Prince of vengeance

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caligari

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Rikard left Kat and the infirmary behind and headed for the quartermaster to gather supplies for his journey. After all he had to travel cross country and Derega is and always will be a big nation. Besides, he didn't like to stop when traveling, he was there to create chaos, not see the sights.
As he was receiving the supplues from the quartermaster he felt an icy chill run down his neck and spine as the hairs on his body all rose. What now? He thought as he turned to face his icy prince.
"yes, Lord?" he asked actually curious.
"I need you to send someone else in your place to the west, I need you here." As always the young prince didn't beat around the bush and flat out gave orders without hesitation.
"Sir, I do believe to be best suited for this assignment and you yourself strained its importance." What he said wasn't a lie, he was best suited, but that wasn't the reason he pushed for the job, at the moment he prefered to stay some distance away from Katalena.
"What you say is true, but things could be set in motion in the near future, I need you here to keep me up to date on all reports of all your spies so we can strategize accordingly. I expect you to be working peacefully with Katalena in these matters." He stressed peacefully "Do I make myself clear?"
"Great." Rikard mumbled
"Do I make myself clear?"
"Crystal, sir, it will be done, sir."
"Good!" and with that he left.
Rikard dropped the supplies back into the quartermaster's capable hands as he grumbled some profanities under his breath. He was stuck here now, with Katalena and Laurentius being his ball and chain. He needed a drink if nothing else and was quick to search, and find, some off duty soldiers drinking and gambling. Rikard squeezed in and engaged with them in their little jolly celebration.​
 
Sleep had taken her, gradually her consciousness had faded as she lay in pain and then all at once she was engulfed in the black of her fragile mind.

Nightmares upon nightmares were what awaited her behind closed lids. She tossed and turned, clawed at the air and grit her teeth until she woke with a start all recollection of what had plagued her vanished. Fleeting images of blood and bright eyes faded away leaving the tired woman who lay in the infirmary panting and trembling as cold sweat trickled down her features. The girl forced herself into a sitting position and after looking around her heart rate slowed, as did her breath, she sighed and wiped her dampness on the sheets.

Her body was stiff and sore, even without much effort she could tell, but she could move. She looked around at the all but abandoned medical branch and caught the robe of a passing healer and tugged him weakly to catch his attention. He glanced at her,
"How long have I been out?"
The man paused a minute before answering with a shrug
"A couple hours, maybe more" Her eyes widened. That was it? Really? She felt like she'd been asleep for days. The girl groaned and watched the healer walk on.

With a frown she threw off the blankets once again, everything ached but she donned her armor and knives yet again before forcing her way out of the wing and leaning against the wall. She just wanted to reach the river, perhaps lying in the cool water would sooth her burning skin.​
 
Laurentius had hoped to keep up to date with Katelena's health and had ordered the healers to come to him should any changes occur in her state of health. However, the young prince knew that the medics often had it too busy and that Kat does things in her own fashion, so he had placed a personal guard near the door who was given the same order as the doctors. When Kat decided it was time to stop sleeping and get up, the guard in question left to inform the icy prince. Something he did with admirable gusto since it appeared as though he didn't enjoy being a glorified watchdog.
As Katelena got dressed, Laurentius moved from his little, personal war/bedroom to the infirmary. It wasn't far, though in all honesty, nothing was far in that underground fortress. then again, it didn't need to be, if it was any bigger, it would be easier to be found and that is much worse than cramped living space.
By the time Laurentius got there, Kat had just left the wing and was leaning against a wall.
"Ah, Kat, it's good to see you up and about. How are you feeling."
Laurentius approached her, walking tall and proud with his hands behind his back.

-------

Meanwhile Rikard had just finished bathing. between the fact that he needed to keep his fresh wounds clean and the all nighter he pulled in dirty, sweaty clothes he was eager to admit that a fresh dip in the river would feel refreshing to say the least. Again he had ordered new clothes, this time less black and more bland brown and green, it allowed him to stand out less making it easier to hide in plain sight. Being spotted is one of the worst things for an assassin or spy.

