The Art of Aegis (ThomazM)

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M

Meng

Guest
Original poster
Name:
Lillian Herrington
(Lilli)

Age:
22 years old

Gender:
Female

Date of Birth:
June 5 of 1868

Appearance:
Gown0102Victorian.jpg


Likes:
Gardens, singing, reading, art & thunderstorms with rain.

Dislikes:
Fighting, selfish people & crowded events.

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It was the evening of the party and the Herringtons' were riding in their carriage towards the royal palace, where it was being held. Mr. and Mrs. Herrington discussed what would need to be taken care during Mr. Herrington's time away, while his two sons talked among themselves about what type of women would be attending the party and making bets on who could seduce more women. Sitting in silence staring out the window of the carriage was their only daughter, Lillian Herrington, who seemed to be lost in her own world. She was not pleased with idea of her father being away from home and being placed in harms way, but there was no stopping orders from the Queen.

Upon arriving at the front of the palace, everyone made their way out of the carriage and into the hall, where the party was being held. There were many families, soldiers and men from the Scotland Yard mingling with one another about what would take place after the party. Taking a deep breath to relax and collect her, she readied herself to be surrounded by people interested in her fathers' activities. Looking around for a moment, it was obvious that the Queen had yet to make her entrance, but that was normal due to her being sick as of late.

In another part of the palace, Queen Victoria was resting in her room for a bit before getting ready to make herself present at the party. In her room stood a young soldier, who she had known since he first came to the palace. Knowing that he would be the perfect choice for the Herrington family, she flashed him a sweet smile and said in her usual gentle voice. "Make a good impression on the Herrington's daughter, she's the main focus of your stay at their manor." Covering her mouth as she coughed, her nurse gave her cup of water to sip before continuing. "Go and enjoy the party, but do not forget to introduce yourself to them." After finishing what she had to say, she waved him off, so that he could join everyone attending the party.​
 
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Name:
Franklin Clifford

Age:
25 years old.

Gender:
Male.

Date of Birth:
September 5, 1865.

Appearance:
otpacuI.png

(Picture also describes his clothes at the Queen's party)

Likes:
Reading, music, art, sword craftsmanship.
Dislikes:
Formal events, lack of sleep, the sound of gunfire.

●~~~●

The Queen. That's a figure Franklin never thought he'd see in person-- it just enhances how much of an important situation this really is: Doctor Herrigton leaving his hometown, to aid England in its path to prosperity. A noble act, no doubt-- infested with dangers, however, that's undeniable. The soldier, trying to counterbalance his lack of interest in these type of events with the Queen's words, bows, as she stops speaking.

-"It's my pleasure, your majesty".

He left the room, counting his steps almost rhythmically. Closing the door behind him with care, he released a heavy sigh. "Watching over Lillian Herrigton", he pondered to himself, "shouldn't be too hard". Stretching his neck, he fixed his posture as well as he could, proceeding to walk down the hallways of the palace, toward the front entrance-- where he assumed all the guests would be. "First things first, I should find Lillian, introduce myself and all that", he sighed once again-- this wasn't the type of duty he was used to, but how could he deny a direct request from the Queen herself? His line of thought was interrupted abruptly to the ever-growing sound of guests chatting and laughing, he was getting close. Adjusting his top-hat, he inhaled deeply before opening the door to the main saloon in front of him. That amount of well-dressed people together made the soldier slightly more uncomfortable-- he wasn't too used to the this class of society. Walking through the crowd, he noticed a few people, women, around his age, mostly, glancing into his direction with an "interesting" look, to say the least. He ignored them, looking around for Lillian-- he thought he might recognize her through some paintings he saw of her earlier. The Queen did mentioned Lillian would wait for him in the outside garden-- with that in mind, he started heading towards the main entrance-way, which led to said garden. It wasn't too long before he spotted her, near a patch of deeply red flowers. He strolled towards her, avoiding startling the young lady as much as he could.

