Fantasy The Princess and the Bandits

[PaddieCake]

In a world where magical beings reign, a young elf escaped his home, the unwanted son.
Now a princess escapes her home when she is told she will be arranged to be married.
And then they collide...

• Ash
• Thorn Leithe
• Rowan Alberich
• Miscellaneous Bandits/NPCs

• 
  Age: 23
  Gender: Male
  Appearance: Tall, nearly 6'3. He is rather tan, especially for an elf, although considering his heritage it isn't that odd. He has deep emerald eyes, and his hair is a reddish brown color. It's cut rather raggedly, just around his chin. It's very sloppy, and usually held back by messy braids or half-pony tails.
  He has a narrow face, and high arched eyebrows. His eyes are surrounded by thick black eyelashes, and his nose is straight.
  
  He is quite muscular, mostly from running, climbing, and fighting, lean but not bulging. He has a quite a few scars hiding under his brown-green tunic. There are a few particularly nasty ones on his abdomen, courtesy of Thorn, as well as quite a few others from various fights. He has a few scars on his arms and legs from being smacked around by bushes and other plant-life.
• 
  Age: 25
  Gender: Male
  Appearance: 6'2 Thorn has rather untamed, golden blonde hair. It is unusually wavy, and often pulled into a half ponytail. At its longest it reaches his shoulders, but it was clearly cut unevenly. His eyes are a cool grey, and his skin is rather pale, despite being outside a lot.
  
  He seems to constantly wear a cheeky grin, has a necklace made of seashells around his neck, and has a preference for blues. His skin is nearly flawless except for a nasty scar over his left eye, and another scar starting from the top right of his face, ending on his lower left cheek and going across the bridge of his nose. He is lean and very much has a swimmer's body.
• 
  Name: Rowan Alberich
  Age: 25
  Gender: Male
  Appearance: Tan skin, though soft. . He has bright hazel eyes, and long chestnut brown hair kept in a low ponytail. He has a sharp face and facial features. His eyes brows are high and arched, quite thin, and his skin is flawless. He is quite well toned.
  
  His skin is smooth and soft, he stands nearly 6'3 and is quite slender. His fingers are long and slim, like one who would play piano (he can, but hates it). He tends towards simple clothing in his kingdom's colors of black, gold, and green (though not all at the same time). He wears clean cut, expensive, suits, and while out, nice tunics and pants.
• 
  Clinton (Bludge): Ogre, the muscle of the group, friendly and smarter than one might assume based on his appearance. He's about 21, he's large over all, not necessarily fat but very muscular. His skin is a little 'grayer' than a normal person. He has short black hair and deep brown eyes. If they need someone to knock a few heads during a theft or an escape, he's your guy. He carries a rather large hammer with him, and prefers blunt objects for his weapons. The second person to join the group, after Vicky, who still isn't particularly fond of him (or for Thorn, for that matter).
  
  Victoria (Vic or Vicky): Human, a natural born thief grew up on the streets. She's tom-boyish, aggressive towards outsiders, can be vulgar. Is incredibly swift for a human and an excellent liar. She's good at hand-to-hand combat and using knives. Brown hair, just below the shoulders, often kept in a ponytail or braids, black eyes. She was the first to join the group after Ash and Thorn met up, roughly a year later.
  
  Imogen (Im or Gen, sometimes "Moge" but rarely): Also human, more feminine than Vicky. She's a bit more caring and tends to be the 'mother' figure of the group. Rather short, only 5'3, and wears glasses. She's an incredible climber, and skilled with a bow. Can be rather 'sassy' if need be. She is the most recent member of the group, but Vicky took a liking to her almost immediately, and was accepted easily.

It was a cool summer morning. Things were quiet, the occasional hissing of a cicada, the rustle of trees in the breeze. It was suddenly interrupted by the sound of wheels and hoof beats as a caravan road down a well worn trail. Each carriage bearing a golden crest depicting an elegant, winding tree. It was headed towards a castle off in the distance. Inside the carriage sat a long-haired man, proud and face kept emotionless...