He sat down on a rock by the water, he had partied a bit too hard with the soldiers from before and could feel the onset of a hangover coming, but it wasn't there yet. He slid down the boulder until he sat in the mud and leaned back against the rock. With a heavy sigh he closed his eyes and rested his head, he could feel himself slipping to sleep, but tried his best to fight it.​
 

This moving business was harder than Kat cared to admit, her entire being was scolding her but she refused to sit there pointlessly any longer. Time was dragging on too slowly for her taste and though patient was a virtue she'd been trying to learn, she'd had just about enough. There were so many things she should be doing, so many things she needed to do, her sister was probably worried out of her mind...

As she leaned against the wall for support she looked up to the caverns roof, cursing the witch who'd placed her in this decrepit state, it was only a moment that she stopped to rest after her short trek but a familiar voice broke her glare at the stone above, "Ah, Kat, it's good to see you up and about. How are you feeling."
Her eyes darted toward the voice she knew so well by now, the coolness in his tone was present as was normal but it maintained a pleasant air as well.

She straightened herself out and her muscles screamed, but she kept her face straight as she inclined herself into a bow
"Your Majesty"
She paused a moment, "I'm fine now, but in complete honesty I've been better."
He closed the distance, stopping in front of her as she drew herself up again, "And you, Your Grace? How are you this mor--afternoon?"
​
 
Laurentius smiled, closed his eyes and tilted his head for he found the fact that she asked him how he was more humerous then she probably did.
"I'm fine, though I'm not the one who's been lying in the infirmary." he looked at her, examined her and noticed her strained pose and weak body language. "I'm also not the one who got out sooner than is recomended."
A sigh escaped him, "look, Katalena, I'd rather not order you to bedrest since you usually do whatever you see fit and that works out most of the time, but if I see you deteriate even further I'm going to keep you here. And when I do, it won't be pretty. I hope you understand where I'm coming from." He didn't really wait for an answer, he didn't need it after all.
"Now that we've got the formalities out of the way, I'd like to talk to you about Rikard."​
 

As he tilted his head she had a sinking feeling that he was seeing right through her strong facade, he gave her the strained smile he always had but hid his cool eyes behind his lids
"I'm fine, though I'm not the one who's been lying in the infirmary."
The corner of her mouth twitched into a small half smile riddled with mild guilt. He opened his eyes again to look at her, she could practically feel his cool gaze, and she tried to put strength into her weakened frame
"I'm also not the one who got out sooner than is recommended."

She cussed inwardly and looked down away from his eyes, Laurentius had always been one to notice exactly what she wanted him to overlook. He sighed and her gut dropped, "Look, Katalena, I'd rather not order you to bedrest since you usually do whatever you see fit and that works out most of the time, but if I see you deteriorate even further I'm going to keep you here. And when I do, it won't be pretty. I hope you understand where I'm coming from." She nodded meekly and sighed to herself, simply happy he hadn't order her to sit in bed,
"Now that we've got the formalities out of the way, I'd like to talk to you about Rikard."

Direct as always, though Kat didn't have time to remark on it, the subject was more interesting to her,
"Oh?" She blinked curiously, it was her turn to tilt her head "Rikard, hm? What about him?"
She inquired, folding her arms over her chest and leaning against the wall with a mild air of forced nonchalance.
​
 
He noticed her defensive stance as she leaned back against the wall, but decided to ignore it.
"I don't know if you knew but I had ordered him away so you two could get some time... cooling off. However, last night's visit of Ery-... Of lady Voltaire placed me in the possession of information and gave me a notice that things may be set in motion in the near future, because of this I requested he stayed here a while longer."
He paused, noting that she might need a second to process this news that probably wasn't the best thing for her to hear at the moment.
"I... we need what he knows, we need his connections and for that we need him close by. I have already spoken to him and ordered him to play nice and calm around you, now I'm asking you for the same thing. It never looks good to an army when the officers are fighting among themselves."
He turned to her, his face a combination of strictness and, surprising enough, humility. Being a leader is all well and good, but sometimes you need to show those that follow you that you are still human.
"Can I count on you?"​
 

Kat listened in silence, her form tense and uncomfortable at the subject. Rikard was a hard man to understand for anyone, let alone Kat. His cryptic mind was annoying to Katalena, she wanted everybody figured out, because surprises were always unpleasant when it came to her. Then again, she didn't have the Prince all figured out either, but at least she had an idea of his intentions, along with his respect,
"I don't know if you knew but I had ordered him away so you two could get some time... cooling off. However, last night's visit of Ery-... Of lady Voltaire placed me in the possession of information and gave me a notice that things may be set in motion in the near future, because of this I requested he stayed here a while longer."