-"Excuse me, my name is Franklin Clifford, I'll be your bodyguard for the next few months. Pleasure to met you". -He bowed.​
 
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After having to speak with a few people within the party, Lillian had decided that it was time to get some fresh air and away from the swarms of young men, who seemed to have their eyes on her. Walking out into the gardens, she had remembered her father telling her that she would be protected by a soldier of the country, while he was away from home. It was understandable as to why her father would arrange such a thing, but Lillian wasn't the type who liked to be protected. As a child, her father would take her into the woods just beyond the manor to teach her the art of sword fighting, so that her mother didn't know she was doing something so unladylike. She enjoyed those times and came to like it as a sport, even though he was training her to take care of herself, despite her dislike for actual fighting.

Gazing upon the beautiful bush of almost crimson red flowers with only the moon shining down on them, she thought about how wonderful it would be if she could remain in this quiet place until the party was over. Hearing a voice behind her, Lillian turned around to see a sharply dressed young man introducing himself as her bodyguard. Listening to the way he spoke, it was obvious that he was soldier, who had very good manners and talked with a smooth voice. She wouldn't be surprised if he was very popular among the young women. Closing her eyes as she nodded to him and showed him a quick smile, before opening them again to look him in the eyes.

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well, but I'm sure you'd would rather be doing something else than taking care of a person such as myself." She said as she turned back towards the flowers, plucking one from the bush and twirling it between her fingers.​
 
●~~~●

It's not like he disliked it, exactly. He's unused to the duty, that's all. Swallowing dry, he adjusted tie before answering with a casual smile:

-"Not at all, m'lady. It'll be a pleasure"

He said, tipping his top hat just slightly with his right hand, before putting it back in place. Franklin isn't the biggest fan of formal events like these, that's quite obvious by now. Notwithstanding, he's very used to them. Being so young and so experienced in battle made grasped the attention of the royal family, in exponentially growing ways, specially after the invasion in India, from which Franklin was the younger soldier in the squadron to come back alive. But anyway, that's beside the point-- the royal family started inviting him to parties, ceremonies, and any public formal event they could, that being: It wasn't really a challenge learning how to treat a lady such as Lillian -- "impress her", the Queen said, "she's the main focus of your stay here in the manor". Her words echoed in his head as the sound of rocks dancing their way to the bottom of a lake. She's gorgeous, as well, the paintings don't quite do her beauty justice, that's for sure-- these thoughts, however, must, and will remain silenced through the next months. It's not like it's difficult for someone who has been in the army to stay desensitized anyway. Folding his hands behind his back, he watches the rose as it twirls around her fingers, with a certain grace. He exchange glances between her and the window of the palace, revealing the main saloon, crowded with people.

-"Not a big fan of crowds, I suppose" -He approaches the bush of flowers, gazing over them, adjusting his posture once more.

He still had much to learn, and this exact thought made his lack of comfort in that situation even more apparent. Hopefully she won't notice it.

​
 
From what Lillian could tell, Franklin was not at all comfortable in his current situation. In a way it made her laugh quietly to herself, because she didn't know that such soldiers existed. Most soldiers she had met, enjoyed the parties and any time to mingling with the young women of rich families. They tried to never miss an opportunity like this one. Hearing him mention that she wasn't a fan of crowds, she thought that he was very observant of those around him although it was one thing that she didn't like at all.

"You know I'm not exactly fond of the idea of having someone watching me. Honestly, you should be watching my brothers.. who are probably having too good of a time." As she thought about what they doing right now.

On the balcony, just outside of the main saloon, a man stood out leaning against the railing. His eyes were focused on the two, who were talking in the garden, especially the woman playing with a red flower in her hands. The daughter of the famous doctor was all this man cared about, because she would be the only way for him to be able to make his move.

Running her hands through the ends of her hair that wasn't pulled up, Lillian then turned back towards the soldier. Walking right up in front of him, she placed the flower into the pocket of his dress jacket before smiling up at him.

