The wrong castle

[Olissa]

Name: Mourina Ailona
Age: 25
Gender: Female
Appearance:

Tall for a woman, but shorter than a man. Relatively busty and a slim figure. She has bright blue eyes and a light skin which contrasts strongly against her long black hair. Her formal attire is usually a many layered dress with lace and a corset piece in the colors black and red, her nation's colors.
On any other occasion it's just a simple gown as she claims the fancy dresses restrict her too much. Being a leader means she's well adapt to fighting, but never carries a weapon with her as she prefers to talk. Doesn't mean she won't grab whatever is on hand though.
Brief History: Mourina was raised away from public view. For some reason her father wanted her to never, ever, go outside and meet the people. She figured he was just afraid some assassin might hurt her. In reality her father didn't want her to see what a terrible mess it was beyond the safe walls.
Now that her old man died due to a bad infection, Mourina is charged with ruling. Contrary to her father and ancestors that wanted to take revenge against the other nation, Mourina wants peace. However, despite her first attempts, things have only gotten worse. Knowing she's not the one giving the radical orders against the other nation, she wants to figure out who is behind it, and stop them, once and for all.
Other: Her nation's name is Siffir, and she's only been the Siffirian's ruler for little less than a year.

 

[Shiromaya]

Name: Ryan Ito
Age: 24
Appearance:

Ryan's height is pretty much average, not too high nor too short. His body is chiseled from all of the years spent in training to do his job. His job demands him to have a grim, dark, cold and unfriendly personality though he always felt the need to be in touch with other people. Despite having some friends his whole life he had the need for a bigger one, for someone who he could freely open up to and just relieve himself of all of his burden.
His casual attire consists of black jeans, black tank top with a leather jacket over it. He usually carries around a gun which is tucked into the back of his pants, just for safety.
Brief History: From the moment Ryan was born he was intended for an assassin. As a kid his life was spent in captivity with other children which were also raised for the some purpose though some didn't make it. The company he works for is one of the better known ones in the criminal underground which nowadays helps him with surviving the harsh times as there is more than enough business. Ryan exceeds in hand to hand combat and firearms and is a well trained gymnast meaning that he can get over obstacles without too much effort.
Other: Belongs to the Siffir nation though he cares little about the politics. His struggle is staying alive and pushing on with his life.

 

[Olissa]

In the middle of the Siffir region stood the mansion of the leader of the Siffirians. Ruled by a cruel, harsh man that had his eyes set on annihilating the other nation. But how wrong they were. This nation wasn't ruled by an evil man, it was ruled by a peace orientated woman. It just was very unfortunate that no one really knew who she was.

With a deep frown on her face Mourina Ailona looked out over the city. The (not so) peaceful capitol city. The people were restless. A new attack had just occurred. Against the other nation, yes, but another attack non the less. The people were growing more and more restless with each passing attack that went down. And what was she doing? Hiding away in a mansion with guards standing by the gates. There was no way she could keep saying to herself that she wanted peace, if all she did was cower away behind these walls. She had to get out there, she had to make herself known. But what good would that do?

She could just go out, announce to the people that she was the leader, that she was not behind the attacks, that she wanted peace. But would that really help them? No, there had to be a different way that would not stir distrust. Yet the only way she so far foresaw was to go out there and actively help in the field. So why hadn't she done so? Well, for one, her officers would never let her run around through the streets, and she had never set foot outside of the gates before. As much as she wanted to help, to bring a real peace to this everlasting war, she was scared.
She had sent troops to secure the areas that had been hit, given extra donations to the orphans, but she had yet to actually make a difference.

 

[Shiromaya]

"Do this and you're rich." Said the man who came to him carrying a briefcase that held all the necessary information about the hit. It was laid on the desk that Ryan was sitting in front of and the man backed away afterwards, awaiting for his response.

Ryan's all serious eyes were set on the man as his hands worked on opening the briefcase. The two locks came off with a thud and the briefcase was slowly opened. His dark brown eyes slowly moved downwards to look into the contents of the briefcase. He took up the paper that held all the information about the person, it's age, it's height, it's habits and every other important thing that he'd have to know. Surprisingly there was no picture nor any details about the persons gender. He also didn't bring up any questions about the contract being the leader of Siffir region.