He paused as her stomach warred between dropping in dread or relief, she'd been worried for him on a trip like that across the land, where enemies lurked in every shadow and corner, and yet she couldn't be completely glad at his stay. Time to clear her head would have been good. It was only then that she registered the name, the visitor he was talking of was most likely the witch... So she'd been a noble girl of exceptionally high standings. No wonder she'd practically spat on the likes of Katalena, being a family with a large chunk of the trade business they were rich and up to their eyes in arrogance.

She moved her eyes to his solemn with a tone of understanding in them, she would let him finish before throwing her opinion forth.
"I... we need what he knows, we need his connections and for that we need him close by. I have already spoken to him and ordered him to play nice and calm around you, now I'm asking you for the same thing. It never looks good to an army when the officers are fighting among themselves."
She pursed her lips, weighing the options here, there was either obey or disobey, both had their problems.

Then the man turned his eyes toward her, the empty undertone suppressed by a small bit of humility that silenced any inward insolence immediately, "Can I count on you?"
She opened her mouth but cut herself off and nodded, "Yes, You Grace. No more fighting"
Well then, it was decided, she would obey, and would most likely need to avoid Rikard. Asking for another mutual truce ended badly last time, in a way she didn't want to repeat again. After a few moments of silence she glanced up to meet his eyes,
"I suppose I'll have to find another pass time then" She said with a joking tone, trying to lighten the mood slightly
​
 
"Yes, Your Grace. No more fighting"
Besides noting the slight hesitation in her voice, he was glad that was her answer.
"Good..." he said "Good..." he whispered afterward.
"I suppose I'll have to find another pass time then"
A joke, obvously, but Laurentius was in no mood for joking at the time. He was getting tired, between the infighting amongst his officers, the planning of battles that may follow soon and the ordering of a close watch over Eryn, he has had very little rest.
"Aye, I guess so. Try something that isn't strenuous, like sleeping, it seems like you need it at this time. Now if you'll excuse me, I wish to retire to my quarters."
He gave a polite bow and left without any other fancy etiquette.

-----

Rikard almost dozed off by the waterside and woke harshly when he realised it. "Damn it." he mumbled to himself as he got up. He was annoyed to say the least, with himself and with all the things that had happened over the course of the past few days. He needed more to drink, sure he already had some with the soldiers before, but if he was going to have a hangover he might as well have it in a decent bed and with a woman by his side. And with that in his mind he settled on the tavern in Hardrock village, Katalena would still be in the infirmary for a while, he thought, so the chances of running into her would be slim by his account. Besides, he was sure the girls, Nancy in particular, would miss him and his gold. Or better said, their gold. He chuckled a bit when he thought about stealing from them again, but then shook his head. It was wise to often pay with someone else's gold so it wasn't as noticeable that someone was snooping off their funds. Today he would pay for himself, or if some unlucky bastard would cross him in the streets, that guy's money.

He got up and moved out of the hideaway and down the mountain. The village came in sight soon enough and, lucky for Rikard, some wandering tinker passed him by and moved further away from the village without noticing the lack of money on his belt. Rikard had to admit this guy was quite well funded for looking so raggedy, but now he could surely drink and fuck himself stupid.