"Soldier or not, don't get in my way." She said in the sweetest voice, as she patted his pocket while walking back to the entrance and back towards the main saloon.​
 
Raising an eyebrow, he saw her walk away towards the main saloon. He sighed, "shouldn't be difficult, uh?", he thought to himself, mocking his previous assumption. The soldier wasn't exactly the type to mess around with people, he's very reserved, hence why he's not too keen with these types of situations-- however. If there's one thing he is good at, it's at doing what he's told. Being she fold or not, with the situation, those were direct orders, and for her own safety, Franklin wouldn't even fathom the possibility of going back on his word. As he started walking towards her, he noticed a man, on the main balcony, with a familiar look on his face, staring constantly at lady Lillian. The soldier didn't hold back at trying to analyzing everything he could out of the man, however, the moonlight wasn't enough to reveal his physical features under the darkness of the night, leaving Franklin only with worries and not much more-- he'll keep an eye on him, no doubt about it. Putting one of his hands on the right side of his body, he double-checked to see if his sword was still with him, the reassurance doesn't hurt. Still with eyes on the man, Franklin approached the lady once again, keeping up with her pace.

-"Listen, I'll be a ghost if you want me to-- I just need you to understand something: I'm doing this for your safety, I'm doing this because there are people out there that care about you, and want you safe. If their reassurance means anything to you, allow me to do my job, and as far as you want me to, I'll stay out of your way as much as humanly possible." -By the end of the phrase, Franklin stood on front of her, looking her deeply into her eyes, waiting for a response.​
 
The man continued to watch Lillian until she was completely out of his sight. Moving himself off of the railing of the balcony, his eyes glimpsed down to see that the soldier staring up at him as if telling to see his physical features, which made him chuckle. Stuffing his hands into the pockets of his pants, he flashed the man a smirk and walked back into the saloon. Lillian was unaware of herself being watched, but when Franklin stopped her from moving on to the saloon, she listened to what he had to say. After he finished, Lillian still wasn't happy with the idea of having someone being with her almost all day long. She understood that her family wanted her safe from danger, but she was not the only person who needed protection. Her mother was weak lately due to an illness and was constantly away from home at medical center in a different country. Her brothers were away at their own properties that they owned so you never know what could happen to them.

"Then be as nonexistent as you can, because I don't need someone bothering me." She replied back, before walking around him to get away from the soldier at that moment. Franklin was going to now be with her constantly after tonight and her freedom will dwindle with his presence.​
 
Franklin glanced at the man at the balcony as he entered the palace, frowning at his smirk with a certain concern. "From soldier to overseer", the soldier sighed, while thinking to himself, "I should warn the other guards to keep an eye out, this doesn't look good". His thoughts were interrupted by Lillian's request-- he inhaled deeply before answering, watching her walking around him:

-"As you wish, lady Herrigton". -He said monotonously, before pausing, as she distanced herself from him.

Sighing once again, he hissed loudly towards one of the guards on the outside garden, calling out for his attention. After the guard finally caught Franklin's gaze, the soldier proceeded to walk towards Lillian, pointing at the balcony, doing the British army's hand signal to indicate danger, expecting him to go check it out, or at least warn the other guards. He seemed to have understood the message, as he nodded, and rushed his way inside the main saloon. "Sorry, lady Herrigton, but alone you won't stay", he thought, following her from a respectable distance, watching her surroundings carefully.​
 
Walking down the stairs of the saloon, it was obvious to her that she was being by Franklin and yet tried her best to ignore him as much as possible. Not long after walking in, Lillian made her way over to the refreshment table to grab a bite to eat and maybe a drink or two. Picking up a glass of champagne, Lillian took a quick sip of the drink before a gentleman walked up to her, inquiring about her fathers' depart from the family to help save the country. Sighing in disappointment that she wasn't alone for long, she took a breath again and looked at the man to talk about the situation.

