Arranged Allegiances - 1x1 (Don't delete!)

[Cloudsong]

Giovanna didn't seem to notice that Ean was watching her with wide eyes. Either that, or she merely didn't care about what he thought. After all, what did it matter to her what he thought about her? They would not be wed; both of them would see to that. And furthermore, what did it matter to him if she did want to wade in the water? She glanced over at him, seeing that he seemed quite awkward watching her. He had his hands in his pockets, and was watching her uncertainly. This brought a smile to her lips; one almost like the ones she would always have on when her brother was around.

"Nothing," she replied, her tone lofty as she continued to walk through the water, only looking over at him every once in a while. "And my dress will dry; no harm done, right?" Suddenly an amused smile lit her lips, and she turned around to face him. "But you're right... I am getting all wet, aren't I? Would it better if I just took off my dress?" She saw how much it effected him to see her act so un-lady-like; how would he respond to this? Probably embarrassed - it wasn't proper for someone to undress in front of a man.

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Ean's eyes widened even more, his eyebrows shooting up past his hairline. "W-what?" he stammered, a blush creeping up his neck, fading into his cheeks. "You must be joking...please, tell me you are kidding? My sisters would never say such a thing to a man. You...you..," he couldn't even form a sentence. He knew that she was doing this purposely to see him squirm, but he didn't care. How dare she ask something of that sort, that was entirely inappropriate. What would his mother think? Or her father?

"I have half a mind to tell your father of your antics, you know," he muttered, trying to hide his embarrassment. "Young women your age shouldn't act in such a way; it is inappropriate." He frowned at her, shaking his head ever-so slightly.

(Aaaaaaaah, terrible post. Sorry </3 )

[Cloudsong]

Giovanna laughed, for the first time since her brother had died. Seeing the blush on his olive-colored skin, and how nervous he looked, she couldn't help it. Her laughter continued as she heard him muttering about telling her father. Why, that would be an interesting conversation. She hoped that he would tell the king. Perhaps then her father would deem her too young to marry, for she was acting immature. Or he would just realize that she was joking when she said it. Up until before Mateo had left them, she had always had a beautiful sense of humor, even if at times it was immature. Even if she had previously told him that he was an ass, now she was actually finding himself to enjoy humiliating him. This could be a sport if they were constantly put together. Mentally she made a note to herself to do it again

She was almost in tears by the end, when she finally composed herself. Wiping her eyes, she continued to laugh quietly. Obviously his reaction amused her greatly. "Oh please, tell him," she said, smirking slightly. "And I'll tell your mother that you asked me to take it off." She was still smiling as she turned back to the water, seeing that the sun was beginning to set.

(Lol it's fine <3)

[FoldєdPapєrHєarts]

"You- you wouldn't dare tell her such a thing!" Ean said, almost slightly nervously. His mother would never believe something of the sort...would she? Yes, he was a young man, and he had done some foolish things to and with young women. However, to ask one to take her clothes off, when they had just met? Even he would never do such a thing. The very idea was preposterous.

When he saw her smile, he glared at her. "Oh, very funny," he spat, turning away with his hands still in his pockets. "I also have half a mind to just leave you here, and let you try to find your way back to the castle in the dark. Alone. Maybe some stranger will come pick you up, and you can ask him to take your clothes off." He had heard of many young women, his own age and younger, as well as older, being preyed upon like animals by men. Of course he would never let that happen to anyone, but even to strike the fear of it into her would be sufficient.

Ean hated the fact that the back of his neck was burning still. He was a modest young man, despite being arrogant, about certain things. He could only hope she hadn't picked up on that.

[Cloudsong]

Giovanna raised an eyebrow as he threatened to leave her there. He was trying to scare her, and it wasn't working. She didn't seem worried at all, in fact. "Fine," she countered, rolling her eyes. "Go on, then - leave me here. I won't mind." Her smirk was still there, and she suspected that he was only giving her empty threats. Leaving her here all alone would be almost a death threat if a man came by. Of course, she would scream for the guards if someone did try to carry her off, but with all of the wind, she wasn't sure she would be heard. However, they were in a secluded spot, and she didn't expect any strange men to be wandering around. "And if someone does come by, I'll make sure to tell them what a gallant man you are - leaving a young lady here on her own." She glanced over at him, seeing he still seemed a little worked up.

