The Princess's Hand

A proverb from Xzia came into Takashi's mind at this time and even though it might irritate the Prince, he felt it needed to be said. He spoke calmly as he said "There is a saying in Xzia. Harsh words and poor reasoning never settle anything. You might want to meditate on that a bit." He paused for a few minutes to see if the meaning of the proverb sank in. "As for Travlor, I believe he may be taking refuge in an inn since a bounty was placed on his head. Better to avoid fighting all together than get in one where victory is not assured."


Takashi turned his attention back to K'Tano, ignoring the prince for the most part for the moment. He could tell that the Prince was suspicious of him but then again, so was Zeira. He had nothing to worry about in the case of Prince as there was no proof his highness had of him doing any wrong. "So about that celebration. I am wondering when and where will it be taking place."
 
[[@Aeradom Omnipresence is a form of god-modding I’m going to have to call you on. K’tano was not in the room when Travlor gave her the book full of the songs, or when Louis gave her roses so he shouldn’t know what they said. Sorry if this seems rude, buuut yeahh.]]


Louis was surprised by the next question the Prince had asked, it was about the King’s new wife, Queen Atra. The man wasn’t even too sure of his own opinion on the small beauty; she was known for her deceitful trickery but he had not seen it yet. Lierah was uncomfortable around her, in an almost fearful way, though and that made him a little antsy on what she could do. Before he could give an answer to the Prince though, the man gave his leave and Louis nodded in response, a curt bow before him.


Due to his swift departure from the hall, the blonde assumed he had more urgent issues to attend to, such as a meeting with the woman they had just spoken about. The stable boy was suddenly reminded of something from the previous conversation, though; he had yet to see the king wandering the castle today. The man was very sick, but Louis had usually seen him once a day, either in the garden or in passing. Today, though, there hadn’t been a sign of him anywhere and he wondered if his situation had turned for the worse.


With that thought in mind, Louis ventured out of the hallway and followed his feet to the king’s master bedroom. It was somewhere he had been before, as the King often gave him letters to send when he was in a bed ridden state. The messenger quickly ascended the stairs, giving a short knock on his door and waiting for the traditional go ahead. There was no sound from the room though, and he wondered if he was sleeping, knocking much louder on the door.


This knock earned him a glare from a maid and he just shrugged nonchalantly, still hearing no answer from the inside. Instead of knocking again, the maid ushered him inside and followed with a basin full of water and a cloth, a sponge bath, he assumed. What the two saw wasn’t exactly what they were expecting; the king was there alright, but he was lying on the floor as if he fell off the bed tangled up in the sheets. The sound of the water basin dropping behind him and the echoing scream threw him off his train of thought


The king was dead...?
 
(@ Kagura I am not offended, and please don't take this as being rude but I disagree. Unless stated somewhere that I missed, I didn't believe the competition was being done in secret. As such, gossip would of gone around the city of who is ahead and what gifts was the most unique from servants that were in or around the castle at the time. Also, I didn't believe this gave me an advantage in the competition which is why I didn't consider it any issue. However, if Legend disagrees, then I will be happy to edit, exchanging it with the tale of my gift gets the same point accross.


From post 12 , 4th sentence "The King was sick and so he would be for the remainder of the competition."


Oh and I'm not mad at all, I can't be mad at you Kagi! And again, I really hope your not mad at me :( *hugglez*)


Desdanya could be quite the fool. There was a time that he never let down his defensives. Zeira had a tendency to pull tricks like this on occasion, just to keep see if he was paying attention. At the time, he even encouraged it; doing so kept him on Des toes. For whatever reason, perhaps he assumed that she would sense him being so close, Des thought that she would know it was he stood in the alleyway. However, there an old saying in the north about people that assumed. As Desdanya stood with his back into the wall, his shoulder impaled by the sharp blade, he fired back with a scolding that was just as sharp. “You never did quite have my talent for accuracy,” The irony though, was that had she of hit what she was aiming, they wouldn’t be having this conversation. This was a point that was either missed on his point, or ignored.





He turned his head to the side and looked at the dagger. Reaching out with his mind, he carefully lifted the dagger from his shoulder, before dropping it down to the ground with a clang. With the knife removed, Des slowly walked up and stopped a few inches from her and looked her over.





His mouth began to open, but stopped as he felt the small stream of blood moving down his chest. “I did have something to ask you, but I think I’ll get this welcome present of yours taken care of first,“ he remarked bitterly. Des walked down the alleyway to where it opened to the street, his hand pressed against his shoulder to stop the bleeding. Pausing for a moment to allow the crowd to pass, he stepped out on the street and blended into the mob of people.





