Over the River and Through The Woods...

a @Doctor Jax and @Elle Joyner collab

After a long -- and somewhat loud -- conversation with Jack's mother, Jack set out with Fi towards the mountain's face. The young man had been on the mountain more times than he could count. Yes, he'd been told it was dangerous. Yes, he had perhaps risked his life on more than several different occasions.

But goodness gracious, someone had to go and collect all those gorgeous flowers that grew on the mountainside.

"Just make sure you stay on the path, cuz it's mighty treach'rous past the village," Jack warned... off the path, grabbing a handful of beautiful golden blooms and stuffing them in his pockets. "And make lotsa noise! There are bears."

Looking to Jack, Fiora made a face, shaking her head as she pointed to his pocket, then to him and the path. If he was going to expect her to listen, he was going to have to, as well... or at least try to.

Making noise, however, was another story, and one that made her smile, as she shook her head and lastly gestured to her throat, a reminder he probably didn't need. it seemed he was going to need to make the noise for the both of them... Though she didn't mind - she rather enjoyed his conversations.

Jack looked up from his flower picking to see her rather obvious gesture to her handicap, and he smacked his forehead.

"O' course, o' course -- my 'pologies, Fi, I didn't mean to forget," he said, tramping down the hillside towards her. The path around the mountain was actually surprisingly clear, at least to the cutoff near Frog Rock which, incidentally, looked exactly like a frog. He handed her the flowers he'd picked -- what were they? Buttercups? Whatever they were they were pretty -- and removed his lute from his bag. Ahead, Goose honked impatiently.

"Here, this oughta keep the bears away," Jack said, strumming the lute experimentally. "Sometimes I wonder if I never got ate by a bear because I kept this all the time with me. A wonder I left it at home..."

As Jack strummed, Fi's smile brightened, and she turned her gaze back tot he path ahead, bringing the flowers he'd handed her to her nose to smell the fragrance of the little yellow blooms.

The smile faded ever so slightly, as she considered just what they were getting into... what she had gotten him into. There was so much about what had happened that she didn't understand, but what was clear was the danger of it all, and she had pulled Jack... sweet, innocent Jack into it.

Looking to him, her eyes misted over and she shook her head. When they found her aunt, she made up her mind she was going to send him home. Not matter how much it hurt to, she wasn't going to risk losing him... not when he meant so very much to her.

Jack, as ever, was oblivious to the turmoil going on next to him, strumming a merry ditty.

"When I was goin' over
the far and fair mountain
there saw Cap'n Farrel
and his money he were countin'..."

Jack leaned against Fi teasingly as he bounced in time with the rhythm, his fingers flying over the fretboard. It was quite clear the young man was enjoying himself -- perhaps too much. Goose honked and flapped his wings at the young man as the fowl traversed the trail.

And this, Jack did until they reached Frog Rock, at which point the trail ended -- and there was naught but dark forest ahead up the mountain.

Fi's shift in temperament was brief, and as Jack leaned against her, she beamed at him, shaking her head with a small laugh. It was only when they stopped that the frown returned and her eyes moved to the forest as she swallowed a bundle of nerves. There was quite nothing, she was sure, as menacing looking...

Looking to Jack, she reached out, absently, for his hand, clinging to it as she nodded.

Jack swallowed and stowed the lute bravely across his back, Goose leading the way already into the underbrush. Luckily, his white plumage was quite easy to see against the dark foliage, and Jack set forth with Fi.

"Don't worry! Just bears and things up here, you know, the usual for a mountain. I mean, they say there are.... are mountain witches up here, and drowned men, and ghosts, and witchlights...." Jack said, feeling less and less assured as the light seemed to grow darker the deeper into the forests they went. Behind them, Jacks' hometown was no more than a smattering of buildings less the size of a playing card.

Keeping close, while keeping her eye on goose, Fiora shook her head. She wasn't bold enough to assume there were no such things... Particularly since she had come up against magic before, but she didn't think it would do either of them much good to dwell on the possibility.

Still... That didn't stop her from jumping at every snap of a twig or rustle of a leaf along the way. Looking to Jack, her nerves exposed in frightened eyes, she mouthed the word 'story', in desperate need of distraction.

Jack nodded frantically. He was in need of distraction himself, and nothing quite got his mind off things like telling a story.

"Well, there was this one time that I went to the tavern -- cuz my brothers, they said, 'Jackaboy, you need to learn to put down a drink, otherwise how're you going to show people you're a man? You won't get a wife, and no one will--' Anyways, I went to the tavern there, and I guess -- I don't know how -- leaned up against a barrel that'd just been pitched."

Jack grimaced at the memory, a faint smile on his face.

" 'N then I had it all over my hip and my back, and Teagan was trying to get it off a me... and I bumped into Shelly O'Connel."

Biting her lip, Fiora kept her laughter at bay, but it sparker in her eyes, burning away the anxiety almost as swift as magic might. With a nod, she gestured for him to continue...

"Well, Shelley O Connel got stuck to me, and we kinda tried to get unstuck, but I tripped on someone's shoe, and we fell on a keg that fell over, broke, and doused is in ale...."

Jack shrugged sheepishly.

"Shelly's sister slipped trying to help, clocked Shelly in the head, and got stuck in the pitch. So all three of us were stuck together...."

Shaking her head, Fiora chuckled, picturing the entire episode in detail. She'd never been around people much, but she could only imagine how everyone might have laughed... Well, everyone except perhaps Shelly and her sister, but no doubt they were amused by it, now... after the fact.

She opened her mouth to ask how they got unstuck, but ahead of them, there was a crack and Fiora paused, catching sight of something large and black, barreling towards them, through the thick forest foliage. Her hand found Jack's again, and she grasped it tightly, moving closer to him.

Jack saw the black blur perhaps a second later than his female compatriot, and immediately he stepped in front of Fi, thinking a moment later that it would have been better to drag her out of he way instead.

Whatever the case, he stood his ground, hands tightly wound in front of his face.

It was no bear, however. And while Fiora would not soon forget Jack's selfless notions... there appeared no reason. There, through the treeline broke a black buck, antlers of absolute, glistening silver. Fiora gasped, seeing the magnificent creature from over Jack's shoulder, and the deer cast a beadlike stare in their direction, before turning it's gaze pointedly to goose, nodding to the bird, then turning round, breaking through the trees at a pace that suggested they ought to follow.

Jack stared, open mouthed, as the deer took off.

"Should we....?" Jack asked, pointing, but Goose had already made that decision for them. The large fowl grabbed hold of Jack's pants and tugged backwards.

Looking to Goose, Fiora frowned softly. He was their guide, and certainly seemed to know best... but the deer...

Turning to Jack, Fiora shrugged, pointing to Goose.

With that, Jack shrugged with sheepish look, following behind the waddling bird. Goose seemed to have a certain predilection to follow said large black buck that had disappeared into the forest, and while Jack was not sure he trusted so much forest creatures so dark, he decided that Goose certainly knew better -- not to mention, Fi's aunt told him that somehow Goose knew the way.

"I'm sure Goose knows what he's doing. Right, Goose?"

The goose honked as it stopped in front of a rather large wall of rock about ten feet tall, flapped his wings, and flew over the top. Jack stared dumbfounded and huffed in frustration.

Fiora blinked and looked up at the wall, then back in the direction they had come. It wasn't usual, the creature that had seen, and it certainly hadn't seemed intent on harming them, but Goose was determined and if she had learned anything it was that Goose, while perhaps not the most charming sort of water fowl, seemed to have Jack's best interests at heart... even if only to protect his own interests.

Turning back to Jack, she pointed to the wall and shrugged, mouthing 'Up or around?'

Jack craned his neck and stated, "Up is fastest. The sun is setting."

Indeed, it was growing darker by now, the mountain quickly falling shadow where the sun has set on the other side. Jack made a stirrup with his hands and gestured for her to step.

"I'll follow after."

Her own eyes followed the sun's descent, the uncertainty returning as she looked to Jack. It wasn't too late to turn back, surely... But then, they had come this far.

Nodding, she stepped into the cup of his hands and pulled herself up onto the wall, before leaning down to give Jack a hand.

Jack stepped back before grabbing her hand, taking a running leap instead. He easily grabbed hold of the rocky ledge, though he did grip Fi's hand as he hauled himself over the edge.

Goose was already partway up a steep path, one that Jack had never seen before.

"Huh. I didn't know someone had cleared this out... looks like an old road," stated Jack, kneeling down to inspect the faint outline of cobbles. "Course, Fool's Foot used to be lots bigger than it is now, so maybe there used to be something up on the mountain..."

Following him onwards, Fiora shook her head, looking around them. As night continued to encroach, she grabbed Jack's hand once more, frowning delicately.

In the distance, a rapid fluttering sound was the precursor to a sudden swarm of what appeared to be large black birds, their squawking, raspy calls resonating through the darkening forest. They swung low, then swept high into the sky, disappearing against the smokey grey of the heavens, their flight carrying the sense of fleeing.

In the silence that followed their rapid ascension, there was a low growling sound, and moving closer to Jack, Fiora swallowed. It was no buck, this time...

Jack, this time with his bearings about him this time, immediately dragged Fiora after him along the path, looking over his shoulder frantically to see if there was something in pursuit. He hurriedly pushed her ahead. He couldn't remember what it was that Teagan had said to do if he ever ran into a bear -- was it to flee? No, drop down and play dead! No-- run up a tree! Oh, but if only he could remember....[/hr]
 
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NPCS: Aelynn

Aelynn seemed to consider what Uther said for a moment, uncommonly quiet once again. When she spoke, there was a lilt to her voice the belied her youth - a maturity that she hadn’t seemed capable of possessing.

“I never knew my dad. Mum doesn’t talk much about him… He was from the north. Wasslorien, I think. A soldier, like you. What she did tell me though, he didn’t seem very brave, and he weren’t full of much good, least of all words like you got. Left us, when Mum told him about me. Never saw him again, after…”

Biting the inside of her cheek, she frowned, “I used to pretend he died. Some noble fight or another, battlin’ for right. There was always some small part of me that hoped he’d come home, and we’d find out that’s where he went off to. But he never did come back, and after a while, I stopped thinkin’ I wanted him to.”

With a shrug, she continued, after clearing her throat, “I never seen someone love their kid, the way the king did the princess. Like she walked on clouds, to him. I guess… in a way, that’s why I wanna help. Even though… even though I’m scared. I want him to get her back.” Breathing out, she swallowed a lump in her throat, blinking hard, “Cabin’s comin’ up… Should be right through these trees.”

@Toogee

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NPCS: Declan Martel || Lilianna Gentry | Alfeus Swann

When Lilianna told his new friend Bertha to just ignore him in a playful tone of her own, Katze's tense shoulders seemed to loosen in a small degree. He didn't offer any immediate response or snap of wit, but instead, he glanced towards the murky window and squinted out into the forest beyond.

"We have a long way to go," he stated idly, his tone neutral, but remote.

With their newest companion, the cabin was left behind and it was into the swamps with the four travelers. In their brief respite, the sun had slipped further below the horizon, the canopy of trees shrouding stars and moonlight, leaving only darkness. It was slow going, each step measured with caution, but their leader’s knowledge of the swamp left them some advantage.

By morning’s light, they had made good progress, and already the trees had thinned, the sound of water leading them along the narrow path, through the bogs and to more solid, safe terrain.

Lilianna walked near Alfeus, the woman Bertha walking a few paces behind, adhered to Katze’s side with a nearly permanent sense of anxiety. It was early yet, when they stopped for a brief meal, and as Bertha aided in collecting firewood, she stopped rather suddenly. Doubling over, she cried out, a sound that carried through the treetops, resonating through their small camp.

Tags:@rissa & @Nav


Declan shot up from his seat next to Anhlan, defiantly challenging the rules set. Her mouth and throat felt on fire, the burning a painful scratch with any movement she made. This could have been worse, to be certain. While a game designed to weaken her appearance through the struggle of a drink, it was something she could manage as long as Declan played his part well. She desperately needed him to focus on his task, and she tried to relay that message quietly through a watery stare.

"We'll keep our end," she said in a wispy rasp as she wiped away the tears. Raising the tankard once again, she drank from it the spiced Devil's Brew. The second time felt like knives were slicing her throat, and any semblance of flavor was completely lost with the prickle on her tongue. This was a terrible drink, and she sputtered from the mixture of sensations. Perhaps soon the alcohol would provide her relief from the pain.

"Son of a..." As Anhlan drank, Declan turned his narrow-eyed gaze to the other man, "Whose soldiers?"

"Ah. Getting there... Yours, Dec. Yeah. Big shocker, I know. Guess people put less stock in loyalty than you thought."

Frowning, Declan shook his head, "You're lying."

"What purpose would there be in that?" Laughing, Garrick shrugged, "I'm not the only one you exiled out here. Seems someone is recruiting from your bad apples." His eyes moved to Ana and he smirked, "Best keep your eye on this one, Miss. He's got a bad habit of stabbing people in the back."

"Go to hell, Garrick. You earned your exile, same everyone else. Who's recruiting?"

"Hmm. Seems we need another drink..."

It was at this point the nausea hit her, and Anhlan had to fight back another sensation. She grimaced and looked down into the tankard without certainty she could hold a third swig. Did people drink this beverage casually, or was the brew entirely for the momentary thrill among friends and enemies? Declan needed his answers, and this was their only method of getting Garrick to talk, at least for now. Anhlan's mind went through other possibilities to consider, all of which seemed to never work in their favor.

And to that she drank once again, the back of her hand holding her mouth shut as she forced the burning liquid down. With her other hand she gripped the edge of the table to gather her focus on everything but the overwhelming desire to vomit.

Another laugh bubbled from Garrick, and shaking his head, he whistled through his teeth, "She's got a set of brass, don't she. Fair enough. Recruiter came in from Ethelemar."

"...Ethelemar...?"

"Sure as the day's long. Fancy as hell uniforms they got over there."

A small sigh escaped as Declan looked to Ana. He reached out to steady her, but halted, noting the determination she held and all too aware how easily shaken it might be at this point, "I think we've got enough to go off of." He muttered, hand falling to his side.

Anhlan still clung to the table, for while Declan had enough answers to pursue the investigation elsewhere, she was still locked in the aftermath of the game. She released the tankard with her other hand and pushed it away from her. It was clear the Devil's Brew was not agreeing with her as a sickly pallor glistened her skin. She wanted to speak, but all she could muster was a small grunt as she rose from her chair, head inclining to Garrick in a slight nod before looking to Declan. If they had enough, she wanted to leave.

Her eyes moves to his and Declan nodded in return, this time reaching out to help her. There was a moment, tense and drawn where Garrick's men appeared ready to strike, but with a chuckle, Garrick laughed and waved them off, "Best of luck, Dec. Try not to die..."

Glaring, Declan hooked his arm beneath Anhlan's, "Don't turn your back to them till we're clear." He muttered, guiding her back the way they had come.

When they were far enough away that the only evidence of the experience was the glow of the bonfire, Declan stopped and easing Ana down onto a rock, knelt at her side. He pulled his waterskin from his side and held it to her, "Drink... Slow as you can. Ana... You... You didn't have to do that..."

The heat of the spice had passed leaving only a prickle in her throat and the lingering nausea. Taking the waterskin in hand, Anhlan took a careful sip before speaking. "The Devil's Brew is disgusting," she said, and huffed a laugh. "I don't think I could have taken another drink, but it was not as bad as it could have been." Passing the skin back, she clutched her torso and bent over, thinking she could hold back the urge to heave. Her body rejected what was left of the brew, and before it could spew over Declan, she stumbled forward to do so within the bushes.

A bad taste was left in her mouth, but already she felt just a little better than before. Slowly, she walked back to sit on the rock and frowned over at the captain. "So tell me what the answers mean."

As she bolted forward, heaving into the shrubbery, Declan reached out to pat her back, frowning gingerly. He had well upwards to a thousand men under his command and he could not think of a solitary one that would dive into a tankard of Devil's Brew. She was a rare soul, whether she knew it or not.

"If Ethelemar is here, recruiting disavowed soldiers? Stealing heavy supplies like power? I can't think of any favorable outcome. But Garrick won't give us the whole story... Not before you suffer for it. We'd need to head East if we want any concrete answers. I'm rather afraid this goes much deeper than I initially assumed."

"Shouldn't you report this?" Anhlan asked curiously as she let her stomach settle. She placed her hands on her knees to keep herself in place. "This sounds like a very serious issue that might need more than just the two of us."
Elle Joyner - 08/23/2017
"There's no protocol on a situation like this. I don't know the right course of action, honestly. I don't know who's involved... How far it goes." Sitting back, Declan rubbed the bridge of his nose, "If I take this to the wrong people..."

She had almost forgotten Declan's status within Mulgrave. He was a soldier, not a Nightingale with a direct line to his king. There was a hierarchy he had to fall in reporting his findings which risked what he was concerned with. Even if he told someone trustworthy it could still end up reported to the wrong ears.

"Do you know of anyone you can trust to help?" Anhlan asked. "Or connections you can go to for better information into what we are up against. Perhaps with the right evidence you can gain audience with your king in this matter."

"I could try... But to what end? By the time a proper inquiry is held... And that's if he'll see me." Raking a hand through his hair, he rose, "There is someone... But I don't know if he'll even see me. Or if I can find him. And there's you..." Smiling faintly, he shrugged, "It's not just anyone willing to drink Devil's Brew for a good cause. That's if... If you want to help?"

"I want to see this through," she said. "And I want to help. That is why drinking the Devil's Brew was necessary. Who is this someone you need to find?"

"Alfeus. He's the friend I was telling you about. Last I heard, he had made a home for himself in the swamps..." Looking to Ana, Declan frowned, "Thank you. I know I've said it before... But you really aren't like anyone I've met before. We'll rest for an hour or so and then head out."

Pushing herself to a stand, Anhlan carefully straightens her posture to gauge if her dulling nausea can take it. The burn from the brew was gone, to which she was grateful, and so she felt a little more ready to move on. "I am glad to help," she said. But as much as she could push forward, she still didn't know Declan well enough to tell if he could either. "An hour, then. Let me know when you are ready."

Looking at her, Declan chuckled, "The hour was for your sake, Ana. You need to rest. I've seen grown men, three times your size knocked out cold by that stuff. While I'm impressed, I'm also concerned."

@Effervescent

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NPCS: Merek & Travis Loren

Travis woke with a start, his heart pounding as the memories of the dream faded from his mind like the wisps of smoke over water. Breathing out, he blinked sleep from his eyes, rubbing his hands over his face, hands that shook almost without control.

It occurred not a few seconds later that it was not the dream that woke him, but something else, and twisting to the left he searched for his three companions, swearing under his breath to find only two in their places…

Moving swiftly, he rolled to the side to give Wendy’s shoulder a nudge, before rising to his feet, his eyes scouring the grounds around the tower, “Wendy! Merek, wake up! Jacob’s gone.”

Merek’s eyes opened and the older man sat up, staring at his brother with confusion, before his own gaze traveled around the camp, and following Travis’s example, he rolled upright, “Damn it… The Tower…”

Travis glanced at the building but a few yards away and another oath slipped from his tongue as he spied the dark grey shapes swirling around the tower entrance and the roof above, “Spectrals…”

@Red Thunder, @CloudyBlueDay

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NPCS: Fiora Rimel

But it was no bear, once again, and as they took off, Fiora taking Jack's leading without protest, a large, darkly colored creature burst from the foliage after them, haunches bristled with wiry hair, teeth bared, sharp and vicious. Ahead of them, a second appeared and two more on the small hill alongside their path.

Fiora skidded to a halt to avoid crashing into the one blocking their way, holding out her arms to stop Jack as well, her heart a pounding, throbbing force against her chest as the throng came closer, curiously slow and watchful.

From behind them, there was a sharp whistle and Fiora spun to the sound, to see a woman standing beside the first wolf-like beast, her hand on its head. The others still, straightened, then stopped altogether as the whistle repeated, sharp and shrill, before the woman spoke.

"Forgive them..." Aladria said, her voice calm and kind, her eyes moving to Jack, "They aren't used to visitors. You've done well, Jack. Welcome..."

Jack stood stock still, heart hammering, as he glanced between the two wolf-like creatures surrounding them, and he swallowed hard as he stared, wild-eyed, at Aladria.

"Coulda warned me first," he panted helplessly, throwing up his hands. "Thought we was dog food..."

"I am sorry, my dear..." Aladria cooed with a warm smile, "One is never too safe and they're relatively harmless. I keep them for show, more than anything." Her eyes moved then, to Fiora, who stood stock still, and stepping forward, Aladria nodded.

"...Come. We have a lot to discuss, the three..." Gaze flickering to goose, her nose crinkled in a smirk, "Four of us." And turned, she waved them with her, into the forest.

Aladria's home was a humble one, a stone keep, tucked between the trunks of two massive trees. Inside, however, was comfortable and warm, a fire lit, and over it a pot, bubbling with a thick, heart smelling broth. She gestured to a table where a pair of chairs sat, "Please... Sit. You must be hungry."

Jack had not even bothered to wait. He forgot the castle, forgot the trees, forgot even the warm fire, and immediately grabbed hold of a bowl -- to burn his tongue.

"Ah! H-hot," he yelped as he frantically tried to wave away the heat.

Goose, meanwhile, seemed less impressed with the coziness of the surroundings, knocking over the fire place pokers as if to protest. He honked at Aladria a few times, strutting around, before finally taking up residence near the fire.

Aladria's eyes moved to goose and she rolled them, ever so slightly, chuckling at Jack as she shook her head, "He's still an old grump, isn't he. Take care, Jack... That amulet I gave you will protect you from quite a bit, but I can't save you from a scalded tongue."

At last, her gaze shifted to Fiora, who sat nearly rigid in her chair, her hands folded in her lap. Aladria's expression softened, and she smiled, flicking her eyes back to Jack, "Jack... Tell me something. What do you want for Fiora? If there was one thing you could give her, anything at all... what would it be, that's just for her?"

"Easy. Her voice back," said Jack immediately, without another thought. "I mean -- well, she already has it, but she can't use it, because her brothers are gooses -- or something like that...."

Jack had never been good at particulars.

"Why?"

Smiling brilliantly, Aladria nodded, "I thought as much. I've my reasons for asking, but first, one more question. What would you give, to see it done?"

Fiora shifted, shaking her head, but Aladria held up a hand, awaiting Jack's answer with an easy expression.

Jack uneasily shifted on his two feet. He'd never been good at these kinds of questions. He always ended up opening his mouth rather too early, having not considered all ramifications, and subsequently shoving his foot down his throat. What would he give, though, to have Fiora's voice back? To hear her talk?

Perhaps, even, to hear her sing?

There was something in that thought which resonated so strongly with Jack, that before he really had a chance to give a good once-over, he said, "Anything. Uh, besides murder. Someone already thought I killed somebody, and I don't like that feeling, and I hadn't even actually done it."

Fiora breathed in, her eyes glassy as she looked at Jack, continuing to shake her head, and across the way, Aladria smiled brightly, "Then she has her champion, after all. Very good. And good for you, Jack, that I don't require anything quite so grisly. But I will need something from you... A promise. That you watch over her... Though something tells me I needn't offer anything in return to have your agreement."

Her eyes moved to Fiora again, "You needn't be afraid of me, child. I know magic scares you, and I know why. But I would never harm. Not ever..." Looking to Jack, she beamed, "Someone would very much like to hear your voice, and I think it's about time we undid the damage your step mother caused to you. I can't fix your brothers... the spell woven was too complicated, and you'll need to do that on your own, but I think this foolish addition of you not being able to talk... well, it's perfectly unreasonable. It was also, luckily, don't a bit hastily. With Jack's promise... I think you'll find it quite safe to speak again."

"Wait," said Jack, "does this mean we need to... do... something? Or did you fix it and now Fi can talk?"

Jack looked expectantly at the girl. What did she sound like? Oh no! What if she sounded like Goose!?

Fiora blinked, looking to Aladria, who chuckled softly at Jack's question, "Whenever she's ready."

But for Fi, it seemed no simple task. It had been so long... And if it were a trap? A trick? What if she spoke and her brothers were stuck as swans forever?

She would never forgive herself if it was her fault they stayed that way...

"I know you're afraid, dear child... But I have so much I want to offer you. So much we need to discuss, and it would be a bit easier if it wasn't a long one-sided conversation."

Looking to Jack, Fi reached for his hand, taking a deep breath, "Why are you doing this?"

It was soft, like the gentle whisper of wind through a chime, with the barest rasp of someone unaccustomed to speaking, and as she spoke, Aladria smiled brighter still.

"Because you are my sister's child, Fiora... And if you want to, someday, you will rule Ethelemar..."

Jack's eyes grew massive as Fiora talked, and he excitedly crouched down to her level, sputtering, "S-say something else! Anything else! Raspberries! Confound! Miscegenation!"

A wide grin split the boy's face at hearing the girl's voice. It was wonderful! The conversations they could have! But... of course, that would mean she would find out just how useless Jack's brain was, but....

"My aunt..." Fiora breathed. At Jack's reaction, however, her cheeks flushed, and she couldn't keep her concerns for long, laughing as he burst into exclamations.

"There's so much... So many I want to say to you, Jack." Jack... Saying it out loud felt glorious, "My Jack. You wonderful, perfect boy. Do you know how lucky I am that you were there, in the square that day?"

Jack stared star struck at the girl before shaking his head numbly.

"I....don't know if I'd say lucky. I'm the lucky one. You took me on an adventure. We got to see the queen's castle! Even if we got thrown out...."

Wrinkling her nose, Fiora shook her head, "I've made a mess of things. Put you in danger..."

"No! No, no, no, you never put me in danger! I put me in danger. All you've done is be nice to me."

Jack took Fi's hands in both his and said with a grand smile, "Don't apologize for anything. I wouldn't give up any of all that just because it weren't want I wanted. It's why we met, right?"

Blinking, a tear sliding the length of her cheek, Fiora stared at his hands and nodded, "You are... so dear to me. If anything happened to you..."

"Yer auntie already took care of that. See?" Jack said with a goofy grin, holding up the amulet.

He glanced over at the older woman and asked, "Wait... why did you give this to me, anyways? Why not Fi?"

Aladria, who had been watching the moment unfold between the two with an expression of amusement looked to Jack with a chuckle, "Because it only works on those who don't possess magic..."

"Wait..." Sitting up, Fiora frowned, gingerly, "What?"

"That's one of the things I wanted to speak to you about, Fiora. It's in your blood, see... And I think, with all that's happening now, it's about time you started learning how to use it."

Jack stared awestruck. Of course, this meant he had no magic -- which was no surprise -- but Fi?

"What can she do already?" Jack asked simply. "Does that mean she can make her brothers boys again?"

"No... nothing quite so involved, just yet, I'm afraid. It'll be little things, until she learns to control--."

Fiora frowned, shaking her head, "I... I don't want it. I..." Rising suddenly, she stepped away from the table, her eyes filling up with tears, "I've seen what it does... I could never..."

"There's nothing that says you have, Fi. But it can be used for good, too." Looking to the girl, Aladria sighed, "I'm sure you're both tired, and hungry. Take some time... rest. We can talk when you're ready."

Reluctantly, Fiora sank back into her seat, sniffing softly.

Jack glanced back and forth between Aladria and Fi, unsure of what to do. With unease, he pulled out the lute he had strapped to his back and quietly plucked a few small notes.

Looking to Jack, Fiora blinked, her lip twitching upwards very slowly and seeing the expression Aladria rose, moving closer to the pair, "I've some business to attend to, but I'll be back, soon. Please... eat, and make yourselves at home."

In a wisp, she was out the door and Fiora turned to Jack again, the smile fading slightly, "...Do you think... do you suppose it's true? That I've got magic?"

Jack grimaced and shrugged his shoulders helplessly. "I....I don't know anything, Fi. No more than you. What do you think, Goose?"

He looked over to the fowl, which came over and laid its head on Fi's lap before honking loudly.

"I think he said yes."

Fiora chuckled softly, a sad laugh, shaking her head as she gave goose a small scratch on the top of his head, "It frightens me ... All of this. It's been so long... I... I can't get used to the sound of my own voice."

"I could," Jack answered honestly. Realizing he was perhaps too forward he stated immediately after, "I-I mean... you have a nice voice. It's a good one."

Blinking, Fiora looked at him, her cheeks flushed ever so slightly as she sat back, "Well... I wouldn't be able to use it, if it weren't for you. And I hope you don't get tired of it, because I mean to keep you, Jack... As long as I can."

Jack hunched his shoulders with a barely suppressed smile. He looked off somewhere else, suddenly aware of how intently she was looking at him.

"I, uh....well I hope more you don't mind me. I bungle quite a lot of things up."

"You shouldn't let people tell you these things, Jack. Just because you come to a solution in a different way doesn't mean you're wrong or foolish. You saved my life... More than once." Smiling, she shrugged, "I could never tire of your company."

@Doctor Jax

Next update: Week of 9/18
 
The Looming Tower
a collab between @Elle Joyner, @CloudyBlueDay, and @Red Thunder

At Travis’ touch, Wendy had sat bolt upright, eyes wide in instinctual fear. She recoiled from him, shuffling on her hands back some few feet until she finally realized what had raised her. The tension, or rather, most of it, bled from her limbs, and she pushed herself to sitting. Whatever Travis was looking at, she didn't need to worry herself.

Not until Travis mentioned her missing brother.

“Shit!” She sprang up lithely, axes both in hand and body taut, ready to dash toward the Tower Merek indicated. But she stopped; she didn't want to be nagged again. But her brother was missing! She had to go! But...maybe Merek had a plan? Wendy looked at him uncertainly, feeling between a rock and a hard place.

Glaring up into the swirling mists, Merek looked to Wendy with a grim expression, “They’ll have dug in deep. Deep into his mind. Weapons won't be of use here. You need to talk to him Wendy. Pull him out. Come on… we need to be quick.”

Travis nodded along with his brother, sprinting to the tower. The door had long since rotted away and left only steep stone stairs behind it, a spiral that led through darkness, upwards to the roof overhead. The only distinguishable sound was Jacob's desperate voice, the echoes of a one-sided conversation, reverberating through the stone cylinder. Travis raced up the steps two at a time, flying through the stone archway at the top to see Jacob, shrouded in mists… pale and shapeless, wrapped around him like intangible thread.

Jacob’s eyes flickered, from the witch to the steep drop at the bottom of the tower. His heart was in his throat, his stomach twisted. Lena’s screaming in his ear, her urging him on, made him so utterly stressed and afraid. “I'm.. not ready.” He whimpered, clutching Lena in his arms. His foot was still half on open air. His movement made gravel fall, and he watched with wide eyes as the rubble disappeared in the distance.

“Please,” he croaked, begging the witch. Begging for any kind of reprieve. “Please…”

”Jacob, you dork! What are you doing?!”

Wendy’s voice had apparently gathered some kind of strength as she had followed the brother’s wordlessly. Her silence wasn't a purposeful one; rather, she'd been trying to hold her stomach inside her as they climbed up the precarious and frankly very shaky steps toward the top. She'd halted when the Lorens did, panic forcing her to the stairs irresistibly. Sweat drenched her face, which had paled dangerously. This was nothing like the net from before. Thirty feet or so wasn't after so bad, and her fury at the trapper for ensnaring the Palins had pushed her through any concern she'd had.

But this. She couldn't see the Things Jacob saw, and hadn't a clue why he looked so … hollow. But he was still there. He was the reason she was up there. And panic of this nature drove her back to younger days, when she'd relied on him just as much as he'd replied on her.

Back when they were equals. True twins.

“C’mon, Wolfie. Don't be stupid!” Her voice shook as she pleaded, and she looked down uncertainly. It was a mistake, and her stomach turned.Her eyes clenched shut, and she hugged the ground further. “Let's- let's get down from here! I- I wanna get down. But- but not without you.”

Inching forward, Travis frowned, looking between Wendy and Jacob with a shake of his head. If she couldn’t talk him down, there wouldn’t be much time for him to grab the boy… it would need to be swift, and it would probably hurt.

“He’s trapped, Wendy… They’re in his mind. You have to break through. Remind him where he really is! Who he’s with!” Merek called from the archway.

”Cmon, Wolfie. Don't be stupid!”

Jacob hesitated. The voice that penetrated the mist was familiar, but sounded strangely far away. Wolfie. He could see his family, gathered around the dinner table. The food was hot and tasted of home. The fire blazed beside them. Laughter echoed as the family teased him. Wolfie; because he ate too damn fast.

The warmth was so welcome in contrast to the bitter iciness he felt in the grasp of the spectral. He sucked in air. Something about the girl in his arms seemed fake now.

“..Lena…” He murmured, retracting his foot from the open air. “The witch killed you.”

It may have been the supernatural separation Jacob was experiencing, or it may have been her utter terror at being in such a precarious position. Maybe she was just too far away. Regardless of why, Wendy didn't hear him; she barely heard Merek.

Remind him of who he's with.

“I've been up high for so long, Wolfie; we both have. It's been so scary. So horrible. So...lonely.” She found herself in a fetal position, even her subconscious trying to escape the awful height. Slowly she drifted into herself, desperately seeking escape from her vertigo. “I hated being alone. Alone was awful- is awful. I- I missed my family; I missed you.”

The few tears that had forced themselves out had mixed with the dust in the steps, muddying Wendy’s cheek. Her eyes refocused, and she glanced up at her brother, resigned.

“I'm coming down from here the same way you are, Wolfie. Because we're not getting separated again.”

“Tell him it's not real. What he's seeing. Remind him that he's here with you. He needs to remember where he is…” Merek stepped closer, both brothers ready to grab if necessary, “Remind him what is real, Red.”

Lena looked apologetic. Tears stained her cheeks and Jacob could barely stand to look at her.

“You could have saved me, Jakey.” She whispered. Her face began to crumble into ash. Fire crackled along her skin and soon she was melting away in his arms. Tears streamed down Jacob’s face. I could have saved her. The words echoed in his mind as he turned to face the witch, who began to crumble just the same.

Jacob crumbled to his knees and clutched his stomach. I could have saved her.

“Save me, Jacob. Please.” Wendy’s eyes bored into her brother, trying desperately to draw him out by sheer force of will. She unclasped the cape from around her neck. “Life is too hard alone, and I can't do it. I'm sorry I acted out. I'm sorry it's been so hard for me to- to trust you. But- I wanna.”

Rising on extremely shaky legs, eyes locked on Jacob so as to not reconsider her position, Wendy took step by slow step up the last stairs, cape in her hands. It was her connection, her one last connection, to her family. It was the one thing that had been with her from the day she'd lost them all. But no; she hadn't lost them all. Here was Jacob, looking emotionally torn and vulnerable. As torn and vulnerable as she felt. A little cape was worth getting her brother back, even if she had to lose it.

As she drew close, Wendy lifted the cape and draped Jacob in the blood red covering. The axes remained on the stairs where she'd been left then after she'd collapsed.

“Please come back to me, big brother.”

The fog in his mind had begun to clear away. Jacob could not clearly understand every word Wendy had said to him, but he could hear her voice. He could feel the presence of the cape being draped over him, and his sister next to him.

“Wendy..” He whispered, utterly broken and too tired to say anything else. So tired. His bones felt so heavy, but the image of Lena disappearing in his arms was so clear.

What had he come too?

As Jacob spoke, Travis breathed out and Merek shrank back a step, shaking his head, “We shouldn't linger.” Pulling a flask from his hip, Travis moved forward and held it out to Jacob, “Drink. How do you feel?”

How had they come to this point, that only something utterly strange as...whatever was happening could make them vulnerable enough to- No. No, that wasn't fair on Jacob. This was on her alone, as Wendy slowly admitted to herself. Sadness filled her heart; not the martyr sadness of weeping and crying out from before, but the self-critical sadness of silence and weight. As Travis approached, she placed a hand on Jacob’s shoulder, squeezed it reassuringly, and stepped away to make room. She'd reached out, with full charity this time; it was to be seen whether her brother reciprocated in kind.

Flinching at Wendy’s touch on his shoulder, Jacob’s gaze traveled to the flask Travis held out. He brought his hand up to take it, and he trembled. The fact that Jacob had not ever really had a good chug of alcohol had not occurred to him. Perhaps he was grown, but the years between child and man were blurred and held no experience for Jacob.

He unscrewed the cap, downed the liquid, and choked. Fire erupted in his lungs and he coughed into the crook of his arm. Oh. Right. Was the thought that came to his mind, but even if he had not downed a good portion of the drink, it had at least snapped him out of it.

“Like shit,” Jacob finally croaked, shoving the flask back in Travis’ direction. He did not think he would be doing that again.