In a clearing another caravan sat, much smaller, only a carriage covered in tattered canvas, and an uncovered cart, both filled with different supplies, food, blankets, tents. The sound of whinnying horses, and a group of people sitting around, or standing by a dwindling fire. They were camped out near a trail, well traveled by traders. A man with cropped red-hair was leaning against a tree, rubbing his chin in thought. None of them knew for sure who, or if, someone would be coming down that way, but their leader, Ash, was willing to spend a little while keeping i. It was the most popular trail for traders, and the occasional nobleman.

After a few more minutes Ash stood up, cutting out the fire. He had settled on him and Thorn being on the ground, with Imogen in the trees to slow down the next passengers on the trail with a simple rope attached to an arrow. The others would be back up, and to help them move any supplies they could gather.

"Looks like we just missed some travelers." Thorn said, looking down at the fresh wheel and hoof tracks on road. "'If we go farther ahead we might be able to catch up to them." he added, trying to catch a glimpse of the caravan they had missed.

Ash thought for a moment, following Thorn's eyes down the trail. "No, we wouldn't have the advantage, we'd never get in front of them, and they could see us coming." He said, frowning slightly. "We'll spread out a bit, I want us to be positioned to see people coming from either direction." Ash said with a sense of finality in his tone. He didn't want to risk them getting caught, and threw Thorn a reprimanding glance as he spotted the blonde attempting to sneak off after the missed opportunity. "I said no." he said, rolling his eyes "You're going to run out of luck eventually." He said, getting into position, motioning the others to do the same.

It could take some time for anyone else to show up, Ash knew that, but it could still get boring. His eyes scanning the stretch of trail in front of him for any sign of life.

Nona

 

[Nona]

The Palace
The morning sun was shining down on the palace, it seemed quiet and peaceful. Only a few guards doing their rounds at the outer walls, and some gardeners using the good weather to tend to the castle gardens, making sure they were in top shape. The atmosphere inside the castle however, was far from calm. Servants were rushing around to prepare for a very important guest but is was in the throne room where most of the panic was being felt, the main source coming from the royal family's eldest daughter.

"How could you all arrange such a thing right under my nose?!" The young woman called as she paced across the throne room, her expression visibly upset. "Yes, princess. We understand it was a quick decision but it's for the sake of comradeship between our kingdoms" A royal advisor who was following the disgruntled princess answered. "A marriage. That was the only thing you all could think of?" The brunette snapped as she had stopped pacing. "You are selling me off as a gift. Not only that but you only tell me now? An hour before I meet this man?"

"And a fine young man he is, there's nothing to worry about" The king interjected standing up as he spoke, he began walking over to his daughter, placing a hand on her shoulder "Annora, Darling. We aren't trying to do this to hurt you. It is just for the best..." Annora stared up at her father with furrowed brows. "We need those people on our side. Our kingdom is smaller, supplies will dwindle. The Emperor has attacked two smaller kingdoms already, what if he decides that he wants to attack our kingdom next? We need to combine our efforts to defend both kingdoms. More soilders, more supplies...you will be part of the link for that. It is important that you understand this is for your people." He sighed a little before removing his hand from Annora's shoulder.

Annora's gaze dropped as she remained silent. She knew what her father had said held some merit, but that didn't mean she was happy about it in the slightest. She silently turned on her heel and left the throne room, her steps quick as the door shut behind her with an audible slam. With that, she headed back to her quarters. The Advisors, King and Queen had stared at the door as it slammed. The Queen had frowned, looking to her husband, looking concerned. The King blinked "...That could have went worse..." He said quietly as he made his way back to his throne to sit "Let's just hope she arrives back here in time"

Back in Annora's quarters, a young girl with whitish blonde hair accompanied her. She sat on the bed in the room, her hands absentmindedly petting the fur of a small cat-like creature that lay snoozing on her pale knees "Do you think he'll be a nice person?" The small girl asked as Annora packed herself a bag with water and some snacks "His family has been to banquets we've had before, right?" The girl added after, continuing to pet the creature as it purred contently. Annora huffed "They probably have, but that doesn't mean I know him, Airi. Besides I'm stuck in this agreement either way so it doesn't matter if he is or not" she said as she hung the bag on her shoulder. Airi frowned "Right. I was just trying to make you feel better." Annora paused at the smaller girl's words looking over at her "I may be blind, but I can tell you're wearing that pout that mother dislikes you wearing..." Airi added. Annora blinked before walking over to her younger sister, ruffling her blond hair with her hand, causing the younger princess to smile. "I know, I'm sorry." Annora said softly "I'll talk with you later, okay?"

