Escape from the Seige [Closed 1 x 1]

[Rex Rodentium]

While Teagan was naive to most things, she had learned to pick up on changes in facial expressions. She had been taught to put on certain masks depending on the situation, usually that of a polite smile. Having learned to keep her face in such agreeable but fake positions had caused her to see the small changes around the mouth and eyes that signaled something else. She didn't find it prudent to comment though.

Looking at the platform, she couldn't help but smile a little, "That's quite impressive. I would have never thought of making a place for us in the trees like that. No one will look for us up in the trees like a squirrel. Is there anything I can do to help?" she asked, suddenly interested in learning some sort of skill that could help them in their survival.

[spellslave]

❝ He considered her offer thoughtfully. "Not with the construction itself, but I need you to gather two things. One, as many dried leaves as you can find. Gather them underneath the sleeping platform evenly, then another in an outer ring about six paces from the tree. They will serve as alarms." That was, of course, aside from the horse and the fact that he was an exceptionally light sleeper. "The second, moss. Make sure that it is not damp, but springy. That will be a good enough bedding." Using some of the leaves and branches, he even began to construct a half-semicircular dome by weaving the branches together that would keep the better part of the rain off. ❞

[Rex Rodentium]

Teagan went about collecting the items in silence for a little bit before she could no longer keep quiet. Her curiosity was getting the best of her. Her mother had always told her "curiousity killed the cat" to which she once had cleverly replied, "And satisfaction brought it back." Her mother hadn't been so amused by the reply. Thinking about her mother twisted her gut into knots. There was a small chance her parents were still alive but with each passing minute the likelihood diminished.

"Where did you learn to do all this? Do they teach you how to do these kind of things when you become a soldier?" she asked, watching as he worked, "I remember when I was teenage I tried to get one of the guards to show me how to use a sword. My mother found out and punished me awful. I later found out the guard was the one who told her what I had asked."

[spellslave]

❝ He frowned slightly at her recounting of the tale of her trying to get lessons. "I was raised into a culture where women could fight alongside men. Not all did, but those that chose to were known as Shield Maidens. They were as strong and fierce, as they were feminine and motherly." Virtues that all cultures prized, it seemed. "I have fought alongside a handful and in some cases, would rather do so than an army of my own sex."

Eyeing the stew from his perch of sorts, he then paused at her question. "Part and part. I was taught the ways of the woods by my father. The army merely put it into practise. But being a mercenary always appealed to me more. Higher pay for a start, and I had the right to choose my fights as it were." ❞

[Rex Rodentium]

She smiled, "That sounds wonderful. I think I remember reading about Shield Maidens and that is where I got the idea," her smile faded, "I almost wonder if they had allowed me to train with a sword if I would have been able to save my parents. I could have helped hold off the intruders while they got to safety instead of the other way around. I have no idea what I'm doing. I do not know how to fight a war or reclaim a kingdom. Being a princess is like being a bird in a gilded cage. You are there to look pretty and do as you told. And for the right price, you will be sold to someone else so you can decorate their home and lay eggs."

Stirring the stew a bit, she nodded, "I can see why you would want to pick your own fights. I would hate to be forced to fight for something I did not believe in. I wonder how many of the invading army are just doing their jobs. I can't imagine all of them are bad."

[spellslave]

❝ He listened. As much as he inwardly had first found the idea of escorting the princess to safety to be one that he would ordinarily have spurned, the amount that he was being paid - and had been paid - to get the job done was quite considerable. "It is a parents' duty to protect their offspring, not the other way around," he lightly chided, before eyeing the stew. Once it was cooked, he ladled it out into two rough-hewn wooden bowls, tearing off a portion of bread for each of them from what supplies she had brought.

"Some will be, some won't. A man can be good with the wrong ideas in his head, and a man can be bad with the right ideas in his head." ❞

[Rex Rodentium]

Teagan looked at the soup and bread. She knew she needed to eat and it smelled heavenly but she didn't feel hungry. Instead, she stirred it slightly with the bread idly as she spoke, "Still... I cannot help but feel guilty. I mean, what am I supposed to do? I can try and seek refuge in a neighboring kingdom until the invaders offer them a reward so high it would be foolish to not accept. Or I live out my life hiding in the woods, looking over my shoulder every moment and being startled by rabbits. Or I somehow figure out a way to raise an army and take back the kingdom. Then what? I was never taught how to rule. My parents had found a young prince who was the youngest of three who was unlikely to rule in his kingdom. He would rule and help me produce an heir to keep the lineage going."

