***Untitled***
***Harvey's Message***
If you've never read my notes, please, do so now, especially if you've been with this story for a while
***Harvey's Message***
Awoken by the cries of a chocobo, Ramza knew that morning had arrived, even from their suite within the keep. Curiously, he looked up at the cot, noticing from the lack of a bulge or hanging limbs that Agrias was no longer there. Yawning, he sat up to look around himself, wondering why he felt that he was not alone.
She lay at his side opposite the cot, and Ramza let his gaze linger on her dormant form. Ramza felt no guilt as he admired her, observing her as she slept, slightly curled, her limbs pointing towards him, as if he had slipped out of her grasp. He felt only affection, not lust. Most of her blanket was beneath her, the black slip she wore making her a shrouded figure, a living testament to that which Ramza identified as woman.
The blank expression she wore caused Ramza to chortle when he first noticed. Contemplating what may be, Ramza continued to watch her as she slept. Frowning as his thoughts wandered to how she would hate being discovered like this, Ramza rose only to kneel as he gently pried hands beneath her. Dawdling to savor the feeling of her warmth pressing against him, Ramza wavered as he carried her and shakily placed her into his cot.
He was reluctant as he moved away, kneeling as he did so as he tilted his head to look at her face. Hesitating, he chose to move away before he would have touched his lips upon hers.
It was then that her eyes flickered open and the clean look that she had hardened into something that resembled displeasure.
"Good morning," he murmured, staying where he kneeled, patiently waiting for her to reply as she blinked. He stifled any reaction when Agrias caught herself as she was opening her mouth to take yawn, her lips drawn in embarrassment. Understanding, Ramza stood, taking a step back. "Do you want to sleep in?" he asked.
Again, she made no verbal response as she shook her head. Laying her head back down on the cot, she turned so that she would face Ramza. She gave him a smile, one that he did not know how to interpret, and found himself mimicking back. Slowly, she shrugged. Leaning her head down into his pillow, she said with her voice muffled, "Its up to you. I'm not looking forward to meeting with that woman..."
Ramza chose not to comment. "I'll make us some tea before I find a way to get ourselves breakfast."
"The others?" Agrias brought up.
"Still asleep," Ramza replied.
"Oh..." Agrias replied, grunting. "Yes, I would like some... please."
She watched Ramza as he turned away, and she herself ogled him, noticing the folds made in his clothing by his body while he slept. She had felt herself being moved and laid down, so she had an idea of what happened to her, yet not of what she dreamt except feelings of rising fear, anxiety, and affection?
Her attention was aroused further as Ramza looked from the kettle, to the dead corpse of wood in the fireplace. Contemplating a decision for several moments, Ramza turned around to face her.
"Instead, I'll go to the mess and have them bring us a meal again," he said slowly.
"And..." Agrias picked up.
"Maybe you could wake up the others and head to the bath first."
"Oh," Agrias laughed, as her tone lilted towards sinister honey "Are you implying that I have a foul odor?"
"No..." Ramza replied, stuttering, "I-I... you seem to be worried about your breath..."
"Oh, I smell the same as a ripe behemo-" her laughter escalated as Ramza panicked and hurriedly made his way to the door and left. She lay there, basking in joy, feeling no guilt at the fun she had at his expense.
Finding herself alone for the moment, Agrias lay back in Ramza's cot, idly fingering the stitch on Ramza's blanket. Briefly, she tried to remember what it was that she dreamt, for when she had awoken, she felt only rest, not rejuvenation; the latter came from Ramza. "Everything I want?" she found herself saying. Shrugging, Agrias agreed with what came from within.
***
"Hmm?" Agrias remarked as Ramza looked into the room not long after he had left. "You can't be that fast," she continued.
Ramza did not how to interpret that statement, so he simply walked in and turned to let a familiar adolescent squire walk into the room.
To her credit, Agrias did not seem alarmed by the presence of the young squire. Slowly, she sat up in the cot, Ramza's blanket covering her still as she tucked it from within to rest on her shoulders.
"The cardinal wishes to inform you that," Macaulay began, "that... if her majesty is able, that her new protective detail will be having breakfast with her in the women's barracks."
Feeling that he should do something, Ramza moved between Macaulay and Agrias, facing her. "There should be enough time for us to wash and change..."
"It's alright," Agrias replied automatically. She tilted her head, giving the two squires an indulgent stare, before locking her eyes onto Ramza's.
