Hayden x Vilma

[SirBlazeALot]

Hayden & Vilma
Waverly​

 

[SirBlazeALot]

C-Rank
Time
First week of the voyage to Satrella
Location
The Blue Rose
​

Hayden stood alone at the bow of the Blue Rose with his fists triumphantly pressed into his hips. His eyes twinkled and glimmered, mirroring the waves beneath him as the light of the setting sun danced on the surface of the ocean. As the sun turned the sky shades of pink, purple, and blue, the Blue Rose sailed toward it and constantly drew ever nearer to Satrella. Hayden was comforted by the perpetual motion of the ship. Every second that passed was one second closer to Satrella, a new world of adventure that had occupied his imagination from the day he saw it.

He'd been on many voyages in his lifetime, and they all started the same. The first few months were a good time for the plucky adventurer. First Hayden would occupy his time by simply exploring the ship and getting to know all of its ins and outs. Once a boat had been thoroughly explored, all that was left to do was explore the people around you. Depending on the crew, Hayden could find himself entertained for weeks on end trading tales with others.

Almost immediately Hayden had introduced himself to the crew. Sailors always had something interesting to say, and helping out around the ship could be a fun way to pass the time. He'd already written off the three lords he'd be guiding, along with their companions. From Hayden's fairly ignorant perspective, lords spent all their time locked in castles practicing their diction, and the people that served them were committed to their service and nothing more. At least they brought a lot of cute girls with them. For now, that would be Hayden's only motive for trying to befriend any of them. And now that twilight was upon them and the night was imminent, he sought to do just that.

Waverly​

 

[Waverly]

Vilhelmina didn't know what to do with her eyes, close them? Keep them open? It was a beautiful display in front of her with the setting sun against the sea horizon for sure, but then again she felt better and the world stopped spinning if her eye were closed and she tried to just think of nothing. She was sea-sick. Sea-sick, even though the sea was far from unruly, for it was her first time aboard a ship at sea and the soft swaying of the ship was enough to completely mess up her balance.

She had decided to make it outside and get out on deck in hopes that the salty breeze and the last golden rays of the setting sun could somewhat mend her illness and make her feel less nauseated, but so far it hadn't helped much at all. As the world around appeared as if it was a huge roller-coaster Vilhelmina had to focus very hard to keep her posture and walk straight as she moved on towards the front of the ship.

Arriving at the bow she noticed someone else was already at the spot. She had hoped to be alone, to not have to interact with someone this feeble state of hers, heck, she had even avoided the prince for as much as possible throughout the journey so far. But since Vilma had been focused on walking straight (and also keept closing and opening her eyes all the time) so she hadn't noticed the other person before it was far too late to turn back without it getting sort of awkward if she suddenly decided to turn back. Instead she walked up right next to him and nodded slightly by way of greeting him.

“Good evening, sir. Enjoying the beautiful sunset are we?” She said, sporting a friendly smile as always.

 

[SirBlazeALot]

A voice cut into Hayden's thoughts, and without a second thought he swiftly responded, "It's hard not to, isn't it?" with a whimsical tone of reverence. The colors painting the sky were difficult to look away from, but Hayden managed to turn toward the woman who had joined him. "Oh, it's you!" he exclaimed with pleasant surprise. He began to idly snap his fingers as he tried to recall her name. Hayden had been introduced to most everyone in the Assembly, but he couldn't be assed to commit any of them to memory aside from the lords. Vilma was quite different, she was not only one of his countrymen, but for some strange reason, she felt familiar, as if he'd seen her somewhere before. "Vvvvvv..." he hummed as he tried to recall her name. "Vvvvv-- help me out here --vvvvvv..."

Waverly​

 

[Waverly]

Vilhelmina smiled at Hayden's attempt to remember her name. At least he remembered the first letter of her name, and that was enough for her to not feel insulted.

"Vilhelmina. Vilhelmina Stiern, daughter of Harald Stiern, son of Vilhelm." She said, formally presenting her full title just as she had the first time she and Hayden had, briefly, been intruded to each other. Then she, with deliberate informality, added: "But you can call me Vilma if that is easier to remember, Hayden."

She took two swift dance-like steps at the same time as she spun half around to position herself leaning against the railing, her back to the ocean and her eyes facing Hayden. Normally a 180 degree spin like that was nothing that would even affect Vilma the slightest, but in her current state it of seasickness it made for an exploding sensation of being disoriented. She tried her best to make it not show by sternly keeping her smile on, but certainly her inability to focus her gaze for a slight second betrayed that something was off with her.

"So... So tell me about you, Hayden. What brings you out here, other than the beautiful sunsets that is?"

 

[SirBlazeALot]

Hayden was pretty proud he at least got the V down, that was a lot better than he usually did. And when he heard Vilhelmina's last name and full title, it became apparent to him that he was only able to retain the single letter in his mind because he had heard the entire title years before he had even met Vilhelmina. "Stiern?" he repeated in a wistful tone, as if he were recalling it from a time long since passed. He could've sworn he'd heard the name in Neth before but he couldn't quite place it. Of course, it was one of many names he'd heard in Neth yet Stiern felt significant.

However he eventually let it go and decided to allow the memory to slip away. "Right, Vilma! That's much easier than remembering your dad's name and your dad's dad's name!" He replied with a little snicker as she leaned against the railing. Despite spending quite a bit of time at sea, Hayden had a poor eye for sea legs and couldn't spot Vilma's discomfort. He also continued to look out toward the sun for the most part, as opposed to the warrior.

His hands fell into his pockets and he shrugged casually. "If not for the sunset, then I dunno!" he said with a shrug. "Fresh air maybe? Yeah that's it. I'm probably gonna spend the rest of the night in the galley with a buncha drunk sailors so I better get all the fresh air I can get! How about you? Takin' some time off from the Prince?" Hayden couldn't imagine being in service to someone in the manner that the lords' retainers were. To have to dedicate even a fraction of his time to another person whether he wanted to or not would drive him mad.

Waverly​