The Seven

D stopped and looked around. Nope. No sign of the giant sewer rat. Looked like that slug had been more than enough for it. He walked over to the ladder in the middle of the sewer. "I'll be right back." He started to climb and looked through the holes at the top of the lid. So far, nothing. He pushed. Pushed again. The lid finally gave way with a low groan but he didn't move it off. He sneaked peeks from under it. They were in an alley. Which alley he wasn't exactly clear but it was definitely the slums. The piles of trash and rags all around proved it.

"We're here. Follow me." He finally pushed the lid off and climbed out. The sky was cloudy, it would rain any moment now. There were beggars but they knew better than to harass an armed man slipping out of the sewers. He grabbed some smelly old clothes from off a pile, told the protesting beggar under it to shut up, and draped them on top of Gwen's head as soon as she emerged. "Your name's Gen for now." Gwen was an uncommon name. Gwendolyn even more so. "One look at you and people will know who you are." Tales had been spun and rumors whispered about the Princess' beauty. "We have to lay low until we can slip you ... to someone who can handle this."
 
Gwen fussed with the smelly bit pf fabric tossed over her head. Ripped in several places, it was difficult for her to determine if it were a cloak or blanket. But she finally found a way to drape it over herself and keep her head hidden. The smell... that could be ignored. After the prison and the sewer, if she could ever smell again it would be a miracle.

However, now that they were out on the city street and he was instructing her with a new name, Gwen was a little more firm about her intentions. "Thank you, really. For your help. But it is imperative that I return to the castle and clear up these misunderstandings with my Mother as quickly as possible. If you could just tell me which direction I should go?"

She was already turning to glance around. This place looked.... so different! Barely over the tops of the buildings she could make out the outline of the castle. But everything out here didn't look at all like she would expect it to.
 
D turned around. He ran his fingers through his hair and took a deep breath. Then he spoke slowly as if talking to a small child. "Look. Mother or not, unless you have evidence to prove you didn't kill that guy, she's going to throw you back into jail. Or worst, you'll be executed right away." He didn't think too highly of the Queen but he wasn't about to mention that to her of all people. The Princess was a sponge. Last thing he needed was her babbling to the wrong people. Not that a few more people to kill worried him any. He crossed his arms. "Do you have evidence?"

He was tilting his head. "Besides, you won't last very long without someone watching out for you. I'm pretty sure you've noticed there aren't many with your best interests in mind." He walked back to her, smirking. "Not that I have your best interest in mind, either."
 
Roselyn Chloe Amelia Stewart King was not you every day court flower, though with a name like Rose it was hard to think of anything but a flower. When news quickly reached the woman, she was in the middle of yet another dinner party.

Fear, dread, and a cold knowledge of what needed to be done filled Rose for a second, and the man that stood next to her when she found out about the Princess' arrest would not forget that look in all the days of his life.

Of course Rose excused herself from the party. That went without saying. The route she took to her room would not have been expected and in all honesty the maid that found her shoes would have assumed the worse, but with no idea of who it belonged to would likely just stash them away.

The cells under the palace Rose knew well. She made sure of that, as did her father before her. She made sure to time things for when the guard would be least likely to catch her in time. In resistant poly-wear, skin tight of course and a dark blue gray to blend into the shadows, and a helmet with a blast shield to tuck her in her hair and protect her face, she had gone down into the murkier depths of the palace.

That's when everything just seemed to go wrong. There was already a firefight down there and someone had taken the princess. That much was easy to determine. Why, she wasn't sure, but when she realized they were going into the sewer, she adjusted her plans.

Rose did not need to follow her princess and her kidnapper. She just needed to be where they were headed, and since Rose had not engaged the guards, she was able to once more slip away.

Transportation of course was needed later, and Rose had a mental inventory of what was stowed away in that district. Once she had her princess, she would get her out of harms way, and then they would deal with the politics. Gwendolyn's safely was first and foremost.

Standing in the shadows of a doorway, Rose breathed a sigh of relief when two figures came into view. The princess was safe, for now. As she waited until they passed her hidden position, she wondered if any of the seven had gotten the encrypted message. It wasn't much of a message of course, for something like this there was no need for explanation.