"You aren't running off, are you?" Airi asked just as Annora had reached the door "...I just want to clear my head. I'll be back in time for the...meeting thing" even mentioning it didn't sit right with her. With a sigh she exited the room.

Annora snuck out her normal route out of the palace, as usual the only person aware of her whereabouts being her younger sister. At this stage she was now walking down the trail leading from the castle taking in he fresh smell of the summer morning in an attempt to sort out her thoughts. She had walked this trail many times without incident so she didn't expect anything out of the ordinary as she walked, though with most of the royal guards closer to the castle grounds due to their expected visitors it did leave the trail a little less guarded than usual for those who might want to grab a barrel of supplies from incoming merchants but she was too lost in her thoughts to notice something like that...

On the trail...
Isaac had been positioned in one of the other trees opposite Imogen but not as an archer or distraction he was told to just be on look out (though he did have a few potions made up that doubled as smoke bombs if things went south) He was half convinced he had been placed there to just not get in the way. He shrugged his shoulders in a lackadaisy fashion at the thought, taking a bite from the apple he had been keeping for himself as he too watched the trail.

It seemed uncharacteristically quiet for a morning if he were honest, not that he was complaining, he was quite enjoying having a rest on the branch of the tree, to the point he was leaning against the tree trunk. It was when he did this that he spotted something or rather, someone coming down the trail. It wasn't what they were looking for exactly but it was the first thing they had seen in a while. He narrowed his eyes, lowering the apple he was eating as he did so. He wasn't sure if the rest of the group was seeing this or not so he began signalling to the others to look that way incase he was the only one seeing this.

 

[PaddieCake]

Imogen had been keeping her eyes on the trail, periodically looking in either direction for signs of life, but it was quiet.

Ash was waiting patiently, a hard look of concentration on his face, Thorn was obviously restless, carving things into the tree he was hidden next to.

It was Imogen who noticed Isaac's signal first, and her eyes immediately followed to where he was looking. She nodded at him, before letting out a soft cooing sound, like a bird. Another signal, in case the others hadn't seen Isaac's.

Ash had spotted the figure just as Imogen's bird call sounded. His body tensed slightly, but it was only one person. Thorn immediately snapped to attention. They had some sort of bag with them, it seemed Ash hoped it held something worth the effort of stealing it. He always felt a bit strange stealing from individual people...

A major distraction wouldn't be as necessary, he figured. He signaled to the others to get ready to circle around them, just in case she tried to run.

As the person drew closer he could see it was a woman, she didn't seem armed. He narrowed his eyes, pulling the hood of his cloak up over his head. He held onto the knife at his side.

Waiting just a bit longer for her to reach the center of their 'circle' before making himself known. He kept his knife hidden as he stood in front of the girl, small in stature, pale and freckled.

"Where are you coming from?" He asked, eyeing her carefully.

 

[Nona]

Annora had continued down what she thought was the usual quiet trail, unsuspecting until the cloaked man had stepped infront of her causing her to freeze, her amber gaze staring up at him, she seemed to be eyeing him too with a suspicious gaze.

This road was normally safe and quiet, just what was going on here? Her brows had furrowed at the man as her hands had tightened on her bag strap, her body tensing up. She had quickly glanced over her shoulder to see if there were any guards around like normal but the road seemed to be unguarded, much to the princess' dismay.

"I came from my... home? Though, I'm not sure how that concerns you, sir." She answered slowly, not mentioning where home was exactly. She didn't know him. She didn't trust him either, she had made the clear with her latter comment. Telling a shady looking stranger that you were royalty didn't seem like the best idea, it would be like putting a cross hair saying please steal from me on yourself and she wasn't that dim.