As Des made his way back to the Kredo district, K’tano was listening to Takashi speak of his self stuffiness. Before he could speaking of his admiration for that quality, the Prince had decided to grace them with his presence. K’tano listened but said nothing as Takashi and the Prince traded barbs. K’tano took no offense from the man, he had heard far worse in his ten years of handling negotiations.





He decided to finally join the conversation as Takashi asked when the celebration would take place. “I was planning on having it tomorrow evening; that would give me time to go over the applicants in greater details that were taken up today.”





K’tano than turned and did something that was sure to surprise the prince, “Prince Kiel, I would be most honored if you would join Takashi as a co-guest of honor. It would be wrong I would think to hold such an event without this country’s Prince attending. I was planning the event to help the poor of the district, but I believe it will be a wonderful distraction from the competition before the ball begins.”
 
Takashi was surprised when K'Tano invited the Prince but he did not show it. He wondered why K'Tano would invite one who did not care about his own people to the celebration. It seemed it was just for the sake of courtesy as it would not look good to host such a function in the city without a member of the royal family being invited as K'Tano had said.


Takashi began to think on what K'Tano had said earlier. The approach Takashi was using was indeed the kind of approach an assassin would use. He was so used to it that he did not realize it would not be effective in winning the Princess' heart. He had to get creative and find some way to express love for the Princess. The problem was, he did not love her. He only wanted to marry her to attain control of the kingdom and add its lands to Xzia as was his mission. If he had any chance of a romantic approach, he would have to convince himself he was indeed in love with the Princess or at least that she was a person he loved. He thought back to home, to a girl by the name of Sen'Ryaku whom he had fallen in love with years ago. He had been ordered by his clan to stay far away from her as his father did not want thoughts of love to distract him from his missions.


Now that he had someone whom he loved in mind, he just had to get his creativity and artistic talent flowing. The problem was that his artistic talent was limited to origami, painting and the arts of the assassin. While he could paint well, it was not something he did anywhere near often and he was not sure how he could use that in wooing Lierah. The most he could think of at the moment was making her a paper flower and infuse it with a bit of magic so it could move and appear as if it was blossoming before her eyes. That was when the next idea came to him. He could paint the paper to make it look like a real flower and not like paper. That could add a bit of appeal to it.
 
(Hmm I will judge this. K'tano could have heard what gifts were given but not what was said at least not correctly or fully as he was not there to actually witness there but instead heard it from others. Is this okay?


Also I would like it if the King remained alive a bit longer as I have need of him.)


Kiel only smiled back at Takashi.


"So much has happened today it seems. I guess you may need a bodyguard after all. As for this bounty on the elf's head I think I might try and remedy it. Don't want the poor man killed by some random bounty hunter."


Kiel looked at everyone. "Please take care then." Then Kiel left.


 
([MENTION=1872]Legendless[/MENTION]: So saying something generic like, they were romantic, is ok then right?)


K'tano watched as the Prince turned and walked off, ignoring his invitation. He had hoped to discuss diplomatic issues with the Prince but it seems like the man was consumed by his thoughts. Being forced to marry a woman you don't love, especially your sister, would put anyone in a bad mood. That being said, he still would like to have someone represent the royal court at the festival.


For the moment though, he was starting to feel exhaustion start to set in. He had taken a short nap earlier, but now it was getting late and he wanted to turn in. K'tano turned and nodded to Takashi, "I believe it is time for me to turn in. It's been a pleasure meeting you Takashi, and I look forward to running back into you tommorow."


K'tano turned, bowed to Takashi before making his way back towards the embassy. On his way back, he thought about what he had said about the festival tommorow and realized that there was one person her could invite to represent a royal family. As he walked into the embassy front office, he took out a sheet of paper and wrote two separate notes: One would go out to the elf he had heard of, asking if he would like to come to the festival and honor us with his musical talents. The other would go out to the Princess herself, knowing that if anyone in the world needed the distratction from this whole competition, it would be her. In the note to her, he also asked what color dress she would be wearing, so that he may match her attire.


Stepping back outside, he looked around for a messenger to deliver the notes. He walked into the messenger office just as they were closing. K'tano asked if the notes could be delivered to the appointed people. With a little motivation from K'tano, the manager nodded and sent two of his boys out with the letters to the intended people immediately.


With the messages delivered, K'tano returned to the Embassy for a good night's rest. As he entered the Embassy, Des was sitting on a chair as he was stiching up a nasty wound on his shoulder. K'tano didn't look concerned though, he just shook his head and chuckled at his old friend. "Have fun your first night in the city?"


Des glanced up and offered a shrug of his shoulders, which was followed by a wince and a hiss from the pain. "You could say that KT."
 
