Time of Tyranny (w/ Everly)

[Ozouko]

Caloop stood looking out one of the windows at the colorfully lit city below. During his time when he use to live on the streets, this use to be his favorite day of the year. Everyone would forget about social status and just enjoy themselves as they celebrated the new year. But now through the incredible generosity of the king he had been hired as a guard so he had to work. It still confused him as to why the king would want a kid from the slums working as his guards, however he was far from complaining. Over the past couple of years he had built up the muscle to properly wear the heavy armor and use the large broad sword. His blond hair had been cut short so that it didn't get in his eyes during sparing or in any real battle. Along with the muscle and hair he was now clean, compared to his old dirt covered self. He also didn't use his magic anymore. Using magic was only allowed by the higher up guards and he didn't want to get himself evicted out of this new found life. Looking at Caloop now and Caloop form the slums you would think there were completely different people.

With a sigh he brought himself out of his thoughts and continued his rounds. He walked out onto the castle wall and turned his head as the sound armor falling against stone greeted his ears. A peep wrinkle creased into his forehead, confused as to why the man would fall. "Hey are you okay?" Caloops yelled over to him. When the man didn't respond he walked over to check. The closer he got the realization of what had happened became clearer and clearer, until he stoop over the lifeless body a pool of blood forming on the ground the blood slowly flowing out of a small hole in his neck. He looked across the courtyard and watched one by one as the guards on top of the wall fell like dominoes lined up in a row. Caloop stood there frozen for a moment, the shock of what was taking place sinking in. The castle was under attack. He needed to warn the Royals. With a quick turn he took off back into the castle to find them.

 

[Ethys]

Keladry Haragiri was not pleased. She was alone, standing on the small balcony that branched off her bedchamber and allowed her to gaze down upon the city. It seemed so joyous down there. Free. People were laughing and singing, their voices carrying just enough that she knew she was missing a good time. Instead of joining in, she was stuck up here. Oh, she knew it was for her own good. Too many people, too crowded, impossible to properly guard, people getting drunk, might get too feisty. She had heard it all before, more than once. Whenever she did go out into the city, it was always some big formal affair with way too many guards. It made her feel like a freak. Everybody always knew who she was and was far too polite. Making friends was essentially impossible. Still, she was not completely alone. Her parents weren't completely unreasonable people, even if they were over-protective at times. Many times she had noble girls over to play when she was younger, and to gossip as they got older. It was nice to be able to relax with them, but tonight, they got to dance in the streets.

She sighed and turned away from the sight, wandering back into her bedroom. In an hour or so, it would be dark enough for them to set off the sparkling fireworks that the kingdom was famous for. That was something she could enjoy from anywhere. She smiled at the thought and pulled her silver circlet from her head, setting it on her dresser. As she turned to pick up a comb, a flicker of movement caught her eye in the mirror. She frowned and twisted around, but nobody was there.

"Felicity?" she called out, suspecting that her handmaiden was lurking about, waiting to see the fireworks herself. No response. Perhaps she had imagined it, but she had been certain she saw something move. Ah, the wind. She had left her balcony doors open. Inwardly cursing herself for being so foolish and easily spooked, she wandered over and snapped them closed just as a loud thud crashed against her bedchamber door. She blinked and glanced toward the door, quickly walking over. Had somebody fallen..? She reached for the handle, fingers brushing it for just a moment before she saw something creeping under the door.

"Please be wine.. please be wine.." she whispered to herself, edging back from the spreading puddle of red that was starting to stain the floor tiles.

 

[Ozouko]

His thick metal armor clacked loudly as he ran through the black and white marbled hallways. There was a fellow guard slumped in a chair on a small balcony over looking the courtyard. The man's throat had been slit with a single deep cut allowing blood to flow out over his armor staining it red. Caloop grabbed the rope that hung down from the large bell above and gave it a large tug sending out the signal that the castle was under attack.