She wasn't sure if he would recognise her or anything like that since it wouldn't exactly be odd. She did have to represent alongside her parents during public appearances a lot so some did recognise her when she was out. If he didn't, which was what it seemed like, she wanted to keep it that way otherwise she really would be a huge target. "Either way...I'm just out on a quick walk so... I'll be turning back there..." She said, sounding more than uncomfortable as she stepped back, about to try and walk away or if needs be, run.

Issac had watched Ash go ahead into the interaction from his spot in the tree, his head rested in his hand as he examined the girl. He never felt comfortable stepping straight in front of a target like that either, pickpocketing was more his style when it came down to it, but waiting around on this trail all day and not gaining anything seemed like a waste.

From what he could see, the girl seemed well dressed, that was for sure. While she wasn't coated in fancy jewelry or anything the fabric she was dressed in certainly wasn't cheap. So it was safe to assume whatever was in her bag wasn't either, right? He had readied himself like the rest of the group for if she was going to try to get away... Which she now was.

 

[PaddieCake]

Ash watched the girl carefully, taking her in as the seconds ticked by. Something about her seemed oddly familiar. Not in the way she looked necessarily, but Ash couldn't place what it was... Her clothes were fine, but otherwise uninteresting, and all she carried was a simple bag. Not traveling far, that was certain...

His eyes darted away from her for a moment, passing to each of the others in their hiding places in turn before once again focusing on the girl. It wasn't obvious, at first, but it was a threat. Ash had no real intention of hurting her, but there was a hint if desperation in his actions, going after someone with a single bag to their name. Almost pathetic really...

It must have been a combination of him realizing how small this haul would be, and at the way she responded to his question, that caused a loud and amused snort to escape him. "Did you just call me sir?" It slipped out, nothing at all to do with the reason he had jumped in front of her mere moments ago. He let out a sigh, attempting to stop the amusement that had built up.

"I want to know what you might be carrying in that bag of yours." He said simply, but as he saw her take a step back that feeling of desperation washed over him. They'd spent time watching these trails, leaving empty handed was not an option.

He motioned for some back up, to make sure she wouldn't get away. "And I want to know where you're coming from." He added.

 

[Nona]

Isaac had slowly made his way onto his feet, now standing on the branch he was on rather than sitting so he could easily just hop onto the ground when needed, after all, he was pretty much above them.

He couldn't help but watch with a lazy grin at the interaction, it was so... awkward. 6 bandit's cornering a young girl for a tiny bag? Things were going really slow lately for them, they needed a meal ticket somehow since things were kind of slow. They spent hours here coming back with nothing wasn't an option. He guessed this "Heist" was really reflection their desperate attempts to actually eat something good tomorrow. Honestly he was tempted to just swoop down and snatch the bag to avoid all this, but he knew not to question what Ash was doing... maybe. He kind of looked like he was winging it...

Annora blinked when Ash had snorted at her "Yes?" calling people sir was something she had always been asked to do it didn't feel weird to her...so why was he laughing at it. Her brows raised, not exactly understanding the situation. She narrowed her eyes a little at his questioning, taking another step backward "I told you. I'm coming from my home" she answered again, still not elaborating further. "and my bag holds some food and water for my walk..." she added after, sounding increasingly more uncomfortable with each word she spoke.

She wasn't lying about where she came from. She did come from her home, however her bag held more than just a few snacks. Hidden in the back of the bag was a concealed pocket that held a headband with the royal crest delicately engraved onto it, she had stuffed it in there so to not grab attention while out walking, but it seemed that didn't work as she had been stopped anyways. She took a breath "I've answered your questions, so I really really should get going..." She said in a bit of a rushed tone before turning to walk off, her pace quickening as she moved and unaware that Ash had back up.

 

[PaddieCake]

Ash watched her a moment, a strange smirk still lingering on his hidden face. He took a deep breath, trying to calm his now buzzing mind. He decided to never attempt to steal from a single person ever again. It was unbearable. He probably looked ridiculous just standing there, trying to figure out how best to go about this situation. He glanced at the places the others were hiding. Though not particularly visible, his eyes lingered on each spot carefully, as if daring them to say something later. After a moment he pushed those thoughts from his head.