"There is no picture of the person I'm supposed to kill." He muttered out.

"That is because we couldn't get one. The only thing that was available to us was the information on the person. Don't worry though, you'll know who it is once you're in. The person usually goes out onto the balcony and watches over the city down below. That's the only thing our mole could inform us with."


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Fast Forward~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ryan sat at the very top of the mansion he had previously managed to break in. This job wasn't nearly as easy as any other job he so far has had. Entering the mansion was next to impossible with the number of guards it held. Luckily with a lot of patience, skill and effort he had managed to cheese his way in by climbing the out of sight parts of the manor. The only thing that he had to do right now was wait for the person to appear so that he could finish his job. He knew very well what kind of a political impact it would have on the country but, by the time everything would go down he'd already be out of the country with his payment and he would be enjoying himself somewhere safe probably for the rest of his life.

Once his ears picked up on movement down below he slowly crept down the roof and he peeked over. His eyes slightly widened as he spotted the beautiful woman standing against the railing on her balcony. In his mind he already started thinking the other way, how he couldn't kill a woman or a child no matter what. Then again.. if he went through this job he wouldn't have to do any of this for the rest of his life.

(There, the green lines are Ryan's and the grey are just of a random person. You can make her spot him out to start off the conversation in between the two or you can just allow him to get up close to her, which ever one you want.)

 

[Olissa]

Off in the distance Mourina could hear the wailing of women that mourned for the catastrophe. The frown on her face turned sad, broken.
"I'm sorry, I wish I knew a way to protect you from these events." Softly her hands glide over the marble as she walked from one side of the balcony to the other, where a flowerpot stood. Only a flower pot. The roses that had been in here had long since died. "Is there no way to solve this without bloodshed." She spoke out loud to herself. Maybe she knew of the person looking at her, maybe not. Either way she didn't move from that stone pot before her.
As the rose bush had been dying the gardener had wanted to root it up and throw it in the fire. She had stopped that. Why? No idea really, it just didn't feel right to throw away a plant just because it was performing below standard. Now it was dead and she still couldn't give it up.

Taking one more look at the border Mourina turned and walked back into the throne room. The doors she didn't close, the breeze a welcome touch to the atmosphere. A deep sigh escaped her lips as she walked over to the red velvet decorated chair. 'The burden of the throne has fallen to you now.' had been the words of the officers once her father had passed away. And what a burden it had been. She had to get out of here, help in the field, and find a way to bring peace. Not that it was an easy task, but her only leads had told her that the current activity seemed to come from the mountainsides primarily. And damned any soldier that dared to go there and investigate for her. They either came back with nothing to report, or had obviously never even gone there. Who in this pack of goons that only wanted to continue the war in the name of revenge could she trust?

 

[Shiromaya]

"I'm sorry, I wish I knew a way to protect you from these events." The black haired woman who stood there, sadly gazing into the distance spoke out to herself, a hint of sadness lacing to her voice. Her slender hands softly glided over the marble railing that separated her from the depth below as she walked from one side of the balcony to the other. She stopped in front of a stone flowerpot which held long gone roses. "Is there no way to solve this without bloodshed." Her soft, gentle voice spoke out loudly to herself. She took another couple of moments to look at the roses before her look went up to the border, taking one last look at the chaos raging in front of her. The black haired woman then turned around and walked back into the huge mansion.

Ryan took a quick look into the distance before he pushed himself off into a handstand, dropping down onto the balcony softly, nearly without making any noise. He had already checked if there were any guards up here and luckily they were all alone. He slowly crept against the wall towards the door, stopping just aside of them. He reached down into his holster and he took out the gun.

'Doing this goes against my own morals.. then again if I do it I don't ever have to do it again..' Ryan struggled inwardly with the decision. He took a couple of moments before he holstered back his pistol with the decision not to kill her just yet. "I never knew that the leader of our nation is so pretty." He spoke up, not revealing himself just yet.

