Safest Place to Hide (Aimeric)

[lyddietalise]

Having just begun to get used to the manor and the people in it, Lydia constantly found herself looking for new places to hide from everyone and everything. Life seemed unbearable to her with so many people around. She was out of place with a crowd and quite afraid of getting to know people. People were mistakes, they were easily lost and mistrusting. Some nights she would lay in bed and her mind would wander to the memories of her past in Paris. There were so many inconsistencies in this place. It was nothing like home...

Home... What was home anymore? She couldn't remember, really. The only place she felt at home was anywhere she was alone with a good book or even the chance to dance to music in her mind.

Silently, Lydia walked about the manor that night having a deep thought in mind. The face of her father, the last night she had seen him. Her heart sank and she couldn't breathe and so she hurried along the halls looking for a room to escape. Any room. That was when she found it. The room of her dreams. Switching on the lights her eyes brightened, though that could have been from the tears she had been holding back.

A library! There were shelves upon shelves upon shelves of books. Her eyes gazed upon them in awe and she wiped her eyes, sniffling softly. Perfect place to escape from people, from her past, from the real world. She stepped into the room and peered up at the shelves. Which to pick...Something about daring sword fights, mystic swords...lovely unexpected romances...That was when she saw a copy of the Lord of the Rings. Those books were quite modern. Published in the 50's. So in reality it would be odd to really have them there but she didn't bother to question it.

She'd never heard of such a story. Grabbing the book from one of the low shelves, she flipped through it before taking a seat onto one of the couches and putting her feet up. This would be an interesting read.

[Aimeric Jayden Devereux]

Aimeric was walking about the manor. He had just visited the Opera House of the building, and now he was venturing the place without a specific spot in mind. He hummed quietly as he did, pocketing his hands and scavenging each crevice of the building. He still found that he had the eery feel that ghosts were present somewhere in there. He tried putting it off his mind as he continued to venture around, taking his time.


He heard footsteps from somebody, and he jumped a bit, calming himself as the footsteps faded. He continued to walk, passing door by door. He wasn't very interested in going in any of the rooms, until..

He heard the footsteps again, which only grew louder and louder. He jumped once again, and ran for a random door, quickly opening it and running inside, closing the door. He took a deep breath to calm himself, then looked around the room.

A library. Well, that was charming, now wasn't it? He was quite the book worm, so seeing such a large library intrugued him. He looked around, not noticing the young woman no more than 5 metres away from himself. He looked around the shelves, reading each book name he recognised to himself. He picked a book up, and read the title. "The Toilers of the Sea, by Victor Hugo..." He said quietly to himself.

Aimeric headed for a seat, but before he could reach one, he saw the young woman and became startled, jumping slightly. He stared at her, not saying a word.He wanted to just take a seat and read, but of course, somebody had to get in the way. He grunted, which he followed up with a sigh. He continued to look at her, unsure if he should just sit and read, and try to ignore the woman, or if he should just leave the room and find somewhere else to read. He almost just told her to leave herself, but he held it back.

[lyddietalise]

The minute she heard the door, she gasped. It was almost as though the book had been playing tricks on her. She had just gotten to the part when Bilbo disappeared from the Hobbits as a trick with a magical ring and, to be honest, the idea was quite frightening. Disappearing people. HA! Lydia laughed a little, before shooting a gaze toward the door way and seeing nothing but a fast moving shadow, running into the room. Trying not to notice, as it wasn't something she wanted to figure out at this point in time she trapped herself back into the world of the Shire where Gandalf was waiting with questions. Whoever wrote this book was a genius! She thought to herself. Less than half way into the story and she was absolutely loving it. This was more than she bargained for with an adventure book. She could tell this would be a big story.

Suddenly the shadow became a big figure, five metres away, but being so deeply into the novel, she didn't notice. Her mind had drifted into the world of the shire, the story was growing much more suspenseful now that Gandalf had explained this was a ring of power, belonging to a ...man? named Sauron. Someone who would do anything to get it back. And with Bilbo gone the ring was Frodo's to keep. A chill ran down Lydia's spine. She could tell that this was not a good thing. Power always led to war and war led to horrible deaths and in worlds like this one...you never knew what to really expect. That was when she heard a voice. It was quiet and soft but she'd heard it. Her eyes gazed up. It was a man. Of course! What did she expect? Others lived in the manor too. She gave a hesitant huff of breath and then went back to her book.