He halted before the tavern door and took a minute to remove the tired and worn down look off his face and changed it with a carefree expression. He opened the door and yelled "Ladies, I have returned!" as though he was some conquering hero entering his city and not some vagabond entering a whorehouse. He tossed the coin purse he stole mere moments ago on the counter before Nancy adding "now behold the fruits of my labor." Nancy, predictably, was more than eager to serve him alcohol at the moment and later in the evening... well, serve something else.​
 

Laurentius didn't take the jive as she would have liked, and his cold response wiped her smile from her features, "Aye, I guess so. Try something that isn't strenuous, like sleeping, it seems like you need it at this time. Now if you'll excuse me, I wish to retire to my quarters."
She bowed to him, keeping her head down as he went before peeking up at his retreating frame. His broad shoulders were burdened beyond her understanding and yet he walked with such profound dignity... it was one of many reasons that Kat looked up to him. She wished she could find a way to put him it better spirits, however an attempt at it now seemed like a rather bad idea. She didn't want it to back fire and end up souring his mood further.

The girl let her hands fall to her sides, she looked over to the exit and began to struggle over to the mouth of the cavern, the underground river seemed like a long ways away without much compensation, instead she would sleep as all but commanded, however she would rest in her own bed. Her struggle caught several eyes, they watched her limp out into the sun. Her stumbling didn't stop until she stopped by the hollow tree to fetch her dress, trading it for almost all her black leather armor and few metal plates. With the peasant gown tied to frame her waist she made her way back down the mountain. The trek down was more than a little challenging and every now and then she'd collapsed on the side of the mountain path or leaned against a tree with shaky breaths, sobbing without tears falling from her eyes.

Relief flooded her when she finally began to move on flat ground, as she crossed the little village of Hardrock she glanced at the lively tavern. She wanted to stop by the inn, give Nancy and the other girl a heads up that she would most likely not be able to work for the next few days but the ache made her move on with the intention of returning after her sleep. Kat moved with a slow pace, and by the end of it she was tempted to simply fall down and crawl to the door, ignoring the mud and grim she would dirty herself with. Finally she reached her door hidden behind a thin layer of trees, she fell against the hard wood and forced the door open. Kat limped to her bed, slamming the door behind her before she tumbled onto the hard mattress stuffed with thick straw. Lying down, she didn't bother peeling off her clothes. She happily drifted to sleep then, too tired to notice the silence looming over the house.

---

A red haired noble girl sat at the counter, her cloak drawn up over her head and her back to the door, she'd stayed overnight at the only inn this dwarf of a town had. In truth she usually wouldn't have been caught dead here, it was a hovel to her standards, and she didn't feel any homely sense about it, though she was certain there was supposed to be one. It was high noon now, and already people were starting to get drunk, she herself enjoyed a glass of water as she hunched over the wooden surface, sketching into her little note book. She waited for the meal she'd order, eager to break her fast, late as it was. The noise from the night before had kept her up, along with the suspicions that Lauren might go back and send one of his knives to get rid of her, if he suddenly didn't see her as trustworthy. A loud entrance caused her to glance over warily at the latest addition to the house of whores and drunkards, "Well isn't someone cheery" She murmured to herself in a bored tone until she really registered his face, her eyes widened, pupil growing narrow as a pin as she recalled him from the night before. She turned away quickly as he looked to the counter and tossed a purse of coins to the woman Nancy with a bust large enough for a petite girl like Eryn to be envious of. Quietly Eryn sipped at her water and tried to avoid attention. She would have to leave soon, she had some unfinished business with her father and brother...

​
 
Rikard must not have been at the top of his game that afternoon since it took him quite some time to realise the voltaire bitch from the night before was also in the tavern. Something he cussed at himself for, afterall, bright red hair isn't exactly the most inconspicuous of features and he was supposed to be the spymaster of the damned prince. Perhaps it was the alcohol or lack of sleep, it didn't matter, as soon as he realised she was there he decided it to be best to be sharper in his actions and mind. He kept drinking, sure, and to anyone else it might've looked like mead or ale, but in truth he was either pooring it out, mostly onto the floor, or switching it up with water. All the while he kept at least the corner of his eye locked on Keryne.
When a girl came from the kitchen with a tray of food, he was quick to take it from her, she didn't argue much, after all he was a generous paying regular. Besides if she did Nancy would've set her straight. Rikard din't know whom the food actually belonged to and he didn't really care, he was hungry and despite being a whorehouse they ahd a good chef, he, or she since Rikard has never seen the chef, cooked up some mean stew.
​
 
