A Peculiar Reunion (Eyvind, Private)

[Raphael D'Aubert]

TS: Third Cycle of Melora

L'Epée de Gelée (King's Inn)


Sighing in exasperation as he slowly stretched out his lean frame on the wooden seat he was occupying, Raphael D'Aubert could not help but quietly reflect on the rather uneventful day that had passed within Jaedaxia; a slow brightening which involved little other than several long candlemarks of routine patroling about the Merchant's Quarter of the wealthy city and a minor dispute with a Jaedaxian fruit trader who had gotten into a laughable situation with his donkey. True, there had been brightenings where the disowned son of a wealthy Dianan Noble had gotten his share of adventure and thrill (the occasional long horse patrols against the region's bandit population, to be an example), but sadly Raphael's days within the city had largely been spent tromping about the city on rather... uneventful chores for the Jaedaxian Guard.

It was hardly the glorious swashbuckling future he had dreamed of during the time spent under his unlovable father's household..

"Merci, Messeur..." muttered Raphael softly, noticing the arrival of dinner via a server's hand..

It was a fine dinner... though nothing too extravagant. A simple meal of meat, potatoes, spring leeks, and a loaf of bread sat temptingly before the young man's face; almost beckoning the young man onward with its tantalizing scents of richness and warmth. Not needing to think twice, Raphael immediately dug into his meal with knife and fork at the ready, daintily slicing the meat into small strips before reaching for the loaf of bread.

"Mrmm...."

It was delicious indeed... and for the price, it was a godsend! True, the Guard had treated him relatively well after his completion of recruit basic training, but the dining cuisine of Le Protectorat was far from being "desirable" to the learned tongue of a disowned aristocrat.. As a result, Raphael had often opted to purchase his own meals outside the Protectorat's walls whenever convenient, spending a small fraction of his "forty crown a cycle" salary on the occasional dinner and lunch out in the city.

Despite his happiness at his meal's state of being, the young man could not help but pause three minutes into his meal to divert his attention towards the rather.. sorry twist his life had taken. Alone and without friends or family in the enormous city of Jaedaxia, Raphael could not help but feel a small amount of yearning for companionship in his new surroundings.. one willing to share a bit of kindness with him in such a beautiful city.

Frowning, the young Guardsman promptly pushed these lonely thoughts out of his mind.

The family he knew had long since thrown him out of his household after an unfortunate incident with him and his father's (Ignacio D'Aubert) then-mistress.. a nineteen year old girl by the name of Cornelia.. and left him in a sorry state of affairs with neither crown nor comfort to his own name..

Disowned, slashed to ribbons, and almost hunted down by a gang of thugs the Elder D'Aubert had hired to "kill his whoring bastard"... the young man had found some sort of refuge within the city of Jaedaxia and the Jaedaxian Guard..

While the Guard did provide him with a home, some cameradrie, and a purpose of some sorts, the young man often found himself dreaming longingly for the soft arms of his long dead mother... Madeline D'Aubert. A figure as mysterious as she was beautiful..

No matter... I'd better finish up..

With this, Raphael once again pushed his wandering thoughts back into the back of his mind, contenting himself with the hearty meal before him.