 

[Olissa]

So one of the servants that had spoken to her were right. Someone did get into the place and was sneaking around. The guards hadn't taken the warning serious, since there was not a single sign of a break in, and idle threats had been made before, to both her predecessor and herself. The chief of her royal guard was so confident in their abilities that they had fail to notice it when something happened right below their own noses.
Not that she had really made any effort to keep her personal guard up.

When the stranger spoke she didn't recognize his voice, which alerted her, making her nearly jump from her place. But it was his words that stopped her from sounding the alarm.
"If that's all I am you might as well kill me now." She said, not averting her gaze from her chair.
"What good is a pretty face if I can not bring peace to this nation. An end to this war." She turned around after she had spoken, looking at the direction she had just come from, the direction of the other person. She was tempted to ask him to come into the room, but would that be a good idea? Even though she said she might as well be dead, didn't mean she had an actual death wish.

 

[Shiromaya]

"If that's all I am you might as well kill me now." The woman answered. "What good is a pretty face if I can not bring peace to this nation. An end to this war." She told him, then making a couple of footsteps that Ryan recognized as her turning around towards him.

"You always have to start from somewhere." He started, climbing up onto the roof afterwards. "It's good that you're thriving for peace instead of more war. Although.. what good will it do? People will always come into conflicts and those conflicts will lead into more wars." He told her as he stepped lightly across the roof. "Your cause is noble but not everybody is ready to follow the peace ideal, especially when they don't even know who their leader is." He told her as he continued to tread lightly across the roof.

 

[Olissa]

Judging by how the sound of his voice changed position she figured he was on the move, though remaining close enough for a conversation to be held.
He did know how to hit the nail on the head though. There would always be a fight, and certain influential people thrived on the war. She definitely wouldn't be able to expect their support in this matter. And it was even more true that it would be difficult for people to align behind their leader if they didn't know who it was.
"My father was known, yet only those that benefitted from the war rallied behind him. A face to stand by is only one aspect."

She had toyed with the idea of stepping out onto the balcony again, but her feet never took her beyond the threshold.
"And what good will it do?" She repeated, her voice soft, lost in a thread of thought. "On the long run? Generations from now? There might be a war again, or maybe there could be a peace that was started at this very moment. I'd like to believe the latter, wouldn't you?"
Why was she talking to this person that remained out of sight? Wouldn't it just be easier to call for help and be done with it? Strangely enough, it felt like that would be the wrong thing to do. For now.

 

[Shiromaya]

"My father was known, yet only those that benefited from the war rallied behind him. A face to stand by is only one aspect." Her soft voice spoke out without a brink of fear in it, much to Ryan's surprise. Normally people would be scared out of their heads to know that their life is in danger, this woman however seemed like she didn't care that his purpose of being there is to kill her. "And what good will it do?" She repeated the question Ryan asked, her soft voice stopping for a couple of moments there as her mind probably was working up an answer. "On the long run? Generations from now? There might be a war again, or maybe there could be a peace that was started at this very moment. I'd like to believe the latter, wouldn't you?"

"In the end the same thing will happen over and over again as long as there is humanity. See.." He stopped for a moment to sit down, his legs dangling over the roof, right in front of the door. "Even the reason why I am here is probably to create even more chaos."

 

[Olissa]

In the end the same thing will happen over and over again. Yes, the world had a history of repeating themselves. It was sad, it happened everywhere, and it seemed like it was impossible to stop.
"So we should just let it happen, bring more chaos knowing no good will ever come from it?" She looked at the feet that now dangled above her. At least she wasn't talking to a figment of her own imagination, that would have been embarrassing.
"If you really believe that then why am I not dead yet? Or are you as a cat, toying with his prey before dealing the final blow."
There was almost a hint of humor in her voice. Almost. Behind it a crack in her seeming calmth was slowly showing. One scream was all that it would take to alert the security, just as one correctly placed bullet would put and end to her wishes.