"'Home' isn't exactly a satisfactory answer." he pointed out, his body shifting slightly as she stepped backward. Water, food...those were things they could definitely use. Not a lot in that bag, he was sure, but even a little... Even if she was lying about where she was coming from (or rather being obnoxiously vague), Ash still wanted that bag. He could practically hear Thorn's laughter, even though he was being uncharacteristically quiet. Or maybe he's actually died from trying not to laugh.

"If you call those answers." Ash said, his tone sarcastic. But she was walking away, her pace quick, but there was nowhere for her to go. Ash moved first, his legs moving quickly to catch up with her, and then racing a bit further to stop in front of her, motioning for his friends to come out of hiding. Thorn let out a whoop of excitement, letting Ash know he hadn't, in fact, died trying not to laugh. That's twice you've failed to kill him now. Ash isn't very disappointed though.

"You're not going until we get that bag." Ash said pointedly, raising an eyebrow under his hood.

 

[Nona]

Annora was quickening her step to get away, not caring if her answers weren't enough to satisfy his questions, she just wanted to get away and dare she think it, go back home. It was better talking to a strange man at the castle with plenty of protection than talking to this strange man on a dirt road. She continued quicker as she heard his feet follow her along with a whoop from someone else but ended up stopping dead in her tracks when the man stood infront of her again.

Isaac had also hopped out if his hiding place in the tree when the others emerged. Landing on the dirt road with a quiet thud. His face was still a bit red like he had been in silent kinks of laughter at the whole scene but still remained silent.

"You-?!" She started before looking behind her and seeing he wasn't alone. Her expression dropped as whatever she was going to say had just fallen out of the back of her head and rolled of somewhere...All this...for a bag? She blinked, looking to the bag before looking to each of the strange people, her expression uncomfortable.

After a moment of silence she pulled the bag off of her shoulder "...I-If there's 6 of you after what food and stuff is in here...then you need it way more than I do." She said, trying to play it cool but she was freaking out. Regardless how awkward the encounter was she was still being robbed and that wasn't something that had ever happened her before ... With that she had held out her bag to the hooded man "Can I go now? I really need to get home..."

 

[PaddieCake]

Ash glanced at the others, a few faces red from laughter, he was unsurprised, this was pathetic. At least Isaac had the decency to stop before being spotted. The elf shrugged "Me." He said with a simple shrug, raising an eyebrow from behind his hood, also hiding his reddening cheeks.

God, she's taking pity on us, this was pathetic. He almost hesitated before grabbed the bag from her hands. He didn't move from his spot, still standing in front of her as he opened the bag. Indeed, some food and water and not much else on a cursory glance. "I supp-"

"I hear something." Thorn said suddenly, frowning slightly. His eyes were closed now, trying to concentrate on something. Ash narrowed his eyes, mouth forming a tight frown, carefully trying to assess her. She had seemed sincere when she said she was alone, they certainly hadn't seen anyone else. "Shouting, maybe clashing metal? Not fighting though..." He said "Running maybe?" He said, shrugging.

"Thought you said you were alone." Ash said frowning slightly, wondering if, for a moment, Thorn was just pulling his leg. "Someone go see if there's anyone up the road.." He said, pointing in the general direction behind him. His hearing was normally pretty average, but if he concentrated hard enough he was usually capable of picking up quiet noises, but he couldn't hear whatever Thorn was, but he always seemed to exceptionally good hearing.

Imogen moved first, pulling back into the forest and racing through the trees quietly as she could. She was almost near the castle when she spotted some men in armor, talking to, and shouting at each other. The man who seemed to be the head guard, was directing the others to spread out, it seemed.

"The prince wants to come and help find Lady Annora." one of them said, his face hidden underneath a helmet. He sounded uncertain about letting him help, the leader didn't seem to want this prince to help either.