"That's as far as you go," the dull voice under the helmet said, mere inches for D's ear, a small pistol at his neck. "Thank our vow she's still safe or you'd already be dead."


~~~~~~~~~​

Queen Amethyst, ruler of all Vykendria and soon liberator of Elsovaren. Yes, that had a nice sound to it. The corruption of the kingdom there was directly related to those that helped Princess Gwendolyn kill the poor ambassador, a true man, er elf of the populace, not some fancy noble with no idea how hard it was for people to make any strides for their own economic freedom with the tyrannical laws and taxes. Yes, that would do nicely.

The ladies in waiting were quickly dismissed. Amy claimed fatigue, but she was never fatigued with her ladies around. Quite the contrary, she was invigorated, though after several hours her ladies were never so. Blood magic was what it was and each one donated it willingly, eagerly, when they vowed to be in her service, though they thought it mostly ceremony. If they only knew they helped their queen not just with their words and presence, but with their essence.

Once gone, she turned to the curtain, though she did not withdraw it. She knew who it was and she need not see his face. Until he finished what he started she refused to.

The news he brought, of the princess and the one that was suppose to be dead, was not welcomed at all. "This is twice now you've failed me. It is perhaps time that I take matters into my own hands. You obviously are incapable of continuing."

Her face was a mask, but she was interested to see how he would react. Poorly and she would have him hunted down. If he showed conviction though...
 
"Your majesty...." Her words were harsh, yet deserved. My search for my brother has taken much of my time, and while that time was not paid for with her gold I had still failed her, that night. The night my life was ruined, but perhaps we could both get what we wanted. "Highness, this man took my brother from me. I will hunt him to the ends of the earth, only death will end my quest for his blood, and his heart I shall deliver to you in an iron box."

Even though she could not see me the vicious edge in my voice had to have been unmistakable. "Permit me to be the hand of vengeance, yours, and mine, and I promise both of them shall not live to see your coronation." I try in vain to prevent my blood for coming in a rush at the though of interrogating the man who took my brother from me. Perhaps showing him whats in store for him on the girl... But no matter what, a quick death was not his fate, not after all he put me through, all he took from me. This job was personal.
 
Amy tapped a finger on her chin. This was the sort of attitude that she had hoped for, and it was this sort of fever that she could use. "No mistakes. I want him, I want them both, but do not let your passion make you sloppy."

She doubted he would be, but the warning was important. It might bring him back to reality should he ever get past the point of reason. A killing machine was good, but not in something this delicate. She needed someone that would get the job done, not just take out as many people as possible before being taken out themselves.

"I will give you the time you've requested however, because I feel your heart is in it." This was not a nearly as forgiving as it sounded. She was telling him exactly what she expected of him. Anything less then doing his best, and at the very least bring back her step-daughter to her feet would cause him more hurt then losing his brother. Of course she could be very well pleased with hearts. They could be of use.
 
On the other side of the tapestry I instinctively incline my head "Thank you your grace, it will be done." my voice betrays me as I realize the full implication of her words. Then the time for words whispered from concealment were over. My mind at once turns to the hunt. This man, a veteran of hiding from the law would know where to take the girl. But so do I. The slums, it is the only place unwatched of so the first place to go if you're looking for someone who does not wish to be.

My feet take me down the familiar corridors to the chamber behind my quarters. I live here by my queen's grace in exchange for my services and as such I must pay the contents of the room myself, but in a lifetime of murder I do not go wanting. Yet it is not to the golden oak wardrobe of silk bed that to which my steps take me. I do not wish to bedeck myself in finery. Instead I don only a rough cloth cloak that will not attract attention in the slums. Beneath this my scimitar is fastened where it will not be seen and my pistol slid snugly into its holster. I roll back my sleeve to check the concealed dart gun on my wrist its tranquilizer and neurotoxin dart cases full.

I pause to look at a picture of two young men, indistinguishable and inseparable. My gloved hand balls into a fist as my heart takes comfort in the coming blood. "Oggi, il fratello, sarà vendicato." I promise anger charging my words so that they are nearly spat out before I head back into the hidden passages pulling the hood over my head, in less than half an hour, the hunt would begin.
 