 

[Shiromaya]

"So we should just let it happen, bring more chaos knowing no good will ever come from it? If you really believe that then why am I not dead yet? Or are you as a cat, toying with his prey before dealing the final blow." The soft voice spoke out, a hint of humor lacing to her voice. Underneath the whole calmness that the woman was showing, Ryan could finally feel a brink of fear.

"No, of course not but.. eventually, it will happen. People are power hungry and are ready to do anything for it. You're fighting for peace while the other nation fights for power. Other people who seek more power will chose to side with them and you'll end up without allies. Your cause will slowly but surely be lost as nobody cares about peace, only power or money. Your cause is noble but extremely blind." Ryan told her, dropping down afterwards and moving over to the railing. He leaned onto the marble railing into his arms and he looked forward into the distance, ignoring the other question that the black haired woman asked.

 

[Olissa]

Instinctively Mourina stepped a step backwards when the figure whose legs had been the only visible part dropped down right before her. Instead of turning to her and walking to her, the man walked away from her, to the railing and looking out just as she had done a moment ago.
With how he had descended she had almost forgotten what he had just said. Words that held true and had been plaguing her mind as long as she had the hopes of restoring peace. Now would be as good a time as any to call upon the security, to take him in, or see him make a quick escape. As easy as it would be, something else got the better of her. Curiosity perhaps.

Carefully Mourina stepped forward, making her way over to the marble railing till she stood near his side. "We do not know what the other nation fights for. No one seems to know what we're fighting for." She replied. "Was it a feud between two families, a murder, a robbery, aiding the wrong people. If anyone knew the answer to that, the fix could be found."
Her father had always told her the other side was nothing more than a backstabbing nation of thieves and traitors. Out for power, more land, death. While believing at the same time that what they themselves were doing was nothing wrong, merely defending our boarders and taking an eye for an eye. Who was to say the other nation didn't think the same way?
"I believe there's a chance it might come to peace one day." She looked away from the horizon, where the smoke slowly married with the clouds above, her gaze traveling to the person beside her. "If all else fails I could simply surrender." Mourina added with a chuckle, even though she knew that wouldn't solve all the problems either.

 

[Shiromaya]

Ryan rose an eyebrow as he heard the woman chuckle. He quickly withdrew the pistol out of his holster and he pointed it at her. He squeezed the trigger until the gun went off but no bullet came out. "Just like that.. the fight for your cause is over." He told her, slowly placing the gun back into the holster. "Just because you want peace it doesn't mean that everybody else wants it. If you make an impact in the tides of war be sure that there will be more people like me and.. with nobody there to protect you, you wont last long."

"You need to improve the guard or else other people like me will slip in just as easily." He told her, still looking forward into the distance. "Also.. if you're really willing to surrender that means you've never had faith nor will for your cause. If you're willing to give up on it or even think about doing so.. you're not worth it."

 

[Olissa]

Scared for her life Mourina froze and forced her eyes shut. Screaming wouldn't make a difference now, all that awaited her was the pain, the agony, and a hope of a swift enough death. This was the end of the line for her is what she honestly thought when he pointed the gun at her and pulled the trigger. With tense muscles she awaited the shot, the pain, but nothing came. Yes, the shot was heard, but that was it.
In a bit of a daze Mourina tried to relax her facial muscles enough to pry open her eyes. He had fired a blank shot. Why? For a moment she thought it was by accident and he would rectify his mistake. Anticipating this, her body language still spoke of her being ready for the impact.
The words he said slowly sunk in.
"Then what would you have me do. What would you do." All her life others had determined for her where she went, what she dressed, how she walked, talked, when she slept and when she spoke. She was used to being told what to do, but this year had been different. And with his words the flaws of her idealistic plans were very clear. "I don't want my people to have to endure another moment of war. Knowing their child is out there by the enemy lines, probably never returning." The shock of almost meeting her death left a tremor in her voice.
"Maybe I'm alone in this wishful thinking. But I won't let a separate third party ravage against my so called enemies in my name." If she couldn't stop the war, she was damn sure to go after the rising group of attackers.
She turned and walked back into the room.