Frowning, Travis nodded and held out his opposite arm to help Jacob to his feet, “You can talk about it later, if you need to clear your head. These things… They have a way of lingering. But for now, we need to move.”

After righting Jacob, he turned to Wendy, arm out for her to take, “You alright?”

He got a nod in response, vague and ill-defined. Wendy shivered, though her arms did not raise in an attempt to hold in her escaping warmth. The cape had been on her shoulders for years; it was discomforting to miss its weight. She looked to Travis’ hand, examining it for a few moments before taking it in her own.

“Thanks,” she managed.

Once standing on his own two feet, albeit a bit shaky, Jacob felt the presence of the heavy cloak upon his shoulders. Wendy’s cloak. While attempting to steady himself, Jacob fingered the cloak. The thought of his mother made his heart ache. The thought of all the blood this cloak had been dragged in made him almost sick. Or maybe that was just the residual feeling from whatever had affected him.

Jacob took the cloak in his hand and pulled it off of his back. He held it out to Wendy. His gaze was lowered as it always was, but a ghostly emptiness had seemed to overcome him.

“We should go.” He rasped.

Merek turned as Jacob suggested they leave and without a word, started for the stairs, Travis frowning at the pair before looking to Wendy, “He’ll come ‘round. Hell of a thing, Spectrals. Are you sure you’re alright?”

Wendy held the cloak in her hands, having remained where she was when Jacob had returned it. For a month (months? It felt like so long) her brother had sought familial connection with her. Now that she tried to give it, all he could seem to do was seek to avoid it. Her fingers felt the cloth as she considered them. But could she blame him, really? Sure, he couldn't take care of himself. But he'd done his best. And… hell.

Travis’ question broke her introspection, and she looked up, brow twisted in helpless confusion.

“I- I don't know, Travis.” She paused before fastening the cloak around her neck once more and moving to follow Merek. “I don't know.”

He was silent in his trip away from the tower. It scared Jacob, how he knew nothing of how he had gotten there. Little Lena… had guided him all the way to the top, and coerced him to commit suicide. It was not you, Jacob thought to himself. But was it what Lena would have wanted, or someone else? Why only him? Why had he been tainted like this.

Over and over and over again, someone taunted him. The downward spiral never seemed to end. Perhaps it would have been better if he had jumped into the ‘river’, just like Lena had asked.

As he followed him down the stairs, Merek looked to Jacob with a small frown, “Won’t be easy to shake, but try not to dwell on it. They get in there…” He raised a finger, tapping his own temple, “They’ll stick around… drive you nuts. Gotta get past it, however you need to, Kid.”

“We’ll be in Bright Hedge in a few days time…” Travis added, solemnly, “And there ought to be plenty to keep us busy, there…”
 

Anhlan Ai

Drifting to sleep was an easy feat, for Anhlan’s state after the strange battle of the brew. The alcohol, despite the wretching, had settled in her veins and bent the world to a haze that coaxed a coming slumber. There was little protest in Declan’s suggestion for rest after she realized her body needed it, though in her past life she could have pushed through it.

Her past, of course, was somewhat of a distant memory. It had been a couple of years since she took part in her practices or even imbibed an alcoholic beverage. She was rusty, but confident with a little more practice she could overcome it. For now, she rested against a tree, hands gripping her sword tightly as she fell into her brief sleep.

The gardens overlooking the pond carried some of the most beautiful flowers in blooming season. It was a private garden seen only by the royal family and their chosen guests and, of course, their esteemed and skilled gardeners. Anhlan had the privilege, as did several of the King’s Nightingales, to walk through such a lush visage akin to the notion of magic. Some of her fondest memories were held in those gardens, both in the company of her former lover and in the presence of her former king.

And perhaps that is why her mind drifted her to such a bittersweet setting. Her fingers brushed through the blooms of pink contently, relishing the comfort of home. She was home, and it was like she had never left it.

“Do you find me a harsh man?” the king asked as he took a seat upon a stone bench to look out at the pond. He was aging rapidly in the latter years where once before his youth had been prevalent for so long.

“I think some may perceive you as such because you are driven, my king,” Anhlan spoke diplomatically. It caused a genuine rumble in her king’s throat as he chuckled.

“Is this your honest opinion,” he asked, “or have you finally come to fear me?”

This gave Anhlan pause. She had never been afraid of her king before, and with that notion came the remembrance of her transgressions and the death of his son that fell on her hands. The guilt harbored the fear even before her punishment had been exacted.

“I do believe you are a driven man,” she answered honestly. “And while I am honest with you, I also fear you.”

“Because of the sentence,” he added. She did not refute. “You never feared me even as you defied me. I suppose that is how it was difficult to suspect.”

“I'll never make the same mistake,” murmured Anhlan.

“Rules are set in place for a reason,” the king said with a gentle nod of his head. “The unfortunate thing is, and has always been, that our hearts wither if they are to reject the love they feel. As much as I forbade love in my Nightingales, I would have been a fool to think even friendships could not be suppressed.”

She woke steadily, eyes fluttering open shaded by the tree’s canopy. Her grip had loosened on her sword, but she clasped it once again in thought. The golden sword was a gift from her king, and the time they had spent together was informal and warm. Perhaps the king felt care for her as a friend despite his rules against love. Platonic love was just as valid, after all, and yet she had only ever thought of the rule to have been designated for romance.

It was his care for her, his friendship she suspected, that exacted her exile rather than execution. She was allowed to keep her sword. It was an act of a broken heart of a lost son and heir, but perhaps he understood the rule could not have stopped their love.

But most of all, Anhlan was beginning to understand in herself that she could not keep her compassion at bay. Even with a new acquaintance as Declan, it would be cold and unreasonable to keep him at arm’s length after all they had shared and would experience on the road ahead. Rising from the base of the tree, she walked over to Declan feeling the dryness of her throat itching for relief.

“Does your canteen still have water?” she asked. “I forget how much alcohol can leave one in thirst.”
 
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A Night At The Castle



Jack got up, scuffing a shoe with embarrassment. In truth, he had never been complimented before. It was not a feeling he was familiar with.

"Maybe we oughta....I dunno, go find the rooms're somethin'. I'm gettin' sleepy."

Nodding, Fiora rose to her feet, "You'll likely sleep better tonight, without me kicking and shoving you."

Jack shook his head. "Nah, I'm used to it! My brothers did it all the time. Actually can't sleep well without it."

He laughed thinking of the time Teagan's foot ended up right in his nose.

Smiling, Fiora shook her head, "It was nice... Having company for a change. I've gotten so used to being alone.."

"Oh I know what you mean!"

Jack peered into one of the rooms, finding a rather cozy if small bed chamber. He flopped on the bed, surprised to find it rather springy.

"I dunno if I ever slept on a feather bed..."

Blinking, waiting by the doorframe, Fiora shook her head, "Me, either. I've only ever slept on a wooden cot, back home."

"Do you want this bed then?" Jack asked. "There are others around probably. What do you think of all this?"

Laughing softly, she shook her head, "No, no. You've earned it. In case it's the only one. And all this? I think I've gone half mad. I... I still don't know what to make of it. What about you?"

Jack winced and paced about the room. Goose, true to his nature, had claimed the bed.

"I don't doubt you got magics. I'm not too bright, Fi, I got no opinion."

"...Does... does it bother you? Or would it? If I had magic?" She was all too well aware that magic was not a favored thing in Fable, but she had never really thought to ask Jack what he thought of it.

For a brief moment, she watched goose, and tried to ignore the fear that Jack might not approve, after all.

Jack sat down on the bed softly, thinking.

"Well...I liked you good before I knew you had magic. I don't know why you havin' it would make me think otherwise," Jack stated slowly, picking through his thoughts.

Moving to sit beside him, Fiora folded her hands into her lap, "I suppose it shouldn't matter, but it does with other people. But you're nothing like them, are you? Do you have any idea how special you are, Jack?"

"Special was not the word my mum used," Jack admitted. "I...."

And for once, there was doubt and apprehension on his face.

"I know I'm different," he said quietly, fiddling with his own fingers.

Reaching out, Fiora took his hands, meeting his gaze pointedly, "Yes you are. But there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. I wish more people were like you, Jack. You're kind, and sweet, and honest. You don't pretend to be someone you aren't. You were nice to me, for no reason at all... when everyone else decided I was too much a burden to bear. Just because people are impatient, and they're willing to learn that there are other ways to do things, doesn't mean that there is anything wrong with you."

Jack was struck dumb by Fi's words, tears beginning to well in his eyes. He had never had someone give him these sorts of kind words, calling him honest and sweet.

He rubbed his eyes, and he nodded.

"Thank you. You....you're too much, Fi," he laughed.

Smiling, Fi released his hands to cup his cheeks and leaning up, she pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead, "...You have no idea how desperately I've wanted to tell you that, Jack. And I never would have gotten the chance if I hadn't met you. So thank you."

Jack averted his gaze and immediately got up, brushing himself with a cough.

"Um...I'll get the fire started, and...you chase Goose off the bed," Jack said, busying himself with the fireplace.

A brow lifted and Fiora smiled faintly as he rose, turning around to goose, with a shake of her head, "You're going to have to share, Goose. Or else you'll need to sleep on the floor. What's it going to be, my feathered friend?"

Goose hissed once and flapped his wings, but he moved nevertheless to give the girl room. Jack had a fire going soon enough, somehow managing to burn just the very tip of his boots. He took off his boots and laid them down, but before his second shoe could hit the floor, he'd already halfway curled up against the hearth.

Looking over, Fi frowned softly, "Jack. You can't... You'll never be comfortable there."

Jack's head jerked up blearily, as he realized he'd nearly fallen asleep where he sat.

"Uh.... no, I'm fine," he yawned, managing to finally yank off his boot. "Jus'.... takin' my boots off."

The fire was oh so warm, and he couldn't imagine a cozier place. It was hard to believe that he was spending a night atop Fool's Mountain, but stranger things had happened...
 
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NPCS: Aelynn

Uther suspected that the girl didn’t have a father present in her life. No father would let her run around town unattended like she did. Or let her ride with a strange old man to parts unknown. From Aelynn’s story, he sounded like one who feared responsibility and fled. The knight suspected his disappearance was less than noble, but didn’t share his opinion.

“Stay alert,” Uther broke the silence, putting a hand on her shoulder to gain her attention. “We don’t know who else is waiting for us. If something happens, you’ll take this horse, get your mother, and get out of town. Understood?”

Once again, Uther offered harsh reality rather than comforting words about a noble father that never existed. They broke off from the well-traveled path and into the forest. Uther kept his eyes open for their meeting place, though the possibility of royal spies was still on his mind.

Smirking faintly, Aelynn shrugged at the older knight, "Don't need to tell me twice. Anything happens, I'll clear out so fast grass'll catch flames. Don't much fancy horses, though I guess yours ain't too bad."

Gesturing, she noted the small bit of thatch, peeking through the greenery, "There's the cabin."

He heard the distant snapping of fallen branches before he heard the voices. Dismounting, stomach flourishing with nerves, Cristoff secured his stallion and realized foolishly that he had left the castle without his sword. After a quick rummage through his saddle bag, however, he found his old hunting knife. Smiling to himself, Cristoff inhaled deeply, tucked the sheathed blade into his boot and made to stand before the front door.

"Tell me that's not the king standing there like a target," Uther groaned before cursing (no heed given to his child passenger). Had he been an assassin, the the king would have been killed by a sniper's arrow. His eyes lingered to the trees to make sure his fears weren't true. As soon as they were at the cabin, Uther helped Aelynn off the horse and the two approached the king.

"With all due respect, your highness," Uther began in a harsh whisper, "you've made yourself an easy target for an arrow. Aelynn, get him the hell inside before we're all killed."

Uther took the rear, still keeping an eye out for assassins.

Aelynn, with what was possibly a dangerous lack of propriety, snorted at the curse uttered by the older knight, before she approached his royal highness with a bob of her head.

"Sorry, Sire. He's grumpy, but he's right... Best you get inside before he gets spittin' mad. I'm Aelynn... Ella shoulda told you about me, I think."

Gesturing the king inside, she offered a small, crooked smile, "He's Uther... You can trust him."

Cristoff reciprocated Aelynn's crooked grin with one of his own and allowed her to shuffle him inside. Truth be told, he'd rather have an arrow in his heart than another day without his beloved daughter, but to say that aloud seemed inappropriate.

"That's what Ella said as well," Cristoff drawled, "Seems as though I've been doing an awful lot of trusting as of late."

@Toogee

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NPCS: Declan Martel || Lilianna Gentry | Alfeus Swann

Alfeus dropped what he was doing at Bertha's scream, heart throbbing with fear. They'd been too lucky, Alfeus thought at once, ever since they left Mulgrave they'd been too damn lucky. Leaving the unlit tinder behind, and glancing over at both Katze and Lil, Alfeus made his way towards Bertha, concern and experience taming the fear that kept creeping it's way in.

"Keep an eye out," Alfeus replied in a neutral tone and then once again knelt by the woman, trying his best to see what was ailing her. "Bertha, what's wrong? What's happened?"

Katze travelled eerily silent. His feet moved swiftly across the leaf debris, paying no mind to the woman ambling at his side. He would kept on ignoring her had she not fumbled, wailing out with a noise so piercing that his ears rang.

Peeking up, he looked over to the woman as she fell. In his chest, his heart wormed.

Her eyes snapping up, Bertha straightened, her breathing shallow gasps for a moment's time, before she nodded, strained.

"Forgive me... I must have... I've been stumbling around these woods so long, I must have injured something. It's passed. Please..." Reaching out, she gingerly touched Alfeus's forearm, "Don't worry about me."

The woman smiled weakly, and with a nod, resumed her work, her gaze flickering over to Katze only briefly.

Lilianna, still holding the bundle of sticks she had gathered moved to Alfeus's side as Bertha left it, a brow lifted, "Never known anyone to survive so long in here. Poor thing..."

"It is strange," Alfeus murmured while scratching at the hair on his chin. "Never seen it before, truthfully."

He shrugged, bemused, then motioned for Lil to deposit her cache of sticks for the fire with the rest of them. He knelt again, this time before the kindling. A few minutes later a spark took hold and they had themselves a fire.

"We're gunna' need some water here soon, my skin's almost empty."

"I'll go."

Any reason to escape them was reason enough. Last time he tried to go fetch water, he sold his soul. He only hoped this time something would leap up from the water and snatch him up in one bite. At least that may prove to be a little more pleasant than the company he held. At any rate, he really ought to have chosen prison over his current situation.

He snatched up the bucket by the rope and stepped towards the woods.

Eyes snapping up, Bertha looked to Alfeus and Lilianna, before nodding, "I'll help... I'm afraid I'm not doing much use with firewood, as it is." and before it could be protested, she moved to follow after Katze.

Lilianna stepped nearer to the guard with a small frown, brow quirked, "...Could do him a bit of good..." She murmured softly, "To take care of someone for once. I hope she's alright."

Tags:@rissa & @Nav


As she approached, Declan unfastened his canteen and held it out to Ana with a small nod, his gaze trained on her with a note of scrutiny, "You ready to keep going, then?"

A small smile settled on her lips as she took the canteen in hand and drank from it. Immediately she began to feel a little more refreshed. It was a blessed thing to wake up without a hangover after imbibing such a brew as the Devil's Brew. Perhaps more of a miracle than blessed, but none the less appreciated, for it was just a matter of fighting of a bit of nausea likely caused by dehydration.

"I am," she said. "It seems I've slept off most of the stupor. Where are we headed?"

"Into the swamp." Declan noted, with a slightly grim undercurrent, "With any luck, we'll find Alfie's cabin and he'll actually be there. If not, we'll head north to Remoria and take a boat across the lake. I don't like the notion of investigating on our own, but it might come to that."
@Effervescent

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NPCS: Merek & Travis Loren

The journey upon leaving Tornem was a similar one as their arrival. Tension still reigned, an ever present phantom in the midst of their party, but it was altogether a different tension this time, and one that dragged a blanket of wariness over them, lingering and unnerving.

Jacob was not the only haunted soul among them, but his was most certainly the more evident and Travis spent a good portion of the journey doing his best to encourage the boy, to drag his mind from what he had seen in the tower, but there was only so much that a person could do to combat the ghosts of the past, and the mind was a powerful, dangerous thing… most especially at night.

The shadow of things seen tormented the Palin boy, clinging to his consciousness by day, feeding on his subconsciousness at night and as he was plagued by nightmarish visions and memories, sleep became a struggle for all of them.

It was something, then, of a relief, when at long last, Bright Hedge came into view, across the horizon - but a few hours away. The sun dipped lower along the horizon and reluctantly, Merek came to a halt as he dropped his bag to the dirt path, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

“Should probably stop before it gets much darker… We ought to reach the town by mid morning. Wendy… You feel up to a bit of hunting? Travis and Jacob, you can gather water and wood for a fire?”

@Red Thunder, @CloudyBlueDay

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NPCS: Fiora Rimel || Aladria

Chuckling, Fiora kicked off her own shoes, before she sank back, folding her hands on her stomach, her eyes gazing up into the ceiling, "What do you suppose she meant? That woman... my.. my aunt, about me someday ruling Ethelemar?"

Jack's mouth flopped open, but his brain was as empty as a flower pot. There was not a single inkling in there, trying to piece together how Fi could be related to Ethelmar -- or the throne.

And, to be honest, he wasn't sure he much cared. It seemed like a lot of trouble.

"I've not the foggiest idea," Jack answered honestly. "I mean -- maybe it's gotta do with the queen?"

"Maybe..." Looking over to Jack, she smiled, "I don't have the slightest desire for it. Honestly, I wouldn't know half of what to do." Gaze traveling back up to the ceiling, she sighed gently, "And noble people don't get to marry who they want, which just sounds awful."

"They don't?!" Jack asked, incredulous. "They have so much money, and... well, their weddings are so grand. Why can't they?"

It didn't make a lick of sense to Jack. After all, that was what having so much money was for -- doing whatever you wanted, when you wanted.

"Because I suppose they think they've got to marry people who have the same sort of lifestyle. I don't rightly know, but I do know I don't want it. Not ever..." Turning to her side, she looked to Jack, "I'd like to think that's a choice I can make without help."

Jack nodded.

"I think I would think the same. There's no point if it's more trouble than it was worth. I mean-- there was a dead man in the queen's castle!" Jack reasoned. "Not everything seems very nice there."

"Hmm. Yeah... That was certainly not something ordinary." Frowning, she flopped onto her back again, "And really... Who needs all those rooms?"

"Not me! I like sleeping under stars. Though having my own bed would be nice. I think that would be what i'd get if I were king. My own bed," Jack stated, leaning against the fireplace.

Laughing softly, Fiora looked over to him again, "...I would want a dress. A nice one. The sort queens are ought to wear. I've never had anything nice like that."

Jack leaned forward and grinned.

"You'd look grand in one of those! I'd like to have some nice clothes too. Something that actually fits..." He gestured to his ill-fitting wardrobe, made from random odds and ends he could scrounge up from either of his brothers, slapdash across his frame.

She laughed again, nodding, "I can't imagine you would look anything less than charming. Though you needn't try... you're handsome enough, as is."

"I dunno what to say to that.... I guess thank you," Jack said, walking over to lean against the bed. "You know what I'd like? To go to one of them balls. With the food and music. Mostly for the food and music, I don't think I'd much like the people."

Nodding, Fiora leaned up on her elbows, "They do seem rather the spectacle. Do you suppose I could throw a ball... Just one? Even if I don't want to rule anything?"

"You have magic, right? Why not? You could even just make it seem like there are people when there aren't. We wouldn't have to talk to anyone we didn't want to," Jack said, lying back on the bed.

Looking to Jack, she smiled, "Just you and me? And goose, of course."

"Yes! Maybe you could turn Goose into a man. I don't know what Goose would be like as a man, actually. Or if you could even do that," Jack murmured, looking to Goose, who was suddenly animated at the prospect.

Goose honked raucously, flapping his wings and bobbing his head. To Jack's surprising, the fowl took off and flew about the room before coming down again next to Fi, honking at her.

"Goose! That's not nice," Jack chastised.

Blinking, Fiora watched the display before laughing softly, shaking her head, "You'd think with the way he behaves, he was a man..."

Jack scoffed at that thought. Even he wasn't about to believe that Goose was anything other than what he was -- a strange bird, but a bird nonetheless. He put his arms behind his head, his mind beginning to drift. Jack was silent a while, his eyes slowly drifting closed.

"If Goose... is a man I'll...eat my lute..." Jack muttered as he began to fall asleep.

Chuckling, in between a yawn, Fiora rolled over, laying her head against Jack's chest, hands curled beneath her cheek, "...Don't do that..." She yawned again, "I like your lute. Goodnight, Jack."

"Good night, Fi," Jack mumbled, hardly noticing the weight of her head upon his chest as he curled about her and quickly dropped off to sleep.


Aladria returned some time later, her arms filled with a bundle of wood. It was funny, or might have been, had she been observed, that a woman capable of great magic would deign to doing her own work by hand, but there was something utterly refreshing about labor... and she needed the distraction.

Putting another log onto the charred remains of the last, she sank down and blew into the cinders, before sitting back, wiping an arm across her forehead with a small sigh. Fiora was home, but for how long? Would she be able to convince the girl to help...? Did she even have any right to?

Goose waddled into the main atrium near the fire place, after having made sure that the two lovebirds were soundly asleep -- and not up to any hijinks. Of course, Jack's head was as empty as a hollowed pumpkin, but it did not hurt to be sure.

The fowl honked at Aladria sitting by the fire, taking up a spot near the fire, though not before knocking over the ridiculously gaudy fireplace poker.

Eyeing Goose, Aladria smirked faintly, a brow lifting, "Still the attitude, my old friend? And here I thought you had grown. What ever does that dear boy see in you?"

The goose shook his head and fluffed his wings, obviously upset. The fowl snapped its golden beak shut, making a sharp clack as he clamped down. The fowl looked about, before waddling before a basin of water, tapping it with his beak and flapping his wings, obviously trying to draw Aladria's attention to it.

Grinning, Aladria looked over to the basin, "...Thirsty, Little Goose?" She asked, before she rolled her eyes and crooked a finger to him, "Come along. I've got something better..."

Leading him out of the main room, she took him down a narrow hall to a door at the end. Inside was sparsely furnished, but for a chair, a small cot and a mirror propped up against the wall. Pointing to it, she waved her hand, before the glass, "...That ought to do it. It's only temporary, so don't waste time."

The goose squawked happily, ruffling with what could only be considered contentment at finally finding something worthy. The basin of water was, of course, an emergency measure. No, this would be so so much better.

The goose stood in the mirror and, alas, in its image instead was a man -- a somewhat elderly fellow, obviously well on in years, though hearty and hale and not a bit ugly. He smoothed out his white coat and cleared his throat before speaking -- his voice coming out slightly garbled through the mirror, but still understandable.

"What, exactly, are you up to here Aladria? And divines, did I not expect meeting you here. Had I known, I would have come here post haste."

Chuckling, Aladria shook her head, "If you'd known I was here, Erigor, you would have run as fast as your feet can carry you. Hm. Unless you thought I would turn you back. Darling... How did you end up in this predicament, anyway? Tell me, and I'll tell you what's going on..."

Erigor ruffled -- in both sense of the word. The man lifted his chin rather imperiously, his stately salt-and-pepper beard raked by ample fingers.

"Well, the ban on magic happened quite... abruptly. Our dear Queen--" and this word, he spat. "-- was immediately on my trail with her witchfinders. I had to escape Brighthedge on short notice, but I was too well known by my face, and while I would have enjoyed that fact prior, it helped me not at all in fleeing. By that point, I had wasted too much time, and her brutes found my sanctuary. My retreat was rather hasty, and..."

Here, he stopped, crossing his arms and looking away, the goose mimicking similar actions.

"Your turn, now, Aladria. Your ambition was never one to be stifled. The girl has something to do with it, I see? Do be careful, as that boy won't leave her, and I need him for my own devices."

"Oh. Ooh, please tell me you're trying to say that you turned yourself..." Her laughter echoed for a moment, and she covered her mouth, shaking her head, "You did this to yourself, trying to escape. Did you not realize you wouldn't be able to undo it? Oh, you silly thing. How you've managed all these years..."

With a smirk, she glanced to him again, "Rest assured though, I've no intention of harming Fiora. Nor Jack. I'm quite fond of them, in fact. Ambitions aside, she is family, and my only thought is to protect her from Eirlys. As for my plans... well, let's just say Fiora isn't the only one I'm protecting. The princess is here... close. Her mother had intentions to harm her. She means to cast a shadow on her husband, to overthrow him. Already, she schemes to take control of the kingdoms to the north and south. My spies overheard her plotting, and I was able to spirit Rosie from her attackers, but that wicked woman has spun things to her own benefit, yet again. I don't believe it was her intention to move as swiftly as she must now, but the army she's raised... they'll do damage, Erigor. And I'm not sure even I have power enough to stop it."

Sighing, she folded her hands in front of her, "There's more... Shiadra's on the move. She's found some poor soul to latch herself to. She'll know by now I've undone some of her damage on Fiora, but if she manages to get out of the swamp, she could regain her powers."

Erigor made a face, as if he'd just landed his foot in a pile of ruminating manure. His fowlish half honked raucously, not an unlikely noise Erigor in human form would've made, had he the faculty to.

"So that feckless witch is about again, giving grief to every single person whose shadow she crosses. I would help you Aladria, I would, if just to spite her, but alas in the form I currently take..."

Goose extended his wings, the mirror counterpart throwing up his arms.

"I have minor magics at my disposal, though not much. And of course, if I shall help in your endeavor to besmirch our good queen, I shall expect a favor in return."

Rolling her eyes, Aladria looked to him, "...Erigor, you rotten scoundrel, you haven't changed one bit, have you? I would have hoped that this little accident of yours might have humbled you, but no... You're still the charming egomaniac you've always been. Hubris, down to the webbed feet."

Rising, she moved closer to the mirror and sinking down, stretched out a hand to scratch the top of his head, "I won't let you hurt Jack. You understand that, right? She loves him... even if she doesn't quite understand as much, and she'll need him, before this is over. We all will, in a way. So whatever scheme you have in mind, you leave him out of it, if it's at all a danger to him." Withdrawing her hand, she folded it in her lap, "...And you will help me stop Eirlys. But not for a favor. You'll find other motivation, I assure you."

Erigor shuffled his webbed feet nevertheless, sniffing at the accusation.

"Well, if it were at all dangerous, he would bungle it up, I assure you, so it is not in the least bit hazardous to the boy's health. Don't worry that idealist's head of yours. It was worth a try to squeeze out a favor, but alas... you are right. I cannot practice my craft while Eirlys still draws breath. She is a menace to any high-minded magician. What would you have me do? Babysit?"

Erigor smirked somewhat sanctimoniously at his own joke.

Laughing softly, Aladria shook her head, "Dear me, no. I wouldn't trust you not to get bored and wander off." There was a pointed note to her tone, and her expression turned wry, "...You are apt to wander, after all."

Sitting back, she shook her head, "No. For now, watch over Jack and Fiora. I'll need to move Rosie in the next day or so. Her father will be on his way, with an old ally of mine from the palace. If all goes well, the king should have his daughter, and the truth by the week's end. Then it will be time for some changes in the monarchy at Bright Hedge. What spell was it? The one that did this to you? We'll need to find a way to reverse it, if you're going to help me overthrow my step-daughter, once and for all."

Erigor looked somewhat sheepish, though he attempted to remain stately. His fowl body looked much the same, a beady eye curiously looking away from Aladria.

"Well... if you must know, it was a transmogrification ritual done at the top of the tower. A last ditch effort, unfortunately, and so done rather clumsily. I need someone to do the reverse of the ritual, which is what the boy was to be for, as I am unable to perform the scripts without hands. It would be a quick fix, if Jack were more amenable to tutelage."

He huffed, though it was evident in the lack of real bite that he was quite fond of Jack himself. After all, the boy had a heart of gold underneath his boneheadedness, and he did anything he asked -- though not always correctly.

"I shall assist you, Aladria, have no fear of that."

Laughing softly, Aladria shook her head, "...I trust you'll find Jack to be of more use than you realize, dear Goose. We'll get you fixed, right as rain."

Rising again, she brushed herself off, "Now then. Spells about to run out... Anything else you'd like to say before you can't?"

Erigor coughed into a fist before rocking on his feet, lips pursed. Then, finally, he stated, "You look quite lovely for a woman your age Aladria. Time has treated you we..."

And, of course, there the spell finally petered out, the man silent as the goose snapped its beak shut and fluffed its feathers.

With another roll of her eyes, she bent and scratched his head again, "Right then. Off to bed with you, my dear. Make sure they're up by breakfast. We've much to discuss."

She started off, but paused, turning back to him with a smile, "And thank you, Erigor. You look well, yourself."

Goose strutted off, though not without waggling his tail feathers at the compliment. The wayward bird sauntered off towards the spare room to bed down for the night and ready the two for the next days ahead.

@Doctor Jax

Next update: Week of 10/15
 
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The Big Reveal And I Do Mean Big, This Thing Is 8 Pages Guys

Fiora woke just before the sun, content to lay in place, comforted greatly by the gentle rhythm of the heartbeat beneath her hands.

So much had happened... So much. And still there was a long way to go.

After an hour or so, she straightened, gently nudging Jack, "Time to get up, Jack."

Jack rolled over and shoved his head underneath a pillow, grumbling to have another five minutes.

Goose pecked the boy's backside, causing him to yelp and jerk off the bed. With a slight gripe, Jack staggered to his feet with his hair a-fly, clothes completely bedrumpled.

"Wait... when did we get here..." Jack asked, looking around with apprehensive confusion for a moment.

Laughing softly, Fiora shook her head, "Last night... We're... We're with my aunt. Give it minute. You'll wake up fully."

Jack took a moment to stand and think. Ah, yes! Last night, they had hiked up the mountain to see her aunt! And... Fi had her voice back.

"Did I tell your voice is beautiful? I don't remember telling you that. It is, though. Really, truly," Jack stated, realizing with a panic that he would forget to.

Blinking, Fiora smiled, cheeks tinged red at the comment, "You hadn't put it quite like that. Thank you."

"You're welcome! Now... um... I'm real sorry 'bout this, but what's for breakfast? I'm famished," Jack said, twirling around in a circle as if he could find something to eat just by doing a complete revolution. "Are you hungry? Maybe we should find your aunt..."

Laughing again, Fiora shook her head, "I'm sure she'll have something. Come on. Let's head downstairs... Goose? You coming?"

The fowl ruffled his feathers before following behind with a strut, leading the way past Fiora. Jack stared after the commanding bird, and he looked to Fi.

"What's got into him?" he asked, rubbing his sore hind end where the goose had pecked him in the backside.

Shaking her head, Fiora watched as goose took off ahead of them, "He does seem a bit odd, this morning. Did... did you get the impression my aunt knows him?"

Jack opened his mouth but realized he really couldn't think of a moment when it seemed like Aladria had seemed to have an acquaintance with Goose.

"Not really, no. I mean-- why would she?"

"She talks to him..." Smiling dryly, Fiora glanced over to Jack' "Apart from you and I, I've never met anyone willing to do that. Mostly people think it's odd."

"You do make a good point... I like to talk to Goose just because he seems to be an awful good listener," Jack stated, passing by a mirror and attempting to flatten the bedhead evident on his noggin. After all, he had to look his best before Fiora's family, though heaven help him his clothes had more wrinkles than an old woman's face.

"He is an awfully good listener. And I suppose I know a thing or two about listening." Smiling faintly, she watched him a moment, shaking her head before stepped forward to assist in taming the bedhead,

"Goodness. Got a mind all its own."

Jack made a face as Fi tried to help, the hair stubbornly refusing to cooperate.

"Mum always said she thought the hair on my head crawls off and sticks itself back on after I sleep," the boy stated as Fi ministered to him. "I dunno if it's worth it. I gotta dunk m' head in a bucket of water, or else it'll never lay flat."

Chuckling, Fi shook her head, brushing it off his forehead with a shrug, "Well, we'll just have to see if my aunt has a bucket. Or better yet, a bath. I know I could use one..."

Jack brightened at the idea of a bath.

"And maybe your aunt has some clothes! Um....well I dunno if she'll have boy clothes...."

Chuckling, Fi shrugged, "Somehow, it wouldn't surprise me."

Smoothing the front of her smock, she frowned slightly, "Maybe I should ask if she's got something I can wear... I haven't had anything new for a while. Never had the time to sew it."

Fiddling with her hands, she stared at her raw, reddened fingers, "Am I a terrible person for doing this, Jack? For leaving my brothers? I... I mean to return, but I can't help but wonder if it was wrong for me to go..."

Jack slowed his pawing through his hair as he saw the stricken look upon Fi's face. He turned to look at her and mulled the question over. He sometimes wondered why she bothered asking him. After all -- he was a dullard. An idiot. What could his opinion matter?

But she asked him, and it would be rude not to answer.

"You plan on goin' and helpin' 'em, 'n you've been at it for an awful long time anyways, Fi. I think yer brothers'd want you to breathe a minute. I don't think they're too awful uncomfortable," Jack answered seriously.

Looking to Jack, she considered his words before smiling delicately, nodding, "...I suppose you're right." Her smile brightening, she reached for his hand, giving it a squeeze, "Come on. Let's see about breakfast."

Jack was all too happy to oblige. The young man quickly walked down the hall, nearly tripping over himself as he walked down the stairs and into the main atrium.

"Um, Madame Aladria? Can we have breakfast?" he called out, unable to find her.

Aladria appeared from a small doorway in the corner of the room, and smiling brightly, waved the two to a rickety wooden table near the fire, "I was just about to see if you were awake. Have a seat, and I'll bring you something."

She had been busy that morning, and breakfast was a spread worthy of a king - there was a thick porridge, spiced with raisins, fat sausages glazed in something sticky and sweet, plump rolls with butter, and an array of pastries, all glistening and warm to touch. Fiora eyed the meal with a wide gaze, sitting across from Jack with her mouth hanging open.

"Eat..." Aladria chimed, as she poured two cup fulls of tea and something purple into goblets, setting them before the pair, "And then we'll talk."

Jack needed no prompting. He quickly took a seat and piled his plate high, only to realize too late that he had not pulled out a chair for Fi. Trailing crumbs as he shoved a pastry in his mouth, he quickly pulled out a chair with sticky fingers for his companion.

Goose, meanwhile, hopped up on the table next to Aladria and stole one of the goblets.

Her nerves outweighed by Jack's gesture, Fiora smiled and sat, before looking to Aladria, filling her own plate as she studied the woman. The former queen took a seat as well and gingerly nudged Goose away from the goblet, rolling her eyes, before she turned to Fiora.

"...You have questions. I understand. Please... both of you. Whatever you need to ask, don't hesitate."

Jack, mouth full, finally asked, "How're you and Fi related? You said ye're her aunt..."

Goose flapped his wings a bit, before snatching a pastry off Aladria's plate and dashing off to eat it next to the fire place.

Nodding, Aladria steepled her fingers beneath her chin, "...Fiora's mother Meralin was my sister. Her, along with my other sister Caprice were gifted with magic." Her eyes flickered briefly to Goose, her expression bemused, before returning to Jack, "Unfortunately, when magic was outlawed, they both fell victim to the vicious hunts against our kind and were killed. Fiora's father married again, a woman named Shiadra..."

"My step mother..." Fiora murmured.

"Indeed. A wicked woman, the foulest sort of witch. Anger possesses her to her core, and has made her vile and arrogant. She enchanted your father, because she suspected he knew of your mother's gifts, that he could help her achieve more power, but your father was too blinded by his affections for her to ever be of much use. It was anger, that drove her to curse your brothers... and when she discovered you were trying to undo the magic, she disguised herself and tricked you into agreeing to her terms."

Straightening, Fiora shook her head, "But... but are you saying..."

"She was the woman you went to for help. Yes. She is a master of controlling her form, and can appear in very many ways. In truth, I'm not sure even I know her true form. Though I would suggest even she's forgotten that much. At any rate, she paid for what she did to you and your brothers. I cursed her, bound her to the swamps of Mulgrave. Yet there was very little I could do to help you... and then I lost you, and I was sure you were gone for good."

Frowning softly, she shook her head, "I have spies within the palace who are very careful to reveal any developments of importance to me. This was how I discovered that Eirlys was after you, and for that, I came to Jack."