The thought of the man they had chosen touching her made her skin crawl. It wasn't that the man wasn't handsome or that he wasn't close to her age, but there was just something about how he smiled at her that worried her. It was cold and almost cruel underneath the mask. Her parents had told her she was imagining things. If there was one good thing to come out of the invasion and siege, it was that she did not have to marry that man.

She looked at him, "And do not think I am ignorant to what my forebearers did to your people. I cannot see any reason as to why you would take such a dangerous job in protecting me. Truth be told, you could leave me here in the woods and no one would blame you. You would be putting an end to the line that had wronged your people so long ago. I cannot help but wonder why you are still here."

[spellslave]

❝ He mulled over her options thoughtfully, dipping the bread into the broth. "Or you could do a balance of the two. Raise an army, take back the kingdom. Then rule in your own stead, or have a Steward. Something of a caretaker for the paperwork side of things. It is not unheard of in other Kingdoms', for a woman to rule and to have a consort either; a man who is her husband, but not the King," he mused. "But I would imagine that most men of noble birth who come so close to the throne will not want to remain long parted from it," he added wryly. "Such is human nature."

"But, should you ever wish to raise an army...," he trailed off, and there was a hint of a smirk, the sort of expression one might get in the face of adversity. Relishing the idea of such a challenge. At her statement however, a 'brow rose before he stopped eating the broth. "Ever heard the saying 'an eye for an eye would make the whole world blind'? Yes, I despise what your people did to mine all those years ago." He had faint memories, barely there, of the final dwindling remnants of that clash. "But for me to hate all of your people on principle is foolish. There are many who were not around when those laws were made and enacted, who should not be blamed for the actions of their forefathers."

Ten years ago however, and he likely would have already slit her throat and left her body. ❞

[Rex Rodentium]

Teagan stayed silent for a moment, thoughts obviously mulling over in her head. She quickly began to eat her food, the nausea slowly leaving her. There were too many ideas and formulations taking place for her to speak of clearly. It was best to eat and mull over the ideas before she expressed them aloud. Her stew was quickly finished and the bread was used to soak the up the last of the bits. Had she done so while still in the castle she would have no doubt been scowled. But there was no one there to scold her and she was more concerned with not letting any of her food go to waste.

"Well, if it is not unusual for a woman to rule instead of a man in certain places, I do not see why I could not do so myself with the help of a steward as you said. But in order for us to raise an army, the said army would need someone strong to lead them into battle. Someone to rally behind," she said thoughtfully before a small smirk rose to her lips, "And who better than their Shield Maiden queen? How many kings have ridden into battle leading their men to victory? Why not a woman?"

She gauged his reaction, "Of course, I would need help becoming a Shield Maiden. And if I am queen, I should be able to get rid of all the silly restrictions that have been put on your people. I know it has been better in the past decade but that is no excuse for what my forebearers did," she said, suddenly sounding angry and she had her fists clenched, "I do not care if it sounds naive but there is no reason that a group of people should be a oppressed. And hopefully your people will forgive mine for what they have done. If I am indeed queen as I believe I most likely am, my first decree shall be made here and now. On behalf of the Drey family, I rescind all laws that apply only to the Holtvolk. They shall no longer live as lessers than any other subject of Taladora."

[spellslave]

❝ He paused. He had at first taken her words at face value, but when she made the decree repealing all acts that had been placed against his people... his chest both tightened and loosened at once. The idea that his magic-casting kin could truly be free was a wondrous thought, but it was dogged by a pessimism that had been many years in the making.

"If you will permit me to train you, I will do so. But I cannot do so alone." Training was as much something of the mind as it was the body, and he was not going to blindly leap forwards into the plan she was detailing. "The most sensible course of action from here would be to rally the Holtvolk of these areas. To bring them together to free the castle. That gesture alone will be of significance." As much as she might one day be Queen, her parents were not dead yet - far too valuable to kill, King and Queen both. "The first of the tribes is two days' ride from here. From there, it is two days again, then a week of travel. Faster if we can employ the help of one of the Changers," he mused, drawing a plan idly to explain his idea visually as he spoke. "What banner we fight under matters not at this point, not so early. The Holtvolk have always and will be one people." Inter-familial feuding had never changed that, and quarrels had always been easily pushed aside when it came to fighting a greater battle.

