When she started to talk about what love used to be, he couldn't help but make a face as his abs started to tighten as he shook a little bit with laughter for a moment, as he looked at her to see if she was serious. After she had finished he managed to calm him self a little, and shook his head slowly, trying to offer her a comforting smile. "Remember a moment ago how I was talking about history being full of inconsitencies? What you imagined love once was... is not what it once was, Raina. What you voiced was the propaganda of it. What troubadors sung about to make women on the streets swoon a the idea. Bards sold tales of heros that would have romances that were so fantastic that they could not be believed. This is not to say that there were not a select few that got to experience such wonderful, wonderful loves. That is not what I am trying to say at all, but the idea that Love itself was something magical in a time before this one is simply, sadly, not true. Women still gave up their virtue 200 years ago. They were more discreet about it, because it was not something that was considered 'right' by the churches that were in power, but it still happened. Likewise, men stole the virtue of honest women from them by marrying them, and either abandoning them for the next conquest or simply by having affairs with others. If anything, the thing I find most saddening about this era is that despite the fact that things are looked upon so very lightly when it comes to being with another... there are still those that feel the need to lie, to steal the hearts of women for ill intent. I would think that, such things would no longer be necessary in a society that seems to accept so much."
Taking in a breath he sighed a little. "But the love you dream of, the town of romantic men all trying to vie for the heart of a lady, with each of them having nothing but pureness in their spirit, that is a fantasy, not a reality, Raina." He smiled a little grimly, feeling bad about what he was doing. In a sense he was depriving her of her fairytale world, but on the other hand, it seemed as if that might be kinder in a sense. Perhaps it would keep her from longing for it, thinking that if only she'd been born a hundred years ago that life would be somehow less challenging. If anything, with all of the pomp and circumstance that came with courtship back then things were MORE difficult. "Besides, you are not appreciating the benefits of an age where a woman can make her attractions known, without needing to feel embarassed. The darker side of courtship is that as a woman you were not allowed to pick who court you, only hope that the ones who came to court were the ones that you really wanted in your heart. And hope that your parents found them worthy, and wealthy or powerful enough to wed."
He had lost his smile a little when he had asked if she was alright, a puzzled eyebrow lowering slightly as he squinted a little at her, trying to see if he could see something that might be wrong with her as she seemed to be stumbling over her words. As she whispered the word 'Your' though, she would see a look come over his face that was sad enough to break her heart, as if in that moment she had somehow plunged a dagger right into his chest and twisted it violently. His eyes were no less kind, but the hurt shone there softly, and he closed his eyes a little as she touched his skin. It was surprisingly soft to the touch as she caressed it, but there was a warm heat there, the pleasant heat of a body that might make her wonder what it was like to touch his chest or feel those abdominal muscles.