Looking to the boy, she smiled, "Who wasn't quite what I expected... pleasantly, so. And well, when I saw you were with Goose, I knew I could bring you here, safely enough"

Jack looked amazed, trying desperately to keep up with the many names. Slowly he recounted, "So... you were queen and your sister was a magic person, but then your sister died and Fi's Da married a bad woman who turned her brothers to gooses?"

Jack paused and took a good think before asking, "Can you turn her brothers back to men? She's awful worried about it."

Frowning softly, Aladria shook her head, "Magic is tricky, Jack. Certain spells can't be broken, but by very specific means. For instance, when I banished Fiora's step mother, it was under the stipulation that she could never leave the swamp on her own."

She paused, and for a moment her expression was one of concern, but shaking her head, she continued, "Fiora is the only one who can alter her brothers conditions... and I don't doubt she will. I'm only sorry I had to pull her away from it."

Jack nodded, a look of disappointment on his face. He looked to Fi and asked, "What about you? Do you have questions? I only had the two."

She had questions, indeed... Too many to name, but the most important and perhaps the one Aladria most hoped she would ask was easily passed to the older woman, "Why are we here?"

"Ah, yes. I had imagined you might be wondering as much. Tell me... What do you know of the current political climate within Bright Hedge?"

"Next to nothing... Except that the king and queen's daughter has gone missing... And now there's talk of war..."

Jack shook his head in answer.

"I'm from round these woods mum, I know nothin'," Jack freely admitted. "Didn't even know really that there was a queen."

With a small shake of her head, Aladria frowned, "This is entirely why I'm hoping you'll be able to help. You've very little bias to the throne, and what I'm going to ask you to do is quite dangerous, but I think you both can handle it."

"What is it?" Fiora asked, nervously.

"I need you two... to protect the princess. To keep her safe."

Jack's eyebrows met as the wheels upstairs churned.

"But....she was kidnapped, weren't she? How're we supposed to protect someone who's been kidnapped?"

"Because you're the one who took her." There was an absence of judgment in Fiora's tone, but her gaze was scrutinizing.

Aladria only smiled, nodding, "I knew you were clever. Yes, Jack... The princess is here. I took her, but not from the palace. Her mother intended to have her kidnapped and murdered, so she could pin guilt on her husband and turn the people against him. He is an obstacle in her way and his popularity would need to be obliterated before she could take him down. I got wind of the situation, and moved as swiftly as possible. But I'm afraid my part must end. It's too dangerous for me to be involved... And puts Rosie at a greater risk. I need you two to take her somewhere safe until her father arrives to bring her home."

"I think I can do that. Can she wear this amulet thing you gave me? I don't really need it..." Jack stated, lifting the trinket up. "And how old is she? If she's a baby I'll probably drop her. I mean I don't mean to but it always happens!"

Jack colored as he thought of the last baby he held. Biddy Wilson gave him nasty looks for months after....

Looking to Jack, Fiora managed a weak smile, and Aladria chuckled softly, "You may just need it, down the line, Jack... But don't you worry. Rosie is plenty old enough. Fi?"

"If... if Jack is in, I'm in. But where will we take her?"

"My mum's house is safe," Jack offered.

It was the only safe place he could think of, really. After all, who would come to the foot of Fool's Mountain to look for a little girl? Besides that, his mother's had plenty enough room, and his mum liked children....

"Do you think she'd ask questions?" Aladria asked, "I wouldn't want you to put your family at risk."

"How risky is this? Really? I... I don't want Jack getting hurt."

"Um... well, yeah, she'd ask questions about it and all but we could say she were someone else," Jack said with a straight face, completely ignoring the fact that he could not lie to save even his own skin.

However, doubt began creeping into his mind as he realized that this could be dangerous.

"Um, but there's no one around my mum to help her out and stuff. Da's there, but not really anyone else."

"Would they ever leave? Go somewhere temporarily?" Fiora asked, not without some guilt.

Jack brightened.

"If they had the money, yeah! Ma and Da have always wanted to go up north and travel a little while, but they never had the coin to. If I had the money, I could maybe ask 'em if we could have the place to ourselves!"

Of course, he did not consider that this may look a tad suspicious....

"We could hide the princess until then... And then they'd have no reason to question it."

"Tell them you've married." Aladria said plainly, and Fiora nearly choked on her tea, "You'll tell them Fiora is the daughter of a wealthy Lord. You rescued her, and her family was so grateful, they offered you her hand... When you married her, which of course you had to do rather immediately, you were given a sum by her father. You've decided to gift your parents with a portion..."

Jack stared, open-mouthed, as his brain smashed into small pieces at the word "married". He could not process the idea, much less discuss it.

"Uuuuuuh," Jack murmured, shell-shocked. "I think...That might work. Um, or maybe they just gave me the money for helping? I don't know if they would believe I got ma...ma...m-ma..."

"Well, they can't deny it if you don't, right? And they won't have half as many questions about the pair of you staying there together."

Blushing, Fiora shrugged, looking to Jack without quite meeting his eyes, "I don't mind..."

Jack looked at Fi agog.

"You don't? You sure?"

Smiling wearily, Fiora looked up at him, shaking her head, "...I mean, unless you do. I don't... I wouldn't want you to do anything distasteful."

Jack nodded, then realized what he had done. However after realizing he hadn't known what he meant, he shook his head instead.

Goose, done with these proceedings, squawked suddenly. Jack jumped and said, "Yes! I'll do it. I mean-- Mum will be heartbroken I lied. She likes you."

Chuckling, Fiora shook her head, "...We'll explain when it's over, and I'm sure she'll forgive you. It's a very noble thing, Jack, and not many people would risk it."

"...I know very few, in fact." Aladria noted. Looking to Goose, she smirked, before turning back to Jack, "It's settled, then. Well, except for the gold. That, I can handle..."

"Will we take the girl now or are we gonna wait? Do we start today?" Jack asked, gingerly taking another pastry to put on Fi's plate before putting one on his own.

"It would be best to start as soon as possible..." Aladria noted, as Fiora picked at the pastry, "The danger of keeping her here increases daily. I worry if I don't move her, soon, it will be too late. If you're uncomfortable, Jack... you needn't be afraid to say so."

Jack looked at Fi, noticing her reluctance, and he got up, took her by the arm, and began to pull her towards the hallway, motioning.

With a nod from Aladria, Fiora rose, following Jack with a small, curious frown. In the hallway, she turned to him, "...What is it?"

Jack paced the floor in the hall, hands to his mouth before finally stopping and looking at her.

"What you thinking? I just... I know it's a lot, you know, from your aunt you din even know you had 'n it's dangerous 'n...."

"...I'm scared." She admitted, lowering her gaze, "And I can't help but feel... I... I feel like it's my fault you're here, at all. I don't want you to get hurt, Jack. Not for anything." Looking up, her eyes damp, she shrugged, "But if we don't do this and something happens? I couldn't live with that."

"Fi...." Jack laughed, taking her hands. "Will this make you happy? I'm not scared. I worry you don't want this. You're in this too."

Looking down at his hands, she nodded, "I do. I do... I'm just..." Glancing up again, she sniffed softly, "How are you not scared?"

"I've got you," Jack said simply. "I mean-- and Goose. But... I never done nothing good in my life. And this is something I can do. I can protect this little girl and I can protect you."

With a soft, sad laugh, Fiora shook her head, "I've never had anyone to watch over me. Not after my brothers were taken away..." Meeting his eyes, she shrugged, "...I'm not gonna let anything happen to you, Jack."

"Then we're even cuz nothin' will happen to you neither," said Jack with a smile. "I'm in if you're in."

He walked back into the dining room and sat down.

"I think we can do it. Mum'll be happy to travel somewhere with Da."

Fiora followed, nodding behind Jack and Aladrian rose to her feet, "It's settled, then. We'll leave this evening, before dark."

"You... you wouldn't happen to have a bath? And a change of clothes for us?"

Chuckling, Aladria nodded, "You have been through quite the ordeal. I'll have one drawn... Jack, clothes for you might be a bit trickier, but I think I have some of Goose's things, still."

"But I can't go about wearing Goose feathers," Jack said with a confused look. "Besides how do you have Goose's things?"

Looking to Goose, Aladria smirked, "Should I tell him, or would you like to?"

Goose shook his head at Aladria, as if to gesture with his wings to go ahead. Jack seemed confused, looking between the two. Perhaps Fi was right and they knew each other. Maybe Aladria could speak Geese-ish.

Looking to Jack, Aladria smirked, "Your friend, Jack, is a very well known magician. His name is Erigor... And for a very long time, he was a friend of mine. It would seem, by some small accident, he's turned himself into a goose."

Jack's eyes bugged out of his head, and he looked to Goose. His expression turned questioning, and Goose sheepishly shifted.

"Well....um...I'll take those clothes then."

Laughing softly, Aladria nodded, gesturing, "Up those stairs. First door to your left. There's a chest of drawers. Whatever fits is yours. There's an iron tub as well, with a working pump and some salts, as well."

Turning to Fiora, she smiled, "Come with me, child. We'll get you cleaned up."

Aladria treats Jack and Fi to breakfast, and they stuff their faces while asking her questions. Aladria was queen at one point, and her sister was Fi's mother before magic users fled/were killed, making Fi a possible successor to the throne. Fi and Jack agree to transport Rosie, Aladria's granddaughter and princess, to a safe place where they'll meet Christoff and hand her over.
 

Anhlan Ai

There was a part of her, long since contained, that felt a thrill with the prospects of what Declan had outlined. She hadn't traveled to Remoria before which most notably added to the sense of adventure she had always enjoyed in her years as a Nightingale, but it was the intrigue of the matter that sealed the welling sensations into comprehension. It felt like she was back in her old line of work, like she was a Nightingale once again out on a mission to which the kingdom was dependent.

"How does Alfie come into play?" she asked. "Will he be more willing to help than others?"

Smiling faintly, the edge fading from his tone, he shrugged, "He was my best mate. If I've got any hope, it'll be Alfie. You and I can handle it, otherwise, but it'll be easier with more heads thinkin' on it. And Alfie's work on the roads gives him more information than me about who might be tryin' to recruit criminals .. and more important, why..."

"It is fairly suspect," she thought out loud. And as much as she wished to spout ideas, she knew she could not fully suspect due to her lack of understanding of Mulgrave. "Who would benefit from arming the criminals?"

"I'm not sure I want to know. Someone who doesn't care about the quality of the men they recruit for an army, can't have much good in mind." As they neared the edge of the woods, he paused, holding an arm out to stop her, "...Have you been into the swamp at all, Ana?"

Anhlan shook her head no, eyes casting from Declan to the earth at their feet. "Once the Johans took me in I did not travel very much beyond the farm. Is it a dangerous place?"

"Very..." He admitted for a nod, "Just stick close and we should be alright. Watch where you step, and if you hear anything... I mean anything, tell me immediately. It's not just beasts in the woods, so we'll need to be alert."

Mulgrave was a dingier place than Kyxia, but it seemed the appearances of the land would not deter similar dangers. Anhlan tread on light footing, rolling cautiously from toe to heel to feel what she placed her foot upon before easing in all of her weight. She followed close to Declan as ordered, her eyes alternating from looking at where he stepped to their surroundings, a keen ear to the sounds about them. It was not a time she would speak unless spoken to, and it was likely better they both kept silent until there was something to report. They were to find Alfie’s cabin in the quagmire, and hopefully that and the man was all they would find.
 

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NPCS: Aelynn

Once Uther determined no threats were around the property, he followed the two inside. He could tell the king was wary of the situation. Uther couldn't blame him. Ever since his old apprentice contacted him, the old knight had his trust tested ever since. If he were in the king's place, he'd want his trust rewarded quickly.

"Your highness," Uther addressed as he pulled out the magic mirror given to him by Aladria. "I prefer to get to the point quickly, so..."

Uther stared into the mirror as he was instructed and shared the mirror with Cristoff.

"I hope this works..." he thought to himself.

There was a crackling sound, as Uther pulled the mirror free and Aelynn smirked, tugging on the king's sleeve, "Watch this... it's wick--"

With a spark, the mirror came to life and on the other side, the former queen appeared, wearing a small, gentle smile, "Uther... I was beginning to worry. Is he there? Have you brought him?"

"Milady," Uther began with a slight bow of his head. "The king has put a lot of trust in us. He should be rewarded."

"I - What the-- Aladria?!"

Christoff glanced down at the young lady beside him and then up and over and Uther. He swallowed tenderly and glanced back at the mirror with a worried frown. This... Did Ella know of this? Why hadn't she said? Not in his wildest dreams did he expect to come face to face with the last queen, exiled for magic...

"Tell me true, do you know where my daughter is?"

"Indeed, Your Majesty. I do. I have her... Or I did." There was a pause as she let her words settle, and Aelynn leaned closer to see, still smiling, "She's safe, Christoff. I got to her before they could harm her, and I've hidden her away with a most trusted ally."

Relief was evident on his face despite his still-furrowed brows and the hesitancy of his stance. Glancing at Aelynn once more, Christoff shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose before continuing.

"Why would anyone would have wanted to harm Rose? What is the point in all this? Where is she and how do I get her back, Aladria?"

Uther stayed silent during the exchange. This was between the king and former queen. Still, the knight couldn't understand why the mirror couldn't just show the princess. It would have made his job much easier in getting the king out of Bright Hedge.

He waited for Aladria to give him instructions on where to go next.

"I've sent her into Renloth. South of Fool's Mountain. The mirror is spelled. Take it with you and it will lead you to her. But Christoff... You must know... It was her. Eirlys. It's been her plan from--"

There was a pause, and the woman looked away from the mirror, frowning. With a breath, she returned, "...Just in time, it seems. I've got some company. Uther... Thank you. You always served me well. Forgive me, that I could not be a better Queen, in my time. Christoff... The girl with Rosie. She is my niece. You know what this means. She will need your guidance... Uther, your protection. Be safe... And whatever it takes... Stop Eirlys."

There was a sound, hollow and loud and shouting, before the vision faded as swiftly as it had appeared.

"Bloody hell... What just happened..." Aelynn whispered.

"Come on!" Uther growled and began to tap furiously at the mirror, trying to bring Aladria back. Something had clearly gone wrong. Yet there was no way to know what became of his queen than to go up the mountain and find out.

"Bah..." Uther sighed in frustration, putting away the mirror. "Your Highness, I can take you to Renloth, but it has to be now. I make for Fool's Mountain. I must find what fate Queen Aladria has met."

Uther then turned to Aelynn. He had not yet grasped the full weight that he had been charged with protecting a mysterious descendent of his queen. He had no idea what threat she faced. What he did know was that he wasn't running some daycare.

"But first, you're going home. This has gotten even more dangerous, hard as that is to believe."

“Uther’s right,” Christoff replied softly, pushing his inner turmoil aside and glancing down at young Aelynn. Smiling, the king ruffled her hair a bit, the exchange reminding him of his Rose. A bittersweet ache formed in his chest and looking away, tried to focus through the haze of information Aladria had lain upon him. “We need to get you home and back to your mother, else she’ll start to worry.”

Worry. More than anything he wished he could thrust his arm through that magical mirror and snatch his daughter back. From what little he understood, however, magic could accomplish many things… but that wasn’t one of them. Gathering his racing thoughts, swirling between guidance and niece, daughter and Renloth, Ella and Eirlys--

“What do you think is the best way to proceed, my dear man? It does nothing to my pride to admit your expertise in this matter far exceeds mine.”

Uther sighed. This was actually happening. He was taking the king. If anyone caught them, the knight would surely be hanged. Great care was needed to avoid such a fate.

"Milord, does anyone know you are gone? That will determine how long we have before your men come searching."

"Oi! He's the king..." Aeona interjected, her pale, freckle-splotched cheeks turning red, "He can do what he wants... And so can I! I'm not leaving... and if you try to take me home, I'll just follow you."

Hands on her hips, she looked between the two men, "I'm almost an adult, and hell... growin' up the way I did, I'm good as, anyway. Mum wouldn't have sent me if she didn't think I'd be fine. Besides... Neither of you'd even be here if it weren't for me! And I... I wanna help. I never did nothin' worth anything, and I need to help."

Uther turned to Aelynn. He did not appreciate the interruption, not when he was trying to get the king out of the city.

"Your mother sent you on an errand across town, not to Renloth. This is no castle-hopping daytrip. We could very well be walking into a battle. I doubt your mother would be so eager to let you go if she knew."

He turned back to the king but he was still thinking about the stubbornness of the girl. He swore if Aladria's niece was another kid like Aelynn, he would impale himself on his own sword.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Christoff glanced idly between Uther and Aelynn with a look that straddled annoyance and amusement. But the faint light that once emanated from his eyes flickered, and with a sigh, shoulders crumbling, he shook his head.

"Only Ella knows I'm gone. A-And I'm worried that something will happen to her. Eirlys, she-" Stopping himself short, he shook his head once more before continuing.

"Uther, you are correct. We need to leave now. And as we have no time to escort Lady Aelynn back to her mother, she will come with us."

Kneeling before the young girl, Christoff smiled conspiratorially, though his eyes were dark with grave sincerity.

"This is a dangerous road we travel, do I have your word you will listen and respect what the both of us ask of you?"

Before she could answer, he looked up at Uther. "Until we're able to procure another horse, she can ride with me while you lead the way."

Aelynn's pout vanished as Christoff knelt before her, her gaze flickering between the knight and the king as she considered their words. Despite her stubbornness, her gaze had shifted to one of genuine concern at the idea of Ella coming to harm, but she seemed to settle a moment later, nodding.

"Every word... Swear on my Mum. She'd kick me for it, but I do anyway."

While Uther vehemently disagreed with the king's declaration, he also knew there was no time to argue. They had already lingered too long as it was. Still, if Aelynn was to join them, he would certainly put her to work.

"So be it," Uther relented, adjusting his cloak as he led the two out the door. Once he determined there were no spies around, the knight approached his horse and mounted. He waited for the king to do the same.

"We will reach Falmar Plains by sunrise, assuming we avoid drawing attention. If we're stopped, follow my lead."

Christoff mounted his horse and nodded his head firmly. "I will. And thank you."

Leaning and extending his arm down, he waited for Aelynn to grab hold so he could swing her up into the saddle.

Aelynn grasped the king's hand, and as he settled her into the saddle, she looked forward, sheepishly petting the mane in front of her.

"Thanks, Majesty. For not makin' me go home... Swear I won't be no trouble."

And for all her sass and immeasurable spirit, Aelynn meant every word. Their journey was one blessedly without incident, and might very well have remained so… were it not for the roadblock.It was sometime in the evening, shortly after dusk, and flickering light from torches dancing across the black horizon, the wind whipping red and orange sparks through great tendrils of smoke.

There at the center stood several guards, their postures rigid, expectant. Their uniforms were that of Bright Hedge, but little could be said for familiarity of faces in the darkness.

Frowning gingerly, Aelynn peered back at the king and the knight beyond him, “...Ain’t never been a toll on this road, before, Majesty… Don’t smell right.”

@Toogee

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NPCS: Declan Martel || Lilianna Gentry | Alfeus Swann

"Following me again, are ya's?" The change of pace was not exactly what Katze had in mind. The salt on his tongue tasted more bitter than ever, and he couldn't help but scrunch his face with a wee bit of puckering when a second set of footsteps tip-toed after him. "Ain't gunna leave me be either, are you?"

Rolling her eyes, she shook her head, "Don't trust you not to run off. Besides, it's better than sitting around chatting. How you stand those two, I can't imagine." Rubbing her temples, she frowned, "...I need to get out of these woods. And fast. You need to make sure this little camp out doesn't last long."

"You whine too much," Katze grunted. "Plus, they ain't bad folk. Less annoying than you are, anyhow." He approached the river, dunking his feet up to ankle in the lollygagging currents, half-heartedly praying for some sea creature to come and take him away as an afternoon nibble. Alas, he didn't seem so lucky. Dunking the bucket below the surface, he came up with it brimming and full. "You seem kinda scared. You runnin' from something?"

"Someone's undone some of my magic. A very deeply rooted spell. It's not meant to be done the way it was." Frowning, she looked to him, "I felt it. Like a part of me, being torn away. You don't like me... But it's in your best interest to keep me alive. I die, you die... Remember? I need to find the bitch who did it and undo her."

"Yea, yea," he replied. "Who knows, if I die, maybe I'll come back as a cat n' have nine lives." Stepping from the water, he shook off his boots and glanced in Bertha's direction, his eyes narrowing to slit as he studied her countenance. A beautiful woman, no doubt, but all magic. He couldn't help but wonder if behind all that beauty, there were wrinkles generations deep. "If you find that... ahem... bitch and undo her, I get free, yea?" he asked, trudging back towards camp.

"Hm. Maybe." She cooed, smiling faintly, "Maybe I'll keep you, instead. I could use a good manservant. I had one once. Nosy, though. I turned him into a lizard. Ironically, I think a cat ate him."

The smile flickered and she stepped close enough to whisper, "Point is, I'll let you go when I want. And no sooner."

Katze stopped in his tracks and glanced over his shoulder. "Oh, aye?" he asked, quirking a brow up his forehead and creating a deep wrinkle near his hairline. "Think you're smart?" He dunked his fingers in the bucket of water and flicked the droplets at her with a snort. "Shame, here I heard rumors witches melt like salt," he said, before setting off towards the camp once more.

"Smart and water resistent, my dear." Moving after him, she narrowed her eyes, "And don't forget it."

"I will," he replied. "Forget it, that is. I won't give up so easy, you know. Eventually, you'll set me free, just ya watch. You'll get sick of me sooner or later. Everyone does. Plus, thought ya's were coming to help, any ways? Why don't you carry this trough for a while."

"I uh, hm. It's a, a long story you see..." Alfeus said softly, glancing away shyly. "I helped someone, my best mate. It's kind of the reason I've been out here in the swamp."

Chuckling, she shook her head, "I don't tire so easy of entertaining sport, Katze. But nice try..." Reaching into the bucket, she collected water on her fingertips, flicking it at his nose, "Best you carry it. Show your little sister how responsible you are. Are you going to tell her, by the way? Curious minds want to know."

He crinkled his nose at her and snorted, fighting a sneeze by giving his head a shake. He collected the bucket and trudged on. “No. Why bother? It wouldn’t change nothing for the better.”

Shrugging her shoulders, the witch smirked, "Makes no difference to me if you do or don't. I don't care one bit about it. Might tell her myself, down the line. See how it all unfolds in a grand explosion of dramatic. Who knows... It's something to think about, anyway."

"See if I care," Katze replied with a shrug. "You can do whatever you *** well like. It's not gonna change anything. What dramatics do you think are gonna unfold?" He shook his head and, having made it back to camp.

It took a moment for Alfeus to respond, fixated on the fire as he was. When he was satisfied with his work, a steady fire was raging, and he stood to drag his boot along the ground, clearing away any brush. He was pause here and there, brows furrowing as he mulled on how to respond to Lilianna.

"Honestly, I-I'm not sure if she is. Bertha looks okay, a little weary for sure, but something seems a bit off. I think there's something she's not telling us, but yeah... I hope she is okay... and I'll do my ***edest to make sure you both stay that way. The swamp is a beast you do not toil with.

"But maybe you're right about Katze... I- I'm still not sure what to make of him. Ain't so bad after awhile, I suppose. Wish he'd lighten up a bit, though."

Lilianna sighed and shook her head, her gaze drifting from the fire to Alfie again, "Broken people are often wary. It's hard... trusting. But what happened there? That... that seemed like something else."

A sigh escaped, and she shrugged, "I suppose we'll just have to see. But thank you. I appreciate all you've done. And you should know, I'm not entirely useless. So... I've got your back, as well."

Bringing his shoulders to his ears, Alfeus shrugged deeply, making a face after Lil's first comment. But his demeanor sobered as she finished.

"Thank you." Alfie said with a wistful half-smile. "And while I've never doubted your resourcefulness, Lil, let's hope it doesn't come to that. Hope that fate runs it's course and leaves us well enough alone."

"Best we don't stay here too long, then." Lil noted with a smile, "The swamp has a way of turning luck inside out. Can... can I ask a question?"

"Right you are," Alfie said softly, rubbing his hands over the fire to warm them up. Sensing her hesitation, his eyes turned wary but eventually he nodded, "Of course."

Biting the edge of her lip, she glanced over to him, studying the side of his face, "Back in the prison. Katze was right... My story could've been a complete lie. You easily could've just ignored me. So why didn't you? Why did you let me go?"

Dragging a hand through his brown hair, Alfeus frowned softly, brows furrowing together. "I'm not sure, honestly. I just...

"Maybe I did it for me. Maybe I did it to redeem myself... I don't know... I saw something in your eyes, Lil, and something inside me trusted it."

Frowning, Lil shifted her gaze back to the fire, "What could you possibly have to redeem yourself from?"She breathed.

As she waited for the story, Lil sat back and slowly, a brow lifted, "That's it? You helped someone... And it wound you up out here? And you think that somehow means you owe the world your redemption? Alfie... That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. It's you that's been wronged."

Sighing, wringing his hands slightly, Alfeus shook his head. "It's not as simple as that... I- There's confidences I vowed to take to my grave. I just," Rising to his feet and clearing his throat, "It's just complicated.

But t-thank you."

Frowning softly, Lil leaned forward to cup her hand over his, shaking her head, "Alfeus... I don't care much for guards... soldiers... any of that. But I can tell you, in the few hours I've known you, you've shown me that people, in general, no matter who they are, can be kind and good, even when you don't expect them to be. Whatever you think you owe the world, I don't think I could see you as someone who needs redemption from anything."

"Thank you, Lil." His voice was scratchy, hesitant almost, but the sincerity was heart-rending. His face was passive, however, eyes unfocused. He squeezed her hand before continuing.

"What you said... it reminds me of somethin' my ma used to say. 'Be good, son, be kind.' Never really thought I'd live up to it until now..,"

Lil opened her mouth to respond, but as Katze and Bertha returned to the clearing, she fell quiet, drawing her hands back to her lap.

“Oh…” Bertha breathed, “I’m sorry. We… we didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“No worries....” Lil said with a small smile, “Rest up a few minutes. We’ll head out soon.”

Tags:@rissa & @Nav


As it often was with precarious places like the Teldavi swamp, sometimes, the most difficult thing wasn’t the dangers… but waiting for them to strike. Declan was on guard, as much as one could be with the unknown. He walked in silence, even his footfall as delicate and easy as possible and now and then he would stop to catch his bearings, as he brought to mind the map to Alfeus’s cabin.

But each crack of a twig, each rustle of a leaf had the man on edge, and tension road hard through his shoulders, through the tightness of his jaw. Twice, he swung his arm out to catch Ana, the first at the sound of something heavy, rushing their direction. It turned out to be a deer, spooked by something deeper in the trees, but never the less, Declan waited until it had gone entirely before he continued forward. The second time, he just about yanked the woman off her feet as he gestured to a small patch of dark grass they’d nearly tread into.

“Mirkweed.” He explained, “Wraps around your ankles and roots you in place. See the tendrils?” He explained, pointing to the curly links at the end of each blade, “They’re hard to see from a distance… Just look for the color and avoid stepping into it.”

They had continued on, then, and for what seemed to be hours, walked without incident. Eventually, Declan halted Ana again, but this time, it was with a small smile, as he gestured to a scrap of cloth, tied round a skinny branch of a small ash tree, “...It’s his marker. We’re close. With any luck he’ll be--”

Whatever his next words were going to be, Declan was cut off as a sudden, sharp growl pierced through the clearly and swearing, Declan wrapped his hand around Ana’s wrist, pulling her back against a massive oak trunk. His finger fell to his lip, and he peeked around the trunk and bursting through the thicket, wood and branches, leaves and dirt spraying every which way, an enormous creature tore from the trees.

Roughly eight or nine feet tall, hunched over, the hulking beast wore a shaggy coat of glossy black fur, damp, as if it were slicked by oil. A long snout jutted from an oddly thin neck, sharp, jagged teeth poking out in uncoordinated angles. The eyes of the beast were pale white, without pupils, and it lumbered back and forth in place, black nose tipped skyward, sniffing loudly.

Looking to Ana, Declan shook his head, finger to his lips still as he mouthed, silently ‘Don’t. Move.’

@Effervescent

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NPCS: Merek & Travis Loren

Jacob blinked, looking up. “Oh.” He mumbled. “Of course.” His gaze turned to Travis. The man had tried to help, and Jacob appreciated the effort, but he felt trapped within a fog. “Water. And wood for a fire.” He echoed, and turned on his heel. “I-I’ll go collect some water, Travis. Would you go look for wood?”

Wendy nodded from her position at the rear of the caravan, not trusting herself to speak as she replied in the affirmative to Merek’s question. Pausing only to take stock of their surroundings, and more importantly where they were, she made for a path into the woods. It had perhaps been the elder Loren’s intention to hunt with her, but she didn’t bother to inquire. The tower had left her in a dark place, and she hadn’t said a word since they’d left it behind.

Some distance from the path, she began stopping every so often to string traps for rabbits. Having dropped a few, she turned her eyes to the ground, seeking signs of deer or other creatures of palpable meat.

“It's only one night, Red.” It had been his intention to hunt with her, but whatever spirits Wendy and her brother were in, he could follow just as easily as hunt. He didn't smile as he spoke, though his words were light enough, and gesturing to the traps he shrugged, “That'll probably do, and I'm not sure if poaching laws changed in these parts, so we'd best take as little as we need. Come on… you got a few sprung already. I'll help clean ‘em.”

Travis, meanwhile had gathered a good portion of sticks and kindling, and after a few strikes of the flint, had a small fire rolling. Rising, dusting off his hands, he followed the sounds of the stream to look for the other Palin.

Hollow… as it turned out, was a perfectly ironic sentiment. For in truth, Jacob had come away from the tower with more than he had arrived. The boy was haunted, and it wasn't a matter of time, it was a matter of heart. He would see them… tortured figures in his sleep, in the flickering flames, in the rippling reflection of the water. He would see them, slowly driving him mad.

And Travis, who knew little of these things, nevertheless imagined it wasn't a wise course of action for him to be alone. Finding him near the stream, he quietly cleared his throat, “Figured I'd fill up the cantines, if you fill the pot.”

Jacob swallowed, staring at the flowing river beneath him. Bent down on his hands and knees, he could barely bring himself to begin the actual work, only watching his own shimmering reflection. He didn’t recognize the person in front of him, and especially not when his glittering duplicate began to form into the gnarled hands of the witch, reaching out to grab him from the river.

Dropping the pot, Jacob reeled away from the edge of the water, halting his breath in an attempt to catch his scream. From behind him, someone cleared their throat, and with a jolt Jacob whipped around, only to meet the concerned face of Travis.

“O-oh. Oh.” Jacob said, taking a deep and shaky breath. “R-right. That’d be a great help.” Jacob said, reaching for the pot once more and looking bravely into the river. Only his reflection stared back.

Just beyond the campsite, Wendy rose from her tracking to help Merek with the catch. Four rabbits, full grown and lean, lay huddled within each snare, the wire gripping leg and neck with unyielding strength. A few others had been sprung but held no prey; if the disturbed leaves and occasional droppings were any sign, it was likely a small group of rabbits had made their way through shortly after Wendy had rigged the snares.

The Palin girl approached the first, kneeling down to handle business. The rabbit, shivering beneath a small bush, looked at her with wide fearful eyes. Her mouth went taut as she stared back. Hesitation weighed her limbs down; work needed doing, but she was loathe to do it. Regret? *** tower. Putting her mind aside, Wendy engaged her body, trusting that it knew what to do.

It did. Removing an axe, she dispatched and cleaned two of the four rabbits expertly, saving half the work for Merek. It was roughly done, if quickly so; though Wendy manipulated the thick blade with familiarity, as it’d been the only blade she’d had for so long, it was still a poor choice of instrument for such delicate work. But she’d accept no other; it was the way she’d done things til now, and it’d always worked well enough for her purposes.

Having bled out the corpses and wrapped both meat and pelt in leaves as a temporary preservation measure, Wendy stood, pelts in one hand and food in the other. Some small amount of blood had spattered across her cloak, but she paid it no mind; it would dry and crust as it always did, and once the smell became unbearable, she’d wash it. For now, they needed to return to the campsite to wash and cook some dinner, as well as to dry the pelts. She looked to Merek to check his progress.

If Travis had noticed Jacob’s startling display, he said nothing, and in truth, he knew it wouldn’t pay much to bring it to light, even if he had any idea what the kid was going through. He filled the canteens and slung them over his shoulder, and only when he had finished, did he turn to look at Jacob.
He didn’t need sympathy. He didn’t need useless words of encouragement. He needed to feel like a normal, ordinary person again. Like a man. He needed to get back to doing… instead of thinking… and if nothing else, Travis could comprehend that.

“...All set?”

Merek, meanwhile, had his rabbits skinned and cleaned, and as Wendy turned his way, he gave a nod, holding the brace up by their hindlegs, cleaning his knife on the grass with the other. He wouldn’t lie to himself - it was difficult, watching her work. There was a struggle, it seemed, inside Wendy, not to embrace the darkness… not to give into her more animalistic nature, to shrink the humanity down, inside of herself, just to cope with all that she had been through.

Similar in a way, to Travis’s nature with Jacob, there wasn’t much comfort to be given in words. Only action with propel the Palin twins into a life that wasn’t quite so grim and miserable… Only when they were able to move past their tragedies, would they recover.

“Nice work They should be back with the water, by now. We’ll get these on spits and over the fire…”

“All set.” Echoed Jacob, without much confidence, even though there was a difference from earlier. Whatever had happened to him on the tower, he had to put it behind him. It hadn’t been real. It wasn’t. He had to push through whatever clung on to plague him. The witch was dead. And Lena was… she was gone too.

He gave Travis a weak smile and pulled himself to his feet, picking up the pot with a grunt. All set.

The light of the fire was welcoming, in its own destructive way. Like a poison brewed to provide great pleasure to tongue. Having made the short trek back from the traps, Wendy crouched beside the flames, setting her rabbits down and constructing a spot upon which to roast them. Roast. For all her anxiety about a future with Jacob, she couldn’t help but look forward to dinner. Fire was a luxury while on the hunt, and roast rabbit had been a delicacy long denied her. Her mouth watered involuntarily.

The rabbits she skewered and set across the fire, doing the same with Merek’s haul. Every so often, she’d give them a small turn, trying as well as her inexperience allowed to avoid burning the flesh. Between turns, Wendy ensured that the pelts were clear of tendon and vein and set them close to the fire as well, speeding their drying time. Absently she cursed her lack of salt; it was the surest way the guarantee the skins didn’t rot. Yet as with everything she made the best of what she had.

Neither was a short process, and when Jacob and Travis did finally approach, Wendy glanced up reactively, hand flying to her axe as she half raised. Recognizing her companions, she squatted down again, focusing on her work to the exclusion of all else.

Wendy’s paranoia was met with a small smirk from Merek… not unkind, but somewhat sardonic. All that they had been through, and she still didn’t trust that he and the others were capable of protecting as much as she was. How long would it take before she understood they were on her side? That they had her back?

Nodding to Travis and Jacob, he gestured to the rabbits over the fire, “Shouldn’t be but a few more minutes. I think it’s perhaps time we sat down and discussed a plan for when we arrive in Bright Hedge. I’m not much a strategist myself, so if anyone has any thoughts on how we’ll find information, I’m open to suggestions.”

After a rather uncomfortable moment of silence, filled only by the crackle of the immolated logs and the creak of the turning spit, Wendy broke in.

“I’ve not been far since … the Beast, and maps were never my thing.” She hesitated, pausing to test the coneys for doneness with a pinch to the meat before continuing. “So I haven’t the first idea of what actual path to take. But it makes sense to travel off the path; we’ll go slower, maybe, but patrols won’t see us.”

Giving the rabbits another prod, she nodded to herself and lifted them from the fire. As before, she reached for a hatchet to begin parsing out the meat. But she stopped and looked instead from one companion to the next.

“Knife?”

Handing his over, Merek nodded, slowly, “That sounds like the most reasonable thought, though I can’t imagine we’ll be hunted this far from Elderidge. We’ll finish our meal, and head out. I’d rather we travel during the day, to avoid any unwanted visitors…”
@Red Thunder, @CloudyBlueDay

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NPCS: Fiora Rimel || Aladria

Jack didn't need to be told twice. He dashed up the stairs and careened into the room Aladria had told of, finding the chest of clothes. Goose came along with, clucking, though the cluck turned to a squawk as soon as he saw the outfits Jack was putting together.

"Goose, you had some nice things!" Jack stated appreciatively, holding up bright yellow pants to a purple and red shirt.

Fiora, meanwhile was led to another bath, and after a soak in water dressed with lavender, Aladria laid her out a silvery grey dress and a blue bodice. There were shoes as well, sturdy black boots.