"And it has been a pleasure making your acquaintance as well." Takashi smiled lightly after K'Tano had left. K'Tano was the only person he had met in the years he had spent in the kingdom whom he found to be pleasant company. Now he just had to get the report from his raven to see how things were going with Liselle. It was then that the raven flew in and landed on Takashi's right shoulder and in the exact same spot on his shoulder as it had landed earlier. It appeared that the raven had been waiting for Takashi to be alone before returning. He whispered as he spoke to the raven. "Now then. How is my plan going?" The raven put its beak to Takashi's right ear, it's beak opening and closing only slightly as if it was whispering to him. Takashi waited until the raven was finished speaking before nodding slightly in understanding of the information.


Takashi started walking, deciding to walk to his dwelling instead of the usual transformation into a flock of crows. While he walked through the city, he decided to look around a bit. He had never paid much attention to the layout or which buildings were what as he usually passed over the buildings and not between them. His knowledge of the city layout was gained from studying the city map, not from experience by walking through the streets. While he could navigate the entire city with ease, walking through and taking a look at the details of it had a certain feeling to it.


The building Takashi used as his residence over the past two and a half years of living within the city was rather large and that was something he did not enjoy but it served a purpose. He had to hide his alchemy lab somewhere and he needed somewhere to rest at night. That was on the rare occasion that he chose to sleep during the night and not during the day. Its location was between the city gates and the castle, ideal when considering Takashi's activities. The door was always locked, giving most the idea that it was abandoned or something. Takashi did not need to unlock the door to enter and keeping everyone in the dark about where he lived had certain advantages to it regarding security. Still, he made sure to cloak himself using a spell and silence his movements as he did not want to run the risk of being observed walking through the door.


Takashi walked through the door, passing through like a ghost would be expected to do. He had extended this spell to the raven on his shoulder, allowing it to pass through with him. Once inside, he made his way upstairs without stopping to do anything else. While he walked, he released his invisibility and silence spells as well as the illusion spell he used to appear like he was wearing robes instead of his assassin gear. Once upstairs, Takashi pulled a book from a shelf, specifically one about plants. It detailed various plants and any uses they had. He found that the red lotus signified love, compassion, passion and all other qualities of the heart. It was perfect for him to use. Now he knew what to make to show his affections or at least those he had for his true love and was pretending he had for the Princess.
 
([MENTION=10]Kagura[/MENTION]: Feeling that I publicly disagreed with you, I beleive you owe a public apology. I wanted to apologize to Kagura for using the public thread to contradict a moderator. It wasn't my place, a person who has only been here for a week, to do so with a person who has been on this site for close to 2 years. Even if you take the improbable circumstance of rumors being able to spread so fast (remember there is no Twitter!) I still assumed to have knowledge that was I had not specified before in character. And ultimately that is what I'm guilty for: Assuming, and I think it's best that we all watch ourselves the next time we assume things about other characers. Again I apologize to you Kagura and will be changing my post tonight. Not to worry about contiuity, as I will use my proposal instead of Louis and Travlor.)
 
[[@Aeradom , I still luff you and accept your apology. *be’s an awkward panda in the corner*


@Legendless , a minor edit to my last post and this rectifying post]]


The maid had gone running out of the room in disarray but Louis remained in the king’s chambers, staring hard at the body tangled in the sheets. A slight movement in the billow caught his eye and he yelled out “Hey!” towards the door, not expecting the king to twitch in response. “Your majesty!” he noted, rushing to approach his side; the king had not died yet he must’ve fallen out of bed trying to get up. For what, Louis didn’t know, as the floor beneath him was still dry and a familiar odor did not hang in the air.


His breathing was off, but he was also on the floor in a sheet, so Louis worked on straightening out the material before scooping the man up. It was probably demeaning for the king to be picked up by his old messenger but he was deathly ill. After placing him back on the bed with the sheet, he fetched him some water, a little frustrated about not catching the maid in time. Soon everybody would be in the room, and that didn’t sit too well with Louis at all.
 
as Atra entered the Chamber, Heldar bowed, then waits as she spoke. "Of course, my queen. We have discovered much. Geraldo is currently hunting the traitorous Neko with some veterans from your last campaign. we know she had outside help, and most likely from a powerful user of the black arts. But we're on her trail and have the guards on the search. I am not sure who is behind this, but they too shall die. Do you have any other orders for us, my queen?" He had noticed the strength of her anger immediately, and so was quick and concise.


The Neko's allies were tricky. They had to have looped back and forth all over these hills to leave such a confusing trail, or at least someone had. More and more Geraldo was beginning to realize that whoever had organized this attempt had to have good funding and several people working for him. But he had finally detected an end to the trail. the beings using the Dark arts were just ahead, in a camp over the next ridge.