The King and Queen would be in their main chamber, that's where he would be needed the most. He slowed down trying not to slid on the smooth floor and took a sharp turn bounding up the stairs taking them three at a time. This was no random attack but it was also hard to classify what it was. It was planned out extremely well with very skilled people. The attackers were too skilled to be a band of roughs, but it couldn't be a different kingdom because it lacked the honor, and as far as he knew the kingdom was at peace with it's neighbors. As he rounded the last set of stairs the sounds of fighting came floating down to him ripping him from his thoughts. With one more leap he cleared the last few steps and landed kicking the door in. He saw the King sword drawn fighting against a man dressed in a servants uniform. When Caloop burst into the room it distracted the servant long enough for the king to drive his sword through the servants chest. The king turned to him. "Caloop!" The King actually look relieved to see him. Another thing about the king that always amazed him was that he always remembered the names of every servant and guard. As he walked towards the door he gave Caloopv his orders. "I need you to go check on you daughter and get her out of the castle. Take her somewhere safe where know one will think to look." Caloop had been trained to take orders with out hesitation. "Yes your majesty." He bowed to the King as he passed and started running down the hall to the Princess' bed chamber.

As he pulled with in eyesight of the Princess' door he saw a middle aged women standing in front of her door and pull out a large knife out from the folds of her servants uniform. Caloop reacted before he could think and charged the women. Clearly taking her by surprise he drew the long blade from its sheath and put a large gash into her chest in one fluid motion. The women fell against the door blood gushing out of the large wound. He returned the sword back into it's sheath and gave a quick knock on the door before entering. It felt extremely weird entering the princess' chamber with out being invited however he didn't think time was something he could spare. He pushed the door open and took a step over the dead women's body into the room. His electric blue eyes landing on the princess backing away from the door. He dropped down to one knee instantly out of respect. "Please excuse my intrusion Princess. The castle is under attack and I have been assigned by your father to evacuate you to safety."

 

[Ethys]

Keladry's jaw dropped and she simply stared at the guard who was apparently waiting for some sort of response. It took her a few precious seconds to really wrap her mind around the ridiculousness of him remembering to knock on her door before bursting in like that. The sight of the blood splattered across him made her stomach twist, so she forced herself to look elsewhere. That was when she saw the body behind him. Oh. So it hadn't been blood. She swallowed and looked back at the guard, finally gaining a delayed understanding of what he was trying to get through to her. Evacuate. Attack. Safety. What did safety even mean if they were being attacked within their own walls? She shook her head a little and forced herself to focus. A royal female must always have perfect composure, her mother had said. A calm face in a sea of chaos.

"Shite," she breathed. Well, so much for composure.

She walked over to her closet and quickly pulled out a packed bag. It was not an emergency evacuation bag - why oh why did they not think to have those? Oh well. This would simply have to do. She had been planning on going riding up to the Hallendale Falls with her mother the next day, so she had a change of clothes packed since they would likely have stayed the night in the cabin they had there for just such purposes.

"Come on, we can use the servant staircase to get to the stables," she said, offering a hand to the guard, who she couldn't even remember ever seeing before in her life.

 

[Ozouko]

He struggled to keep himself from smiling at the Princess' reaction. It was bad edicate to laugh at Royalty unless they made a joke. He stood up with out taking her hand, it was rude to make any direct contact with Royalty unless to avoid farm from coming to them. His training was coming through well. He had yet to embarrass himself in front of the Royalty, and he had managed to kill without hesitation. Even though this was a very chaotic time he felt as though he was handling it very well.

"Yes milady. To ensure your safety I will take the lead." He stepped back over the dead body exiting the room, looking down both the corridor to make sure no one was coming. He turned to look back at her and for the first time met eyes with the Princess, but dropped his gaze the the floor quickly. A slight rush of blood colored his handsomely high cheek bones. "It is safe."

There was a small hole about the size of a marble hidden behind a vase of flowers that sat on an expensive looking end table at what looked like a dead end. Caloop walked over and inserted his finger into the hole. A door hidden in the wall swung open giving way to dark gray stone steps. He held the door open for the princess as she entered again keeping his gaze down at her feet. The door swung closed silently when he let it go to follow her down the steps.

"Milady, I do not think that taking horses through the city will be out best option. It will be extremely busy with the festival going on, and the horses will draw us a lot of attention. It would be best if we were able to escape the city with out being noticed." Unintentionally, Caloop held his breath after speaking in suspense. He wasn't sure how the princess would react to him suggesting his idea. He had never served for the princess directly and it was rude to gossip about the people that employed you so the other guards never said anything.