Dressed, she returned to the lower floor, to dry her hair by the fire.

Jack instead tried several outfits-- and many times was chastised by Goose. At last he picked something fitting, in both sense of the word, choosing a simple black doublet and white shirt and pants. He walked down the stairs towards the fire, and he stopped.

"You look lovely," he said with a dopey smile.

Looking to Jack, Fiora smiled, "Thank you... You look nice, too." Smoothing the front of her skirt, she shrugged, "First new dress I've ever had."

"Same. I mean -- not a dress, obviously, but this is nice, gettin' new clothes. I only ever got my brothers' old things, though I guess this'd be all of Goose's old things... they're nicer than what I used to have, though," Jack said, admiring himself as he twirled in a circle as if to try and see his back as well as his front.

"Seems kinda crazy, innit?" Jack said, after he stopped a minute, getting dizzy.

Laughing, Fiora shrugged, "I'm not sure I'm the proper authority on what's crazy or not, Jack. My brothers have feathers and beaks..."

"I'm a bit flabbergasted to find out Goose ain't actually a goose," Jack threw in, shrugging and sitting next to Fi. "I guess I never had nothing interesting happen to me. Now I have... oh, lots of things happenin' all at once. We got a princess to keep 'n all."

Jack sighed and stared off into the distance, as if the weight of what he'd agreed to had finally settled over him.

"Mum always said I could get in trouble just sittin' on a bucket," Jack said, ruffling his hair uncertainly.

Moving closer, Fiora reached out to put a hand to his arm, "But we've got each other, Jack. We'll take care of each other and that princess, and we'll get through it."

Jack looked to Fi, and there he saw something he had never imagined he needed -- trust. It was something he'd not experienced a single time in his life. Everyone he had ever met -- everyone he had ever known in his life -- they had treated him as though he were a bull with half its brains cooked, completely with a dangling cowbell on each horn and huff.

Fi trusted him, and it was perhaps the most precious gift he could think of.

He nodded tearfully with a grin, patting Fi's arm. "We certainly are. It'll be a grand story to tell my children and their children when I'm old. 'I helped a princess, you know.'"

Looking to Jack, Fiora smiled more delicately, "...That your best friend was a goose, and my brothers were swans..."

"Well, there's that part, too," Jack said. "I forgot about all that. It won't make for a bad story. Oh! And we slept at the palace once too! They won't believe a word we say."

Jack sat down on the bed.

"What do you think the princess is like?" he asked. "I dunno how take care of a princess, really. Never met many of 'em."

Staring after him for a moment, Fiora's skin flushed as her mind looped around his words... They. We. It wasn't difficult to misinterpret, certainly... But had she?

"Hmm? Oh! The princess. I've heard she's lovely. Sweet and kind. I can't imagine she'll be difficult."

"Alright! I hope she isn't like Sissy Allen's daughter, Meg. She was awful," Jack said, shuddering at the thought. "Once, I told her that her pigtails were lopsided. She threw a tantrum, splashed mud on her dress, and told her mum I did it. Ended up clubbed about the ears, I did."

Jack sighed with dejection at the memory.

"I do hope the princess is kind. How long you think we gotta keep her?"

Frowning, Fiora shook her head, "How anyone who spends more than a few minutes with you can think you're anything but wonderful, I'll never understand. But I'm sure she'll be perfectly nice."

Sighing, she smoothed her skirts, subconsciously, "I don't know... Hopefully all of this will be sorted quickly, but it doesn't seem like my Aunt has much hope that it'll be over fast, does it?"

"Not that I see, anyways. If anything, she hasn't really given us too many details, but I wouldn't remember them anyways," Jack admitted, shrugging his shoulders. He blushed as he recalled what she said.

"You think I'm wonderful? Fi, you're gonna give me a big head..."

"We'll figure out the details as we go along. Been all right so far, right?"

Her own cheeks slightly flushed, Fi nodded, "I really do, Jack. I just understand how anyone can't see it..."

"Well... I did almost cut off Joe Hammond's foot off that one time. I think sometimes I... I don't think and..." Jack shrugged his shoulders helplessly. "Sometimes I hurt people that way, I guess."

"Everyone makes mistakes. We shouldn't be judged for them, forever. And anyway, surely they see the good things you do, don't they?"

Jack scuffed his shoes against the floor, suddenly remembering the ire of his mother and father, the many times his brothers had turned him away when they went hunting.

"Sometimes... I lose things, or I make people lose things. Once, we almost went hungry the whole winter because I scared off a doe Tegan was going to shoot. He got it, but we tracked it for a week," Jack reminisced. "It's not that I mean to do bad. Sometimes it just sort of happens. I try to help, I do. But the only thing I've ever been good for is music."

"That's not true at all, Jack." Reaching for his hands, she tipped to meet his gaze, "You were plenty good at keeping me safe, and apparently, though I greatly argue, I'm someone important enough. You got us out of the palace... You even got us here."

Jack looked up at Fi, and the words seemed to lighten his heart a little.

"I wouldn'ta been able to do it without Goose, though," he reasoned, looking over his shoulder at the fowl who was sitting besides a gently roaring fire.

The Goose squawked, shaking its head.

Chuckling softly, Fiora shrugged, "Maybe... But he wouldn't be here if you hadn't brought him down from the mountain in the first place." Her lip curved in a smile that was almost sly, "...I can keep doing this, all day, you know."

Jack hung his head with a small smile, hiding it from the young woman.

"Yeah, I guess you could. You're a lot smarter than me. Patient, like a saint," Jack praised, looking up. "What do you think you'll do after this? When you turn your brothers back and we all go home?"

Biting her lip, she looked to him, studying him for a moment, "I... I don't know. I've never much thought of it. Though I guess... I mean... it would depend a lot of where you go, now."

Jack scrunched his nose as he considered where he himself was going.

"You know, I didn't much think of it neither. I thought I'd, you know... go back home to Mum, but Goose ain't really allowed home. Maybe we could help Goose," the young man said, looking back at the bird, who agreed with a massive squawk, flying up to the vaulted ceiling.

Jack ducked in surprise as the Goose flew in a circle and landed near them with little grace, squawking. Jack laughed.

"I think Goose likes that idea too."

Chuckling, Fiora nodded, "That sounds like a good plan, Jack. You and I, seems to be something we're getting accustomed to? Helping people... Well.. birds... who used to be people."

"Maybe we can make a business out of it! Helpin' people what's been cursed or something," Jack said excitedly. "You can do the thinking bit and I feed the birds."

Laughing, Fiora nodded, "That sounds like a very nice idea. What shall we call it?"

" 'Fiora and Jack: Birdnapper Extraordinaires!'" Jack said, waving both arms out as if to a sign.

Goose squawked disagreement and Jack reconsidered.

"Hm, you're right....What about Birds of a Feather?"

Laughing again, with more enthusiasm, Fiora nodded, "Perfect... Absolutely perfect. We shall be the most famous... bird... rescuing... curse breakers in Fable!"

Jack snickered, thinking of their future as bird-specific curse breakers. "I dunno if I could charge people for our help though. Lotsa people get cursed who don't mean to."

Nodding, Fiora gestured to herself, "That they do. We wouldn't have to charge. Unless they're the nasty sort, all rude and dishonest."

Jack nodded vehemently.

"Or if it's real difficult! Like you have to hike a dozen mountains difficult. Or knit fifty skirts out of stinging nettle. They'd have to pay me at least something."

"Certainly!" She chimed, brightly, "Oh, Jack. It all sounds lovely... and I'm sure of it, we'll get our chance When we've finished all this business here, we'll get our chance to do whatever we'd like with our future."

"Mostly I'd just like to get to meet more people," Jack said happily. "Like how I met you and I met the queen and I got to meet Aladria. The world's so big..."

"Quite large, in fact..." Frowning softly, but not unkindly, Fiora shook her head, "It's a bit intimidating, when you've known so few..."

"I don't think it is. Sure there's a lot of bad things can happen. Like gettin' robbed or gettin' to sleep on the ground in the rain. But for every one o' them you get two or three or five good experiences!" the boy said brightly. "While I was out on the road I saw trees wide as houses. Got to see castles and cities. Even got to walk the beach once!"

"That, Jack... That right there... is what makes you so wonderful." Smiling again, Fiora took his hand, "You see such beauty in everything. Always something to be glad of. Most people can't do that... Most people won't even try. It's incredible..."

Jack shrugged at the compliment.

"When you're simple, only simple stuff matters. Like good food. A warm safe place to sleep. I don't mind the other stuff. Why've I got to?" Jack said brightly. In all honesty Jack was of the mind that people often made things overly complicated, and if they were just nice to each other and had a good time, things would be very different.

"You are a treasure..." She noted, before, with a small sigh, she released her grip on him, "We ought to head out, soon. It sounds like Aladria's anxious we should get Rosie on the move as quickly as possible."

Jack nodded enthusiastically, bouncing out of his seat towards the door. Hopefully this would turn out to be a rather nice, humble adventure, one that would not have too terrible much danger. Jack was sure he'd had enough danger to last him quite a long while.
@Doctor Jax

Next update: January
 
Their journey was one blessedly without incident, and might very well have remained so… were it not for the roadblock.It was sometime in the evening, shortly after dusk, and flickering light from torches dancing across the black horizon, the wind whipping red and orange sparks through great tendrils of smoke.

There at the center stood several guards, their postures rigid, expectant. Their uniforms were that of Bright Hedge, but little could be said for familiarity of faces in the darkness.

Frowning gingerly, Aelynn peered back at the king and the knight beyond him, “...Ain’t never been a toll on this road, before, Majesty… Don’t smell right.”

They were so close to leaving Bright Hedge behind without incident. Though Uther had trouble recognizing faces, the emblem of Bright Hedge was clear on their uniforms. lf they were to recognize the king, this adventure would come to an abrupt end. The knight rode beside Christoff and Aelynn.

"Follow my lead," Uther said to the two before riding ahead to meet the soldiers. He made sure the hood of his cloak was down to show his face. A trustworthy man had no reason to hide. He just hoped they didn't look too closely at the king.

"Soldiers of the Hedge," Uther greeted the roadblock brigade. "What brings you this far south. I'm hoping the war didn't come to greet you."
 
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Anhlan Ai

Declan carried himself alertly, body ready to strike at a moment’s notice. She took his lead, sword unsheathed and at her side as her footsteps slowly fell upon the cushion of the swamp bed. Water pooled up at the weight of their boots in the mire, quieting their steps yet making them uneven and precarious. There were a few times she had to reach out to use Declan’s shoulder as support, her breath sucking into her lungs in fear she might make too much noise. This was a land unlike anything she had experienced.

He stopped her suddenly, pointing to dark grass just at their feet. “Mirkweed,” he explained, and pointed to the tendrils. It was a plant almost alive that would wrap around one’s leg would they be unsuspecting. Based on his reluctance to even go near it, she surmised escape was not too easy a feat.

Time passed stiffly, tensely as they tread cautiously through the dangerous quagmire. By the time they stopped to assess a marker Anhlan could feel the tension in her muscles aching and her grip sweaty against the hilt of her sword. Declan’s voice hitched, and she looked over his shoulder where the growl emitted from the dense foliage. His hand reached for her arm and pulled her back against an oak, and she did not resist.

She watched him slowly roll to peek around the sturdy tree trunk and heard the crash through branches and vines. There was an unmistakable sniffing, like a hound on the scent of its target. Declan turned back to her, urging her to remain quiet and still. This, she could do. Being silent and still was part of her former life. But when faced with a beast that could catch their scent, was this the best option? She had to trust Declan’s lead and experience, and so she kept her eyes trained on him, and her grip on her sword loose and ready.
 
This is the Song That Never Ends...
Aladria was waiting when Fiora and Jack returned to the main chamber, pacing before the fireplace in what could only be perceived as an oddly out of character notion for the woman. When they arrived, she turned, and her lip twitched up in a simple smile, but there was an anxious note to her gaze.

"Right then. If you two are ready, I've directions for you, as well as the gold for your parents, Jack. I would go with you, but I'm expecting to hear from his majesty.... Are you prepared?"

Jack fidgeted next to Fi and only managed a nod.

Aladria nodded in return, the after a moment of silence, approached the pair, pulling them each into a warm embrace, "My darlings. Please be careful. I will do my best to meet with you in a few days time, but if I don't, it is imperative you keep that little girl safe, and find her father. He will know what to do."

Stepping back, she smiled, "Now then. Off you go. Mind the path, and don't eat anything that glows, hmm?"

"Course, Mum!" Jack said excitedly. "Wait... where's the princess? What's her name again?"

He looked about, seeing not a single person besides the two of them. How could they protect something they didn't have...?

Smiling, Fiora took Jack's hand, "Rosie, Jack. Her name is Rosie... and we're gonna keep her very safe."

She bowed her head to Aladria, before the older woman handed over the instructions for their journey. Taking hold of it, Fiora gestured Jack to the door, "...Come along, Goose."

Goose followed obediently, waddling beside them as regally as he could manage in his present state. Meanwhile, Jack followed Fi with a look of confusion, but, deciding that cooler heads and better minds should prevail, he followed presently.

"What do the instructions say?" Jack asked.

Looking to the directions, a cleverly drawn map, Fiora pointed ahead of them to the path, which forked off in three separate directions, "We follow the center path until we reach a rock that looks like a bird... then from there, it's left up a hill, a right at the pond and then straight for a while through a small group of threes. Then it looks to be a small cottage of sorts. That's where we'll find Rosie."

"Oh," said Jack, fighting to remember all this information. Middle... birdrock... cottage... Ah, it wouldn't matter, Fi had the map. He would follow as best he could!

"Alright. Wait!" Jack said, suddenly remembering something. Quickly, he ran back into his room, and when he emerged he had grabbed -- not food -- not better shoes -- not even a hat -- but his lute.

He strummed a quick ditty and grinned wide. "Can't forget this."

Grinning, Fiora nodded in approval, as she started them towards the central path, "No... no we certainly cannot. You know Jack, if we don't make it in our bird-curse-rescue-job, maybe you could be a Bard. Have you ever written songs?"

Jack brightened immensely, and he said, "Oh, I've written loads!"

Amazingly, he found it not at all difficult to walk through the broken cobbles along the strewn road leading away from the castle, strumming as he went.

"I used to write songs 'bout everythin'. Nothin' too grand, but I liked to do stuff about birds 'r streams 'r even people choppin' wood," Jack said enthusiastically.

Watching the path, she glanced only briefly over at him, beaming at at the brightness of his smile, "Oh really, now? You've been hiding this from him? Will you sing me something, then?"

Jack screwed his face into a thinking expression, nose scrunched, lip bitten, eyes tracking upwards, as he thought of a song to sing. Finally he started a walking rhythm and sang.

"Once a time
there was a bonny lass,
from Ethelmar down the row,
and long did she walk,
and long did she stalk,
to a cave to meet her beau.

Once a time,
there was a bonny lad,
with hair as dark as coal,
far did he amble,
and much did he ramble,
to his bonny lass did he go.

Once a time
there was a bonny troll
in a cave did he abide
with a grunt and growl,
with a grin and a howl,
he ate 'em both alive!"

Giving a laugh, Fiora shook her head as Jack played, "Not entirely the most romantic end. Let us hope we don't meet any trolls, then, hmm? Here's our bird, it would seem?" She commented, gesturing to the odd shaped rock.

Jack stopped his strumming with a hand, the strings making a discordant sound at the abrupt stop.

"I think so. That didn't take very long," Jack said, inspecting the rock. Suddenly apprehensive, he glanced at Fi and asked, "You don't think... someone turned a person into a bird and then into a rock do you?"

Shaking her head, Fiora smiled, "I don't think so, Jack. And even if they did, when we're renowned curse-breakers, you and I will come and make it right, hmm?" Reaching for his hand, she gave it a squeeze, before releasing it, eyes returning to the map, "Come on then, let's have us another song."

Jack grinned at her reassurance, glad that perhaps it wasn't so likely someone had been simultaneously petrified and-- well-- birdified.

"Sure thing. What say you, Goose? What's the next song about?" Jack asked.

Goose picked a lily, and Jack nodded sagely.

"Flowers 're always a safe bet."

As he ambled, he plucked out a few notes and finally sang,
"Away, o' summer, away, o' friend,
fall has come at summer's end,
the lily fall and the leaf doth drift,
during the tide of season's shift.
Lily, do stay another fair day,
Lily, don't fade and wither,
There's time yet for sun,
my Lily, my one,
before the creep of winter."

She was quiet for a moment, as the song ended, before a soft breath escaped, "That was beautiful, Jack."

Jack sheepishly shrugged his shoulders.

"I dunno. I can't talk too well when I'm just... you know, talking, but singing... it does somethin'. I think I was probably meant to be a bird, and they put the wrong brain in the wrong body."

Goose harrumphed in agreement to that.

"Well, I'm sorry that you feel that way, but I'm very glad you aren't a bird. I've a bit too many people I love covered in feathers as it is." Her eyes moved to Goose and she smiled, "You are really wonderful, though."

Jack's brain fought to process her words -- and failed. He shrugged and said, "I think I prefer being a man, honestly. It's too late to go crammin' me into a bird's body, seein' as I'm already used to bein' a boy."

He strummed a quick series of notes in a minor key.

"Do you sing?" Jack asked.

Grinning, Fiora nodded, "I prefer you that way, anyhow. You'd make a darling bird, but you make a much nicer boy." At his question, however, she shrugged, "I'm not sure. I haven't even been able to talk for so long, I can hardly remember what it is to sing."

Jack grew excited, and he quickly tried to find a song everyone knew so she could try.

"Here! Sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star!" " Jack said with excitement, beginning to slowly play the refrain.

Laughing softly, Fiora shook her head, "Oh, behave! I'll have to work up to it... Here, I tell you what. If we get out of this, and we get Rosie to your mother's house... and she doesn't kill me for supposedly marrying her son on a whim and stealing him away from her, you can teach me to sing something?"

Jack grinned widely.

"I'd do it now if you let me, but I guess it's like runnin', you gotta work up to it."

"That, and I'm too afraid to be horrible." Fiddling with the map, she pointed, "That way."

As they walked, Jack sang a few more songs on the spot, some famous, others off the cuff, as they made their way towards the cottage. Jack, of course, didn't really keep track of where they are, instead finding it more fun to continue providing entertainment.

"We're gettin' pretty far from the town, aren't we? They really hid this princess well," said Jack.

"I imagine that was intentional. Is a bit rough on the feet, but then, I'm sure for how scared she must be, my feet aren't such a concern. I still can't believe that her own mother would try to hurt her. I thought I had it bad with my step-mother... But her own, actual mother. It's so sad... "

Jack looked on in sympathy.

"I dunno. I think sometimes people don't see people as people anymore," Jack mused. "It's not nice."

"It's not, at all." Reaching over, she absently took his hand, "I used to wonder what life might've been like if my father hadn't remarried. I don't regret it, because I'd never have met you if I hadn't gone through all that I had, but it's hard not to think about it..."

Jack pressed his lips close together, unsure of what to think. After all, there wasn't much reason to think that way, was there? What good did it do to wonder if it wasn't ever going to be again?

"What was it like? Before your mom died?" he asked.

"I... I don't remember much. She was kind, though. And very pretty. Papa loved her so intensely... like the whole world began and stopped with her." Smiling faintly, she looked to Jack, tucking her hair behind her ear, "She could sing, and she loved to. She would, every night, after she laid us down... and we would fall asleep to the sound of her voice."

Jack listened intently with a smile, hands clasped.

"It sounds wonderful. I took Mum and Da for granted," said Jack. "Never had a day without them until they threw Goose out."

"Your mother is wonderful. So spirited..." Chuckling, she shook her head, "And maybe now that we know who Goose really is, she'll be more understanding of him?"

"I dunno if she'd believe me... She thinks most magic is nonsense, anyways. Says that it's a 'excuse for the masses to not do a thing' or somethin' like that. She always did talk of funny stuff I didn't really understand... She'd think I'm daft, if I said Goose were a person," Jack said. Quickly he added, "Not that I don't think you're a person, Goose, though you're a bird-person first right now..."

Goose gave a conciliatory honk in agreement, sneezing at the dust in the air.

Smiling, Fiora shrugged, "I suppose it makes sense for her to be suspect of such ideas. If I hadn't dealt with it myself, personally, I would probably think it was a little strange. I still can't fathom that I might... Hm."

Looking at her map, she shook her head, "Anyway... Up that path. Almost there."

Jack was excited to find they were getting close.

"How will the princess now we aren't going to hurt her?" Jack asked, his rather optimistically naive face answering that question for him, unbeknownst to him.

"I imagine Aladria told her we were coming... Plus, you don't exactly seem threatening." She grinned, looking over at him.

Jack chuckled and agreed, "You're pretty right about that. I couldn't scare a cat."

Chuckling softly, Fiora shrugged, "I'm not entirely intimidating, myself... but I suppose that puts us at an advantage for once."

Jack nodded.

"There was one time where Biddy Allen got into a real fight with someone over the price of somethin' -- I forget -- and I ended up getting kind of mad at them. Before I knew it, I put 'em in a barrel of water and clobbered 'em over the head with the lid."

Jack's face morphed into a grimace as he recounted, "Turned out the guy I smacked was Biddy Allen's brother, and Biddy Allen had stolen an artichoke..."

"But your heart was in the right place. And that's what matters. There are far too many people in this world, it seems, who choose violence for the wrong reasons, people who seem to enjoy it. It's quite sad."

Jack looked shocked.

"There are people who like hurting other people?"

He could understand getting angry and hitting someone. He knew he'd done it before. He could grasp that sometimes people needed to defend themselves. But enjoying hurting others? What could that possibly be like?

She nodded, solemnly, "...Unfortunately, yes. I'll never understand it, and it breaks my heart. But it's out there... More and more, it seems."

Jack looked up at the sky and said, "But I dunno. All I've met is people on my way. Kind people, yeah, and some not so nice people. But nobody were ever mean to me. I met some real cool people, too, that ate fire or could juggle or knew a lot of songs!" Jack said. "I dunno if things're gettin' worse or not."

"Maybe it just feels that way, when things like this happen... What's happening to poor Rosie. But I think you're right. Most people are... good, I think. They just don't know how to be good, all the time."

Jack nodded.

"Yeah, like when I hit Biddy Allen's brother on the head! It weren't right of me, and I weren't nice then, but I didn't know better," Jack added.

"Exactly... And I'm sure no one would fault you, if you thought you were doing it for the right reasons."

Suddenly, he perked up and pointed to a cottage in the distance with a curl of smoke going up into the air. "Is... that the place?"

Looking up, she then turned her eyes down to the map, "...Ah. That looks to be it. Are... are you nervous? I feel so nervous."
Jack nodded his head so fast, his face was nearly a blur.

"I just... never met a princess before. I mean-- you don't count as a princess, right? I don't think you do. I mean -- you are kind of like a princess, just not like a princess in a castle or anything--"

Fed up with the boy's frantic attempts to save his tongue, Goose waddled through the two of them straight towards the cottage and honked loudly.

Laughing, Fiora shook her head, "I don't count it, anyway. I wouldn't want to... I just hope she likes-- OH! Goose!" Moving, she grabbed Jack's hand to pull him along.

Jack followed along reluctantly, suddenly self-conscious. What if the princess didn't like him? What if she was mean? After all, apparently the queen was quite mean, though Aladria seemed to think that the princess was quite a nice girl. What if his teeth were yellow? What if he smelled?

However, despite his misgivings, he manned up and walked up to the door. With a sharp rap of his knuckles, he called out, "Miss? Anybody home? This is Jack Corville and Fi...uh, just Fi!"

"Rimel." She laughed, whispering to Jack, "Fiora Rimel. But Fi is just fine." She gave his hand a squeeze, then, reassuring...

And not a moment later, the door cracked open, and a face, young and wide-eyed appeared behind it. She couldn't have been more than thirteen, with pleasant features, though they were fixed in something of an anxious frown as she eyed Jack and Fi, "...Did... did my Gran send you?"

Jack nodded enthusiastically, a big smile plastered to his face.

"She did! We're supposed to take you to my house, where we're going to stay for a little bit. It's going to be a little bit of a walk..."

Jack looked over her shoulder into the house and asked slowly, "...actually, do you have anything to eat?"

Rosie stepped back, and pulled the door open a little wider, staring at Jack for a moment before a small smile formed, warming her delicate features as she nodded, "There's not much, but you're welcome to it. I'm Rosie."

"I'm Jack! And-- wait, I think I said that already," Jack realized, looking back at Fiora. After realizing what Rosie had said, Jack quickly interjected, "Actually, you know, I'm not that hungry. And I guess we should be off--"

Goose, however, was not so polite, and the bird hustled his way past the young girl into the house, Jack following with mortification.

"Sorry, so sorry, he's a little bit, uh, needy-- Goose!" Jack whined.

But if the princess was at all offended, it didn't show. She laughed and stepped back to allow Jack inside, before glancing to Fi.

"I do so love birds." She remarked, smiling, "Your boyfriend is funny."

Blushing, Fiora watched Jack, nodding, "He is rather funny. We should go, though. We'll take some food for the road, hmm?"

The implication completely flew over Jack's head, and he looked back to see how the others were taking this debacle. Goose had already managed to somehow unlatch the pantry door.

"Uh -- yeah, that way we don't get hungry on the way. You know, I once heard there was this story about a bunch of children who see a Big Bad Wolf while carrying a bunch of food-- wait... or was it that they didn't have a bunch of food, and followed a trail of bread crumbs..."

Shaking her head, Fiora moved to the pantry, and shuffling Goose aside and gingerly as possible, she reached in to pull out anything that would travel lightly, and travel well, filling a small basket on one of the shelves, before turning to Rosie.

"You'll need a cloak, Little Miss. I'll take the basket... You hold on to Jack. He's a very good guardian, you know."

Jack offered his arm, smiling politely.

"I do my best, anyways. Got me a magic amulet -- oh! Actually..."

Realizing what exactly he had, and figuring that Rosie herself wasn't magical either, Jack pulled the amulet off to bestow it upon the young girl.

"I bet your Gran would like you to have this more than me. She said it'd protect whoever wears it. I can defend myself, see? Got big strong muscles," Jack stated, showing off a single stolid arm.

Watching him, Fiora's expression shifted, softened and as Rosie took his arm, she blinked a dampness from her eyes.

"Right then... Let's go."

With that, Jack led the troupe out the door, as unerring as a homing pigeon towards its nest.

"So, Miss Rosie, what do you like to do? I don't know much about you, honestly, and I figure you don't know all that much about me," Jack said, honestly curious. So far, she seemed nice enough, if a little shy, but who wouldn't be shy after getting kidnapped?

Looking up a short ways to Jack, the princess smiled, "I like to dance... and I play the harp. Oh, and needlepoint. My nurse, Ella, she's taught me so much. And horseback riding, though I don't go as often as I'd like."

Fiora shook her head, mirroring the girl's smile. It was hard to think someone so ordinary could be pulled into such an ugly mess.
"What about you, Mister Jack? What do you do?"

"Oh, I love to sing, and walk, and look at nice clothes. I used to try to sew, but I always made knots in Mum's thread, and she'd beat me blue up on side, then black down the other," Jack laughed, recalling the knotball he'd made that was nearly as big as Goose.

"Oh goodness!" Rosie exclaimed, her eyes widening, "That sounds quite harrowing, indeed. You must have been very frightened."

"Jack's the bravest soul I know." Fiora noted, with a smile.

Jack blushed and scrunched his head down between his shoulders.

"Oh, Fi, no I'm not," he nervously chuckled. "I just don't know any better."

"Well..." Rosie inserted, with a smile, "You came all this way to help me. That's pretty brave. My Gran told me I had to be brave, too... and it's not easy. But I'm trying."

"...You seem to be doing a wonderful job, to me."

Jack beamed at that, grinning wide as he glanced at Fi.

"Well, thanks! I do m' best," the boy said as he led the girls back towards his house.

Goose led them on, the forest around them seeming to be dark and foreboding. The trees of Remoria nearest the Mountain always looked like they were made of ink, so black was their bark, and that made the afternoon fog that rolled in a bit unsettling.

"Looks like the evenin' fog's come in! Been a while since I saw that," Jack said brightly.

Frowning, Fiora moved closer to the pair, and looking to Jack, kept her gaze as even as possible, "...But it's perfectly safe, right?"
Rosie, who seemed oblivious to Fiora's sudden concerns, began to hum softly, watching the fog as it danced over the caps of stones, and roiled across the spongy, mossy undergrowth.

Jack looked at Fiora with surprise and said, "Course it is, always gets foggy this time a day, unless it's real warm. Yesterday was an oddity, actually... Hey, I know that tune!"

He pulled out his lute, and he played what Rosie hummed.

"Go on, sing it!" Jack encouraged.

Jack's words were encouraging, but it was Rosie's giggle of glee that brought Fiora out of her fear, a smile folding in at the corners of her mouth as the younger girl sang along while Jack played.

Jack continued, following Goose towards his house, barely paying attention as he played song after song. The fog only grew thicker as evening drug on, and finally they reached the outskirts of the town.

Something about the atmosphere of the place had changed since the last time they had been there, though. The doors to all houses were shut, the gates locked, homes quiet and waiting as if with bated breath. Even Jack noted the tension in the air as he walked the streets to his house, Goose letting out a low, unhappy clucking.

Jack stopped at a corner turning to his house, and he stared at the broken gate to his home. He swallowed and stepped forward a bit, unaware of the men talking nearest the sideyard wearing gambesons marked with the seal of Brighthedge.

Reaching out, Fiora caught hold of Jack and pulled him to a halt, dragging the boy and subsequently, Rosie as well, back the way they had come.

As she ducked behind a particularly large, broad-limbed tree, she shook her head, "...Jack... look at what they're wearing. They're from the palace." She hissed softly, "We should wait until they leave."

Jack glanced back worriedly, pacing, his eyes filled with concern. His thoughts raced but seemed to go nowhere. Those people broke into his house....

"But my mum," Jack plaintively whimpered.

Frowning, her eyes stinging, she reached out to take Jack's free hand, shaking her head, "She'll be alright. They won't harm her... They've no reason to. And she's tough, Jack..."

"Are... are they looking for me?" Rosie asked, looking to the pair with a widened gaze.

"They're probably looking for Jack and me." Fiora answered, straightening, "...Which is why we need to stay very quiet."

Goose was already tugging at Jack's coattails, dragging him back the way they had come. The men had yet to notice them approaching, but it was evident they had torches and swords with them. Jack was no match for these men, that was for sure.

With a heave, a man tossed a torch on the thatch roof of Jack's house.

The boy fought the urge to run towards the house, to save the homestead his mother and father had built with their own two hands, and in the end, he couldn't bear to see it burn. He ran towards the flames, briefly forgetting that the amulet he had been gifted was no longer around his neck.

With a small cry, Fiora watched as the torch was hefted and as Jack took off, she looked to Rosie, "Go into that shed, Princess. Do not come out for anyone but me or Jack! Hear me?"

The girl, wide eyes damp nodded and without a word, tore off to the shed. As the door closed behind her, Fiora raced after the boy, "Jack! Stop!"

Jack, however, seemed deaf to any pleas, either from Goose -- who was squawking loud enough to wake the dead -- or from Fi. The young man tore through the broken gate and towards the now-burning house, somehow remaining unseen by the men in the sideyard.

"Mum? Mum!" Jack called out as he ripped the front door from its hinges.

Oblivious to the heat, to the barrage of flames, Jack seemed determined to get inside and Fiora's sole concern was for the boy and his family.

As he yanked the door free, Fiora scrambled over it, following him, and reaching out, she snagged his wrist, "You search the kitchen! I'll take the loft!"

"A-alright-- Fi! Watch out!" Jack shouted, seeing a soldier round the house behind Fi. The man shouted in surprise at seeing two people there, and Jack tugged Fi off her feet, dragging her into the burning house. The smoke drifted through the burning ceiling, but the wooden beams had yet to catch.

"Mum?! Mum! Mommy!" Jack yelled as he threw open the door to the bedroom. It was ransacked, chairs thrown and the straw mattress ripped apart. It was obvious the soldiers had been looking for someone.

Coughing against the sharp, acrid smoke filling the house, Fiora covered her mouth and nose with her arm, giving Jack's arm a sharp tug,

"Jack! Maybe she's not here! Maybe's she's already left??"

It wasn't the only possibility, but she would not entertain the other...

"No, no, no, no," Jack murmured as he peeked into the last room, finding no one, not even his father. "Where are they? Wh-where did they go?"

A beam fell somewhere in the house, but Jack seemed not to pay attention. This was the first time in his life that he had ever encountered such danger, such imminent threat to his family. However, it was clear his parents were not in the house.

"They ran into the house!"

"I'm not running there. You can go."

Voices outside alerted Jack to the men that must have set the place ablaze, and the young man immediately grabbed the fireplace poker.

Reaching for his hand again, Fiora shook her head, "They're soldiers, Jack! You can't..."

Moving closer, she reached up to cup his chin, catching his eyes with determination, "We need to go, Jack. Your parents... they aren't here! We need to get Rosie, and run... Please!"

Jack glanced back to the soldiers, and he realized the girl was right. They had a princess on their hands... and his parents were nowhere to be found.

"There weren't no soldiers that way," Jack said, pointing out the back door, dragging Fi along without relinquishing his grip on the poker.

With a breath of relief, she followed along, sparing only a quick glance back to make sure they weren't being followed. Nearing the door, with the smoke less intense, she took a deeper breath and tightened her hold on his hand, almost afraid to let go, for fear he might return.

"Where might they go? Your parents... if they thought there was trouble?"

"Mum and dad never thought there'd be trouble. I-I don't know..." Jack said, circling into the woods abutting the property. He racked his brains but never would he have thought someone would come after his parents.

Teagan might have them, but there was no guarantee and with those men so close...

"Maybe we should just go. Cuz the princess-- she's in danger," Jack said with a shaking voice.

Frowning, Fiora weighed their options in a moment of silence, before shaking her head, "No... No. We'll get Rosie and we'll keep her safe, but we're going to find your parents, Jack. After all you've done for me? I'm not going to let anything happen to them. Or to you."

Leading him towards the shed, she glanced up at him, "Now think... Who do they know that they might've hidden with? Where would they run?"

Jack put his head between his hands, screwing his eyes shut. Moaning, he said," I don't know, I don't know. M-m-maybe Goodie Do'sun's. Some say she's a-a-a witch but da says she's a good lady."

"Then we'll go there..." Fiora nodded, before knocking on the shed, "It's us Rosie..."

The blonde appeared a few minutes later, her eyes rimmed red, tears streaming down pale cheeks, "Oh, Jack." Throwing herself at the boy, she hugged his waist, sniffling, "I'm so sorry. This is all my fault..."

Jack hugged the girl tightly, his eyes red-rimmed by both smoke and tears. He sniffled, still overcome with emotions, and he shook his head.

"No. No, it ain't, lil Rosie, we was chased too. We got in trouble with the queen 'n she tried to chase us," Jack choked out. "But we're gonna keep ya safe, okay? Come on. We gotta go into the forest again, but be careful. It's dark..."

With that, they left the burning house behind, the soldiers still wandering around town knocking on doors and interrogating other villagers. Jack led them along a badly worn path, and soon Goose caught up to them as well, albeit with singed tail feathers.

"Fi..." Jack said, gesturing for the girl to walk beside him, ahead of Rosie.

Rosie, stricken but compliant followed along with Jack, and with one last glance to the smoldering house, Fiora shook her head and moved after them.

When Jack called to her, Fi moved closer, slipping her hand into his with a gentle squeeze. There wasn't anything to be said... Words were worthless at this point. They needed to find his family...

And then they needed to run...

"Fi, we gotta talk 'bout somethin'," Jack said, his eyes staring ahead, somehow sharper than they ever had been before. He opened his mouth to state what he felt, but the words did not come easy.

"I never was one who did plans real well, but if somethin' happens to me... or happens to you... I think we gotta plan for that. Cuz I'm not gonna know what do."

Looking to Jack, Fiora opened her mouth to protest, but her eyes traveled to Rosie and a frown swallowed whatever it was she was about to say.

He was right. They needed to be prepared... even for the worst. For the sake of the princess.

"If... if something happens to me... you take Rosie to my hut and you find a way to tell Aladria what's happened. It's important her father finds her... So maybe send goose to find him?"

"Al-alright. But if I can't come with you, you gotta go back up to your aunt's, if you can. She seems safest," Jack sputtered. Even thinking about it made his eyes tear up.