Upon the hesitation that followed, Ramza placed his hands on Macaulay's shoulders and guided him out of the suite. "I don't believe I am invited," Ramza remarked, pointing the fact out, and upon Agrias' turn of expression, he elaborated on his point, "though you could justify it somehow if I was a guest."
"Go wash," she commanded him. "Now."
Playfully, Ramza nodded and left, leaving Agrias alone. Sitting up in the cot, her calves over the lip as she folded her legs across herself, Agrias took a moment to savor the tedium.
***
To her surprise, none of the three conspirators made any comments about what may have come to be the night Ramza and she spent together in the front room. The four of them were at the woman's bath, not to bathe, but to wash –Agrias thought to herself that the bath would be best after she ran through the gauntlet today.
Sniffing her forearm, Agrias mouth curled open as she noticed that the castle's smell was upon her. It was a curiosity that she had never managed to lose, that annoying habit of always noticing the different scents of the places she had been. She would have thought with the exposure she's had to so many parts of Ivalice, that her sense of smell would've grown less sensitive.
"Ladies," Agrias said, rousing the attention of the other knights. "One more thing: you have nothing to prove."
"Against them?" Alicia remarked. "Are they really going to replace us?"
Uncomfortably, Ovelia entered the conversation. "I won't let them replace you..."
Agrias shook her head. "It isn't that." After a moment she continued, "Well, a little. We need them. Three of us is nowhere near enough to defend you."
"Neither is a squad, or a company," Lavian began in rhythm, "or battallion, not even a regiment." Pausing, she took a small towel she dipped into a basin of cool water and scrubbed at her face. "An army?" she mumbled through the moist towel, and Alicia chuckled as she watched the other knight's face masked by the damp cloth.
"What do you mean, Agrias?" Ovelia asked.
"Trusting others with your safety is difficult enough, but she," Agrias stuttered, "this woman –she's trying to push us away."
"I will not let you be pushed aside," Ovelia reiterated.
"I know that, and I thank you," Agrias sighed. "Perhaps its only a misperception, yet..."
"The Tabatha woman right?" Alicia piped up. "It would make sense boss-lady. Lionel has its own version of the St. Konoe, used to at least. It makes sense that they would try to edge us out; we're competition, if you think about it." As Agrias hesitated, she grunted. "I see... that bitch, huh?"
***
Ramza felt very self-conscious as Agrias meticulously went over his clothing –he regretted ever bringing his pre-mercenary tunic out of retirement. "Someday," she murmured, as she pinched the folds of his right sleeve, admiring the weave of the fibers. She looked into his face, and her stern expression wavered. "You look decent."
"It's a compliment, trust me," Lavian said behind Ramza, appraising him and giving Agrias an analyzing glance.
"Everyone set to leave?" Alicia said to herself, impatiently beyond the open door in the hallway. "I'm hungry."
Ramza blinked as Agrias grasped his hand as she made her way to the door, following Ovelia. Understanding that part of her felt upset, Ramza squeezed her hand, even as he twisted to avoid being pulled into the doorway's frame.
"I think I've lost my appetite," Agrias muttered.
***
***Author's Notes***
Some apologies are in order. That fragment of a scene has been hovering in my archives for two weeks now. The direction of this story hasn't so much changed direction as began to develop on a different plane. I am lost, and flying blind has lost its appeal.
This post isn't a continuation, but an announcement.
I've lost the will to work on this project, so I suppose you can hang the 'discontinued' sign on this one.
Remember how I kept mentioning I've been having emotional problems?
Dealing with my friends got too much, and I couldn't talk to them because of pride and the feeling that I saw things in them that was never there, that I was closer to them than I ever was.
This was my conduit for releasing some of that anger and frustration, and, right now, I don't feel like I can keep doing this.
My Agrias ran me down when I walked away from them, and I finally became honest with her.
Yes, my Agrias.
For those of you who felt used, well, nothing that I can say.
Especially those who tried to offer criticism and concern as to where the story was going. You were fighting against my emotional issues, not just mistakes, so it was unfair towards you people.
Minka, Renfro, Ilvy, C-Bahamut, Highwaywoman, Alpha-Drac, TWH... and the people I'm too inconsiderate to remember, thank you for indulging my immature ways for so long.
Laziness, satisfaction, bliss... I don't know if or when I'll find inspiration again. Cuddling Diana is more fulfilling than writing about her ever will be.