"It's unnecessary, we don't need both of them running around, and if he gets hurt in the process? Certainly not, keep him in the castle." The leader said, beginning his trek up the road. "We'll find her, I'm sure she hasn't gone far."

The small, bespectacled, red-head raced back up the way she came as a couple of the knights turned in her direction. She prayed they hadn't seen her as she reached the group. "They're knights." Imogen said as she skidded to a halt next to Ash, hair now coming loose from their braids, glasses sliding down her nose. "Coming up this way. Looking for her, I'm sure." she said, nodding towards the girl they were surrounding. " 'Lady Annora'?" She added, looking at the girl with a raised eyebrow.

 

[Nona]

She watched as the man searched through her bag, hoping they'd just take it and go. It was then that one of them said that they heard something. metal clanging. Annora blinked. She knew exactly what it was. The Royal guard, all looking for her because she wasn't back in time, normally she'd find that bothersome. But right now? She was glad of it.

She glanced back to the man when he asked about her being alone. "I was alone" Annora answered with slight huff as she looked over her shoulder, seeing if the guards were on their way. "I did say I really needed to get home..." She muttered. "...You didn't listen" she added after, hoping the guards would hurry the hell up so she wouldn't be stuck with these people.

It didn't take long for the red haired girl to return from checking on who was there, returning to report it was knights. Upon hearing the word 'knights' Isaac let a humorless laugh as he shoved his hands into his pockets "We are in some deep shit here if that's who I think it is..." he said, directing his comment at Ash. Just before Imogen had uttered the name Isaac was predicting.

Annora cringed upon hearing her name being told back to her, Isaac shielded his eyes with his eyelids as he took a step back "I knew it..." He mumbled, ruffling his black curls with his hand, in his opinion, they needed to make a run for it, but it seemed the group weren't budging. Annora's gaze had darted off to the side "I...Uhm...Yes..." She said quietly, not really able to try being vague anymore when a group of knights were literally running in their direction.

 

[PaddieCake]

Ash's mouth pressed itself into a tight line. He gripped the bag tightly as his heart pounded, genuine fear coursing through his veins. Of course he knew that name... A muscle in his face twitched. Send the others off, that's what he should do. He let out an unamused snort, he wondered if he could get out of it. Let the others go, take the fall and still manage to wriggle out of punishment. Probably not he mused. As the blood pounded in his ears a thought suddenly came to him and the tight whine line of his mouth broke into a grin, the snort turned into full blown laughter bubbling out of his mouth uninhibited. The thoughts running through his head. He wasn't normally so inclined to take such a huge risk, however... "Then luck is on our side it seems." he said.

"Well shit, I think he's lost it." Thorn said amusement in his voice, breaking out into giggles, a mixture of genuine and nervous. Ash waved his hand absently in his direction, trying to work out some of the kinks in his head. There were six of them, one of her, it wouldn't be hard, the tricky part would be letting them know. They could leave a note, no point on making it a wild goose chase.

"Probably," He agreed, and in the same breath added "You'll be coming with us then." He said it as if stating a fact. He sounded far more nonchalant, as if suddenly everything fell the way he had hoped (and perhaps they had, more than likely they hadn't). He had two options, get caught and arrested, and who knew what else (he could imagine what else, it'd be interesting, he supposed), or he could at least go down fighting. And he had no intentions of hurting the girl anyway. Worst case scenario, either way, he'd be the only one getting hurt.

"Someone write a note." He said, an obvious order amidst his other uncertainty. "Tell them to meet us in two towns over," his voice trailed a bit, there was still a lot that could go wrong though, right? Ash could feel doubt and anxiety swirling in the pit of his stomach. Who the Hell put me in charge? "the princess' weight in gold should suffice. Let them know she won't be harmed." he said, pursing his lips. It wasn't a question, but he could feel eyes on him.

He didn't wait for any answers before grasping Annora's shoulder to push her, gently, towards their caravan. Someone, Ash didn't see who, had run to grab writing supplies to scribble a note. "Don't fight me, you're not going to win." He told her simply.