Squeezing his hand, Fiora nodded, "We'll be okay, Jack. We're gonna get through this and find your family and we'll be okay. Cause... cause I need you. You're... I... You..." Clearing her throat, she reached up with her free hand, to dry her eyes, "I'm not going to let anyone hurt you, is all."

Jack smiled at her and looked back behind him at Rosie.

"Alright... well Goodie Do'sun's just down this road, here. We'll walk in and see if they're there. If not, Goodie's a nice lady an' maybe she'll let us sleep in the haybarn tonight," Jack stated, feeling more weary than he ever had.
 
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NPCS: Aelynn

There seemed a sense of anxiety about the men, and as the knight spoke out, one of the men spun quickly to face him, his brow lifting in curiosity at the trio on horseback. He was a shorter fellow, stocky in built, with a mess of red hair on his head and in patches on his slight pale, freckled face. He didn't seem the sort who belonged in a uniform... but when he spoke it was with an air of near arrogance, and clearly, he was not befallen by a sense of respect or admiration for a man so highly acclaimed as Uther, himself.

"Queen's closed off this route. Said we're to guard it and let no one past. Sorry, ol' chum. Gonna have to wait till I get the say so from her majesty, herself, before we let you pass."

Uther looked upon the soldier addressing him. He sincerely hoped he was not knighted. One who did not respect his own looks was a poor representative of his homeland. If he were his commanding officer, Uther would have pulled out a razor and shaved off the unseemly patches that littered the redhead’s face. Uther recalled the days when he once had that authority.

Lord Falmar was the greatest king.

From him came peace everlasting.

He ruled from his seat on the Shining Hedge,

Between the trees and river’s edge.​


The markets of Bright Hedge were a bustling place. As the center of rule for all of Ethelemar, people from all walks of life had need to travel to the northern portion of the country. It had become a prime location for merchants to sell their goods. As those of skill traded with those of coin, the soldiers of Bright Hedge kept the peace. But someone had to make sure the soldiers were doing their job. Today, that task fell on Sir Uther Farrow.

Normally, Uther and his order of knights would be far from Bright Hedge, on a mission for the queen. It was important to spend time at home in order to remember what they were fighting for. Uther walked with fellow knight Percy admiring the sights. Uther was singing an old poem before being interrupted by the younger knight.

“Hey, would you ride a griffin?”

“What?” Uther looked at Percy incredulously. “You don’t. You either don’t find one or you get eaten by one. You’d have better luck riding a bear.”

“I mean, wouldn’t the wings get in the way or something? They don’t exactly make saddles for griffins. There would have to be holes for the wings for one.”

“You’ve spent too much time in Wasslorien.”

As the rounded a corner, Uther spotted one of the soldiers they were checking on. Soldiers were to stand at attention when a superior arrived. Not this one: this one was slouched on the ground, fast asleep. Percy went to check the rest of the soldiers while Uther approached the sleeper.

“On your feet, soldier” Uther said as he kicked the young man’s foot. The soldier quickly stood up, suddenly wide awake as he faced his superior.

“Sorry sir! It was a long night. I got a bit carried away.”

Uther pressed his finger against the soldier’s chest, pointing specifically at the emblem upon the armor.

“This symbol,” Uther tapped on Ethelemar’s emblem, “this symbol means something. When something goes wrong, whether a burglar or a mob of barbarians show up, the people of this country will turn to us to make things right. They look up to us to maintain Lord Falmar’s peace. How can they look up to you when you’re down on the ground in a pile of your drool?”

“Y-you’re going to kick me out of the army?” The soldier looked visibly embarrassed, waiting for Uther to dismiss him. Rather, Uther puts his hand on the soldier’s shoulder.

“What? No. You’ve been reminded of your role. Now, I expect you to continue your patrol with renewed vigor and a better sleep schedule. I don’t think you’ll throw that second chance away so easily.”

“Y-yes sir,” the soldier bowed his head as he walked the streets once more. Sometimes, one only needed a reminder to return to his duties. One could not throw young talent away over one mistake. With that, Uther went back on his way, returning to Percy and his fascination with exotic mounts.

“You mentioned bear mounts…”
Those days were long gone.

Out of respect for the queendom he once served, Uther responded with respect. Yet, he had questions about the recent events that had befallen his apprentice. This would be a rare opportunity to get answers. If he could converse with the guards, perhaps passing through would be an easier affair.

“I understand. Tell me, have you heard what had happened to Sir Rickard? Such a tragedy, to die so young.”

Looking at the three of them, the red head frowned, rubbing the back of his neck, "Cap was a hell of a man, Sir. Didn't know the news went wide, yet. Can't understand it, myself... what drove him to attack the queen like that. Where are you folks headed?"

Cristoff wrapped a protective arm around Aelynn, projecting the image of a father and his daughter before realizing, with a pang in his heart, that perhaps that wasn't the best course of action. Still, he glanced at Uther when his reply came, and with another guilty pang, realized that Eirlys had been behind everything... From the start.

It was then that he realized what the roadblock meant.

She knew.

And she probably had Ella too.

After being asked for their destination, Uther turned to Cristoff and Aelynn. If he were alone, he would have been more than happy to talk to these soldiers, perhaps give them reason to doubt the official account. However, he had a mission and the guards gave him an opening.

"We're headed back home," Uther turned back to the guards. "With all these rumors going round of the castle under siege by her own knights, we don't feel comfortable staying in town. Our farm is still a ways out, but it would be a much shorter ride if we could pass. Or do you know of a detour?"

Glancing down the line at the other soldiers, who had resumed their duties, the man frowned in thought, "Alright, listen. I'm not supposed to let anyone through. But, well... so long as you headed straight there." Turning, he moved to the barricade bar, "Just need your papers so's I can write down the names, and you can pass right through."

"Ah...papers..." Obviously, Uther did not have the time to craft aliases for Aelynn or the king. He could only hope that his own "identity" would suffice for passage. He began looking through his saddle bags in search of some identification.

"I have to admit, you caught us on vacation. We didn't need anything to enter the city- ah, my old merchant's license."

Uther pulled out an old worn piece of paper...

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This license gives the authority for Uther Pendragon to distribute and sell goat milk within the borders of Renloth, as put into law by His Majesty.​

Signed, Merchant Registrar for the Kingdom of Renloth​

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Though worn, the license still had the wax seal denoting official documents of the day. Uther recalled the time he visited Renloth. He didn't make much coin for his trouble, but perhaps the license would still be good for something (besides displaying the strange pen name).

Cristoff shifted uncomfortably in his saddle, glancing over at Uther almost desperately. Though he could spin names for both he and Aelynn, he couldn't see Uther's forged license in the dim of night.

Waiting silently, eyes downcast in fear of recognition, Cristoff sent a prayer that Uther's silvertongue got them through unscathed.

The red head leaned forward as Uther unrolled the document and for a moment, he squinted, reading over it with a thoroughness that suggested a lack of reading comprehension, rather than scrutiny. In the end, however, he sank back on his ankles and whistled through his teeth, his eyes turning up to the older man, wide and bright, alert... and perhaps a little afraid.

"...Th...the Uther Pendragon? Hell, Sire... I've heard stories. You... you're the best we ever had." Looking down the line again, nervously, he cleared his throat, "Alright. You can head on through, but just... get straight to that farm. Won't do to wander much after dark..."

"Why thank you," Uther bowed his head in respect. My family and I appreciate your hospitality."

Uther waved Cristoff and Aelynn forward, under the assumption that they were included. In the back of his mind, he had to consider a new alter ego. Between his stint with a Bravgarian circus troupe and the Waslorn Witch Trials, Uther Pendragon was probably more famous than Uther Farrow! Perhaps he should have gone with Arthur as a first name...

The red haired guard made no attempts to stop them, and no one down the line seemed comfortable questioning the decision. As Cristoff and Aelynn were allowed past, the younger blonde waited until they had cleared the roadblock before whistling through her teeth, shaking her head.

"Dumb as toast, the guards you've got your Majesty. No offense, 'course..."

"Hey, I used to be one of those guards," Uther reminded Aelynn. "A little respect."

Chuckling softly, nudging his stallion into a strong trot, Cristoff called out to the both of them. "I'd like to think it was Pendragon who inspired their foolhardy decision. Best we make haste though..."

Grinning cheekily, Aelynn shrugged as she glanced over to the older knight, "Used to be... But guards had brains back then. Except Rick! Rick was brilliant..."

The smile faded and canting her head back, she looked to Cristoff, "You... you don't really believe it, do you? That he attacked the queen?"

As they kept on the road, Uther glanced over to the king. Aelynn's question was rather direct: would he side against the story from his wife, the mother of his child?

Swallowing, he shook his head and without meeting either of their eyes, spoke softly.

"I don't think Rick was capable of such an act... But I wasn't there to witness it... I just...

"He was one of the best knights a king could ask for."

Frowning, Aelynn shook her head, "I don't think he did it. Not at all. Don't think anyone with sense believes he did." It was bold, and she knew it, and the blush that painted her cheeks showed it, as she lowered her gaze, "Sorry. Just... He meant a lot to me's all..."

"No need to apologize. He meant a lot to many." Cristoff replied with a small, sad smile. "Just be sure to take care of that tongue when around those who care more about etiquette than I."

Rickard had seemed to develop close relations to Aelynn, the king, and many others in Bright Hedge. This was something Uther had missed during his exile. Fortunately, the road was long, allowing plenty of time for stories.

"How did you know Rickard?" he asked Aelynn.

"Life took a hard turn, when my dad left. Mum did her best, but prosperity ain't easy to come by. Rick got mum a job at the palace, and me, when I were old enough." Frowning gently, she shrugged, but there was an unmistakable glint in her eyes, a lingering sadness she tried to blink away, "Probably saved our lives, he did."

"Debts like that," Cristoff sighed deeply before continuing, trying his best to stay kingly. "Can never be repaid... We can only honor them with more acts of kindness and sacrifices for the greater good..."

"Rickard, like our friend riding beside us, Aelynn, are the embodiment of what it means to be a knight. Don't you ever settle for less, little one."

Uther appreciated hearing the Aelynn's story of Rickard. The old knights may have passed out of memory, but Rickard carried on their legacy through his generosity. It was only proper that he share his own story of Rickard's beginnings.

"We were once in the country, when Rickard was still a squire. Some residents suspected a troll under their bridge. Even stole a baby goat. Of course, trolls are just fairy tales, and sure enough I was right."

"It was a drunken man just wallowing in his filth. I wanted to jail him until he sobered up. Rickard was more curious and asked about him. The man had lost his family in a fire. He had no obligation to this man, but Rickard got him to people he knew. He would make regular rides outside of Bright Hedge to check up on him. Things turned out very differently because of Rickard."

"I couldn't save Rickard. But he asked me to save his- our countrymen from a needless war. The sooner we get to Princess Roselyn, the sooner we can stop the war."

"Then let's do it..." Aelynn muttered, sniffing and passing it off as nothing, wiping her eyes on the hem of her sleeves, "Let's stop a war."

"Yes," Christoff said softly, urging his stallion onward. "Let's find my daughter and bring peace back to Bright Hedge."

@Toogee

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NPCS: Declan Martel || Lilianna Gentry | Alfeus Swann

Their respite was not a long one, and as they left the clearing there seemed still, a sense of tension in the air. Lilianna, for one, was eager to leave the swamp and be on with their journey - though whether or not that would much better, she couldn't really know. It was a matter of perspective, she supposed... that some sought the sanctity of Teldavi, while most feared it so desperately.

So too did Bertha seem anxious - and Lil could only imagine she was all the more ready to get back out into the fresh air of Remoria, on the other side. They hadn't walked for long, and it would be hours, yet, before they were free of the trees, but luck, thus far had seemed to fair on the side of good... and they had not come across anything more dangerous than what had driven them into the cabin to begin with.

As they continued on, Lil moved to Katze and looking behind her to Alfie and Bertha, she smiled faintly, "...So. I didn't get a chance to say, but... it was really good of you, to bring Bertha along the way you did. It must have been terrible, her being lost in here for so long. You probably saved her life."

The only one not showing any anxiety among them, perhaps, was Katze. He seemed decidedly composed, though his eyes stared straight ahead and were narrow, firm. There was a lot going through his mind during that hike… the witch for one. But also Lil, and the fact that she was the other family. The better family. It wasn’t anger he felt about the matter so much as confusion, disappointment. Good enough for a witch, he was, but not much else.

It was the sound of a voice that caused him to stir from his thoughts. He blinked a few times to rouse himself, switching his gaze from somewhere off in the distance down to Lil. Her gratitude was met with a snort. If only she knew the truth; if only he could tell her the truth. She’d likely sic Alfie on him and rescind any mention of good will towards him. “I didn’t really have a choice,” he replied, not rebuffing her kinds word, but not sounding particularly open to them, either.

“Don’t need to worry about me though, kind of you to do so, but no need. Go on to your knight in shining armor up there. Fear he may get lonely without ya.”

Chuckling softly, Lil shook her head as she glanced briefly to Alfeus, before turning her gaze back to Katze, "I don't think I'm his type... Not sure knights in shining armor go for thieves in rags, Katze. But hey... Thanks for the vote of confidence."

Biting her lip, she looked away, falling quiet for a moment before continuing, softer, "Listen... Back in the cabin, what I said to you... About what my father used to tell me. I'm sorry if it... if it churned up anything ugly. That wasn't my intention."

Katze hummed pensively; the soft rumbling of his chest rocked his throat, though his eyes stared ahead, locking in on the back of Bertha's head. His eyes narrowed, though more in thought than aggression.

"Listen, no need for apologies," he said. "You were the better family, I guess."

Lil paused at Katze spoke and looking at the man, her cheeks blanched as the weight of those words took full effect. Reaching out, she caught his arm to stop him, frowning, "The better family? What is that supposed to mean?"

"Ain't it obvious?" Katze asked, shaking through Lil's grip with ease so he could keep walking straight ahead. He couldn't pause; he feared the emotions if he did. "You're my half sister."

Lil didn't move, even as Katze continued on, and her cheeks flushed with color again as she stared after him, "Your... You... What? What are you talking about??"

Katze shook his head. "You know? It doesn't matter. Hurry up, we'll fall behind."

"Doesn't matter?" Lil hissed, sharply, "How does it not matter!? You... How do you know this, Katze??"

“You know what, just keep that perfect image of your daddy in your head,” Katze replied. “I’m just a big, bad man who lies, anyways. No need to believe it.”


Alfeus trekked behind the trio and for a good while, he too was silent. Absorbed in his thoughts ahout the ensuing consequences that were on their way. Sighing, he shook his mind clear of doubts and took a few bounds forward.

"You won't need to worry about the past once we're free of the swamp, Bertha. You'll be free."

Glancing over the knight, Bertha smiled shyly, bowing her head, "That's very kind of you. I'm sorry if you've been put out by my company... I appreciate your help. All of you. I..."

Cheeks reddening, she rubbed her arm, "I'm not sure, to be honest, that I even know what freedom feels like..."

Frowning softly, almost sadly, Alfeus nodded ahead towards Katze and Lil, and then onwards towards Remoria.

"Well, you'll know all about it soon enough Bertha."

"Soon enough..." Bertha agreed, as she continued along the path.

Pausing, Bertha looked ahead to the pair and for a split second a smile formed, before she glanced over to Alfeus, "What do you suppose they're talking about?"

Alfeus looked forward to Lil with soft eyes, but he shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, oblivious to what they could be discussing. He let out a sigh before replying.

"None of my business, I suppose." After a moment, Alfie continued. "How are you faring? We still have quite the trip before we're free of the swamp."

Bertha paused as Lil's voice rose a touch, reaching the two of them and with a frown, she glanced over to Alfeus, "...You're sure? She seems upset."

Squinting, falling to a halt besides Bertha, Alfeus looked ahead to the pair in front of them. Lil did look upset, but the woman had a fire within her soul and he knew she could care for herself.

"I... If she needs me, she'll call for me." However he did take a few steps forward, urging them to keep going. "We should continue on though, we've a long ways to go."

Tags:@rissa & @Nav


Declan's breathed in and out in slow, focused concentration, his fingers wrapped around the hilt of his blade, steady... Prepared. His free hand came to his side where Anhlan had patched his wound, eyes falling shut and with another steeling breath, he turned to the woman, nodded and held up three fingers.

With a deep sniff of the air, the fearsome creature stepped forward, crunching leaves and twigs underfoot. Declan dropped one finger. Canting it's head, it turned a white eyed gaze one way, then the other. Another finger.

With a snap, the beast opened it's long, jagged snout, tongue jutting forward, tasting the air. The third finger fell and with it, Declan nodded Ana towards the beast, then rolled away in the opposite direction to round the tree and come at the thing's back.
Effervescent - 01/10/2018
She didn’t know what to expect when she turned around from the tree. The sight of such a creature struck her momentarily as she came face to face with the unimaginable, but she would not allow herself to falter long. With both hands grasping the hilt, there seemed to be no quick way to take down the creature, and so she brought her sword out towards the claws of the beast in a flourish of gold.

Flanked, the creature seemed, if only for a moment, uncertain of which direction to move... Unfortunately, this made it no less dangerous, as it swiped out at the air, a low growl emanating from deep within it's narrow throat. Ana thrust forward and as she did, Declan slashed upwards at the back of the thin. The claws clattered against the golden sword, and brackish blood sprayed from hand and spine, splattering the verdant grass, as with a howl, it swung in a sweeping arc.

Declan ducked as it spun around, narrowly avoiding the claws to his face, "Ana! Watch! It's coming 'round again!"

For as large as the beast was, it was quick and dangerous. Anhlan ducked swiftly as its other arm swiped through the air towards her. She used her own momentum to strike at the creature's heel in a backwards slash before moving back out to reposition at the ready. She kept herself at such an angle to be parallel with Declan's moves, attempting to occupy the strange beast with calculative strikes in order to allow Declan his chance to combat it without deterrence from behind.

Like a dance, Declan moved as Ana did, swinging high as she did low. Blood, black and thick as tar splashed the earth again and the beast howled as he swung, wildly now, arms slashing air with no direction... No focus.

As one arm came down, the other swept upwards and Declan swung in between. His blade pierced through the thick flesh and with a squelch, buried deep in the chest of the creature. Claws swiped across his shoulder as he pressed deeper, a flail of desperation, and yanking his sword free, he toppled back, "There's a second heart, Ana! Above the right rib!"

Her heart beat the rhythm her sword sung to as she dodged the beast’s claws as they raked through the air, and thrust upwards into the chest cavity. Black blood oozed from the wound as she kept her sword lodged within the right portion of its ribs, the golden sheen muted by the darkness of coming death. Her sword released the beast from its blade in a cascade that fell into the quagmire as she took a step back, ready to strike once again should the creature resist its fate.

But the creature didn't move again after that, the staggered rise and fall of its chest ceasing after but a few sharp, shallow inhalations. Stepping back, holding his side, Declan swore softly, bending over to catch his own breath, "...Swamp's fighting back, today. We should keep moving. Are you injured?"

The blood blackened the fabric of her pants as she wiped it from her blade to reveal its golden hue. “I’m fine,” she said through breaths. Sheathing her sword, she approached Declan through the muck of the bog, brow furrowed in concern and hand reaching out as if to anticipate a collapse with the way he bent over for breath. “Are you alright?”

Chuckling dryly, he straightened, and dropping his hand to his side, sheathed his own blade with the other, nodding, "Just... been a while since I've had to exert quite that much energy. Being the Captain has its downsides."

It had been a while for Anhlan as well. As much as she tried to keep up her endurance in the absence of her former lifestyle, it had been over a year since she had seen combat. The muscle memory and instinct was still there, accessed like secondary nature, but her body aches from the course and her heart still beat furiously as she took calculative breaths to bring it to a calm. Her head nodded in understanding, sweat causing her flyaway hairs to stick to the sides of her face. She was relieved to see him pull through without a hitch, though she spared a glance to his torso to check if his wound had bled through the bandage.

“What was that?” she asked as she looked over at the heap of fur that laid motionless before them.

Looking over, Delcan frowned, and following her gaze, pulled up the edge of his shirt, "It's holding..." He noted, before his eyes shifted to the creature, "That... Ah. It's..." A sigh escaped, and he shook his head, "My guess? Probably some poor soul who wandered in here and got lost. There... there's talk of a witch. She was banished here by one of her own, for heinous acts. Trapped in the woods. Talk is, if one gets lost and she stumbles upon them, she transforms them. Twists their form, their minds, until they're... well..." Gesturing to the fallen creature again, he shrugged, "Unfortunately, there's little can be done for them, after she's done..."

It was a horrific notion that the beast they slain was once a normal person. There was no trace of humanity left to display on the creature, or at least none that she could see as she looked upon the heap with pity. But her thoughts turned to the cause of its fate: the witch.

“Is there a high chance of running into the witch?” she asked. “Or is it a ghost story to keep children away from the swamp?”

"No one's ever seen her... But that doesn't mean she's not real as you or me. Best we keep an eye out." Gesturing her forward, he stepped around the figure, giving it one last pitying glance, "They're not generally so aggressive... It's almost as if it weren't under her control at all. This doesn't bode well. We should reach the cabin, soon if we just keep..."

Trailing off, he reached for her elbow again, tugging her to a halt, "Shh... Listen. Do you hear voices?" They were a ways off, yet... But distinctive. Two perfectly ordinary voices amidst the sounds of the swamp.

The voices were there, distant, yet carried well enough for Anhlan to gauge how many were at least participating in conversation. The insulation and melodic tones in two keys denoted one man, one woman, but the subject was unintelligible at their distance. She looked over to Declan and whispered, “I can get closer.”

Easing forward, she kept her steps light and cautious, eyes scanning her surroundings for any dangers, she moved through the muck towards the sound of the voices. It was a more difficult task to keep quiet within the water and soft earth making her movements slow and methodical. She hoped to keep out of view, careful to peer around trees in her sneaking ever closer just to eavesdrop and hopefully come across friendlies rather than another foe.

As Anhlan moved forward, however, Declan, craning his ears to the sound of the voices blinked in confusion, first… then something else came over his face, his expression shifting… rolling towards something that might just have been hope.

“Oh, Ana…” Stepping closer, he grinned, shaking his head, “I know exactly who that is. Come on... “ And taking her wrist, he led her through the small break in the trees, stepping out into the clearing to find an all too familiar face.

“Alfie… Hell of a thing, this…”

@Effervescent, @rissa, @Nav

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NPCS: Merek & Travis Loren

Camp was broken down by dawn the following day and the four left for Bright Hedge. It wasn't a long journey, but with morale crumbling, and a hazy sky overhead, it wasn't something to celebrate. There was some comfort in knowing the harrowing task was nearly at an end, but it wasn't over, and with all that had happened, it was hard to see relief over the struggles endured.

The city appeared through a shroud of mist, her white towers and shimmering golden filigree glistening in the early morning light. Merek slowed and looked to the others, “The taverns are our best bet for finding information, but it's probably in our best interest to split up and cover more ground. Travis, Jacob… if you'd take the east end, Wendy and I can cover the west. We'll meet in the center square…”

Wordlessly, Wendy nodded. It had been … oh, years, it felt, since she had actually set foot in a civilized town. The close walls of the architecture to the streets and alleyways seemed to loom threateningly in her mind, as if some monster or murder might leap out from an obtuse shadow. But no; she was the creature pacing the streets, encroaching on the villagers’ protected places from the woods. She had nothing to fear.

It didn’t lift the furrow from her brow, however. Split up, Wendy would have no opportunity to keep her brother from danger, though she couldn’t argue Merek’s logic for gathering information. She cast a furtive glance toward Jacob, trying to figure out what he was thinking. As it had been since finding him, she couldn’t get a read. What did it matter, anyway; he was determined to leave, right? This was the perfect opportunity. And once more, she’d be without family.

“Let’s go, then,” she muttered, tugging on Merek’s sleeve as she passed him by to slink off down the road. The small journey they’d just undertaken from their last camp had done nothing to improve her disposition. “See you two later.”

The contrast between brother and sister was sad, to say the least. They were both broken in their own ways… but Merek had hope that maybe if they could will themselves to move past it, to find lives away from Elderidge and the memories that haunted them there, maybe there could be peace. Maybe they could reconcile.

Before they departed, Merek embraced his brother, unsure why a simple, temporary parting of ways seemed more desperate than it should have. And turning away, he looked over to Wendy with a small frown. In the past, his advice had been received as lectures, unwanted and unappreciated. She was a stubborn girl, and try as he might, he had not been able to convince her that the crushing loneliness which drove her to such a miserable existence was a beast of her own design. With any luck, their journey would soon be over, and he could return to the blessed solitude of his cabin, but he had rather hoped she would find a way to grow… to forget clinging to the past, in favor of embracing a new future. Alas… her fate seemed ever tied to the creature she sought to find. To the darkness.

“I appreciate your help in this Wendy. I know it hasn't been as simple as we might've hoped, but it means a great deal to me that you've stuck with it.” As the walked, he allowed his eyes the travel through the city square, and a small frown touched his lips as he took it all in. He had only been to Bright Hedge a handful of times, but in his recollection, the name rang true. It had been a place teeming with life and excitement… with brightness. This was a city plagued by something unseen. Shutters barred windows, across homes and shops, notices posted across them. Moving closer, he read one and his heart gave a lurch at the words.

“Wendy… Read this.”

NOTICE: This shop is closed henceforth upon order of her royal majesty, Queen Eirlyse of Ethelemar. Any caught showing favor to the Broken King will be immediately and severely punished, as is decreed. Long live the queen.

“Who do you suppose--”

“Shh!” The sound came from a short distance away, as a woman peeked her head out from the door frame. She was a blonde woman, slightly on the taller side, with fair, gentle features and pale eyes, maps that told of difficulties lived throughs, storms survived, “Don't let anyone hear you talking about it. Are you not from around here, then? Oh, did you pick a poor time to visit.” Holding open the door, she frowned, “Here, come inside. Before the patrol sweeps through.”

Wendy, for all of her mental preparedness and caution, had jumped at the woman’s shushing; trying to read the notice had taken rather more of her concentration that she wanted to admit, having had little chance to practice the skill of reading since her family’s death. But the small squeak of fright turned to panicked action. The woman showed a fear she recognized, and the girl had no wish to encounter any more soldiers. She fairly grabbed Merek by the sleeve and hauled him inside the proffered door, shoving it to behind them before turning a grateful if paranoid eye toward their impromptu hostess.

“Tha-thanks?”

In the small house, Merek looked to the woman who had sequestered them, a brow lifting, “Please, Miss. What’s going on, here?”

“Cath. Call me Cath.” A sigh escaped, as she moved across the room to the stove, pulling a kettle from the fire, before looking back at them, “Tea? Please, have a seat. I’m sure it’s not escaped your attention there’s a curfew…? We’re not permitted out much these day. Her majesty, I suppose, has no concern for our livelihood.” Eyes flickering to the door, she frowned, “Eirlyse has declared war… on Mulgrave. On Fable. On her own husband… No one knows where the king’s gone.” Frowning, she pulled down some mugs and pouring in the heated water, added herbs to them, before setting two before Merek and Wendy, “Why would you come here at such a time?”

Wendy sat down in a huff, taking her anxious eyes off the door and shaking Merek’s hand free from her shoulder with more understanding than she felt. Wendy’s bolt for the door at their hostess’ mention of ‘curfew’ had drawn her traveling companion’s attention faster than she’d expected, and a quick grip of her arm had held her back.

Getting yourself arrested isn't going to help either one of them.

Pah. Merek was stupid when he made sense. Grumpily, Wendy lowered her hood before eyeing her tea. Something warm would certainly not go amiss. Minding the heat, she took a sip, recoiling a bit at the sting before setting it back on the table. And shrugging nonchalantly.

“Because we wanna be. The time has nothing to do with it.”

As Wendy sat, Merek held his position by the door, and Cath held a mug to him, which he took with a bow of his head. His eyes traveled to Wendy and he frowned gently, “We’re looking for some information. I was hoping to meet with his majesty… Unfortunate to hear no one knows where he is.”

Pausing briefly, she nodded, taking up her own tea, taking a small sip, “Unfortunate, indeed. What information did you have for him?”

“We have reason to believe someone within Ethelemar is recruiting soldiers across fable to make their own private army. My brother was killed bringing this information, and I intended to see it reach the king.”

“...I’m sorry. About your brother. There are more of you?” She nodded to the door, “You mentioned there were others?”

“Yeah. Yeah, we did. But I’m not really sure why you care.” Brow furrowing, Wendy glanced down at the tea. Had it been poisoned? “Who even are you, lady? Really? You’ve been really interested in us but haven’t said crap about yourself.”

A brow lifted, and Cath glanced to Merek with a smile, “Is she always this rude.”

“I'm hoping it's something of a phase.” Merek mumbled.

Looking to Wendy, she shook her head, “I care, because my daughter is out there as well, and I can sympathize.”

“They're smart…” Merek noted, “They'll be alright. Jacob knows how to survive, Wendy. You said your daughter was out there?”

Eyeing him, Cath nodded, “I may not have been entirely forthright… You must understand, of course, the queen has her spies everywhere. There are some who know where the king is. Or at least where he's headed. My Aelynn… she's with him. Leading him to Renloth. To his daughter.”

“Look … I’m sorry, okay?” Wendy had watched Cath with suspicious eyes as she conversed with Merek before seeming to come to some conclusion. “If spies are everywhere, I’m gonna start where I am. But I guess you wouldn’t wanna do us bad if your daughter is with the king.”

Not that Wendy could claim to understand anything of what they mentioned. Even growing up, the Palin family had been fairly isolated from news of the Outside World. As a waif, the girl had been utterly disconnected. So talks of politics and machinations flew completely over her head. But she’d agreed to help Merek, so whatever needed doing to that end, she’d do. She took another sip, appreciating the comforting warmth and smiling at the taste.

“So where do we find the king?”

“Unfortunately, his exact location is a mystery, even to me. But they can’t have gotten far… they left only yesterday. Eirlyse wasted little time poisoning the minds of her subjects, however. She had half the city believing King Cristoff had Rosie kidnapped, himself. Ironic… considering the popular theory among those of us loyal to him majesty.”

Wendy frowned, her head inclined in thought. So … the king needed tracking down. But with a curfew, once which seemed to be heavily enforced, if Cath’s reaction to finding them outside was any indication, it would be especially difficult to do so. At least, right now. But ultimately, Merek has the better idea of how this whole business worked.

“Now what?” she asked, looking up at him expectantly.

“Now?” Merek noted, looking to her, “Now…” But for the first time since leaving, Merek didn’t have an answer. His hope had been that they might be able to figure out a way to make it to the king. Explain to him what was happening with the soldiers. But if the king was missing? If the queen was behind it?

“You’re welcome to stay here for the night…” Cath began, noting the shift in his expression, “Your brothers, as well… if you can manage to--”

She paused, suddenly, and her cheeks paled as she glanced to the door, a resonant knock cracking against the wood. Her voice dropped to an anxious whisper, “Not one word about what I’ve told you…”

Cath nodded to Merek, who turned towards the door, pulling it open and stepped back from the frame. The last people who had come to call at his own cabin had not born friendly faces. Neither, it seemed, did these… Stepping through the door, two guards filed in, and between them, a woman, tall and imposing, her dark hair pulled back in a braid, her eyes, ash blue scanning the trio with a cool calculation, “...Bit late to be up, isn’t it?” The woman asked.

Cath frowned, straightened, as she shrugged, “Curfew was for walking around. I didn’t realize it was a call for sleep…”

A brow rose, and studying Wendy first, then Merek, the woman shook her head, “Hm. I suppose some things can’t be implemented exactly how you intend them. Your name is Cath, is it not?”

“...Aye.”

Smiling faintly, she gestured to the guards on either side of her, “You and your guests need to come with me.”

“The hell we do… What for?” Merek asked, shifting. As the guard to the woman’s right shifted, she raised a hand, smiled.

“There’s no need to worry. Just a few questions, that’s all.” Crooking a finger, she turned to the door, “Come along, then.”

As she stepped out, Merek glanced to Wendy and shook his head. He knew what her reaction would be… where her first thoughts would go, but with a glance to the woman behind him, he hoped she understood fully. It wasn’t time to fight… not now.

Jacob found his gaze tied to the earth, brows furrowed as he realized that he and his sister were finally parting. He could feel the anger radiating off of her.. and although it hurt the both of them, he felt in his heart this was the best choice. If Wendy couldn’t see past the desperate need for vengeance.. he would not stand by her.

With but a simple nod to Merek and Wendy, a guilt weighing over his chest that he refused to obey, Jacob turned his back to them and moved towards Travis. “Nearly done.” He uttered, an empty smile plastered on his face towards the man.

Before they set off, Jacob stuck out his hand to him. “I can’t express how much I appreciate what you’ve done for me,” Jacob announced with an attempt to broaden his shoulders. “Thank you.”

Travis, meanwhile, glanced to Jacob with a wan smile as he bunched his shoulders in a shrug, “Shouldn't thank me, Jacob. Same as anyone ought to do. Besides… not as if I've been much help.” Rubbing the back of his neck, he sighed, “Mer’s always been a bit of loner. First time we've ever really gotten past it, honestly. I just hope we can find anything out… make use of the journey.” In the same beat, he frowned, looking around at the nearly deserted street, “Does it seem awfully quiet round here, to you?”

Shaking his head, Jacob gazed off, a weary smile stitched on his face. “Don’t be modest,” He said gently. “I wish you the best in finding the truth.” After uttering those words, Jacob let out a long sigh. His eyes flickered to the empty road as Travis mentioned it, and a look of concern fell upon him. “..Yes.. it does.” Jacob said with uncertainty. “Where is everyone?” His hand traveled to the hilt of his axe.

Jacob looked over to Travis, his hand on his axe and Travis could only shake his head in response. He had heard stories of Bright Hedge, and nothing about what they were seeing measured up to what he’d been told. There wasn’t a soul about, every window boarded, very door closed. Even the marketplace stalls had been abandoned, empty baskets and bins the only indication there had been people there at all.

He opened his mouth to speak when a metallic sounds rose from the cobbled street they had come down. Turning, he hissed to Jacob, “Guards…”

“Who goes there…?” A voice called out, as the man stepped into the open, his eyes narrowed, taking in the two, “There’s a curfew in effect. You two shouldn’t be here.”

“We’ve just arrived… From Elderidge? We weren’t aware there was any--”

“Elderidge?” The man stepped forward, his hand resting on the hilt of his weapon as he looked between the two again, “You’ve come for the recruitment call, then?”

Jacob’s heart froze as Travis whispered the warning, but it was too late to react. From the shadows came a man clad in iron, sword clasped to his belt. Jacob took a stumbling step back, glancing at the man fearfully and allowing Travis to do the talking.

When he mentioned the recruitment call, his eyebrows raised. The guard’s hand was already on his hilt, and Jacob saw no other way out, except..

“Yes.” He announced, before Travis could say otherwise. “We’ve travelled far.”

If Travis had any intentions of refuting Jacob’s claims, it didn’t show and the guard looked them both over again, before nodding, firmly, “Right. Excellent. You’re gonna need to report to the barracks. They’ll likely want you on the road by morning. Word is, King Cristoff’s running to Renloth. The queen wants us to catch up with him before he can get too far over the border.” Turning, he gave a wave, “This way, then.”

As the guard drawled on, Jacob glanced at Travis with worry in his eyes. He wasn’t sure what he had gotten them into.. But there had been no other way out. His years away from the world had left him clueless as to the political going ons..

“Of course,” Came the uncomfortable reply, which Jacob tried to cover up with a hearty chuckle. He looked at Travis, urging him to say something else to keep up the lie.

Travis glanced quickly to Jacob, before clearing his throat, “I suppose we’re to ship out to Renloth, then?”

Looking back, the guard nodded, “Regement’ll leave, first thing tomorrow. You folk are the last to arrive. Trouble in Elderidge? Thought the Captain was supposed to be joining you…”

“He got detained… Sent us in the meanwhile.”

“Good to know. Queen was concerned some of the recruits were losing their nerve. Glad to see that’s not the case. Here we are…” He gestured ahead of them to a large stone building, wooden doors opened wide, “After you…”

Most of what was shared between Travis and the guard were almost meaningless to Jacob, and he struggled to find his place in the situation, especially, a way out of it. As they approached the large building, Jacob could feel its presence weighing on him, the enormous building staring him down.

He spared a look to Travis before stepping inside, glancing around in marvelment. It had been years since he’d stepped inside a place this large… and he’d hardly done it back then, either. Everything then had been cozy.. Warm, small. Things had changed so much.

