Post by Kira on Oct 2, 2010 23:12:03 GMT -8
Ritva sipped her tea, demurely peering down at the tea leaves and fine china. She was expecting a guest, a friend of her father’s. Of course, after her father had mentioned that this friend had a son she had known the game was afoot. The arrival of a new dress earlier in the day had only helped her to plan the upcoming mischief. She set the cup carefully in its saucer before smoothing her dress. It was an audacious red, almost gaudy and whoreish.
Instructing her maids to go fishing for gossip, the young lady felt secure in her knowledge of the son and, more importantly, his father. It was the father she needed to charm, to turn his thoughts to the idea that she would be a lovely daughter-in-law. Yet, Ritva liked to know the details of the men that might become her future husband. The son was a knight and would inherit a respectable estate, along with it the title of Count. He would fit well with her other possibilities: the aged Baron that sent her love poems on perfumed paper, the foreign diplomat with enough jewelry to satisfy her father’s economic standards, the young Lord who raised hunting dogs worth their weight in gemstones, and the many others that vied for her affection.
It was all a game, one that Ritva and her father took great pleasure in. The men were beguiled and entrapped, and once they realized their folly they were stuck. They couldn’t offend Ritva by ending their attempts at courting, her family’s poisonous reputation insured that. She was the cherished daughter, surrounded by ten brothers who had a penchant for violence and a liking for war. Her family’s enemies had an odd way of disappearing, only for their mangled bodies to be found months later. Rumors were rampant, of course, about Ritva herself as well. She’d been nicknamed the Serpent by some ladies of the court, and far from being dismayed she had taken a liking to the moniker.
Ritva readily admitted she was a self-serving social climber, but she liked to think she had her secrets, her own mystery, her own bit of danger. She took another sip of tea, one of her many rings clinking against the cup. There was one for every finger, each sporting a unique polished stone. The craftsmanship appeared simple enough, but the true genius lay beneath the stones in secret compartments. Poisons varying in toxicity in all of them. They were birthday presents from her father.
She could be malicious if she chose, but that was not for today. Today she would ooze charm and inspire lust, make her father’s friend regret that he was married and respectable, and try to make up for it by introducing her to his son. She would gain another possible future husband, though she felt that she knew this particular specimen would not be her eventual reality. Both Ritva and her father wanted her to marry into more power and prestige. Her family wanted more sway, more affluence, and so she would play her little games and get it for them. This was just a step along the way.
Hearing the door open, the woman looked up, eyes falling on the visitor. “Good afternoon, Count,” she purred, fixing her face with a guileless smile. There was an edge in her voice, a certain hardness that could only be heard if someone was listening very closely. She gestured fluidly toward the chair across from her, her eyes wide and innocent. The game had officially begun.
ooc: hullo! i hope this is acceptable, and that you like my little fiend. :] this forum seems just like what i've been looking for.