"I don't mind it at all really, he's a very important man and we as a family should respect that." She said, watching as the man came in closer, removing the glass from her hand and setting back down on the table. "I see.. But leaving a daughter like you must worry him." This was very common event Lillian went through since she turned eighteen, one after another, men would wonder why she hadn't married anyone yet. Men were always looking to get closer to her, but there was no one who was even the littlest bit interesting to her.​
 
Franklin stood near the main entrance's door frame, leaning against it-- observing, analyzing the guests. The man who approached Lillian didn't seem harmful, though his true intentions bothered the soldier, which frowned in his direction, almost involuntarily. He watched over the room for the man on the balcony-- lacking him in his field of view was discomforting, hopefully the guards will take care of it.

​
OOC: Sorry for the small post, couldn't find much to do-- and I wasn't sure about how you felt about me gming a bit. So, yeah...​
 
When the man had taken the drink from her hand and proceeded to talk about himself, Lillian rolled her eyes just thinking about how much she wanted to get away from him. Luckily someone saw her cry for help and interrupted the man. "Excuse me, but I think the young lady would prefer you to leave." Said a deep yet smooth voice behind her. Glancing over her shoulder, there stood a tall gentleman dressed in all black clothing with short messy dark brown hair and piercing grey orbs. Placing his hand upon the other mans' shoulder, the man quickly retreated uncomfortable with the gentleman towering over him.

Moving to the front of Lillian, he bowed his head a bit before looking back up to stare her in the eyes. "That was quite rude of me, please forgive my actions." Shaking her head, Lillian was quite thankful to him because he helped her out of a dull moment. "No, thank you very much. If you hadn't come, he would have stayed." The male smirked at her and then in the direction of the soldier, who was watching her from the entrance of the saloon. Taking her hand into his own, he placed his lips against the back of it and then excused himself from her sight.

For the first time, someone had made an amazing impression on Lillian, but she also knew that he was probably someone she should keep away from as well. He was too collected and he made his exit only seconds after meeting her. 'I can only imagine what he's up too..' She thought to herself as she found herself being pulled away by a group of noble daughters, wanting to gossip about the people in the party.

Then suddenly doors in the back of the saloon opened up with men dressed in uniform lined up on either side of the doors. An older woman dressed in the finest fabrics and jewels was escorted into the crowded room by a nurse. Guiding her to her throne, where she sat, the woman smiled down upon everyone and began to speak when she saw that she had everyone's attention.

"Tonight's party is a farewell to the member of your family, who will giving their assistance to the country for the next few months." She announced before continuing. "I thank all of you for coming here and I hope you enjoy the rest of the party, before saying goodbye to your loved ones." And with the Queens' final words, they party continued on.​
 
His concern wasn't enough to lower his guard, if anything, it was sharper than ever. Every movement, every misplaced step, the eyes of the soldier wouldn't stop circling the room, not even for a split second. As men approached Lillian, Franklin raised his chin, observing-- preferably, he would like to hear what they are saying. With that in mind, the soldier started walking closer to the two, casually, not staring directly, nor drawing any attention-- stealthiness was a big part of his training, after all. When close enough to hear what they were saying, he found the wall nearest to him, leaning against it with his hands folded behind his back, he only observed. The soldier had no interest in what the intentions of the man were, however, suspicious actions are always worth taking note. He was only gathering the information interesting to him, and absolutely nothing else. After the Queen's speech, Franklin sighed.

-"Excuse me?" -A smooth, high-pitched female voice drew Franklin's attention.

Looking to his right, he spotted a young, red-haired lady, younger than him, apparently-- she wasn't tall, quite the opposite, in fact: she was a more than a few inches smaller than the soldier, which had to look down in order to look into her eyes. He exchanged glanced between Lillian and the lady next to him as much as he could, he was determined to not let her out of his field of view.

-"Yes?" -He said, in a tone that made the young lady laugh faintly.
-"I'm s-so sorry, but..."-She looks back at a small group of well-dressed ladies, which appeared to be watching over the whole scene, gossiping and whatnots- "My friend really wanted to know your name...".
-"My n-name?" -The soldier raised an eyebrow, sighing in a small sign of disappointment- "It's Franklin, Franklin Clifford. Now, please, excuse me, I'm busy." -He draws back his focus at Lillian, still talking to that man.