Gwen wanted to explain to him about her Mother and was even turning to start. But from nowhere someone spoke and had a gun at the back of his neck. She reached her hands up as if she were going to tug him away from the person, but she wasn't so sure that it would prevent him from getting shot out of reflex!

"Please don't shoot him. He's been very helpful to me, even if he is a convicted adulturer!" At least there was comfort in knowing the helmet covered person wanted her safe. It was a nice contract to all of the ones trying to shoot at her before. Now if she could pry Drystan away. Gwen didn't want to see him get killed after he went through all of the trouble helping her.
 
Amethyst waited several moments until she knew the rogue was gone, then she started to pace. This was no good at all. Gwendolyn was rescued, and the queen suspected it was these Seven.

Seven!

The first hint she had of these champions of the blood line she did not piece together. That was a mistake. Her attempts to rid herself of the princess had been blocked at every turn it seemed. Partly out of tradition, partly out of luck, but there were those working against her, she knew that.

Then Amy started finding clues in old correspondences of her husband. There were odd phrases and even a few encryption's. It had not been much to go on, but what she discovered made her blood run cold. He had a secret security force.

Who these people were she did not know or how her husband chose them. Fortunately once she told Elathan she wanted these people located, she expected things to come together in short order.

Infuriatingly he was only able to intercept a few messages, take out a few of their spies and still not come any closer.

And then, finally they had their big break and they knew of one of the men. Elathan had brought the twins into her employment some time before and always they delivered. It seemed reasonable to send them after this one man.

This one man who was set up, who was at every disadvantage, got away.

It was enough to make Amy scream.

Walking to her large mirror, Amy looked at herself. Scowling would just not do. She took a deep breath and smiled into the mirror. Yes, that was better. Much better. Unfortunately she had been energized before receiving the bad news. She needed a way to constructively release some of that now.

"I wonder if he's returned yet," Amy said to herself thoughtfully then glanced at her imagine in the mirror sideways.
 
Slowly, but surely, everything was coming together. Elathan's job required a lot of searching, patience and sneakiness. He was confident in being able to locate these seven knights, though. This was a large number of enemies, hidden from his eyes. Years of learning how to gather information has allowed him to at least get some ideas of there whereabouts. The main thing that made him wonder was how each of them fought. Magic could someday be the death of him... While he was highly pain tolerant and nimble, there were some magics he just couldn't avoid for too long. It wasn't a fear... Just an annoying inconvenience.

The half-demon was swiftly running through the trees, making his way to Amethyst's castle. He didn't give a damn about anybody else... Her happiness, her life was all that mattered. Should her ruling as Queen go terribly wrong, he would find her someplace else to be a Queen! Elathan would gladly murder the monarchs of a different country so she could take control, then pursue all those who rebelled. Love, he realized, drove a person to do the craziest things.

Bandit now sat on a sturdy branch not far outside of Amy's window. The hood on his head was kicked back with the backwards motion of his neck. A small smile touched his lips as his brown and green eyes blinked at the window. He decided he would surprise her with his arrival! That woman was smart, though. She might have even expected him to enter this way.

With a grunt, he leaped from the tree, jumping through the open window and landing on the floor, his heavy boots making a thud. She was admiring herself in the mirror, however... He could sense some negative energy flowing through her. Someone, or something, must have made her angry. It looked like he arrived just in time to help ease her from that.

"I've returned to you, my darling," he said politely, making a respectful bow.
 
D paused and glanced over his shoulder. A new addition. How sweet. He snickered. "Awh, good day to you, too." He was going to steal the woman's gun but the Princess intervened. He did turn. "If you're going to plan a little rescue, you should rescue people a lot earlier. If you were any later, Gwen here might have been dead by now. Executed. Maimed. Made into some guard's plaything." He didn't know who this would-be rescuer was but it was obvious the person knew about the Princess. Either that or the girl was wearing a damn tracking device.
 
Amy turned quickly when she heard someone land on the floor. Her eyes that had narrowed, returned to a more pleasant state as her lips curled into a smile. The queen looked her huntsman up and down. He was ever a handsome sight to see.

"As always you have the most excellent of timing," she said as she walked over to him and with a feather like touch had a finger brush against his cheek.

Her smile did not last. "She's gone!"
~~~~~~~​

