Strange Occurrence in Celestial Kingdom

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Regret is one thing The Shadoweaver revels in. Perhaps he caught that glance Lily had given Tarin before the final blow but at the angle he was holding her, the thought of that is very unlikely. He can guess that she feels some sort of guilt though. It coils around her stomach like a snake and squeezes. The Shadoweaver has long learned and accepted that everything in this world happens from our own control. He has to make a conscious decision that he wants to kill for a living. Surely enough, he goes out every single night and stabs multiple people with his blades. Some even think he is of Vampirac descent, needing to feast on the blood of these fallen men, women and even children if they get in his way. Those are just rumors though.

"Good evening to you too, Lily." Addresses The Shadoweaver as loud as he may desire for there are only the animals of the forest to hear them. Taking the meat out of the fire, he inspects it and within a moment is standing up and walking over to her. She had her back up against a fallen tree trunk a good twenty feet or so from the fire. He had to admit, watching her silently dream unnerved him for he couldn't get a single blink of sleep in return. At any moment she could awaken and try as she might to escape - he wants to at least be up when she does. "It's been a whole day. Did you sleep well?"

Trying to come off as casually as he can, he offers the sword and the chunk of roasted boar on the end to her. "Take it." He orders in his growling tone before chuckling and trying to play himself off as a nice guy. "Come now. I don't want to worry your pretty little head with thoughts of that knight." He snaps, not enjoying the fact that her -first- thoughts were about Tarin. The Shadoweaver can only conclude that there is something between the two of them. "Why do you care so much for him? You've only just got him, your new little toy. A guardian, pah! You should have known he wouldn't save you from the likes of me. Did you really think he could have protected you?"
 
Watching him bring a piece of the meat on his sword towards her, she leaned back against the tree, not enjoying the way he was speaking to her. Taking the meat from him, not eating it yet, she was upset at the way he spoke of Tarin. He wasn't a toy or just a guard, Tarin had become a friend to her over the time he had spent with each other. "I care for him because he's my friend, not some toy or guard!" She retorted. Lily remembered that he had said that he'd stop seeing her in any way, but why is he now kidnapping her aside from scaring her father. Lily cared less about her own life and more about Tarin's because she had gotten him into this mess.

The Shadoweaver seemed to be pleased with the fact that his plan worked. She couldn't help wondering if Tarin was alright, because she was knocked out before anything happened. "I just want to know if he is okay or not. You can't at least let me know that much?" Questioning him, not sure if he'd answer her question. Lily didn't know what she'd do if he told her that he was dead.
 
Once she takes the meat, The Shadoweaver slips his way back towards the fire. Skewering another chunk onto his blade, he starts to roast one for himself. Watching carefully as the meat starts to crackle and pop, turning browner and browner the closer he holds it to the burning embers. "Do friends always jump into a pool with their bottoms showing and then pursue to hang on tightly to one another?" Glancing her way, the fire assists his amber gaze from between the hood and the mask he wears. If she had seen the bottom half of his face, he would lower the mask but he is still weary after their last encounter. She is more inclined now to reveal who he is to her father. Or does he still control her? No... he never controlled her. The though angers him and he snaps his head back to the roasting boar.

"I cannot say for my other men are taking care of your precious Tarin." Clicking his tongue he scolds her silently, "You should have known better. Entering my domain. You should have thought to yourself of the consequences - Princess. Isn't that why they make you read tome after tome? To heighten your knowledge? Well, my dear, you are so very foolish. Now I am obligated to teach you a lesson. Not even your precious guards are safe while I still breathe. No one is safe and I'd like to remind the kingdom of that very fact. You'll lose your freedom and I'll gain mine back. This kingdom of yours... oh how dimwitted you all are. Your father will, no doubt, send out search parties to look for you. His dear daughter. Alas... that's the best time to strike." The smile that flashes across his face makes the smooth cloth crumple around it. "I won't hurt you but know this - if you try to run... you'll die. If you try and kill me, pah the thought tickles me," he lets out a low chuckle, "You'll die." He says in a very matter-of-factly tone, his head even nodding downwards.
 