It occurred to her that she had taken her joking too far, but it didn't seem to bother her in the slightest. What this man thought about her was not important, and she almost hoped that he believed her to be a barbaric low-class person by making such jokes.

[FoldєdPapєrHєarts]

Ean rolled his eyes at her words, his lip curling. She had seen through his bluff, that much was quite obvious. Sighing, he turned towards her. "Wouldn't you?" he sneered. "And I could care less what you'd tell whoever would drop by; I'm sure whoever it would be would have more important things to be concerned about." However, everything he was saying was obviously an empty threat, and he realized that he had no idea how long she would take. Sighing, he slowly sat down on the sand, curling his lip as the sand quickly coated his dark pants. He shook his head. "Yes, this is just so much fun..," he muttered.

He leaned back on his hands, remembering the last time he'd been on this beach. Many, many years ago. That was when his family had actually been whole, and almost completely happy. There was no going back to that, now. Frowning, he stared past Giovanna, staring in the direction of the water.

[Cloudsong]

Giovanna rolled her eyes as he began to mutter to himself. She thought that she caught the words 'fun', and suspected that he was being sarcastic. Silently she opened her mouth to reply, then shut it again as if thinking better of it. What was the point in continuing on with their little bickering? They were getting nowhere, and it wasn't even so enjoyable anymore. She sighed, and watched him as he grimaced when he saw the sand on his pants. He obviously didn't get out very much; everything nature related seemed to bother him. She would have commented on this, but seeing the far-off look on his face as he sat back on his hands, she thought better of it. Obviously he was deep in thought, and disturbing that could be quite rude. So instead, she gracefully got out of the water, and approached him, sitting down a foot or two away from him. Going any closer would just make them both uncomfortable.

She busied herself by burying her feet into the sand, feeling the coldness creep up through her as she burrowed deeper. Whatever Ean was thinking about, she was sure that he wouldn't share. After all, they weren't friends. If anything - as he said before - they hated each other. Half of her wished that he would come out and tell her what was on his mind, while the other just wanted to make fun of his silence. But the more human side gave in, and she realized that it would be mean to call him out like before; it would only hurt both of them. For a moment she just stared at the ground, then she looked up, over at him. Her gaze remained trained on him for a long time, as she watched him.

A thought suddenly came to her that made her inwardly blush. He was very handsome, especially with the wind ruffling his hair. And she found herself noticing that with the setting sun, his dark brown hair had streaks of blonde in it.

[FoldєdPapєrHєarts]

Ean found himself barely noticing when Giovanna came over and sat down a few feet away from him. He didn't very much like to think about the way things used to be, before his father had gotten hurt, and whenever he did he often got sad about it. But, as he always told himself, there was no use brooding over the past. Yes, it would have been nice to have his father be there at his wedding, whenever that would be. But he knew he would most likely not make it to then. From what he had been told, as the days ticked by, the nurses taking care of his father would most concerned about keeping him alive throughout the week. Ean swallowed as he thought about it, yet another thing he prefered not to do.

Blinking hurriedly, Ean turned his head just slightly to the side, only to recieve a jolt of surprise to see the Princess there, sitting nearby, staring up at him. He certainly hadn't even noticed her sit down, let alone expected to turn and catch her staring at him. He was ever-so tempted to make a snide comment about this, but seeing as they were finally not yelling at one another, he was not going to be the one to break the peace. For now.