"Do not presume you know anything," Rose did however pocket her gun, "adulterer." There was a mocking tone to her voice behind the blast shield. She then stepped away from D and took off her helmet, shaking out her dark locks.

"Your highness, while seeing you unharmed brings me more joy then you know, I feel that it is prudent that we leave this area at once. It will be obvious that you came this way if anyone on guard was paying any attention to your escape."

Though she said Gwen might not know her joy, it appeared that it was going to show it's self anyways with the large grin on Rose's face and the tear that escaped her eyes. They hadn't failed yet. Gwendolyn was alive and Rose, nay all seven of her knights, were going to ensure that she got her thrown back.

"Your rescuer may come with if he wishes, but we must make haste." There was so much to explain to the princess, but this was not the place for it. They needed to be in a secure location.
 
Bandit made a smile as she caressed his cheek, that gentle touch sending more warmth through him that she could realize. It pleased him to hear that his timing was impeccable. Now, all he needed to do was listen to what she had to say.

Though, what she said wasn't quite what he expected.

"Gone!?" His smile faded just as quickly as hers did. "For how long? Do you know?"

He asked those questions so it would be easier to track Gwen. Bandit assumed he might be sent off again in pursuit of the woman, which he had a feeling would not be easy. Tracking her could be done with the use of footprints and any other evidence she left behind. Bandit couldn't help but wonder where she went, as well as whom would be with her. Perhaps, she could lead him to the fabled Seven.

"Would you like me to follow her, my lady?"
 
Amy laid her cheek on her lover's chest, still frowning. "Not long, but too long already I fear. Dresner has been sent out. He dares not fail me again." It would not have been unreasonable to send the man known as Bandit out to try to retrieve the princess.

However...

"I wonder how much of her escape was due to misguided loyalist," while she had most of the people in the castle bespelled by just the will of her personality alone, she was not a fool. Not everyone viewed her was admiration. She had been fortunate of the ones that spoke up about their doubts about her. Sadly not all she could just make disappear. A few were simply exiled, but only those that had been public enough that she could show how gracious she was to not have them executed for treason.

"Dresner will for now concentrate on the princess, you on those other unseen traitors. When your aims meet I expect you'll know how to handle the situation." Amethyst learned long ago that her huntsman was too smart and crafty to be constricted too much. If she wanted results, she only gave him the barest of instructions. He always made sure to please her. Sometimes unexpectedly so. Rarely had he ever failed her, and while failure of any sort was a source of aggravation, she knew just by looking at him he took it as much to heart as his successes.

No, this man had never truly failed her. She had just at times did not have enough information for him to hunt properly.
 
Hey dark sleek body greeted him as he slowly stepped into the room where she always lay, resting, ready for him. He ran his fingers over her in a ritual before every job and she never let him down. He mounted her and she responded, the dashboard lighting up as the terbines spun up. The jetbike rose from the floor. He needed her speed right now, while his prey was still in the open.

From inside his cloak he pulled out a mask, The left side was black and right side white as the mouth was frozen in a perpetual grin. Putting the mask over his face he added his visored helmet before opening the throttle.

He knew the sewers like the back of his hand, he knew the as well or better than any man he had ever hunted. On the job there was nothing but the hunt. He pinpointed the most likely places they would exit the sewers and flew his bike over them until of the third try as standoff in the street below caught his eye. One male... baring of a fighter. One girl.... the way her rags feel about her sugested there were finer and better gesigned clothes underneath and antother..... threatening them with a gun with the fighter in his grip.

"Fucking amateurs." he cursed, abandoning the plan of silent stalking and elimination. He knew the queen well enough to know that if someone else wanted the marks dead she'd want to know who.

He gunned the engine into a dive setting the bike to maintain heading the stood, placing on foot on the seat and the other on the handlebars and at street level approached the scene. "Io vado a regrt questo." he muttered before hr took off his helmet and placing it into the magnetic lock on the side of the bike hen at the last second jumped off the bike somersaulting and landing on his feet before stumbling in the dirt for a few steps before he managed to stop himself, his laser pistol in his hand and pointed at both the escaped man and the other holding him. He kept his other weapon hidden.