***Author's Notes***
***Harvey's Message***
If you've never read my notes, please, do so now, especially if you've been with this story for a while
***Harvey's Message***
Awoken by the cries of a chocobo, Ramza knew that morning had arrived, even from their suite within the keep. Curiously, he looked up at the cot, noticing from the lack of a bulge or hanging limbs that Agrias was no longer there. Yawning, he sat up to look around himself, wondering why he felt that he was not alone.
She lay at his side opposite the cot, and Ramza let his gaze linger on her dormant form. Ramza felt no guilt as he admired her, observing her as she slept, slightly curled, her limbs pointing towards him, as if he had slipped out of her grasp. He felt only affection, not lust. Most of her blanket was beneath her, the black slip she wore making her a shrouded figure, a living testament to that which Ramza identified as woman.
The blank expression she wore caused Ramza to chortle when he first noticed. Contemplating what may be, Ramza continued to watch her as she slept. Frowning as his thoughts wandered to how she would hate being discovered like this, Ramza rose only to kneel as he gently pried hands beneath her. Dawdling to savor the feeling of her warmth pressing against him, Ramza wavered as he carried her and shakily placed her into his cot.
He was reluctant as he moved away, kneeling as he did so as he tilted his head to look at her face. Hesitating, he chose to move away before he would have touched his lips upon hers.
It was then that her eyes flickered open and the clean look that she had hardened into something that resembled displeasure.
"Good morning," he murmured, staying where he kneeled, patiently waiting for her to reply as she blinked. He stifled any reaction when Agrias caught herself as she was opening her mouth to take yawn, her lips drawn in embarrassment. Understanding, Ramza stood, taking a step back. "Do you want to sleep in?" he asked.
Again, she made no verbal response as she shook her head. Laying her head back down on the cot, she turned so that she would face Ramza. She gave him a smile, one that he did not know how to interpret, and found himself mimicking back. Slowly, she shrugged. Leaning her head down into his pillow, she said with her voice muffled, "Its up to you. I'm not looking forward to meeting with that woman..."
Ramza chose not to comment. "I'll make us some tea before I find a way to get ourselves breakfast."
"The others?" Agrias brought up.
"Still asleep," Ramza replied.
"Oh..." Agrias replied, grunting. "Yes, I would like some... please."
She watched Ramza as he turned away, and she herself ogled him, noticing the folds made in his clothing by his body while he slept. She had felt herself being moved and laid down, so she had an idea of what happened to her, yet not of what she dreamt except feelings of rising fear, anxiety, and affection?
Her attention was aroused further as Ramza looked from the kettle, to the dead corpse of wood in the fireplace. Contemplating a decision for several moments, Ramza turned around to face her.
"Instead, I'll go to the mess and have them bring us a meal again," he said slowly.
"And..." Agrias picked up.
"Maybe you could wake up the others and head to the bath first."
"Oh," Agrias laughed, as her tone lilted towards sinister honey "Are you implying that I have a foul odor?"
"No..." Ramza replied, stuttering, "I-I... you seem to be worried about your breath..."
"Oh, I smell the same as a ripe behemo-" her laughter escalated as Ramza panicked and hurriedly made his way to the door and left. She lay there, basking in joy, feeling no guilt at the fun she had at his expense.
Finding herself alone for the moment, Agrias lay back in Ramza's cot, idly fingering the stitch on Ramza's blanket. Briefly, she tried to remember what it was that she dreamt, for when she had awoken, she felt only rest, not rejuvenation; the latter came from Ramza. "Everything I want?" she found herself saying. Shrugging, Agrias agreed with what came from within.
***
"Hmm?" Agrias remarked as Ramza looked into the room not long after he had left. "You can't be that fast," she continued.
Ramza did not how to interpret that statement, so he simply walked in and turned to let a familiar adolescent squire walk into the room.
To her credit, Agrias did not seem alarmed by the presence of the young squire. Slowly, she sat up in the cot, Ramza's blanket covering her still as she tucked it from within to rest on her shoulders.
"The cardinal wishes to inform you that," Macaulay began, "that... if her majesty is able, that her new protective detail will be having breakfast with her in the women's barracks."
Feeling that he should do something, Ramza moved between Macaulay and Agrias, facing her. "There should be enough time for us to wash and change..."
"It's alright," Agrias replied automatically. She tilted her head, giving the two squires an indulgent stare, before locking her eyes onto Ramza's.