"If I can convince the Elders of your sincerity that your decree will be passed, there is a chance they will ride with you." But in the back of his mind, he knew that there was as much chance of them laughing at her, and dismissing the idea as a folly. ❞

[Rex Rodentium]

Teagan listened intently. It made sense to get the Holtvolk involved. It would only be a matter of time until the invading army started working its way into their territory. She would have to come up with a good argument as to why the people who had been treated so poorly by her forefathers should trust her. That would take time but it seemed all she had right now was time.

"I see. Well, I think my years of reading books on history may actually come in handy. I am all too aware of what has been done to your people. It is horrible and I want to right the wrongs. Before all of this I believe I was powerless to change anything. That I was just a pawn in a game of chess. But now I can be the queen on the chess board and make any move I wish. The worst thing that can happen is I perish and I am fine with that," she said simply, "I am the invading kingdom want me dead anyway or to simply use me as a pawn to legitimize their rule. I will kill myself before I allow myself to be married to the scum who has been slaughtering my people!" she said, her fists once again clenching.

[spellslave]

❝ He smiled slightly. He admired her conviction and determination at least. "Then we will set off tomorrow." With that, and with the shelter completed, he gestured for her to go and climb up to it before moving near to just under it in order to effectively keep watch. The fire at least was smouldering, and thus he had given her one of the rocks he had tucked up against it wrapped in cloth to provide a source of warmth.

The morning came swift in the forest - sunlight breaking in shafts through the trees, offering the campsite a golden glow. Already when she woke however, he would've been moving into a dual-wielded sword drill. Smoothly moving from defence to offence, fighting against an imaginary enemy. Such was and had been a part of his daily routine since his earliest memories, long before he had ever dreamed of taking up the sword. ❞

[Rex Rodentium]

Teagan climbed into the shelter with some help from Stigandr. She took the warm stone gratefully and thanked him for it. It was a thoughtful of him to think of her comfort in the woods. The blankets she had brought helped with the chill and she was sure to leave him half of the blankets. Her mind was filled with scouring her memory of the history books and trying to come up with full-proof argument as she laid on the soft moss. It didn't take long before fatigue overtook her and she fell asleep.

When morning's light slowly brought her back to the waking world, she peaked her head out the shelter. Her guardian was moving with such mastery of his body and blades, she couldn't help but stay silent and watch in awe. It was mesmerizing how easily he was able to move from one stance to another. A branch broke under her palm and she blushed when she knew she'd been discovered. "Uh... Good morning?"

[spellslave]

❝ He paused suddenly when the greeting came, halting in his smooth, fluid movements to look up at her from her vantage point before dipping his head in a curt but still respective gesture. "Good morning, princess." He had rarely addressed her as such up to that point, but until and if she admonished him into calling her by her proper name, then he was content to remain formal. Certainly if her... their idea of how to break the siege came to any fruition, he would still likely end up deferring to her. "Are you well-rested?" The ride ahead of them was going to be hard, but he did at least have the intention of trying to procure her a horse of her own along the way. As much as his own could cope with the both of them, it would make a better impression to ride separately. ❞

[Rex Rodentium]

"You may call me Teagan if you wish. But if you are uncomfortable with calling me by my given name then I suppose my title is fine," she said, remembering how her nanny had reacted when she was a small child and told her to call her by name instead of her title. The old woman had nearly had a heart attack and told her that if she was ever caught calling her by her name rather than "Princess" or "Your Highness" she would be dismissed on the spot. It had been a strange thing for a child to comprehend as to why someone would be in trouble for calling someone by their name but she didn't push the subject anymore. She loved her nanny like her own mother.

She instead carefully climbed out of the shelter, "I slept surprisingly well considering all the circumstances. The bed you created might have been more comfortable than the one I use to sleep in and the sounds of the forest were much more soothing than that of creaking wood floors. Did you sleep at all?" she asked, suddenly realizing he might have kept watch all night and felt guilty.