Justine
Before you stands a tall woman, roughly 5 feet 11 inches tall and an estimated weight of 130 pounds. Her long, straight, Honey Blonde hair is all one length, except for her bangs, and cascades down loosely over her shoulders to her shoulder blades. Her heart shaped face is free of any sort of blemishes and shows her very youthful appearance. Her cheeks are a little fuller and flushed in a touch of red that barely shows through her seemingly natural tan, a golden tan that accentuates her sparkling, light blue eyes and appearing to make them shine even brighter and richer then most. Her lips are small and thin, tinted with a natural rose color. You also notice that high on her right ear is a single, sparkling ruby earring and if you look to her left ear, you'll notice the mate is not there.
A long, forest green colored, sleeveless dress with a scooping neckline just above the cleavage, golden braided belt about her thin waist and a short train that follows regally behind her as she walks is what this woman is dressed in. The back of the dress is open and in sort of a 'U' shaped, revealing all of her back until just the top of her waistline. On her feet are black, satin shoes with 2 inch heels on them. Her walk is slow and casual, swagging her hips back and forth just so, as if trained.
Steffan is in his early twenties and is fairly tall and well built for his age. His physical training, short sandy hair and the beginnings of a mustache make him look much older.He is wearing a jacket as well as a pair of pants both grey with black trim, the uniform of a cadet of the Ginaz School of Warfare. Around the collar on each side are two pins, mirror images of each other. These pins are two Ares Eagles with a flaming background holding several scrolls. A signet ring bearing the eagle is also on the index finger of the right hand.
Marquise's Bedroom -- Ginaz Embassy (Kaitain)
As you enter the room, you catch a burst of clean fresh air. The room is decorated in various wood furnishings and accented with dark green, gold and black timmings. The walls are covered in rich tapestries and paintings of various styles, while the floor is covered in one large, richly woven rug. At the back of the room is the large, cherry wood, four poster bed covered with dark green satin bedding. Thin, sheer black curtains hang from the cherry wood rods attached to the bed's posters, and can close when one wants some privacy. Gold rope hangs on the posters and are meant to tie back the curtains when not in use. To the left of the bed is a nightstand, with a white porcelin basin with gold accents, a pitcher full of water and a couple of dark green towels that lie near the basin. Two large cedar chest of drawers are positioned along the wall to the right of the bed, while a large dark cherry desk with a matching chair sits near the side wall to the left of the bed.
Exits:
Arch <SR> leads to Marquis' Bedroom -- Ginaz Embassy (Kaitain)
Mahogany Doors <S> leads to Hallway of the Nobles -- Ginaz Embassay (Kaitain)
Steffan walks in from Marquis' Bedroom through the Arch.
Steffan has arrived.
Justine stands across the room, with her bare back to you, looking down at something that rests on her dresser. Her arm is stretched out to the object, obviously touching it or even possibly holding it. (look at the desc, hint hint)
Steffan enters quietly, standing in the arch between their rooms. With a somber expression, he stands patiently, looking to see what she's doing. Clenching his hands behind his back, he clears his throat to get her attention.
Justine jumps slightly at the sound of you, turning the upper half of her body around to see who's there. You can sorta tell what she's holding now. It's a picture frame. Instead of sitting on the dresser, where it was a moment ago, it's now being held firmly to her chest, as if she were both trying to hide it and protect it at the same time. Her eyes widen at the sight of you, looking honestly surprised and can probably tell that you're the last person she expected to see. Her lightly painted red lips part and stay in that position for a few long seconds as she tries to speak the words that are on the tip of her tongue. Finally, her mouth closes when she nods once to you and then quietly says, "Hello. I....I'm sorry if I disturbed you."
Steffan shakes his head a bit, " Hi, ...No, in fact, ...I didn't mean to startle YOU. " He looks at her, and then the things she seems to be holding. His glance seems to fall to the floor. " I heard you had returned. I guess I came to see for myself."
Justine frowns sadly as her eyes lower to the picture in her hands, seperating it from her ample bosom so she can see the picture. She turns back around and sets it back on the dresser carefully, with great love and tenderness. Her hand slowly withdrawls from it, fingers lingering to the frame as long as it can before being taken away fully. She then moves over to the desk that's in her room and opens each drawer at a time, lightly rummaging through it, as if looking for something. You can now see what she was looking at with such love and sadness. It's not a picture of her family, but a picture of you and her. Odd, you don't remember posing for such a picture and you don't recall it having been in her room before you left for Marcinko this last time either. She then stammers out as she searches, "I....I came back because I had forgotten something." She pauses and then speaks in a quieter tone, "I'm sorry, I....I should have asked permission first."
Steffan stands up straight and says with a firm voice, "Nonsense, you do not need permission to enter the embassay, or your room for that matter." He tenses up as he takes a few steps forward. "Someone could have come and gotten your things for you, one of our servants...is there....no other reason you have come back?", he says softly as if hoping for an answer.