Upon the hesitation that followed, Ramza placed his hands on Macaulay's shoulders and guided him out of the suite. "I don't believe I am invited," Ramza remarked, pointing the fact out, and upon Agrias' turn of expression, he elaborated on his point, "though you could justify it somehow if I was a guest."
"Go wash," she commanded him. "Now."
Playfully, Ramza nodded and left, leaving Agrias alone. Sitting up in the cot, her calves over the lip as she folded her legs across herself, Agrias took a moment to savor the tedium.
***
To her surprise, none of the three conspirators made any comments about what may have come to be the night Ramza and she spent together in the front room. The four of them were at the woman's bath, not to bathe, but to wash –Agrias thought to herself that the bath would be best after she ran through the gauntlet today.
Sniffing her forearm, Agrias mouth curled open as she noticed that the castle's smell was upon her. It was a curiosity that she had never managed to lose, that annoying habit of always noticing the different scents of the places she had been. She would have thought with the exposure she's had to so many parts of Ivalice, that her sense of smell would've grown less sensitive.
"Ladies," Agrias said, rousing the attention of the other knights. "One more thing: you have nothing to prove."
"Against them?" Alicia remarked. "Are they really going to replace us?"
Uncomfortably, Ovelia entered the conversation. "I won't let them replace you..."
Agrias shook her head. "It isn't that." After a moment she continued, "Well, a little. We need them. Three of us is nowhere near enough to defend you."
"Neither is a squad, or a company," Lavian began in rhythm, "or battallion, not even a regiment." Pausing, she took a small towel she dipped into a basin of cool water and scrubbed at her face. "An army?" she mumbled through the moist towel, and Alicia chuckled as she watched the other knight's face masked by the damp cloth.
"What do you mean, Agrias?" Ovelia asked.
"Trusting others with your safety is difficult enough, but she," Agrias stuttered, "this woman –she's trying to push us away."
"I will not let you be pushed aside," Ovelia reiterated.
"I know that, and I thank you," Agrias sighed. "Perhaps its only a misperception, yet..."
"The Tabatha woman right?" Alicia piped up. "It would make sense boss-lady. Lionel has its own version of the St. Konoe, used to at least. It makes sense that they would try to edge us out; we're competition, if you think about it." As Agrias hesitated, she grunted. "I see... that bitch, huh?"
***
Ramza felt very self-conscious as Agrias meticulously went over his clothing –he regretted ever bringing his pre-mercenary tunic out of retirement. "Someday," she murmured, as she pinched the folds of his right sleeve, admiring the weave of the fibers. She looked into his face, and her stern expression wavered. "You look decent."
"It's a compliment, trust me," Lavian said behind Ramza, appraising him and giving Agrias an analyzing glance.
"Everyone set to leave?" Alicia said to herself, impatiently beyond the open door in the hallway. "I'm hungry."
Ramza blinked as Agrias grasped his hand as she made her way to the door, following Ovelia. Understanding that part of her felt upset, Ramza squeezed her hand, even as he twisted to avoid being pulled into the doorway's frame.
"I think I've lost my appetite," Agrias muttered.
***
***Author's Notes***
Some apologies are in order. That fragment of a scene has been hovering in my archives for two weeks now. The direction of this story hasn't so much changed direction as began to develop on a different plane. I am lost, and flying blind has lost its appeal.
This post isn't a continuation, but an announcement.
I've lost the will to work on this project, so I suppose you can hang the 'discontinued' sign on this one.
Remember how I kept mentioning I've been having emotional problems?
Dealing with my friends got too much, and I couldn't talk to them because of pride and the feeling that I saw things in them that was never there, that I was closer to them than I ever was.
This was my conduit for releasing some of that anger and frustration, and, right now, I don't feel like I can keep doing this.
My Agrias ran me down when I walked away from them, and I finally became honest with her.
Yes, my Agrias.
For those of you who felt used, well, nothing that I can say.
Especially those who tried to offer criticism and concern as to where the story was going. You were fighting against my emotional issues, not just mistakes, so it was unfair towards you people.
Minka, Renfro, Ilvy, C-Bahamut, Highwaywoman, Alpha-Drac, TWH... and the people I'm too inconsiderate to remember, thank you for indulging my immature ways for so long.
Laziness, satisfaction, bliss... I don't know if or when I'll find inspiration again. Cuddling Diana is more fulfilling than writing about her ever will be.
***Author's Notes***