Soon he would have them, and the Neko would die. Then, and only then, would his queen, the chosen of Kormundu, be truly safe. And with the camp taken, he will discover who was behind this...
 
"My....daughter...."


The King's eyes fluttered but he was too weak to open them fully. But he was able to speak, just barely. He had to talk to his daughter.


"I need...the Princess."


----


Liselle exited the shop, her new uniform in hand. As she walked to find a place to stay she noted some of the looks she got. She was fairly plain looking now but she also appeared younger. If she was herself she would only get looked at for her ears and tail as nekos weren't too common around here but nothing else. She was in her early forties well beyond what most men found suitable for courting.


The neko did not care though. She might have had fallen in love if she did not compete but it was too late now. Liselle spotted a district that seemed lively enough. People here would be talking all around and that was what she wanted. She needed a place that was both full of people she could blend into and a place where people might be more free to discuss things.


It also appeared that something might have happened here but she did not care.
 
The fear was suffocating, closing off her airways as if with intentions to drag her to her knees. But the middle-aged maid of 48 was not willing to allow the princess to lag behind, her iron grip upon the small girl's wrist was almost bruising as they raced down the corridors, she was sure that upon release, her skin would be angry red. But Lierah did not protest. The maid, Yera was her name, was her father's caretaker, positioned never to leave his side until she was ordered to or there was an emergency, which in this case seemed to be of the latter.


The hallways were dark, only illuminated by the soft, ivory light of the moon as it streamed through open windows, thick curtains parted to allow the cool summer breeze to flood into the palace. Lierah could just barely make out the doors, appearing black in the shadows, as they rushed past. And since her mind did not clear enough to allow her clear and rational thoughts, she allowed herself to drift into a short day dream in which seemed to be irrelevant to the matter at hand, not that she could help herself. The images before her seemed to fade into a blank whiteness...





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Zeira seems also at the same state as her princess, though for a reason quite different. The sun had long since fallen, but she still lingered in the shadows of the forest, seemingly forgetting her duties as Lierah's protector for the night. The maid knew she was unseen through the thick bursh, but the loud noise she created would rouse suspicion. She hardly cared. The punches that landed upon the trees could rouse the devil himself and she'd still be pounding on the rough bark.


She didn't need much power to have her fists go straight through the trunks, she'd already fell a few pine trees when she'd first begun to release her rage. But the process was painless and much too easy. And at once, she allowed the shadowy protection of her hands to dissipate, leaving her with bare knuckles to continue assaulting her imaginary enemies. Like this, she felt pain as if the nonexistent foe was fighting back, even if it was only the splinters embedding themselves repeatedly into her already shredded fists. But the former assassin was not done, she was hellbent on continuing her self abuse until her body grows numb from exertion and continuous pain.


Her thoughts, like the princess, were jumbled, scrambled by the very person that had always cleared it for her whenever her rage took over her logical thinking. The said rage caused by the very person that subdued it when they were alone. caused by the very person she assured herself she will never see again... The lack of words of goodbye still stung harshy when she thought about it. She'd left without a word to a mission she never came back from. Of course, he'd be bitter.


Zeira had made it quite far into the thickness of the tree, her punches creating a wide hole in which marred the dark surface of the carniforous. Her movements were blurred, her braid, long and thick, weaving about the air like a snake in water, serpentine and just unnatural in the speed and power of her strikes. And she knew not how long she will stay here, only that her strength was not even dented.





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Atra's cold, snake-like eyes drifted off the crumbling walls and onto her guard. Herald was one of the few who were not disturbed by her ominous presence, unaffected by her beauty. Which was a first that she was quite pleased at. Though, at times, she utterly hated the blankness upon his face when he spoke to her. The dark queen hissed her words out, as if she spat venom that would melt anything upon contact.


"I want them alive..."


But even as the words left her mouth, she knew all of which were quite a big lie. Nevertheless, she still wanted the pleasure of ending their existence with her own claws. And the image of such actions brought her frigid smile upon her lips once more, one of which, of course, was not directed at her guard. She was still displeased at the failure of retrieval after all of this time. Though it had only been this morning when she had been told, she supposed one day was not quite enough to capture the cat-girl and her... friend.


No matter, both of which will die when she has her claws skin back into their flesh. Only then will she take pleasure in ripping their hearts from whatever flesh they have left after her guards have captured them. She did hand pick them for their abilities to mutilate, which of course, she takes great pride in.


(I apologize for such a shitty post. T^T But I'm still somewhat having a writer's block and I can't seem to get around it.)
 