Keryn kept her guard up, glancing over at the commoner Lauren held in his command as she waited. Her foot tapped against the ground impatiently as she waited for the meal that seemed to take forever. She just wanted to get out of there, away from the swine and rats that surrounded her. Instead all she got was a rowdier bunch of idiots whistling and calling for mead, meat and women. Keryn hadn't felt so alone in a long time, god she missed Lauren, his regal air and stately manners. Finally as the serving woman stepped out of the kitchen door with a tray Eryn sat up excitedly, but as the blonde moved to deliver meals the tray was snatched away. Her stomach growled angrily as Laurens dog took the food she'd been eyeing and her eyes followed him to his seat. Her nails dug into the wood, the woman went back into the kitchen to throw together another tray for whoever had ordered.

All she could think was 'Thank the gods for cauldrons of soup'. Her food came soon after and Eryn scarfed the steaming stew with as little grace as she dared. She let her stomach settle for a few minutes before standing and moving to the door. The maid turned the knob and stepped outside, eyeing the horses and wondering which one she would be able to buy when a head of bright pink hair at the well caught her attention. She raised a brow, taking note of the familiar, yet abstract feeling the child gave off. "Another one."
She murmured, not sure if she should smile or scowl. "I wonder is she's under his protection too..." Just then the little girl glanced over at her, waved and turned away, lugging a pail of sloshing filthy water back home. Keryn stared a long time, not sure what to make of her and it was only when a gruff voice broke in that she stopped staring into the distance.
"Oi, little lady, get out of the way" A man said as he tried to make his way into the inn. She growled under her breath, not sparing him a glance before hurrying off to buy a horse.​
 
Rikard was quick to follow the noble out the tavern, much to Nancy's dismay, at least until she found the generous amount of money Rikard left for her. As he was about to walk out he bumped into some stinking peasant who wanted entrance to the inn, Rikard didn't wish to spend much time on the nobody and quickly pushed him out of the way. A bigger problem for him was the way Keryn was obviously eyeing the horses. He himself didn't have a horse nearby and wasn't interested in buying one either, at least not from the selection of third rate horses they had over here. In truth they were more fitted for farm labor than travels. Then again as long as she didn't ride swiftly it wouldn't be that much of a problem to keep up, at least for a while.
Then it dawned on him how he wasn't allowed to leave, the prince made it very clear that he needed to stay close. Rikard looked around, there were some of his frumentari here, sure, but they were novices whose tasks often didn't go further than "stand watch for troops" and "keep a close eye on all new arrivals". Two of them were sitting by the well keeping themselves amused with a game of dice. Rikard didn't have time to scold them right now and after an inconspicuous whistle that sounded like a bird that lived in the nearby woods they noticed him. He moved his eyes from them to her, just once, and they knew what to do: follow and observe. Rikard had spies in the Voltaire house, sure, but he didn't have them over every road and every settlement in the land. He needed to know where she would go next, especially now that she knows their hideout.​
 
From what Keryn could see this little village had nothing of value, and their severe lack of decent steeds was getting under her skin quickly. From what she could tell it was a mining town that did their best to farm with the rough terrain they had. There was nothing special about this place aside fro how horribly bland it was, because of that it was hard to see anything but a hole in the ground. The fact that the prince lingered nearby made her think of just how genius the place was, after all, who would think a trash small village like this of the edge of the mountains would house a growing usurper army. Eryn continue passing various animals, chickens, goats and what not, the sight and smell simply made her miss her mare, even if the damn beast had thrown her and left her for the trees. She'd continued on her way through mud and bugs and so many other things befitting a noble girl before wandering through the woods and making her way up to Lauren. After all that she'd gone and made big entrance as well as exit, not bothering to humble herself enough to request a horse. Now she was paying for it. The lady sighed and brushed her locks out of her face, throwing her hood back in irritation. More wandering led her to a little house with a thickly built but rather thin horse tied to a post, she plucked up her skirts and hurried over to the door, then proceeded to knock. A man came to the door with a grumpy expression that easily read, 'this better be good'. Eryn didn't bother wasting time explaining herself,
"You, how much do you want for your horse?" He laughed and began turning away, she caught his arm "Will this be enough?"
She took out a small purse and emptied several gold coins into her hand and held it out to him. His eyes went wide as saucers and he snatched them up greedily. She untied the beast and led it away, turning the corner with her new horse in tow while feeling more than a little robbed and utterly unaware of Rikard's lurking.
​
 
