Tom revealed that he was an aide - arguably, a civil servant.

"Really?" Kurt said through slightly gritted teeth. He loosened up a little - he was only joking. "Well... what would know? I was a Prime Minister once. It means nothing. Ah we're here then."

Kurt stepped out, suddenly aware that he wasn't thinking straight. He'd had a crazy night which had resulted in what seemed suspiciously like heartbreak, he'd had a lot to drink, a fire at the hotel and a new job involving some bloke he met at the bar.

He was going to wake up any moment, he was sure of it.

[New Edom]

Mara was just getting in when she got the call from Tom. She felt sad. You rarely really hit it off with someone, her father had always said, and she had felt, age or no age gap, that click with Kurt that she had not felt with a lover before. And then he just dismissed her. For all she knew, he had wanted to get rid of her and made an incident or something to cover it. The idea of calling him and trying to talk to him was mortifying, she felt humiliated by the whole incident. But that had been what she wanted...right?

Mara sighed and pushed accept. "I felt like I was being played for a fool, and I didn't like it. I felt that you all could have handled whatever game you were playing with a bit more decorum. I mean honestly, how stupid do you think I am, hearing about 4 months trying to find a public figure who has official appointments? Even bureaucrats aren't that stupid. And I was barely able to get a word in edgewise, the whole thing hardly sounded like some national emergency, so yeah, I'm ticked."

[Hittanryan]

Outside the Embassy

"Wait a minute...she thinks she's the one who got played?" Tom thought incredulously. "Well, you're doing better than you think. The second Friedman roped me into this I thought the whole thing sounded sketchy. Mara, we both know there's more going on here than some reassignment," Tom said earnestly.

"If you thought you were being played for a fool, then what would that make former Prime Minister Demodand? Whatever's going on, he just went right along with that story. Even gave you a little glimpse of the real Kurt Demodand in the end, but I think you're smart enough that you had a good idea of what to expect deep down anyway," he continued.

Embassy Grounds

As Tom bid the Prime Minister adieu, a lithe, east Asian-looking woman with long, jet black hair stepped out of the embassy. Greeting him with a smile and an upbeat tone, she said "Good evening, Ambassador. If you'll follow me we can sort this whole business out quickly and have you out of here in no time."

[New Edom]

Mara realized that Tom was, in part at least, right. She was mostly hugely disappointed. Kurt had come across at the bar as being a confident older man, someone who would possibly just enable her to feel a bit swept off her feet, even controlled. But then he had shown another side--that he was willing to just panic, like anyone else, be gulled, like anyone else. He made her think of a wounded ageing predator, perhaps impressive in appearance but wary of confrontation. "I see." Mara said. "Well, he's off to his appointment as Ambassador. I've never heard of such a thing. Frankly what I suspect is that he's saving face, that he knows he's actually going to face charges or something like that. I think I was too hard on both of you, and I'm sorry." She sounded very calm as she spoke, but she realized her throat was starting to ache and her eyes were stinging.

Okay, so Kurt had appealed to her. And then had treated her dismissively--but maybe she was wrong about that and had hurt him needlessly. Things like this were so confusing sometimes.

[Hittanryan]

"It's fine, don't worry about me, you probably had quite the night between the bar, the fire, and Kurt. Honestly, I'm more worried about you. You've been off all night, all building up to that. I don't know if anything happened between you two, but the Demoman said some pretty fucking awful things back there. Don't let any of the bullshit he might have said before that fool you. Man like that, you'll only see the real him once he thinks you've got nothing to offer."

"Listen, Mara, do you want to talk somewhere? No diplomatic fluff, no bullshit, just talk."

[New Edom]

The New Edomite Mission to the World Assembly

When Tom was admitted to the Mission, he was greeted by a man wearing sunglasses and a curious robe of purple and white, who bowed and blessed him; the rooms had been decorated with the colors blue and yellow, giving the impression of sandy warm climes and blue skies. There was a pretty minimalist touch to the decorations, and as the priest led him in to a study he could see Mara curled up on the couch there, wearing a different tunic style dress, this one giving an impression of green and cream softness, almost as though she was wearing a fine linen towel--it suggested bareness beneath but little was actually revealed. Her slender delicate feet were bare, and she nodded to the priest, who bowed and closed the door behind him. On the table was a tall carafe and two blue glazed cups. "Would you like some pear cider?" Mara asked graciously. If he accepted she poured, and invited him to sit opposite her. "What was it you wanted to talk to me about?" she asked.

