paradisa | ♔ cinq || a queen of england will be burned

[ Somewhat distantly, Anne's voice calls out, ]

Enter.

[ And if he does, he'll find the front room has been arranged like an audience chamber, quite similar to Hampton Court's, even if the comparison might be lost on him. At any rate, the décor has a more feminine touch to it, with no shortage of fresh smelling bouquets wished from the castle and arranged in vases throughout the rooms.

Beyond the first is the actual sitting room with a fire going in the hearth, and it's there that Anne is seated at a small breakfast table by the window, a small book in one hand, and two plates of food set out, each including a fine portion of manchet bread, melon and orange slices, and strawberries. For drink on the stand near, there are pitchers of both wine and ale, not knowing what her guest might prefer.

Especially for Lent, Anne keeps her breakfasts especially light. Not to mention she has little appetite lately. ]

Edited 2013-03-21 07:57 (UTC)

[Somehow Spike didn't expect to be greeted by the door; or if he did, he imagines it'd have been by a butler or something like that. Considering that, he's happy to enter on his own. Butlers always seemed to make him feel awkward, like he's expected to pretend they're not there. (Not that he has much experience with them, just so happens that the last woman he worked for from the castle had one.)

He takes a couple of sweeping glances around the room, making his own mental notes about the layout out of habit, before settling on Anne. So they're having breakfast together. That makes him wonder again what kind of dynamic he's supposed to be playing out here -- none of which shows on his face. He simply casually walks up, pulls his hands out of his pockets, and takes the seat he's assuming was left for him.]

I'm glad I came hungry. [Joking. Although he stops short of saying that he should have thought to place his order ahead of time.]

[ Anne closes her book and sets it aside when Spike enters and walks over. Though the room is only brightened by candle-light, his outfit seems as alien to her as it did the night they met. Is that really his best? She'll have to send him some new clothes.

Although she hardly expects him to bow, the woman's expression is stone-faced as Spike takes a seat and lets loose his quaint jest. She lets the moment stretch out in a pointedly uncomfortable silence before murmuring quietly, ]

Is that how you greet royalty? After being bestowed the honored invitation of breaking fast in their private chambers, no less?

[ Whether she's serious or joking, it might be impossible to tell with how deadpan her tone is, her eyes betraying nothing. She looks neither angry nor amused, and the flickering of the candles do much to play tricks with the light. ]

Edited 2013-03-21 10:17 (UTC)

[Spike scratches at his neck, trying to get his head around that question. He thought he was being polite.]

I can't say I've got the experience to rely on. [That's not entirely true. Back when he was required at some of the higher level syndicate meetings, Mao would critique him of the same thing. But he still pushed it, simple because that's who he is.] Like you said, I'm just a bounty hunter.

[ There's a little quirk to her lips at his response, almost bordering on a smirk, and she un-crosses her legs with a flourish of the red velvet and gold trimmed skirts. ]

Indeed. Well, then as it is my duty to educate your neglected body and soul, I must tell you that in the future, when you enter a room, you must bow as such.

[ She places her napkin atop the table and stands to walk beside him, her long hair spilling over her bare shoulders as she bows in a flourish, though she doesn't think for a second he will go to these lengths. Most men don't unless they're very French or very sorry. ]

And say, "Your Majesty," [ she all but purrs out in her huskiest of tones in what is-but-clearly-isn't an impression of him. As she straightens up from the bow, Anne lifts her right hand to hover just near, rings glinting in the candlelight. ] and then you may kiss my hand.

Edited 2013-03-21 11:41 (UTC)

[Anne asks a lot of him, but he has a wild inclination to study her movements, if only to eventually hear what she had in mind when she called. As she demonstrates for him she has his full attention, even as a spark if amusement lights his eyes. Spike being a spontaneous guy, once she finishes, he takes the opportunity to stand up and mimic her bow.]

Your Majesty. [Spike can't hide his grin, but it isn't mocking. There are times that he enjoys doing something out of character, especially when the company is this good looking. Or it could be that he feels like taking it easy on her after catching her in a vulnerable moment.

Before he comes back to his full height, he takes her hand to kiss, like he's proving what he's capable of.]

How's that?

[ The mirth on her face is plain, and her head tilts as she flicks her fingertips out to ghost across his chin before letting her hand fall away so that she can turn to take her seat once more. ]

Very good, Master Spiegel. We will make a respectable man out of you yet.

Edited 2013-03-22 06:12 (UTC)

[He has a feeling it's going to take her awhile to call him by his first name if she's this formal in private, but he can stand being a 'master' for now. After passing that test, he slips into his seat, leaning back with long legs crossing in front of him.]

I wouldn't go that far. [Still in good humor. He knows himself well enough to come with a disclaimer.]

[ Not at all, she just knows when to save the use of his first name. It's an intimate thing, a thing between friends, or lovers, and so she just stores it away for the proper time.

At his little jest, Anne's nose crinkles a bit in a laugh, and she rests one arm across the table's edge while stretching the other across to point at the spread. ]

Then I expect our time together to be quite interesting. Please, help yourself. I must apologize for not having more of a spread, but Lent will soon end, and I will make up for it.

Would you prefer wine? Ale?

[He hadn't expected food all, let alone all the formality, so the apology is met with a blank stare. Luckily, Spike isn't one to be intimidated by simply being out of his element. As if to prove a point, he recovers and picks what he thinks is the classier option.]

I'll take the wine. [Since he's trying something different here.] You probably have a better selection than what I'm used to.

[ She chuckles at that, and leans over to take the jug of wine from the tray to pour into Spike's goblet, and then her own. She's quite generous with it, believe you me. ]

It is Port, if that means anything to you.

