Up the Down Staircase

It was a good thing that I wasn't able to hear his thoughts, otherwise I might have landed myself in a heap of trouble that not even Sevik could pull me out of.

Not that I would have asked for it of course but speaking of the person who was supposed to be my guide, it was a good question where he was. I hadn't truly mean to loose him...I'd just wanted a few moments to try to gather my thoughts. To try to compose myself so that I didn't say something or do something anymore mortifying to my pride than I already had. More time had passed, that much was a given, an entire passage of the Bazaar or at least what seemed like it taken before I looked back over my shoulder to find him gone. The breath was torn from my lungs for a second, though I refused to panic. It would be my own fault if something horrible happened to me down here. Forcing myself to breathe again, I gave my shoulders a slow, lazy roll. Turning around, having no way to expect what I would see next, I could only say I was thankful that my jaw didn't drop, and tongue go rolling out like a red carpet in some cheap cartoon. I was so going to strangle that Prince next time I saw him, just before telling him that he was more than welcome to handcuff me to his side.

My concern about looking the poor country cousin became the last thing to my mind as I watched the people around this Male part like the proverbial Red Sea before Moses and the Israelite people. My eyes made a slow but oh so thorough study of him from tip to toe. Oh he was a sight to behold, and for a moment I wondered if I hadn't gotten myself in over my head as i realized I had more than likely just found myself the ever mysterious Mr Grimm...Or more like he had found me. When he made that bow, I think I nearly swallowed my tongue, or would have if not some sort of smidgeon of Pride hadn't reared it's head just then. I refused to look like some incompetent young girl. I was of marriageable age in any culture, old enough to drive, and old enough to carry a fire arms if I should so choose. So while I obviously had no training to execute anywhere near the type of greeting he had, the least I could do was try. Dropping into a low curtsy, or as best as I could manage without wearing a dress, I lowered my head a fraction or two in respect without ever taking my eyes fully off of him. If he thought I was silly enough to either completely meet his gaze or ever look one hundred percent away, he was mad. While I had not a clue of what race he hailed from or his lineage, the likelihood of him being human was quite small and while I wasn't sure how much of my studies were factual, I had at least some theories to run on.

Then he was making motion for me to come to him and I just about had rabbits right there on the spot. Not like I had much of a choice, especially considering any sort of back up I had was probably off schmoozing some all too willing Female, my spine straightened and I made the best of a possibly bad situation. Refusing to show any of the quickly mounting panic that was brewing in my gut, I made my way to him. Keeping the music going until the very last possible second, I finally shut it off and removed the ear buds to tuck them back away into the pocket from where they had originally come. Flashing him a smile that was half awkward, half curious, I wasn't sure whether I was supposed to extend my hand or curtsy again. So at this point I did the thing that came most naturally to me. What was that you ask ? Nothing short of opening my mouth and inserting my foot damn near to my thigh of course.

"You must be Mr Grimm. I've heard quite a bit about you and I'm curious to see exactly what I make of you."

The curtsy was met with the quirking of a dark brow, and another shadowed flicker of a smile as if the attempt on her part was more then he had expected. Her words drew an echo of his original expression, vague amusement ribboned through with something more, something that eluded explanation. "Did you?" His voice was satin, almost tangible. He didn't speak loudly, but somehow she was able to hear him clearly all the same. There had been people bumping into her as they moved past, however as he spoke she too seemed to fade from their notice, and they moved around her without so much as a curious glance from the moment his words touched her.

"Well perhaps you could reserve your decision until the end of your visit." He offered her his arm. "Come, allow me to show you around before we make our way to my office. Your Pinceling informed me you would be visiting, and since his court makes a habit of frequenting my domain, I thought it only polite to make an appearance. How are you finding London m'lady? "

"Oh he's not MY Prince-ling...He's just a...Just ah....He's a temporary companion, and Oh God I'm not of his Court...I'm, well, I'm a simple Human."

It wasn't his voice that was making me nervous, though it was undeniably beautiful. Was beautiful even a word that you were supposed to use in regards to a Male ? It was better applied to him then to Sevik, that much was sure. My Prince-ling, as if. There was a very rude, un-ladylike snort that was thankfully kept to myself as I doubted my new companion would understand or appreciate it. I wasn't sure if his amusement was at my expense, and even if it was, I wasn't sure there was all that much that I could do about it. It suddenly came to me that this Male was likely far more dangerous than most I would come across, including the one who had thought to offer me up as some sort of sacrifice. For a single, solitary moment, a crazy thought came to my mind. This was one of those magic places where you could find anything you wanted, or so it purposed, though at a price. If there was anywhere I could take care of that little issue, it would be here. The thought was tucked further back, but not far enough to be forgotten by any means. Simply enough that it wouldn't distract me from the conversation at hand.

"It's been an all around busy day, but I like it well enough so far. I don't usually get the opportunity to travel, much less have a shot at making one of my dreams come true, so it will have been worth it even if I'm just here for a day. Though you mustn't go out of your way just to show me around. I don't get lost too easily. If you just wish to tell me where your office is located, I'm sure I'll be able to find my way there. I wouldn't want to make you loose anytime with Se...With the Prince."