Rikard quickly made one of the novices bring him a horse, unlike the village itself, Laurentius' army had some fine, fleet steeds. In truth they were mostly "aquired" by Rikard. Even this one the novice brought, a fine brown war horse of which he himself killed the officer of. Laurentius might not have the finest soldiers of the world, but Rikard made sure they made up for it with guarilla styled ambushes and hit&run tactics.
When he finall mounted the steed, Keryne was already quite a way ahead and he had to kick the horse into gallop so he could catch up. There was always a risk into pursuing someone at high speed; you're more easily spotted, but he had no choice in the matter.​
 

The moment she had room to mount she hopped on and spurred the horse toward the worn dirt road that led away from Hardrock. As she navigated her way through the afternoon traffic a feeling of anxiousness was growing in her stomach. As she rushed to leave she caught a glimpse of the pink girl hauling her pail inside a run down hut of a home. She spared it one last glance before digging her heel into her mount and getting the wary thing to gallop away, only slowing when she could barely hear the steady rhythm of the villages every day taskings. As she rode she became aware of the echo her horses hooves seemed to have. She didn't need to glance back to know she was being followed and now that she'd slowed she had a feeling her tail had probably slipped into the trees. When they were certainly out of range she stopped and glanced over, raising her voice to make herself heard,
"Is there something you need, Sir? Or is it simply a habit to stalk girls on their way home?"
​
 
Must really be losing my touch. Rikard thought as Keryne's voice echoed through the forest edge. He was weighing his options as he gazed at her through the treeline, if she was anyone else he would've already made an attempt on her life, but it would appear as though Laurentius still needed her. Still though, he had to hold himself back from trying to force a dagger through her chest.
The fact still remained, however, that she did try to have him killed earlier through Kat and that she is the reason he hasn't slept or eaten properly in over twenty-four hours, not to mention that because of her, he can no longer get away from the village.
"I'll give you this warning only once: Betray us, I'll kill you. Abandon us, I'll kill you. Pull a stunt like the one you pulled yesterday again, I'll kill you... slow. I have eyes and ears everywhere, there is no place you can hide and no place you can run to where I can't reach you. I'm watching you... always."
He stopped and let it sink in and waited for a response. Even no answer at all would be a response of sorts.​
 
Silence hung over her as her echo through the treeline dies away, yet Keryn sat quietly, waiting. The seconds ticked past and the girl peered about warily. Perhaps her guess had been wrong... had she been hearing things? Or perhaps she was simply on edge because she didn't know where Laurentius' mind was at. He'd always been hard to read, a distant, serious boy with the air of a natural leader and the gods knew that was one of many reasons she followed him about like a duckling did their mother. Before she could even consider being moved by her Prince' trust she got her answer. The girl smiled, arrogance all too evident on her features,
"I'll give you this warning only once: Betray us, I'll kill you. Abandon us, I'll kill you. Pull a stunt like the one you pulled yesterday again, I'll kill you... slow. I have eyes and ears everywhere, there is no place you can hide and no place you can run to where I can't reach you. I'm watching you... always."