 

[Ethys]

It was hard to fight back the wave of nausea that she felt when she had to step over the body in her doorway, but Keladry managed to swallow it back. She stared at the wall instead, though it didn't help much since it was splattered with blood and slashed from a blade. Why was this happening? She followed the guard silently, trying to understand. What had they done wrong? Surely this would not be happening without a cause. Had they wronged somebody recently? They were not at war, not that they knew of. The citizens weren't revolting, were they? Everybody seemed so happy, so at peace. She could even still hear faint strings of music from the festival. Distracted, she stepped into the hidden corridor and paused as the guard spoke to her. She blinked and realized he was right.

"You're right. No horse is going to get through that crowd, not tonight," she agreed, looking up at him and realizing for the first time that there was a faint blush on his cheeks. If she hadn't been terrified and upset, it probably would have been amusing. As it was, she was sure that her own green eyes were dazed and confused. "Perhaps we could use that to our advantage? If the crowd is unaware of what is happening, we could slip through unnoticed and get to the city gates.. though I'm not sure where we're headed, honestly.." she murmured absently, looking away and struggling to come up with answers.

She started to say something else when she reached the bottom of the stairs, but then she realized that she heard something. What was that? Tilting her head, she took a step forward to look around the corner and came face-to-face with a very ugly looking man. He seemed just as surprised as they were, and the sword in his hand was dripping with fresh blood. In the moment of shock that froze them all, Keladry realized that she had no idea whether this man was friend or foe. It was not a well lit area and he was not wearing any colors to suggest who he was fighting for. However, he did not keep it a mystery for long, seizing the opportunity of her hesitation to try and attack them both.

 

[Ozouko]

In time such as this it was quite customary for people of royalty to become extremely paranoid and not to trust even their most loyal guards. Relief flooded over him with her logical response. He thanked the gods silently to himself. Where was he going to take her? He had been thinking to near sighted. Getting out of the castle would only be a slight challenge but staying hidden and safe was a whole different problem. The taverns would be crawling with lowlifes looking to make quick money any way they could, even if it meant ratting out their own princess, so they were out. Any of the lodges would have to advantage of being safe would be too public. If the enemy found out where they were the lodge would turn into a prison as all they would have to do is sit out side and wait for them to come out. As much as he didn't like the idea of showing the Princess the world in which he had started life, he couldn't think of any other place that he knew she would be safe.

"I would agree, using the crowds as a sort of camouflage would be out best option." He took a breath and made another suggestion this time with a bit more confidence. "I know a place where we will be welcomed and safe or at least for the night. I just need to warn you it isn't the..." He paused, struggling to find the words to properly describe the area in which he use to live. "Finest of accommodations." He finally settled on.

His mind jumped back into hyper active mode as seeing the man sent a rush of adrenaline through his veins. He reached for his sword but stopped short knowing that he would cut the princess in the confined space of the stairwell. But he had to do something. He couldn't let the princess die! Not here! Not while they were so close to being out of the castle. He found his body moving on his own. He raised his hand and produced a thin porcupine like quill out of his palm and shout it out thought his skin and gauntlets and to sink into the forehead of the man with enough force to snap his head back causing him to fall backwards.

 

[Ethys]

Keladry ducked her head with a scarce inch to spare as a sword slammed into the stone of the stairwell. She had a passing thought of wishing she had taken more combat classes from her tutors instead of useless ones such as history and politics, but the thought was gone as quickly as it had come and she refocused on the more pressing issue of her survival. There wasn't anything she could do, what with no weapons and already having her back pressed up against the wall. It was an odd position, considering the angle of the stairs and the fact that her guard was actually behind her because he had been polite enough to let her go down the stairs ahead of him. Being royalty was such a bother, sometimes..

She looked up at their assailant again, trying to judge where he would try to strike next, but then something odd happened. Seemingly out of nowhere, his head snapped backward and he stumbled. From her spot, Keladry did not yet see the quill. All she saw was that the man fell over with a sickening snap that signaled his neck had been broken. He didn't move again, his sword clattering to the floor with a cold sound of finality. She didn't check or even stare to see signs of breathing, but she knew that he was dead. A person had just been killed right in front of her eyes, and the princess couldn't look away. She felt as though her own heart had stopped and her mind was blank, all rational thoughts of running and hiding gone. Instead she was seized by an overwhelming panic, one that kept her from doing anything but shaking as her breathing became erratic.