Even as I was politely trying to turn down his offer, I slid my arm through his, careful to not press too close. It wouldn't do to smudge or wrinkle those clothes he was wearing. This outfit of his alone likely cost as much as my new apartment and there was no way I could ever dream of repaying him if I somehow damaged them.

If he picked up on what she was attempting to polity do, which was turn down his offer of a guided tour the tall figure gave no indication. The fabric of his black jacket was smooth, soft from years of wear. Yet there was still a hit of structure to it, as if it offered far more protection then a simple glance could explain. When she slid her arm into his he looked at her, a flicker of empathy flashed in those impossibly deep silver grey eyes of his. "Fearless aren't you?" Though it was absent in the following seconds when the hand of the arm she had taken moved lightening quick to take hold of her wrist. There was a strength in those long dexterous fingers, and while he held her firm there was care taken that he did not simply snap the bones beneath her ivory skin. The potential for it was ripe, especially if she began to struggle, though somehow he found himself not really expecting her to.

Even as her mind moved to take in what as going on, he was pressing the thumb from his free hand into the web of flesh that stretched between the thumb and pointer finger of the hand he held immobile. There was a tingle that flooded outward, enough that it rose the hair on the back of her neck, and all along her arms. It only required an instant of his concentration, but when his own hands released her there was a mark left in it's wake. The lines lying just below her skin as truly as if they had been tattooed there.

The seemingly Celtic knot consisted of four closed loops, which are doubly interlinked in an alternating (interlaced) manner. If laid flat, the knot would have sixteen crossings where the four loops interweave under and over each other.

"In Latin, this configuration was sometimes known as sigillum Salomonis, meaning 'seal of Solomon'. It was associated with the Biblical monarch Solomon because of his reputation for wisdom and knowledge and in some legends, his occult powers. This phrase is usually rendered into English as 'Solomon's knot', since 'seal of Solomon' has other conflicting meanings. For example it often refers to either a Star of David or the ever popular pentagram. In the study of ancient mosaics, the Solomon's knot is often known as a 'guilloche knot' or 'duplex knot', while a Solomon's knot in the center of a decorative configuration of four curving arcs is known as a 'pelta'. Pelta being the Latin word for 'shield'."

A graceful brow arched upward as he finished. "Do I need to explain why I gave you that particular mark?"

What was I doing ? That was the question I asked myself as his fingers moved like a streak of lightning. So quick, so smooth, so truly in the essence of that which strikes in the heart of the storm that I never stood a chance. He could have slit my throat and left me to bleed out had he so chosen with such quickness as he seemed to posses while here all I had been doing was studying his eyes, wondering how they had switched from that initial Hematite to this new intriguing shade of silver grey. Then there was the clothing he wore, the likes of which I had yet to even see from Sevik. Then again there was always the thought that perhaps Sevik had toned himself down as to make himself more bearable to my mere mortal perceptions. I felt my throat drop into my stomach, and then the two join hands and take the merry roller coaster ride to stop at the very soles of my feet.

Gods I was a lost cause. Irrevocably, and hopelessly so.

"Fearless, no. For that would imply a lack of brains. After everything I have experienced in these past few days, even these past few hours, I simply realize with an astonishing clarity that I want more from my life. That it is far too short for me to simply act like a trembling snowflake about to hit the ground. You could kill me, Mi'Lord in less time than it takes for me to blink, or even draw breath, yet you have shown me thus far naught but courtesy that I was not exactly sure to expect from you. While you could even now for the bluntness in which I have chosen to speak to you, and in your domain at that, I don't think you will."

All was said in less time than it took to rationally think it over, Gods themselves being the only ones who truly knew what the repercussions could possibly be. Then again was he not in his own right the God of this domain ? Such thoughts, along with the sensations caused by his actions left me breathless, the stormy shades of my eyes going wide, those of a trapped butterfly beneath a bug catcher's microscope. It was not just the magic itself, but the actual touch itself. Save for my younger brothers, and so recently Sevik himself, this Male was the first to touch me in a fashion that was not outright harmful. So with all of these combined it was perhaps strange that I did not instantly jump away from him the moment I was released. In truth you could blame it on that insatiable curiosity that i had always held. The fact that while I did not know quite all of what he had told me, I did in fact know some. Enough so that I heard his question as if through some sort of daze, so focused as I was on inspecting what he had placed upon me. When finally I did answer him, I made my best attempt not to sound like some swooning fan girl, or some over anxious...I tried my best just to sound myself.

"While I do know what this is Mi'Lord or at least some of the more well known references, there could be a multitude of reasons that you chose to bestow it. While you could be using it to trick me into trusting you, that paltry of a use of your skill seems beneath you. While you could be in cahoots with the man that I am currently attempting to avoid, and I do not mean Sevik, that seems beneath you as well. While your marking me could be your way of locking me to this place, I would think you have far different means that you would resort to other than using your magic upon me so directly. So perhaps it is nothing more than your way of being a kind host and making sure that I am protected while walking your streets, for if you do your magic so openly, what is to stop anyone else from doing so in less...Less hospitable of a fashion. Or I could be completely wrong in any of those potentials. So if you would please enlighten me as I would hate to assume that I know how your mind works and it would put mine much more at ease."