"Sorry to drop in but I couldn't just stand around and do nothing. He looked to the girl, twisting his wrist to load a nerotoxin dart onto the gun strapped to his wrist and hidden by his sleeve and pointed it right at the princess. "I have something for you." he said with a slight chuckle, this might just be the easiest job he had ever done!

But something caught his eye... the other escapee.... "Sei un bastardo." he breathed lowering the hidden dartgun and pointing the pistol right at the one holding D. "Let him go if you want to live."
 
Gwen was exhausted and confused... and had about enough of all this gun pointing! If their escape was urget, standing out in the street trying to decide who was rescuing who was not going to get them somewhere better any faster. She didn't move with lightning reflexes or graceful speed, but she chose what she thought was the best place to block an incident.

Shifting herself between Drystan and Rose, just slightly out of the direct line of fire from the third person, she tilted Rose's gun away. Drystan seemed like the one needing protection at the moment.

"You are right... we should leave this area without drawing any more attention, yes? Lets not shoot anyone..!"
 
Another day, another hour, another moment. Every day was more of the same. Wake up, arrive to the small data-entry shop, utilize his scroll-work, hear no news, and go home. It was tedious, and frustrating, all at once. Another day, another hour, another moment, and more nothing.

"Arthur, I need the Garravan file. NOW."

"Yes, sir," came the soft-spoken voice of a bear of a man. He rummaged through a bin of papers, filled with old parchment-styled sheets and finally plucked one out. He stood then, and his size suddenly seemed not-so-large. He looked weak, and old, his shoulders sagging as he dragged himself across the room. He went through large cabinetry, digging through alphebatized files until he finally arrived to 'Ga-' after opening and sliding shut several of the drawers.

He found the file, and shuffled up the wooden stairs that led to the Maester's office. Each wooden plank creaked underneath each hard step of his, and it took him a moment to finally arrive at the head of the short flight.

"Took you long enough," the Maester growled, his tone short and snappy. "I don't even know why I keep you around. Your script is terrible, you're slow..."

Arthur sighed as the Maester gave him his daily berating. The Maester of this Data House was a man who took pride in what little power he wielded over his employees. When Arthur wasn't around, he was beating down a young-woman co-worker named Saire. It was all taken in stride, and while he was aggravated with the man, it was more of the fact that a man like him even existed. He hated letting him get away with acting like this.

Arthur ni'Pendraig t'Arronde was a loyal son of Vykendria. He was a warrior, a Knight, a Seven. Arthur had served the recently-deceased King Stephane, and the King before him. He served behind the scenes, like all other members of The Seven; he had been decorated numerous times, and had foiled a number of assassination attempts.

Then came the Lady Amethyst, and what Arthur and his six compatriots had tried so hard to fight had happened-- the King died. Killed, maintained Arthur. It was that conviction, and his accusation of the Lady Amethyst, that put him in this situation. He was vocal, and very public with his accusations. With no proof, he was slapped with harsh punishment. The only thing that had saved his neck was his history as a loyal castle guard and soldier; instead, he was banished.

A young Princess still lived though, Stephane's daughter. With the King's death, Arthur's oath to the throne did not end. Rather, it transferred to her! Arthur could not leave Vykendria, even on pain of death. So he smuggled himself back into the city, took on a guise and personality, and settled himself into a small, worthless corner of the city and of society where he would be hardly recognized.

The tongue-lashing ended, and Arthur moved back to work.

As he came down the stairs, the front door swung open quickly. A young man was panting, and he looked up at Arthur with recognition in his eyes. "News!" He whispered fiercely. Immediately, Arthur's back straightened and he bound down the wooden steps in a single leap. Despite his crooked, weak personage he wore every day, he was very healthy. As strong and as athletic as a man his age could be, and then some! He exercised every day, and every evening of his life had been filled with sword exercise.

The young man gave Arthur the news in a hushed blur of words. More than once, Arthur had to stop him altogether and tell him to slow down and repeat what he had just said. In the end, it came out: The Princess had been arrested, and stashed away in dungeons. Almost immediately, she had escaped and was now, per rumour and conjecture, making her way through the sewers.

Arthur wasted not a moment, and rushed from the door.

"The old town," Arthur muttered under his breath as he rushed through the corroded, more worn-down section of the capital. Everyone knew that all sewers led to the old town; they had to, for them to even empty out down-stream of the city's water supply. The old town had been where the capital had begun, generations ago. Now, it was where the most poverty-stricken lived.