(Amaya: http://static.eredan.com/cards/web_big/fr/4TM0QhZ3.png Malyss: http://static.eredan.com/cards/web_big/fr/Gl11kP3c.png Shui Khan: http://static.eredan.com/cards/web_big/fr/ksdCXeRA.png )


Malyss had detected Geraldo and the group of guards with him when they passed through the line of sight of one of his sentry wards. It was a rather basic spell to him which he had learnt from witchdoctors while travelling through the swamps of the wastelands in the far south years ago. These wards were cloaked from normal sight with a veil of shadow magic and he had hidden them in trees and behind rocks in case people capable of detecting them passed nearby. If one could see the wards, they would appear to be two foot tall pieces of wood which twisted like someone had wrung them out like wet rags. They were dotted with eyeballs which constantly turned their gaze all over to spot anything that seemed to be doing anything of any importance. The wards were in fact actually a type of plant which was summoned for use by a magic user who knew the spell.


Malyss was watching the surrounding area using his scrying orb when Geraldo and the guards with him entered the sight of one of the sentry wards. The vision offered by the orb was linked to the wards vision and appeared as if one was looking down from the sky at the ground with a dense fog covering the areas which the wards had no vision of. He sighed before he walked outside his tent, wishing that the coming disturbance could be delayed. Their options were to deceive, fight or run and the latter seemed like a better option with Amaya away on guard duty. He said calmly despite the situation "Shui Khan, we will be having guests soon and I doubt they are coming to hire us due to the numbers present. Their leader is one of those barbarians who can wield dark magic. I believe he is tracking Liselle. She is safe in her disguise but we do not have such a luxury at the moment."


Shui Khan, who had currently been balancing on top of his staff while he meditated, heard and opened his eyes, turning his attention to Malyss. He called back in reply "There is nothing to worry about. Just erase the signs of her presence from the camp with your magic. Worst case scenario is that we have to run and raze the camp behind us. We can deceive them as we do with many people during our contracts when we need to get somewhere." He returned to his meditation, not paying much attention to the impending threat at the moment. He believed that he and Malyss could get out of the situation without resorting to combat but if they had to then their chances of success seemed good to him still. After all, he was one of masters of the Trackers of Xzia and Malyss was a dual member of both the Crow and the Trackers.


Meanwhile in the city, Amaya noticed when Liselle had left the shop and followed right behind her. She could see Liselle holding some clothes, a uniform it seemed by the looks of it as it closely resembled what the people working in the shop wore. That and what other purpose could clothing acquired at a meat shop have for the girl? Amaya felt a strange feeling in her stomach, as if something was wrong. She couldn't quite place was it was but she shrugged it off. At the moment, it looked to her like Takashi's plan was continuing as it was supposed to and nothing could go wrong. Amaya whispered "I see you're now working at the meat shop. Since I have to follow you around all day and night as your bodyguard, I assume you accounted for that as well in whatever plan you have."
 
alive... that would complicate things. "I will alert Geraldo immediately. They will be taken alive and brought here for your pleasure, you majesty."


Concentrating , he used one of the spells he hadn't in years. His shadow began to twist and stretch, elongating and then with a snap, a large chunk of it split off and sped out of the room, flitting from shadow to shadow. The shade would carry the message far faster than an6y messenger bird, and it would allow Heldar to know the exact progress as well as assist with spells. Of course, with his attention split, he'd had to be extra careful.


"And when he returns, Geraldo will be needing a briefing on the status of the tournament, any specific details you want him to have, or shall I just give him a broad spectrum?"


The camp was straight ahead. Geraldo figured anyone with a plan this well set up would have sentries and had already detected their presence, so he knew the time for stealth was over. "Eldon! take your 12 and flank the camp as fats as your horses will take you, to the left side! Chiros, take your 8 and cover the right! the rest of you, unsheathe weapons and charge with me!" and the men were off at a gallop.


That was when the shade appeared to Geraldo alone. knowing who's it was in seconds, he asked, while still directing his warhorse, "what are the Queen's orders, Heldar?"


"Take them alllive... the queen wantsss prisssonerrrss, I will asssissst you for nowww" and with that, the shade joined with Geraldo's shadow, allowing it to not worry about controlling it's form, only on the spells that would be needed. Then they broke out of the brush, and into the camp proper
 
Malyss and Shui Khan allowed the soldiers to surround the camp, not raising any offensive in response. Malyss smiled, trying his best to put on the appearance of innocence. He thought he could at least try to get his way out using his skills in deceit. After all, how many people would suspect someone of his height and appearance of possessing such strong shadow magic as he had? And who would attack Master Shui Khan with a force short of an army? Malyss stepped forward, his arms folded behind his back like someone who was welcoming guests into their home. He said "Greetings gentlemen. What business do you have here with us? A mercenary contract perhaps? Would any of you like some tea?" When he had spoken, he ensured that he sounded clueless as to the intent of those before him and as innocent as possible. It was no difficult feat as the Crow train their members well in the art of deception. He ensured however that if threatened, he was ready to retaliate by keeping a charge of mana available for a spell.


