A Hole in Threading (7.39 x Dao Ma)

Such a strange girl, and an odd sense of wisdom. Noire seemed like a girl with great intelligence but also a very free spirit. It was something that Randulfus admired, but found it particularly odd in a woman. He looked around the kitchen again before heading toward a door further in the back. "Somewhere out of the way of pretentious attention." He mused as he cracked the door open and peeked his head through. Coast was clear. "This way." He said quietly, keeping his voice down in case someone neared.

The door lead to an empty hall. It wasn't as grand as the rest of the castle. In fact, it was rather plain. Probably a servants' wing where they could move about without being seen by noble eyes. And it was perfect for Randulfus to use when he didn't want to be caught. He glanced back at Noire as he walked, felling more and more relaxed as they walked further and further from the party.

"What do you think of the castle?" He asked curiously. "Does Ulsan have anything like this?"
 
Noire looked behind her as he said this. She was either duller than she thought or he was paranoid, but given his status, it was justified, maybe people tried to kill him as they did in the movies? Regardless she was amused at the fact he had to sneak around what was essentially his own. Noire nodded, almost having to bite her own tongue to stop her from asking if there was really even a place in this castle he could hide in and that he wasn't just politely ignored as he wanted.

Wordlessly she followed him, the next area clearly had just enough effort to match the rest of the castle's elegance, but not enough to imply status here was equal to everyone else. She decided this was so far her favorite place so far. "A bit too big for me, honestly. I live by myself and all this space would make me feel a bit too aware of how alone I am." Not that it mattered now anyway "Things like this don't really exist where I'm from, or anywhere aside from historical monuments. Correct me if I'm wrong, but you don't seem all that fond of this place."
 
Randulfus continued to walk as he listened to Noire. But her answer only made more questions rise once again.If this place was too big then he could only imagine what she would think of the imperial city. His palace was rather small in comparison to some others. The idea of a woman living by herself made him wonder even more-- was she a hermit? What kind of people left their women to live alone with no parents or children? On top of that... what did she mean by historical monuments? He took a glance back at her again, eyes seemed more focused and actually looking into her rather than at her. What could she have possibly meant?

"Growing up, this place was the only place I had ever known. It was perfect. However, once you pass a certain age, your eyes are opened to it's impurities." He slowed slightly as a couple maids headed their direction. One of them abruptly stopped, almost dropping the basket she was carrying when she recognized him.

"m'lord--!" She started to blurt out, but Randulfus quickly brought a finger to his lips to tell her to be quiet. She regained her grip on the basket and both women gave a curtsy before hurrying off.

"Servant's chambers will do." He mused to himself, motioning for Noire to continue to follow him further down the winding halls toward another room. It was definitely plain, but it looked like a decent enough common area with tables and simple couches for people to sit on. "Ulsan is so very different from here. I am still curious why none of my men have ever heard of Ulsan, nor I. Even more curious is that you have not expressed anything of your journey from your home to here besides you were passed out. It must have taken many days, you couldn't have been asleep for that long. Aside from all that, you live by yourself as a book keeping merchant. I am curious to know what product you are in account for."

He stopped in front of a table and chair and pulled the chair out for her. "Sit." he added more of a gesture rather than a command. "Tell me more about Ulsan, and your merchant business."
 
Noire turned her head a little more in the opposite direction the second she noticed Randulfus staring her down, a flood of questions hitting her brain at once causing headache to rise to the surface. More likely out of stress than anything else. His answer told her his stare wasn't because she had overstepped her boundaries with her question, so she decided it was because what she said was bizarre to him. If that was the case, how underdeveloped was this place? The issue made her nervous, was the plague a thing? Old medical practices that had clearly done more harm than good are back in action? She was thankful her sleeves were long enough to hide the fact her hands were balled into fists, the nails digging into the palms of her hands. Maybe with enough pain, she'd wake up.