[Radiatia]

Kurt nodded, and followed her.

Who the hell sorts out something like this at midnight? he heard a voice in his head say.

If he had been sober, he would have seen through the plot from the beginning, and refused to follow Tom.

However as it stood he was drunk, miserable, angry and just nodded to everything the women said, wanting to go back to bed, wake up and forget that Mara and Tom even existed.

It took him a while to notice voices speaking to him in Radiatian. At first he thought nothing of it, until he remembered he was not in Radiatia.

He looked up to notice two men, clearly of Radiatian ethnicity, staring down at him.

One of the men, Karl, switched to English for the benefit of the others present.

"Mr. Demodand, please stand facing the wall."

Kurt Demodand sighed and did so, as Karl pulled out handcuffs.

"You are hereby under arrest on suspicion of Corruption, Attempted Embezzlement of Public Funds and of Misleading the public of the Radiatian Federation.

"You are guilty until proven innocent in a federal court, and will be held in a federal prison cell for up to 28 days while you await trial."

Kurt let the men handcuff him, at one point thinking about how he would kill Tom if ever saw him again, but ultimately lacking the energy to feel any rage.

"Are you going to come quietly?" Said Larry.

"Sure," Said Kurt. "I'm depressed. Do what you want with me."

[Hittanryan]

"Seems like a lot of pomp and circumstance for an embassy," Tom thought as the priest muttered some kind of absolution before showing him through the building. It wasn't entirely his fault, Adirans as a whole tended to keep things practical and pragmatic. He thought of the functional Adiran mission, with its armed guards, metal detectors, and other security protocols. To be fair, they did have the occasional Magi nutter. Tom took in the sights of the embassy as they made their way to Mara.

Mara had invited him to the embassy to talk, and promptly hung up. Despite having talked Demodand into AIS hands, he was still not entirely sure of what, exactly, he was going to talk about here. Small talk, casual stuff, he could handle. Figuring out what the other guy wanted to hear and saying exactly that, he could pull off. Sticking to legal arguments in courtroom and legislative settings, he was quickly learning. Consoling a princess with duties several pay grades above his over what seemed to be the culmination of a royally fucked up upbringing, all while possibly concealing his role in an AIS black op? That was something new.

He accepted her offer of cider as he took a seat. "Well, let's start with you. I don't presume to know what your life's been like so far, but all night you haven't been yourself. I don't care what you're used to, it couldn't have been easy listening to him talk about you like...what was it you said? A mannequin? Are you sure you're all right?"

[New Edom]

Mara considered a moment, sipped her cider, and said, "I suppose not, not really. The strange thing for me is that I went with him out of a sense of defiance, I suppose. But then I found he was very human, very flawed, very real, and that I..." she looked up at Tom, "Enjoyed being with him. But I have a complicated life, of course. I'm probably going to be marrying the Crown Prince of Nordkrusen for the price of a province that we've been disputing for a century and a half. I've only met him twice at social functions. And I have a lover I'm not in love with. And then I met Kurt, and something in me just said "Sure, go with him." I won't tell you what we talked about, but I...I think I was hard on him. I don't know. I guess I"m kind of confused, and I'm just starting to not be drunk now. So I guess I'm not really alright." she sighed. "How are you though? I neglected to ask, how awful of me!"

[Radiatia]

[OOC: Exeunt Radiatia I'm guessing?]

RPNNWORLD

KURT DEMODAND ARRESTED
FORMER PRIME MINISTER FACES CORRUPTION CHARGES

XERCONIA, FCT
Former Prime Minister Kurt Demodand, who led the Conservative-Radiatian Destiny coalition government from LET 26 to LET 30, has been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to corrupt the Radiatian political system.

_{Former Prime Minister Kurt Demodand has been arrested on suspicion of corruption}

Demodand, who had been stationed as the Radiatian Federation's Observer Ambassador to the World Assembly, was extradited from the Adiran Embassy.

His charges include abuse of power, misleading the public and tax evasion.

"I'm not guilty." He stated when asked how he plans to plea. "I'm not saying I didn't do it. I did do it. But I'm not guilty about it because it was the right thing to do. Therefore I'm not guilty.

"If we arrested every leader who had to keep secrets from the public for the good of the nation, we'd be living in anarchy by now!" He went on to say.

The government has strongly denied that the charges are politically motivated.

"I literally had no idea that R-SOD were investigating this case," Said Prime Minister Lena Toriah. "We stationed him as an ambassador not knowing that he was facing charges. I personally don't think he's guilty, but I'll be interested to see what the evidence is."