Shui Khan jumped down from atop his staff, landing on the ground right next to it. He grabbed the staff, which had not budged from the point where it was balanced and carried it with him as he ran over to Malyss, moving on his feet and one of his hands much like a monkey. He stopped next to the boy, awaiting the response of the soldiers. He expected things to get violent but for now, deceiving them was the plan. He too kept a charge of mana in the event of an unavoidable conflict, ready to cast a spell if necessary but he kept his posture relaxed to ensure he kept up with Malyss' attempt at deception.
 
"I understand that," Liselle said with a nod. She looked at some of the people in the district. She could have sworn some looked like they might be the competitors she had heard of but she doubted it. They would probably be all at the castle or something. Not down here in the lower part of the city. "But I do not think it should be a problem. As long as no one links us it should be okay."


She frowned then. "Will you be able to trail me even when I am at the castle. I mean it will be during the ball so there should be plenty of people but after that..."
 
The King was talking, struggling over his words in a voice that Louis had to bend down to hear. The message got across though, and his lips tightened into a fine line “Aye Sire, save your energy for now…” he noted. Then the blonde was across the room, barrelling himself out of the door and glancing down the surrounding hallways. The king didn’t have much time left, and all he wanted to do at the moment was talk to his daughter.


“Lierah!” he called into the hallway, he took a few steps to the right before panicking over his steps and back tracking. “Princess Lierah!?” he called again, his arm finding the wall as he started getting more frantic in his actions. Focus. He just needed a little bit of focus; his hand seemed to pulse with the energy he managed to gather, and he closed his eyes. A tracking spell he hadn’t used in a while, the monotonous sepia and mushy vision guided him down to two figures down the hall. One dragging the other towards that room he was standing in front of at the moment.


Louis’ eyes shot open, suddenly rushing down the hallway his feet had already trudged and rounding two separate corners before he saw the maid servant and the apple of his eye. It was no time for such lovely doting, although he wish he could do nothing more than that the whole day.


“Lierah!” he noted, rushing up to meet the couple “Sorry miss” he noted towards the maid, than intercepted the Princess. The girl was up in his arms much like her father, in an ironic ‘princess style’ before he noted towards the maid, “Her father really needs her at the moment”. Then before he could fully take in her expression or a response, he was running away with the girl in his arms.


“Sorry for the impromptu save, but what I said was true…your father has seemed to hit an unexpected turn in his condition” he alerted her as he rounded the corner. The man was much faster than the maid, and it also helped that the princess’ petite figure wasn’t forced to keep up. Louis much preferred the girl to be in his arms anyways, a timid smile forming on his face, the king was still at the forefront of his mind.


Placing the girl down in front of the door he bowed “Sorry” apologizing again, he stood up straight and opened the door for the girl. “I’ll give you some alone time with your father…” he noted, straightening some of her hair by no thought on his part.


“If you need me, just call” It was a promise, and he truly meant it for the rest of his life.
 
Lierah only had barely a second to register Louis's appearance, before she was swept off her feet and into his arms. Barely even had time to make sense of the maid's screaming, though she could just make out her tone. She was not scolding, rather spouting warnings after them, but Louis didn't seem to notice. Of course, the middle-aged woman had already heard his voice calling for her in the darkness, though she must've spent the remaining time coming up with something to say. The princess had noticed her inward struggle as they were barreling down the halls. And she'd planned to ask what had plagued her mind, though it seemed to be at that moment that the suitor fixed to show. She couldn't even quite yell her question towards the maid, knowing full well that the halls would carry her words, as her mouth refused to move. It was all she could do not to squeak as she found she cannot find it in her to tear her eyes away from his own as he glanced down at her.


She had been told once before that she weighed absolutely nothing in her frailty, like she can pass for someone much smaller in age and size if and when she wanted to. But she'd only seemedto realize how tiny she was in his arms, how easily he'd lifted her. Though her wonder did not last for very long, fos, once again, she had been left alone without time to react to those about her. But she did not complain, for upon the sight of her father, her knees seemed to have turned into jelly, and she stumbled with little grace towards the sickly man.


"Father!"





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The middle-aged woman was no more, lying in a heap upon the floor about his feet, as he'd allowed his large arms to release her neck. Jarek stared downwards at his handy work, eyes, previously flickering with emotion before he'd left the princess's chambers, now blank grey voids flickering towards the direction Lierah and that man disappeared towards. The shadows had already enveloped them by the time he'd found Yera alone, the old woman's death was long over due and orders were to be rid of her. She knows too much...