 

[Ozouko]

He knew what he had just done would be traumatizing for anyone, especially a princess who has even had to kill a mouse. But he had no choice. By the way she was shaking he knew she was starting to panic. "Princess close your eyes. You need to calm down. You are almost safe just a bit farther and you wont have to worry about this, about any of this anymore." He spoke in a very calm, soothing voice. However it wasn't doing her any good.

He stepped around her so that he was standing in front of her. This was no time for manners and edicate, if he didn't calm her down now he would lose her to her own mind. Caloop looked down at his blood splattered armor. Staying in it would only make the situation worse. As her breathing became more ragged and stripped off his gauntlets which was followed by his breast plate. All he had on under neither was a simple black tunic. "Princess you need to close you eyes and take a deep breath! Take yourself somewhere you can be happy!"

She still gave no reaction of even hearing him. His mind flashed back to when he was younger and one of the younger girls he use to live with would have these horrible nightmare. He was out of options. He put his rough calloused hands on either side of her face making her look forward and brought his face close to hers. Putting her electric blue eyes inches from her emerald green ones. He watched her eyes go from distant and blank to focusing on his eyes. "What color are my eyes?" He asked in the same calm soothing voice.

 

[Ethys]

In her blank mind, the terrified princess was starting to gain some thought back, but it was nothing helpful. She began to wonder if there would be nothing but a sea of death outside. What if all of the citizens were already slaughtered? Was it an ocean of blood? Her mind recoiled from the mental image, yet pressed on with a growing sense of panic and paranoia. What if her parents were dead? Was she going to die too? What about the servants? Felicity had been so good to her, yet she had been gone for hours and was now probably lying in a pool of her own blood somewhere, unable to flee. Keladry felt cold, not even blinking as Caloop assured her that they were almost safe, almost there, just a bit farther. Instead she was wondering how much it would hurt, really, to be stabbed through or have a neck snapped.

She flinched slightly when the armor hit the floor, but she could not tear her eyes away from the fallen attacker until she felt the unfamiliar touch of warm hands on her cheeks. The gentle tug made her look up and she blinked as she took in how close he was. At first it scared her, because her fear made her not recognize him. She nearly retreated completely into her own mind in an attempt to block him out, but then she recognized him. The guard. He had helped her - he wasn't a threat, he was trying to save her life. She stared at him, finally realizing that he was speaking to her. His eyes?

"B-Blue," she managed to stutter, her breathing starting to slow and even out. Blue eyes. Caloop. Safe. She started to relax, though she was by no means at ease because she knew that they were still very much in danger and had to move quickly if they wanted to continue surviving.

 

[Ozouko]

A wide smile spread across his face as he let out a light laugh out of relief. "Welcome back! I thought I was gonna lose you there for a second." He let his hands fall from her face and he took a step back. He inhaled a deep breath and held it for a few seconds and realized what he had just done. He had just put his hands on the princess. He had just touched the princess without permission. He dropped to his hands and knees. "Please forgive my completely inappropriate behavior." He begged looking down at the cracked gray stone between his hands.

Breaking a rule such as the one he just did could either mean death, banishment, or life in jail. And he felt he deserved them all. He had just brought an incredible amount of shame apron himself. If this had happened under regular circumstances he would have been killed on the spot. His only hope would be that the Princess would see it as necessary in helping her. Panic started creeping into the back of his mind. Only because of his training in controlling his emotions that the guards drilled into him was he able to keep himself at a reasonable state. But each and over scenario bounced off the inside of his brain like a hive of bees trying to escape a glass jar.

 

[Ethys]

Keladry opened her mouth to respond, but then he was gone. She blinked and looked down, surprised to see him on his hands and knees, apologizing to her as if she were about to whip him. Confusion washed over her features until she realized what he was worried about. She rubbed her face and rolled her eyes, allowing herself that one completely un-royal gesture since nobody was around to see it and he wasn't even looking at her.

"We are in a servant stairway, in the middle of a castle that is being attacked, with a dead body laying over there, and you are apologizing for helping me?" she asked, trying not to sound terribly rude and failing spectacularly. "Are you out of your mind?" she added, shaking her head and reaching down to offer him a hand. "I'm not going to hurt you. You saved my life. I'd really like to just.. leave now, please. I feel sick."