"Are you assuming I have such a relationship with Tarin? I do not have those kind of interest in men, not yet so far." Thinking to herself, she then said something out of amusement. "I never expected the Shadoweaver would be so jealous and possessive of a woman, he says he doesn't care for." Laughing to herself, Lily took a bite of the meat before setting it back into her lap as she watched the Shadoweaver cook another piece of meat. As he spoke about her mistake of going into his 'domain' and how her father would send guard to find them, it only angered her as she continued to listen to him.

"Your domain? If I remember the forest belongs to everyone. You do not care for a person's life at all, you kill for enjoyment as far as I know. No explanation to why you want to destroy my father or the kingdom itself, you even bother with a child of the King, who knows little to nothing about what the King decides to do or has done in the past. I have never taken your freedom, but you bring me into your problems that you have with someone of royal blood, not me!" He was taking out whatever rage he had for someone on those in the Kingdom, who had done him no wrong.
 
She hit him right in a soft spot. The Shadoweaver can feel his anger boil up and, if he could, steam would be shooting out of his ears. How dare she think I have feelings for her! That's... just... ah... who is she to, to know my mind anyway? I am the master of my own emotions and thoughts. "Who says I'm possessive? I just would adore to know the relationship between the two of you so I can better," he holds up his gloved and and twists his wrist, "alter the truth when it comes out. Your toy will be wobbling his way back to his Wolf kingdom or even better, falling six feet under." It's true that he doesn't know Tarin's fate. Perhaps his men will kill the poor bastard by beating him to death. But that's not his call. Tarin's fate lies within the educated hands of his followers.

"Your FATHER must know what he has done!" The Shadoweaver bellows, "And I'm the only one with some sense to point it out. Your commoners and royals are petty and weak. Being ruled under a man who has -no- backbone. I am seeking my evidence. He hides up there and doesn't dare -save- the lives of his people. Yeah, he just puts them in more danger. A proper King would have captured me already. At least the Kingdom of Wolves, or whatever their stupid name is, puts up a damn fight! You would think after my bombardment... they would -learn-. But no. Your father's knights make the SAME mistakes over and over again. You, Lily, are just lucky I'm not killing your family... yet."

Standing up, he drops the hilt of his sword by the fire. A cloud of dust covers his boots as he trudges his way over to her and grabs her by the arms. Easily picking her up from the ground, he shoves her against the bark of the tree. She may flail and kick if she wishes but he won't falter. "I am bettering this Kingdom in more ways 'den you could possibly imagine. Perhaps if your father opens up his eyes... he will reconsider my offer."
 
Glaring at him when he mentioned killing her family, Lily keeps thinking why he still hasn't killed her after all the times he's met up with her in her room or even at her party. Watching as he made his way over to her before hovering her against the body of the tree, Lily stayed still, knowing that she wasn't a match for him especially in this position. "The only one who will better this Kingdom will be me.. If you don't want that to happen I suggest you kill me now. I wouldn't let someone like you take control even if my father is dead. You have no sense, all you do is kill and that is all you'll ever know."

Lily wasn't afraid to say this to his face, to her, he was only a coward. He toys with everyone aside from the King himself, who seems to be the source of anger. "Why do you hate my father? Maybe if you told me I'd understand." It was hard to tell if he would tell her, but that was his choice.
 
"Your father is greedy!" He barks, the anger finally spitting from his lips. Those worn teeth of his make a clean gate across his mouth, forbidding him to go on. All he wants is the satisfaction of her fear. To see it in her eyes will make his heart skip a beat - it always does. His grip tightens on her arms, wanting to see some sort of reaction from her. She had been scared once... hadn't she? What did he do to elapse this fear from her body? Blaming it on the party, he had made himself venerable and showed her that he -could- be a gentleman. He could care... but he hates what he had done. Dancing with royalty yet not striking. Kicking himself internally, even he doesn't understand why he didn't kill her father. Ah... his freedom. Killing the King would have assured his death and after all, what fun is a mouse that isn't squirming?