@Red Thunder, @CloudyBlueDay

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NPCS: Fiora Rimel || Aladria

Goodie Do'sun had a rather nice little cottage, nearly picturesque amid the fog lit by moonlight, and the inside appeared cozily warm with a fire in the hearth. Jack fidgeted before the door, glancing at his traveling companions, before Goose pecked him in the leg to get on with it.

Jack knocked on the door, and a small woman almost half his height opened the door. She looked up at Jack with a squint and sniffle, looking for all the world like a vole-turned-woman.

"Jackaboy? T'is late, 'pun me mother's eyes. What have ye to reckon?"

"Goodie Do'sun, I 'rived to me 'rents 'n the house be burnin'. Did they darken yer door?"

"Aye, naught son. I wondered what commotion were afoot. I take it ye have no roof fer yer heads?"

"Aye, naught, Goodie."

"Come in, come in..." the old lady said, gesturing to the fire and the seats about it.

Looking to Rosie, Fiora ushered the girl inside. She seemed tired, and as she found a spot by the fire to sit, she curled into herself so small, it was difficult to view her as a lofty princess of any sort.

With her settled, Fiora took Jack's hand again, "We'll find them. Even if we have to go to every house in Renloth. We're gonna find them... We can go right now and let Rosie sleep, if that's what you want..."

Jack wearily shook his head, feeling as if the whole world sat upon his shoulders. He glanced at Rosie, curled so small into a ball, and he shook his head.

"No, I--"

"Chill's in the air. Have you a bite," Goodie said, gesturing to the pot over the fire and the pan of bread on a seat. Jack smiled and shook his head politely.

"Not tonight, anyways. I'm dead tired. I'll check with Teagen, my brother, in the morning," Jack whispered. "I don't wanna leave Rosie alone, seein' as Goodie Do'sun's big as a minute..."

Nodding, Fiora sank down by the fire. Her own appetite was all but diminished, and in truth, she was quite tired. Rubbing soot from the bridge of her nose, she leaned back, letting her eyes fall closed.

"...I'm sorry, Jack. If I ... if I hadn't been in the square that day. You'd be home now. With your Mum and Dad... and none of this would be happening."

"Fi..." Jack knelt down to her level and shook his head. "Just cuz there ain't air under the ocean don't mean that's your fault. I chose all 'is. I mean, I didn't know what coulda happened, but that ain't on you."

Goodie Do'sun swiftly left the room for the back bedroom, recognizing a tender moment of emotions.

Blinking, sniffling softly, she reached out and took his hands, "...But it is on me. Don't you see? You.. you were so nice to me. And no one... no one's been that nice to me, in so long and I didn't want... I didn't want you to go away. If I had let you leave... But then we were brought to the palace and everything just sort of fell apart. I never meant for it to get this bad. I just wanted... I needed a friend."

" 'n you have been my friend, Fi! My only one! I would give the whole wide world for just one friend!" Jack professed, happily if wearily.

Goose, meanwhile, rolled his eyes and stuck his head under a wing at the display.

"Fi, don't you ever blame yourself. It ain't nothin' to do with you, and even if it were, I'd do it all again. You just sit here," Jack said. He walked over to Rosie instead, and knelt beside her.

"Princess? Are you okay? You need somethin'?"

Sniffling again, Fiora nodded, discreetly drying her eyes as Jack moved to Rosie's side. The younger girl straightened a little, and shook her head, "...Maybe just some bread. I'm rather tired. I..." Biting her lip, she looked to Jack, frowning, "I'm sorry about your home. What those men did. I don't understand... Daddy would never allow that. I'll be sure to tell him and he'll see those men are punished."

Looking over, Fiora smiled gingerly, "I'm sure he will, Princess. You get some rest. Jack and I will watch over you."

Jack immediately walked over to the pan by the fire and grabbed a whole hunk of it, taking a decorative dish off a wall to put it on. He set it before the girl -- dust and all -- and smiled at her tearfully.

"Don't worry 'bout it. It'll be alright," Jack stated. "You just sleep where you're comfortable 'n we'll take care a' the rest."

Taking the bowl, Rosie nodded and sinking back, she picked at her meal for a few minutes, before giving it up. In the corner was a chaise, and it was here she curled up, drifting off shortly thereafter.

Sighing, Fiora looked to Jack, "She can't be more than thirteen. I can't imagine what this all must be like to her. And what her father must be feeling. I always thought I wanted children... But it seems so scary."

"I din' ever think I'd have kids," Jack said almost in fearful awe. He glanced at Fi curiously.

"What's so scary?"

"The thought that ... that something might hurt them. That people can be so cruel, even to something so innocent." Looking over to him, she frowned, "Why'd you think you wouldn't have kids?"

Jack blinked innocently and thought a moment.

"I....I dunno, I just thought I ain't the marryin' sort. Nobody wanted to be marryin' me, 'n I never gave it too much thought. If I did have a kid, though, I'd want a li'l boy."

The thought made Jack grin. He had never seriously entertained the idea of a child, but now that he thought about it, it didn't seem so bad.

"I would..." She answered quietly, and it was nearly involuntary - spoken so absently that for a moment, she seemed surprised by her own words. Sitting back, she blinked, lowering her gaze as color flushed in her cheeks.

"...A little boy. What would his name be?"

Jack realized that, in this last minute fantasy of his, he had neglected to even give his imaginary child a name. To be sure, he'd never been particularly good at names...

"Dorica? No! Elada. Maybe... Yori?" Jack said, testing out names as he went, each one more outlandish then the last.

Laughing softly, Fiora shrugged, "What about John? It... It was my father's name."

"John is a good name! It's simple, you know," Jack professed happily. Yes, John was an awfully nice name. Jack was a good name too, but he figured that having two Jacks around would be quite confusing. No, John and Jack would be nice.

"That ain't bad at all," Jack said, truly thinking it over.

"It's a wonderful name..." She nodded, "What if it was a little girl?"

Jack frowned and thought hard for a solid two minutes.

"Lily. I like the name Lily. Then again, I always was partial to flowers. They're so pretty," Jack stated decisively. "What about you?"

Smiling softly, Fiora nodded more enthusiastically, "I love the name Lily. It's perfect..."

"Oh, you do too? What a coincidence," Jack said with sincere amazement. Jack gave another look to the princess and his face went momentarily blank.

"It's crazy innit? She's a princess. No one woulda known unless you said. Funny how that works. I guess in a way you're kind of a princess too..."

Chuckling, Fiora shook her head, "I don't want to be a princess, Jack. I just want to get through this mess and..." Blinking, she sat back, "Well... I'm not entirely sure what I want to do after all this is over, really."

Jack opened his mouth and realized that he really wasn't sure what he wanted to do when this was all over either.

"I'd like to cook. Get back on the road. I actually quite like travelin'. I figured I'd do what Goose was leadin' me to already," Jack said, pointing to the fowl sleeping near the fire.

Nodding, Fiora smiled, "It'd be nice to help him... to get him back to normal. Though I will miss him as a goose. Maybe we'll get another goose, once he's a man again. After I get my brothers back to normal, too. I'm gonna figure out how... even if I have to go back to making shirts."

"Maybe you can find some other way," Jack murmured. "You got magics now. And you're real smart. It'd be easier surely...."

"It's okay if I can't..." She started, with a nod, "They're my brothers, and I would do anything to help them. I can't wait for you to meet them, Jack. To actually meet them. They'll love you... I'm sure of it!"

"Well, I dunno about that," Jack said bashfully, coloring red. "Though I do have an awful lot of work with bird people... I hope they like me. Really. Cuz it'd be bad if they didn't, seein' as I like you an awful lot."

Blinking, her cheeks reddening ever so slightly, she looked down at her fingers, clutched in her lap, "...An awful lot, huh?"

Realizing what she possibly took from that statement, Jack backpedaled.

"I mean, yeah, I like you, like really do, but as a sort of friendish kind of way, you know, because I met you a few days ago and all, 'n it'd be weird if I, kind of, I dunno started to like you like that and..."

It was evident he was digging a deeper hole, and he sighed helplessly.

"I'm sorry, I... I don't wanna be too forward or nothin'..."

Smiling, Fiora glanced over at him, a brow quirked, "Would it? I dunno... I like you, and I don't think it's at all weird."

"What?!" Jack asked, leaning away from her with surprise. "You do?!"

He was flabbergasted, trying to process this revelation. She liked him. Liked him! No one had ever liked him before!

"Of course I do, silly..." Sitting back, surprising even herself with a level-headed sense of certainty, she shrugged, "Why wouldn't I? You're the best man I've ever met."

Jack stared at her, slack-jawed. He was so unfamiliar with the idea that anyone could ever like him. His mother had bemoaned his lack of a gal, his father had sighed softly as he accidentally ran off one girl after the other. His brothers teased him that he'd find an old woman who was afraid to die alone.

Fi was a beautiful woman, a magical and sweet person. Surely she was mistaken.

"When you say like..." Jack asked hesitantly. "What do you mean?"

"I like you, Jack..." She continued, "I like everything about you. I like the way to talk, and the way everything is so precious to you, so new... and real. I like the way you care so much, even about people you don't really know. I like that you're sweet, and innocent... That you don't try to be someone you aren't. That you're honest. I like the way you look at me... because it makes me feel like I'm not alone."

Biting the edge of her lip, she lowered her gaze, "...I like you in a way that's weird, because we've only just met, and I shouldn't... because maybe I haven't known you long enough, but I don't care. I don't want to. I don't need to... to know I could love you. Easily."

Jack stared at her in awe, each word seeming to feed something in him he didn't know was starving. All her praise bathed him in a warmth that diffused him throughout, from the bones to the skin.

"You really mean that?" he asked. With joy, he hugged her tight.

Chuckling softly, returning the hug, she nodded, "I do, Jack. I really do." Leaning back, she met his gaze with a gentle smile, "And it's okay if... if you don't feel the same way. You just... you deserve to know."

"No, no, I....well I think I do. All's I know is you make me happy," Jack laughed quietly, enjoying her embrace.

Blinking, Fiora smiled, "Oh... well. That's okay, too. That... that's definitely okay."

Then, suddenly, Jack realized that Goodie had been gone a while.

"Where did the old lady go?" he asked suddenly.

His exclamation erased the expression and looking past Jack, she shook her head, "She went into that room, there."

Jack got up and knocked on the door, frowning.

"Goodie? You alright?"

"Aye, fair as fair! Come in, come in...."

There within the Goodie's bedroom, she sat with a basin of water, candles, and a frond of palm in her hand with a genteel smile. Jack stared with confusion.

"Oh, pay no mind, Jackaboy. I only be making scry of yer Mother 'n Father."

Following after him, Fiora peered in, a brow quirked at the small sight. She had known magic to be illegal, and until only a few days prior had been sure it was only practiced by those daring enough, or desperate... or by those who cared little for the law. Yet it seemed so many possessed some variant or another... herself included.

"...A scry?" She asked, taking Jack's hand, "Will it help find them?"

"Well...I dunno. Goodie, are you a witch?" Jack asked plainly.

"Course! And scrying helps mighty well to find what is lost, and they are lost, yea?"

For some reason, the woman's response brought a soft laugh from Fiora and shaking her head, she looked to Jack, "...I think I know more people with magic, than without. Thank you, Ma'am." She continued, with a smile.

"Oh, you're giv'n welcome dear," Goodie said, shuffling her palm frond over the water. "Oh! Lookie. Yer mum 'n da, they be makin' tracks apparently wiv yer brother Teagan."

Indeed, in the water he could see his father and mother with Teagan behind.

Looking over Jack's shoulder, Fiora grasped his arm, "Look! There they are. Oh, Jack! They're alright! Does... does it say where they are?"

"Nay, child, it merely gives gaze to the souls of others. Ran, they must have. Look at the dirt 'pun their boots. Eugh," Goodie grumbled.

"Well...they didn't burn," Jack sighed with relief. "Nothin' ta worry 'bout there. Teagan got 'em."

"We can look for them tomorrow, if you want, Jack. Aladria didn't tell us what to do if... if we couldn't go through with our plan. Your Mum might know where to go with Rosie."

"Uuuuuh," Jack said, his mind going blank. What could he do? Going back into town could draw unwanted attention but then again his parents had so much more knowledge than he did....

"You lay your heads here long as you like," said Goodie, patting Fi's hand. "The house is softer for all the noise of breathing men and women."

Looking to the woman, Fiora smiled and nodded, "Thank you. Maybe... maybe it's safer here, anyway. At least until we figure out a better plan."

Looking to Jack, she shrugged, "What do you think?"

"I say we at least sleep it over. Maybe in the morning things will look different," Jack said, though it was obvious he wasn't sure of his own words. He just didn't know what to do. "That king person's comin' to get her right? And goin' to my house? What's he to do if there ain't a house to go to...?"

"I'm hoping Aladria can figure as much out... Who knows. She's smart, and I'm sure she's planned for it. Or at least, I hope she has..." Biting her lip, Fiora nodded, "Sleep sounds good, though. I feel better, knowing they're alright."

"Yes, so do I," Jack sighed, sagging with exhaustion.

"You'll need a place for sleepin', I spose, long with the girl there," the lady said. "You can take my room. I've no need for so big a bed now that dear Joe's dead. I've cots as well."

"Rosie seems to have made herself comfortable... But there's really no need to give up your space. We can manage on cots." She smiled, shaking her head, "You're already doing enough. It's good of you, to let us stay. And good to know there are still kind people left... Besides Jack, anyway."

"Oh, ho, ho, Jackaboy's always been good. His parents sometimes, when he'd dropped an axe or put his foot in his mouth, they'd let me watch him a while. Then you got that blasted goose..." Goodie shook her head.

"Well, if its cots you wants, cots you'll gets," Goodie said, shuffling off. Seemingly by invisible strings, several sticks and bolts of cloth tangled themselves together into cots that followed her out the door into the living room. Jack watched in awe.

"She's a witch. She's actually a witch," Jack murmured to himself.

Blinking, Fiora nodded, "That she is... Incredible." Still, she shifted ever so slightly closer to Jack. Whether she possessed it or not didn't matter, magic would always frighten her. She had been hurt by it far too many times, not to let it scare her.

"Well... Let's get some rest. We'll leave early, to see if we can find your parents."

Jack looked to see that, whether conscious or not, Fiora had put him between her and Goodie Do'sun, and he nodded emphatically.

"Yes! Yes, that's a good plan. Maybe after, Goodwife Do'sun can say where exactly my parents are..." Jack said, leading Fi into the den. The cots were laid near the fire, and things were snug.

"All ready. Sleep tight!" Goodie said with a grin, her eyes twinkling, before she shuffled off to her own room. Jack quickly lay on one of the cots, finding it surprisingly comfortable.

"Sleepin' in a lot of odd places lately," Jack muttered.

As she lay down as well, Fiora managed a weary chuckle, shaking her head, "So, when all of this is over, we'll find a house... and stay put in one place, for a good, long time, hmm?"

"Yes! Oh, I would love that. A big ol' house with the comfiest bed we can find," Jack said, flopping down on the cot. It just barely held, the magic keeping it up shuddering once before realigning the legs into a more comfortable position.

"What would you want? Like a cottage? Where'd you like to live?" Jack asked quietly.

"A cottage would be lovely..." She breathed, smiling faintly, "Nothing extravagant... Just enough for a small family. I like it here, in Renloth. It seems peaceful. Well..." The smile flickered a little, "Except for tonight, maybe."

"Oh, normally ain't a soul stirs round here," Jack stated firmly, raising his head off the cot to reassure her. "Absolutely quiet, still as a church. There's an awful nice cottage that's down the road from Fool's Hollow where a creek flows nearby, but no one's lived in it for who knows how long. I always said I wanted to live there, but Teagan told me I'd be livin' with owls and rats and foxes, not to mention flooded out."

Smiling, she reached across her cot to take his hand, finding comfort even in that small gesture, "...So we'll rebuild it. Everything can be made new again. And it's not as if my home was much better. I didn't even have a door."

Jack smiled widely.

"I couldn't think of a better thing," he stated, squeezing her hand. With that he bedded down and curled up, exhaustion finally beginning to overtake him. It was too long since either of them had had a good night's sleep, and Jack -- for all his optimism and energy -- was spent.

"Me, either..." Fiora breathed, and not but a few minutes after Jack had drifted off, she followed.

Daylight came on swift feet, and at the crack of dawn there was the pounding of a hand on the door to Goodie Do'Sun's house. The Goodie jerked up in bed and toddled to the door, slowly making her way out.

"I believe someone is at the door," she warbled, going very very slowly to answer it.

Bolting upright at the pounding, Fiora nearly cried out. She held a hand out, shaking her head before she pointed to the still sleeping princess.

"We need to hide..." She whispered, giving Jack a gentle nudge.

Jack woke blearily as he tried to process what was going on.

"Uhhh, take her into Goodie's room, I'll... answer the door," Jack said, stumbling off the cot towards the door. Rubbing his face and trying to kick his mind into running, he managed to reach the door before even Goodie did.

"Oh, thank you, Jack," Goodie said with a smile.

Moving quickly, Fiora woke Rosie, holding a finger to her lips. Rosie's eyes widened but the girl nodded and Fiora helped her upright, taking her to the older woman's room and tucking her inside, closing the door but a crack.

Jack stood at the door, the realization that he was perhaps entering danger crossing his mind. His hand flew to the knob of the door before he could think too much, however, and he yanked it open.

He stared, open-mouthed, before breathing, "Teagan?"

His harried and worn older brother stood with his dad upon one shoulder, his mother just behind.

"Jack!" his mother cried and ran forward, throwing her arms around him. He hugged her in a state of shock, and Goodie beckoned Teagan to bring his father -- a short and somewhat mousy man -- into the house.

As she listened through the crack in the door, Rosie clinging tightly to her hand, Fiora breathed out a sigh of relief at the exclamations on the other side. She waited, still, until the front door closed before she opened the bedroom one, and stepping out, she waited by the door frame as Jack and his family greeted each other.

"Thank goodness... they're alright." Rosie breathed and Fiora nodded.

"Thank goodness, indeed."

"What are you doing here?" Teagan asked angrily.

"Uh... someone burned our house down --"

"You're not even supposed to be around!"

"But I--"

Goodie got between them with a plate of cookies and offered them diplomatically.

"Cookies?"

Frowning, Fiora stepped forward, moving closer to Jack as she eyed his brother, "...It's his house, too. And he's your brother. Any one of you could've died... You ought to treat that with some respect."

"Fi..." Jack mumbled plaintively. "It's okay--"

"Oh! Fiora, darling, you're alright! I was so worried!" Jack's mom said, tackling the young woman in a hug.

"It's--" Fi started, before she was enveloped in a hug. She blinked and her arms curled around Jack's mother, and inexplicably, her eyes watered, as she stepped back a moment later.

Teagan, meanwhile, had shoved quite a few of the cookies into his mouth while still mean-mugging Jack.

"Come on, boys, we oughta go inside," said a soft voice from behind them, and Jack's father -- a slight man with a soft, but firm, demeanor -- gently ushered everyone into the house. "Thank you Goodie."

"I'm glad you're alright, as well. We... we were there, when they set the fire. Jack and I tried to find you, but there were guards, and we had to get Rosie to safety."

"Rosie...?" Teagan asked, and Jack's family looked over to the young lady.

"Uuuuh... She's our friend, and there are people who --"

"Those were royal guards. Jack, what have you got into?" Jack's father asked. "And who... who are these people you are with? Do you have Goose with you still? Oh - there he is."

Goose, true to his nature, snatched a cookie off the plate Goodie was holding.

"Jack?" Teagan asked incredulously.

"Jack?" his father asked quietly, looking to him with raised eyebrows.

"Um... well, it's a real long story. I just was nice to her," Jack said, scuffing his foot against the floor.

"Then who's after this... princess?" Teagan asked.

"Bad people. The queen somewhere else mostly."

"That's daft! You mean Eirlys? Why the bloody hell would she want to send people after her own daughter?"

Looking up, Fiora swallowed, her eyes moving to Rosie, who seemed to be listening suddenly, rather intently, "...We aren't sure, but my... my aunt Aladria saved her, and kept her hidden away, until Jack and I could get to her."

" 'Tis true. Moira, Padraig -- Jack, he's a good boy," Goodie said, smiling.

Teagan looked somewhat suspicious nevertheless, but he allowed it to go on. Jack had his head bowed, not daring to look his older -- and to him anyways wiser -- brother in the eye.

"Well... Goodie has spoken, and I trust her word," Padraig said with a quiet nod. "It is just good to know that you are safe. Are you staying longer?"

"I dunno if we should," Jack said uncertainly, second-guessing his decisions. "We was going to wait at the house, but then our house was burnt. I dunno how we'll make sure Rosie gets to her Da. Fi?"

"Aladria seemed to think he would find us. I'd say I wasn't sure how she knew, but well... You know the things she can do." Looking to Jack, Fiora shook her head, "Maybe it's best we leave soon, though. I wouldn't want any harm to come to your family... and if those guards come looking this way?"

"Yeah, we shouldn't stay too long. They know us, seein' as they think I murdered someone."

"You what?!" Teagan shouted.

Jack defensively stepped forward and said, "I didn't do anything, they just think I did. He was dead when I found him. Someone else did the killing, but I dunno who."

"Let me pack you supplies," Goodie said cheerfully.

"Yes... perhaps that would be a good idea. I'll be right with ya! Teagan..." Moira said in warning, dragging off her irate second child.

Jack sighed as he watched them go, his Pa sitting down.

"I'm sorry, Fi, Rosie. I wish none a this happened," Jack sighed.

"It's not your fault, Jack..." Fiora reached for his hand, shaking her head, "None of it. And when it's over, they'll see all the good you've done and they'll treat you better."

"I'll make sure my Father knows..." Rosie added with a warm smile, "You'll be hailed in song, Jack. Both of you... And no one'll ever say mean things to you, again."

Jack gave a sad smile to Rosie and Fi, and he nodded to them.

Over the course of twenty to thirty minutes, Jack's parents and Goodie scrounged together a few packs of supplies that would last them quite a long while, along with whatever money they could produce. On the Goodie's front lawn, they gathered to see them off.

"Mum, Da, I promise to be back soon. We'll sort all this out, and I'll... well, I'll try'n see if I can't be more useful then," Jack said. His mother kissed him on the cheek, as well as Fi, before ruffling Rosie's hair while Jack's father hugged his youngest. Teagan begrudgingly shook his lackadaisy brother's hand.

"Stay safe. Come back. I can't be here all the time, brother," Teagan said, clapping Jack on the shoulder, and Jack sighed.

"Yeah," was all Jack would say.

Goose honked angrily at Teagan once before Jack motioned for them to start off on their way.

Even if they weren't perfect, Jack's family was the best family Fiora had ever seen and it was with a sniffle and damp eyes that she'd hugged each one, before taking Jack's hand.

"I'll make sure Daddy knows you helped, too. And what happened to your house. He'll make sure it's fixed up." Rosie gave a regal bow of her head, smiled brightly and took off after the pair, linking arms with Jack.

"So..." Fiora said when they were a short distance away, "Where too, n--"

"Oh! Look!" Pointing up, Rosie grinned and Fiora glanced towards the blue skies overhead to see the flock of white swans, smoothly gliding above them.

Her lip curved in a sad smile and she gave Jack's hand a squeeze.

Goose honked raucously at the flight of swans, and Jack stared in awe.

"Those're your brothers, aren't they? Hello! Nice to be seein' you again!" Jack shouted to the swans, waving his arm madly.

Back at the house, Moira and Padraig watched their son shout greetings at the birds, and the longsuffering parents sighed and shook their heads. Their boy was special. That was for sure.

Rosie laughed and Fiora joined in a moment later, shaking her head, and above them, the swans responded with a chorus of honking.

Special, indeed.

@Doctor Jax

Next update: >_> I’m bad at deadlines
 
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Anhlan Ai

Declan’s hand clasped gently around Anhlan’s wrist, and she did not question or pull away. Instead she followed where he guided towards the voices, taking note of his demeanor as it showed less concern than the swamp had once merited. The owners of the voices came into view as Declan greeted Alfie warmly.

He was a handsome man that looked just as welcoming as Declan, and the source of the second voice was a woman. But there were two others she hadn’t accounted for that looked to be part of a group with Alfie, one with heavy scarring upon his face and the other with strikingly red hair unlike anything Anhlan had ever seen.

Her eyes cast over to the only familiar person in the swamp to see if Declan felt any unease or any familiarity to the others. No one seemed to be in any rush or fear or dispute. Anhlan was still cooling down after their encounter with the wolffish beast they had slain.

Which only reminded her there was a witch about. Brushing her sweat-dampened hair away from her temples, Anhlan scanned the forest as Declan met with his friend, her hand at her side at the ready, but her demeanor calm.

“Should we keep moving?” she asked more for suggestion.

@Elle Joyner @rissa @Nav
 
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Jacob Palin

The barracks were filled bunk to bunk with men of varying race and creed. The whole of Fable in one area, connected under one roof. It might have been moving, were the reasoning behind it not so greatly disturbing. These were the recruits Eirlys had been scrounging from the other realms. Men willing to betray their homes, their rulers... And for what? The empty promises of a bitter, angry woman, hell bent on extending her hand across the world...

Hiding his disgust behind what he hoped was an indifferent expression, Travis sank down on one of the few empty bunks, his briefly traveling to Jacob before returning to the soldier who had led them in, the man looking around the room with an air of confidence, "Men from every corner. Bet no one saw it coming. It'll be brilliant... No one'll overlook the little people now, will they? We'll ravage the world... Take what's owed us. And no one'll see it coming."

His gaze trailed back to the pair and he smirked, "You two'll fill in the gap in the Renloth garrison. You leave tomorrow morning. Once we have the king and the little brat, we'll turn the tide for sure."

Collapsing helplessly on a bunk opposite Travis, Jacob could hardly process the words coming from the angry soldier’s lips. There was such hatred. Such loss filling the eyes of every man in the bunks, confusion.. He had just wanted to be free. He had just wanted to see what the world was like again, to live for himself.

Jacob felt his hands trembling as he put on the shakiest of smiles to nod to the soldier.

With a bow of his head, the soldier moved on, and Travis glanced over to Jacob with a sigh, “Hell of a mess this is. I guess we know what Tom was getting on about in his letter. But I had no idea it would be anything like this. This is madness… A war against all of Fable? What is that woman thinking?”

Adjusting himself to fall against the hard mattress, Jacob stared at the wood of the bunk above him as he listened to Travis speak. “I don’t know anything about the world.” He finally said with a sigh, shaking his head. “What’s happened these years? Why is she doing this?”

“I can't begin to understand it… It's a bid for power, I suppose?” Rubbing his brow, he looked around the room again, “What do you think, Jacob? We could try to get away… find Merek and Wendy and get out of this city.” Frowning, he lowered his hand, “But if it comes to a war? If they're able to find the king and he can't fight them off?”

With a sigh, he leaned back against the stone wall behind him, “I am not typically a man of action, but I followed my brother here to get answers. I would not forgive myself for walking away and allowing this woman to begin a war in the wake of this mess…”

With a deep sigh Jacob allowed his gaze to fall on Travis opposite him, illuminated in the pale light. “I admire you, Travis,” Jacob began sullenly. “But I’m no soldier. And I can’t see myself fighting in a war I know nothing of.. at least, not yet.” There was a darkness in his gaze, a darkness of one with no other choice. “I have to get out of here. I can’t be prisoner.. not again.”

Laughing dryly, Travis shook his head, “I'm a poet, Jacob. I wouldn't know the first or last thing about fighting. But if I could warn the king… let him know what's coming. Hell… just makes sense to try.” He shrugged then, sitting up, “But I wouldn't ask you to come along. You've been through enough without being dragged into all this. Still… might make sense you wait till we're out there in the open. You try to escape now? Here in Bright Hedge? Who knows what'll happen. Come with me tomorrow and I'll give you a diversion, something to distract them, so you can get clear…”

“A-are you sure?” Jacob murmured, pulling himself up and sitting off the edge of the bed. “Are you sure you want to stay? I.. I don’t know if it’s right to leave you to this, Travis.” But Jacob knew he couldn’t follow the same valiant task.. this may be his only chance. “Only if you’re sure about it.”

Giving another nudge of his shoulders, he shook his head, “I dunno what the right thing to do is. I just know there's a man out there lookin’ for his daughter who has no idea what's coming for him and someone's gotta warn him. And the best way to avoid drawing attention is blending in, right? My brother? He never had trouble doing the right thing… But me and Tom? We were always pretty hard headed… Self centered. If we'd stayed, if we stuck together, maybe things would be different. But this is the best chance I have to make something useful out of the mess. And truth be told… useful is all I ever wanted to be.”

Smiling weakly, Jacob nodded. He had felt similarly as a child.. As the youngest of a giant family, he was always desperate to prove, desperate to be worth something. But with everything gone.. Every shard of his past life.. He couldn’t say he felt the same anymore. He didn’t really know what he felt at all. That was why he needed to be alone for a while.. Alone and free, to try and rediscover who he even was when he wasn’t someone’s slave.

“Thank you.” Jacob whispered.

“Sure.” Travis said. And for a moment he was quiet, but as he considered the situation, he felt a twinge of regret at the decision. A frown creased his brow and looking to Jacob, he signed, “But can I be real with you for a moment? I think it's a mistake. Running away from your emotions… From everything. You went through hell, true, and I understand the instinct to flee. But what happened back at the tower… you haven't fully dealt with it and alone? You might think you'll be better off… but I'm first hand proof alone isn't always best. And fear and grief don't always lead to the best choices.”

A sigh escaped and he leaned back on his elbows, “There's no pressure, but you could always come with me. And if in a few days you still feel like you wanna go off on your own, I won't stop you, cause at least you gave yourself time to think it over. That… and hell if I've got courage enough to be a hero on my own.”

Looking anxiously across the room, Jacob grimaced as Travis continued. Jacob wanted desperately for Travis to be wrong.. but maybe being alone after four years of nothing but solitude wasn’t right. He could still see flashes of the tower.. still see her figure crumbling… no, no. He wouldn’t dwell on it. Could not.

“A-alright.” Jacob muttered hastily. “But if I end up wanting to go.. I will go.” He was trying hard to retain some sense of control in the situation. Perhaps it wasn’t alone he wanted to be, but just in control of what happened. Such a thing wasn’t always possible.. but he would at least like to feel like it.

Chuckling, Travis nodded, “Completely understand you, brother. And I won't try to stop you. Better get some rest, then. Sounds like we'll have an early start.”

The word brother sent shivers down his spine. He had not been called such a thing in a long time. It brought up too many memories. Shaking his head, ridding himself of the word, Jacob smiled weakly. “..Night.” He murmured as he adjusted himself, laying up at the bunk above him once more, imagining it to be a sky full of stars.
 
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“Dinner? I insist.”
a collab between @Red Thunder & @Elle Joyner

From Cath's home, the trio was led through the silent streets of Bright Hedge, flanked around each side by a guard. And at the forefront, the queen rode high on her noble stee, her eyes fixed forward, features concentrated, cool and beautiful.

Their weapons had not been confiscated, but to fight would have been foolish, not only for their lack of numbers, but for the simple fact that thus far, no indication had been given that they were anything but well-escorted guests. Merek knew better, of course, and Cath seemed to understand as well, for she anxiously knotted her hands together, looking back at them apologetically from time to time. But Merek had learned long ago that when life intended to corrupt a moment, nothing could be done to prevent it. Theirs was a desperate situation, but rash action would be foolish and deadly.

Eventually, they reached the palace, where they were led to a room that anchored a long stretch of hallway. Inside, an enormous parchment map covered the table, and pieces, akin to a chess board, were set out along routes. Gesturing to the table, Eirlys nodded.

"Please. Take a seat. Make yourselves comfortable. Can I get you anything? Wine? Something to eat?"

Eyes downcast, Wendy shook her head in response. The hood, hanging limply on her back, pulled her cloak against her throat. It may as well have been a noose; she would have had just as much issue breathing. She sat in stony silence, as much afraid of what these strangers intended as she was in awe of the building she now found herself in.

She’d been oddly enraptured, for all the polite captivity in which they found themselves, by the mere size and ornateness of the palace, and though she’d stewed angrily under Eirlys’ commands, Merek’s subtle warnings soon became unnecessary. By the time she came to terms with their new location, the chance to fight or flee was long past indeed. The weight on her hips was at the least comforting; if these soldiers decided that she or Merek needed arresting, she’d at least make them pay dearly for it.

Her stomach rumbled traitorously, and she looked to the side, grinding her teeth in irritation.

Merek looked to the woman before them and a frown crossed his face as he sat back in his seat, “Why are we here?”

Gesturing to one of the nearest servants, the queen looked away briefly, “Bring some wine, please. And something from the kitchen.”

As she turned back to the woodsman, she smiled, but there was something icy in the expression, carefully crafted to reveal as little as possible, “I apologize for the confusion. We are unfortunately enduring a trying time in Bright Hedge, and as I'm sure you can imagine, a bit on guard.” Her eyes shifted to Cath and the smile faded.

“You work here, in the palace, yes?”

“I do.”

“And your daughter?”

A brow lifted, but Cath’s tone stayed measured, “Yes.”

“Are you aware your child was seen engaging in a private conversation with a confessed traitor?”

Sitting up a little straighter, Cath frowned, “I'm sorry?”

“My daughter's nurse has been arrested tonight. She has signed a confession admitting to her involvement in the princess’s abduction. I've reason to suspect she did not act alone.”

Cath’s eyes narrowed and Merek looked warily st the woman, as she shifted, “Are you mad? Ella loves Rosie! She would never do anything to harm her.. And Aelynn had nothing to do with it, either!”

“Innocent people don't confess to crimes…”

“They do when they're threatened!”

“Are you accusing me of--”

“I haven't begun to accuse you… We all know what you did!”

“Where is your daughter?”

“Where is yours??” The words came out that time with every indication of accusation amd Merek wasn't terribly surprised, though still horrified, when the queen lashed out, backhanding the woman across her cheek.

The slap echoed, before the room plunged into momentary silence, and when Eirlys spoke again, her voice carried venom, “Weapons on the table, now. All of you are under arrest, for aiding and abetting a known criminal…”

Frowning, Merek shot Wendy a look, shaking his head as he set his weapon on the table, “This is all a misunderstanding… I hardly think--”

“Silence. You will have your time to address the charges. Treason is, after all, a very serious crime. May God have mercy on you.” Her eyes shifted to the guards and she shook her head, “Take them away.”

The glance that Wendy held Cath in a glance as sharp as the hatchets she slowly removed from her belt. First one hit the table, dropped from some small height. A sharp rattle briefly cut through the air as the dishes and serving utensils jumped from the weapon’s sudden weight. Her eyes widened minutely before they dropped to the table. A wine glass, filled by the especially punctual servant, sat in its proper place before Wendy. Spots of red, having leapt from the goblet, stained the wood top at its base.

And Wendy had an idea. Grunting in exasperation, the huntress tossed her second hatchet onto the table in much the same way as she had before, save that it was given just a bit more strength. Again, it hit the tabletop with a small bang, clattering the utensils. But it didn’t stop there. It slide forward just enough, clipping the wine glass. The glass in turn tipped over, spilling the wine all across the board. She hurried after it, trying first to catch it and then to clean it up. The servant girl jumped as well, towel in hand and shooing Wendy back. Wendy complied, slipping her hand across a wayward spoon as she did before stepping back and hanging her head. She kept muttering sorry, just loud enough to be heard, as she fell meekly into place.
 
Collab Time with @Elle Joyner , @Doctor Jax , and myself

The trees turned gold when Falmar came,

The falls and plains took on his name.

Status and class were put away,

When all was good in Falmar’s day.


The halls of Bright Hedge echoed with the baritone voice of Sir Uther Farrow. His singing signaled success of his latest mission. Despite the long journey, his appearance held no evidence that he left the castle at all. His armored shined in daylight, his black cape was free of dirt and grime. His face was shaven clean, while his black hair was free of twigs from the road. A knight had to look his best when addressing his liege.

Upon entering the throne room of Queen Aladria, Uther stepped forward. As tradition dictated, he put his right arm over his chest and gave a standing bow.

“Milady,” Uther addressed Aladria as he pulled out a vial of strange powder, “My men and I have successfully obtained powdered griffin talon from Wasslorien. I had harvested it myself because a certain someone had specific requirements.”

Uther’s eyes squinted towards the only other person in the room: the court mage.