"Better late than never at least," She answered dryly, being sure to match her pace with his, and like Sonia did with her made sure to keep a step or so behind him. The voice of an unfamiliar woman forced her to point her attention back in front of her, a flustered pair of maids fumbling to regain their grip on their basket and finding out how to politely address their lord, though Randulfus's gesture gave them an idea of what to do, and with a curtsy they hurried off. He obviously is being ignored, or at least just avoiding nobles. She almost snorted. He finally settled on a room, and wordlessly Noire followed him in. It kind of reminded her of the waiting rooms in offices, the familiarity put her at ease.

Curious indeed. Noire thought nervously as he repeated the information he had been given, Noire had to remind herself what a bookkeeping merchant meant and the barrage of questions that almost felt like accusations. Noire stared at the chair as if it would eat her before deciding to settle down in it. The last time someone pulled a chair out for her was her father when they would go on pretend dates in the kitchen. "Er, Ulsan is the seventh largest city in Korea, with a population of roughly a million, maybe? I might be able to point it out if I saw a map or something..." Though at this point it seemed that was a misplaced hope. "As for my work, we dealt with clothing, fashion mostly, so it was a real fickle business. My role was encouraging sales, set goals and look over last year and try to figure out how to handle the upcoming year..." There was an obvious tone of defeat to her voice. This was making her feel more homesick than she expected.


Her arrival in this world was instantaneous and she wished it had taken more than a day, though she tip-toed around the topic of her entry, she wasn't sure how she could go about the subject just yet. "Earlier you mentioned me living alone like it's an anomaly, is that how it is here for women? What exactly is expected behavior and how does the hierarchy work here? Blueblood from my country, after all, is almost useless and is maintained in some countries for almost purely aesthetic reasons."
 
Once Noire sat, he sat in the chair directly across from her at the table. He watched her intently, looking for any sense of a lie in her answer. Ulsan sounded somewhat similar to his own kingdom-- a smaller one within a collection of an empire. But the fact that there may have been a million people in this place he had never heard of was shocking. How could there be so many people, yet he had never even heard of a place or seen any of it's people? Yet here she was right in front of him, and she looked nothing like anyone he had ever seen before. Somewhere in her answer was truth. But he couldn't figure out why the information didn't add up.

When she switched to talking about her occupation, he found himself even more confused. She was a merchant, a bookkeeper, and a clothes maker? Yet she sounded more like a hey-sayer to try and lure people in to buy something. The terms she used didn't quite make sense, but he got the gist of what she meant. But he still didn't know what she did. There was nothing really like her occupation here. How was it that someone could take on such a role and be a functional merchant? It sounded rather ridiculous.

Elbows rested on the tabletop, one hand went to hold his jaw as he listened to her. In how she reacted, her answers seemed genuine. He couldn't catch any lie. But he did notice that she didn't mention anything about her travels. She was withholding something. Was it tragedy? If so, she would have been more terrified when he found her. It made him suspicious, and it irritated him that he couldn't figure out what it was.

Taking a quick breath, he leaned back and sat a little more straightened in his seat. "Generally women do not live alone because it is unsuitable for them to live alone. Women are providers of families and are responsible for the home. If they are without child and husband then she aids her parents with house duties and profession. Why a woman would want to live alone is also a very obscure idea. Why would she not protection, or someone to provide, or manage tasks that she may be unable to accomplish on her own? It is very clear Ulsan is very different from Finor. In fact, dramatically different. It even feels as if Korea has stars dividing it's lands from here. To be frank, it seems very ridiculous."
 
Noire sat there for a moment, staring at Randulfus as if he had grown a second head. His explanation sounded like something she had read out of an old textbook when you asked an old man what a woman was, not only did they lack the convenience of everyday items like cars but they lacked the progress that a good chunk of the world had. Noire let out an exasperated sigh as her fingers pushed back her hair while she began to process this unpleasant information. "Women from Korea and other parts of my map have the freedom to choose if they want to be a family or a 'provider' of a home. That type of thinking is even considered outdated, and most women would probably be displeased by the mentality." Noire leaned back in her seat and folded her arms, crossing her legs as she adjusted. "There are plenty of women who work and live alone, and in some households, the roles are reversed. Though it's not just limited to Korea, other countries do it too, America, Canda, Japan."