"Tomorrow. Tomorrow I will show you what your father commands. The forces your father spreads across the map and what ensues because of HIS decisions. But tonight," He slowly lowers her feet to the ground, "Tonight you'll be kept in the dark. As it should be. Your brother will assume his post as King once your father dies - not you. He is older and will only add fuel to the fire."
 
Feeling his grip tight some, she winced in pain before looking back into his eyes, with no fear. She could see that he wanted that from her, but he would never get it. Neither the Shadoweaver or the threat of her death brought fear into her eyes. "Greed? My father has never taken anything from anyone, taxes in the town are very little and no one complains." His reason had to deal with something else and he wasn't about to expose what it was soon.

Lily smiled the moment he said her brother would be King if her father dies, but that wasn't necessarily true, because of the traditions her grandfather had made before he passed. No one knew about his last wishes except for those in the family, even her mother was happy to hear the decision before her own death. "No use hiding it anymore, but I will take the throne, the traditions have been changed since my grandfather's death." She told him.
 
"Again, Princess Lily, tomorrow you will be enlightened of the burdens your father tramples over the lands -outside- your precious little Kingdom village. You see... of course your people don't complain. All the ones who do are taken away or silenced. All the wrong men are jailed and all the crooked men are helping your father. I'll make you open up your eyes tomorrow. Mark my words - your life will never be the same. Your father has raped the land and it's people."

With such a bold accusation, he lets go of her completely and moves back to the firelight. There he finds an odd sort of comfort with the crackling flames. Sitting cross-legged, he hears her words but doesn't look over his shoulder back at her. He doesn't want her to see the pain in his eyes. She may find out his greatest mystery yet.

Oh but she had to keep talking! He grips the end of his sword and continues to cook the meat before him, wiping off the dirt with his gloved hand. "Well, that exceptional for you, Lily. Really fucking grand. Perhaps under your rule, you'll finally be able to find and capture me. Let's make it a challenge, hm? What would you like to wager? Let's say ten years after your father dies and you assert yourself as sovereign ... I should be within your clutches. Hm? Do you really think that possible?" He laughs at his own words, not believing it could ever be accomplished.
 
"Why would I wager with someone who will most likely disappear when he has gotten his revenge.." She said as she rubbed her arms a bit while leaning back against the tree, before taking a seat on the ground again. Looking down at the meat that had fallen from her lap when he picked her up, she closed her eyes, leaning her head back on the tree. It was going to be a long time till she returned home, so she thought it'd be best to keep quiet from then on.

Listening to the cackling of the fire, it was soothing to her as rubbed her arms to get warm, since she was trying to fall back to sleep. He was going to keep her there until knights were sent out to come retrieve herself and maybe Tarin if he was still alive. Sighing at that fact, Lily had thought that she wouldn't have to deal with him anymore because for some strange reason, she curious about him every time they met with each other. It was an attraction of some sort, yet not in a romantic way as far as she knew. 'It's best to keep silent and see what happens during the time I'm with him..' She thought to herself.
 
"There will always be faults in this world, Lily. Unlike most commoners who just pass by them in their blatantness... I have opened my eyes. The world you see and the world I live in are one of the same but your father didn't listen to me before. Perhaps after a few more gallons of blood have been spilt he will finally--" Looking over his shoulder, his amber eyes are alight with a strong hate for the man his words wrap around. Standing, he steps over to her once again and offers his hand for hers. "Get closer to the fire. That way you won't freeze to death. Seeing you so ..." Cutting himself off, he snaps his hand back down, silently ordering her to listen.

"If you have nothing more to say. So be it. We'll just sit in silence. Your choice." If she refuses his hand, he doesn't think twice about grabbing her wrist and yanking her up once more. The Shadoweaver will get his way. Pulling her over to the fire, he places her down on a nearby rock, sitting right next to her on a small log that is half sunken into the ground. The firelight dances off of the stone circle jutting out in every single direction. If she doesn't speak, he just lets the night move onwards, soon sleep overcomes him. But he is sure to snap awake if he hears anything out of the ordinary.
 