Silence had fallen in the court as Uther entered, a tension in the air which had significantly more to do with the discomfort between mage and knight. Since her husband's death some months prior, the young queen had taken to black... a mourner's garb befitting of her loss... Today, however, she wore white. Full white, with glimmering gold at the hems. It was not a day of celebration, however, but one of triumph, nevertheless. Renloth, at least, would stand with the queen of Bright Hedge, even if it seemed the rest of the world was compelled against her.

"Uther..." Bowing her head, she managed a small, weary smile, "Welcome home. Let's see it, please..." Gesturing to the table at the center of the room, she rose from her throne and with careful steps down the dais, she approached the knight's side, "Erigor... If you would?"

Erigor, true to his nature, had been lounging to the side with a glass of claret, his nose deep in the cup, not bothering to so much as look up at Uther - though that was not to say, Erigor did not notice his presence. He just chose not to acknowledge him.

The court mage peeled himself off the wall at his liege's request, lips pursed as he picked up the vial. He appraised it in the light, eyes squinted, before let out a puff of air from between gritted teeth and an annoyed moue.

"I believe you must send your knights to the physician, M'Lady, for hearing damage. I told you White Maris griffon talon, not Black. This simply won't do. The concoction will come out a dreadful black color, and unpalatable to boot," Erigor lamented, tossing the vial back.

"They're toenail grindings. They're supposed to be unpalatable," Uther retorted, peeved at Erigor's immediate dismissal of the vial. He never understood why Aladria kept this arrogant man around. As court mage, Erigor had access to all of Bright Hedge's resources, most notably the impressionable young minds of the mage university. Who knew what lessons they would garner from Erigor? The world did not need more than one of that man.

"What are you doing eating toenails anyways? Is our food not good enough for you...again?"

The mage ruffled visibly, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Oh, I wouldn't expect a common knight to understand the intricacies of potion-making, nor the effects that even a single wrong ingredient will have," Erigor huffed, nose still held high. "And they are not merely toenail clippings either! They are a potent magical ingredient with definable aspects and properties. Aladria - speak sense to this man."

"All I heard was 'It looks bad and tastes bad'. You sound like a child who refuses to take his medicine. If I may offer the wisdom of a 'common knight', I suggest you hold your nose and swallow, because I will not be filing another griffon's talons in my lifetime, black or white!"

Uther was very adamant about not traveling across all of Fable for Erigor's culinary needs.

"Gentlemen! Enough..." She didn't raise her voice. Rarely ever did the queen shout, in fact. The tone was that of a mother, strict and stern, but soft... Definitive, in its gentle nature.

"Erigor... We've bigger matters to attend to than those of your sensitive palate. Can you, or can you not use it? Answer plainly, please. And for God sake... exercise brevity."

Erigor sniffed, but at Aladria's request, he calmed ever so slightly.

With a great sigh, he acquiesced.

"Yes, yes, I can make it with this, but I doubt my tortoise Ellie will take to it well. She's had constipation for days on end, the poor dear," Erigor sighed, bemoaning the suffering of his poor pet, perhaps the only thing in the world he doted on.

Whatever calm Uther gained from Aladria was broken at the revelation that he and his men trekked through Wasslorien and contended with griffons for tortoise laxative. He stayed silent for a second to let Erigor's words sink in. Then he spoke as calmly as he could manage, the quiet anger bubbling underneath.

"My queen...my men serve you without question, including this mission. Please, grant me one request. Let me punch him. I just need one, right in his face. I'll even take off my gauntlets. We have good physicians, he'll be back tomorrow."

Erigor looked rather more pleased with Uther’s ire than a man who’d just been threatened with a fist to the face should. If he were honest - he loved getting a rise out of the knight. In truth, the tortoise was actually a very important pet - a sort of test subject for more complex spells involving living creatures, seeing as even Erigor balked at using live men - but seeing Uther seethe was a nice touch.

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Aladria looked between the men with a small sigh.

"While it's tempting, I admit, that will hardly be conducive to forward motion... And it seems we have much to discuss…"



"We've received word from Renloth," Aladria began. "Only Renloth. It seems my step daughter has presented a... convincing argument against me. The sooner this matter is settled, the sooner we can move on to important affairs..."

“Of course, of course. Business before pleasure. Consider the matter settled,” Erigor said, waving a hand. “It will do. Now, what exactly is your lovely stepdaughter plotting this time? It seems the poor dear is always putting her nose where it doesn’t belong.”

"More importantly," Uther asked, the earlier fiasco now ceased. "how is she in contact with Renloth without our knowledge? I would have known if my knights escorted the princess to Renloth."

"Ah... You misunderstand, Uther." Lowering her eyes, Aladria frowned, "It's not just Renloth. Word has come from across the realms. She's tainted then against me. Against those like me. The world, I fear, is changing... Becoming dangerous for those of us with certain talents. Renloth may be our only ally left."

Looking to Erigor, she shrugged, "May as well break the news now. I'm closing the academy. It isn't safe, anymore. I want you to send them home... Your students. Send them home and tell them... tell them to hide. Whatever the must do... The world cannot know they possess magic. And you must go somewhere safe, as well, my old friend... Somewhere you won't be recognized."

Turning her eyes to Uther, she shook her head, "I do not know how long I can hold my footing here, Uther. There are maybe days left, before the opposition usurps. I would understand if you or any of your men chose to leave..."

Uther shook his head at Aladria. She could not dismiss her allies so easily, not when there was still hope left.

"My queen, the world has only heard one side of the story. Let us send delegates across Fable. We can convince our allies that it isn't in their best interests to have Bright Hedge ruled by an emotionally charged teenager who just lost her father."

Uther's next suggestion was perhaps the most dangerous but also the most vital if they were to avoid a violent transfer of power.

"Where is the princess now? I will speak with her."

Erigor's pompous air seemed to seep out of him, the way an overblown bladder punctured by a knife deflates. Her words had struck him hard. For all his arrogance, Erigor was not one to be caught unawares, and he had been waiting for those words.

"Indeed. I will alert Aedra. She will do the legwork for me, and make way for the students," Erigor sighed. He cupped his hands together and gently blew into them, a hummingbird of cloth zipping out of his hands towards the door as he surreptitiously tucked the ripped end of his flagrantly expensive shirt into his sleeve.

His eyes flashed to Uther and said, "Allow me to tag along. I'd like to speak with her as well. Maybe knock some sense into her skull while I'm at it."

For all his bluster, his words held little real bite. There was an uncharacteristic defeat on the self-centered mage's face. The closure of his school seemed an unexpectedly hard blow.

"No." Frowning, Aladria looked between the pair, shaking her head firmly, "No. Neither one of you is to see her. Is that clear? Any signs... any at all... that we are behaving in a way that could be construed as aggressive, and this will unravel. I trust you, both you, explicitly... But my step daughter is... She is gifted in spinning things to her advantage."

Breathing out, she sank into a seat beside the table, leaning back with a sigh, "I will not drag Bright Hedge in a war, gentlemen. If I have to abdicate to prevent one, so be it. But you are my dearest friends and my most trusted advisers... and I will not put you in harms way, any more than necessary."

Erigor stood a mite straighter.

“What would you have us do then, Aladria? From the sound of it... any who wield a talent for magic are at risk. Including yourself. Do you have an exit?”

With a wan smile, Aladria shrugged, "My first and foremost concern is for my people, Erigor... All of them. When I know the students are safe, I will consider myself."

Uther thought Aladria's self-sacrifice was honorable. However, his job was to protect her when she decided to be extra honorable.

"I am a knight of the realm. Getting into harm's way is my specialty. You know I can't leave you here unprotected."

"And you're practically my meal ticket," Erigor added on, cocking his hip as he gave her a look. "It will look badly on all of us if you suddenly disappear, Allie dear. Your stepdaughter's spun yarns - that extends to us as well. I wouldn't put it past her to turn the situation to her advantage against the both of us."

Smiling delicately, Aladria shook her head, "Oh my Dear Hearts. You are easily the most stubborn men I know. But you must also know I am stubborn as well... And I am still queen. I could call it an order..."

"You could...but you haven't." Uther pointed out. "But if you did, I would leave 12 of my finest knights as your personal guard"

"And a few golems, if I had a say," Erigor added with a flourish of his hand. "Alas - you were always like a rusty door hinge. Stubborn to the last, until it breaks..."

"Twelve knights and a few stone men... You are magnificent, the both of you and it has been my absolute honor to serve as your queen." With a small sigh, she shook her head, "But I think I may not mind it so much... Exile. A quiet life. In the mountains... I think I would do quite nice there. It hasn't been the same for some time now. Perhaps it's a sign... All this. But you must promise me... Both of you, that you will stay safe. Disappear if you must, only stay safe."

Erigor bowed low and deep, professing, "You have no need to worry about that lady. Safety is utmost on my mind, for this hide is the handsomest I have. It would take real danger for me to trade it for any other."

Uther did not like Aladria's decision. The idea that the teenage princess could throw baseless accusations that the queen would simply take without countering did not sit well. He would trust her wisdom for now, save for one question.

"The princess," Uther began. "Is she fit to rule?"

Shaking her head, Aladria frowned, "I wish I knew. I think so? She organized a coup against me. That has to say something for her, I suppose. I was young, too, when I took my mother's place... In time perhaps she will be great. The people love her, and that is important."

Looking between the pair, her head shook lightly, "I'm not giving up. Not yet. But you must understand the precautions we need to take. What it would mean to try and fight back..."

"Then might I suggest that we have a plan before we let Miss Tiny Terror take the throne? Obviously, much of the magical world already knows about her machinations, but how are we to contact each other? Lines of communication will be paramount," Erigor brought up.

Uther was already expressing doubt for Aladria's abdication. That she had no idea how Eirlys would rule made Uther want to barricade the door and march against the princess.

"The people with magical abilities certainly don't love her," Uther pointed out. "And if she's even half as cruel to everyone else...surely you don't intend to leave our people to their fate without some assurances?"

"Never willingly, Uther." Glancing to him, she shrugged, "But what would you have me do? Imprison my late husband's child? Even if I did... and tried her for treason, what would be the point? The doubt is planted in the minds of the people, and I cannot stand against a full revolution.

But I would never willingly leave my kingdom to any such fate. And you ought to know that, Uther. Really." Her eyes shifted to Erigor and she frowned in thought, "As for communication, I may have an idea for that, though it will require caution. The Mirrors... I've three in my possession."

"Ach - those things? They always have such spotty reception, especially on windy days," Erigor complained, crossing his arms. Nevertheless, he did consider it.

"They do afford a certain secrecy, given they look like normal mirrors. Easy to transport, and our dearest knight wouldn't even need to have an ounce of magic in his veins to use it. Not a bad idea..."

Uther remained silent. Would Aladria willingly leave her people to their fate? No, but he believed she wasn't doing enough to fight for them. Someone with ill intent for their people did not deserve to be given the throne, even with such wide support.

"Excuse me my queen," Uther interrupted, "I have to make preparations to evacuate the mage students before our new queen has them killed."

The knight gave a standing bow and walked out of the throne room. He was frustrated; his final words were a reminder to his queen of what was following her. Uther had to leave before he said anything else regrettable.

Her eyes traveled to the knight as he rose, and with a small sigh, she stood, "Erigor. You have your instructions. Take one of the mirrors and find a safe place until I can contact you. No magic beyond that. Not right now. It isn't safe."

With a nod, she turned away and following in the wake of the captain, she made it to the hall to see him retreating at a distance, "Uther!" Again, her voice did not rise, but there was authority behind it, and approaching, she frowned, "What would you have me do? You're angry. I understand that. But I can't fight all of Fable, nor would I drag Renloth into a war they cannot hope to win. What options remain to me but to dissolve this as peacefully as possible? Please... You are my most trusted advisor. So... Advise me."

Uther turned to his queen. He really didn't want to address her, not while his anger bubbled under the surface. She gave him no choice. He exploded.

"Advice? Let me do my duty. I can still meet the princess and figure out what she is up to. Even Erigor thought that was sound, and he doesn't agree with me on anything! How about you stop treating the princess as an equal and start treating her as the child that she is! How about you recognize that someone who wants to kill some of your people doesn't have better plans for the rest of them! If she spins yarns, you tell truths! If she promises revolution, you promise stability! Giving Eirlys absolute power will not pacify her! It will embolden her to do worse than tell stories! And I can't protect you when she does!"

Uther's voice echoed through the halls for all to hear. It was followed by a deafening silence when the knight realized what he said and who he said it to.

Erigor stood at the far end of the hall, hands clasped behind his back as Uther let fly. For once, his sentiments were well aligned with the knight's. The safety of the kingdom - the safety of their queen - was perhaps one of the few things they could agree on. All that he had said was true. The fact she had fled to him stung, but alas - he had buried that hatchet a long time ago.

"As much as it pains me, I must agree," Erigor said once Uther was spent. He walked at a slow pace, picking his words as carefully as his steps. "Eirlys poisons any well from which she's been barred to drink of. A danger. At the least, install people in permanent positions who will not bow easily to her demands, while also tactful enough not to immediately end up with their hands on platters. You worry of public image, but Aladria-" Oh, her actual name, not 'Your Highness', not 'Allie'. "-she will not stop at your throne. You are her stepmother. You are... for all intents, her enemy."

For a moment, the silence lingered as Aladria stared at him, the shock registered in her eyes. For a moment, it seemed as though the well of tension would never break.

But when she opened her mouth, the sound was not fury or offense, but a broken, frightened whisper... because for a moment, Aladria was not the queen. She was a young woman, lost in a sea of overwhelming uncertainty. She was the woman who had ascended to the throne too young... Forced by right of passage to marry a stranger, to run a kingdom... to live a life she had barely even begun to understand was hers to inherit.

Time had passed... so much time... between those days and now, but for just one moment, it was as if time had been rolled backwards, and with tears in her eyes, she addressed Uther, fractured and alone, "...I've never said it out loud. To either of you... I think... I think she killed him. Her father. And if she can do that... if she was willing to do that, just to manipulate these events, what would deter her from doing the same to you? I cannot lose you. You must know that... I can't tell you not to do what seems right. You know I never would, but Uther... she isn't just a child. She is a monster. And I have never been more afraid."

Uther sighed, releasing the rest of his anger. He brushed his finger across Aladria's face to get her to look at him.

"I will always cherish our friendship," he began. "But that's not why you knighted me. I am here to protect the realm. You have to let me do that."

Reached up, she cupped a hand carefully around his and nodded, "You're right. Of course you are." A sigh escaped, and she glanced back at Erigor, "Very well. You may see her. But you must be careful. The both of you... She is not to be underestimated to any lengths."

"Oh, have no fear - I know that baby vipers are venomous as soon as they hatch," Erigor shot back cheekily, pretending to not have seen the small moment Aladria shared with Uther. "Though the knight may have to hold me back. I might be inclined to turn the girl into a viper she is if she doesn't hold her tongue."
 
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Alfeus Swann
Recognition came swiftly and yet it was only after hearing the woman's suggestion did it truly register. "..Declan..?" Alfeus said aloud, his voice soft, curious, and almost hesitant. The disgraced knight looked over at his Captain searchingly, half wondering if it was just a swamp-trick, an illusion brought down upon him by exhaustion and the mysteries of the swamp. But no... Bertha could see them too and her wide almost frightened eyes jolted him back into the moment. Could it be, that after all this time, after everything Alfeus had fought for, sacrificed for... His own best mate would be the one to take him to the gallows?

"Declan... I... What're... What are you doing here?" He shook his head softly, as if shaking away unheard and unwanted thoughts. "Your companion's suggestion is well advised. Let's talk while we continue." He held out a hand towards Declan's travelling companion before actually searching both of their faces. "Is everything alright?" Alfie asked pointedly. When no answer came, he squinted at Declan shrewdly before fully extending his palm in welcome.

"My name is Alfeus Swann. This is Bertha, Lil, and Katze... I've offered to see them safely through the swamp to Remoria. Come, let's continue on together."
 
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The Fluffiest Novel
Morning had dawned with clear skies, but by mid-afternoon, dark clouds were billowing on the horizon as Jack, Fi and the princess wandered without aim through Renloth's countryside. Aladria had informed them that they would be found, but it felt strange, walking without purpose, and Fi, at least, was starting to feel anxious.

Twice now, their course had altered when up ahead they had spotted wandering soldiers. Though she had little understanding of the civilized world, Fiora knew well enough there were far too many patrols... And Ethelemar soldiers did not belong in Renloth as it was. They were no doubt searching for Rosie or worse... Her father, but these were considerations Fi kept to herself. There was little point in worrying everyone over it.

"We should stop soon..." She said, a little while into the afternoon, "Those clouds look pretty dark, and it won't be safe out in the fields in a storm."

"I'm rather hungry." Rosie noted, her eyes traveling skyward with a sense of uncertainty, "Maybe we could eat?"

"Yeah, I'm hungry, myself," Jack said. True to his nature, he'd been more or less oblivious to the patrols of soldiers, so long as their attention wasn't drawn to the group walking about.

" 'Fraid I don't know any places to eat this far north, though, and I think I ate the last of Goodie's cookies," Jack whined, shaking the basket they'd taken along. Shame - those were good cookies.

"Oh! There's an orchard over there, though," Jack said, pointing over the horizon to a stand of trees, walking at a quick clip towards them. Goose followed behind the group, bringing up the rear, and he honked softly in suspicion.

Following Jack, Rosie hummed softly, as oblivious as he to the danger. The third member of their trio (or perhaps quartet) however, was not so confident.

Looking to Goose, Fiora frowned softly, "We'd better look around first, Jack. Goose seems edgy... And he usually gets that way when there's a reason for it..."

"Huh? Oh! You're right. I'll sneak on ahead, and you three stay here!" Jack suggested, looking to Rosie. "I'll be back right away, I promise, 'n maybe I can even tell you what's in the orchard."

Without preamble, he headed off immediately to check the place out, leaving Rosie and Fi alone with their feathered guardian, who honked angrily, but didn't follow.

Looking to Goose again, Fi's expression fell to a frown. For a bird who was once a man who was once a magician, he was surprisingly lacking in ways of actual contributing use.

"Come on, Rosie... We'll stay close by, in case he needs us," she said, quietly, sneaking after Jack towards to orchard.

Jack, of course, wandered into the trees happily, peering up into their branches to see what sorts of goodies were in store. He frowned as he saw that the trees were more like bushes, and the fruit therein were not one he recognized. They were fuzzy and soft, a deep pinkish orange color, with rotted ones all on the ground, being eaten by wasps.

Wasps, which were none too happy to have Jack near their fruity delight.

They alighted upon him as he wandered around the tree, and he shouted in surprise as several began to sting him repeatedly, running at a lollygagging pace to get away from the insects.

"Help! Goose! Someone!" Jack shouted, waving.

Fiora heard the shouting, and looking to Goose, she gestured to Rosie, "Neither of you move!" And rushing forward, she ducked beneath the branches dashing into the orchard. She could see Jack at a distance, flailing wildly, the little black beads visible as they dashed through the air around him.

Bees... Or wasps more accurately.

And all at once, in her mind, she could see it... The spell. Woven like strands of yarn, she could see the words in her mind. Her hand thrown out, she whispered, and a burst of wind shot forward at the wasps. As they tore off away from the gale, Fiora dropped onto her back, staring in shock at her palm.

Jack, relieved from the stinging of wasps, was aghast at the gust of wind that blew him back. He fell backwards and blinked a few times before looking up at Fi.

"I dunno if this is a good place, Fi. The weather is weird, and there's wasps!" Jack said as he scrambled to his feet, heading towards the girl.

Blinking, Fiora looked away from her hand and up to Jack. She could have kept it from him. There was a small part of her, frightened and all too aware of the prejudice who desperately wanted to, but her eyes met his and slowly, she shook her head.

"It was me, Jack. The... the wind. I don't know how... But it was me."

"Y-you did that?" Jack asked with wide eyes. "You... you saved me?"

A slow grin spread on his face.

Love[/s] Mud] Coming right on Fiora's heels, however, was Goose, who was excitedly getting between Jack and the young woman, honking loudly with passion as he pecked once at her hand, then again at her forehead, spreading his wings and turning in a circle while honking.

"I think... I think Goose may have lost his marbles. He didn't get stung did he?"

Shaking her head, Fiora looked at Goose, wide eyed and uncertain, "I think he....Oh!!"

Jumping upright, she looked behind them, "Goose! Rosie!" And without another word, she leapt over the ball of frantic feathers and raced back in the direction they had come.

Jack raced after Fi, slowly coming to the realization that the princess had, indeed, been left on her own. Goose followed along, honking as he went, and Jack shouted, "Why did you leave her, you dumb-... dumb- dumb bird?!"

Goose answered this with a peck to the ankles, his golden beak snapping threateningly as they raced back towards Rosie.

Fiora caught sight of the princess as she breached the treeline, the young girl sitting in the field of wildflowers, winding them into a crown. Nearly doubling over with a breath of relief, Fiora bent at the waist and with a shake of her head, glancing sideways to Jack, "Maybe let's just stick together from now on?"

Jack nearly collapsed with relief, leaning against Fi as he panted, wincing as he rolled his shoulder where he'd been stung a few times. Part of his arms were already starting to swell with welts, and he nodded.

"Stay together. Good idea. Oh!"

Jack pulled something out of his pocket and handed it to Fi.

"Breakfast," he said with a pained smile. "I dunno what it is. But it looked good. Got some before the wasps got me."

Blinking at the fruit, then the boy, Fiora shook her head, "Come on. I heard a stream down the way. We'll go there and get you cleaned up. And then try to figure out what this odd thing is." Reaching, she took his hand, heading for the gap in the trees, "Come along, Rosie. Goose."

The river wound down horizontal to the hill, narrow at the start before widening, becoming faster as it cascaded downhill. Where she paused, the water was a safe trickle, the break protected by a row of stones.

"Can you take off your shirt?" she asked, bending down by the edge of the stream, "The mud will stop the itching. Smells better than the bogs back home. Rosie, love. Have a seat on the hill, and keep your eyes on that flower crown..."

Jack sat by the river bank and began to peel off his shirt without a second thought, eager to please despite the welts. Goose watched as Rosie continued to make her flower crown, the waterfowl waddling closer while still keeping an eye on their charge.

"I dunno, Fi, it still smells like skunk," Jack said with sad dejection, realizing that he was about to undergo something unpleasant.

Laughing softly, she shook her head, "You can wash in the next bit of stream we find. Now don't fuss..." Coming to him, hands full of the mud, she gingerly, gently smoothed it over the welts, shaking her head as she worked, careful to keep her focus on the task at hand, despite the flush in her cheeks, "You mustn't rush off like that, Jack. Even if it is to scout ahead. It's dangerous and if there had been worse than wasps..."

"Well, I hadn't thought--" But that was the problem, wasn't it? He never thought. It wasn't his nature to.

He couldn't afford that nature right now, and for some reason that scared him.

"I-I-I'm sorry, Fi, I.... thought I were helping," Jack muttered, drawing his knees up to his chest and sitting his chin on top, waiting. "You wanted something, and I... well, I wanted to get it."

"And I love you for that, Jack... Really." Brushing the remainder of the mud from her hands, but for a tiny bit she smeared across the welt on his cheek, she shook her head, "But I can't lose you. You know that, right? Just... Be careful. Alright?"

"Alright. I can do that," Jack said brightly with a goofy grin, mud-daubed and all. "Um... when can I take this off?"

He began to stand, only to slip and slide a bit on the wet mud, quickly losing his foot and falling atop his traveling companion with an ungainly squelch.

With a squeak, Fiora toppled back, and the sound quickly escalated into a laugh as she looked up at Jack with wide, bright eyes.

"My Jack. Such grace..."

"I'm so sorry!" Jack fretted, his voice climbing a few octaves as he realized his faux pas, though Fi did not look so troubled, gazing at him. He was wholly oblivious, only aware that he'd gotten mud on her.

"Oh, and I ruined your dress," Jack whined, worried enough rub dirt off her face, but not enough to actually get off of her.

Goose, from his perch, looked over at the squeal, ruffled considerably at the display, snapped his beak, and suddenly stole Rosie's flower crown, leading her to look in the opposite direction as he waddled away.

"Oi!" Rosie cried, though not without amusement, as she turned to follow Goose.

Fiora, meanwhile, reached up to catch Jack's hands with her own, laughing again, softly, "Jack... Really. It's fine... I'm fine."

Jack pouted and got up, helping Fiora along as well, still a bit upset that her dress had been so muddied. And they didn't have much by way of traveling clothes either...

"Oh!" Jack said, forgetting his former ills easily. "Take my shirt! To cover the mess. I can walk around without one. It's warm."

Meanwhile, Goose stopped a minute to look at the two, before resuming his game of keepaway with Aladria's granddaughter.

Rising, Fiora shook her head, "Jack... Sweetie. I've spent half my life in a muddy hut. You mustn't fuss." Reaching up, she pressed a hand to his cheek, brushing her thumb over the smudge of mud she'd left there, "Really..."

He smiled gently, shrugging helplessly. He looked up to see that Goose was heading their way with the flower crown, handing it to him, and Jack looked at it in some confusion. With a 'huh', he put it on his own head, looking somewhat like a woodsprite, being shirtless, covered in mud, and wearing flowers.

Laughing again, she looked briefly down at Goose before she stretched up her hand to straighten the crown, "A proper prince if ever I've seen one."

Jack puffed out his (not at all ample) chest and straightened up at that before a thought struck him.

“If we get married ever, does that make me a prince?”

Goose honked in agreement to that idea.

Her eyes meeting his, Fiora nodded, without an ounce of hesitation, "Indeed, it would. And a fine prince you would make..."

Jack blushed a bit, smiling a small, secret smile as he thought about that. Prince Jack. The mental image of himself wearing lovely clothes and having Goose and Fi and Rosie around him. However, the thought of Rosie snapped him out of his daydream, and he said, "Rosie! Where is she?"

Goose honked and pointed back the way he'd come.

Looking back in the direction Goose had honked, she smiled, watching the girl sitting again, patiently on the hill, her eyes focused on the waters are they rolled past.

"We're doing pretty good, aren't we?"

"I mean... we're hungry, and it'll get dark soon... but it could be a lot worse. Yeah, we're doing alright," Jack said, looking over at Fi. "I... dunno if I ever felt so much worry, but I know I've never been this happy neither. It's strange."

He glanced over at Rosie, and he felt a twinge, that unfamiliar feeling of concern. Never in his life had he ever really thought about anyone outside of his family this way, always trusting that they would take care of him, not the other way around.

"But happy is good. I like happy." She returned her eyes to Jack, her smile growing.
"Hopefully it won't be long before we run into Rosie's father. And then we won't need to worry much longer..." Though she imagined it wouldn't be over quite so simply, even then.

Jack lowered his gaze, scuffing his feet against the mud.

"We oughta... we oughta get goin', you don't think?" Jack asked, looking up. "Oh! I should put on my shirt."

He grabbed his shirt and put it on over the mud, hardly minding the mess he was making.

"I dunno where we should... go though," Jack admitted as he fought with the lacing, which he'd pulled apart completely in his bid to get the thing off.

Chuckling, Fiora swatted his hands away from the ties to take over, "I've spent the last few years sewing nettles together. This is nothing..."

Looking up, she nodded, "But we should keep moving. Maybe we should stay near the river? Then we'll have fresh water... And there might be something to eat."

"Yeah! We could fish for something!" Jack said with excitement. "I remember when my Dad would take me and Teagan and... and Sean."

Jack suddenly fell quiet, his expression falling a bit. He blinked, licking his lips.

"I couldn't do it much, but Teagan was good at it. Sean could, kind of, and Da... He can set a foot in water and fish jump out at him. One year, he nearly fed half the village that way through winter, cuz he smoked so much of it," Jack remembered.

"Sean... He... He was your other brother?" Her eyes moved to the river, but her hand slipped to his, her fingers curling through his.

"If you teach me how, I can give it a try."

Jack chuckled a little bit sadly.

"I don't remember much of it. I... maybe if I found some thread or string or something, but I don't really... I'm not good at that sorta thing. Teagan always yelled at me because I would tangle up the line and scare the fish. Sean would fish away from me, but he didn't care."

Jack was quiet a little longer.

"Sean was a good older brother."

"I promise I am much more patient than Teagan. We'll figure it out, together."

Her eyes shifted to Rosie and she shook her head, "And if we can't fish... We'll figure something else out."

Jack nodded his head, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand.

"Someti- Sometimes, I... I don't know, it makes me sad, thinkin' about stuff like that, cuz I don't remember all the time, but I... I..." Jack muttered, trying to smile again. "I'm sorry, I just kind of, you know, now and again..."

He stood up taller and straighter, putting on a brave face, and he said, "Come on, I bet we could get Goose to get somethin' for us."

Blinking, Fiora shook her head and reaching up, she cupped his jaw with a delicate hand, "Don't you ever apologize for feeling something you're meant to feel, Jack. That is what makes you so special... So important."

Tipping onto her toes, she pressed a ginger kiss to his cheek, "So wonderful..."

Jack stared, as ever any time Fi gave him a moment's affection, with something like awe. And, all together, he fell to pieces. He had not had the time nor the mental power to truly put together the many emotions he'd bottled up over Sean's disappearance. Indeed, he'd mostly forgotten it, or tried not to linger on it long, in his sojourns with Goose. But now, in a quiet moment, after remembering Sean teaching him how to string a fish hook for the eighth time, despite Jack never remembering a single thing of how to do it, Jack broke.

He hugged Fi, blubbering wildly, overcome.

"I can't remember the last time I saw him. I want to, but I can't," Jack sniffled, his words barely coherent.

"Oh!" She exclaimed softly, as Jack toppled into her, but recovering, her arms came around him and shaking her head, she brushed her hand across his shoulders, "Shh... Oh, Dear Heart. I know... I know... It's okay. You're upset, but you'll remember. When you least expect it... You'll remember and it won't make you sad... Not anymore. Not again."

Pressing a kiss to his crown, she eased him back, to look at him properly, "I didn't mean to upset you..."

"You didn't upset me," Jack professed, though his words were hardly recognizable, given his shaking sobs.

"I upset me. The river - it upset me. I just didn't think - I never had no one die on me. Not anyone I remember. I-I-I went looking for him, you know. Sean," Jack sobbed. "You know how Teagan walks funny? That's cuz he lost a foot lookin' for him. I found Goose instead."

Goose honked irreverently at his name, flapping his wings once.

"But if you hadn't found Goose, we wouldn't be here, now, protecting a real, honest princess..." Reaching for his hands, she gave them a squeeze, "Just like I wouldn't have come to the market and needed your help with buying those herbs, if my brothers hadn't been put under that ghastly spell. Things happen for reasons we don't always understand, but good can come, even from terrible things..."

"You's so wise, Fi," Jack sniffled, holding her hand and squeezing back, rubbing his snotty, tear-streaked face. "I dunno how you do it. I just don't."

Yet, he was smiling again. Yes, he wouldn't be here. He wouldn't change it for the world…

Laughing faintly, she shook her head, "Years of not speaking can make one very wise... When you learn how important words can be, you learn, I suppose, how best to use them.”

"Do you like talkin' now? I sometimes forget that you didn't used to talk ever," Jack said, his lack of a good memory showing itself, considering Fi's discovery was less than three days hence.

Goose waddled up to them and squawked, heading along the riverbank and trying to lead them.

"I... think Goose is impatient."

Fiora nodded to Goose and started forward, giving Rosie a small wave. The girl rose and followed along, though slightly ahead, her hands clasped behind her and her eyes on the sky.

"It's odd, honestly. Talking. I missed it, but there are times when I think it makes things too easy. And not everything can be said so well with words as it can actions..."

"I think you're doin' real well with the talking," Jack said, rubbing his nose with his sleeve. "I mean - you say what you mean to me and I understand what you mean, right? So I think that's workin' out. Me, I'm not too good with words. I don't have many big ones."

Chuckling, Fiora looked her arm through his, leaning her head on his shoulder, "Big words are overrated. All the best words are short, anyway."

"Are they?" Jack asked, enjoying the sunshine and Fi on his arm and Rosie ahead of him, walking with Goose.

"What's your favorite, then?" Jack asked. "What were you always dyin' to say when you couldn't talk?"

Laughing softly, she shrugged, "Hm... Let's see. I've always liked the word joy... So small, but such a powerful word. Mint... It's a lovely word and herb. Right now, I'm very partial to the word Jack... What about you? What word do you like?"

Jack thought hard, and he very suddenly shouted the word, "GOOSE!"

The aforementioned fowl jumped and squawked at the mention of his name, causing the fowl to turn around and waddle in place as if in anticipation, and Jack just shook his head and shrugged, saying, "Nah, just wanted to say it."

Goose stopped his waddling to stare before snapping his golden beak at Jack once, then waddling behind Rosie.

"I like... I dunno, I like lyres and the word discomfit and words like blue and loom and love. Oh! If I couldn't say, 'I dunno', I'd probably die! I got to say 'I dunno'," Jack mentioned.

She laughed again, brightly, at Jack's outburst and Goose's reaction, before looking up at him with a grin, "Oh. Blue is nice... And well, Love might just be the best word their ever was... Which makes sense, since it's certainly the best feeling."

"Innit? I love daises, and I love bridges, and I love the sun, even when it' s leavin' - specially when it's leavin'," Jack sighed dreamily. "Sunsets - I don't get ta see them often. Too many mountains. I saw my first ever ever one in Ethelmar and... and wow."

He spread his arms out to gesture.

"So many colors. I din' know the sky could have that many at once."

"Hm... And swans. We can't forget swans. I do love swans, even when they aren't my brothers. So white pretty. I love anything white, really. Oh, and scones... I do love scones. I love the sound the night makes, when there's no more crowds or carriages... Just the whisper of the wind, and the odd cricket."

Looking to Jack, she bit the edge of her lip, "...I love it here, in Renloth. Everything so green and rich and full of life."

"Oh, so do I! This is my home," Jack professed, nodding along. "I liked Ethelmar. I truly did. And I did lots of the travelin' with Goose, but I don't think I ever liked anywhere half so much as here. Now, people can... I don't know, they can be a little thorny, but they're sort of like a rose bush. You got to get past the thorns to get you a rose."

Smiling, she nodded, "That's a lovely way to put it. And very true. Though some people, I suppose are all thorns... and some..." She gestured ahead of them to the princess with a chuckle, "Have no thorns at all."

"No, there ain't a thorn on her. Or you or me either, I don't think. Goose.... Goose might have one," Jack mused. "And I think Rosie's mum, why, she's got buckets of em."

Nodding, she grinned, "Goose definitely has a few... and I think he means to. It'd be very curious to know what he was like when he wasn't a bird."

The smile faded a little as he went on and she sighed softly, "I still can't imagine anyone doing to Rosie what they did. But her own mother? It breaks my heart to think about it..."

"I don't really think she oughta be queen," Jack said. "I don't know why really, but I think that someone who... who takes care of countries and things, if they can't take care of their own babies, how can they take care a' anyone else?"

Jack frowned at the thought, as if he were straining to wrap his mind around the idea.

"Here, we don't really pay much attention to kings or queens or princesses. I know we got one, but I dunno much about 'em."

"Renloth has always been friendly with Ethelemar... but I imagine Queen Eirlys has put on a pretty good show, until recently." Fiora hated to speak ill of anyone, but there was so little good to say of Rosie's mother, and it was impossible to find anything decent about the woman, "She definitely doesn't deserve to run a kingdom, though... and she doesn't deserve Rosie, either."

"What's her father like?" Jack asked. "I don't think I ever heard of him, or seen him neither."

"I've never met him, myself... But he's spoken highly of, among the people. They call Charming, actually." She chuckled softly, "And the story behind how he met the queen, it is awfully romantic. Though it hardly seems possible, considering how unappealing she is... Hm."

"You think you'd be a good queen, Fi? Your aunt made it sound like you could take up for it if you wanted," Jack asked, sticking his hands in his pockets. "I dunno if I'd be good at it. I can hardly tie my laces."

Shaking her head Fiora frowned, "I don't think I'd ever want to be queen. It seems like a fairly thankless job. And I'm not sure I'd want to be responsible for so much..."

Jack stared at Rosie's back, the wheels turning in his head as she trotted beside Goose, clambering up the slope to follow the river's curve. He frowned a bit and said, "But she's going to have be queen one day, ain't she? And nobody asked her to."

Blinking, Fiora paused for a moment, before looking over to Jack, "You're right... Maybe...maybe it is something I... I need to think more about."

"Huh?" Jack asked in confusion as he tried to scramble up the hill their charge had just gone up. "What? No, no, no! I - no, Fi, you ain't gotta do that! It were just a thought, you know, because I - well, it's just... something I thought about, you know? And she's got her Da, and her Da's a good man, right? So he can be king a while before she ever even gets there and can make up her mind and... things."