Though maybe if I didn't live alone, I wouldn't be in this position right now? She wanted to spit at the thought of admitting that he was even right by a fraction. Noire looked down for a moment, closing her eyes while she composed herself, now even more mindful of her position and being cautious not to burn holes in the man's skull. "I do understand customs here are different, the social structure alone is, and I will obey what I can to the best of my ability," She announced firmly "But please don't mistake my compliance for weakness." She almost regretted the words as soon as she said them, but they didn't hold any aggression, nor did they sound disrespectful, or at least she hoped they didn't. While her world was much more progressive than this new one, there were still some people with a little more of a traditional way of seeing things and just needed a bit of a reminder. She supposed this should just be a reminder her way of doing things would be a bit more masculine from a female in this era.

Clearing her throat, Noire waved her hand as if to wave away the tension that she felt, but it could just be her being sensitive. "I think things like this take time though if we were to try and go over every detail, I think someone's brain would melt, time would answer all of them eventually!" And if this were to go on any further he would probably loop around to a question she wasn't quite sure how to answer. "I have to ask though, on the way back your men were talking about an incident at a tavern? They were practically rioting so I couldn't ask them what it was about." A sharp change in topic and maybe a bit too obvious.
 
What Noire was saying really did sound like complete bullshit.The fact that men and women seemed to stand on equal ground didn't particularly concern him. He had heard something similar in far off civilizations, but the fact that she kept naming off places he had never heard of, like there was an entire other side of the world he never even knew about was irritating. On top of calling his ways outdated was a bit offensive. It was common all around his country and surrounding. How could it be outdated?

Her next comment made him look at her. Compliance or not, why was she bringing up strengths and weaknesses? What was she expecting of him? She really did speak so bizarrely, and that really set up some red flags. He ignored her question, staring directly at her with a new sense of alertness. He took a moment to say anything. "Lady Noire, despite you being a temporary guest right now in my home, I do not think you understand the situation you are in." He spoke quickly and sharply, obviously getting to a point. "You appear out of nowhere and speak of lands and customs that have not ever been heard of before. You are either an assassin with a horrible sense of humor or daft."

He paused only for a moment, but to collect himself, not to give her a chance to process. "If it is as you say, and you know nothing of Finor, then you are not aware that these are turbulent times. If you are innocent then you may be welcome to stay and be educated on our customs, strength or weakness disregarded. But by no means will you take my kindness as a fool's offer. If you are found to be anything less of what you claim, then you will be executed without hesitation. By my hand. Understood?" Clearly he took offense to something in there.
 
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She wanted to squirm in her seat, switch into clothing that wasn't as heavy as the dress she was wearing, but she remained still and remained as calm as she could given her situation. A cord was clearly struck, and it wasn't a harmonious one, Noire bit the inside of her check while listening to what he said, it was the first she heard about war or at least the first she remembered hearing which justified him by just a bit, though it could be poverty, illness, he only said times were rough. Noire bit the inside of her cheek harder to stop the words from falling out of her mouth, trying to dig a deeper grave for herself. If I really wanted to kill you, I could have done it when you found me in the woods, when you were sleeping, talking. If killing you was my mission it would've been done ages ago rather than walk into the fucking lion's den. She cursed his name while he offered her some education, while his offer was probably well meant (to a degree) it felt like it was a direct attack on her intelligence.


His warning was enough to keep her quiet for a minute or so while she collected her thoughts, and suddenly a small light bulb went off in her head. Her cellphone was an everyday object, she didn't give it a second thought, but if the idea of her origins seemed so outlandish, then photo proof was her best bet, the device itself probably would be just as convincing as its contents. "I understand why you're wary, and I mean no offense, but I assure you I'm what I claim to be," She began firmly, only exposing a small glint of panic in her eyes "But I may have some proof in the bag I arrived with, you saw it as well, though I don't know what is common, uncommon or nonexistent here. I didn't think of it before because of how mundane it is to me, though some things might hold some value here." She managed to plaster a nervous smile on her face as she spoke. She wasn't fond of the idea of dying a second time.
 
