Seinerd Spirals (Part One)

Seinerd stepped out of the 'Bastard Regents' office feeling suitably humbled but humiliated nonetheless, he glanced at the guard that stepped out along with him, the same guard that gave him his summons, disturbed by the lesser-than-noble thoughts of himself going through the man's head.

"Aye, it rough," the guard started, "The Marshall is as terrifying as always, you needn't feel shame, humbled by she." He consoled.

"I am not humbled by her!" Seinerd said instantly. His defensive outburst didn't help him any, as the guard's eyes widened in realization.

"Oh, so Lord Rainald is what troubles you, is he?" Not waiting for an answer to come out of Seinerd's agape mouth he continued, "Well, we are all feeling very indifferent to the new Regent, no one knows how he will act whilst the Duke is away. I just mostly regard him with the same rules the Duke set."

"Enough of your chatter!" vexed, Seinerd again let out an outburst, "Do you not have a job to carry out? Do you not have the Lord Regent to protect?"

The guard hesitated but Seinerd gave him no chance to recover, "Do not liken yourself to I. For I fall under the direct privy of the Chancellor. So if you would excuse me, I'll be on my way!" With a fluff of his overcoat, Seinerd stormed away, leaving the guard gripping at his words.

Still, in quite of a huff, Seinerd stepped out of the Duke's mansion, intent on beginning his journey to Harsem as soon as possible. He had little loyalty to the little Bastard Regent, but the Chancellor, his mentor, did. Desmond had trusted him enough to leave domestic cases such as these to him, he could not afford to mess it all up, if he did, Desmond, not he, would bear the consequences.

Outside the mansion doors at last, he quickly found his way towards the ranches behind the mansion. To begin his travels, he needed a horse and supplies, only one of the Duke's ranchers could provide one for him under mission expenses.

At the moment he arrived, he happened upon Dagena, dressed in thick red fur cloak with a black woollen scarf with red mittens and black leather boots. She held in her hands a heavy-looking bag as she leaned on the side of one of the coaches her family used for travels. Winter had begun to come to a close, and snowfall had become irregular instead of constant, the temperature was cold but much more bearable than it was weeks ago.

He stopped short of letting out a greeting, remembering what Desmond had told him about his pining's for the woman before him. Seinerd wouldn't dare make any attempts against a woman his Lord had set sights on, it would do him all the dishonour to find himself in a situation where he, handsome and charming as he thought himself, caught between the love of a noble blooded woman and the provider of his livelihood, his Lord.

But his luck was running low today as it seemed. She'd caught sight of him and begun to wave him over, worse of all he could no longer pretend to be blind to her, they'd made eye contact.

"Hey! Seinerd right?" Seinerd walked up to her, not entirely amused by what was happening.

"Uh, yes, Lady Dagena." He said, giving a courtesy demanded bow.

"Good, my brother has sent you to Harsem, has he not?" she asked, handing over the large bag to him.

Seinerd strained, his fingers hurt under the weight of the bag as he fumbled to get his fingers into a less painful positioning, "Ah, yes, the Lord Regent has-"

"Good, I'll be coming along with you to Harsem, load my luggage into the coach, I want to get away from this cold." She said quickly and definitively, launching herself into the coach, ignoring the hovering servant's attempts to assist.

"Excuse me, Milady?" Seinerd asked, taken aback and unsure of the words she spoke.

Seated comfortably in the coach, she let out a huff, draping what looked like a pre-arranged quilt over herself, "Do I have to repeat myself? Get yourself and my luggage in, we're going to Harsem." She said, looking expectantly at Seinerd.

Soon, the dumfounded man found himself seated beside Dagena in a coach he couldn't imagine affording in the next decades of his life. "Ahem," he gently cleared his throat, wondering how to question the woman who'd commanded him in here before the driver got ready to begin the journey to Harsem.

"What is it, Seinerd?" Dagena questioned, feeling his discomfort and unease through her closed eyes, "Have I perhaps, misinterpreted the nature of your journey? Are you not going to Harsem or do you have a detour?"

Seinerd took great care choosing his words, apprenticed to the chancellor, he was still but a commoner. He knew well enough not to travel too close to power, especially that of a noble woman. "Ah, yes, Milady, I have no luggage of my own, only a pouch of coins and a list of orders to adhere." She remained silent, her eyes moving rapidly under her eyelids, "The Lord Regent informed me that this would likely require a long stay away from Aville."

Dagena shuffled into a more comfortable position, leaning her head on the side of the door, "Well then, go prepare yourself and be back here, I need to be gone before the hour, you can have my horse."

Seinerd only blinked, not the reaction he was expecting but her openness and cooperation prompted him to ask yet another question, "Why do you wish to travel to Harsem?"

At this Dagena's eyes fluttered open, "What?" her voice was low, almost menacing. Seinerd struggled instantly regretting his audaciousness as his tongue failed him, letting out unintelligible sounds, "And how is it any of your concern? My purpose in Harsem?"

Seinerd let out a sigh, raising his hands in resignation, "Its none of mine. I only ask because the Regent made no mention of you, nor did he mention that I'd be travelling so…" he looked around the inside of the coach, smiling at it all, "…comfortably. I am also meant to be spying."

Dagena scoffed, turning to face him with a glare, "My brother does not command my movements, nor does he oversee them. So if you're ready to give up a free," her eyes narrowed dangerously, "and comfortable ride to a County many hours away, then so be it."

Seinerd's eyes widened as if for the first time realizing he'd been set out in to travel hours in the cold, "I am sorry, I meant not to be disrespectful nor ungrateful, Milady." Seinerd quickly corrected his attitude bowing his head, unknowingly humbling himself for the second time that day.

"Good. We can pick up your luggage and whatever else you believe you would need before we head off for Harsem."

The two waited in relative silence, for Dagena, it had been the earliest she'd purposely decided to wake up, she rested her head against the door of the coach, breathing softly with a small knitted pillow underneath her head as she slowly drifted off into sleep.

Seinerd held hope that his decision to tag along or rather, let Dagena tag along with him, would not come back biting back at him. Not entirely sure how the impromptu arrangements with his new companion would play out, and having no idea what her true agenda in Harsem was, Seinerd could only have faith in God to not let everything spiral out of his control.