He held out a hand to help her up.

Reaching up, she took his hand and pulled herself after him, "I don't mind doing what I must if it's for Rosie... She doesn't deserve any of this."

For once, Jack stopped her, holding her hands in his as he gave her a stern look.

"Fi, just 'cuz you can do somethin' for someone don't mean you have to," Jack said with more steel than he realized he ought. Softening, he said, "Just... Teagan always told me settin' yourself on fire to keep other people warm is a bad thing. I always thought he were meaning it really literal, and I wondered why he'd have to tell me I shouldn't set myself on fire, but..."

Smiling, Fiora nodded, "I suppose so. And who knows... Maybe Rosie wants to be a queen, after all. I guess we'll find out. If we make it through this mess."

"Oh, we most certainly will," Jack said, following along, neglecting let go of Fi's hand. He swung them both in whimsical arcs as they continued by the river, the place growing almost dreamy as the sun began to set.

In Renloth, it was a damp, wet place, and mist was rising off the river, a settlement glowing in the distance with their lanterns and fireplaces. A sawmill seemed the focal point of the place, and Jack brightened.

"Maybe we can find an inn," he muttered, before realizing they had no money. "Or a barn. I'm not picky."

She nodded as she looked ahead to the lights on the horizon, "We might be able to do a little work for a room... Though Goose will probably have to sneak in..."

"Oh! Do you still have my lyre?" Jack asked. "When I was travelin' with Goosie, I'd just set up in a square and strum a li'l and the coins just fell outta people it seemed. Though some days, people dropped tomatoes instead...."

Smiling, Fiora nodded, "That sounds like a good plan, actually. I'm a bit too tired for mucking stables. Though I suppose I could wash dishes, if we need a little extra. I'd say we could convince Rosie to sing with you... she's such a pretty voice... but we'd best keep her out of sight, just in case."

"Good idea!" Jack said, catching up to the princess. "Rosie! You wanna sing with me?"

Goose squawked at him, completely against the idea, but Jack seemed far too excited for his own good.

Laughing, Fiora shook her head and followed after him, "Jack, silly darling... She can't sing and stay hidden. That wouldn't work out too well at all."

“Wha- oh!” Jack exclaimed and winced. “Sorry.”

They walked into town as the sun set, people still going about what few chores were left. At the town’s meager square, Goose escorted Rosie to an alley and Jack set up shop, strumming his lyre and playing “Bonnie Heart.”

Setting herself in between, watching Jack, while her eyes stayed on the alleyway, Fiora smiled faintly in appreciate of the music, watching the small crowd as they stopped to listen, more than a few tossing a copper piece to the ground beside Jack's feet.

Jack played with gusto, making songs up on the fly. People clapped in appreciation, the crowd staying mostly small.

"There was a lass with long black hair
a lovely smile, and a voice like honey,
and I would do anything for that girl,
worth more than all gold, jewels, or money.

Give me a hut in the swamps abroad,
with her at my side to share a song,
instead of a castle empty and lonely
with no one to cherish, no one to belong."


Listening, Fiora's expression shifted and her smile brightened as her eyes misted over just slightly. The song afforded Jack great applause and more than a few coins sprinkled at his feet, but Fi couldn't have cared less if it made any money at all. To her, it was priceless.

Drying her eyes, she moved forward when he finished and bending to help him collect the money, she looked up at him, shaking her head, "...That was beautiful, Jack..."

"Oh, it was... well, it weren't nothin', I just came up with that off the top of my head," Jack laughed as he helped to pick up coins off the road. "I just... I pull out what's in here."

He tapped his chest.

Reaching out with her free hand, she tapped his chest in the same spot, eyes soft and damp, still, "...Well, then this is beautiful, too. You are beautiful..."

Jack looked at her in awe before saying, "But I'm not a girl, Fi, I ain't beautiful. That's for you. And why are you cryin'?"

Laughing softly, Fi shook her head, "Oh my sweet, sweet Jack. I promise you... they're good tears."

"Ey, boy!" came a shout at the pair, and Jack looked up before he could truly process what Fi was saying. Jack looked over to see an innkeep wearing an apron. The interruption drove Fi as well to turn and looking over her shoulder to the innkeeper.

"You play that lyre real nice. Got a place to stay for the night?" the innkeep asked.

A small smile formed as she returned her gaze to Jack, "Well?"

Jack didn't take long to deliberate after a look at Fi.

"No, not tonight," Jack admitted to the innkeep.

The man, a burly sort, the kind of stock you could expect from a farming community, rubbed his ample chin as he thought hard about his proposal.

"Here's the thing. I'm short a few hands, and you're a good musician. Maybe the two of you can stay the night?"

"Well, we actually got a girl's with us, too..." Jack admitted.

"My little sister..." Fi added with a small smile. She wasn't keen on lying, but Rosie's identity needed to be kept a secret and while she and Rosie hardly had much similarity in appearance, it was easier to suggest she was a sister than explain a more convoluted reason the young girl was traveling with them.

"She... she has a pet she's rather attached to. A goose we picked up during our travels. I understand if you can't accommodate, but it's at all possible. We've been through some difficulties recently, and it would mean so much... He's quite good, and I would be happy to make up for the trouble with any housekeeping you require, while Jack plays?"

The innkeeper considered this fact while rubbing the back of his neck.

"How many rooms will you need? That's really the important part. A goose I can handle. Four rooms, I can't."

Laughing softly, Fiora shook her head, "One room will be more than enough... We're used to small quarters."

The innkeeper nodded with an appraising expression.

"Right! Come, then, plenty to eat, a warm room - we've got it."

Jack smiled excitedly, looking to Fiora, before gesturing to Goose and Rosie.

"I never been in a inn before!" Jack whisper-shouted.

"Me, either." As Rosie came close, she bent down a little to the girl, whispering quietly enough that she wouldn't be overheard, "I've told him we're sisters. Best to help you blend in."

Turning to Goose she smiled a little, "And you're her pet, Dear Goose."

Goose ruffled considerably at the mention of being a pet, squawking as he held his wings out at Fi, but he was cowed into submission by a hard look from Jack - the only hard look the boy had ever given him.

"Now, you be nice, Goosie, 'cuz she ain't been nothin' but nice to you," Jack chastised, a mockery of a father playing referee. Goose sniffed with a shake of the beak, but nevertheless waddled forward towards the inn, regardless.

"Sometimes I dunno what gets into him," Jack sighed.

Chuckling softly, Fiora shrugged, but it was Rosie who spoke up, beaming at the bird, "Maybe he was a Prince... Before he was a bird."

As she started after Goose, Fiora paused and lifting a brow, looked from Jack to Rosie, then back again to Jack, "You don't think she knows...?"

"Knows what? Oh!" Jack said, piping up and realizing what she meant. "Oh, I dunno, I don't think she'd believe me if I told her. What, you planning to?"

Jack walked Fi towards the inn, a cozy little place with a thatched roof and a wonderful smell drifting from the main hallway.

Chuckling again, Fiora shook her head, "I'm not so sure. She's smart, Jack. Smarter, I think, than people give her credit for." But it mattered little... Upon entering, Fiora breathed in the heavenly scent and her concerns were forgotten, "Oh... Let's eat."

The innkeeper was quite gracious, allowing them to have some of the Neverending Stew that sat in the pot. For any peasant in Renloth, it was a familiar sight, often the staple of the working men's diets. A stew kept boiling end on end on end, for days, with whatever was leftover tossed into it, it was a hearty and delicious meal, though admittedly the concept often turned the stomachs of others when they realized that the same stew had been going nigh on four months.

The innkeeper ladeled out four bowls, even offering one to the goose, who turned his nose up at it. Jack heartily began scarfing down.

"Where are you headed? You're not from town, and I don't reckon I've spied your faces here before," the innkeeper said as he wiped his hands off. "I'm Eric by the way."

"I'm Jack! Jack Corville, and this is Fi, and that's...uh..." Jack blanked as he wondered if he should give out the princess's true name.

"Rosie" Fiora interjected, as Jack paused, smiling without missing a moment... It was one thing to lie to protect the princess, but it was another to perpetuate lies when they would do more harm - one slip of the tongue, one mistake and they ran the risk of losing the man's trust and their sanctuary for the night.

"We're headed to the coast. To meet our uncle..." Her eyes shifted to Rosie and the girl smiled brilliantly.

"Ah, family reunion!" the innkeeper said pleasantly, hands on his hips. "Is it a long ways?"

"Li'l bit, yeah," Jack admitted. "We're s'posed to meet on the road round there, but not really sure where. Just supposed to run into 'im I guess."

"Ach - if that isn't the way of things. Your journey been fair?"

"Fair enough, so far. It was certainly happy luck running into this village. We might've been eating something considerably less pleasant for dinner..."

Jack finished up his meal and he said through a mouthful, "I oughta play, right?"

"Aye, you oughta play," the innkeeper laughed, gesturing to the front. Jack happily snatched up his lyre and dashed with enthusiasm to earn his keep.

He began to play, his fingers artfully dancing across the strings of the lyre, producing a heavenly sound. The innkeeper shook his head at him.

"I had thought perhaps I were mistaken that it was the boy who were playin', given he seems.... well, a little touched in the head, but he can strum that thing," the innkeeper said appreciatively.

"Jack is special..." Fiora said, as she watched him from where she sat. Rosie jumped after him, to sit closer and listen and Fiora's expression bloomed, "People just don't give him the chance to show it. But I've only known him a few days and he's already the most important man in the world to me..."

The innkeeper's eyebrows raised and he nodded.

"The rills bubble and chuckle,
the fields shimmer and shake.
Were the world mine to take,
I'd stick it all in a bottle.

I'd carry it in a bag with me,
down the roads winding and twisted,
in the mountains tall and misted,
where ever my feet wander free.

But no matter how far I'd go,
with that bottle weighing me down,
my feet steering me into town,
and at the garden gate I would slow.

For me she bided her time,
that I'd stop a-wanderin' the highways,
to come up and out of the byways,
into her arms sublime.

As a sorry and a thank you,
out my bag would that bottle come,
full of Springtime instead of rum,
before again I bid her adieu."


Jack's tenor filled the place, and slowly people filtered in to hear the man sing, paying a small copper for a bit of stew and a seat.

Leaning her elbows on the table, Fiora rested her chin her hands, looked from the innkeeper to Jack as she listened.

"He's quite good, isn't he..." She mused, almost to herself.

"Now, miss, I'm afraid I can't let you lubber there yourself without a bit of work. Otherwise AnnMarie and Josie there are going to start wonderin' why I make them work too," the innkeeper said with a twinkle in his eye, pointing over to the two other serving girls.

"If you girls could be bothered, would you help hand out bread? Shouldn't be too hard."

The rush into the tavern was now a steady stream, though it had slowed a bit since the initial onrush. The people seemed to be having a good time, calling out song requests.

Chuckling softly, Fiora nodded and rose to her feet, "Not a problem, Sir." After retrieving the bread baskets, she moved through the crowd, where she found Rosie again, "Come on, Dear Heart. We've got to work for our keep. Time to hand out bread."

And handing over a basket, she turned in the other direction to make her rounds, still keeping half an ear to Jack's music.

Jack looked out at the crowd, eyebrows drawing together momentarily at Fiora, his hands slowing as he gave her a questioning look. The expression on his face was obviously, Are you okay? You need help?

But Fiora had nothing more than a smile for Jack. This, decidedly, was not the worst possible place for them to have wound up in. Even Rosie, who had taken to the menial labor her hands would never have been exposed to with a sense of unquestioning excitement. They handed out the bread and when the baskets were emptied, Rosie plucked up a second while Fiora set to wiping down tables. It was more than they had been asked to do, but their host seemed hardly perturbed by the extra workers on hand, and the crowd paid little mind to them as they passed through.

Some forty minutes later, Rosie had exhausted herself with several more bread passes and had found a seat near the fireplace, but Fiora continued to work around the room, wiping spills here and there, refilling mugs when they were thrust at her, collecting plates and bowls and dropping them off in the basin by the kitchen. Jack played on, and the crowd had thinned, several patrons retiring to their rooms or heading home. There was a peace and quiet, and no real cause for alarm, for the first time in a long while.

Drying her hands on her skirt, Fiora crossed to where Jack played and sank down at his feet, "I wish your hands could play on their own." She said quietly, "I want to dance with you."

Jack looked down at his feet where Fi sat, and he grinned simply, looking at the lyre he had.

"I wouldn't mind somethin' like that. I never was good at dancin', but I dunno if you would care. You're the only one who don't care about that kinda thing. I ever tell ya about the time I tried to dance with Mildred Hayworthy?" Jack asked, looking at her expectantly as he played along, happily strumming softer and softer notes, winding down the place.

"Oh, I'm sure I would be terrible..." Fiora admitted with a quiet laugh, "But I don't mind. It doesn't matter when you're having fun, right?" Looking up at him again, she rose to her feet and without a word, extended her hand to him, "Come on. We don't need music. We can dance without it..."

Jack stopped, hand slamming down on the strings to quiet it, and he grimaced with a grin.

"Fiiii," he whined, but he still put the thing down. "How... do you dance anyhow? I just..."

He seemed to wiggle his arms and trunk in a strange motion, haphazard and most definitely disordered.

Giggling, Fiora shook her head and reaching out, took a hold of his hand, tugging him down beside her, "It's generally better, I imagine, with music, but we'll make due. Put your hand on my waist... and hold this one," Shifting his arm, she nodded, "Like that. And... now you just... move your feet. One at a time, back and then forward again."

Stepping in, with her foot, she looking up at him, and with a small smile, she hummed softly, the last song he had played.

He looked down at his feet, trying hard to try and keep up with Fi. It was quite helpful that she herself was new to the concept of 'dancing' as much as he was, the pressure completely alleviated given the fact there was no one there.

"This is actually... actually kind of fun," Jack said with surprise.

Chuckling, Fiora nodded, "It is... And you're not half bad at it, Jack. You really don't give yourself enough credit."

Though whether he was actually good or she just didn't know any better, she couldn't possibly determine, but it felt good, being able to complement him, knowing how few people actually did...

"It's really quite nice..."

“You’re actually not bad yourself,” Jack admitted, and he fidgeted as he realized that Fi was quite warm for a person - in fact for a girl! It stirred strange feelings, a sense of belonging, that he’d rarely ever experienced.

“Do ya really not mind? All this,” he said.

"Why, thank you. I find it's much more enjoyable... and easier, when you're comfortable..."

She chuckled, but as he continued, her expression softened as she contemplated his question.

"All what..." She asked, a brow lifting, and carefully, she took a small step closer to him, her fingers winding more comfortably in his grip.

"The... my clumsy tongue 'n my two left feet 'n all that?" Jack said, looking into Fi's eyes with such openness. "I really 'preciate that. I dunno know if you know, but I do."

He definitely didn't mind that they could stand slightly closer, though he kept in mind that there were others still here - Rosie among them. Crashing into Mildred Hayworth had earned him an earful from his mother about propriety, and he didn't want to risk things.

"Why would I mind, my Dear Jack?" Her steps paused as she met his eye, her lip cocked up in a gentle smile, "Your clumsy tongue and two left feet? They're my whole world."

"Fi, you oughta spread the world out a bit more then! That's awful small," Jack professed with real concern, his eyes wide and imploring. "It's all that time with your swans for brothers, isn't it? Then again, I don't know if my world's all that big either."

He glanced at their hands clasped together as they danced, his gaze softening ever so slightly.

"I find after all this time, being on my own... Trying to fix the mess we were left with... And now this? With Rosie, and with you? Well..." Shaking her head, she lowered her gaze a little, her smile softer, "I find I rather like the world small. I don't need much, Jack."

Looking up at him again, she shrugged, "We don't even have music and look what we've managed... What else do we need?"

"You're right. But you're always right," Jack admitted enthusiastically, and he swallowed. "I mean, all we really need is each other, yeah? I don't need much neither. I got along with a lot less, though that isn't to say I don't need ya, just that I... Oh, I'm steppin' on my tongue again."

Jack ducked his head as he tried to untie the conversation, trying to put into words what he felt without offending the one person who'd stuck by him all this time.

"I'd be sore sure to realize my world were nothing if you weren't there. Like a world that's got no blue in it," Jack said.

"We must always have blue... It's the most important color there is." She agreed with a pleasant smile, and pausing their dance, she reached out to lift his chin, before leaning forward to press a delicate kiss to the odd boy's cheek.

This time Jack did not freeze as he had done before, instead reveling in the momentary affection he was given, his eyes seeming to glisten softly as he brushed her cheek.

"The most important, yeah," he agreed. "The world ain't gotta be huge, so long as it's got blue."

"I suppose you'd like a room?" the innkeeper asked with amusement as the girls behind him tittered at the romantic display, and Jack colored. He wasn't sure why they were laughing... but he was sure he'd done something to deserve it.

Fiora blinked and looked to the innkeeper, utterly missing the insinuation as she nodded faintly, "We ought to get some rest..." Her eyes scanned through the small crowd and found Rosie, curled up in the window seat she had settled into earlier, half reclined and nearly asleep on her arms.

"Can you carry her up, Jack?"

Jack nodded enthusiastically, trying his best to make sure not to wake the princess. The innkeeper grinned as he led the two up the stairs, finding a room with double doors.

"You did very, very well tonight. With your help, we made triple what we normally do. This is the least I could give you," the innkeeper said, opening the doors to reveal a spacious, though slightly sparse, room. A cot was already laid out, while a queen bed sat in the middle of the room, a wash closet off to the side while an outdoor hanging porch gave a view of the surrounding forest off the backside.

Following after Jack and the innkeeper, Fiora smiled brightly to the later at the sight of the room... "It's lovely. Thank you..."

When he had gone and Rosie had been settled, she moved to step out onto the porch. Night had fallen, and all-around was still. With a soft sigh, Fiora leaned against the railing, "Did you ever notice how everything stands still at night, Jack? It's as if nothing in the whole world matters. Just for a little while. I really like it here... This village. This spot. Maybe when this is over, we can come back here. You and me."

Jack walked out to the porch, the evening air completely still. Indeed, Fi was correct, as always. There was something about night, where the world seemed to completely fall away, and everything remained still. Jack had never been an introspective sort, but nighttime did put him in an introspective mood.

"I wouldn't mind that at all. It's a little, quiet place, and I like little, quiet places," Jack admitted. "Not so much hubbub. I like cities, I really do, but not for too long. I get confused real quick. I like simple things."

Fiora nodded in agreement to his assessment, "I've never been one for crowds. Everyone seems so hurried and bothered in big cities. As if their lives are going to end if they don't get where they're going quickly enough."

Glancing his way, she smiled, "I think you would do well, here. The innkeeper would certainly love to have you."

"You think so?" Jack asked enthusiastically. "I do love playin' for people. I dunno, it's hard to explain.... when I make other people happy with music, it's just... heavenly. Like for once I'm someone."

He leaned against the railing and looked out over the forest.

"What makes you feel like someone?" he asked her, looking at Fi expectantly.

"Honestly? You do..." Lowering her eyes to the darkening view, she rolled her shoulders in a shrug, "You're the first person who ever has, aside from my brothers. And not because I might be a princess... Or because I have magic. You just see me for who I am, and that's enough. And it's the same for me, you know. You'll always be someone to me."

Jack beamed and leaned against her.

"I mean, I gotta say - you maybe bein' a princess can't hurt too terrible," Jack joked with her, grinning. "Or havin' the magics. You did that thing today and it was - wow!"

He held a hand out and made a 'whoosh' noise.

"Fantastic," he simply said. "I would want that kinda thing, but I ain't wise. I dunno if I'd know what to do with it."

Laughing softly, she tipped her head to his shoulder, "It was sort of exciting. Not that I actually know how I did it... It just sort of... happened."

Straightening again, she glanced to him and smiled, "But you're pretty wonderful at music, Jack. I could never play the way you do."

"What? No, it's easy! If I can do it, so can you!" Jack said enthusiastically, practically shaking her. He put an arm around her shoulder and said, "I could teach ya! it wouldn't take time. It's real easy, once ya get the hang of it, 'n you're real smart. Here! Lemme show you!"

He disappeared back into the suite to grab his lyre, excitedly showing her the strings.

"This here's the big string, and the littler string, and the even littler string..."

Laughing again, Fi shook her head as she watched his excitement, "Slow down, my darling Jack. We'll have all the time in the world to learn... There's no rush."

"But - oh, sorry," Jack said bashfully, lowering the lyre. "I always been someone who liked music. It's just... it gets in my blood."

He held out the instrument to Fi and asked, "Do you wanna try it out?"

Chuckling, she smiled, "Don't apologize, Jack. I think it's nice that you love it, so much."

Reaching for the lyre, Fiora blinked and taking hold, she turned it around so it faced Jack, a brow lifting, "...Okay. Now what?"

"Okay, you put your hands like this..." He moved her left to one side of the strings, while taking her right and putting it opposite, nestling the lyre to her hip and in the crook of her elbow.

"It's, um, a little bit heavy. I'm a bigger person than you, and I don't mind it, but you might think it's a little bit not comfy," Jack fretted, putting up his hands. "But you take your fingers..."

He took one of her fingers and gently plucked a string with it, letting loose a slightly soured note.

"Oh! Uh... it's easier when I actually got it in hand..."

Laughing softly, Fiora nodded and turned so that her back was to Jack, and she could cradle the lyre whilst he showed her, "Here... Try it this way. Just pretend my hands are yours."

Jack took to that idea easily, ignoring the fact that he was practically back to front with her. He took her hands and positioned them more easily, each of his fingers on top of hers.

"So, you just... pluck like this," he showed, taking one of her fingers and gently strumming a note. A pure sound rang out.

"You get the hang of plucking first, then you... do more than one finger..."

And he used her thumb with her forefinger to pluck two strings at the same time.

"And sometimes you can just -- play all of em," he said, strumming her whole right against the face of the strings to produce a heavenly chorus.

"Oh..." Smiling, Fi watched as he maneuvered her fingers, nodding along, "It's really not all that difficult, is it. But it just ... the way you play, Jack, you make it seem so..." Chuckling, she canted her head so she could look back at him.

"Perfect, really. And the music you write. The words. They're really lovely."

Jack blushed a little, suddenly aware of how close the two were, as if the fact had just struck him, and there was something about the admiration in Fi's eyes, the absolute awe with which she regarded him...

He was not a man who was prone to thinking about his actions before he did them. He pecked her then and there, momentarily shocked at himself, as if for all of a second something had come over him and he was no longer in control.

Fiora's breath caught as Jack drew in, but she did not pull away or even shift at all. It took all of her self awareness not to drop the lyre, and as her fingers curled tightly around the neck, she made a soft noise of surprise, before her lip twitched up into a smile.

Jack's shoulders rose as he stiffened, face flushing a total red despite Fi's pleased look.

"I am so sorry," he said, backing away from her and knocking into the railing on the porch with a thunk."I-I dunno why I d-did that, 'n please don't be mad, I... I just..."

His hands were up over his head as he bowed with his eyes low to the ground. Stupid! Why had he done that?

Lowering the lyre to the ground gently, Fiora moved before him and reaching up, she took hold of his hands to pull them from his face, "I'm not mad, Jack. Not at all. I... If I'm honest, I've rather... Been hoping you would, actually."

Jack stared, swallowing, as he tried hard to process her words.

"You... did?" Jack breathed out. "You did."

He laughed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Glad you.... don't mind it then," Jack murmured, scuffing his feet. "I might....like you. Like, like you, like you. A little."

Biting the edge of her lip, Fiora smiled faintly, and her shoulders bounced in a small, subtle shrug, "...Good. Because I know I like you, like you. I have, for a while now."


Jack was about to say more, but there was a knock on the suite door, and he glanced back at Fi for instruction. He pointed at the door before straying towards it, canting in the direction of the knocking. He opened the door wide, not even bothering with preamble.

"Uh, hello?"

Fiora held up her hand to stop Jack, but before she could, he had already opened it wide. Graciously, on the other side there was a young woman wearing an apron. She carried a tray laden with a pitcher and a few wooden cups.

"Mack sent me t'see if you needed anything, Sir. 'E's the innkeep, see. Also said t'tell ya tha' there's gents downstairs, askin' t'do room checks, as they're lookin' for...unsavory... types? I dunno why he'd want you t'know tha'... but there y'ar. Can ya take this? It's awful' heavy..."

Once she'd been relieved of the tray, she turned on her heels, skipping her way back to the stairs.

Pausing, Fiora looked to Rosie and her frown deepened, "Jack... We have to hide her."

Jack held the tray in hand and looked confused.

"Why we gotta hide her?"

The answer hit him rather late and he lurched with the tray to put it away.

"Oh! Oh, that's why we gotta hide her!" Jack said, but, true to his nature, he tripped with the tray, spilling the contents all over the floor.

"Ah! Uuuuh," he fretted, trying to decide what to do first.

Staring at him, Fiora shook her head, "No... it's okay. That's helpful, actually." Because neither one of them, frankly, were very good at hiding their emotions... and if they looked frantic, it would be all the more difficult to keep Rosie hidden.

Moving to the bed, she gave the girl a shake and when the princess woke Fiora met her lips with a silencing finger, gesturing for her to follow. The only place she could think to put the girl was the porch outside, where she secured her in a corner that wasn't in full view of the doorway. With hope, the men wouldn't be invasive, but she closed the doors to the porch anyway, and on second thought, slid a chair in front of it to give it the appearance of not having been used.

Then grabbing a towel, she moved to help Jack clean up the water. As she bent, however, there was a second knock, "...Easy does it..." she whispered to Jack, nodding for him to answer.

Jack didn't quite follow Fi's train of thought, and he paced nervously as Fi walked Rosie out the door. He gave the girl an anxious thumbs up, and Fi grabbed a towel to clean up the mess. Still confused, Jack nevertheless obeyed and he opened the door a crack to see who it was.

"Uh... Hi?" he stated to the person on the other side.

The man was tall, and broad shouldered, with a scowl across dark features. As Jack opened the door, he stepped back a little, a brow lifting, though his expression remained indifferent.

On the front of his uniform was the emblem of a golden horse... the emblem of the Ethelemar queen's personal guard.

"...Room check. There's a thief on the loose in town and we need to make sure he's not hiding out."

"Uuuuh sure," Jack said, opening the door to let the guards in, looking back at Fi with anticipation. They were here just to find a thief - and none of them looked like thieves. He was the only man! The others were girls. Maybe they weren't even looking for Rosie.

"What's he look like?" Jack asked.

"We was just stayin' the night here. I played in the tavern and the innkeep, he let me stay in this suite! it's very nice of him," Jack professed profusely, glad to have a piece of truth to hang on to. He picked up the lyre they'd put down as if to provide proof.

"We been travellin' a while. Is the thief like.... dangerous?" Jack asked with utmost sincerity.

The man nodded, though without pausing his search. He neared the back door, and Fiora caught her breath, but he passed by to peer into the small wash closet instead.

"All lawbreakers are dangerous, Kid. You see anything funny, you tell someone. You hear?"

"Yessir! I see anything funny, I'll holler down. Where'll you be?" Jack asked curiously, following the man around now that the so-called "threat" was gone. Huh - it was just a thief! What a coincidence.

Watching with a strained nervousness, Fiora stepped out of the way, casually sinking into the chair in front of the porch.

The man glanced over his shoulder at Jack with a frown, "I'll be around. Just as for General Crow."

Jack brightly smiled at him and said, "Alrightie, sir! We'll keep the old eyes peeled for 'at thief. I got lots of things he might wanna steal, too."

He glanced at the lyre he held, cradling it like a baby.

"Anything else ya needed?"

The man seemed to study Jack for a moment, and it streched until what felt like an eternity... But eventually, he nodded, "That'll do. You folks have a good evening and stay safe..."

He moved to the door, but paused, turning back as he gestured to the porch door and Fiora's breath caught.

"And keep that locked. Just in case."

Jack gave a double thumbs-up to the man and he walked over to the porch to lock the outside door.

"Thank you!" Jack said as the man left. "He was awful nice, weren't he? Looks like it was just a whole big coninci....coincee...a big misunderstanding."

Looking to Jack, Fiora shook her head, putting a finger to her lips as her eyes moved to the door again, where a small, barely noticeable creak could be heard on the otherside.

"He was very nice. We should get some rest, now."

"Yeah, we probably should," Jack sighed heavily. "Oh! Where's Goose? I thought he'd come up here with us."

He looked around for his fowl friend, not finding the unpleasant bird.

Sitting up, Fi frowned, "I hadn't realized... You should go find him... See that no one tries to cook him!"

Jack grimaced at the thought.

"I dunno if Goose would even let someone try and cook 'im, 'n that's a whole problem in and of itself," Jack realized with mounting horror, and he ran to the porch doors to throw them open. Out on the porch he ushed Rosie back inside, and he called off the porch, "Goose! Goose, where are ya!"

Standing out of the way, Fiora moved to collect Rosie, reaching out at the same time to tug Jack back inside, "Shh... We'll find him, Jack... But we mustn't draw attention. He's probably downstairs. No doubt he's found his way into the kitchen..."
Jack stared worriedly out the porch as he was unceremoniously tugged back inside, concern writ upon his face. He rung his hands as he wondered whether someone had taken the wayward Goose and turned him into someone's dinner. He was awfully plump....

He need not have worried, though. There was a knock on the door, but it was conspicuously low, as if somebody were kicking the door rather than rapping knuckles against it.

Jack walked to the door and threw it open, and indeed, Goose was there, though he seemed ruffled. He squawked with a high pitched timbre, waggling his tail feathers before flapping his wings once. It almost appeared as if someone had tried to grab him and did not succeed.

"Good ta see you! You shouldn'ta got so far from us, you know," Jack said as Goose waddled past Jack and climbed onto the cot and got comfortable.

Jack stretched out and started to yawn. "I might be ready for bed..."

Sinking down on the edge of the bed, she pulled Rosie with her and brushed her fingers through the girl's hair. The princess seemed nervous, but it was dampened by exhausted and with a yawn, she leaned against Fiora's side.

"We should rest..." Fiora said with a nod, and her eyes moved to the bed, then to the cot, "Perhaps... perhaps it's best Rosie and I take this one. I think... now that you and I... Now that we're clear on certain things. Perhaps it's better we sleep separately? So as not to..." Her cheeks reddening, she looked down, "I would not wish to make you uncomfortable."

Jack took several seconds to catch on and he blushed heavily.

"Y-yeah, that's a real good idea," Jack stated with a stammer, rubbing his arms. He walked to the cot and shooed Goose over, the bird chirruping unhappily but still moving out the way. Jack took hold of the large waterfowl and used him as a pillow, much to Goose's displeasure - but he still didn't move.

"Goodnight Fi," he said.

Smiling, despite her embarrassment, Fiora nodded and turned to situate Rosie, before moving to lie down beside the princess, "Goodnight, Jack. Sleep well..."

with @Elle Joyner
 

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NPCS: Aelynn

Renloth fanned out into sprawling plains bedecked by farms, pens of livestock and great crop fields scattered along the landscape as far as the eye could see. And in the distance, her peek a shrouded in a circle of white, swirling mist, Fool's Mountain rose up, a slash of shadow across the land. Beyond the mountain, glistening waves crashed upon a white sand shore and Renloth’s king resided.

As Uther, Cristoff and Aelynn continued into the sweeping plains, the blue symbols on the mirror came to rest in a village to the east and riding hard through the afternoon, the trio found themselves closing in as the sun began to droop beneath the horizon, the glass sea bleeding orange and red, the fields set a flame. Eventually, orange spilled into deep purple, then a glossy blue and the first pinprick stars appeared in the sky overhead.

Twice, Aelynn had to drag her eyes away from the magnificent view, back to the mirror, but the blue remained stagnant and soon enough, the capped roofs of homes came into view. Most of the village had retired for the night, but a few torches still burned. Up ahead, an inn sat in the center of the square, the door still open to inform passing travelers there was rooms available.

Stifling a yawn behind her hand, Aelynn held up the mirror to the others, “Stopped in there… the marker.”

@Toogee, @rissa, @Doctor Jax

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NPCS: Declan Martel || Lilianna Gentry | Alfeus Swann

As she watched the reunion, the woman, Bertha’s expression grew more and more plagued… as though she were fighting, warring within herself over a decision. Lilianna glanced her way, then to Katze, who had fallen decidedly quiet and she opened her mouth to ask if everything was alright, when her Bertha took a sudden step forward, the perception of innocence that surrounded her crumbling in an instant.

“Oh, to hell with it. This is too big a party for such games.” Her eyes snapped to Katze and her lip curved upwards into a small, smooth smile, “Sorry, Love. Seems the truth might serve me better, after all.”

Her hand rose, and as the blonde shifted forward, propelling himself to stop her, her fingers snapped. There was a burst of wind, a forceful gust and where Katze stood, a pile of clothes remained, spirals of smoke rising from the fabric.

Declan gripped his sword by the hilt and Lilianna staggered back, hands over her mouth, “Dear God! What have you-”

“Done? It’s quite simple, really.” A mewling sound echoed from the discarded clothing and a small ginger tabby poked out from beneath Katze’s shirt, “Bit literal… but when you’re pressed for time. Hmm.”

Bending, she plucked up the tabby, and held a finger towards the girl, as Lilianna jolted forward, stopped only by Declan’s arm as he blocked her path.

“Uh uh. No you don’t… One step more from any of you and I’ll snap its neck.” Bertha mused, running her palm along the smooth orange fur. Her eyes scanning the faces of the others, she smirked, “Now, then. Here’s how this works. You will take me out of these damnable woods… Once free of the boundary, I will transport us across the sea, to Ethelemar. Provided I get there unharmed… I will turn your brother back. But should you or any of your friends here try anything at all… mark my words, there are worse spells than transfiguration. Have we an accord?”

Tags:@rissa & @Effervescent

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NPCS: Travis Loren

Morning dawned on Ethelemar cool and wet, but not a soul within the barracks bore mind to the pounding rain as they prepared to leave for the mission at hand. Travis had woken early, and under the guise of packing what little of their belongings they had unpacked, he did his best to eavesdrop on the conversations of the excited men in their company.

Little information, though, could be gathered and it wasn’t much later that they set out. Beyond the gates of Bright Hedge, the weather did not much improve. Their horses soaked through the leather, they trudged in the near blinding downpour, along the road that would eventually lead to the plains and beyond, Renloth’s border.

When he had come to his brother, it had never been with the intention of being a hero… and it certainly had not come with the expectations of the journey leading him quite so far from home. Jacob, too, he knew, struggled with the demons of unanswered questions and haunting memories, but for whatever reason, he had agreed to come this far, at least. And Travis was, decidedly, glad for a friend by his side on such a miserable jog. By midday, they had crossed Renloth and the rain relented at last, leaving the ground soft and wet, the air muggy.

In a small town at the foot of the mountains, they stopped to rest, and Travis broke open his pack and produced a small loaf of bread and cured sausage. Bringing these and a flagon of water to where Jacob was, he sank down beside the boy, holding out half the loaf, “...Heard the captain talking. We’re to go up into the mountain. There’s talk a woman lives up there, who had something to do with the princess’s kidnapping. They think she’s hidden her somewhere nearby Got a weird feeling about all this… I think they mean to kill them...”

@CloudyBlueDay

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NPCS: Elsabet Warwick || Merek Loren

The cell was pitch, but for a strand of light that poured in from the slatted window. Mud covered the stone floors, mud and quite possibly something more foul, though Merek wasted little time trying to decide for himself. As they were led inside, the door was locked behind them and turning to their former host, he frowned, deeply.

“...You care to explain what the hell just happened?” He hissed, brow knit together.

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Cath shook her head, “She’s gone completely mad. I had my suspicions, but I never wanted to believe. To actually have done it… to try and have her own daughter killed…”

“It’s worse than that, Cath…” The voice came from the corner, and spinning, Merek took in the sight of the young brunette woman, as she pushed herself from the shadows. She appeared to have suffered at the hands of someone brutish, a bruise spanning the length of her jaw and cheek, her lip split. Cath gasped, stepping forward.

“Oh, Ella… No.” She breathed, and her blue eyes misted grey with tears, reaching for the younger woman’s hands.

“It’s alright, Cath. He got out. That’s all that matters. Cristoff got out, and he’ll find Rosie. She’ll be safe. And Aelynn with him.”

Her hand hovering over the bruises, Cath frowned in disgust, “...What did she do?”

“...I expect this is just the beginning. I think she means to kill me.” Her eyes shifted beyond Cath to the other two and she blinked, “Who’s this?”

@Red Thunder

Next update: >_> I’m bad at deadlines