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Randulfus had half a mind to just lock her up. She was incredibly bold, to an offensive manner. And even as she tried to backpedal, he felt that it was probably some kind of bluff to try and save a little face. She needed in her bag, which he knew was in the chambers that he provided for her. He stared at her for a long moment, clear that he wasn't entirely sold on the idea. What kind of object would make her claims that much more valid? He let out a sharp exhale and leaned back a little in his seat.

"I will give you this one chance to prove your claim. If it is not satisfactory, I will ensure you will have residence in a cold, dark tower instead."

He placed his hand on the table and pushed himself up to stand. More than anything, this was even more opportunity to hide away from the ball. "We're going." He commanded, waiting for Noire to stand before leading her out of the servant's quarters.

And with roleplay magic, they made their way to Noire's door. Randulfus waited to the side of it. Though it was his castle, he still had a faint sliver of decency, and waited until Noire invited him in before going in himself.
 
Noire waited almost impatiently for his response, his apparent reluctance to the idea was enough to keep anyone in position on the edge of her seat. Though when he spoke her eyes lit up just a bit, undoubtedly relieved despite the threat that hung on to the end of his statement. Clasping her hands together and letting the smile on her lips grow wider "Of course!" Noire almost yelled, it came out sounding hasty and maybe just a bit desperate to the trained ear. The girl rose from her seat seconds after Randulfus did, being careful to be a little more conscious of how she acted. She'd have to watch the girls better and try and copy their mannerism around people.

Without missing a beat she followed Randulfus back to her room, knowing well if he weren't guiding her she would get lost in the castle and promptly starve to death. Though like magic the pair stood outside the chamber's door, Noire froze for a moment waiting for him to say something before she actually opened the door and entered. Briefly, she scanned the room, grateful the back still rested on the floor next to the bed. "It's he-" She paused looking back to Randulfus who stood outside the room, watching as she grabbed the bag.

"You can-" She stopped herself for a moment, realizing what she was about to say. If this was a world as old fashion as he made it sound wouldn't it sound kind of bad to be inviting a man into your room? Granted it wasn't really her room. Noire cleared her throat and rummaged through her bag as she approached him, removing the slightly beaten iPhone 7 from her bag. For someone who had such an infamously breakable phone she was pretty bold with it being caseless. "This is a pretty common thing, lets me call people, write memos, take pictures and browse the internet." It was best to sound as alien as possible after all the best lies are usually the most detailed even though she was being the most honest she's ever been in her life.
 
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With arms crossed, Randulfus waited. He really wasn't sure what she could pull out of her bag. The idea somewhat annoyed him. And intrigued him, if she was telling the truth of course. He heard Noire scuffle with something to say but ignored her at best until she came out to him. His arms didn't drop, but he looked down at her hands. It was a small, thin device. One side looked like it had some kind of black mirror. Like the surface of still dark water. The other side was an odd material he had never really seen before. Was it a metal? She listed off it's uses, but he really didn't understand any of them. Was this... some kind of magic terminology? Was this a magical item?

More visibly curious, his arms uncrossed and he hesitantly reached out to take it from her. "This is common?" He asked more out of surprise than ridicule. He turned it over in his hand, then raised it up a little to examine the sides. On one side were two small slivers slightly protruding out. The other side was a single sliver. He slid his thumb against them and jerked his head ever so slightly when the shiny surface lit up. He tightened his grip so not to drop it in his startlement.

"What is this? Magic?" He asked, looking at Noire, then back to the device. "What is... 'browse the internet'..?" He could kind of make sense of the other things she listed. How in the world she was able to summon people, write 'memos', or steal pictures with it, he wasn't entirely sure. But if it was some kind of magical thing, there was no telling what it could actually do.
 