 

[Ozouko]

The way she spoke it was almost as if she was angry for him apologizing. She was clearly grateful for everything he had done and yet seemed upset for him remembering proper etiquette of society. He looked up to see her hand hovering to help him up. Did she really not care about the difference in their social status? He tentatively took her hand and stood up looking at her. The look of complete confusion had fixed his features in an almost shocked expression. "Yes milady." He finally spoke still clearly trying to understand why she was okay with him touching her. "Well lets go them." He said walking out of the servants passage and into the stables.

The odor of fresh manure infiltrated his nose as he walked passed the multiple dark wooded stables. Growing up it had been one of his many jobs to clean up the streets after Nobles on horseback had passed through the city. He hated the smell then and still hated the smell now. Most of the stables contained horses in an assortment of different colors, but each large with thick muscles. The ones that were missing had been taken out but a group of guards that had left a few days earlier to confront a convoy of bandits that were supposedly on their way to the city. The group, Known as simply The Knights, were small but contained some of the best fighters in the castle including a couple of the magic users. He had no doubt that the information about the bandits had been a lie to get The Knights out of the castle and weaken its strength. He stopped at the end of the stables. In the last stable lay the stable maid. Dead. She was probably the one that the ugly man had killed before coming face to face with them. All of this death was starting to take a tole one heart weighing it down. Caloop was normally a very happy young man, serious when it came to his work, but happy none the less. But for all of this pointless death was starting to really bother him. He closed the stable door hoping that she would not see. "Is there anything else you need before we leave milady?" He asked over his shoulder.

 

[Ethys]

It was easy to see his confusion as he took her hand and stood back up. She knew the reason for it - normally her parents would scold her for such easy familiarity with her, but she honestly did not mind. Keladry had always been at odds with the noble girls in that respect. Though she knew that her blood ran blue and that she was inheriting a kingdom, she did not feel that she were any more important than the small kitchen boy who fed the chickens every morning. Sometimes, she actually felt quite insignificant in comparison to the servants. They had jobs and were busy all day long, accomplishing everything asked of them. Herself? Well, she sat around and did whatever she pleased in an attempt to learn all that she was supposed to before she took the throne. It was honestly quite boring. She had a novel in the palace library that she was quite fond of, about a princess who had felt the same as she did and decided to run away to a life of adventure. It was thrilling to read, but Keladry had never given serious thought to ever going elsewhere. She didn't even know how to cook, for crying out loud.

Shaking her head to rid herself of the unproductive thoughts, she followed Caloop into the stables. The scent was strong, but one she was used to. She walked over to her mare, a palomino with a gentle nature. Apple had been given to her on her fifth birthday, and the tiny princess had thought it a brilliant idea to name her after her favorite treat. The horse snorted and nuzzled Keladry, obviously a bit on edge. No doubt the sounds of fighting combined with the loud festival outside were making all of the horses nervous.

"Nothing we have time to get. What we have will need to be enough," she murmured, petting the mare before turning toward her guard. She saw the closed tack closet door behind him but didn't question it. She didn't want to think about why he may have done that. "Should we go down into the merchant streets? They will be more crowded and it would be easy to slip through the market. Or maybe we should take the high streets where it's less crowded so it's easier to move? I honestly don't know. It's up to you. You are leading the way, after all."

 

[Ozouko]

"I think our best option would be to go through the merchant streets. However keep you bag in front of you as we move. During a crowed festival at night is the perfect opportunity for pick pockets. And we don't exactly look like common folk so we will be made prime targets." He knew this because a little more recently he had become very good at slight of hand. It wasn't honest work but it was the only way he was able to get by. Sliding off his legging and boots he Checked the grounds to make sure no one was insight. Keeping the armor on would only draw attention to him, it was loud, heavy with the symbol of the King stamped onto it. All he wore now was the black tunic and a pair of dark brown leather pants, common attire under the armor.

"i'm going to run across to the edge of the trees. If you don't hear anything after twenty seconds follow me. If I do get seen or killed take your horse and ride as fast as you can around the city. Don't stop unless you absolutely have to. Try to get to The Knights. They are in the city to the west." He looked into her eyes and gave her a nod reassuring her that she could do it. He took off running for the edge of the forest. The sooner they were out of sight the better. However if the castle had already been taken it would be futile. They would have archers on the walls ready to kill anyone returning or fleeing the castle and that's why he went first. If there were archers they would kill him His legs churned hard against the soft green grass under his bare feet. He felt light without the armor. His muscles were tense in anticipation, as if waiting for the snap of the string sending an arrow directed at him. But the snap never came. He crossed the lawn and flew into the forest the forest swallowing into darkness.