Much of the case against Demodand hinges on a secret recording in which Demodand and two other Ministers of his cabinet admitted that they planned to privatise state monopolies for their personal gain.

However there are concerns over the legality of the recording itself, and the possibility that Kurt Demodand is being tried ex post facto.

Several prominent Conservative Party members have been taken in for police questioning, including Leader of the Opposition Soden Larssen and former party leader Bill Alyaha.

Many are already calling it "the trial of the century".

- RPNN

[Hittanryan]

OOC: Didn't expect you to cuff him so soon, Radiatia!

"How am I? I'm suspicious of just about everything involving the embassy tonight. Especially the business with...Kurt," Tom replied, unused to using the PM's first name.

Tom was telling the truth, at least in part. He'd learned that Rob wasn't very high up in the AIS hierarchy. Chances are he didn't even know the whole story, and neither of them would ever find out. Sure, taking down a corrupt bastard of a conservative was a good enough cause, but if it hurt Mara the victory would be...bittersweet.

"You've had a complicated and very confusing life. Stop me if I'm misremembering what you said before, but on the one hand, you've got all these blue laws criminalizing things like adultery and enforcing religion in New Edom, on the other, your family has got these 'lovers' floating around. On the one hand, marriage is supposed to be a celebration of love, on the other, your marriage is treated as a diplomatic bargaining chip," Tom said.

He tried to pin down why he hadn't been able to get Mara out of his head. Before tonight, before he showed up at the bar, she was just a sort of afterthought, they hit it off once, maybe it would happen again and they'd grow closer, who knew? It didn't seem to be jealousy, he never thought her little fling would last longer than 24 hours, and that was made certain by Demodand's imminent detention at the embassy. Besides, by the time Demodand entered the picture Tom wasn't even sure what Mara meant to him. It only happened once Mara revealed a more vulnerable side, the side scarred from a confusing upbringing torn between dogma and a decadent family life. He had no answers.

"Why do I get the feeling the two of us have seen too much in too few years?"

[New Edom]

"That's possibly true...that we've seen so much..." Mara liked how he put it. She liked how Tom found it easy to make sense of things, analyze it and be clear about it. If he was right. Could it truly be summed up so easily? "You know, I still feel like our civil wars aren't over in my country, so it's not just tradition alone, the marriages are vital alliances, like something out of the medieval times. I mean just last year there was such massive rioting in the capital that the President called the army in to establish order, and because one of my uncles was implicated in starting the rioting, soldiers stormed the palace. It was only because a cousin of mine was in command that well bad things didn't happen. I was was in my bedroom, wearing just a nightshirt and there were suddenly soldiers in there, but then a senior officer came in and brought them to order, but can you imagine? So.." she sighed. "It's irritating even to think about." she said, trying to make light of it with a smile. "But you're right...it's messed up. And I think we were both made fools of a bit tonight but I was hard on poor Kurt, and I'll have to apologize to him. Tom," she said, switching tacks without a beat, "Why are you so interested in talking to me?"

[Hittanryan]

"Maybe this would be a bad time to mention I was a soldier too?" Tom said after he listened to her story about the riots. "It's fine though, sounds like not only were they assholes, they had pretty shitty operational discipline. That shit would not fly in the Adiron Republic Army...never mind."

"Tom, Why are you so interested in talking to me?"

Then came the $64,000 question. Tom found himself trying to quantify a connection that, for all he knew, was strictly one-sided. He could deflect the question with humor, some quip about talking with stuffy old diplomats, but he couldn't, somehow.

At a subconscious level, Tom believed he'd found a kindred spirit in the pampered princess. It was a bizarre, roundabout connection more rooted in gut feeling than anything logical. Both of them were now torn between their public and private lives. Both had grown entirely too cynical for their age, brought on by experiencing too many things they just weren't ready for. Tom's time in the war ultimately saw him repress just about everything, and he got so good at it that he ended up with his unflappable poker face and uncanny ability to lie through his teeth. In Mara, he thought he finally saw someone he could open up to. Someone with the exact same problem, owing to different circumstances.

Tom rose from his seat, took a few steps away as he finished his cider. "Ever feel like you could have all the company in the world and still be alone? A bit cheesy and melodramatic, I know, but let's face it, not many people our age have been through the kinds of things we have. We keep it all bottled up, go back to school or whatever, and put on a happy face when we know full well there's some terrible shit out there in the real world. They take things for granted that we know are priceless and fragile, but we don't want to bring them down. They don't get that life is short."