Noire watched in near horror as Randulfus examined her phone if these were normal circumstances she would smack his hand and snatch her device from his untrained grasp. She took pride in the fact that without her case her phone was in better condition than anyone else she knew. She inched closer to him, her screen lighting up as he pressed the power button, revealing her lock screen to be a photo of her and some coworkers drinking in a dimly lit bar, one trying to kiss the other only to be greeted by an empty glass. Noire didn't overlook the fact his grip around the device tightened rather than loosened; the thin design probably gave him an idea about its durability. "Very common," Noire replied, glancing over the screen to see the small words telling her there was no service, half the functions down the toilet, but her battery was at 99%, and she had a portable bank in her bag so things wouldn't be as bad as it could be.

Noire didn't attempt to take the phone back from him, instead, she merely placed her thumb over the home button to unlock the device. A mess up apps cluttering the once empty screen. "Most of these probably won't work since there doesn't seem to be a signal here, but I think the ones that do would be convincing enough." A gentle swipe of her finger made the page turn, and she instantly found her photo album, knowing she's got at least a few pictures of the city.

"This is a collection of photo's I've saved and taken; you can compare them to instant paintings if that's something you needed to be clarified, internet access doesn't seem like it's possible though..." There was a hint of defeat in her last few words, maybe the walls of the building were too thick? Or the internet is something yet to be enjoyed by people. She tapped the app, a line of photos popping up, some mixed with her personal life, work, and things she just found appealing. It was pointless to go through each organized file she had for them if the phone were something he's never seen its contents would keep her alive for a while longer.

"Though I can take a photo of you right now, even show you what the Korean alphabet looks like, maybe even other languages though I probably wouldn't be able to explain them all." She was careful to keep her tone more neutral and informative, after all, she didn't want to step on any more toes by accidentally insulting him for a second time.
 
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The imagine on the screen was confusing. It was like he was looking directly at a bunch of people frozen in the space of this little thin box. Pictures were nothing like this in his world, and really, it seemed like some kind of magical spell. He looked from the screen up to Noire as if to check if she was really there and not in the phone. Randulfus continued to hold the device firmly as Noire started to poke and swipe at it. He wasn't sure what she was doing, but it seemed that putting her finger on the small circle opened it up to a mini little world of shapes and colors and symbols. Was this the different writing system that she had mentioned?

As Noire brought up the pictures, Randulfus found himself entranced. It was spectacular, but it lead him to the question... where did this woman really come from? This... this really wasn't anything from his world. He had never seen such a thing and never heard of anything like this being common. No, she couldn't have been from this world. Wherever Ulsan and Korea was, it was part of a different realm entirely. It was very hard to deny this wasn't a real place now. Not when he had solid evidence in the palm of his hand.

"You can take a photo... so you will put me in that little box?" He asked somewhat confused. An instant picture, is what she said they were. But it didn't make sense how realistic it looked. It was as if he was looking at someone right there in front of him. The idea of learning more from this strange object was enticing. But definitely not something for them to do out in the open. He looked around and carefully handed the phone back to Noire. "I would like to know more, but not here. Be sure that no one else sees this. I don't know what kind of reaction would be had if someone else found this." He spoke a little more hushed. He nodded toward her room. "May we talk more in here?"
 
Noire's brows knitted at his statement, the confusion in his voice made it seem like she failed to explain it in a way he could understand. "Sort of, we're just going to capture the instant you're in. You won't be put into anything really." She stated firmly, it would be bad if there was some misunderstanding, but given her own face was on the phone it would be more believable. Randulfus's reaction was satisfying as he handed back the device, she folded her arms hiding it carefully in one of her sleeves as soon as he mentioned to keep it hidden. Noire felt even more alert when his voice had dropped to a whisper, and not feeling confident enough to match his volume she only nodded and hesitantly entered the room. God, I wonder how this looks to anyone who may have seen that. It wouldn't be the first rumor to spread about her.