Not pleased with the way he took her over to the fire, she still remained silent as she moved off the rock and rested her head against it. Warmed by the fire now, soon she is fast asleep and the night went by quickly. When her father found out that Lily and Tarin had not returned from their day out, panic took over the calm King, who began to get several groups of knights together to travel in different directions. Rondell knew something wasn't right, so he offered to go with a group to find his younger sister. They traveled most of the night but had no luck finding her yet.

The next morning, Lily awoke to something crawling upon her skin. Looking down at her leg, she noticed a small snake coiling around the ankle of her leg. Slipping it off her, she placed it on the other side of the rock, watching as it slithered into the trees. Reaching into the pocket of her pants, she pulled out a string to pull her hair into a twisted bun before looking up to see that the Shadoweaver had been awake for a while now. Getting up from the ground, she brushed the dirt off herself, taking a seat on the rock nearby.
 
At dawn The Shadoweaver feels the warm rays of the sun smooth over his stiff and coiled body. Gaining the energy to finally open his eyes, he turns onto his back once more, feeling the weight of the log against his cranium. "Now comes the day to show you what your father truly is." He whispers, seeing Lily fast asleep with her head resting against the rock. She looks so peaceful, her mouth only partly open as he chest rises and falls. He crawls his way over to her, kneeling beside her and just admiring her form up close. Again, a thought about kissing her pops into his head for he remembers how smooth her pampered lips felt against his chapped ones. Such a thought is for a mad man though, The Shadoweaver quickly shaking his head and moving around the camp.

His morning is spent training, pushing his hood back and letting his full face taste and smell the freshness of the wild breeze. The dye from the evening he was Quinn Weaver is still splotched in his hair. But it's faded, his true brown color finding its way to the surface in some prominent areas where sweat pools the most. Temples, back of the neck, around the ears. His top is still the raven black though. Moving to the middle of the small clearing, he sucks in a deep breath, bringing his hands from the sky to pray before his chest. "Whooo."

He lets go of all the air in his lungs and starts with his stance work. Forward leaning, backwards leaning, one foot or two feet, he swiftly moves as if he were dancing with himself. But this time he has two daggers in his hands, slicing the air as he fights enemies of his imagination. As time ticks on, his stances grow lower to the ground, his muscles warming up. The stabbing and slicing becomes more and more accurate, the tingle of his muscles deepening in waves of strain. Still, he pushes himself. Kicks and flips next. Now he is utilizing the whole space with intricate flips, slides, rolls, kicks, punches and backflips. It's his own arena and his own private moment to show off -all- his talent.
 
As she looked towards the clearing, she watched as the Shadoweaver trained by himself. Stretching her arms and legs, though his training was entertaining for a bit, Lily felt bored after a while. Getting up from the rock, she began to walk around trying to figure out what they were going to do while they were there. Moving to where he was practicing, Lily leaned against a tree far away to not get hit if he let go of one of his weapons. "Tell me.. Are we going to stay in this one spot or will we move around a bit?" She asked him hoping that they would get out of this area.

Close to where they were hiding, a small group of thieves were entering the forest to set up camp until they could figure out what town they would hit next. The leader of the them decided to walk around the forest, when he saw from a distance, Lily's silhouette. He could tell by her clothing that she had some kind of money, but then noticed the figure of a man training in the clearing, where she was looking. Going back to his men, he tells them that at night they will attack some people nearby, so they all finish up with setting up camp and get their weapons ready for that night.
 
"And she finally speaks her mind once more. Are you bored, Lily?" He asks quickly before thrusting his blade in one direction only to step back and flip over to the right. Landing on his feet, he feels the shock travel from the balls of his feet through his kneecaps up to his hips. He adores that feeling when he used to despise it. Rolling on the ground away from a 'strike' he slashes again before standing. Sweat covers his whole face, dripping down near his ears and down to his chin. Completely forgetting about the shelter of his mask or hood, he figures she will have to look at his countenance sooner or later. Those amber eyes meet hers, the stubble coating his chin along with the large scar slicing across his lips. "And good morning to you too." He retorts, huffing at how impolite she is.