The moment Frodo set off for the adventure of a lifetime with his counterpart, Samwise Gamgee she could see a figure coming closer. No doubt the man who had been talking to himself. When he jumped, she couldn't help but laugh a little. The way he was staring at her was quite intimidating to say the least, but Lydia was tough, she gave in to no one! It was obvious he wasn't much for being around others either. The posture he held made it so. "Did you want this seat?" She said quietly in a thick Hispanic accent, her eyes averting his gaze and moving back toward her book. "Because I don't plan on moving anytime soon."

The room seemed to gain an almost awkward aura around it. These two seemed like complete opposites trapped in what was to be the only room to find solace. The lights flickered a bit, which made reading quite difficult. Lydia groaned and wondered if she could fix the problem. The book was growing to be interesting. She couldn't just force her eyes to adjust to reading in the dark. That'd hurt more than being stuck in a room filled with crowded people.

[Aimeric Jayden Devereux]

He held a glare at her as she said that. What made her think she had the right to be so rude? He stepped closer, and stared her down. He held himself back from knocking the book out of her hand, but he stopped himself as he looked at her with a grim look. He bit his lip impatiently. "Well, it's not that I want that seat, >Mademoiselle<, it's that I want to read in >peace<. I simply can not read with you here, as a distraction!" He said angrily, huffing slightly.

He continued to stare, never giving up. "And I would rather not move to another room! It's too eery and creepy out there! ... Look. I've never been here, and as a guest I expect to be treated with respect." He said, crossing his arms.

He waited a few more seconds with a strong frown, grunting before losing his temper and knocking the book out of her hand. 'That should teach her.' He thought to himself.

[lyddietalise]

She couldn't help but smirk up at him. Men like him were always quite fun to test. By no means was Lydia trying to be read, she just wanted to state a point. One that said she was comfortable where she sat and did not wish to move at that appointed time, especially not now that the adventure had officially began in the novel. "Distraction?" She repeated mockingly, the 'r' rolling across her tongue slightly. Lydia scoffed a bit before giving him an almost seductive smirk. "Oh I see." She began. "Clearly, my reading silently wasn't a distraction, for a was quiet and not at all in the way." Lydia couldn't help herself by then. "It was my beauty, wasn't it?" Giving a soft hearty laugh, she shook her head. "I do believe it shouldn't be a problem for us both to read in silence. I won't bite."

The way he stared at her was beginning to make her uncomfortable. She didn't like being stared at. Especially not by some foreigner whom she had never met before. "Yes, this place is haunted and quite frightening when you get around it. But..." She shrugged. She'd gotten used to this place little by little. "it's not so bad. Respect?! Respect?" Lydia began to lose her temper. "How can you expect to be respected and treated as a guest when you are so rude to someone who lives here?" She questioned quite honestly. To Lydia, there was a point in what she said. This man seemed arrogant and ill tempered. She didn't like it.

Just before he knocked the book from her hands, she had gone back to attempting to read. When it flew out of her hands, her eyes watched it fall to the floor with a thud. "How dare you!?" She yelled, standing from her seat and sizing him up. She was much shorter than him, it was true. Though she was much shorter than most people too. Her face had grown angered and frustrated. Lydia was normally quiet in a corner alone. But this man began to stir emotions in her she would never understand. Her face grew close to his in an attempt to intimidate him. "Where I am from, knocking a book out of a woman's hand in disrespectful. Where I'm from you do not receive respect until you earn it! Haven't you been taught any manners?!"

Her eyes were dark, almost cruel looking but still could not hide the innocence behind them. Her face was red, blushed with frustration and the feeling that she would not let this man get the best of her. This man had started something and she was going to end it.

[Aimeric Jayden Devereux]

He laughed in a sarcastic manner. "Beauty?! I've barely caught a glimpse of your face because you keep attempting to read that stupid book! I'm easily distracted, you know!" He said loudly, holding a glare at her. After she had stood up and he caught a full look of her face, he bit his lip for a moment, but shook his head and went right back to glaring once again.

"Oh, so it's disrespectful? I've seen much more disrespectful things done around here! So don't dare tell me >I'm< disrespectful when I could be stealing your money this very second!" He said, looking atraight into her eyes, his eyes turning dark. He clenched his fists in anger as he looked down at her, his face bright red. "You don't even know me! Ya know, actually, here's something to know about me! I hate people! Which means I hate >you<!" He said, pointing a finger at her.