The girl rushed her way back to her group of friends, which went back to chatting and laughing, generically. "What a waste of time", the soldier thought to himself, "high, mid, low portion of society... All the same, just with different clothes.", he shook his head in disappointment.

​
 
After what seemed like an endless amount of time at the party, Lillian looked around for her family members and found them all together, talking about something. Going over to her father, Lillian hugged him tightly. "I know you're worried, but you'll have Mr. Clifford watching you while I'm away." Not pleased to be hearing about that soldier again, she ignored it a bit and just smiled at her father. The two of them talked for a little while, until Lillian told her family that she would be leaving early because she was starting to get a headache from the crowd. Understanding that she didn't like being at parties for long, she kissed her parents goodnight and made her way out of the saloon towards her carriage, that sat in the driveway with other carriages.

As she walked to it, Lillian remembered the man that had helped. "I can't help but wander what he was really after.." She said softly to herself.​
 
A few hours passed, Franklin stayed watchful the entire night, persistent to its duty. He watched as lady Lillian went to talk with her family, they hugged and chatted-- in that moment, he didn't bother to watch over them, for two reasons: One, they were covered in guards already, and second, it didn't feel right-- it was too intimate of a moment. He glanced their surroundings periodically, but not much more than that. As Lillian kissed her parents a goodbye, Franklin adjusted his now somewhat wonky posture, and, without taking eyes out of her, walking towards her parents. Coming closer, he bowed quickly.

-"Sorry to interrupt, mr. & ms. Herrigton" -The soldier drew their attention- "I just wanted to ask if I should watch over lady Lillian in her way home-- she didn't quite seem to fond with me, so, I thought that if I had your permission..."
-"Go ahead, son"-The doctor, father of Lillian, said, in a strong, imponent voice-"You have my full permission-- just take good care of her while I'm gone, will you?"

He bowed once more.

-"You have my word, Sir." -He tipped his top-hat, leaving the Herrigtons alone.

The soldier than proceeded to rush his away towards the driveway, where all the carriages were-- in the worse of cases, Franklin did came to the party in his horse, he could easily use to follow the carriage. He sighed, "just a job, Franklin, it'll get done before you know it". He rushed his pace in order to minimize the distance between them, she was already in his field of view-- which was comforting, at least.​
 
After making it to the carriage, Lillian greeted her family's driver, Ralph. He was an older gentleman, who had been working for her family for almost forty years now. "Already, Miss Lillian?" He questioned her as he showed her his gentle smile that he always wore. Laughing softly at his remark, she leaned against the carriage with him, turning her gaze up to the sky. "Yes, but I thought I would also let you know that we'll be having someone following us. I'm sure of it." She told the man, who was straightening out his uniform before opening the door of the carriage for her.

"I can see that." He replied, noticing Franklin from afar, turning back to her going inside. "Now don't tease him, Ralph." She said, knowing how playful the old man was with other. "I would never, Miss Lillian." A playful smirk appeared on his lips as he closed the door before hoping into his seat and gripping the reins, gently striking the horse to start moving.

"I would hurry if I were you soldier or else, we might lose you." Ralph yelled out to the young man, quickly making his exit out the gates that surrounded the palace.​
 
-"Christ..." -The soldier mumbled to himself, while running towards the carriage.

If he ran for his horse, surely he would lose them-- the carriage wasn't too far away, so he decided to go for it. He wasn't faster than a horse, obviously, but surprisingly enough, the soldier wasn't too far behind. Holding his top hat as best as he could, preventing it from flying out of his head, he dashed towards the carriage, finally getting hold of it-- holding on to to a small depression on its wooden body. Breathing heavily, Franklin was able to found a way around it, to where he reached for the door on the opposite side of where Lillian was sitting. He entered the carriage with a frowned expression.

"I guess my horse will be sleeping in the palace's stables tonight." -The soldier said, closing the door of the carriage behind him, as he sat next to Lillian.

The guard taking care of the stables didn't seem to mind, so, that wasn't such a big problem-- he'd just go pick him up in the morning or something. Finally getting to control his breathing, he looked at Lillian, sighing.