[ He's not going to find a fork, either, but at least the food already looks hands friendly. She'll even prove it by picking up a strawberry to eat first. ]

You must be wondering why I would call you here so suddenly.

Edited 2013-03-23 13:40 (UTC)

[He nods, like he orders it all the time, and takes a swallow full once it's in front of him... and then remembers why he doesn't order it all the time.]

I have an idea. [Something to do with her daughter. Spike's just hoping that 'something' is up his alley. At least he doesn't think she'd be hiring him for babysitting.]

Do you?

[ Her eyes narrow a touch as she observes him, then she looks towards the stained glass window in thought. ]

I do not even know if she is mine. I would find out. She claims much. Too much. She has over-stepped herself, and I have seen fit to banish her.

[ Despite talking about her daughter, Anne does a remarkable job of coming off as icy and detached. Mostly. ]

I would have you watch her. See if she does anything strange, meets with anyone unsavory, or speaks any ill of me. More-over, due to her disappearing not once but twice in the last two months alone, and the second event involving a poisoning, you must likewise be ready to keep her from meeting any serious danger. Perhaps if you are skilled enough, though I will not hold my breath in waiting, you may even uncover who it was that captured her.

Then, you might bring them to me, as a true bounty. Is this offer beyond your grasp, or is it not intriguing enough?

[Spike takes a moment to digest all of what she's asking of him. It sounds like a lot of work, and not all the fun kind, unless he just so happens to catch someone going after her. Even then, what are the odds of them being someone who can put up a decent fight?

Nothing about this is what he'd usually agree to.

On the other hand, she caught him at a time when having something else to do with his day would probably save him from having some sort of breakdown over his own issues. And from what he knows of her, it'll at least give him the opportunity to find out what's behind that mystery he sensed in her the first time they met.]

She was poisoned too? [Which isn't an answer. He's just gathering up the details she glazed over before signing up.]

Yes. Of what sort I haven't the faintest idea, but I have somebody already attempting to create antidotes.

[ Her hand lingers over the next strawberry, gazing out the window at nothing, really. It's all just snow. ]

Until such a time as I have proof that she is not my trueborn daughter, I must take the greatest care for her life, even if it is from afar and without her knowing it.

[ Looking back to Spike, she leaves the strawberries alone and instead reaching for his hand. Anne's grip is tight but trembling, despite her level tone.

She has done her best to keep her composure on this subject, and she will not falter now. But it's still a mother's plea, rather than a queen's. ]

I will reward you however you see fit. I am not unkind to those in my favor. Should you actually find the man that captured and held my daughter, my kindness would have no limit, Master Spiegel.

[He was in the middle of a thought -- wondering if there really could be someone other than the castle behind those things -- when she catches his hand and throws him off guard. Spike isn't used to having that much emotion thrown at him. He never seems to be prepared for it when it happens.

It's an awkward moment, he doesn't want to seem so easily swayed. Once you start down that road, it's a slippery slope. And yet.]

You're very persuasive.

[ She risks smiling, then, a risk because it is difficult not to smile too much. Anne remembers enough of their meeting to know that she let herself appear far too vulnerable, and it might take work to try to erase that image for him. She doesn't know if she can succeed, especially in a matter concerning Elizabeth's life, but the last thing she wants is any man to underestimate her resolve.

So her smile is coy, eyes heavy-lidded to keep them from showing too much, and she squeezes his hand before slowly letting go, fingers taking their time to graze across his skin before pulling away to reach for a cut up piece of melon.

Anne would never have gotten her crown, never have helped instigate such a passionate reformation in England, if she hadn't been persuasive. ]

I would never think to force a capable man such as you into any decision. How else but to persuade?

[Spike notices the change in approach, nearly every one she could think of to sway him. He can't remember the last time someone had been so set on hiring him, even if it wasn't a completely foreign situation. The difference is that now he has no high ranking criminal ties that would warrant the effort.

Still, he smiles back. He could tell her now that she didn't have to bother, but for the moment, his ego can use the boost.

He hasn't touched the fruit. It occurs to him that this is a strange thing for him, since he's practically starving whenever he so much as thinks about food. As if it's important to remedy this, he grabs an orange slice and contemplates things like thick slices of bacon and gravy.]

I should be flattered.

You should be honored.

[ It's said with a teasing lilt, but still sincere enough. Of course in her time it's the greatest honor to be hired for anything directly by the king or queen. ]

I am giving you a second chance to win my favor and my love. I trust you are humbled, and eager to accept?

[He thinks about drawing it out, just to be contrary, but he has a feeling that he's near the end of her wooing stage.

Instead, he gives her a break. For now, he can't think of any reasons he'll soon regret the decision, other than having to settle back down in the castle. His temporary homes never did work out anyway.]

Is there something I have to sign?

No. Because as I said, I am asking as a mother. This will not...be officially documented.

[ Meaning Anne isn't willing to risk letting anything be found. This is strictly under the table, the same as she would treat a hired assassin. Is a bounty hunter that different? ]

But there are rules. You may not approach her or catch her attention at all unless you find that she is in immediate danger. So those charms of yours, you must stifle them down for this, hm? My daughter is quite beautiful.

[He'd been joking, but he appreciates her approach either way. Spike prefers to keep as much of his life off the record as he can -- as much as the journals do for him already.

His grin widens at her last comment; he had a feeling she would be.]

I can behave, you don't have to worry about that.

That is well and good. You would not make me jealous of mine own daughter, would you, Spike?

[He must be saying the right thing if she's moved on to his first name.]

Somehow I have a hard time picturing that.

Action;

Action;

Action; DID YOU SLEEP???

Action; Between those two tags...

Action; gj bro

Action; Tags with eyes closed...

Action;

Action;

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