God, how he hated people. He didn't need family, he didn't need friends, he didn't need a single soul in his life. Especially not this lady, who thought she was apparently the queen of Europe. He bit his lip to keep himself from making anymore comments as thoughts stirred up in his mind, his face still red as a ripe tomato. This wasn't a first, though. He was used to this. He was always treated poorly, even if he wasn't the one to start it.

He knew he just needed to get away from her. Yes, that was all he needed. But no, she wouldn't get away that easy, now would she? Well, this was going to be awfully tough.

[lyddietalise]

Pretending his words hadn't stung, was easy. Her eyes kept the same fierce glow as before he'd made that comment. But then the smirk began to creep across her lips once more. "Easily distracted...Yes and I am the current monarch of England." She said mockingly. Lydia couldn't help herself in testing him. The man was making it much too easy. Being as easily observant as she was, Lydia couldn't help but notice the way he had bit his lip as though regretting what he said, but to her dismay that faded. Half tempted to question him, she stopped herself in that moment. After all, someone had to have a reason for being so rude to someone they'd only JUST met. It frustrated her, really, but she didn't wish to question him right then and there. She needed a real reason.

"Yes it's d-" she began to interrupt, but he continued to her own annoyance. Sudden the reason she had hoped for came up. "What's hurt you so, to cause you to be so bitter? Why must you be so cruel?" Shrinking back a bit, Lydia really did begin to feel pressured into running off, but that wasn't who she is! Lydia had Latin blood in her! She was tough and ready to stand up for herself if she had to. "I've done nothing wrong and you claim that it is I that is stopping you from reading in peace, yet here you are making proclamations of your hate and knocking my book out of my hands." She tested, casually walking towards the fallen book and going to pick it up.

Lydia knew what it was like to hate the world, as a little girl she often hated people, especially those with money. After all, her father a Count, had sold her to gypsies. The gypsies had created a monster, one that even she knew about nothing until her 16th year. Yet she had learned little by little that hate wasn't worth it. Some people were good in the world. She'd only know closely a couple of people, but those people were her reasons not to hate.

Feeling awkward about being in this room with the man before her, she stuck up her head slightly and dusted off the book. She wasn't leaving without a fight. "At least if you're going to be rude give me a name to call you by. Or would you prefer I come up with one?"

[Aimeric Jayden Devereux]

He held a sour frown, clenching his fists. "Why am I so cruel? Well, maybe it was the way I grew up. Which believe me, I have no plans of telling you my childhood. It wasn't neccessarily horrible, but I don't know you, therefore the information shall remain private." He said, sticking his head up a bit to look tough. Realistically, any person would die for the childhood he had, but with his personality, he didn't exactly like his childhood. His family had a lot of money, but they were all stuck up and braggers.. He just hated it. He was completely different. He was humble.. And polite.. And he actually had a glimpse of kindness every now and again.. But as the years had gone by, they irritated him more and more.. And he just couldn't take it anymore.. His personality wasn't the best to begin with, but with the way his family irritated him, it just got worse, and he turned into.. Well, this.

As she went to pick up the book, he felt like he should have kicked her as she bent over, but he still had to salvage what gentleman he had left in him. He was a gentleman if he wasn't in conversation with a woman, but if he was stuck speaking with one, he just became irritated and lost the gentleman in him. He would open doors for women, pick up something they dropped, but never would he dare begin a conversation. He never said a single word to anybody unless he found himself obligated to, as he felt right then. With the way she was bending over to grab her book, any old, greedy man would stare. But as she did, Aimeric turned his back to her to at least try and be polite in that aspect.

As she began speaking once again, he rolled his eyes, then turned to her. "I will not give you my name!" He said, being stubborn. But as he decided it was just his name.. He supposed there was nothing wrong with giving it out. "... Aimeric.." He said hesitantly.

[lyddietalise]

In seeing the way his fist had clenched, she swallowed a lump in the back of her throat. She began to flinch at his every word. Lydia was tough. She could put up a front quite easily. But this man...Those words...She felt awful that such a man could be so bitter, much less to a woman such as herself. How dare he?! Speaking of a respect and yet not earning his own. Her eyes looked from him to the floor almost immediately. "Well I'm sorry for the way you grew up..." She muttered quite softly in a voice that seemed compromising. After all, if one wanted to get along with a man like this you had to compromise, work with them and only lose temper if the time had asked for it.