He slowed to a stop pull deep breathes of the cool air into his lungs. He felt the nourishment of the oxygen spread from his lungs and into the rest of his body. First to his muscles and then deeper into his core. He started counting, leaving her had been the best option but now he filled with anxiety. Now that they were separated he wouldn't be able to protect her if need be. The wall of the castle was void from all life. It was a very odd sight almost creepy. There were always guards up there. Seeing it bare sent a a shiver up his back.

 

[Ethys]

Keladry stared at him. Twenty seconds? She managed a slight nod in response to his own, blinking as he ran off. Okay, so now she was by herself. That was only completely terrifying. If they didn't die, she was going to slap him. She glanced nervously back toward the horses, then peered out the doorway. It was impossible to see him now, but he had told her where he was going. The forest. She supposed it made sense. The dark of the trees would provide them a hiding place until they managed to get into the city, even though it truly was not wide enough to be considered a 'real' forest. She took a deep breath and leaned back against the wall.

"One.. two.. three.."

Waiting was agonizing. Even while she counted aloud, her mind was wandering. Where was Caloop taking her? She trusted him without question, but now she was beginning to realize that may have been a mistake. It wasn't that he hadn't proven himself already, but she honestly had no idea who her enemies were. The man that had attacked them in the servant stairway had not been familiar to her. No bodies that she had seen so far had been clad in colors of an opposing army. Were the attackers on the inside? If so, how deep did the traitors run? Was Caloop in on it and simply getting her to another place for them? If not, did he know who the traitors were? Perhaps there were some among the guards that he suspected. Or maybe, just like her, he had no idea what was going on either and just wanted to run for it.

"Twelve.. thirteen.. fourteen.."

She straightened up, ready to finish and run for it when she heard something. Caloop had said to follow if she didn't hear anything, but.. what was that? A creaking sort of whine. She didn't recognize it. Coughing too? Somebody needed help. She hesitated, then turned away from the open doorway and wandered to the other side of the stables. A servant girl was laying on the ground, half curled up as blood poured from her chest. Her lips were parted in a silent cry for help, her blue eyes turning dark as she drew her last breaths.

"Felicity!" Keladry gasped in recognition. Oh, no, no, no.. Not Felicity. She took a step toward the handmaiden whom she had considered a friend, only to be stopped by another sound. Turning, she found herself face to face with a rather amused looking man with a bow across his back and a small axe in his hand. She stepped back and tripped over the hem of her dress, landing on her backside next to Felicity. The servant girl was clutching a small sword - obviously she had been trying to defend herself. Without thought, Keladry took the sword from the dying girl and stood.

"Oh, I like it when they fight back," the man said, laughing at her. This was bad. She had no idea how to fight or really how to use a sword except for the almost-certain thought that you hit them with the pointy end. He stepped forward and she stepped back. The process repeated several times until he lunged forward. She yelped and ducked her head to avoid his swing, her hands coming up as if to stave him off, but she had forgotten that she was holding the sword. It plunged upward, sinking into his belly at an odd angle that drove it up under his ribs and out his back. She stared up at him, able to see the exact moment when his anger turned to surprise, then to fear, then nothingness. The light faded from him entirely and his body gave out, leaving him to slide down her blade until he was against the hilt. He was much too heavy and she ended up dropping her hold, leaving him to collapse on the ground at her feet.

About a minute later, the princess finally appeared next to Caloop. It was nearly impossible to tell in the shadows of the forest, but her hands were now streaked with blood and she had dirt and blood all over her dress as well. She was silent, numb and simply waiting to follow him wherever he went.

 

[Ozouko]

When he finished counting and she didn't start running, alarms in his head immediately went off. Something had gone wrong and he sat there frozen. Because of his actions had he just gotten the princess killed? The King had trusted him! Him of all the guards to look after the well being of his daughter. The training was doing him no good now. His emotions were out of control. He sank back against a tree the black hole of disrepair spreading from his stomach out into his whole body. His limbs felt heavy, his blood felt thick. He had not only failed the King but his entire kingdom. The only success to take the throne and he had gotten her killed. The minute extra felt like eternity as he sat against the tree, unable to come to terms with the effects of his actions.