Once the pair were in the room and the door was closed behind them Noire pointed the phone camera at him; the dramatic shutter sound is the only alert she had done anything. After all, only madmen would use flash. "Does your world have nothing like this?" She asked while examining the photo, surprisingly more photogenic than she expected him to be "Or would the idea of something alien be seen as a ticking bomb despite there being dragons flying about?" She wasn't about to show off the phone to strangers, but his comment earlier didn't settle well with her, making him sound like the more liberal part of society here.
 
Randulfus quietly closed the door behind them, only to turn around and be met with an odd sound that he couldn't quite describe. He looked directly at the phone in Noire's hand, trying to grasp at what had just happened? Did she take a photo that easily? No preparation needed to use the device? He moved closer to her, still looking at the phone as he did. "No, nothing like this." He stood by her shoulder to look at the screen."We have all kinds of legendary magical artifacts, but nothing that has been told to look remotely like this, nor do what it can do all in one."

After a moment, he reached over to run a finger along the edge of the phone. "What are these?" He asked, lightly tapping the buttons on the sides without actually pressing them. He wanted to know as much about the phone as he possibly could while the event was going on. The more time spent here, the less time there.
 
"Well, where I'm from magic doesn't exist. This is all science if anything magic would cause a panic and maybe even harm the caster." Or so it seemed like in every drama she had watched at 3 AM to pass the time. She was sure what would happen if someone showed up with telekinetic powers. His question anchored her back to the conversation, tilting the phone in his direction so he would have a better view of his photo that remained on the screen. "The button on the right is to close the screen essentially," A simple demonstration as she pressed it, his image vanishing into a black screen. Noire pressed the home button with her thumb, and it promptly lit back up showing off the photo for a brief moment before being minimized to her home screen.

"The other two are to control the volumes of video and audio, up meaning louder and down meaning lower. The small switch above it is to 'quiet' the phone if someone is trying to contact me. I'll be alerted but no one else will typically." It was nice to finally have the ball rolling in her park, her golden eyes watching his face carefully as she explained as best she could. "Earlier you said times were bad, I'd like some enlightenment on that since it's not very obvious I'm not from here." She put on a friendly smile as she closed the phone's screen after all the battery wasn't endless and this was probably her best leverage.
 
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That was somewhat hard to believe. How could they explain phenomena that science could not? Then again, Noire hadn’t known much about dragons either, so it very well could be possible that no magic existed in her world. Science there must have been far beyond his understanding.

When Noire showed him the picture of himself he looked at it intensely. That really was him. It wasn’t like looking into a mirror. It felt like he was actually looking at another person that looked exactly like himself. “This does not disturb you? Seeing yourself exactly as you are in a still picture?”

He continued to watch was she showed him how the buttons and the little switch worked. He was about to ask more questions but she changed the topic. He asked questions, now it was only fair for him to answer hers. He took a small step away to give her space as he sorted through his thoughts, trying to find what exactly to tell her first. “My region has been united under one banner, and allotted to trustworthy families. Yet, there are still those who oppose his highness’ conquest to unify the land. We are a warring times, and we search for any advantage we can to survive.” He paused to let that process. “And even though my country and others are united that does not mean we necessarily agree with one another. I am allies with one bordering country but in turbulent times with another. Because of this, the courts—and my father’s advisor— attempts to remedy this with union.” He looked over Noire again. “Do you need more explanation?”
 
His choice of words made a simple function sound creepy, though to him it may have been a bit unsettling. After all, any pictures of him would always be erred in some way. "I've grown up with this, for me, it's a norm, just as much as magic is a norm for you." He took a step back with a thoughtful expression on his face, Noire's shoulders relaxed as soon as he began to speak.

His last sentence sat on her brain while the words prior were being digested first, and as soon as she had realized what he was saying she couldn't help but imagine the stress his advisors must be feeling along with him. "So what makes them rebel from one union? Pride? Or is there a history of conflict that's being swept under the rug? Not to mention if this union is so important why are you up here tinkering with a phone than being down there?" Noire already knew the half answer to her last question, but felt it was better to hear it from him rather than assume it.