-"I tried staying out of your way" -He casually stared at the old man in front of the carriage- "At the very least, I can't be blamed".​
 
Lillian could hear rustling outside of the carriage before it shook a bit and the door came open to reveal Franklin, climbing into the carriage almost out of breath. She couldn't help laughing quickly to herself, knowing exactly what had happened. Opening the small blocked window, she then spoke to Ralph. "I told you not to tease him." All you could hear outside the carriage was Ralph laughing loudly, while trying to keep a hold of the reins as he spoke back. "Sorry m'lady, it was a chance I couldn't miss. At least he made it." Shaking her head as she smiled, Lillian closed the window shut and looked at Franklin for moment.

"Please excuse Ralph, he loves to play jokes on people." She apologized to Franklin, although it wasn't very sincere because she quite enjoyed him teasing the soldier. Watching him take a seat right next to her, she could hear him trying to catch his breath before asking if he had done well in keeping his distance. "I suppose so. I barely noticed you." Even though she did notice the number of guards around her, she tried as best as she could to ignore them.

Feeling tired from the party, Lillian closed her eyes and quickly drifted off to sleep. As she slept and the carriage moved, her head landed on Franklin's shoulder staying there during the ride. Without either of them noticing, Ralph had opened up the small window and looked down real quick to see that young lady had fallen asleep. "So you'll be watching Miss Lillian from now on.. You'll soon find out she isn't like other young ladies from noble families, if you can handle her." He said.​
 
As Lillian's head drifts off to his shoulder, a blush becomes apparent on the soldier's face. Her scent was, earthy, yet, still floral-- strong, yet delicate-- nothing he had ever felt before, that's for sure. He was a bit lost in words, yet felt the urge to say something-- ultimately just staying quiet throughout the rest of the way-- she had a rough night, she deserved some sleep. As Ralph, the coachman of the carriage, turned around to speak, the soldier swallowed dry. Glancing at her calm, peaceful expression, he answered, trying not wake her up.

-"It's not like I've met many" -The soldier mumbled, raising an eyebrow- "And, what do you mean, "handle her"?".​
 
Ralph could see the red face of the soldier, knowing that he was probably feeling a bit uncomfortable with having Lillian leaning on him, but he also didn't seem to mind it either. The coachman turned his head back towards the horses, thinking about what he should say to the man about Lillian's personality. Giving it a bit thought for a moment, he then began to tell the man about Lillian, but only a little.

"Miss Lillian is a hard young lady to understand, but once you get passed her cold exterior, she quickly warms up to you if you can impression her enough." He said.

After riding in the carriage for what seemed to be almost two hours, Ralph stopped the carriage just outside of an enormous manor that was surrounded by land and forest area. "We've arrived at the manor, if you can't wake the lady, please carry her to her bedroom." Ralph said after opening the door to let them out.​
 
"Cold exterior", "warms up to you", "impression her enough"-- the soldier raised an eyebrow, pondering what those words meant exactly. He didn't reply to the coachman, instead, he got stuck, thinking. Drifting off into a train of random, unrelated thoughts. I mean, it was a tiring night, Franklin wasn't exactly in the talkative mood anyway. After what it didn't feel that much time, the carriage stopped-- they had arrived at the manor.

-"C-Carry her?" -The soldier said, coughing to hide his sudden shuttering, as his blush became just slightly more apparent.

Ralph, the old man, just nodded, with a silly, somewhat juvenile smile on his face. "He does like to tease people, I won't argue with that", the soldier thought, looking at Lillian, still sleeping peacefully. He sighed, moving as slowly as he could, he put her under his arms, lifting her as carefully as he could. While leaving the carriage, to head towards the manor, he glanced quickly back at Ralph, which just smiled, saying:

-"Third floor, corridor at the right, last room-- you won't miss it" -He said, proceeding to drive the carriage to only God knows where.

The soldier gazed over the manor, sighing once again, he strolled off into the front door, conveniently half-open. He walked through many corridors, and quite a few set of stairs, but he found it, Lillian's room was just up ahead.​
 
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