It took her a second to make any kind of reaction but after a pair of quick heart beats she chuckled and shook her head, "Oh I like you. Straight to the point."
She should have been afraid, knew it in her gut that he could kill her easily if he got close enough but she couldn't show weakness. Not here, not now. "You don't need to worry about me, oh Viewer-of-all. The only shred of loyalty I hold is to the true King"
With that she lifted the reins to usher to horse forward, but she stopped at the realization that some clarification was in order, "One last thing, before you condemn me, do remember to consider the fact that I'll have to play the bad guy while amongst the wolves." She scanned the treeline cautiously, she would have preferred to speak to the man face to face rather than from a distance such as this, but there was no helping it, "I hope we don't have any further... misunderstandings..., if we can manage that maybe we'll get through a conversation without knives, magic or threats"
She turned away from the trees and shook the reins, "Ta-ta Shadow Man"

​
 
"I hope we don't have any further... misunderstandings..., if we can manage that maybe we'll get through a conversation without knives, magic or threats"
And I hope I get to kill you when this is all over, but we don't always get what we went.
"Ta-ta Shadow Man" And with that she rode off.
Hilarious, bitch. Rikard thought as he regretted the fact that he could not go after her anymore, in truth he had already gone too far. Besides, he really, REALLY needed a rest, something he has been trying for the past day and a half now, but something always seemed to have come up. He pulled the reigns, turning the horse and kicked it into action; riding off back to Hardrock.

--------

Court had always bored Tulius, he found nothing more dull than to stand for hours without end listening to embellished stories about the "atrocities" of the foe and the "heroics" of our own troops. The nobles who had never seen true combat ate it up like no other, but the ones who had witnessed these actions before knew all too well that both the atrocities and the heroics were the same only worded differently depending on which side you were.
Though today had been a bit more entertaining than most other times, it would appear as though our good king was getting quite fed up with his son, though none dared to call him that in the presence of his highness, constantly harassing supply lines and burning crops far too deep into our own territory. Tulius had to admit he was impressed at how many of Laurentius' troops had slipped past the lines and into enemy territory unseen. Though perhaps that's just it, the royal forces were looking for soldiers while the prince only had armed civilians. After all, it's hard to distinguish the difference between a peasant who delivers fresh food to the troops or a peasant who delivers poisoned food to the troops, especially if they all look the same.
Court was quite packed today too, Tulius had heard the king's own mistriss decided to show up, though he had not seen her at all. Though, to be fair, he didn't really bother to look.​
 
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"Alistair, bring the shallow basin, it's time to wash out the coloring."
Wordlessly the tan giant brought the small table over as Azel, the woman herself turned herself in her chair and waited. The man returned with a silver bowl filled with water. Carefully he helped her head into the cool liquid and washed out the cream and soaps, the mans gruff fingers massaged her scalp and with one final rinse he handed her a towel. She pat down her soaked, now honey blonde locks, and crushed to moisture out of them. As she untangled her hair from the absorbent cloth her faithful servant handed her a brush and took the towel from her. Soon Azeline developed a steady rhythm of combing through the damp silk of her hair while the pink haired man stood silently to the side.

Most noble woman preferred servant girls for taskings, however young women weren't in Azels good books, too easy to manipulate and buy to do ones bidding, no one could be trusted but those she hand picked. At first it had been odd to use him as anything but muscle, but over the years Alistair had earned her faith in him. One could even say she was fond of him, quite a feat for anyone considering Lady Azeline Falaise was said to only be fond of her blood and the King. She stopped combing through and moved to the balcony to let the sun dry her hair for her, at this rate she would be late to the meeting she had made it her business to attend, but it wasn't like she would miss anything in those first minutes.

In a matter of minutes her wavy wet hair disappeared and in their place locks of spun gold curls bounced long past her shoulders. With that she stood and moved to the door, Alistair followed silently, not even a glance was needed to tell him it was time to go. He rushed forward and held open the door for her, she proceeded through, her hips swaying elegantly in her dress. The deep blue gown she wore left just enough bare to let imagination run as did most her dresses, it made her more valuable, the king could brag as he so loved. She heard the door click behind her and then Alistairs heavy footsteps followed.

The pair made their way to the throne room, and they entered in through the side door, not wanting to bring attention to herself by way of an announced entrance. They would know who she was, they always did. Quietly they slid in, catching a few eyes anyway, one a glance she could see all persons of interest, every noble and knight seemed familiar, yet not enough to both with names. Caine and Constance stood side by side, her daughter had inherited her elegance and her son had her eyes. Quickly she was escorted near the throne, standing to the left of the king with her children behind her.
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