The sound of her footsteps falling upon the dried leaves and small twigs ripped him out of his thoughts. At the sight of the princess her stood and threw his arms around her holding her tight against his body. "Thank the gods you are alright!" He exclaimed. "I thought you had gotten killed. What took you so long? It doesn't matter! Lets just go." He was a flurry of emotions, bouncing back from happy to confused to anger and back again. This is exactly what his training was supposed to prevent. He let go becoming a bit horrified that he had just embraced the princess, but he was also a bit curious as to how she would react after not being upset earlier.

 

[Ethys]

The hug caught her offguard, but she did not react to him. She didn't push him away, but she didn't hug him back either. When he pulled away and seemed to realize how far he had overstepped his boundaries, she simply gazed at the ground. It was a struggle to even focus on him at the moment, but she knew that this was not the time to lose herself. They had to move. She shook her head slightly and decided not to mention the awkwardness that had passed between them at that moment. Hopefully he would feel badly enough for it and not ask her again what had happened. She also hoped he wouldn't focus on her for a while, until she could clean up out of sight. Though honestly that was going to be impossible once they were in the light of the city..

"Yes, let's go," she managed, unaware of how badly her voice was shaking.

[Sorry, short post x.x]

 

[Ozouko]

"Yeah." Was all he said but it was clear that he knew he had disgraced himself. What was he thinking hugging the princess? He knew that he had crossed a line and that the only reason that she was semi okay with it was because of the situation they were in. He was her guard. Nothing more. He was most definitely not a romantic interest. He was not a sibling. He was not a friend. He was her guard. Guards don't step out of line ever. They do what they are told and nothing less. And most of all they don't let their decisions be influenced by emotions. Before today he had been a good soldier, today however was showing him that he really wasn't.

He walked through the forest leading the princess toward the sounds of music and laughter. They only ever went on paths to cross over into the thick green underbrush again. The worn down paths would be to open for them to be considered safe. The faint thump of marching drifted through the forest. It wasn't the tremendous roar of a thump that accompanys an army but more of a muffled croak of a few. He ran toward a fallen tree hiding under neither but was will able to see the group. He motioned for the princess to do the same. As the men passed one stuck out to him. The man looked familiar but Caloop couldn't bring the memory to the front of his brain. The was very large, he towered over the rest of the man accompanying him. This man was also extremely muscular, his muscles had muscles. This man and the men he was with were part of the group attacking the castle. They didn't wear and of the same clothing be the ominous feeling the produced was chilling.

He waited until the group had passed headed straight for the castles main gate before he moved. He stood up his his thighs crying to be stretched and spoke. "Did any of those men look familiar to you at all?" He inquired to the princess still looking in the direction the men had gone.

(Don't worry! with that I left you with there wasn't alot to go off of.)

 

[Ethys]

Keladry was silent the entire time that they were creeping through the trees, but that was a good thing. They could not afford to be caught, and making any loud noises or chattering would have been a mistake. She followed Caloop's footsteps closely, careful to stay close enough that she could see where he stepped, just in case there was an unexpected hole or dip. Falling on her face would only slow them down more. Since she was gazing at the ground, she did not hear the sounds of the men until her guard suddenly picked up his pace and hid. She blinked and quickly followed, peering up in confusion. Men. They were obviously part of the group attacking the castle. She frowned and eyed them, but there was no sigil that she could place, so she started concentrating on faces. After a few moments, she realized that she recognized one of them. She stared, straightening up once they were gone.

"Carson," she murmured quietly, reaching up to brush her hair out of her face without realizing she was leaving streaks of blood in the wake of her trembling fingers. "He used to be the captain of the guard. I did not recognize any of the others," she explained, now feeling uncomfortable. The others were probably former guards as well, she realized. It explained how well trained they were and how well they knew the weaknesses of the castle. That would also explain how easily they were allowed through the city. The thought chilled her to the bone. Guards turning on their own people. She glanced at Caloop, hoping that she wasn't making a mistake by giving him her blind trust and following along like a lost little puppy.