"What did we talk about last night? If you -remember-, you will find your answer, Princess. It's your loss if you cannot dig into the grave of your expansive knowledge base and uproot an answer for me." Rubbing his hand over his face, he collects as much of the sweat as he can, wiping it on his pants leg before slipping his daggers back onto his belt. "Eat something and then we walk." Looking back to the boar, he takes another chunk from its flesh and sticks it in the dying embers of his morning fire. Moving to collect some kindling, he makes a small tepee before watching it burst into flame under the listless embers. Oh how they always fool him. His looks deceive him for even with the scar, he may look familiar. The shape of his face, crook of his nose... had she seen his bare face before? Well, he knows she has felt it.
 
Now getting a good look at his face, Lily was surprised that someone who was attractive as himself was the Shadoweaver, though she assume he was attractive from the start. Noticing the sweat slide down his face, it was evident that he had been practicing vigorously that morning. When her eyes caught the small imperfection of his face, she couldn't help wondering how he received such an injury upon his face. Of course she remembered what he said the night before, but she didn't understand what he meant by she'd see what her father truly was. Walking with him over to the fire, she watched him cut from the boar again and get the fire going again.

"Where will we walk too?" She asked, hoping it was somewhere out of the forest, not that she was planning to escape or anything. Staring at his face more, Lily began to realize that she had seen him before somewhere and then it hit her. He was young clerk from the spice shop that she and Tarin went into the other day. "Thank you for the spices the other day, they made the meal tastier than usual." She said laughing to herself a little thinking about how he had spices all over his face, now knowing that he was trying to cover up his face.
 
"Now, if I told you, wouldn't that take the fun and the mystery out of it all?" Glancing up to her, he doesn't need a mask for he seems to rarely show emotion like other people do. She, of course, knows he can smile but if he can help it, The Shadoweaver keeps his lips in a straight line. So this is what he looks like with his hood drawn back and his face revealed to the world. Wanting to slide back into the shadows, he knows that it's impossible now to hide from Lily. She knows who he is and he just hopes she isn't a good drawer or one of those people with a prefect memory. The right side of his face curls up into a dark smile as he thinks of hitting her with his dagger a few more times. Perhaps that'll give her the brain loss she needs not to know who he is.

Ripping out some entrails, he places them on the side as he literally carves his way through the belly with his hands. Pausing he looks up at her through the rising sunlight, now her face is shadowed by the silver lining over her form. His nose scrunches up to try and get a better look at her through squinting eyes. "Spices?" He mutters at first, wanting to play dumb. His whole core smacks him as he just nods his head in defeat. "They're damn spices...," a single hand comes up in a questioning manner, "what do you think they'll do to your meal?" Shaking his head, he mutters something about people being so stupid these days and lets out a long breath. Placing fresh sacks of meat on the new log, he lets them cook. Wiping the leftovers from his excavation on the grass before him, he pops up from his heels. "Yeah, well, business is business." Yet, his lips just come back down to make that line across his features. For all the gold he owns, no one will notice him in a crowed. He fades into the background just like a plain wall in a house. After a while you just, forget he is there.

A hand-dug hole by the corner of the clearing is filled to the brim with murky water. The Shadoweaver just takes off his gloves and smooths them over the surface, getting as much of the blood and what-nots off. Splashing up to his elbows, he is finally clean. A man should be coming soon with a change of clothing for the both of them. He doesn't want to risk walking around with a Princess in her ornamented garb. "Well go as soon as breakfast is ready and one of my men come with a change if clothes. ... For the both of us." Laying the gloves by the fire, she would notice his veins announce themselves through the skin, showing off a healthy blue tint. There is, however, evidence of burns. They're small but around his palms, creeping around his pinky finger or thumb depending on what hand you're looking at.
 