Now he looked into her eyes, "Tonight, I saw how you deal with it all. You know how FUBAR things can get, so you live life to the fullest, every day like it was your last. I suppose...that's what I find fascinating about you, Mara. Maybe I thought I found someone who gets it. Life's short, might as well enjoy it while it lasts, and maybe if I were with you, things would be that much brighter." Tom suddenly realized just what he was saying. His mouth had outpaced his brain. "Sorry, guess maybe I don't have a good answer after all."

[New Edom]

"Mr. Alvarado! Are you hitting on me sir? My goodness, and me a virgin Princess of House Obed--and alone with you! Good gracious! God's nightgown!" she exclaimed, then burst out laughing. She smiled at him. "You've been asking me out on a date for like forever...and you still want to after I got drunk and went to a hotel room with a man you despise and obviously had sex with him?" she was touched, amused, delighted in a way. "If you'd still like to, I'd like to try that too." she was curious to see what he'd do now. Par for the course and she'd be basically finding out what attracted him most physically to women with a good firm grope.

People will try to take sexual advantage of you, her mother had said. Don't be one of those silly women who goes into hysterics as though she was made of cherished tissue paper. Be strong and choose your sexual moments and you will find it is powerful. And that was how her mother was--if it was just a quick pat or grope she would ignore it or take it as a compliment; if it was invasive her reaction would be swift as that of a striking snake or as cool and inevitable as a glacier.

[Hittanryan]

"Wait, what the hell did I just say?" Tom was abruptly, and quite jarringly, thinking clearly again. "Did she not believe me? Wait, she said yes?" He blinked a couple of times at Mara's reaction before breaking into a smile himself and approaching her.

"I meant every word, even the ones that made no sense. Now, if I'm hearing your proposal correctly, madam ambassador, you're basically telling me to hurry up. No promises," he said with a wry grin. "Well, looks like I'm falling for her," an increasingly distant inner monologue whispered. "Now how about we just forget everything for a while?"

With that he gently pulled Mara into an embrace and kissed her passionately, slowly working his way down her neck.

[New Edom]

Mara was delighted, a little shocked and overwhelmed at him suddenly lunging at her and kissing her--his feelings must have been really strong. She was a little worn out, not entirely aroused yet, and so she tried to slow his kissing a little bit...when he began kissing her neck she felt a sense of growing excitement--would Tom have the courage and strength or would he turn out like so many other guys, so soft when alone? Mara encouraged him, running her hands over his back and arms, raising her chin to expose her delicate throat, sighing to encourage him even though she was not really aroused yet, to get him to relax and enjoy himself so she could figure him out more. It was weird...she liked Tom far better than Kurt but Kurt aroused her so much she had felt like fainting. Or was it the booze? She wouldn't know now, with the guy hauled off who knows where.

Princesses don't cry in front of others. Mara heard the voice, a trifle cold but affectionate as much as it was towards a pet. She held her tight throat in, she stroked his back, she caressed his lips with hers softly and subnissively and invitingly. But the idea of simply letting herself go in his arms was strong, strong enough that she found herself wanting to hug him tightly. Instead she began pulling at his shirt...

[New Edom]

The Following Morning

Mara stretched slowly in bed, from her toes to her legs to her thighs, arching her back, yawning. She lay there a little bit, looking up at the ceiling which was painted blue, and then sat up, glancing at Tom's sleeping form. She quietly got out of bed and stretching more she went to the bedroom doors and opened them, smiling at Precious pattered in, the little black dog's pink ribbon of a tongue lolling out. She bent to pet him, kneeling there, scratching his black furry ears. She looked out into the sitting room and saw her Elwe maid Tegan finishing setting down covered breakfast trays. "Thank you," said Mara in a sleep-fuzzy voice. Tegan smiled at her. "Good morning, your Royal Highness." Mara walked into the sitting room and peeped out through the drapes. "Yucky--drizzly grey day!" Tegan discreetly walked into the bedroom; she was a slim Elwe girl with fair hair, wearing a traditional Elwe saron style dress, and she put a dressing gown out for Tom on the chair beside his side of the bed, then padded out in bare feet.

"My laptop, then give us some privacy for a bit please Tegan, he may wake up feeling randy or something." said Mara with a smile. She went to the bedroom as Tegan left, taking the dog with her, and knelt on the bed beside Tom, waking him by caressing him and kissing his cheek, blowing softly into his ear. "Morning sleepy--I know it's really early but we can always go back to bed later if you don't want to be up..."