Jarek took a step towards the blackness, towards Lierah and her suitor, Louis. He'd already pictured his death, one swift enough that it would be as silent as if the man was still waiting. The soundless assault will not raise suspicion, no one would be alerted. The princess would not But her whispering hiss halted his movements.


Not... Yet...


The supposed guard hesitated, eyes lingering towards the direction in which the pair had faded into, tempted to get the job done much quicker. Though at the moment it takes for him to think about this, he felt pressure begin to close upon his chest, stealing away his breath as if she were there to draw it out of him. But she was, she had been since he'd stepped foot into this damned kingdom. Her claws had already closed around his heart before he had the notion that she possessed some unnatural power. Jarek tightened his jaw, the grinding of his teeth the only sound that seemed to break the silence, tendrils of shadows already beginning to eat away at the corpse he left behind.





~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~




​



Atra did not give an answer, though the soft hiss of her serpent signalled its arrival. The black creature climbed up from the hem of her dress, which pooled about her feet, snaking its way towards her arm, which she'd held out towards Herald. Her eyes seemed to shift to mimmick the blackness of her snake, turning towards the guard with a gaze of malice, though with no intent to intimidate the already unfeeling male. The serpent lifted it's head, body coiling about the small arm of the queen. The creature hovered, just inches from the man's face, tongue flicking from the gap between its lips. Her voice held the hardness that she was known for, the iciness she was feared for, as she spoke.


"We have another spy in our midst, Herald..." She paused, pitch black eyes flickering towards the entrance to which the guard had come from. "Be a dear... And find out who this man is."


The queen's eyes would travel towards her pet, carefully drawing back her arm as if her movements could shatter the fragile thing. The woman, in her grace, turned about, the reptille upon her arm dissipating as if it had not existed. Her steps were light, though still echoing about as if she were stomping, which she was sure would rouse the nearest sleeping beings. Of course, she did not care for such things. They will be living a nightmare once the throne is passed down rather than dream it.


Atra smiled at the idea.
 
When the two got to his farm Eve carefully set Ian down on a bench he had in the frontyard. She sighed a bit leaning on the wooden fence that divided his land from the others. "You ok Ian?" she asked with concern in her voice, but she gaze was set on the sky. Eve always loved staring at the sky, she could do it for hours, but that was before she grew up and took up dangerous jobs.


Ian looked over at her and frowned a bit. He suspected that Eve felt guilty that she couldn't help him. Ian dropped his head down, looking at the ground. He sighed before answering her question. "Yah, and don't worry, no real damage. But that man was strange... don't you think?" He lifted his head towards her at the ending question.And Ian didn't mean starnge as, he is deadly strange, but as he attacked Ian for no reason, and that he froze up before the princess's guard or whatever took him. Also there was just a starnge, arura around him.


She laughed a bit turning around to face him, her arms still on the fence. "Well yah, he attacked you for no reason." Eve knew what he meant though, something was really wrong wit the guy, especially after seeing that... vision. She closed her eyes a bit, still seeing flashes of blood. Disgusting came to mind, and Eve wanted to know what was up with the guy. "I'm going to the inn, see if there's anything I can find or whatever. You gonna be ok?" She said walking over to him and plaing her hand on his shoulder.


He nodded a bit, wanting to protest about her going to the inn, but held it in. No matter what he said, she would go no matter what. So in the mean time he'd just relax here for the remainder of the day. Hoping that nodbody else would burtly attack him. That thought turned him to the gray haired man that healed him. What he said was strange, people starting to reach out or something like that. Either way it was a stupid way of thinking. Anyone would have helped the man, no body is that cold-hearted.


Eve removed her hand from his shoulder and smiled a bit under the dark hood. She then turned and started walking towards the inn, probably would be a few minutes till she was there. Eve remembered about Travlor, he had suddenly disappear during the comotion, probably fled back to the safety of his room.
 
Travlor paced around the small room he had rented. He had no idea what had happened back by that bridge. He was both happy to have been late and a little irritated that he had no idea what had occurred. The elf decided it would be better not to get involved in any of the other suitor's affairs. He only cared about reaching his goal and staying safe now that he had a bounty on him. He thought maybe he might move to the castle. At least there he would be safer.


"If you count being near the Queen and the Prince safe," Travlor muttered. Things were not going well even though it was only the first day.


----


The King heard his daughter's voice and he smiled weakly. "Jasmine...No...no." The King shook his head. "Lierah. Darling is that you?"