Justine's naked shoulders lift and then fall back in place, softly saying, "You know how I feel about having servants around my personal items. It's not their business. Besides, they have enough to gossip about, there isn't a need for me to give them anything more." In the last drawer she opens, she leans over a bit more as her arm seems to disappear into it, moving around a bit. Moments later, she smiles brightly and retrieves her arm back from the depths of the desk, revealing a small book in her hand, "Gotcha!" The book resembles the one she had given you a while back, but appears newer. She closes the drawer and then looks to you, staring at you for a moment, as if trying to read your thoughts. Finally, she gets up enough courage and asks, "What is the most important thing to you, Steffan?" Her head shakes, "I don't want you to tell me what you think I want to hear, I want you to be honest with me."
Steffan raises a brow, "The most important? I don't think I could select a single most important thing. There are a great many things important to me. "
The muscles in Justine's jaw tighten and flex a bit as she hears your words. Not from anger, but from trying hard to keep herself composed. She nods a little as she looks down at the book in her hands and then says, "I see." A heavy silence now fills the room, as she isn't sure what else to say. Well, she has many things to say, but not deeming it necessary. She finally looks back to you with a half smile and gently says, "Well, I won't keep you any longer. I'm sorry to have disturbed you."
Steffan sighs, and looks down, not knowing really how to respond. He shruggs, "what would you have me say? If you weren't important to me Justine, I would have have bothered to come and see you..now, or at the Palace.."
Justine frowns sadly and softly replies, "I've been gone for a while now, Steffan. You only came to see me once. I wouldn't exactly call that being....or at least...feeling very important to you. Even that meeting didn't go very well." Her head shakes as she motions to you with a free hand, "You stand there and expect me to pour my heart and soul out to you. To tell you that I love you and miss you and want to be with you, yet you won't do these things for me." Her hand comes back and rests on her chest, "I'm tired of always being the one to make an effort, Steffan. I'm tired of always being the one to try to make our marriage work and most of all, I'm tired of constantly being hurt." She craddles the book to her chest, looking down at it, "If you honestly loved me and honestly thought me to be important to you, then you'd pay me as much attention as you do your House. You would love me as much as you do your House but you can't because you don't. We both know that House Ginaz is the most important thing to you, Steffan." She pauses to wipe a few tears and sniff some, "And.....and that's okay. I....I just can't deal with it anymore and I don't want to stand in your way."
Steffan takes a deep breath, "Yes, the House is important to me. Should it not be? Marcinko and the Landsraad depend upon me. I would love to have you next to me, helping rule this world of ours but because you don't you must realize how much that hurts. Just because I don't shed tears, doesn't mean it hurts any less.."
Justine seems even more hurt by that, her head shaking slightly, "I never said that it shouldn't be important to you, Steffan. But it would be nice to get even 1/8th of the attention that you give to it and everyone else. Shouldn't I be important to you, Steffan?" She sets the book on top of the desk and then walks over to where you are, gently reaching for your right hand, "You made a promise to me, Steffan. A blood bond, remember? You had the Emperor force me to marry you and I thought it was because you were going to keep this promise.." She opens your hand, revealing your palm and lightly touches the scar where you cut it and continues, "but you haven't. I've been trying to be by your side and I have tried to help you rule, but it hurts me more then you know to sit there and listen to you speak with such great love, admiration and affliction to the House and know that you wouldn't dare utter anything of the kind about me. To sit there and know where your heart truly lies while I sit away and be ignored. I've tried to give opinions and give information, but you never listen to me. You rebuff me or completely ignore me." Her head shakes again, "If the situation were reversed, you wouldn't take too kindly to it either. You ask /so/ much of me, yet you give absolutely nothing in return and it's completely drained me. I don't have anything left anymore. If you would listen to your own people, you'd hear that I have been doing exactly what you've been wanting me to do, you just can't see it for yourself. I've done more for this House then anyone else in it and it kills me to hear you say that I don't care about it and that I don't do anything for it or you, when that's all I ever do." She releases your hand and then wipes the tears from her face, "How am I supposed to know what does or doesn't hurt you, Steffan, when you never talk to me? It isn't fair to expect me to be able to read your mind, your thoughts and your feelings, especially when you don't show any signs of them." When she speaks, it's more of a pleading and desperate tone, not one of anger or arguementative.
Steffan takes a deep breath, "Alright then. Very well. Im afraid that I ....must leave for now. The emperor has commanded me to meet with him. But if you wish, lets us sit down and you can tell me what you want. I will listen. "
Justine seems even more hurt by that and whispers, "I just did." Her head shakes a bit in disbelief as she turns and heads for the desk, picking up her book and then walking out of the room without saying anything else.
Steffan hrms and whispers, "very well.."