Flipping the book so she could see the pages once more she frowned at the now, rolled up pages. He had gotten them to fold when they fell to the floor. She tried to smooth the creases but nothing worked. As she turned back around to face him, Lydia looked up at him sadly. The poor man must have had a lonely life. For that she felt bad. No one deserved a life where they would become so cruel. Her eyes averted the man before and went back to the book noting the page she had left off at before closing the book and gently placing it in the chair which she had been sitting ever-so peacefully in before the rude piece of work in front of her had interrupted.

As he yelled, she was ready to take steps back, but she held her ground and kept her confidence in clear view. No one would break her that easily. When he said his name it made her smile. Quite a foreign name. "Aimeric..." She repeated, rolling the 'r'. "It's a nice name." Lydia fought with herself not to converse with him, but- "M-Might I ask where the name came from?"

[Aimeric Jayden Devereux]

As he saw that he had crinkled the pages like that, he secretly, deep down, felt kind of bad. As she began speaking again, the shy side of him that very rarely showed finally came out. He smiled the slightest bit.. And as his lips curled upward the smallest amount, it felt great. It had to have been... It had to have been months since he last smiled. So, with that thought in mind, his smile grew slightly. "Well.. It's French. My mother had told me that was her old friend's name, and that's where she had gotten it from.. Nothing very special, really.." He said, opening up a bit to her. He never opened up to anyone.. In fact.. Besides his parents and himself, she was the first one to know that information.

"Ya know.." He paused for a brief moment. "... I haven't smiled in.. Well, several months... So I thank you for that.. It's very rare that I smile.." He admitted with a slight reluctance. "Well, I suppose that's not very important to you.. I wouldn't expect that it is..But erm.. What's your name, may I ask..?" He asked, his voice growing a bit more quiet as his shyness came out.He was never very shy, but he did have that side to him. She was the closest thing he had to a friend, actually.. But in her eyes, she probably thought they were enemies.. It was fine with him, but even this small moment of kindness was enough for him. It was all a lonely man such as himself needed.

[lyddietalise]

Lydia was surprised when he smiled a little. She thought she had been seeing things. After all, had he not been speaking of hating everyone? Had he not been acting cruel and unreasonable? The smile actually frightened her at first. After all, a man with a temper and hatred could not be trusted. Not in this world. There were too many risks that could lead to so many problems yet as he spoke up Lydia relaxed a little, listening to his explanation. "But it's...It's exotic." She said. Exotic... Ha! He wouldn't believe that coming from a Puerto Rican girl, raised in Paris for eight years by gypsies and six years by a ballet mistress.

Lydia drew closer towards Aimeric in that moment only slightly, taking the pause as a gesture before nodding slightly, waiting for him to go on. He began to explain that he hadn't smiled in a long time and that made her cheeks grow red with embarrassment. She had caused him to smile? Lydia couldn't believe it. But soon enough she had her own smile stretching across her lips. "No, no. It's very nice to know that I can make someone smile rather than driving you off like a wild rabid dog..." Her hand clapped to her mouth. Did she really just say that? Oh what the Hell? She was trying to get closer to people, who would it hurt being honest?

Straightening up the blue dress she wore, she kept her gaze from his for a moment in fear that she may say something she would regret. As the man asked her name, she looked up with bright hazel eyes that even in the brightness could not hide the pain of her past in them. "Lydia..." She said softly. "My name is Lydia."

[Aimeric Jayden Devereux]

As she clasped her hand over her mouth, yet again, a small smile pulled at his lips. He put a hand on her shoulder without full realization that he was making contact with another human being. "No need to fret.. You haven't made me angry.." He said quietly. Once he realized that his hand was resting on her shoulder, he pulled his hand back quickly, his eyes a bit wide. As she said her name though, it calmed him, and he dropped his arm at his side. "Lydia.." He said, nodding a bit. "I like that name.." He said truthfully. As he saw the hint of pain in her eyes, he frowned slightly, but quickly let the frown fade.