It was hard for Lily to stay still for too long if she wasn't doing anything, so waiting for breakfast to cook and all, was frustrating. Noting that the two of them would be getting a change of clothes, she knew that he didn't want her standing out with her clothes on, which would reveal that she either came from royalty or a family with large amounts of money. Not standing out made it easier for the Shadoweaver if she was the type to try an escape, because generally no one cares about someone being kidnapped if they look like anyone else in the town, unless they were people with good hearts. Sitting by the fire, waiting for breakfast to be done, Lily found a stick and began writing a poem she knew in the ground. It was a poem that she had loved ever since she was a little girl. The poem was written by her mother when she first met her father and to Lily, it was what true love should feel like when you meet that person.

The poem read:
Joyous for the bond we have.
Allured, I am, by your beating heart.
Seductive in all the ways I like.
Only your hands is where my heart belongs.
Never will I let you go.
Behold, I will always be with you.
Assertively delightful, my inspiration.
Revitalizing all of my crimson wounds.
Everything, that is what you mean to me.

Looking over it as she read it to herself, she couldn't believe that her mother felt this way about her father when they first met, yet she knew that her mother wasn't like most women her father met in the past. Lily was told that she was her mothers' twin, from looks to personality, because originally her mother didn't have a single drop of royal blood in her. In actuality, her mother was someone like the Shadoweaver, excluding the killing of course. Her mother may have acted like a lady when in the castle or in the presence of other royals, but when she was out, her true self was revealed. As Lily thought about this, she looked towards the Shadoweaver while his back was to her and smiled. Turning her head away, she then said softly yet loud enough for him to hear. "You're not the first one to try and kill my father." Laughing softly, thinking about how different they were and yet the same too.
 
Flipping the sizzling chunk over, The Shadoweaver's eyes don't move from the fire. He watches as the grease slithers from its holding and battles with the amber flames. "Oh I wouldn't think so. He is a King after all and there are plenty of greedy men who wish to take his throne from him. I, on the other hand, don't wish that for the world. You have to accept who you are and I know I am no King. If the Kingdom is suffering now - it will only be worse under my command. I am fit for small squads of men. I know them and what they think even before they open their mouths. A whole Kingdom... an economy... wars fought millions of miles away where I am not a part of it. No. I am not of that strain of man."

Taking the meat off of the slab, he skewers it with the end of his sword and hands it over to Lily. "If it's undercooked just throw it back on the damn fire. I know this isn't your finest meal but hell, you ought to be thankful its something. Most prisoners, hostages, are just fed bread crumbs. I at least have the decency to feed to actual boar. Boar meat! Hah! Fancy that. Something you're prolly sick to death of." Growling, he waits for her to take the meat before standing and actually moving to almost touch shoulders with Lily. Taking a long glance at the words she scribbled in the sand, he raises a single brow. "Wasting your time writing poems. How quaint. Is this something you had to memorize for king and country? No. It's too... feeling." He reads it over again, "Why are you writing love poems at a time like this?" He can't wrap his head around it. Is she in love with him? No. She must not. She could not. She hates him and he has seen it in her eyes, or at least imagined as much. Perhaps he was just looking at a reflection of his own gaze in her pools of blue.
 
"I always think of my mother when I'm in these kind of situations. You probably wouldn't believe it, but yes I learned to live off the tiniest bit of food, because of my mother. My mother was the first person who tried to kill my father when they first met and came pretty close to it." Lily figured that he wouldn't really care about anything that she had to say as she took the piece of meat and began to eat slowly, thinking that it tasted fine to her. Just like her mother, being in nature was Lily's home, which is why she tried her best to stay out in the garden for as long as she possibly could when she was prisoner in her whole home. "The poem was written by her, when she finally realized that she was in love with my father and it is and will always be the only poem I remember." She said before taking another bite out of the meat.

Though Lily wasn't used to eating wild boar, it was pretty good since it was the first time in a long time when she had last ate it. When she was finally full of the meat, she placed it down beside her before looking around the forest to see if anyone was coming yet. It was time to get up and move around now, but they had to wait for one of his men to bring them clothes before they could walk anywhere. If anything Lily thought it would be great if they walked into a town that was having a festival around that time. It would have given them something to do, instead of heading back to the forest and doing nothing but sitting there.
 
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