"What?" he said quietly, one eyebrow arched upward. He would allow himself that, at least. It wasn't as if she thought anything well of him, so why was she staring? She hated him, and he her, although at least he would admit to himself that she was a pretty girl; beautiful, if he gritted his teeth and was completely honest. The eyes, those deep blue eyes, a color he had never seen until now - they were what truly captured his interest. He hadn't taken the time to look and see if her father's eyes had been similar, but he made a mental note to check later. Her hair, a lovely blonde shade, almost reminded him of his sister Marietta. He swallowed at that and pushed the thought from his mind. He would never compare sweet, innocent, unfailingly kind Marietta to her, someone from Anima of all places. It swirled around her head when the wind blew it.

He was half-tempted to look away. He need not be thinking such things of her. At that very moment, he was almost sure she was simply thinking hateful things about it. After all, what else could she possibly be thinking?

[Cloudsong]

Giovanna shook her head as he questioned why she was staring, and merely lay down on the sand, her hair underneath her in a form that almost looked like a crown. Her hands were folded neatly above her chest, and her eyes scanned the night sky. It was something she had always enjoyed doing: stargazing. It was incredible to her that the same exact stars she could see from her balcony at home. Why? She wasn't sure. If anything, they were brighter and more beautiful than back in the city. The moon was a slim crescent, but it gave off a silvery light that reflected on the gentle ocean, and tinted the beach silver. She breathed in the salty air deeply, and sighed. It was so... peaceful here.

"When I was little, my brother used to tell me that all of those lights up in the sky were dreams, and that you had to find your lucky star in order to find your happiness." Her tone was soft, almost as if she were talking to herself, and she wasn't exactly sure why she was telling Ean this. It was a moment she held deep within her heart; why had she shared it? Perhaps she just needed someone to talk to, or maybe she felt tired from being so angry and spiteful the entire time, and wanted a truce. It wasn't in her nature to be mean, after all. Her hand reached up above her, as if she were reaching for the lights that were so many millions of miles away. She focused on a particularly bright pair of stars near the moon, and tilted her head slightly to one side.

She had never really understood the idea Mateo had always said when they went out at night to look at the stars. He had insinuate that it was rare to find complete happiness, and only now as she lay there did she really think that he had not been happy. Sure, he had always put on a good act for his little sister, but when he wasn't with her? Many times Giovanna had caught him with a distant, forlorn expression on his face after leaving important dinners, or his knight training. Had he never found his star? I always thought that my star was with me... She had been so happy her life; with her brother, and not a care in the world, everything had seemed perfect. But now? Perhaps it was all an illusion. Her happiness. Maybe Ean was right, in the sense that Anima people were too happy. But were they really happy, when it came down to it?

Or maybe he was just making her doubtful of what had always been something so confident in her mind.

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Ean scowled slightly when she merely shook her blonde head at his question, but pushed no further. Well, fine, he thought, slightly irritated. Don't tell me. Keep it all to yourself. I rather prefer it when you don't talk anyway. Those thoughts burned at the tip of his tongue, bubbling and boiling at the surface of speech, willing to be spoken. However, Ean chose to keep silently and merely roll his eyes. Yet again, he chose not to break the peace that would surely not last forever anyway.

As she spoke, Ean turned his head back in her direction, with a slightly confused expression on his face. Where had that come from? "Uh," he began, unsure of exactly what to say to that. He followed her gave, tilting his neck and head back so he was looking at the stars; there was no way he was laying down on the sand - that was simply disgusting and dirty. He stared up at the stars, frowning slightly and thinking over what Giovanna had just said."I see...well, your brother sounds rather, er, thoughtful, I guess?" he said, still unsure of exactly how he should respond. It was clear by the tone of voice He didn't want to start something yet again and say what he was really thinking - that it sounded rather silly and childish. Yes, it was a happy little thought, but unless her brother was a young child, it sounded to Ean as if he had quite a bit of growing up to do. There was no time for foolish thoughts, in Ean's opinion; a philosophy he'd learned young and had lived by all of his life.

Turning back towards Giovanna, he hesitated before speaking. "Do you have a lot of brothers and sisters?" he asked her quietly, searching desperately for some type of valid conversation. He hated the awkward silence that hung between them, and wanted to break it.