He stayed quiet for a few moments, looking at the hand that had been touching her. It was.. It was so unknown.. The feeling of touching another human in a way that wasn't a result of anger, or an accident. It was a real, human touch. He looked at his hand as if it was the most amazing thing in the world that had just happened, and lifted his other hand, softly touching the hand that made contact with her, in disbelief. It had been years and years since he'd made human contact that wasn't vile or on accident..

"I-I made contact.. With you.." He said quietly, talking somewhat to himself, and somewhat to her. He looked up at her for a brief moment before looking back down at his hand, still in disbelief.

[lyddietalise]

Her shoulder burned slightly at the touch of his hand. It wasn't painful, more like a warm sensation one would get if someone was hugged. Lovely as it was, she wasn't sure how stable Aimeric really was. After all, he'd snapped at her for no reason and now he was being gentle. Something she figured was in even the most loathsome person in the entire world. "N-No...I suppose I hadn't I just...I should not have mentioned a word of that." Lydia muttered to herself. Honesty was her biggest policy when it came to friends, but she had none, other than Ellen. Her face grew red once more as he had said he liked her name. The pain in her eyes faded the moment she smiled once more. "Thank you."

Things began to grow awkward in that moment she began to look around the room for a moment, trying to figure out what to say. Soon enough though it became hard not to notice the way he was staring at his hand. "A-are you alright?" She said in a shaking voice. Oh God...He wasn't stable. Everything was just as she thought. One foot took a quick step back and the other stayed put. Beginning to get nervous, she tried to stay calm but he was started to act strange and she didn't know enough about him to know whether this was normal or not.

Again she swallowed a lump in the back of her throat. "Y-yes...Y-You did.." Her eyes showed fear, almost like she wasn't sure what he was going to do. She tried not to over think it but every passing moment frightened her more.

[Aimeric Jayden Devereux]

As she took a step back, he didn't get angry.. He would normally be angry.. It was strange, he just felt a frown on his lips as he looked at her. He sighed a bit. "I-I just haven't really.. I haven't made that sort of contact in almost four years.. With anyone.. I'm not- I just.." He sighed as he couldn't bring himself to find the right words. "I'm not liked by anyone.. Everybody hates me.. Most likely including you... I wouldn't be surprised. The last time I hugged anyone was eleven years ago.. Pathetic, really.." He shook his head as he thought, shrugging it off.

"I've never had a friend in my nineteen years of existance, and I don't think that will really ever change to be quite honest with you, Lyd- Mademoiselle.." He said quietly, then sighed slightly. "I should be going now, I'd rather not bother you any longer.." He mumbled, then turned as he pocketed his hands, and went towards the door. How stupid of him to tell her that.. She didn't even think he was normal. Not that he was, but... He >almost< wished he had a friend, or someone to be able to talk to, right in that moment.

[lyddietalise]

Lydia tried to keep calm, tried to stop from running off and as he began to explain she relaxed a bit. She could understand his sentiment. Not completely, as even she had made contact with people over the years. Even having been a person of solitude and someone who tried not to seem social, she had her days. "Might I be honest, Aimeric?" Her forehead scrunched up a bit as she thought of a good way to go about this. "Perhaps..." Lydia stopped for a moment. This was going to seem rude and she could not upset him, not at this moment.

Soon enough though her turned to walk away and every impulse in her had wanted to stop him. Little than a few seconds had passed when her hand had reached for his to pull him back. Of course, his hands were in his pocket and having to take hold of his arm, Lydia's pull was more like a slight tug. "Wait!" Her voice had almost sounded desperate, as though begging him not to go. After all, Lydia's main goal nowadays was to make a friend. She couldn't lose this chance now that it was hitting her right in the face.

"You're not a bother, I just-...I really do not understand. How can someone like you hate everyone? And expect not to have friends?" Her voice was gentle yet she looked quite fearful of what his reaction would be to her blatant honest. "You can confide in me...Who am I to tell? I'm the corner girl of the Opera." She mocked. And it was true! Any time the dancers had huddled up, gossiping, Lydia constantly found herself in a corner, improving her writing and reading skills considering she only had a year of learning at the age of four, a year before being sold to the gypsies. Being brought to the opera at thirteen had its advantages and disadvantages. Because she spent most of her time trying to avoid people other than during rehearsals, she learned quite quick. Removing the novel she had left in the seat, she had been sitting in not so long ago, she looked over at him. "Sit, please." She didn't mind the idea of trying to figure him out.