With a simple enough answer to start, Konrad nodded and let himself focus- his eyes and hands at least- onto his work trimming and cleaning Stephen's soaked nails. A mentor was a very broad picture to paint. He himself had had several mentors throughout the coarse of what he was sure to be a compar...

"I don't doubt it." Konrad's smiled widened into a bemused grin. Stephen's earnest hyperbole was well met, more so for the picture that immediately sprung to mind in Konrad's head involving his father and Stephen vehemently arguing over which of them was more distraught over the fact there was jam ...

It seemed he'd dug down deep enough to graze a nerve. Out of everything they'd discussed thus far since they'd met, Konrad hadn't expected the subject of morality to be quite so volatile. He didn't offer any reply to Stephen's flummoxed rebuttal if it could even have been called such. There was no ...

Konrad made no move to interrupt as he listened with a shallow furrow of his brown. His eyes held a steady stare to Stephen's, neither exceedingly warm nor cold, merely thoughtful. From a young age, he'd learned that words spoken were only words until actions followed behind them. Lorien had always...

Stephen appeared to have a firm grasp of the situation. There was little else for Konrad to add, though he nodded where he felt it appropriate to confirm suspicions. For as long as the Kindred maintained their hold over Lorien, the counties and baronies and, perhaps, even the great lords themselves...

26th of Ash, Year 120 The food arrived half a minute after Konrad did, precisely when he'd asked for it. Three covered plates, each smaller than the last, upon a fine silver tray accompanied by yet another bottle of fine wine and a single glass. He received the arrangement from the Lodge's maid wit...

For a moment, Konrad's face unintentionally displayed a very genuine fear before Stephen laughed off his suggestion of a magically induced pregnancy. Magic or no, Konrad had no desire to carry to full term another human being inside of him. His own anemic chuckle followed shortly after, more a soun...

For a man supposedly unused to servants, Stephen managed to find a comfortable enough fit into the role within a day's time. Konrad grinned at the permission granted, a bemused, "Thank you, Lord," in reply. For all his lightheartedness, his thanks was truly in earnest. Stephen was no Rien and, whil...

There wasn't much else for Konrad to add, not yet. It seemed Stephen was informed enough to know precisely which of the great houses were most affected by the turn of near-cataclysmic events and how he might benefit. The wry thought that he himself might not be needed did cross his mind in a cursor...

Stephan's news of the marriage was met with an amused curve of Konrad's lips, though he kept his gaze focused on their surroundings as they turned a corner to head down a lane of extravagant architecture and, in spite of the cold, impressive gardens of stone and those plants which grew in defiance ...