The sun setting; night would be here soon. "Good," he thought aloud. The clouds would be covering the waxing moon tonight; they would have the darkness on their side. Now, if he could only find her!

Which, thankfully, didn't take long. Arthur nearly stumbled on the small gathering of individuals as he made his way through a series of shanty-huts turned makeshift homes. He was quick on his feet however, and surprisingly soft-padded in his step; he was unseen, and unheard. He darted back into the shadow and stood deathly still, until he was certain he hadn't been spotted. Arthur crouched low and began to gently pad through the shadows, straining his ears to listen.

"...bastardo... want to live."

He crept closer. He could see a beautiful young woman interpose herself between another man and a woman he most certainly recognized. Oh, you magnificent woman, you! He thought. He was close enough now to finally hear the words clearly, and the young woman who he assumed was the Princess spoke. She had the look of Stephane about her, he thought idly.

"...we should live this area without drawing anymore attention, yes? Let's not shoot anyone..!"

Arthur rose to his full height in the shadow of the alley he hid in. He was impressive in stature, a bear of a man with thick muscles and a grim, hard look to his eyes. He had a knife in his hand, held in a reverse grip. He angled it, letting the light catch the blade for Rose's eyes, he hoped.


SUMMARY: Arthur has lived a crummy life since being banished for calling out Lady Amethyst on her murder-plot. Having heard news of the Princess, he has made his way to a town known for the sewer-exits and has come across the 4 out in the street. Creeping through the shadows, Arthur sneaks up on Dresner and gives Rose a signal that he's in the shadows, simply waiting for her command. Or at least, an opportune moment.
 
(You know Rose HAD put her gun away... oh well, I'll start using colors in my posts.)

"Hi ho hum!"

It was an exasperated sound that came from Rose's lips. It was also something that had been uttered by her father and his brother and most likely their aunt before them. All had been Sevens, though the expression seemed to be purely Kingsly.

The woman had been trying to quickly to figure out how to get Gwen out of harms reach without getting herself killed in the process, she was grateful for the distraction that just materialized, though at the moment she wasn't sure in what body the distraction was in. Damn all the shadows.

She twisted her wrist, so that now she was grasping the princess' arm so that she could pull the younger woman in the direction she wanted her to go, then twisted herself so she was behind Gwen letting go of the arm for a moment to then have her own arm around the princess' shoulders to keep her running, in the pace she set, then all put pushed her into a wall once they got passed a pill of refuge next to a large city garbage can.

"Stay down your highness," softly Rose commanded, not even out of breath. She then pulled out a gold chain that had been tucked under her shirt. There were two large rings on it, that appeared man size. One looked like a gold crown in miniature, the other was silver, and one could see that it was the number one curled around.
 
A strong arm locked around her waist as she leaned onto him. There was some relief in hearing that somebody else was going to take care of this escape. Bandit already had enough on his plate! Not that he would complain, though. What ever this woman wished was his command, after all. If Amy trusted Dresner, then so did he.

"Well then, that takes care of that," he said simply, hoping her plan to get Gwen back would be a success. Things were stressful enough with these Seven knightly figures opposing them. Seven was such a large number, plus they were all skillful in their own ways. 'I'd prefer a damn army of amateurs,' he thought in a bland tone.

Elathan felt like he should depart to continue his investigation. He was loathe to do so, because standing here to enjoy silence with Amethyst was a treasure. "Shall I go?" he asked her, looking to the window he entered to get into this room. "Or shall I stay?"

Whether he liked it or not, he had responsibilities.
 
D's eyes narrowed at the guy's mask. What was his problem? Then everything happened at once and Gwen was gone with that tall chick! He smirked at the masked man. "Nice going. I'll catch you all later." He turned to follow only to feel the slice of steel and he wrenched his arm back! The bracer had fallen but he hadn't been injured.

"Brat ingrato." D smirked. He'd never heard the language before but there was something ... familiar about it? He winked. "Swear me up and down all you want but I never ask for help." Then he was gone!

"You know, if you're going to keep attracting people like this, I can see why you wound up in prison in the first place," he said to Gwen and Rose.
 
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