 

[Shiromaya]

"You stand up and prove to them that you're not fooling around. You have to be strong and truthfully willing to stand behind your cause. Your will must be of iron if you wish to succeed. If they resist you cut them off. No peace was made without a war. You can't achieve peace without casualties, you must be willing to take them and to make some. Once you have the people's respect, not fear, know you will succeed." He told her as he turned around, his arms spreading in opposite direction as he leaned back into the railing.

"Don't let yourself be lead blindly by other people. Sew your own destiny the way you like it. You're a leader of a great nation, start acting like one." He told her as he examined the curves that the beautiful black haired woman had.

"Sorry if I scared you there, it was just to prove the point of your low guard." He told her as he smiled. "Just cause I seem friendly it doesn't mean that I actually am. Same thing applies to your allies."

 

[Olissa]

"Don't look at me like that." She said. "I may be ignorant on how to rule a country, but I am not oblivious to everything." That, and the throne room had mirrors along the walls. Originally done by the man who had it built because he wanted this room to look bigger than it really was. She had initially looked to see if the assassin was following her or not.
"I was raised to be pretty, sit inside and smile. With no knowledge of what is going on outside, never to leave these walls." She sat down on the monstrosity they called a throne. It fit her right, but the gold detailing made it look a bit old fashioned as far as Mourina was concerned. "A ruler with no knowledge of the world has no chance of winning people over with words. Not without actual trustworthy advisors. And there is no knowing who in parliament is interested in wealth or who is in well being."
She ignored his point about her not having her guard up. Like it would have mattered at all wether or not she had held up her guard, called security, or not. Either he would have shot her sooner, or he would have fled the scene if he had no interest in killing her. Of course then there was kidnap, but she wished him good luck trying to sneak her out of the mansion.

 

[Shiromaya]

Ryan smiled as he brought a hand up to the back of his neck. He rubbed started rubbing the skin there, a bit embarrassed as he was caught staring at her. He closed his eyes to break off the contact as he smiled innocently.

"Makes achieving your goal even twice as rewarding. You're quite mentally strong. To not have any experience at all yet you have such a strong will to bring a peace for the good of your people." Ryan slowly started walking towards the black haired woman.
"I'm sorry for disrespecting you madam. I just couldn't get myself to move my eyes away from you, you're mesmerizing." He told her as he bowed his head in humbleness, feeling a bit bad about his previous action. "I came here with the task to kill you and.. I can't bring myself to do it. Once I leave the manor, the same people who came to hire me will come and try to dispose of me. They'll once again send someone to dispose of you as well so.. I suggest you stay on your toes. I wish I can say that I'll see the results of your labor but.. " He smiled as he looked at the black haired woman.

"You may call the guards now if you wish, it'll all end the same for me."

 

[Olissa]

Mourina was merely silent as he spoke. The compliment, as she interpreted it, was something that would make her blush normally, but the earlier shock had thrown things a bit off balance.
"It's fine." She just said, focussing on her breathing. If what he said was true, about him being next on the list if it was not her head on a figurative spike, then it probably was true that more would follow. And judging by how movies and series usually were made, they'd send more qualified people each time the previous one failed. Not a prospect she was liking.

"No." Mourina eventually said when he told her to call the guards. Chances were they were already on their way sensing something being amiss.
She was certain that what she would say next would eventually turn around and bite her in the bum. Probably sooner than later. "Work for me."
She looked up, at the eyes of the man sent to kill her. This probably was going to be her worst idea ever. "If you're as good as dead either way, work for me."

 

[Shiromaya]

"Wh..- What?" Ryan muttered out as he rose an eyebrow. Was the woman, the one who he was supposed to kill, about to hire him knowing that? Was it an act of generosity or just a bit of rash thinking while in shock. He knew that she probably wasn't thinking straight, not after thinking that she was about to get killed. Either way it was something he was expecting the least a couple of moments ago. He thought that he would have been punished in the worst possible way and then brutally killed.

"That's quite a generous offer but.. are you sure you're willing to go through with it.. ? Remember what was the purpose of me being here.. ?" He asked as he returned the eye contact. "I mean, don't get me wrong.. I will accept to work for you but.. have you thought about it twice? Do you really trust me that much?"