 

[Nona]

Isaac paused the tossing of his hair and opened his eyes, his expression looking actually alert rather than lazy when he heard Ash's words. His head whipped to view Thorn. Isaac nodding in agreement before emitting a low chuckle "This is going to be really interesting..." He mumbled with crossed arms

Annora's gaze had darted back at Ash when he seemed to break into laughter and claim they were lucky. She did not like the sound of that. At all. Her breathing had quickened a little as looked over her shoulder again before being told she'd be coming with them. "What? N-No!" She protested as she moved to leave again, but he seemed to ignore her as he told the group about his 'note' instead grasping her shoulder to stop her and lead her to her caravan.

She had already began trying to squirm away as he told her not to fight him. Just because she was a princess, it did not mean she'd be using her manners an etiquette on people literally stealing her. She continued to squirm away, eventually trying to give her kidnapper a firm elbow in the side to try get away, not that he was grasping that hard honestly but she was freaking out so she was understandably dull of adrenaline and she'd probably be grabbed harder if she did try to just run off, so she needed a distraction. "HEY!" She began calling out as she did so "I'M OVER HERE! QUICK!" She continued, hoping her guards would hear her, which they probably did.

Issac who was quickly scrawling the note down finished it and grabbed the small knife from his pocket to stick the note to the tree near the caravan. "Good job princess, you'll make the note easier to find if anything..." he said under his breath as the put up the note before hopping over to the caravan with the rest to get away. "Seriously though, they will get here if you dont push her in already. My nice handwriting will go to waste and we'll all be imprisoned or maybe killed" He said to Ash matter of factly with a light as he gestured his head towards the road, sounding a lax as usual despite what his words were, of course this was pretty out of his territory too but he wasn't one to show that, this was a pretty regular reaction from him.

 

[PaddieCake]

Thorn was beaming, a huge grin splitting hi face, crinkling the scar that ran across it. His eyes glinted with amusement as he looked from Ash, to Isaac, and then scanning the others who were all a mixture of confused and horrified.

Ash didn't falter now that he had a plan. It seemed his entire body realized it, suddenly straight, shoulders held back in determination. "Oh, yes..." He said simply not letting go oft he girl's shoulder. He spotted Isaac beginning to scribble out a note, the others coming in closer to make it more difficult for her to escape.
He felt elbows dig into his side, squirming away from them but doing his best to keep a tight grip on her. "

His ears rang out as she shouted, and for a moment everything seemed far too silent, her voice echoing in his ears. He brought his hand to his ear, swatting at it as if to make the noise go away. "I said there's not point in fighting." he said, her elbow clipping his ribs. His breath hitched in shock more than pain, though the sharp sting was definitely there. Ash's jaw set tightly, teeth grinding against each other, his grip on her shoulder tightening in a threatening manner.

"Well then, that certainly got their attention." Thorn agreed, rolling his eyes.

Ash couldn't help but agree, his ears finally picking up shouts of 'Princess Annora', and 'this way!' "Well go on, then!" He said, motioning with his head. "Don't worry I'm sure your penmanship will get all the respect it deserves." Ash said, shoving Annora roughly towards the caravan. He managed to push the princess into the back of the canvas covered cart, pulling himself in behind her so she couldn't try and make an escape.

"Come on, let's go!" he said, half his body sticking from the caravan, moving his head to keep his eyes on Annora, and then back to his friends.

 

[Nona]

Annora huffed as she was shoved a bit more roughly towards the caravan her brows furrowed in annoyance as she was again reminded to not bother fighting him and there was no point. The princess herself knew there was no point at this stage trying to get away, she was got...but that didn't mean that she wasn't going to make things difficult for her captors while they waited on their reward. Why should she treat the man shoving her into a caravan with the politeness of a princess?

Once everyone was accounted the caravan moved off with her in it. Just in time for the guards to miss it. Isaac had remained silent after hopping on, he supposed like the rest of them he was just going wherever the hell this impromptu plan was taking the crew. Not sure exactly what the next step was. He took a quick glance over at their cargo, who looked less than pleased, yet somehow still her face's expression was somewhat refined. Even with the kicking, screaming and elbowing Ash had to deal with moments before it really did seem this girl was the real deal. They had literary stolen a princess... He wouldn't be the first to admit they were in way over their heads with this one.