(I plan to time-skip to the Ball soon after Lierah and Wilhelm talk so if you got things to do, do then now)
 
As Eve made her way down the road she heard murmmers from other villagers, pointing at her as they did. She grinned at this as she commented sarcasticly to herself. "You'd think people would be used to it." Yes her outfit was a bit, revealing but it was her caual clothing, most people wore worst in the bounty business.


As she stepped into the inn loud chatter filled her ears, waving and hollering for her to join her floated in the air, but she ignored them. Eve passed by the innkeeper since she had the information, and he was a bit unsettling to her. Ariving at the door she came to earlier she knocked lightly, hoping he was there and she didn't come here for no reason. After she knocked Eve leaned againt the door frame, waitting for a response.
 
Travlor looked at the door as he heard a knock at his door. Boy was he popular today. Of course it could be someone who wants to kill him. Travlor grabbed his bow and latched an arrow onto it, ready to attack the person if they meant harm. Getting a little closer Travlor called out, "Who is it?" He would open the door but it would give them a better chance to strike first. This way, even if they threw it open, he was ready.
 
([MENTION=1178]Prof Tatori[/MENTION] Kinda waiting on your characters' replies.)


Amaya smiled and said "Do you really think a member of the Trackers would be unable to follow you somewhere? I've managed to sneak into places with much more guards than the castle here. It will be easy." Amaya knew however, that appearances could be deceiving so she had brought her mask with her just in case following Liselle became difficult. A Tracker's mask could significatnly enhance the capabilities of the person wearing it should they know how to use it. If someone who did not know how to use the mask was to put in on and their willpower was not strong enough to resist, the mask would take control of the person's body and transform them into a lesser red oni demon. It took years for a Tracker to be trained in use of the mask and as a precaution, they usually brought with them a sort of necklace. The necklace consisted of white and black beads in a sequence with a gold figure of the head of an Oni demon which was the size of a tennis ball which replacing one of the beads. In the mouth of that demon head was a white sphere with markings drawn on it in black paint. Amaya kept hers in her pocket and out of sight whenever she did not need it.


Meanwhile, Takashi started his work on the paper lotus at his home. He chose a special type of paper reserved for crafts such as origami which he had brought with him from Xzia years ago and for the colouring, he selected a small container filled with a sort of red dust. The dust was actually an alchemy reagent commonly used in making perfumes and he knew that another diplomat by the name of Lord Galmara used the very same dust in making a special potion. Knowing him, Takashi knew that it would have a very pleasing fragrance to women and using it for the colouring was just an added boost. He rubbed the dust into the paper, ensuring that it was well rubbed in to avoid any coming off as that would ruin the presentation. After ensuring the colouration and fragrance of the paper, he began to fold it with a great amount of care and precision.


After what felt like an eternity, Takashi was finished. He placed the paper lotus on a table and took a few steps back to gaze upon it from a bit of distance. It looked quite good to him. He had folded it well enough that one might mistake it for a real flower unless they inspected it closely. The dust had worked wonders as well, giving the paper a vibrant red colour which only furthered making appear real and added a pleasing scent to it. Satisfied with his workmanship, he walked off and retrieved a gift box very much like the one he had brought the Princess earlier when presenting his gift. He picked up the paper flower and placed it inside the box, doing so with such great care that one might believe he thought the slightest contact with anything would make it shatter like glass. Now he had something to bring along with him to the ball.


Takashi sighed as he closed the box. Now he had to sort out what he would wear. He could not use an illusion spell as the Princess would feel the cold, smooth metal gauntlet on his left arm and hand and that would not do. He did not like the idea of shedding his gear as it could make him vulnerable but he had to do it. He knew of only one set of clothes which he could wear to a ball and he rued the day he had chosen to bring it with him instead of something else. It was a gift of sorts from Lord Galmara. Well more of a reward which Takashi had wished he had never received. It was a version of Lord Galmara's signature suit in the colours of Xzia's emblem. Since it was the only thing he had at the time, he would have to wear it but he refused to wear the mask that came with it as he thought it would only serve to make him look ridiculous.
 
She smirked at bit under her hood as she heard him ready his bow, the walls in this inn were very thin. She wondered how many people checked out because of it. Pushing that thought away she looked at the door. Eve coughed slightly before answering back in a sarcastic tone "It's the friend of a friend, so you can put that weapon of your down." She was still leaning against the door frame.
 
Travlor did not move for a moment but he lowered the bow and the relaxed as well. He placed his bow down but kept the arrow in his hand. Maybe if they attacked him he could stab them with it? It was worth a shot. Still he had calmed down a little bit and opened the door to see the same person who was there earlier. He sighed in relief but still looked around to make sure no one else was nearby.


"Sorry. I cannot be sure who may be at my door. I do have a bounty on me after all."
 
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