Annora had remained quiet since being shoved into their transportation to...well. wherever the hell they were thinking of taking her until they got their gold. There was no point in shouting at this stage as no-one would hear her. The guards were on foot, they'd never catch up and the screaming was a last resort kind of reaction, so now she just stayed silent with her chin up in a soft of huff, staring Ash straight in the eye when he had moved his gaze towards her for whatever brief time he had done so, her expression far from amused. There was something weirdly familiar about his facial features now that she was looking, she couldn't put her finger on it, but if she could? Her face certainly wouldn't show it. The young princess had prayed that something would derail her surprise marriage to the man she barely knew somehow, but being kidnapped certainly wasn't the answer she was waiting on to accomplish it.

 

[PaddieCake]

Ash rubbed his face, trying to catch up to his own thoughts. He kidnapped a princess. He could feel the blood pounding in his ears as the carriage took off. He could hardly believe what he had done. Ash wondered if the confusion and insanity raging in his mind was visible on his face. Think think think.... He glanced over at the woman who, clearly unhappy, staring at him. He stared back, eyes narrowed and lips pursed in thought. An inane part of him hoped he'd gain some clarity and begin to forumlate an actual plan besides 'wait until they could give her back'.

He could hear Thorn still laughing somewhere nearby, taking obvious amusement in what he knew was absolutely a terrible idea. Ash wondered briefly if he could just push the girl out of the carriage and pretend it never happened, it would make just as much sense as anything else he had done that day. He let out a heavy sigh, crossing his arms as he did his best to get comfortable.

He rubbed his chin in thought. "So, what were you doing walking around anyway?" He asked, furrowing his brow, confused by his own question. A part of him was just hoping that some sort of rapport could be formed. Though being 'nice' was, at this point, a little ridiculous, he had to admit. He let his feelings show as he rubbed his face in frustration, face screwed up.

 

[Nona]

Isaac blinked his eyes open upon hearing Ash speak to the princess. Asking her why she was walking around...what on Earth was he doing? Trying to small talk with her? For what reason? She was just their meal ticket, they could literally just say nothing until they got their money. His brow had furrowed a moment as if trying to figure out what the attempt was about but ultimately giving up "This is already a bloody mess" he muttered quietly followed by an amused chuckle. The princess' confused expression amusing him just as much as Ash's seemingly unsuccessful attempts to cut the extremely tense atmosphere.

Annora's eyes had snapped off to the side away from Ash after a moment or two of their eyes meeting. She felt she had potrayed her discontent with him enough for now. She just wanted to hurry this process up and get home. Whether it was getting to where they were taking her to get their gold or if she could find a way out if the situation herself. Though looking around her current surroundings. Getting out of the situation herself didn't exactly seem like an option right now. Then again. She didn't really want to go home either... surely by now "He" would be there. Her soon to be husband she barely knew. The thought nearly made her look even more uncomfortable. She wasn't sure what she was going to do with that situation either. This day was destined to go badly either way it seemed.

Her train of thought was interrupted by the voice of her main kidnapper. She guessed that's what she could refer to him as, she couldn't recall if any of the rest of the group had mentioned his name during the time she was there. Not that she cared for knowing it. His question had surprised her however, asking what she was doing walking around. Her brow slowly raised in a confused manner. What was it to him why she was outside in the first place. "What... was I doing out?" She asked back as her gaze seemed like it was attempting to pierce through him, whether that was working or not was another thing however "Am I not allowed to walk around my own kingdom?" She answered as she crossed her arms over her chest "Or rather, normally I can without being shoved into an strangers vehicle. We were having visitors. I was merely going on a short walk to have time to myself before they would arrive..." She added, narrowing her eyes a little before tearing her gaze off of Ash again, turning her head to look away from him completely. "I do not know why something like that would matter to you." She said in almost a mumble. She didn't go into the fact she was trying to have some alone time to deal with the news of her marriage, he didn't need to know that far.